Manga Review: Black Butler, Volume 28, by Yana Toboso

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: October 2019

Volumes: 29+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 27. 29.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The truth of what happened three years ago comes to light, as the past Ciel sought to erase is thrust back into his face. The revelations shake the Phantomhive manor to its foundations, and even Sebastian, the resident devil, can only look on in admiration at the consummate gamesmanship at play. The Phantomhive blood, it would seem, runs thick with the thirst for vengeance...

Review:

This was kind of a crazy volume to read.

We get to the end of the back story, and then the rest of the reveals happen. We find out how this “real” Ciel is here, what happened that our Ciel doesn't know, and what he's been doing behind the scenes to ruin things for our Ciel. Some of it, I think, is supposed to make sense but kind of just feels convenient. And then there's this moment with Elizabeth that I just hate. I truly love her, and I love her and Ciel together, and I do not like this new stance of hers. I'm not okay with any of this.

Everything is turned over on Ciel's head and twisted to make him seem terrible, and it's honestly one of the few times we get to see him truly shaken. He can't protest to much of this, and he doesn't even really know how to react at first. It takes a bit for it to really hit him and for him to decide what to do about it.

I will admit that I think some of this plot has lost its momentum at this point. I was behind it at first, but now it's lost me a little bit. I'm still going to stick with it, and I want to know where it's going next, but I'm not as behind all of this as I was previously.

Manga Review: Black Butler, Volume 27, by Yana Toboso

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: January 2019

Volumes: 28+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 26. 28.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Three years prior, on his tenth birthday, Earl Ciel Phantomhive lost everything...but he was not alone. From the attack on the Phantomhive manor to the moment the contract with a certain devil was made, Ciel starkly recounts all that has come to pass...leaving all who bear witness breathless!

Review:

We finally get the full story in this volume. We see what happened that killed the other Phantomhives, what happened to Ciel's twin, and how he was led to create the agreement with Sebastian, the devil.

It's an interesting new look at Sebastian and Ciel's characters. Ciel was just a child, and he was put through unspeakable things, to the point where he would do anything to survive, and was put in a situation that makes survival the only option. Sebastian has always been a rather upstanding butler, with only glimpses of his real power and the real devil inside him. We get to see quite a bit more of that in this volume. We see his formless demonic self, in pieces, and we get to see him negotiate terms with Ciel. While he usually seems to be on Ciel's side, he is also a smart, manipulative demon.

This still leaves the present quite a mystery. While we know what happened on Ciel's side up to this point, it doesn't answer how his twin is currently alive and back at the mansion.

While I know that this plot could be too much, too cliché or whatever, it doesn't bother me. I think the depth put into it, the dark reasoning and everything combined with how it's shown, works. At least for me. I'm still very much into this series, and look forward to the next volume.

Comic Review: Gingerbread Girl by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover

Rating (Out of 5): ~2

Publisher: Top Shelf Productions

Release Date: 2011

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

There are plenty of established facts concerning 26-year-old Annah Billips. She likes sushi and mountains, but hates paper cuts and beer breath. She dates girls and boys, and loves to travel. She may have a missing sister, or she might be insane. Did Annah invent an imaginary sister named Ginger during her parents' ferocious divorce, or did her mad scientist father extract part of her brain and transform it into a living twin?
In this graphic novel, a host of narrators including boyfriends, girlfriends, magicians, pigeons, bulldogs, and convenience store clerks follow Annah through a night in her life in an attempt to determine that one last fact about Annah...and the Gingerbread Girl.

Review:

I thought that this was going to be a fun, quirky indie comic when I picked it up from my local bookstore. I'm a little disappointed by how it turned out.

We meet Annah, who believes she has a sister, made out of her own brain, who has disappeared. She's constantly looking for her, and believes that she has no emotions without her, and thus refuses to make any lasting decisions.

We meet Annah as the book starts, but then the story quickly shifts to other characters in the scene, who introduce themselves and talk to the reader, and talk about their experience with Annah. We get some science for what Annah thinks happened to her, and how it might have come about. The switching perspectives reminded me a bit of A Little Something Different, only not done quite as well, and more directly told to the reader.

Given how far-fetched the idea of her sister turns out to be, the thrown in science seems even more hard to believe. And then we get no answers—everyone refuses to answer any questions, as most of them don't have answers. Nothing gets solved, and we only get a base understanding of Annah and any of the other characters.

After I got to the end of the book, I felt a bit like I'd wasted my time. The whole concept was implausible to me, it didn't seem to have any real depth, and then nothing was answered or solved in the end. Not even her wish-washy attitude toward her dates. I'm a bit annoyed, possibly at how disappointed I was. The only part of it I did appreciate was the bisexuality of Annah.

Novel Review: Secret (Elemental, #4) by Brigid Kemmerer

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Kensington Teen

Release Date: January 2014

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

EARTH. FIRE. AIR. WATER.

Nick Merrick is stretched to breaking point. He's trying to keep his grades sky-high or he won't get in to college. He's trying to keep his brother's business afloat or the Merricks will be out on the street. He's trying to keep the secret of where he's going in the evenings from his twin brother Gabriel - or he fears he'll lose his family. And he's trying to keep his mind off the hot, self-assured dancer who is his 'girlfriend's' partner.

And then Quinn takes to hanging around his sworn enemy, and an Elemental Guide is counting the hours until he can try again to kill the Merrick brothers. Storms are brewing. On all sides.

SECRETS IN THE WIND. DANGER IN THE AIR.

The Cover:

I rather like this cover. It matches the others in the series, and I like that it gives you a good idea of what you're getting. And since there are two main characters, two main stories, in this book, I like that there are two people on the cover. I like it.

Review:

I haven’t yet gotten to the previous book, but I did really enjoy the first two. And now I’m a little afraid of what happened in Spirit. But even given that, I really enjoyed this book.

The whole Elemental business is getting serious, with a couple developments in this book. And the next one is the last, so I’m expecting there to be even more in that one.

But my favorite parts of this book is the character stuff.

Firstly I want to talk about Quinn. She’s pretending to be Nick’s girlfriend, because she’s afraid of really finding someone she likes. And then, because of Nick, she stumbles upon Tyler. And Tyler is a jerk, upon first impression and many others. He’s Nick’s enemy, and Quinn doesn’t like him from the beginning. And yet… she keeps going back, and he starts opening up. And even with Nick’s romance, this is the one that got to me. Tyler is there for Quinn when she needs someone, when she needs a place to get away from her family. And I loved it.

Then there’s Nick’s story. And I won’t spoil the big secret of his, but it’s important. And his romance with it is so sweet, and what he needs so badly. But telling his brothers is the hard part, and I feel so bad for how scared he is. Especially when Gabriel, his twin, reacts so badly.

I loved the depth and the surprise in this book. This takes the story line so much deeper, so much more intense. And I just loved it.

This book was amazing, and it has definitely made me want to pick up the other two left for me.

Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!!, Volume 1, by Go Ikeyamada

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: June 2, 2015

Volumes: 11+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kobayashi Mitsuru and Kobayashi Megumi are twin brother and sister, with identical faces but radically different personalities: while Mitsuru is a confident charmer who wins the hearts of dozens of girls, Megumi is an average otaku who is in love with a virtual hero. Yet, the two's lives start to turn upside down after Mitsuru and Megumi switch roles...

A complicated love story starts!

Review:

I’m not even sure what I was expecting with this series anymore, but I was a bit surprised.

This is about twins Megumu and Mitsuru. Mitsuru goes to an all-boys school, and when he starts failing in one of his subjects, he forces Megumu to switch places with him for a week. And on the first day, Mitsuru falls in love with a deaf girl, and gets Megumu in trouble with her popular supermodel classmate. While Megumu has to deal with the consequence of real Mitsuru hitting on a classmates girlfriend, and also falling in love with a boy with an eye-patch.

I’m intrigued, mostly. Mitsuru is a playboy with a big ego, and he’s in the kendo club. He’s learning how to tone that down, though, and use it for good, when he falls in love. And the girl he likes is a sweetheart. I like that he’s learning sign language to communicate with her.

Megumu is a lot of fun; she’s very girly and peppy, a bit of a crybaby, but I like her a lot. The guy she likes has a bit of a hard outside, but I think I’m going to like him as well.

There seems to be a bit of a mystery going on, there’s the cross-dresser element, twins, plus the love interests. The humor is very exaggerated, and it's a bit much at times; I'm hoping it calms down a little. I wasn’t expecting both twins to get so much attention and their own love interests, and that this is going to bring the twins closer together. I’m liking it so far, and look forward to the next one.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, and Erik Jansen from MediaLab PR. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Ceres: Celestial Legend, Volume 2, by Yuu Watase

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Media (Shojo)

Volumes: 14

Spoilers?: Vague.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Here is another adventure by the author of the popular Fushigi Yugi manga series. Ayas trip home turns tragic when her mother lunges at her with a knife, thus triggering her sudden transformation into Ceres. Then Ayas joyous reunion with Aki is short-lived when Ceres angrily emerges. Later Aya travels to the Mikage Corporation headquarters, knowing that the powerful company is being targeted for destruction.

Review:

I don’t really know how I feel about this series at the moment. Not very strongly, I do know that. Not very impressed, either, or eager to start the next one. I’m sure that it will get better the more I read, though.

So, we saw some more of Aki, Aya’s brother, who decides to escape for a little while to find Aya. Also, Aya is being possessed by Ceres, her ancestor, at times of inconvenience, like when her brother is around and Ceres wants to kill him. And the only way that Ceres seems to go away is when Yuhi kisses her, which is weird. Also, the romance between Aya and Toya has advanced, which I’m not sure is good or bad. I know that it’s much too fast, too insta-love, but I’m on the way to accepting it. Aya is also still going to school, some of the time, with Yuhi, which is weird. But, I mean, that seems to always happen, even though, really, what’s the point?

Anyway, some more bad stuff happened. Aya’s cousin is trying to overthrow her grandfather, which isn’t good, and he kidnapped Aya, kind of, at one point. I’m not going to go into too much detail, but not-good stuff is happening. And yet I’m also not very excited for it. I don’t know.

I am interested in the characters, a bit, I guess. I wouldn’t say that I really like anyone, but I’m interested in Yuhi, and Suzumi, his sister-in-law, and Toya (him especially, probably), and Aki and Aya’s changes. I do find Mrs. Q, Suzumi and Yuhi’s servant or whatever, rather entertaining.

This is just alright for the moment. There are still too many italics in the dialogue, which makes it a bit hard, and annoying, to read at times. I’m hoping to get more into it, to enjoy it more, as I get farther into the series, which I think will actually happen. We’ll see, anyway.