Manga Review: Chaika: The Coffin Princess, Volume 1, by Ichirou Sakaki, Shinta Sakayama, and Namaniku ATK (Nitroplus)

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: June 23, 2015

Volumes: 5.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Five years of inconceivable peace after two hundred years of war left erstwhile saboteur Toru Acura without a job or a meaning in life--until he saves a mysterious wizard with a coffin on her back. But when the coffin-wielding, silver-haired Chaika Trabant hires Toru and his sister, Akari, to accompany her on a death-defying journey, Toru's life of mind-numbing, meaningless peace is about to end!

Review:

Going into this volume with little knowledge of it, I wasn’t expecting this.

Firstly, Toru lives with his sister. After a bad experience, he refuses to work, or do much of anything. I’m not sure why. His sister keeps pushing him to do something, to help out, though. Toru is a pretty average guy; he’s all right. Akari, his sister, though, is in love with him. In a very creepy way. I’m not a fan of her.

But then Toru meets and helps Chaika, a mysterious girl traveling in the area. Chaika later hires him and his sister to help her in her quest.

I would read more of this series for Chaika alone. She’s younger, I think, and speaks broken English which is charming, and I think she’s adorable and super sweet. I like her a lot, and even I’m surprised by how much.

There’s also the bigger plot—that someone’s after Chaika, and she’s trying to get back something that was taken from her. We’re given hints to her past, and the volume ends with Toru beginning to tell Chaika about his.

Mostly, I liked Chaika. I’m intrigued by the people who are after her, as well. I’m not sure if I’m going to read more, but I’m intrigued.

Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Omnibus 1, by Makoto Yukimura

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: October 2013

Volumes: 14+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

FOR HONOR AND VENGEANCE

As a child, Thorfinn sat at the feet of the great Leif Ericson and thrilled to wild tales of a land far to the west. But his youthful fantasies were shattered by a mercenary raid. Raised by the Vikings who murdered his family, Thorfinn became a terrifying warrior, forever seeking to kill the band's leader, Askeladd, and avenge his father. Sustaining Throfinn through his ordeal are his pride in his family and his dreams of a fertile westward land, a land without war or slavery...the land Leif called Vinland.

Review:

I have heard a lot of good things about this series, so of course I had to pick up a volume. It is definitely a pretty volume, hardcover with color pages—very nice to look at and hold. That in itself has made me want to collect the series.

The first chapter did not really pull me in, to be honest. It mostly had me confused—and I’m not sure if that was getting thrown into the Vikings world so fast, or if I just wasn’t in the right mindset. Because I took a break before reading any more of the volume, and when I got back to it, I was pretty hooked.

The artwork is very pretty, and very realistic. And going with that, the Vikings are pretty brutal. They’re violent, and they’re not afraid to be.

We meet a few characters at the beginning of the volume, mainly Thorfinn and Askeladd. Thorfinn is a young adult, and he’s a mentally wounded guy out for revenge. Askeladd is the leader of his troop, and a very strong warrior. And then we get thrown back to Thorfinn’s past, and we meet his family and see why he’s so wounded inside.

And honestly, I really enjoyed reading Thorfinn’s past. It’s very real, and heartfelt, and also horrible. His family and his village is great, and I really hope that we get to see more of them, especially his sister Ylva.

That arc seems to end at the end of this volume, and I am really interested to see where the story goes next. There are a lot of possibilities for the plot, and I’m excited. I’m impressed, and looking forward to picking up the next volume.

Novel Review: In Too Deep by Coert Voorhees

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Contemporary/Adventure (Romance)

Publisher: Hyperion (Disney)

Release Date: July 2013

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Annie Fleet, master scuba diver and history buff, knows she can’t fight her nerd status as a freshman at her Los Angeles private school. And she doesn’t care—except for the fact that her crush, Josh, thinks she’s more adorable than desirable. Annie is determined to set him straight on their school trip to Mexico. But her teacher has other plans: he needs Annie to help him find Cortez’s lost-long treasure.

Suddenly, Annie finds herself scuba diving in pitch-black waters, jetting to Hawaii with Josh, and hunting for the priceless Golden Jaguar. But Annie and Josh aren’t the only ones lured by the possibility of finding the greatest treasure ever lost at sea. Someone else wants the gold—and needs Annie dead. In deeper danger than she ever imagined, can Annie get the boy and find the Jaguar, or is she in over her head?

Critically-acclaimed author Coert Voorhees delivers breathtaking romance and non-stop action in his newest novel, the spirited and captivating In Too Deep.

The Cover:

I really, really like this cover. I think it's cute, eye-catching, and represents the book extremely well. I also like that the front and back have are an ongoing cover, and they both look really nice. It clearly shows the treasure hunting and scuba diving parts of the book, which are major, while also giving a hint of romance. I think it fits really well, and I like how it looks.

Quotes:

• "When you blurt out something that makes you look like a jackass, you really only have two options. The first is to say nothing, not even if prompted. Your only goal is to not make it worse, no matter how bad you sounded or how tempting it might be to clarify. You shut your mouth and let the whole thing blow over. The second is to try to explain the original blurt, because you figure that your jackassery will disappear if only people knew a little more. The second option never works.” (ARC, pg. 46)
• "Being out of air is like getting a letter in the mail that you’re going to die soon. You have time to contemplate how drowning is going to feel.” (Pg. 114-115)
• "...there was a difference between a famous person and a real person, and that difference was simple. Famous people did things for recognition. Real people did things for the experience.” (Pg. 316-317)

Review:

I was surprised by this book, but I really enjoyed it. It was exciting, which is apparently what I was looking for at the time.

Annie wants to be a treasure hunter. She’s very interested in lost treasure, in ships disappearing and nothing ever found, even if she’s never seriously thought about doing it before. When she goes on a school trip and instead is pushed to help find a hidden statue, she gives in. And finds it to be a much more exciting endeavor than she thought it would be.

I wasn’t expecting the treasure hunting to be so exciting, and it was kind of slow-moving, but I did really like it.Annie was smart, and had already done a lot of research. She ends up getting Josh, the boy she likes, along with her best friend and some classmates, to help her find it, and it was fun to read about it. Annie was legitimately interested and excited by this, and I liked that.

Josh isn’t as excited by it, but he helps and he’s sweet. Their attraction was rather subdued, slow and not given a lot of attention, but I liked their relationship, and I liked how it grew. I also liked Annie’s best friend, and enjoyed meeting her other classmates, whether they were helpful or not.

I wasn’t expecting this to be so much fun to read. It was a little slow at times, but it kept my interest, and treasure hunting is a fun and exciting subject. I really enjoyed it, and actually want to read or watch other stories with similar plots now.