Manga Review: He's My Only Vampire, Volume 5, by Aya Shouoto

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: 2015

Volumes: 10.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

"Forget all love and thirst only for blood..."
Acquiring a third Stigma took a heavy toll on Aki's body. To help him recuperate, Kana and the others plan a trip to a cozy hot-spring resort deep in the mist-shrouded mountains. Little do they know, this outing will open the sinister door of Aki's "original sin," and his hidden past will finally come to light!!

Review:

We’re finally getting some development here!

There’s some fighting, some fluff, some politics in the first half of the volume. But the really interesting stuff is when we get to see what happened between Kana and the twins when they were little, as she finally gets to remember what happened.

It’s dark and sad, and I feel so bad for Aki. It makes me wonder about Eriya, as well. It ends with a cliffhanger, and I’m sure it’s going to go in a new direction in the next volume, as Kana wakes up and something comes of what she remembers now.

I’m not in love with this, and I’m only slowly continuing the series. I want to love it, but it’s just okay to me. I am intrigued, though, by this new development. I hope to read the next one at some point.

Novel Review: Evernight (Evernight, #1) by Claudia Gray

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: 2008

Spoilers?: One with Warning.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. BookDepository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Bianca wants to escape.

At the eerily Gothic Evernight Academy, the other students are sleek, smart, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

When she meets handsome, brooding Lucas he warns her to be careful--even when it comes to caring about him. But the connection between them can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart...and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

The Cover:

I don't care for this cover at all. It's just so plain and it doesn't catch my attention, it more turns my attention away. Just bleh.

Review:

It has taken me a long time to finally finish this book. I picked it up like three times in the last several years, and am just now finishing it. And given how hard a time I had, I’m surprised it really wasn’t so bad.

I will say that I like the surprise about halfway through. (Spoilers!) I didn’t expect Bianca to be the vampire, and I liked that. And saying that, I did expect Lucas to be a slayer. Especially with the way he was acting. (End Spoilers!) But I did like the surprise and how it was handled, the no nonsense that all the other students felt, and the set up of the school because of it.

I didn’t really feel the romance between Bianca and Lucas, though. It was a little steamy a couple of times, and I liked the added biting thrown in. But I still didn’t really love them as a couple. It just wasn’t there for me.

I liked all the vampire myth used, the explanations behind it all, and how open they were with each other about it once they knew. And I was interested enough through most of it. Still, I probably won’t be picking up the next one.

Manga Review: He's My Only Vampire, Volume 2, by Aya Shouoto

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: March 2015

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Dealer suddenly appears, Kana learns in the ensuing scuffle just what it means to be a Pureblood vampire's "thrall." With the werewolf Jin now fighting beside Kana and Aki as an ally, the three begin their search for the other Stigmas in the second volume of this dark vampire adventure!!

Review:

A little off topic to start: I don’t understand why Aya Shouoto has suddenly had so many releases. She’s had at least three series picked up at once. Doesn’t that seem weird? Did something happen for her rise in popularity that I missed? Not a complaint, mind you, as I am enjoying her series and art, but it just seemed odd to me.

Now, for the actual manga.

This volume had a very different feel than the first one. Here, we get full on school life mode.

Kana goes back to school, along with Aki and Jin, mostly with Aki learning what her normal day life is like. Kana figures out what to do with her club situation, and decides to start her own. Jin is kind of adorable, and pretty much just follows them. Aki gets popular, for a while, but everyone else is afraid of/dislikes Kana and Jin, though Kana is determined to change her public image.

We officially meet Kana’s younger brother in this volume, and I like him. I’m interested to see more of him, and hope he gets a bigger presence in the series. We also got more of an idea of how the whole thrall and vampire, and the stigma hunting thing works. I’m intrigued to see where it goes next.

Then there was a cliffhanger, and I’m interested to see where that goes. I feel like there’s still a lot to learn and develop in this series. I’m looking forward to reading more, though.

Manga Review: Black Rose Alice, Volume 2, by Setona Mizushiro

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 4, 2014

Volumes: 6 (Hiatus)

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dimitri Lewandoski is a celebrated tenor in early 1900s Vienna. When he is killed in an accident, his corpse is colonized by the seeds of a vampire master. At first, Dimitri denies that anything has changed, but as the people around him start dying, he is forced to accept the ghastly truth.

Flash-forward to 2008. In Tokyo, Azusa Kikukawa agrees to sacrifice herself as the next breeding ground for the vampire group in exchange for Dimitri healing her fatally wounded young boyfriend. But now that the deal is struck, Azusa finds herself in a strange house and a strange body, surrounded by the men she must choose from for her deadly embrace

Review:

After the first volume, I was thoroughly intrigued, but also a little wary of this volume. I just wasn’t too sure what I was getting into. Where this was going next.

And, honestly, I will never get over the spider scenes. Those are just utterly gross and horrible and I cringe just thinking about them. Thankfully there was only one this volume.

Other than that, the Alice plot line has taken an interesting turn.

The woman previously known as Azusa, now in Agnieszka’s body, has decided to go by Alice. She is forced to get past her previous life, and now has to choose a mate among the vampires she lives with. As apparently that’s how they reproduce, with a human female, and then they both die. So she has to choose which one she believes deserves the honor (and it is considered an honor, not sarcasm). Weirdly enough, though, Dimitri believes he’s not fit for it.

This is going in a very odd direction. But at least this lets us get to know the vampires better. I like the twins, and there were some normal moments as Alice gets to know them, and takes charge of some things in the house.

I have no idea what Dimitri is up to, and the ending has me confused and curious, and with still little idea what is going on.

And I look forward to reading the next one, even more than before.

Manga Review: He's My Only Vampire, Volume 1, by Aya Shouoto

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: December 16, 2014

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

You are my "thrall"--mine and mine alone...
When Kana, a student at St. Agatha Academy, lays eyes on her long-lost childhood friend Aki amid the throng of the metropolis, the gears of destiny begin to turn!
Meeting with an unfortunate accident not long after, Kana finds herself pulled from the arms of death by a vampire--Aki. Now Kana must give herself over to Aki, body and soul, as his "thrall," and soon she is trust into a dangerous game to obtain demonic powers known as "STIGMA," which could very well spell the end for her all over again!

Review:

I’m pretty sure this is a newer of Shouoto’s series, and the art does look a little different. It also didn’t pull me in quite as much as Kiss of the Rose Princess did. I’m still sticking with it, though.

The vampire plot is a little dark already, with some underground things already clearly happening. There is some explanation, but I’m sure there’s more to come.

We meet Kana, an overachieving high school girl, who was friends with these boys when she was younger. Then one of them, Aki, shows up. He saves her by biting her, turning her into his thrall, now the only one he can drink from. He has some hidden goals, though. We meet one of Kana’s classmates, who is entwined in this, though ends up in a rather cute position.

I’m intrigued, a little confused, but definitely picking up the next one. I like what I’ve seen so far, and am curious to see what happens next. I especially look forward to getting to know the characters more.