Manga Review: Black Rose Alice, Volume 6, by Setona Mizushiro

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2015

Volumes: 6 (Hiatus)

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dimitri Lewandowski 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.

Review:

In this volume, we get to see what happened to the twins in the past. And it’s pretty bad.

After that, Dimitri comes back, and he brings with him a girl from his past. It’s a learning experience for him and Alice. But mostly it draws closer to the conclusion at the end of the volume, where Alice possibly actually chooses who she wants. Her choice has been pretty obvious from the beginning, to me, but it’s not fully clear whether she goes through with it in this volume or not. It’s possible she didn’t and is waiting for something.

This volumes leaves us hanging, as now the series is on hiatus and who knows when it will be continued. I do appreciate that it ends well, with a somewhat conclusion, with a decision and not many questions. But in the comic at the end, it’s hinting that this is just part one, and that makes me wonder what she plans for part two.

At this point, though, I’m pretty happy with it pausing here.

Manga Review: The Secret Sakura Shares by Akira Hagio

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: December 2015

Volumes: 1 Omnibus/2 Singles

Spoilers?: No.

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

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Aoi Narinomiya, the last daughter of a prestigious family, discovers that her grandfather has gone missing, leaving her to carry an astronomical debt, both she and her dog, Sakura, are inches away from finding themselves on the street. When her enigmatic classmate Kei Katsuragi shows up on her doorstep to repossess everything her family once owned, Aoi makes a desperate plea for Kei to take in her beloved Sakura--maybe she could at least be spared...?

It seems, though, that Kei is far less interested in owning a dog than he is in calling a pedigreed kitty his own, and Aoi soon finds herself playing the part of the young man's prized pet! Disturbingly, it turns out to be a comfortable and reassuring life that Aoi feels she hastoo quickly settled into, but could Kei have ulterior motives that go beyond just "owning" her?

Review:

I was pleasantly surprised with this book.

When Aoi is left with a large debt, she’s taken in with her dog as a pet to Kei. But instead of it being a slave-like life, she’s taken care of like a real pet—groomed, pampered, treated with love and care. Even if she protests it and feels like she doesn’t do enough, Kei wants her there and he likes having her as his “pet”.

While I do think that Aoi should have spoken up, tried to do more if she wanted to, I liked their relationship. I think that Kei treated her well, and that they had good chemistry. I like how he protected her, even pretending to be gay for appearances.

This was a sweet shojo series, relatively sweet and romantic without any real physical stuff, with a simple plot. I enjoyed it a lot, and hope more like it are picked up. I also liked how it was released in omnibus format, all in one volume. Very pretty, and easy to collect.

Novel Review: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4) by Marissa Meyer

Rating (Out of 5): ~5

Genre: YA Fantasy/Sci-fi Romance; Fairy-Tale Retelling

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan)

Release Date: November 10, 2015

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday. Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend–the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

The Cover:

I love all of the covers in this series. I think they're pretty much perfect. The contrast of the red and the blue, with the red showing the main symbol for the fairy-tale story, is beautiful. They're simply and gorgeous, focusing on the important part of the story. I love it.

Review:

I don’t think that I can ever write a review that expresses my complete and utter love for this series, so I’m just going to do my best here.

This conclusion could not have been any better. It was everything I wanted it to be and I can’t believe it’s over. I love it unconditionally, I should make that clear.

We fully meet Winter, and she’s crazy. Literally going insane because she won’t use her powers. But she has Jacin, who will do anything he can to help her.

Scarlet and Wolf finally seeing each other again is beautiful and makes me want to cry they make me so happy. I hadn’t even realized I loved them as much as I do until this book. Ohmygod they make me so ridiculously happy.

Cress and Thorne is almost as good as Scarlet and Wolf. Thorne is my favorite, even if he is frustrating at time, and I love how Cress pushes him and stands up to him, even as she loves him so much. I want to see their adventures after this, seriously. They’re the best.

I love Cinder, of course, our witty, hard-edged heroine. And while Kai doesn’t stand out to me as much as the others, I do think that they’re a good match. I love their ending, and I believe that they do have a good future ahead of them.

Aside from the romances, I love the relationship that Winter and Scarlet form, and of course Thorne and Cinder are my favorite friendship. Their banter is so nice.

I won’t spoil too much of the main plot, but I do love what happens. It’s intense and surprising, and long. A lot happens in regards to Levana, but I love how it all works out.

I would read a dozen more books about these characters, and I just want more. More more more. I know I’ll be re-reading this series in the future, because I love it to pieces, and I'm looking forward to the novella collection.

Manga Review: The Complete Chi's Sweet Home, Part 1, by Konami Kanata

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Vertical Comics

Release Date: July 2015

Volumes: 12.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Chi is a michievous newborn kitten who, while on a leisurely stroll with her family, finds herself lost. Seperated from the warmth and protection of her mother, feels distraught. Overcome with loneliness she breaks into tears in a large urban park meadow., when she is suddenly rescued by a young boy named Yohei and his mother. The kitty is then quickly and quietly whisked away into the warm and inviting Yamada family apartment…where pets are strictly not permitted.

The complete Chi’s Sweet Home collects the first three volumes of this hit series and includes never before translated comics from Konami Kanata in a new larger trim size!

Review:

Since I hadn’t gotten around to collecting the single volumes of this series, this huge omnibus gave me a good opportunity to do so. This book contains the first three volumes of the series, with some extras, and it’s still all in color. It’s a very pretty, heavy book.

The book starts with Chi getting separated from her mother and siblings. Lost in this big world, she stumbled upon a family who happily take her in. Temporarily at first, since their apartment doesn’t allow pets, they struggle with the decision whether to keep or get rid of her, as they grow increasingly attached.

The antics in this book are adorable. Everything is new to Chi, and she’s a curious little kitty. She lives with a family of three: a mother, father, and their son. The mother tries being strict, the father wants Chi to love him, and the son just enjoys playing with the kitty. They all fawn over Chi and clearly love her, and it’s very sweet to watch. Chi also explores the outside world, and meets an older “bear”-cat who guides her at times about being a cat.

The story is told in short chapters, very episodic, but with an overall story of Chi wanting a home and finding it with the Yamada’s. I like that it’s all in color, and the expressions and chaos is easily shown. It’s a very cute story, and I’m looking forward to picking up the next big volume of it. Recommended for any age, really.