Manga Review: Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, Volume 2, by Aidalro

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: March 2020

Volumes: 13+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Nene Yashiro has made a pact with "Hanako-san of the Toilet," aka Hanako-kun, to hold off the curse that has been placed on her. To rescue her friend from the clutches of one of the school's infamous Seven Mysteries, she and Hanako-kun infiltrate the Misaki Stairs. The second volume of the retro horror romantic comedy about an occult girl and an inhuman supernatural boy is finally in print!

Review:

The first half of this volume continues the stair-case ghost story. It gets a little dangerous, and rather sad/disturbing when we discover the reason. It's rather fun to follow, though, but maybe it's just been a while since I've had a good high school ghost series.

In between the next plot, we get a little romance-inspired chapter between Yashiro and Hanako. He's giving her mixed signals, and she's very romance-focused, so she jumps to conclusions. It was a cute chapter, but it also ends in a really sweet way. After that, we meet Minamoto's older brother, who is a surprise, but also is very against ghosts and wants them all exorcised. It's a bit conflicting here, because Minamoto is having second thoughts about his first motivation to exorcise Hanako. This plot is definitely going to get deeper, since we're briefly introduced to couple other characters but not given much about them.

We're getting lots of mixed signals from Hanako, and I'm curious what it means. He generally acts light-hearted, but he's shown equal moments of vulnerability and of violence, and it's hard to tell which ones are real and what they actually mean. He's clearly hiding things, including how he ended up here, and I'm curious when we'll learn more and what it all means.

I hadn't expected to be interested in this series, and I'm really not a fan of the name, but I'm surprisingly hooked. This was another really fun and interesting volume, and I want to read more.

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

Manga Review: Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, Volume 1, by Aidalro

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: January 2020

Volumes: 13+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

"Hanako-san, Hanako-san...are you there?" At Kamome Academy, rumors abound about the school's Seven Mysteries, one of which is Hanako-san. Said to occupy the third stall of the third floor girls' bathroom in the old school building, Hanako-san grants any wish when summoned. Nene Yashiro, an occult-loving high school girl who dreams of romance, ventures into this haunted bathroom...but the Hanako-san she meets there is nothing like she imagined! Kamome Academy's Hanako-san...is a boy!

Review:

Yashiro hears about the seven mysteries in her new school and immediately goes to the girls bathroom in the old school building and calls for Hanako-san. Only to discover that, not only is Hanako-san a boy, but he also doesn't seem to do much magic, and thus isn't very helpful in her quest for romance and to get her crush to notice her.

Yashiro apparently likes occult stuff and ghost stories, or at least her classmate thinks so. She's definitely a scaredy-cat, though, so I don't see it. She definitely is a romantic, however. She's been rejected before, and yet she still falls for boys without knowing anything about them, and dreams of a prince falling from the sky to her rescue.

Yashiro and Hanako form a bond through friendship, but also through a surprising mermaid curse. It's quite cute, honestly, though they don't seem to have any romantic feelings at this point. Yashiro also has a friend in her class, and then we meet a boy who's determined to exorcise Hanako, and this gives hints to Hanako's dangerous past.

We're left on a bit of a cliffhanger. Since it felt a bit like Hanako was overpowered in the first couple of chapters, I'm curious to see where this plot goes next. This was quite a fun volume. The artstyle is very pretty and the characters are rather cutesy, but there are a lot of dark strokes and inks used, too, and there are definite hints of something darker coming that intrigues me.

I know this series has hit quite big, so I'm intrigued to read more. It's been a while since I've read a high school ghost series, too, and that's a theme I enjoy.

Manga Review: Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Volume 6, by Megumi Morino

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: September 2018

Volumes: 6.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

This funny and heartrending romantic manga set in modern Tokyo is not the fairy tale you remember! This time, Prince Charming is a teenage janitor, and this Sleeping Beauty's curse is a supernatural, gender-bending dream that threatens to pull them both into a deeper and deeper slumber…

SWEET DREAMS

After a hectic summer, Shizu and her mother welcome a calm autumn in their home. Every day, Shizu grows more certain of herself, but after meeting the living daughter of one of her ghosts, she realizes it all comes at a price. The spirits within her know they are existing on borrowed time, and no one is more worried than Shizu. As a newfound loneliness creeps into her heart, she finds out the hard way that there is plenty to gain in letting go…

Review:

The last bit of closure for the series is the ghosts inhabiting Shizu's body. They need closure in order to move on, and Shizu and Tetsu decide to find it. Haru is the biggest surprise, both sad and sweet. Shizu forms a friendship with his daughter in the search, though.

Shizu gets to continue discovering herself. Finding out who she is and what she likes, and what she wants. I really like these kinds of plot lines/characters to begin with, and it's nice to see Shizu figuring these things out. She's getting out there and making friendships, going after what she wants, and growing her relationship with Tetsu along the way.

The ending for this series was really sweet. It wrapped up all of the loose threads, including Shizu's relationship with her father and Tetsu's mother's status. Some a little open, but on the way to getting better, I think.

This was a really sweet series, and I'm glad I followed it.

Manga Review: Take Me to Heaven by Nase Yamato

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Deux/Aurora Publishing

Release Date: 2009.

Volumes: 1.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Goodreads Synopsis:

He sees ghosts... and one sexy guy!

High school student Fumiya possesses the ability to see things normal people can't: ghosts and spirits. Every time Fumiya sees one, he turns to the tall, handsome and popular Shogo, the son of a temple priest, for help. After being rescued time after time by Shogo, Fumiya can't resist developing certain feelings towards his savior. Watch as ghosts and spirits work to drive these two together!

Review:

Meh. I wasn’t really impressed.

Fumiya sees ghosts, and he cries whenever they’re near. Shogo is the son of a priest and knows how to exorcise them, only he doesn’t actually believe in them or want anything to do with it.

Mostly, I was annoyed with how insensitive Shogo was to Fumiya. He teases him a little too much, and Fumiya is rather weak and annoying of a character. On the other hand, I did like how open Shogo was with his relationship with Fumiya, and that while he had female groupies, they all believed he was actually in love with Fumiya.

In the end, it was an okay story. I liked the episodic ghost story chapters. The art was okay, nice to look at.

Manga Review: Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Volume 4, by Megumi Morino

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: May 2018

Volumes: 6.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

This funny and heartrending romantic manga set in modern Tokyo is not the fairy tale you remember! This time, Prince Charming is a teenage janitor, and this Sleeping Beauty's curse is a supernatural, gender-bending dream that threatens to pull them both into a deeper and deeper slumber...

THE MOVING FORWARD

Shizu's grand scheme to get Tetsu to play soccer one last time was a big success, and has become a catalyst for change for everyone involved. One of the biggest changes comes from Chihiro, who works up the courage to tell Tetsu his biggest secret. Will this revelation tear the friends apart?

Review:

After the stadium thing, Shizu has grown somewhat okay with leaving the house now. And she's formed an acquaintance-ship with Chihiro. This opens to the bromance between Chihiro and Tetsu—we get Chihiro's backstory, and a secret about him, and then we get to see what kind of friendship they really have, as they both come to realize they are actually friends.

Shizu gets to go to a festival in a yukata for the first time, just as her father shows up and ruins everything.

We finally get into the deeper plot in the last half of the book, as Shizu's father shows and we see what drastic measures he's willing to take to hide his daughter, and what her mother is willing to let him do because of her own fears and insecurities.

The end of the volume feels like there's not much left, but we still have two volumes. I'm excited to see where this goes next, now that Tetsu is taking a stand.

Manga Review: Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Volume 3, by Megumi Morino

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: March 2018

Volumes: 6.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

This funny and heartrending romantic manga set in modern Tokyo is not the fairy tale you remember! This time, Prince Charming is a teenage janitor, and this Sleeping Beauty's curse is a supernatural, gender-bending dream that threatens to pull them both into a deeper and deeper slumber...

THE SUFFERING

As Shizu begins to venture outside more and more, her days are filled with new experiences. When she shows an interest in going to school, Tetsu and the spirits dwelling within Shizu think up a foolproof plan to get her there. But when the two teens arrive on campus, they bump into Tetsu's old soccer team. Suddenly, his carefully curated life begins to unravel and Shizu may be the only one who can save him.

Review:

This volume is very about Tetsu. His past is finally catching up to him, now that he's nearing graduation, and Shizu is starting to notice. Shizu is struggling with all of her inner voices while trying to find her own, especially regarding her feelings for Tetsu and how she can help him. Tetsu has pushed away all of his friends and hobbies, and it's affected his friends and family in ways he wasn't seeing. It turns out, he needed the good-hearted childishness of Kanato to push him along.

It's a little messy, with the revelation in the middle. All of these feelings are also culminating inside Shizu. But the end result is super sweet, and it's nice to see all of his old team mates showing Tetsu how much they care.

The ending was another rather big revelation. I'm intrigued to see where it goes next, in their relationship.

Having so many people in Tetsu's life meet Shizu is also interesting, and I'm wondering what will happen with that. Her predicament is a little hard to explain, especially when Tetsu calls Shizu by each personality that takes over—that is sure to get confusing to someone else at some point.

Manga Review: Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Volume 2, by Megumi Morino

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: January 2018

Volumes: 6.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

This funny and heartrending romantic manga set in modern Tokyo is not the fairy tale you remember! This time, Prince Charming is a teenage janitor, and this Sleeping Beauty’s curse is a supernatural, gender-bending dream that threatens to pull them both into a deeper and deeper slumber…

THE UNINVITED

Despite being a scaredy-cat and crybaby, high schooler Tetsu finds himself working at the eerie estate on the hill, where Shizu–the only child of the Karasawa family–is secreted away. However, his friendship with Shizu quickly turns to fear when several spirits of the dead appear before him, borrowing her appearance. As he struggles to find the humanity in her supernatural condition, Tetsu must also face a question at once terrifying and heartbreaking: What if the true Shizu never returns?

Review:

The volume starts off a little rocky, since Tetsu has decided he's only working for Shizu's family, not there to be her friend. But that rather quickly falls through, because Tetsu can't help but want to jump in to help Shizu, especially when her other sides take over.

He gets to meet her final spirit, and this one is a bit of a party girl, but a nice one. Though she's much more free-spirited and carefree than Tetsu would like, especially with Shizu's body.

There's another instance where a ghost possesses Shizu in this volume, this time a little girl. We also get some small progress on Tetsu's life, his past and what he's doing/hiding. We're getting to understand him a little more, as he's beginning to learn more about Shizu. We also get some ominous news from Shizu's family.

This series is progressing really well so far, very well-rounded and steady. I'm really enjoying it, and the more we find out, the more intrigued I am by it. I'm excited for the next one.

Manga Review: In/Spectre, Volume 2, by Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: January 2017

Volumes: 7+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

EX FACTOR
Kotoko investigates the mysterious death of former idol Karin Nanase, who now terrorizes the sleepy town of Makurazaka as Steel Lady Nanase. But with Kur missing and the threat of the Steel Lady potentially causing harm to the Makurazaka s citizens, Kotoko is left with no choice but to team-up with Kur s ex-girlfriend, Saki. And later, as the Steel Lady strikes again, the origins of Kuro s bizarre powers are revealed.

Review:

This is a relatively short light novel adaptation that I think is really well done. Sometimes they're a bit weak in character development, but this one really isn't. I quite like all of the characters, and the mystery plot is interesting as well.

Saki is trying to better herself and get past her previous relationship. Having Kotoko show up has not helped her do this. Kotoko is adorably shameless and obnoxious. She's trying to show off to Saki, but Kuro doesn't help when he doesn't seem all that in love with her. The poor guy, honestly.

I really like Kotoko; she's refreshing and definitely my favorite character. I like her relationship with Kuro and think he balances her out, but I do want to see more of their dynamic. After the time skip, it's hard to see where they stand in their relationship.

One particular high note in this volume was seeing Steel Lady Nanase's back story. She starred in some seriously cheesy movies, and I think it was cheesy and funny in the best way.

We also got a back story on how Kuro became what he is, what his family did leading up to him. It was rather disturbing, honestly.

This is a really interesting series to me. The mystery is intriguing, but there's also a lot of depth into the characters' and their stories and personalities. I really want to see how this continues.

Novel Review: Ninth Key (The Mediator, #2) by Meg Cabot

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Supernatural Romance

Publisher: Avalon (Simon & Schuster)

Release Date: 2001

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ghosts ruin everything. Especially your love life.

Everything is going great for Suze. Her new life in California is a whirlwind of parties and excellent hair days. Tad Beaumont, the hottest boy in town, has even asked Suze out on her very first date. Suze is so excited that she's willing to ignore her misgivings about Tad... particularly the fact that he's not Jesse, whose ghostly status - not to mention apparent disinterest in her - make him unattainable.

What Suze can't ignore, however, is the ghost of a murdered woman whose death seems directly connected to dark secrets hidden in none other than Tad Beaumont's past.

The Cover:

These covers are very meh to me. They're plain, boring, don't make me want to pick up the book. But they're kind of fitting for the genre, I guess. Definitely could be better, though.

Review:

This series is surprisingly more enjoyable than I thought it would be. If I had read it in middle school, or even high school, I would have eaten it up. I should have read it then.

In this second book, Suze is trying to live normally, trying to fall for a high school boy who pays her attention instead of her ghost roommate. When a ghost keeps waking her up screaming at night, she’s forced to investigate the woman’s death and her relation to her kind-of-boyfriend’s father. It gets messy, but Suze doesn’t let anything deter her, and keeps forcing her way forward, into and out of trouble, while trying to keep her family in the dark about her abilities.

Even though the writing, the exaggeration, is definitely meant more for a middle school/early high school age, this series is surprisingly fun to read, and very fast to get through, in the same way as Mary-Janice Davidson. Suze’s attraction to Jesse is obvious, and I enjoy his protectiveness over her. I like Suze’s interactions with Father Dominic, his strict teachings with her easy-going way of everything. I still think that Suze’s little stepbrother Doc is adorable, and I wanted to see Suze’s talk with him at the end of the book more fully.

Even though this series isn’t really for me at this point, I’m still tempted to pick up the next one.

Novel Review: Ruined (Ruined, #1) by Paula Morris

Rating (Out of 5): ~2.5

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Point (Scholastic)

Release Date: 2009

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday. 

Goodreads Synopsis:

A gripping YA supernatural novel set in New Orleans: TWILIGHT with a ghostly twist.

Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She's staying in a creepy old house with her Aunt Claudia, who reads Tarot cards for a living. And at the snooty prep school, a pack of filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city.

Review:

Mostly, this book was boring.

Rebecca is made to live with her aunt, she’s seeing a ghost in the cemetery, and there’s a deathly curse on a girl her age at her school. She’s also falling for this boy she shouldn’t be around, sneaking around to see him.

The narration was boring, the writing didn’t pull me in, and the story was slow. I didn’t care for Rebecca, and the twist about the curse wasn’t surprising, or exciting. I think some of the story was a little deserving, but it was harsh. The romance was so one-dimensional, I didn’t feel any connection.

I was bored, mostly, and was glad to be done with it.