Manga Review: Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, Volume 2, by Yuhki Kamatani

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Seven Seas

Release Date: July 2019

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

HELP OR HINDRANCE?

Tasuku is starting to feel at home at the drop-in center―just in time for him to help a younger student who also hangs out there. Misora Shuji likes to wear girls’ clothing but is unsure about their gender identity. Will Tasuku’s guidance offer Shuji some clarity or just make things harder?

Review:

There's a really harsh moment in this volume, just as a warning.

We officially meet Misora, a boy who likes dressing as a girl. This introduces a new aspect to the story, as Misora states he's not gay, he just likes dressing as a girl—and also explores the idea of not really knowing who he is yet. He's younger than Tasuku, and gives Tasuku a moment to help and be there for someone going through something similarly difficult.

It all goes down when Tasuku and Misora go out to a festival. Misora is confronted with a harsh part of being a woman, and he doesn't quite handle it well—not that anyone should, really. But he reacts by blowing up at Tasuku, in a very public, harsh way.

I appreciate the point of view that Misora presents here, but I don't particularly care for the way he talks. He's very brash with his words, which perhaps Tasuku needs. He blatantly uses the word fag, and how he treats Tasuku when he freaks out is just not okay. It was a really hard moment to read.

It also looks like Tasuku's crush is going to do something in the next volume. It's unclear where he stands on these things, but I suspect we'll find out soon.

I am really glad that this is being released. I think it's an important story. Plus, the artwork is gorgeous—I love the imagination used here. And those color pages at the beginning of this volume are just gorgeous.

Manga Review: Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, Volume 1, by Yuhki Kamatani

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Seven Seas

Release Date: May 2019

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: Yes.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A beautiful tale of coming-out and coming-of-age.

Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he is also terrified that he has been outed as gay. Just as he’s contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own. In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all.

Review:

I am so glad that we're at the point where we can get diverse series like this now. It's taken such a long time, but now more publishers are picking up yaoi and yuri series, yes, but also series like this—where there's a mix of identities and sexual orientation. The story doesn't have to be about one gay couple. There can be coming of age stories that include this stuff, in manga as well.

Kaname is at a new school, and he's starting to learn things about himself, but he doesn't quite have friends or fit in yet, and he can't react organically to things. He discovers a house that anyone can go in and hang out, and there's an odd group of friends there, with a mix of identities. Kaname was considering suicide, and then discovers that maybe he's not all alone. He's still not sure how to identify, if he can let himself even think of himself as gay, when he discovers these people. One of which is mysterious and gives him no information or advice, and another who's a lesbian in a serious relationship. And there appears to be acceptance and other people with potentially similar stories.

There's clear to be more struggles in the future for him, but I think there'll be more accepting characters to meet.

The start of this volume very much felt like middle/high school in the early 00's. People spouting the word “gay” and “homo” insensitively, and it unknowingly causing a bad affect on others. Kaname starts off in a spiral, but I think this group of people are going to help him, and be there for him. He's also got an interesting imagination, and I'm confused but intrigued by how it's portrayed.

I'm just so happy series like this is being released now, and definitely want to support it. I want more stuff like this, more representation and diversity of characters and people. I'm excited for it.

Manga Review: That Blue Sky Feeling, Volume 2, by Okura and Coma Hashii

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: March 2019

Volumes: 3.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A butterflies-in-your-stomach high school romance about two very different high school boys who find themselves unexpectedly falling for each other.

Outgoing high school student Noshiro finds himself drawn to Sanada, the school outcast, who is rumored to be gay. Rather than deter Noshiro, the rumor makes him even more determined to get close to Sanada, setting in motion a bittersweet tale of first love.

The kids at Noshiro’s new school are finding out that being in “like” can be pretty intense. Noshiro’s getting closer than ever to his classmate Sanada, who is gay; Ayumi is hopelessly in love with Sanada, who happens to be her childhood friend; and new student Makoto arrives on the scene to knock everyone off-balance.

Review:

Sanada and Ayumi have to confront their feelings for each other. In a normal romance, they'd end up together, but Sanada's gay, and Noshiro's doesn't quite get that that wouldn't work. Ayumi was holding onto hope despite herself, and Sanada was ignoring Ayumi's feelings to hide behind her. They both have to confront their actual feelings, from opposite sides.

We meet a new character in this volume, Morinaga. He's an underclassman, and puts all of his feelings out there, very dramatically. He clearly likes Noshiro, but he's more like Sanada than he realizes. I found the misunderstandings here fun, and we get to see Noshiro trying to be nice while still not quite understanding what being gay entails. It's a long process for him, it seems. It's also been a process for Sanada and Noshiro, though. These things take time, it seems.

Despite how loud he is, I actually liked Morinaga, and enjoyed how he pushed Noshiro and Sanada in this volume. They needed something to push these feelings forward.

I really like this series. I'm so glad it's being published and we're getting more stuff like this. I look forward to seeing how it wraps up.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Novel Review: And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1) by Kiersten White

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Genre: YA Historical, Romance

Publisher: Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House)

Release Date: 2016

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday. Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

The Cover:

I love these covers. I will admit that it gives me a somewhat different impression of the book than the contents felt--Lada does not feel nearly as fierce as this cover makes me feel; it also wasn't as intense and focused more on the potential romance than the cover makes me think it will. But it's still a gorgeous cover.

Review:

I have loved all of Kiersten White's books, and I've always admired how she can change her style of writing so perfectly. I'm a little disappointed to say that I didn't really enjoy this book, at times.

I will admit that I'm not typically a historical fan. I didn't think it would matter much here, but it's still true. Long stories of history are not of my interest, and stories that combine that with political dealings are apparently especially so.

We meet Lada and Bogdan and her brother Radu as the book starts. They start as children, and slowly grow older until they're teens during this book. Lada is the daughter of Vlad, and at first she tries hard to impress him and prove herself. Radu is her weaker brother. Bogdan is her bodyguard/servant boy who she actually orders around.

This book was very slow going. It took a long time for them to grow older, and at several points in this book I wondered where it was going, and when it was going to get there.

I liked Lada at first, and I thought she was going to be fierce from the beginning. She is fierce, but then I think she loses herself about halfway through the book. Romance shows up, and she seems to lose herself and her ambitions with it. I realized at some point in the book that I didn't particularly care for Lada all that much.

Radu, on the other hand. Radu is at first her weak little brother. But while he doesn't have physical strength or much of a mean streak at all in him, he has smarts instead. He learns how to listen, and how to play nice and make conversation and get a person on his side very easily. It's a struggle when Lada realizes he has this and she does not, and really it's more of a point on his side than hers.

I really liked Radu, quite a lot. I think my least favorite character turned out to be Mehmed. When we first meet him, I thought I liked him. But after a while, I realized that I really didn't like the effect he had on Radu or Lada. He kind of ends up ruining them, I think.

Radu becomes so focused on his love for Mehmed, that I think it brings him down. He could be doing a lot more, and he could be seeing the other people around him better, if Mehmed weren't there. It's the same with Lada. She loses sight of what's most important to herself, because of her affection for Mehmed. And it frustrates me so much because it's not requited to the extent that either of them need. It's helping Mehmed, when he doesn't deserve it, and it's bad for both Radu and Lada.

I really hope that this book was setting up for something bigger. It definitely seems like Lada is off to start something big, and I hope that it gets more intense from here. This book was very long and tedious, and usually I like character development like that, but it didn't hold my interest enough in this context. It was frustrating at times.

But the concept is still so interesting to me, and Kiersten White is one of my favorite authors, so I'll be reading at least one more book.