Manga Review: Stupid Love Comedy by Syusyusyu Sakurai

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: June 2018

Volumes: 1 Omnibus (3 single volumes).

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Suzu Sakura is a lazy author who can't keep a deadline, is twenty-four hours late to meetings, and falls asleep in the middle of crunch time-you name it! It seems like no one can keep her in line, but then she gets a new editor. Hasegawa's a super-mega HOTTIE, but his temper runs just as hot. Though he scolds her endlessly and they're quickly driving each other up the wall, will something bloom between this odd couple...?!An inside look at the manga industry, full of laughs and a little heartache!

Review:

Any complete collection of shojo series like this are pretty much instant buys for me. I like getting a binge-worthy dose of shojo in one go. And usually they're pretty good.

Sakura is a mangaka, and her editor has just changed to Hasegawa, who's hot but also strict and rather disinterested in her antics. We get to follow Sakura as she struggles to meet deadlines and falls asleep at all hours and runs off to do crazy things when she should be working. She's very dramatic and puts on personalities and odd acts to be purposely overly dramatic. She gets an assistant for the first time, and we all see her experience moments of intense, inspired work. And then we also get to see Hasegawa check in with her fully knowing that she's going to be passed out and behind in work.

I thought this was going to be more of a romance, but instead it's more of a tell-all on being a mangaka. We follow the process of making a manga more than we follow any romance, as a lot of this is taken from Syusyusyu's personal experience, of course with some dramatization and fictionalizing.

Some of her antics were just ridiculous, but I did like seeing Hasegawa grow to support her and believe in her manga. I also liked Shimada, her assistant. He was fun, and was a very good fit for Sakura.

While this was a fun series to read, I wish there had been more romance. This might be different had I gone into the series with different expectations, but I thought there was actually going to be a romance, and there were a couple hints regarding Sakura and Hasegawa, but it never went anywhere. Nothing even happened regarding chemistry or flirting or any kind of romance. It was disappointing to me.

Aside from that, though, this was a fun series to read. I liked Sakura's character for the most part.

Manga Review: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Volume 8, by Izumi Tsubaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: July 2017

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 7. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The air around shoujo manga-ka high school boy Nozaki rings loud with greetings between acquaintances old and new!


Mikoto Mikoshiba hides the fact that he works as a manga assistant, but Hirotaka Wakamatsu finally discovers his secret, and the two meet anew...?! Meanwhile, Wakamatsu meets Yuzuki Seo's older brother, Ryousuke, for the first time!! What will come of the psychological warfare that ensues?! Later, Masayuki Hori's true feelings for Yuu Kashima come bursting out!! And everyone at last gets to meet the youngest Nozaki sibling, Yumeko!!

Review:

There's a lot of inter-relationship drama in this volume. We get acknowledgment of who knows about Nozaki's manga and who helps with what, and who knows about it. As some of these things get cleared up and some of the puzzle pieces connect, there's some confusion and understanding.

Waka also gets to meet Seo's older brother in this volume, and there's some confusion regarding their relationships/dynamics with Seo, and then some horror and pity and understanding. Since Seo is one of my favorite characters, this was a lot of fun to read. Kashima is another favorite of mine, so having her involved, and then seeing her attempt to grow closer to Hori, is a lot of fun.

Waka also invites Nozaki's younger brother as a buffer on a group date. There's some misunderstandings here, as Waka is clearly seeming to forget the reason for going on a group date. Also, Nozaki's younger brother is quite a hit.

These volumes are so much fun. I've grown fond of all of the characters at this point, and it's fun to see them all interact and misunderstand each other and all the chaos that creates. It's great.

Novel Review: Kissing Brendan Callahan by Susan Amesse

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Genre: MG Contemporary

Publisher: Deborah Brodie Books (Roaring Brook Press)

Release Date: 2005

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Like many girls who read, Sarah wants to be a writer -- a best-selling author of romances. Her plan is to enter a local teen writing contest to be judged by romance writer Antonia DeMarco (author of Enraptured Thorns in My Heart) and win first place by dazzling Antonia with her passionate and soulful writing. What could go wrong? Mom won't let Sarah enter the contest, that's what. Then along comes Brendan Callahan, a rule-breaking boy she has never liked. Will Sarah let Brendan teach her to stand up for herself?

The Cover:

I am just extremely unimpressed with this cover. It's not eye-catching or nice to look at. The picture and the font just look amateurish. I do think that the picture represents an important symbol or scene in the book, and I'm annoyed with how it contrasts the title, but otherwise I don't care for it.

Review:

This was a pretty average, very middle grade, book.

First of all, I don’t like the title, at all. It’s emphasizing the romance, which is not the most important, or the most present, part of the book.

The age of the characters and their maturity level is definitely middle grade, but not in a bad way. It was overly angsty, but middle school like.

Sarah wants to be an author, and she has the potential. I do like that her trying for the contest wasn’t unrealistic, and the outcome of it made sense. I liked that her unreliability was shown and made her learn that she doesn’t know everything. The author that she meets drove me insane, though. She was a horrible person, a bad influence, and I hated how selfish she was, and that she didn’t really get a consequence for it.

I liked some of the messages and the way certain things were portrayed. I didn’t really care for the romance, or the humor of Brendan, as it was very elementary and not original at all, and he seemed pretty one-dimensional. Overall, it was a pretty average read for me, though. I’m not really in the age group for it anymore, though.

Manga Review: Missions of Love, Volume 4, by Ema Toyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: July 2013

Volumes: 16+

Spoilers?: Not really.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

FRAIL FLOWER

Now that she's back after a long sick leave, Mami Mizuno, the girl every boy in school has a crush on, never leaves Shigure's side. Never, that is, except for when she's pestering Yukina. She claims to want to help Yukina win Shigure's heart, but what is she really after?

Review:

This volume definitely kicked up my enjoyment quite a bit.

First, I’m finding Yukina’s frustration and annoyance with Mami, and then her frustration with her writing, very entertaining. It even had me smiling and laughing a little bit throughout the volume. How very uninterested Yukina is in Mami’s drama is just the best. She still gets upset at Mami and Shigure a few times, but overall she’s just very uninterested, and I liked that. It just happens so little in stories.

Akira is still a sweetheart. He’s possessive of Yukina, but I kind of like that. He’s always eating something, which adds to his charm for me. And I like that, even though he’s confessed his love to Yukina and tried to move their relationship forward, they’re still just friends and cousins who hang out. That’s just nice to see, I guess. There was also a scene in this volume where the two get a little (almost) hot’n’heavy, and I loved how he incorporated Yukina’s novel and his role in that story. That scene just really had me smiling.

Shigure is frustrating me. He’s just so adamant about not liking Yukina—and she’s doing the same about her feelings for him—and it would just be so much easier if they were honest already. Mami is definitely causing some problems, but she’s also still a bit of a mystery. We don’t know yet why she’s doing these things, what her motivation is, why she’s still acting all happy and smiley with Yukina and Akira. I just don’t quite understand her yet.

The romance, or at least the steamy scenes have really kicked up a notch, with some biting and then a little finger sucking. It was nice, I’ll be honest. I really liked it. And I really look forward to more.

This series is definitely getting better. I’m enjoying it more, and I’m even looking forward to reading the next one.

Manga Review: Missions of Love, Volume 3, by Ema Toyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: April 2013

Volumes: 15+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In class, she's a sort of zoned-out girl, and he's the year one class' most perfect, good-looking guy. But the two of them have a secret, and their extraordinary "love experience" will start now!

Himuro Yukina, known as the "Absolute Zero Snow-woman" is a cold and observant girl. In addition, she is actually a popular cell phone novelist who goes by the name of Yupina. Sadly, with no other human contact than her cousin, Yukina is unable to express more romance in her novels. Kitami Shigure, your so-called "typical bishounen", who is really a womanizer, has fallen into Yukina's trap when she blackmails him, and they end up "love-acting" for the sake of their secrets.

Review:

I am enjoying this series more now, and I am determined to get caught up in it, but I’m still waiting to be enraptured in the story. I’m just not really feeling Yukina’s character, or as much of the romance as I should be.

I am enjoying the romance, and even liking the love triangle (and forming square), even if I’m not connecting quite as much as I could be. I like the potential I see in all of the characters, and I’m enjoying what I’ve gotten so far, but there just isn’t enough for me yet.

I like Akira—he seems like a sweetheart to me, if a little possessive. I like Shigure, although he’s frustrating me. Shigure and Yukina are definitely oblivious to their actual feelings, or in denial of them, which I hope doesn’t last too much longer.

We got some family background for Yukina and Akira, and I liked that; I also just like Yukina’s parents and find them absolutely adorable. I’m intrigued by the new girl, Mami, and look forward to officially getting to know her in the next book. I know that the romance is going to get heavier, or at least more physical, in later books, and I look forward to that, being the romance junkie that I am.

I’m looking forward to being completely enraptured in this series, and I feel like it’s coming—I just can’t wait to get there.

Manga Review: I Am Here!, Omnibus 1 & 2, by Ema Toyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: (Omn. 1) November 2010; (Omn. 2) July 2011

Volumes: 5 single volumes or 2 omnibus

Spoilers?: No.

Buy Omnibus 1 here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Buy Omnibus 2 here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Re-readable?: Yes.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A SUNFLOWER IN THE SHADE

Invisible to her classmates, Hikage Sumino is an eighth grader with no self-esteem. Her only friends are the visitors to her Internet blog. One day, the most popular boy in the grade suddenly talks to her. Encouraged by this twist of fate, Hikage determines to transform her life.

Includes special extras after the story!

This is a bundle of the first 2 volumes and also contains half of volume 3.

Review:

This little series was very adorable. I am a big fan.

I really like Hikage. She’s quiet and shy and invisible and doesn’t know how to open up, even if she wants to. But she has a blog, where she posts often, with pictures she’s taken, and talks about her daily life and struggle with shyness.

You guys, I understand Hikage. I get it. I get it so much. I really feel for her. It’s part of what made this series so enjoyable for me, how much I feel for her. But she’s also a much better person than I am, particularly with how she reacted to the girl who bullied her. (I mean, I would have smacked a bitch, but not Hikage.) She gets scared, but she also learns how to stay strong, and stick up for what she believes. I admire that about her, especially given her little experience.

On Hikage’s blog, she has two people who comment with her, Black Rabbit and Mega Pig. They encourage her to be open with the people around her, take the step to talk to them. Which is part of how she starts to make friends with her classmates, and get closer to Hinata, a popular boy in her class who’s had his eye on her.

Hinata is adorable. He is a seriously sweet boy, and I really like him. He really has just the cutest, sweetest smile. When he smiles, I want to smile. And the way he and Hikage are so similar, and how obviously well they go together, is just fantastic. I love it.

Then there’s Teru, Hinata’s best friend. He’s a little harsh at times, but for good reasons. I really liked him. There were also a few classmates that Hikage grew closer to, but we didn’t really get to know them. Maybe if there had been more space, we would have; I would have liked to. Especially with Arisa, who seemed like a sweet, up-beat girl.

I’m not going to ruin any of how it worked out, or who the identity of the commenters on Hikage’s blog turned out to be, but I was pretty happy with it. I guessed it beforehand, and I was kind of hoping it was a little more surprising, but I was still happy with how it turned out. Also, there was a short story at the end featuring one of the commenters, and I just loved it. It was adorable and funny, and super sweet.

Overall, I really enjoyed this series. It was sweet, heart-felt, funny, cute and adorable. I really loved it. And it has definitely made me want to continue Toyama’s other current series, Missions of Love, which I am behind on.