Manga Review: Yotsuba&!, Volume 13, by Kiyohiko Azuma

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: May 24, 2016

Volumes: 13+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 12.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fresh off the excitement of her camping trip, Yotsuba initiates a very productive session of sandbox play in which she instructs Fuuka how to properly run a bakery. But even more exciting is a visit from Grandma! Yotsuba learns how to value and enjoy cleaning, how not to be rude when hoping for souvenirs, and most important, how to cope when Grandma leaves. But don't worry, she'll be back someday!

Review:

There is never enough Yotsuba in the world. Never. I will never grow tired of it.

We start with Yotsuba coming from camping, with souvenirs for everyone. And then we meet Grandma. There’s lots of adorableness to be had here. There’s preparation and excitement, and then Grandma teaches Yotsuba all kinds of things. Like cleaning, as Grandma pesters her father about it all. Yotsuba tries very hard to be a good helper, and she’s so cute.

There’s also a learning moment, when Grandma has to leave. Yotsuba throws a fit, but Grandma and her dad stay strong, they don’t give in, and she’s forced to accept it. And say goodbye, and then be a kid again and move forward.

Every volume of this series is a delight and I love it all to pieces. I will always want more, but re-reads are also very fun.

Novel Review: Underfoot (Bellagio, #2) by Leanne Banks

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: HQN/Harlequin

Release Date: 2006

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this second title of Banks's trilogy focusing on women's appreciation of shoes, a year has passed since Trina Roberts and Walker Gordon's one-night stand, which resulted in Trina's pregnancy. Now that Walker knows about his child, he's determined to fill a father's shoes. Original.

The Cover:

I don't mind this cover. It's not really embarrassing, and I really don't mind the absence of a bare-chested man, especially since that wouldn't be as accurate as this one. This one fits relatively well, and it goes well with others in the series. It's overall pretty average, I guess.

Quotes:

• "'Sure,’ she said, wishing things could be different. Wishes were like pennies in the fountain, though, she thought. Many were tossed in the water. Most didn’t come true.” (Mass Market Paperback, pg. 317)
• "'You just take it one day at a time,’ Trina said. ‘And when one day is too much, you take it one hour at a time. When an hour is too much, you just get through one minute. After a few weeks, when you’re still alive, you realize you’re stronger than you thought you were. You can count on yourself even when you can’t count on a man.’” (Pg. 339)

Review:

I’ve had this book on my shelf for a while, but never got around to reading it. I was expecting it to be cute, but not particularly amazing. So I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed it.

I liked Trina. She’s smart, and determined, but also a little frazzled, a new mother but devoted and a good one. I liked Walker, too. He’s a little afraid and in denial, but he’s a good guy, with a good heart, and he really cares about his family. When he finally realized how he felt about Trina and their daughter, he finally smarted up.

I really like Trina and Walker together. They had really good chemistry, both as friends, as well as, as a couple. They denied it for a while, but it was obviously there. And I liked that they started as friends, because it let them really get to know each other, and really fall in love. 

The storyline was really cute. The minor characters were nice, too, and made me want to read both the first and the next book in the series. The writing was really good, and I actually had a hard time putting this book down. I just wanted to keep reading. I was really surprised, but this was a really good book. I’m definitely going to be picking up something else by Banks when I get the chance.

Manga Review: MeruPuri, Volume 3, by Matsuri Hino

5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: VIZ Media

Goodreads Synopsis:

While on a seaside field trip, the little boy Aram and Airi find themselves in the middle of a blackout at a public bath. Frazzled to no end, Airi drags Aram inside a closet, but someone walks in on them. Will Aram's secret be blown so soon? Meanwhile, Aram's former fiancee Mariabel shows up at school. What evil schemes does she have in store for Aram and Airi?

Review:

I've been putting of reviewing this, because I've been wanting to review other things, and all that. But I can't put it off anymore, I want to read the last volume too badly.

This volume starts with Raz catching them, and continuing to be a jerk for the rest of the chapter. He does something mean to Airi, making her rethink her relationship with Aram. And then Aram is awesome, and there's a very cute, a bit hot, of a moment between Airi and Aram. Also, it's explained that Raz's family is the family that the traitor Airi is related to betrayed before running off to the human world, and Raz doesn't forgive her for this.

In the next chapter, Aram is sick, and the first half is mostly full of cute moments between Airi and Aram. In the second half of the chapter, they go back to school, where there is another exchange student. The new student is Mariabel, also from Astale, and she's Aram's previous fiance. We met her in the previous volume, but I didn't take much notice of her. She's a bit of a spoiled brat, actually. She and Aram and Airi talk, and Mariabel is dramatic and 'just wants to be friends with Aram', and then she gives them a box. Aram doesn't want anything to do with her, but Airi feels bad and takes the box.

At the end of the chapter, Airi and Aram are hugging and go to kiss and tell each other they love each other, when the box freaks out and some magic stuff happens. And we find out that the box made him forget his memories, like the ones with Airi. Airi is devastated, and Lei is a jerk about it as he works with Mariabel. Jeile comes through the mirror, and he is awesome.

Throughout the rest of the book, Airi is determined to get Aram back, and Mariabel is a spoiled brat and Lei is a jerk and no help. Aram is confused through most of it. He doesn't know that Airi is his maiden or wife, he thinks Mariabel is, and he knows that they're not telling him something. Plus, he feels weird whenever around Airi, and he doesn't know why.

They end up back in Astale, and Airi gets pulled through, so she's stuck. Raz wants to torture her, and Mariabel wants her to go away. Aram doesn't really know what to do with her, as he's mostly confused. There's an especially cute moment near the end between Airi and Aram, but then Aram gets a little freaked out and runs off. And it ends with Airi going into an abandoned, locked building that belonged to the traitor she's related to, knowing that it will help somehow.

Throughout most of this, Jeile is quite awesome. I wasn't too fond of him in the previous volumes, and I didn't take his feelings for Airi very seriously, but he's very sweet and helpful to her now. It makes me love him quite a bit, actually.

At the end, there's a cute extra chapter about when Aram is first born, and Jeile doesn't really know what to think about it. He feels that he's being replaced, and he doesn't really get along with Aram's mother, his stepmother. And in it, he meets Lei for the first time and gives him a rose, thinking that he's a girl. He's surprised and a bit embarrassed when he finds out that he's wrong. Jeile is an adorable little kid, though.

This volume got even better than the last. The drama got kicked up a notch, and there's a lot of cute, and hot, scenes between Aram and Airi. Jeile is awesome. And Airi shows that she loves Aram, and even when most are against her, she doesn't give up on getting her Aram back, even if it's a little heartbreaking at points.

I love how Hino fits so much drama and sexiness into such a short series. And I love it so much. I'll probably be posting the review for the next and last volume of the series soon, because all I have to do is reread it, which won't take long for me to do.

Review: The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti

3.5/4 of 5 Stars

 Publisher: Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Since being diagnosed with Panic Disorder, Jade DeLuna is trying her best to stay calm, and visiting the elephants at the nearby zoo seems to help. That’s why Jade keeps the live zoo webcam on in her room, and where she first sees Sebastian.
When she finally meets him, their connection is immediate, and soon Jade is drawn into Sebastian’s life with his son and his grandmother on their Seattle houseboat. Even though the situation is complicated, Jade hasn’t felt this safe in a long time.
Until she learns that Sebastian is hiding a terrible secret. A secret that will force Jade to decide between what is right, and what feels right. . . .

Review:

I did quite enjoy this book. I find books where characters have kids or are pregnant really interesting, and I would read more of them if I could find them. And it's especially more rare for it to be the boy that's left with the kid.

The book is about Jade. She has a panic disorder, and she finds that the elephants at the zoo she lives by calm her. She starts working at the zoo with the elephants, and watching them on a webcam at home. And then she sees a boy in a red coat with a little boy visiting the elephants, and she's immediately captured. She knows that he's going to be a part of her life, and she can't stop thinking about him.

She gets close to the boy, Sebastian, and she learns about his kid, Bo, and his grandmother, Tess. And some stuff also goes down in her own family, with her mother and father. And she gets close to her co-workers at the zoo.

I like Jade. She over thinks things, and she freaks out over things. Her panic disorder also causes her to freak out a lot, and I actually liked that. And she's insecure and a bit irrational, and she has her moments of immaturity, but was still smart. She just has some more growing up to do. She's very much her own person, and we get a lot of moments just in her head, which is actually nice, and gave me a good idea of who she is. I'm a bit like her in most of these things, so that might be part of why I like her so much.

I liked Sebastian, too. He's very sweet, and he's also unsure of things and afraid, and even though he has a kid and had troubles with the mother, Tiffany, he's still a bit young and innocent. (Also, he works in a book store. How is that not awesome?)He's good with Bo, and he's good to Jade. And he loves her. Bo is adorable, but not as adorable as I was hoping he'd be.

Her co-workers are fun. Damien and Delores are nice, and I enjoyed the conversation between them all. And her family. I liked her little brother, Oliver. I didn't really like her mother, but I guess she got better at the end of the book. I don't think what she did was good, though, and even though I understand why she did it, I don't think that really forgives it.

And I do like the ending. I understand why she didn't go with him first thing, and she still needed to grow up some. But I would have liked more to the story, like a sequel or something. I want more of Jade and Sebastian and Bo. And to see what happens with Sebastian and Tiffany. Just more, really.

Caletti's writing is very smooth, and has a little bit of a subtle feel to it. I don't want to compare it, but it's a little bit like Sarah Dessen's, only slower. And the story progresses a little slowly. I should like that she doesn't only focus on Jade and Sebastian, but I would have liked more time for just them. More swoon-worthy moments. But instead there are a lot of moments of Jade by herself, and with her family and at school and at work. And it's good that her whole world isn't all about Sebastian, but I still wanted more of him.

So, even with wanting more of Sebastian everything else, I really did like the book. And want a sequel, badly.