Review: Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin

3 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Walker Books (Bloomsbury)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fans of romance don't need to look any further than the fauxmance brewing between teen idols Charlie Tracker and Fielding Withers-known on their hit TV show as Jenna and Jonah, next-door neighbors flush with the excitement of first love. But it's their off-screen relationship that has helped cement their fame, as passionate fans follow their every PDA. They grace the covers of magazines week after week. Their fan club has chapters all over the country. The only problem is their off-screen romance is one big publicity stunt, and Charlie and Fielding can't stand to be in the same room. Still, it's a great gig, so even when the cameras stop rolling, the show must go on, and on, and on. . . . 
Until the pesky paparazzi blow their cover, and Charlie and Fielding must disappear to weather the media storm. It's not until they're far off the grid of the Hollywood circuit that they realize that there's more to each of them than shiny hair and a winning smile.

Review:

This was a bit different from what I was expecting, in a good and bad way.

Jenna, actually Charlie, is a bit of a bitch, and she's a bit too emotional, as well. When in her chapters, she wasn't really whiny in her thoughts, but some of the things she did seemed a bit whiny. And she got offended way too easily. I didn't like her earlier chapters, but she grew on me a little. At certain points, it seemed like we saw something deeper in, inner pain type of things, and then she would turn back into a priss.

Jonah, also known as Fielding, actually Aaron, is sweet. He can be a jerk sometimes, by reverting to some offensive comeback or ruining the mood, but otherwise I liked him. He's smart, and likes reading, and can dance.

Franklin's Charlie was alright, but I enjoyed reading Halpin's Aaron much more. He was funnier, and I didn't like Charlie as much as I could have.

I wanted more of their families, too. Charlie's emancipated, and it was obviously something that she needed to work out. She's still hurt by her parents, and I feel like she should have talked to them some. The same with Aaron. He's still somewhat close with his family, and there's a sweet moment between him and his dad, but he should have talked with his mom some. (And possibly cleared up the gay rumor.)

And we could have gotten a bit more of the other characters. Like I thought we were going to see their fan again, and was thinking it could have been good for Charlie, but we didn't. And we didn't see much more of Aaron's other friends.

The romance was also lacking a bit. Charlie felt that there was something there throughout all of the book, even if she was still too sensitive, and Aaron felt some of the attraction. And there's a cute moment near the end of the book. When Aaron realizes things, I felt more of the attraction on his side, but throughout the book before that, it just didn't feel right.

The famous aspect also seemed a little unrealistic. It seemed a little fake, but I think most of them when in books seem a bit fake. And it doesn't really matter if it includes real famous people or made up ones, although I think made up ones are better. And the big scene at the end, the speech part, I don't think needed to be caught publicly, it could very well have been done privately.

I wasn't expecting them to go do the play, though. And I enjoyed that. The people they meet are good, and help them in several areas. (Part of my favoring this might be because it's in Oregon, but still.) Some of the other things I wasn't expecting it to focus on, was their acting. And how they felt about it and worked on it. That was really interesting.

There were several parts of the book that seemed like it needed some work, but I still enjoyed the book, and will probably read their next book.

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.

Review: Shadowland (The Immortals, Book 3) by Alyson Noel

~1 of 5 Stars

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ever and Damen have traveled through countless past lives—and fought off the world’s darkest enemies—so they could be together forever.  But just when their long-awaited destiny is finally within reach, a powerful curse falls upon Damen…one that could destroy everything.  Now a single touch of their hands or a soft brush of their lips could mean sudden death—plunging Damen into the Shadowland.   Desperate to break the curse and save Damen, Ever immerses herself in magick—and gets help from an unexpected source…a surfer named Jude.

Although she and Jude have only just met, he feels startlingly familiar.  Despite her fierce loyalty to Damen, Ever is drawn to Jude, a green-eyed golden boy with magical talents and a mysterious past.  She’s always believed Damen to be her soulmate and one true love—and she still believes it to be true.  But as Damen pulls away to save them, Ever’s connection with Jude grows stronger—and tests her love for Damen like never before…

Review: 

I'm going to talk about what happened in this book before I go on about how I feel about it. I feel a lot, and that could take a while.

In the second book, it ended with Ever being stupid and messing up the cure for Damen, and so now they can't touch skin to skin or he will die. I thought this was a cool idea and I was excited to see where it was going. It reminded me a bit of the tv series Pushing Daisies. I do have a problem with it, though. I thought that she was the recipe earlier in the book? Maybe she saw the recipe for a different thing... Was it the thing to bring her back to the past? I thought it was the cure for Damen, and so she should have had an idea, and known not to put her blood in it. But maybe I'm wrong?

Anyway, in this book, Ever continues to be stupid. She talks with Damen a bit, and she tells him that they can't touch. I see why this would suck. I mean, no kissing or holding or sex. What's the point if there's none of that, right? It would suck, but whatever.

[Spoilers!] The twins end up stuck in the normal world again, which they are mad about, and Ever doesn't want to let them stay at her place. And Ever decides to do this spell thing without really listening to the directions, so she messes things up and ends up making her and Roman connected. And she starts feeling things for a boy named Jude who works at the witch craft-y store, who apparently was also a part of her previous lives. I guess he was sometimes the reason they didn't work, and Damon is taking it that he's being punished, and so he is putting some distance between him and Ever, which she thinks is ridiculous. And near the end, she sees a tattoo on Jude and immediately jumps to conclusions and freaks out.

And the ending! The ending, aside from Ever herself, frustrates me. Earlier in the book, as I've mentioned, Ever messes up a spell and gives her and Ramon a connection, and in the last book, she messed up another potion-thing. At the end of this book, Ramon has Haven almost dying. He gives her the choice of the cure for Damon, so that her and him can touch again, or the cure for Haven, so that she can be an immortal like her. Usually, it would be a good idea for her to help Haven. I mean, girls have to stick together and all that. But Haven sucks. In almost every way. She's bitchy and stupid and whiny and mean and selfish. She's not very nice to Ever, and she's always on the enemies side... It was a stupid decision to save her. And yet Ever decided to do it. And Damon isn't mad at her about it, (which is good, I guess?).

I don't really have much of a feel for Damon. I liked him in the first book, or I remember liking him, but I don't remember why. And in this book, I didn't get too much of a voice from him, either. He wants to follow the rules and tries to keep Ever from straying from them too much, and he wants to do things right and believes in karma and all that. But that's just about all that's left an impression on me, which isn't particularly good.

Now, Ever. I hate Ever. She's stupid and a little whiny and stupid and selfish. She does a lot, and tries to do a lot and be helpful, but she just keeps making stupid mistakes. And not learning from them. She messed up twice with magic-related things, and she chose a terrible friend over someone who will actually stay with her, and she assumes something with thinking about it much. And when her aunt started dating her teacher, all she thought about was how it would affect her. Not considering much on how her aunt felt, like if it would make her happy. She just jumps into things without thinking about it or listening to anyone and never thinks about doing something different next time. I'm wondering if this is how Noel thinks teenagers act, or if this is just how she writes her characters to be. But I haven't read anything else by her, so maybe all of her characters are like this? (I hope not.)

I didn't mind Miles, her boy friend from school. He seemed to be one of the only people that's alright. Well, I do like the twins and Riley. I don't like Roman, but I don't intensely hate him, either. And Jude doesn't even seem like too bad a character. I don't particularly want him or anything, (like how I don't want anyone else in this book,) but I don't mind him. It's a little lame to make a triangle at this point in the series, but whatever.

And the writing wasn't bad. It didn't bother me, and it was a little pretty. It wasn't amazing, but still. Which makes it even worse, really, how much I disliked this book.

I really kind of hated this book, and I don't know if I'm going to read the next one. From what I've heard, it doesn't get much better. It sounds like Damon's curse-thing just drags on, and that's the only thing I want to see get solved. And, maybe, for Ever to smarten up, but I don't have any faith that that'll happen. I might just skip to the last book to see how things get resolved (which is saying a lot, because I don't like reading things out of order,). And I haven't read Riley, Ever's sister's, story, because I haven't heard very good things about it, either.

Manga Review: Butterflies, Flowers, Volume 5, by Yuki Yoshihara

2 of 5 Stars

Publisher: VIZ Media

Goodreads Synopsis:

Choko Kuze is the sensible daughter of a venerable family who went bankrupt. She joins a real estate company as an entry-level office worker, but her eccentric boss is harder on her than anyone else in the company! After hearing him inadvertently call her "milady," she realizes he was the young servant boy she knew as a child. At work he's a tyrant, but after hours he insists on treating her like a lady of the nobility. Is romance even possible for a couple locked in such a crazy role reversal?

Choko Kuze is in a relationship with Masayuki Domoto, her current boss and former servant. Masayuki asked Choko to move in with him, but now he can't bear taking his precious Milady away from her parents. Will shopping with Choko for lovey-dovey home furnishings change his mind?

Review:

[Manga contains Explicit Content.]

I don't think I like this series. I didn't really mind it at first, but now it's just bothering me.

It's not really my type of humor, which is a bit disappointing. It's a little to exaggerated for me, and there are perverted jokes, that normally I would like, but don't. And some of the jokes that Masayuki makes, and the jokes done to Choko aren't all that funny to me. Some of it is alright, but other parts are too dramatic for me.

Masayuki annoys me a bit. He's protective of Choko a bit too much, and too dramatic, and maybe it's the servant part of him that bothers me most. The way he's so cruel to her, and then acts so sweet. The sweet part of him just isn't as good as it could be, and the cruel parts of him aren't all that entertaining and don't seem to have as much hidden sweetness to them that I would like.

And Choko really bothers me. I don't like much at all. She's not very smart and she's a bit whiny and cries too easily... She's the typical weak heroine, and I don't like that. Weak main characters bother me, a lot, and especially when they're female. And she is very much that.

I want to like this series, for many reasons. It's Josei, meaning that the characters are older, out of high school, and it's more for older women. And the smut scenes! There were, like, three of them in this one book! Those are the types of things that I especially like in a book, of any type really. And they could be so much better, if Masayuki wasn't demanding in a way that bothered me, and if Choko wasn't so weak. I really want to like it for those reasons.

I've talked more about what I thought on this series than this actual volume. Most of the books actually kind of a blur for me. So, Choko was going to move in with Masayuki, and they go furniture shopping, but he has some conflicts about her moving in. And then Choko's family home burned down, and they're all very upset about this, and Choko cries. And then Masayuki has some sex-related problems, which is interesting. This isn't really something that happens in most manga, or books in general, and it's neat to see it happen for once. And then the manga ends with Masayuki and Choko having an intimate moment, and they talk some about him not calling her milady anymore.

I don't know if I'm going to continue the series or not. I might, because there are only a couple books left, but I don't know if I like it enough. And I don't have much hope that it'll get any better. I don't see Masayuki getting any better, nor do I see Choko getting any smarter. I hope they do, and I would only read more in hope of them getting better. (And, you know, maybe for the smut scenes.)

Manga Review: Arisa, Volume 3, by Natsumi Ando

3.5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Goodreads Synopsis:

Tsubasa thinks that her pretty and popular twin sister, Arisa, has the perfect life. Everyone at school loves Arisa—unlike the hot-tempered Tsubasa, whose nickname is “the Demon Princess.” But when Arisa attempts suicide, Tsubasa learns that her seemingly perfect sister has been keeping some dark secrets. Now Tsubasa is going undercover at school—disguised as Arisa—in search of the truth. But will Arisa’s secrets shatter Tsubasa’s life, too?

Tsubasa hunt for The King thickens when Arisa's class goes to a planetarium to watch an eclipse and The King makes a decree that turns the chosen against each other. Later, suspicion mounts on Midori, who asks Tsubasa on a date! Can Tsubasa save the day from The King, and protect the stars in her sister's sky from ill fates?

Includes special extras after the story!

Review:

I'm really quite liking this series so far. I've read Ando's other series, Kitchen Princess, and really liked it, so I was excited to see that another of her series was going to be released.

Arisa is much different from Kitchen Princess, though. Kitchen Princess was more about the characters and romance and food. Whereas Arisa has more mystery, it's much darker.

Arisa is Tsubasa's twin sister, and they were separated by their parents when they were younger and have been talking by sending letters to each other. And then Arisa visits Tsubasa, before throwing herself out a window and going into a coma. Tsubasa, wanting to know what brought her sister to this, since she hadn't told her anything about it, decided to pretend to be her sister by going to her school. Where Arisa was class president and had a boyfriend and a best friend and a ton of secrets. Her class also had this thing where 'The King' would grant a wish from a student at this specific time when everyone sends one in. 'The King' keeps picking very dark, dangerous wishes, and everyone keeps sending in dark and dangerous secrets. And the class is obsessed with it. Tsubasa wants to know what is up with it and what it had to do with her sister.

Tsubasa has teamed up with Manabe, boy from Arisa'a class, as well as Takeru, a boy from her old school. They're trying to find out who the King really is.

There's a bit of the book focused on Mariko, Arisa's supposed best friend, who seems to have something seriously wrong with her. She seems to be working with the King, until the King turns on her and Tsubasa helps her. The King is also changing the rules, so that he will choose five people's numbers and they will be the only ones able to send in a wish for him to grant. Manabe gets chosen, as does Mariko's.

And then they think it's Midori, Arisa's boyfriend, because he's acting really weird. But he goes on a date with Tsubasa/Arisa, and he seems fine. Then they get a transfer student, name Kudo, who's acting really weird. There's a scene on the roof with Tsubasa, and then another near the end of the book. He's talking to a boy, telling him to steal Midori's phone from Tsubasa, if he wants his wish to come true. He's hidden behind a curtain the whole time, and we don't see him until the end of the chapter, with a crazy smile on his face.

I'm really quite liking this series, and I want to know what happens next. The mystery to the book is really good and interesting, but I'm wondering how long the series will last. Because mysteries aren't usually things that can be dragged on too long, or at least they shouldn't be.

Still, I'm excited to read the next one. And I'm hoping the Arisa wakes up or something happens with her soon.

Manga Review: V.B. Rose, Volume 11, by Banri Hidaka

5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Tokyopop

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ageha gets the job of a lifetime - making her sister's wedding dress. Ageha loves making handbags and other accessories, so when one of her sister's dress makers hurts his hand she jumps right in to help! And thus begins Ageha's adventures at the fashionable Velvet Blue Rose.

On a whim, Ageha asks how Yukari and Mitsuya first met, leading to a heart-pounding and hilarious story! And as close as they are now, it's hard to imagine that these two friends started off on the worst possible foot. But, boy, was Yukari extra-cute back in the day. Plus, the history of Mitsuya's long relationship with Tsuyu is finally revealed...but is it too late to make amends!

Review:

I've read all of the books in this series that was released before Tokyopop closed down. I don't want to talk too much about Tokyopop closing, because I want to talk about the book. But I am still upset about it, I haven't gotten over it yet. Even if I was upset at them for some of the things that they did, I still bought several of their manga, and I followed a couple series very closely. V.B. Rose is one of them that I'd been buying since around the time that they started releasing them. The series didn't have me at the first volume; it took a couple, but once it had me, I was always super excited to get the next one. It's a very cute, funny, shojo series. And I love it.

It has my kind of humor, so that I'm always laughing at it, and I love the characters. I've read the two other series of Hidaka's that have been released over here, or at least the other two that CMX released before closing. And I liked them as well. I'm not going to go too into them either, since I might still review them, but I really liked I Hate You More Than Anyone, and am still upset at not getting to finish it. But I have high hopes for it, because we see the main characters in V.B. Rose every once in a while.

I am super bummed at not getting to finish this series, as I love it so much, and I want to know what happens so bad, and there are only a couple of books left in the series.

Anyway. In this volume, most of it is about how Yukari and Mitsuya met. They've known each other for a long time, and it was nice to finally see how they came to be so close. And it was especially funny. After reading all the books, I'm attached to the characters, and it has my type of humor, so the chapters could be about pretty much anything and I would love it.

In the beginning, Ageha asks how long they've been together, and they both protest at the way she asks. There's some bickering, and then Mitsuya tells her how they met, so it goes to a flashback. This takes up about three chapters. Yukari is very adorable as a little kid. And he's so mean to Mitsuya when he first talks to him, by ignoring him and then later hitting him. He's mean through most of it, until Mitsuya goes to the studio and sees him working, where he's loud and aggressive, which is contradictory to his delicate image. And we get to see Yukari's father, who looks like an older version of himself, and who is very fun and hyper-active, and we see more of Ririko, his step-mother.

Yukari and Mitsuya work on some dresses, and they fight and then make up, and then it's back to Ageha and Mitsuya talking in the present. I liked seeing how different they both are, how much they've grown, and especially how older, more manly, Yukari looks. Anyway, Ageha swoons over them, and then Yukari gets a bit upset that Mitsuya told her all that.

In the last two chapters, we see Tsuyu, the bead maker, and Mitsuya's background. Why they are the way they are to each other, and what happened between them. Some of it, at least.

Tsuyu and Mitsuya were close and liked each other, and were getting closer, when Tsuyu has to move in with her father. So she has to reject him, and Tsuyu feels terrible about it, and Mitsuya's still hurt from it. It's terribly upsetting, and they've never really talked about it. And the volume ends with Ageha freaking out on Mitsuya and smacking him as she tells him that Tsuyu has to go to an arranged marriage meeting, and then Mitsuya passes out because he hasn't been feeling well.

There's also a cute scene between Ageha and Yukari. Within the last couple volumes, there haven't been too many chapters for just them, which I was looking forward to seeing more of. I love them both and I love them together and I want more of them together. More swoon-worthy, cute scenes. Although Yukari can be full of swoon all on his own.

There are other characters that we didn't get to see in this volume, but that I will mention because of my lack of volumes to come. Like Mamoru, Ageha's friend, and her brother, Nat-chan, who kind of loves Ageha. And Sakura, Yukari's little brother, who looks like a little Yukari, is practically cuteness made into a little boy. And Kana-san, who is a little rough around the edges, and a little distant, but I like her nonetheless.

I love this series. I want more of this series. I miss this series, so much. This is the main series that I'm upset about after Tokyopop closed, especially because the release dates were already pretty tentative and spread out. Now I won't even be able to find out what happens next. I really want another company to pick up this series, or any of Banri Hidaka's other series'. She makes such good characters, and stories, and her artwork is so pretty. It's very elegant, gentle.

I don't know if I'm going to go back and review some of the previous volumes. Probably not, but I might review volume 12. And I will probably be reviewing some of the other series that Tokyopop left hanging, as well as some of the other companies that closed recently.

Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

4 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Speak (Penguin)

Goodreads Synopsis:

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, Will Grayson crosses paths with . . . Will Grayson. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, and culminating in epic turns-of-heart and the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high school stage. Told in alternating voices from two YA superstars, this collaborative novel features a double helping of the heart and humor that have won them both legions of fans.

Review:

I've read John Green's other books, but only David Levithans books with Rachel Cohn. I've enjoyed them all, and was looking forward to reading more. I should have read this a while ago, but I kept putting it off. I'm glad I finally got to it, though.

The book is mostly about two boys by the same name meeting. But it's about more than that. They are both having problems with themselves and love. And the book is also about Tiny Cooper.

I didn't particularly feel a big connection to either Will Grayson, but I did really like them both. John Green's Will Grayson has problems accepting love, and he's conflicted about things, and emotional with everything. But in the second half of the book, some good stuff happens with Jane, and then he talks with Tiny, and I liked him even more. Especially because of his talk with Tiny. David Levithan's will grayson has depression, so he's also emotional, but he has a hard time dealing with emotions, and people. So really, Will Grayson is emotional and conflicted and will grayson is moody, and they are both a bit self-centered. But they are also both entertaining.

Will Grayson has John Greens interest if things, so it has lots of Will Grayson thinking about things and realizing things. And will grayson is very funny while also a bit harsh.

Will Grayson has Tiny Cooper, and then Nick and Gary and Jane. They're all good. I like Jane for him, she was fun and works with him. And will grayson has Tiny Cooper and Maura and Gideon, and Simon and Derek. Simon and Derek are entertaining, but we don't see them a lot. Maura I didn't like, because of what she did to will grayson, but I spent most of the book thinking that we were going to get some insight into her and see that will was wrong about her, so I wasn't trying to not not like her. Now I'm still a bit conflicted, because I feel there's something more there, and that we didn't enough closure with her, but I still don't particularly like her. And Gideon, even though we didn't get a whole lot of him, I did like. And he's good for will grayson.

Now, Tiny Cooper. Tiny Cooper is gay and big and energetic. He has had way too many boyfriends that have lasted way too short, and he writes a musical about himself which he changes to be about love. He wants appreciation and he wants to do something good for other people. He tries to set up Will Grayson with Jane, and he tries to be good to will grayson. And he's also the main reason that the rating is as high as it is. Because of the musical, which is brilliant (I wish my school did plays that good and the people were that enthusiastic about it,) and because of what the will grayons' do for him. It was infinitely sweet and also funny. It was awesome.

I did quite enjoy this book, and I'm looking forward to reading more of theirs, as John Green's will be out in a couple of months and David Levithan already has several out.

Manga Review: MeruPuri, Volume 2, by Matsuri Hino

5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: VIZ Media

Goodreads Synopsis:

After Aram's elder brother Jeile fails to lift the spell on him, Aram is forced to stay with Airi. Meanwhile, an unsuspecting Airi recites Aram's full name in front of the mirror and is magically transported to Astale! But to Airi's dismay, the citizens of Aram's kingdom give her the cold shoulder. What do they know about her secret bloodline...?

Review:

In this volume, Aram has to go back to Astale, the kingdom through the mirror that he's from. He doesn't want to go, and so he protests and puts it off and refuses, but Airi talks him in to going back. They're both upset about it, but he goes. And then Airi end up saying his name and going through the mirror and into his world.

Lei, through all of this, and through most of the book, is against them. He doesn't think it's a good idea, and he lets them know this. Aram likes Airi, and he doesn't hide it from anyone. Airi is struggling because she likes him but doesn't want to like him, mostly because he's so young and from a different world, and this does not match up with her ideal. And Airi's however-many-great's grandmother was a traitor of Astale however many years ago, and so no one in Astale will accept her.

Anyway, she gets sucked into the mirror and stick in Astale, and then thrown out of the castle while trying to find Aram, and then gets to the festival thing that is being held, which is the reason that Aram had to go in the first place, and Aram sees her when she yells at him and he picks her up and the elders all protest. And she finds out that Aram is arranged to be married to a girl that is his original age. And she gets to taken to this court thing where the elders all decide that she's a traitor and should be thrown into the eternal prison, but then Aram breaks in and she kisses over his heart and cheek to turn him back to little Aram and thus vows to marry him, creating a mark on his chest, which saves her from prison. All while in her pajamas.

She doesn't know what to do about this whole marriage thing, as she can't wrap her mind around it, but then Aram talks to her, and kisses her chest, making a mark over her heart. Which is all very cute and sweet.

They get sent back to Airi's world after that. Where she goes to school and Raz, Aram's cousin, transfers, and then Aram transfers there. As well as Jeile starts as a teacher, and Lei does as well. They go on a school trip, seaside school, at the beach and all that. There are some awkward moments where Aram turns from big to little and then little to big. Raz keeps causing trouble for them, as does Nakaoji, and Lei doesn't like Airi much. And the volume ends with Airi and Aram hidden in a closet, Aram only in a towel and them almost kissing, as someone is opening the door.

I'm still having a hard time with Aram's age, because I believe it is mentioned in one of the sidenotes, that he's in around second grade. That is just way too young. But I still love them together, so I'm struggling to accept this.

Also, I love Matsuri Hino's artwork. It's very pretty and well done. Although there are some scenes, or just some panels every once in a while, that looks like she didn't go back and edit them fully. But aside from that. And I like that her characters all look different. I've read some of her other stories, and the characters don't all look the same; they have differences, so you can easily tell them apart.

I still love this series, even after all this time. I'm noticing different things about it now, but I still love Aram and Airi's relationship. I'll probably be posting the review for the next book soon, but I'm trying to not put them all up at the same, while also wanting to read them all at once.

Review: I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan

4.5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic)

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Here Comes the Bride — If She Can Pass Chemistry.Eighteen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She's really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That's the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother; a kind but distant stepfather; and a brother with a small personality complex. Bronwen knows she must have been switched at birth, and she can't wait to get away from her "family" for good.
Then she meets Jared Sondervan. He's sweet, funny, everything she wants — and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted too. She falls head over heels in love, and when he proposes marriage, she joyfully accepts. But is Jared truly what she needs? And if he's not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lilywhite do?

Review: 

I love this book. I love it so much. Everything about it, really, even the parts that almost made me cry. (Which is something of a feat, I will admit, because I don't cry easily.)

Bronwen Oliver is the main character. Only she doesn't want to be Bronwen Oliver, she wants to be Pheobe Lilywhite, or Bronwen VanHorn, or maybe Bronwen Sondervan, She doesn't particularly get along with her mother, which is understandable because her mother doesn't try very hard and doesn't like to talk about things. She got along with her step-father at one point but is mostly just a little distant with him now. Her father died when she was little, but she isn't stuck on it even if she misses him. And she sees Jared Sondervan again, who is an old friend of her brother. Oh, and her brother Peter is Jesus, at least in her mothers mind.

Bronwen is trying to find herself, and accept who she is and trying to deal with that her mother won't accept who she really is. I'm a bit more cynical than she is, or a lot, really, but I still felt a connection with her. She's already figured out the relationship thing. You know, the one that says relationships are always good in the first few months, and you don't really get to know a person until that phase is over, and so you shouldn't say you love them until then. In the beginning of the book, she goes through this type of thing with Chad Dykstra, who just wants to have sex with her and so claims to love her. She doesn't fall for it, and I liked that.

She has a best friend, Kirsten, who gushes over everything with her. She's also very wary about Bronwen and Jared's relationship, and she talks about it with Bronwen. It might cause some problems between them, but I still liked this about her. Because she's a really good friend. (And, yea, I'm a bit envious.)

A big thing goes down near the end with Bronwen's Mother and Whitt, her step-father. Her Mother is kind of really terrible. I have a mother somewhat similar, not nearly as bad, but similar in the not listening thing. But I kind of hate her, especially because of what she did to Bronwen and Whitt. Whitt, however, is kind of awesome. He's sweet and he cares and he's funny. And it's not his fault for what happened, it's her Mothers.

Now, Jared. I love Jared. So much. He's so very sweet. And he loves Bronwen. They get along so well, too. The conversation between them is so easy, and he just goes along with all of her jokes and makes his own. They're just so cute together. He holds back kissing her for a while, and he wants to get to know her, and he loves her and wants to marry her. I love him, and I love their relationship. I want their relationship. As well as Jared's family. They care and are fun and love Bronwen like she's their own.

This book is very much about finding love as it is finding yourself. Because Bronwen finds herself, accepts herself, and she falls in love with Jared. There's a part near the end with Jared that almost made me cry, because it's so sad and I love them and they need to be together, but I know it was coming and it needed to happen because they weren't ready. But it's still heartbreaking to read.

The writing in this book is in Bronwen's point of view in the future, so she's talking about it all as she remembers it. It adds to the element of her learning all of these things. It's very smooth and calm and a bit heartbreaking.

I love this book. So very much, as I've already said. I have a bit in common with this book, and I would love to have even more in common with it. (Like Bronwen and Jared's relationship.) I think just about every teenage girls should read this book, it is that good.

Sidenote: One thing that bothered me about this book, was what it says on the back cover/inside flap, about 'if she can pass chemistry', because that's very misleading. School has very little to do with this book. It starts at the end of her junior year, then goes into the summer, and then through her senior year, and yea there's a bit about her going to college. But that doesn't have a whole lot to do with her relationship with Jared. Where she's going to college does, but she's already pretty set on that, and there isn't anything about her not passing. Very little of time is spent with her even at school. The cover is cute, though, even if the books don't have a lot to do with the story.

Manga Review: MeruPuri, Volume 1, by Matsuri Hino

5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: VIZ Media

Goodreads Synopsis:

On the way to school one morning, Airi loses her mirror - one that had been passed down to her through generations - and suddenly finds herself in a bizarre situation. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Aram, a little boy from a magical kingdom, to have emerged from the mirror in the short time it took her to track it down!

Review:

I read this series a long time ago, probably around the time it came out, or a little after it did. It's one of my favorites, and I'm going to be reviewing it book by book as I re-read it. I'm not really sure if this volume is worth five stars, but I'm going to give it anyway. It's more the whole series is worth five stars, because I love all of them, and I don't know if I'll be able to rate each volume differently.

The book starts out with Aram waking up and hurrying into a mirror because Jeile is trying to put a spell on him. He goes through the mirror and into the human, or normal, world, as opposed to his magical kingdom, and into Airi's world. Airi thinks he's a weird kid but lets him stay at her house. By the end of the first chapter and into the second, we find out that Jeile, who is Aram's older half-brother, has put a spell on Aram to turn him old, only it messes up and instead he ages when in the dark. Mostly he ages into an older teen, around or older than Airi's freshmen of high school, while Aram is normally a little kid. It's not specified how old he is, but I'm going to assume it's around middle grade. Hope that it's around middle school age, because that wouldn't be too much older than Airi, even though she seems older. And the only way for him to turn back to his normal self, is by a maiden's kiss, who Aram decides is Airi.

Airi has very high standards for a boyfriend, because she's set on finding her soul mate like the one on a drama show that she's obsessed with. Even though this is ridiculous, I still quite like her. She doesn't give in to everything, and she doesn't just blubber and whine, and even though she isn't particularly strong, she isn't weak.

Nakaoji is a boy from her school that likes her, and she's just now starting to like him. He's sweet and gets embarrassed, and if the book was about him and not Aram, and if there was more focus on him, then I might like him more. But Aram wins that battle. Nakaoji has confessed to Airi, and she keeps getting interrupted from telling him her feelings.

Aram is adorable. He's still a little kid, mostly, for right now. He's a prince, and has had to deal with his older brother tormenting him all his life, so it's not too big a surprise that he's a bit more mature than most would be at his age, even if it's not specified. When he's little, he's very innocent and adorable. When he's big, he's still quite innocent and cute, but he's also very sexy, as the author put it. The age difference doesn't bother me too much. It didn't when I read it before, but that's mostly because I didn't pay any attention to it, and I was much younger then. It's kind of bothering me now that I'm thinking about it, but I'm trying not to let it, as well as trying to think of what age he is and how big of an age difference there is between them. I hope, and want to believe, that it isn't too big. And Aram has a servant, Lei. Lei doesn't say a whole lot, he's a little stoic and devious, and I like him.

Within chapter four and five, we officially meet Jeile. He's tormented Aram, and put several spells on him, and either has a hard time or won't reverse them. Upon meeting Airi, he calls her a mountain lily maiden and decides to take her as his 25^th wife, claiming her to be his first lady. She immediately objects. At the end of the fourth chapter, he kidnaps her. Jeile is very eccentric, and he is very entertaining when he argues with Aram and spews out odd things. I don't mind him, but there are other times that he bothers me. I want to say that, at least from the picture at the end of the fourth chapter, he gives me a bit of the feeling like the phantom of the opera. This isn't a very good comparison, I know, because the phantom of the opera is much more sinister and evil and creepy, and there is probably a better comparison that I can't think of, but it's the one that comes to mind. Just the way that he dresses and kidnaps her... But, whatever.

Aram fights with Jeile, and then Jeile reverses the spell, only we find out that it didn't work and so Aram gets to stay with Airi a bit longer.

There's an obvious attraction growing between Airi and Aram, and I'm excited to see it grow even more. I've already read the series, so I know where it's going, and it's only four books, so there isn't a lot of space to let things drag on into. But I'm still looking forward to reading the rest of the books and seeing all of the little moments between them all over again.