Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Book 1) by Carrie Ryan

3 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Delacorte Books (Random House)

Goodreads Synopsis:

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Review:

 

This is a weird book. That's really all I can think about it, actually. That it's weird. Granted, I haven't read very many zombie books, or seen much about it, but it's still weird.

The main character, Mary, lives in a fenced off village in a zombie apocalyptic world. (Kind of like The Village?) And she's 'in love' with one boy but has to marry his brother, and even though she wants to do something about it, she doesn't. And the Sisters practically own the village, and at one point she gets thrown in seclusion and takes a vow of silence. Throughout all of this, she believes that there are people beyond the fence, and she's trying to find out what's beyond it without the Sisters knowledge.

And then she gets out when the zombie's attack and fences fall and the village people freak out. She gets out, following a trail lined with more fence, with her husband and the boys she actually loves and his wife, who is her friend. There's a lot of traveling and zombies and death.

Mostly this book was just alright to me. I didn't not like it, but I didn't particularly like it, either. Mary was alright. I didn't get too much of a sense of her character, and I wouldn't really want to be friends with her, from what I did get. She wasn't much of a strong heroine. And the whole marrying the other guy because it was easier wasn't... a very good idea.

A lot of the book is them traveling and trying to find a safe place to be. And there's quite a bit of death. The end made perfect sense, but it wasn't really satisfying. Although I don't know what would have been satisfying. And I don't know if I'm going to read the next one. I probably will at some point, but it might be a while till I do. The writing seemed a little... distant, and slow, which isn't bad. But I have to be looking for that style in order for it to keep my attention, and I haven't been, I guess. The world that she created was... unique, with the religious parts and all. But I'm not big on the religion or zombies. The next one has different characters, though, so maybe I'll like it more.

Manga Review: Maid Sama!, Volume 8, by Hiro Fujiwara

4 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Tokyopop

Goodreads Synopsis:

What will the uptight class president do when the sexy bad boy finds out she works at a maid cafe! More hilarious shenanigans unfold, when the uptight class president moonlights at a maid cafe!

Review:

 

This series had to grow on me a little at first, but then I got caught up and was really liking it when Tokyopop closed. I haven't really talked about my feelings on Tokyopop, and I don't know if I will in a different post, because they're not very good feelings, and I don't want to blather on about them. Especially since I'm an amateur and probably missed some things, but I was not happy with them before they closed, and now I'm very unhappy with them. And since I like finishing things, or at least books, once I start them, and now I have several series left hanging that I was attached to... Whatever, I am going to start talking about the manga now.

Maid Sama! is about Misaki, the president at a school that used to be all boys, and so there are more boys than girls and she's very forceful with rules. She doesn't even like boys very much (not that she goes to the other way, because she doesn't. She just has a bias to women, and is still upset about her dad leaving her and her mom.), and tends to protect all the girls. But she also works at a maid cafe, which she tries to keep hidden from everyone.

Anyway, in the previous volume, Usui confessed to Misaki, and the first chapter focuses on how she's reacting to him now. She's usually very embarrassed and blushes whenever he's around, and whenever anything is intended toward them being anything more than friends, and now she's just very embarrassed and trying not to show it.

Usui is a supposed bad boy, but he's very stoic, in trying not to show anything. He doesn't show a lot of emotion, but he loves Misaki, and he's very open about this. He's possessive, and he'll fight anyone for her.

The next chapter focuses on Hinata, an old childhood friend of Misaki's. He's also very open about liking her, but Misaki only sees him as a friend, nothing more. This chapter is mostly about him and his feelings for her. And by the end of the chapter, he's decided that he's going to fight Usui for her.

I'm a bit surprised that I don't like Hinata more. I mean, he's cute and fun. And usually I go for the characters that are fun and free spirited and happy go lucky. But for some reason, I'm much more for Usui. He's just so great, and I love the way he can be honest and say things with a straight face and how he love Misaki.

Anyway, in the next chapter, Usui unknowingly helps out Misaki's mom, then stays for dinner with her family. It's her mom, who's sweet, her sister, who's also a bit stoic and funny, and Misaki and Hinata. Usui feels left out, and leaves early, because he's watching Misaki and her family interact so well with Hinata, and his hopes are being dashed. But then Misaki goes after him, wondering what's wrong. And while he's stupid and doesn't tell her, it makes him feel better, which is all that matters, really.

In the last chapter, elections at the school are on. And usually no one runs against Misaki for president, but this time, Kanou's class decide that he should run. This is a bad idea in many ways, and Kanou doesn't even want to run, but the chapter ends with the declaration of it.

And then there's an extra chapter about the three delinquents. Mostly it's just weird seeing them drawn out fully like that, since we see them with a more basic look at the cafe. But this little chapter has them in full detail, which is a bit odd, and refreshing. They have an odd part in the series, since we mostly see them fawning over Misaki at the cafe and her turning them down. And it's probably weird that they're a normal occurrence, but still. And then there's a last little chapter with a cute moment between Misaki and Usui, which is cute.

And that's it. The last volume released before they shut down. There's even a page at the end giving a preview of what will happen in the next volume. These things weren't in every volume, or at least not every volume Tokyopop released, so it wasn't a normal occurrence, so it especially bothers me that they were in some of the last volumes to be released. Because I will never get to see what happens in the next volume, what it's proceeding to.

I'm still mostly just upset that they closed with all of these series left hanging for us readers to wonder what happened next. But whatever. I really liked the series, quite a bit at least, and want to know what happens next. I'm hoping that someone picks this series up, but there are several others that I miss more.

Review: Party by Tom Leveen

~4 of 5 Stars
 Publisher: Random House 

Goodreads Synopsis:

It's Saturday night in Santa Barbara and it seems like everyone is headed to the same destination. The reason is simple: to celebrate the end of school. But for eleven different people the motives are bit more complicated—to be noticed, to hook up, to make friends, to numb the pain, to get over an ex, to say goodbye. As each character takes a turn and tells his/her story, the eleven individuals intersect, reconnect, and combine in ways that none of them ever saw coming.

Combine the poignancy of Thirteen Reasons Why with the energy of films like American Graffiti, Dazed and Confused, and Sixteen Candles and you get Party—a sneak peek into the lives of contemporary teens over the course of a single night. Alternating points of view and the timeless setting of an end-of-school party make this a compelling read. Those who pick it up cannot put it down.

Review:

I was a bit surprised by how much I liked this book. It's a short story in lots of points of views, and it's really good. Very well written, and all of the characters are interesting.

It's about a big party at the beginning of summer, and what is happening to all of these entwined people. All of the characters are really well written, with their own style and voice. There's a fight, and people getting drunk, and best friends being betrayed, and a small wreck, stupid boys and girls, and also a very cute boy, and a depressed girl. Lots of things happen.

I especially liked Beckett, Josh, Max; Morrigan was interesting; and what happened in Ashley's chapter was a very good, satisfying conclusion, even if I did want more of the characters. And I did want more. I wanted to know what happened with Beckett and Max, and with Josh and Morrgan, and what happened to Beckett in general now that she's patched things up with Ashley.

I really liked this book, and it was much deeper, while also very adorable in certain parts, than I thought it would be. Books about parties and with multiple points of views like this one has are usually not as well done as this one, so I was a bit surprised and very glad about it.

It would be amazing if Leveen wrote a follow up novel, but I'll just be content to read his next book. 

Manga Review: Love Attack, Volume 6, by Shizuru Seino

3.5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Tokyopop

Goodreads Synopsis:

Chiemi is good at many things, but a match-maker she most definitely is not! Never one to admit defeat, she sets off one last doozy of a plan to create a lovey-dovey alliance between Yukari and Ohno. Will she succeed in creating the second-most violent couple at school despite her best friend's reluctance?

Review:

 

This is another series that was left hanging by Tokyopop. Although I think it was actually licensed by Kodansha in Japan, and if it was, is it possible that they will release it over here? I really want them to, but I also wonder if it didn't have as big of a fan base as they would want. I really hope that they, or someone else, does, because I really liked this series, and I really want to know what happens.

It's about Chiemi and Akifumi, who are both very tough and stupid. They fight for what they want, and in the first volume, Chiemi has to get Akifumi to go to classes regularly because of a deal she made with her teacher because of her bad grades or because she's always getting in trouble. She's not afraid of him, and she's not gentle, and he instantly likes her. It's all very cute.

The beginning of this volume focuses on Yukari and Ohno, who are friends of Chiemi and Akifumi. There was some stuff about them in the previous volume, and it comes to a conclusion in this one. Or mostly a conclusion. Yukari likes him, and he is very oblivious to it. And Chiemi is trying to play match maker, which she is not very good at.

In the next chapter, Chiemi and Akifumi are wondering about sex, and thinking they're ready for it, and unsure, while their friends are influencing them a bit. Chiemi goes over to his place and makes him dinner, and they do some talking and things get intimate, where the chapter ends. And in the next one, they're in the same position, only now the doorbell rings and their friends are there to bother them. So they have a little party, and get drunk. Things get rowdy and violent, and when Chiemi and Akifumi get a moment alone, they get ready to do it, but fall asleep.

In the last chapter, Chiemi meets a new boy named Tachibana, who looks like her cousin Mizuki. He acts all nice and embarrassed in front of her, but at the end of the volume we see him talking to a friend, and it's obvious that he has something planned, and we don't know what.

And that's it. That's as far as we ever see, leaving the reader on a cliffhanger. I started reading this around the time they were releasing it, so I experienced all the pauses in release dates, and have been wanting to know what happens next ever since they stopped releasing it, which was a while ago.

I like how rough Chiemi and Akifumi are to everyone else and each other, but how sensitive they are at the same time. And their friends are great. The conversations are great, and there are other characters that I like as well. The art is pretty, and can get rough when it needs to, like in the yelling and fighting scenes. It's a bit like Kyousuke Motomi's, the author of Dengeki Daisy, in how her art can be very gentle and pretty, and then turn very hard and rough. I'm not comparing the series to that one, though, because they are very different.

I miss this series, as I really liked it, even though I don't think it got too much attention while it was being released, and we didn't get a whole lot of it. And I really hope that someone does release it over here.

Review: Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors

3 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Walker & Company

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the author of Saving Juliet comes a romantic comedy that is good to the last drop. When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother’s coffee shop, she decides to leave him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over. Little does she know that this random act of kindness is about to turn her life upside down.  Because this adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is really a guardian angel on a break between missions. And he won’t leave until he can reward Katrina’s selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Now if only she could decide what that might be . . .

Review:

 

I've read her previous book, Saving Juliet, and while I should reread it, I did like it. This one wasn't as good.

It's about Katrina, who lives above a coffeehouse with her grandmother. The coffeehouse isn't doing very well, because they have a competitive coffeehouse next door. Then Katrina helps a guy that looks homeless, and he says that he wants to repay her. And he means by granting her what she wants most.

Katrina doesn't believe him, and wishes for things that don't really matter to her, so he keeps coming back and trying to grant the correct one. There aren't big comical mess ups as a result, but more of things that just keep making the situation worse.

Like she ends up making her best friend famous, and her cat famous in a bad way, and her grandmother ends up getting hurt, and the shop just keeps doing worse, and she gets attached to her 'angel'. Of course, things start looking up by the end, and so it's good and whatever.

First, Katrina. I didn't get attached to her, and I didn't really mind her. She was just... whatever. I liked Vincent, her friend. He was nice, and a good guy. I didn't really believe that there wasn't more between them, though. It seemed like there was more to it, and if the reader was really supposed to believe that there wasn't, then it should have been written better.

I also did really like Malcolm, the angel. He was a good guy, and I liked him and Katrina together. And the scene near the end with the car was really good, and the ending with him was also good. Katrina's grandmother was sweet, and the old men that visited the coffeehouse regularly were awesome. I loved the banter, and just them.

This wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be. I had some of a hard time finishing it, and I didn't like that. I will read her next book, and I hope that it's better than this one was.

Review: Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

3 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Harperteen

Goodreads Synopsis:

Paradise wasn't supposed to suck.

Not the state of being, but a resort in the Caribbean.
Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen are all there for different reasons, but at Paradise their lives become tangled together in ways none of them can predict. Paradise will change them all.
It will change Jena, whose first brush with romance takes her that much closer to having a life, and not just reading about those infinitely cooler and more exciting.
It will change Dakota, who needs the devastating truth about his past to make him realize that he doesn't have to be a jerk just because people think he's one.
It will change Skye, a heartbreakingly beautiful actress, who must come to terms with the fact that for once she has to stop playing a role or face the consequences.
And it will change Owen, who has never risked anything before and who will take the leap from his online life to a real one all because of a girl he met at Paradise. . . .
From confused to confident and back again, one thing's certain: Four months after it all begins, none of them will ever be the same.

Review:

I didn't like this book at first, but it grew on me a little by the end. The rating would have been lower otherwise.

The book is about four different people, and it changes characters as it changes months, which it does four times. I thought this was a bit of an odd way to do it, and was wondering how that would work out, but it's done very well.

We start with Jena, who is on vacation with her family and Skye's family. Her and Skye aren't very close, and she's very jealous of Skye, who is an actress. She also meets Dakota, who is a jerk to her, and just glimpses Owen, who is obviously better for her. I did not like her in her chapters, at all. She was way too insecure. I guess some people are this way, and I'm insecure myself, but she was overwhelmingly so. She was always embarrassed about herself, and looking down on herself, whining about it. I could not stand it, and I almost wanted to stop reading because of it.

In the next part, it's in Dakota's point of view. He was a jerk in the first part, but we get to see inside of him in this one. He has more to him, but I still didn't like him too much. He was still a bit of a jerk. He got better at the end of it, redeemed himself a bit, but he was mostly just alright.

Next was Skye. She's an actress, who's been secretly been having a hard time with herself and life. It's mentioned in Jena's chapters that someone had been leaving not good notes in places, and we find out that they're from her. She's a bit fragile, and the end of her part leaves off with a cliffhanger, which we find out the answer to in Owen's chapters. I was hoping to like her more, and she did have some of what I was looking for, but not as much as I'd hoped.

The last part is Owen's. I did like Owen. He mostly stays to himself, and mostly online, as he has a blog. He's been talking to Jena online, and he finds out who she is, and that she knows his brother, which makes him a bit wary, but he decides to meet up with her. Normally, this would be a very bad idea, but since the reader already knows Jena, I wasn't too worried. Besides worrying that it wouldn't work. But he meets up with her, and is very adorable, and Jena is much more confident about herself. She's apparently gotten some good advice, and has been helping Skye out, and has decided to believe in herself.

The ending was very good, and satisfying, especially since I got to meet Owen, who is a cute, geeky/nerdy, inexperienced boy. And it made the rating go up, since I didn't especially enjoy the previous parts of the book.

And I don't know if Mackler wrote the characters like that on purpose, and I'm sure that some of it was, but it also could have been done better so that they were at least a bit more likable. I haven't read any of her other books, and I'm undecided on whether or not I will, (even though I know that I probably will give her another try at some point,) so I don't know if that just how she writes. I'm hoping that some of her other books are better, or at least have more likeable characters.

Review: Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

~4.5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Dial (Penguin)

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig.

The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.

The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf?

Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb.

Review:

I really liked this book. Like, a lot.

It's about Piper, who is mostly deaf, managing a band called Dumb. And she has a new little sister who is also deaf, only she got a cochlear (I think?) implant. And her parents spent some of her college fund to pay for it.

Piper was written out very well. She had her own voice, and I understood all of her conflicts. She was pretty moody, but I don't think I'd call her whiny. A bit angst-filled, though. But I still understood why she was that way, as she had very good reason. And she had a couple of very good, kind of self-righteous moments that I would like to have myself. And I like that they didn't last. And she was very good on her feet, and confident even while not actually very confident. She was a very realistic, moody, teenager.

I also really liked her family. Her brother, Finn, is awesome. He's adorable, and very sweet, and a bit sensitive. And her little sister is cute. Her mother is nice, while sometimes a bit not so cool. And her father, while at first was a big jerk, later was completely awesome. I wasn't expecting this, but he changed a bit into the book, and turned awesome.

The band works out very well in the end. In the beginning, they are a big mess. Josh is a jerk, but a very well made jerk. Will doesn't do much or seem to care about too much. Tash is a bit rough around the edges, but I liked her. Ed is awesome, and a bit adorable, and I pretty much love him. And Kallie is also quite awesome. While not really what I was expecting, and still quite timid, she's a good character. I like how the band changes, grows, and it does a lot of it.

Pretty much all of this book was amazing. The characters were done really well; the pace was good, while maybe a bit slow, did keep me interested. And the band aspect was good, and it's interesting, the things she learns, about herself and music and everything else. I really liked the poker parts, and the chess parts. And, while it took Piper a while, I liked the romance a lot. The part about Piper being deaf, I at first thought could have been done a little bit better, but I think they were mostly done well. I did find that her being deaf and being a manager for a band was very interesting to read about, especially since she's very inexperienced with music of any type. And I thought that how her going to talk to Ed was a little too fast, but with all the things that he hinted at, and with rereading it, there were several more hints of her feelings changing. And the coffee shop scene was very nice. Even the ending was satisfying.

It was all fantastic, really. I'm a bit surprised that this review is so short, actually, because this book was pretty much made of awesome, and I'm uber excited for John's next book.

Review: Seth Baumgartner's Love Manifesto by Eric Luper

~3 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Seth Baumgartner just had the worst day of his life.
His girlfriend dumped him (at Applebee's), he spied his father on a date with a woman who is not his mother (also at Applebee's!), and he lost his fourth job of the year. It's like every relationship he cares about is imploding, and he can't figure out what's going on.
To find answers, Seth decides to start an anonymous podcast called The Love Manifesto, exploring "what love is, why love is, and why we're stupid enough to keep going back for more." Things start looking up when Seth gets a job at a golf club with his hilarious and smut-minded best friend, Dimitri, and Dimitri's sister, Audrey. With their help, Seth tracks down his father's mystery date, hits the most infamous bogey in the history of golf, and discovers that sometimes love means eating the worst chicken-salad sandwich you can ever imagine.

Review:

 

This book was alright. I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped, but it wasn't bad.

It's about Seth, who is having a hard time. He's a boring guy on his own, but his girlfriend just broke up with him, and he's been seeing his father around town with a woman that is not his mother, and he's had a couple of fights with his best friend, Dimitri. But he's also started a podcast, the Love Manifesto, and has been getting close to Dimitri's little sister, Audrey.

Seth is alright. He's a bit of a jerk at times, but the thing I liked about him is that he learns from his mistakes. This is something that some people don't do a lot, and whenever he does something stupid (which is quite often, really), and it's pointed out that it was stupid, he feels bad and doesn't do it again. Like there was a scene with Caitlin, a girl that Seth is a bit of a jerk to, especially on his podcast, and she gets very pissed off about it. She does something quite awesome, and he feels bad about it. He doesn't even get mad about it. He also isn't too slow. Like he realizes how Audrey feels mostly on his own, and goes to do something about it. He does moan a bit about his father, but that's understandable. He also moans a bit about Veronica, his ex-girlfriend, which was a bit annoying. But she's a bit of a bitch, and I did not like her, so I mostly just wanted him to move on.

Dimitri, his friend, was alright. He's not a big jerk or too stupid or anything. But his sister Audrey, is quite awesome. The conversation between her and Seth was nice, and there's a sandwich thing that she does to him, which is kind of brilliant. And I did like her and Dimitri's relationship. And Kevin, a guy that she knows, was really interesting. Weird, but interesting.

Seth's father does something in this book, which I'm not going to explain in depth, but it's really bad of him. It's not what I was expecting, but it's not too much better, really. And I don't really believe him, either, or believe that nothing would happen between them. And it was sucky of him, and Seth's mother, for not telling Seth earlier.

One thing that really bothered me about this book, was the golf. This is probably just me, because I hate sports, of almost any kind. And there's several scenes in this book that are focused on golf, and I did not enjoy them.

There wasn't anything spectacular about the writing, it was fine. Also, Seth does podcasts, and parts of them are included in the book. They were interesting, and mostly just Seth talking about what's going on his life. And it gives a bit more insight to what he's thinking, since the book is written in third person.

So, I didn't love the book, but it was alright.

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 Loser's Guide to Life and Love: A Novel by A.E. Cannon

~3.5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: HarperTeen

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ordinary, boring Ed works a loser summer job at Reel Life Movies, where he doesn't even have his own name tag. He's stuck with "Sergio." Ed's only consolations are his two best friends. Shelving DVDs isn't so mind-numbingly dull with Scout cracking jokes, and after hours Ed hangs out with the superbrain, Quark. Life starts to look up when the girl of his dreams saunters into Reel Life. Ed knows he doesn't stand a chance . . . but maybe, just maybe Sergio does. All he has to do is pretend to be a smoldering Brazilian stud for the rest of his life. Simple, right? But . . . Ed's new dream girl has her own secrets, Scout wants to be more than Ed's best friend, and his buddy Quark wants Scout for himself.
Star-crossed crushes make for hilarious misunderstandings as Ed guides his life toward disaster in this fresh, contemporary twist on Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.

Review:

The synopsis of this book makes it seem like it's all about Ed, but it's not. It's also in Scout's point of view, and has some little bits in Quark and Ellie's point of view. I really liked how it was done.

The book's about Ed, who wears a name tag that says Sergio at a movie store, and he works with Scout, his best friend. And his other best friend is Quark. And then Ellie comes to town for the summer, and she thinks his name is Sergio, and he thinks she's beautiful.

First, Ed. Ed is alright. He's a bit self-centered, and while very funny, patronizes Quark too much for my liking. And he's very oblivious to Scout throughout a bit of the book, but not too much. But he lies to Ellie, and that's not cool. But, like I said, he's funny, and he feels bad about it, and tries to fix things. He also wants to make movies, and he thinks up movie scenes several times throughout the book, and while not hilarious, they are entertaining.

Scout, who's name is actually Aurora Aurelia Arrington, is his best friend. She's a tomboy, and has always been one of the guys, but she's also a closet romantic. She likes 'screwball comedies', and she is embarrassed about reading Regency romance novels. And while wanting to hate Ellie, she can't. I actually liked her point of view a bit more than Ed's.

Ellie is staying with her aunt and her husband for the summer, to work with a voice coach, and to try and get over her ex-boyfriend, who cheated on her. We get letters in her point of view, letter that she sends to her mother and grandmother back home, and letters that she wants to send to the college boy who cheated on her. She's hurt, but she's still very sweet, to Ed and to Scout.

And, Quark. His name is actually Quentin Andrews O'Rourke, but is called Quark for short. He studies the moon, and the sky, and researches things, and is awkward and smart and tall. And when he decides he's fallen in love, he reads three romance novels for research. He's very quirky, and a bit adorable. And he's one of Ed's best friends, and they are close, but they still fight at times. (Boys are so weird.) And Ed especially gets on his nerves at times, which I understand, and Quark is even a little awesome at one point in the book about it.

Also, all of their families are cool, but we get the most time with Ed's. His little sister insults him almost every time she sees him, and his mom makes lots of jokes, all in good fun. Quark's dad seemed nice, as did Scout's mom, and Ellie's aunt and her husband. And the movie store that Ed and Scout work is pretty cool. They were awesome outfits, and work with T. Monroe, who is full of worry, and Ali, their boss.

I liked how the book is put together. There are chapters for Ed, and Scout, and lab entries for Quark, and e-mails/letters for Ellie, and it's also separated by days, from June 12^th to the 22^nd. And when in the chapters for Ed and Scout, it's a little like diary entries, because they are told as the characters are thinking over the events later, and there are points when they ask rhetorical questions, like to an audience. While the questions bothered me a little, I still liked it for the most part.

The book isn't very long, either, so it moves along at a steady pace. Meaning you don't have to wait till the end of the book for all of the action, although the ending is pretty satisfying. While the swoon wasn't amazingly high, that didn't bother me too much. And, besides the characters, the comedy aspect definitely kept me interested. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, and how much different it was than I thought it would be. I was expecting more of an average, boy comedy book, but it had more variety, and while some things were obvious, it was still really good.