Manga Review: MeruPuri, Volume 4, by Matsuri Hino

Rating (Out of 5): 4.5

Publisher: VIZ Media

Volumes: 4

Goodreads Synopsis:

All high-school freshman Airi Hoshina ever wanted was to someday live in a cozy home with a loving husband, and find joy in the little things in life. As a result, she makes it her daily mission to get to school on time because school legend has it that the longer one's non-tardy streak is, the better boyfriend one will find. But just when her daily routine is working like clockwork, an occurrence of fairytale proportions threatens to disrupt her grand plan.

Review:

This one starts off with Airi in the dangerous, locked off building, where she meets up with Raz. Aram is hurrying to catch up to her, and he runs into Mariabel and Jeile on the way, and Jeile helps him break in. Raz is being a jerk to Airi, like always, but he gives her the box, which she is unable to open with her strength alone. But she proclaims that her and Aram's love with be able to move past this, and if they can't, then it's not worth it. But Aram breaks in, and she kisses his chest, over the symbol that resembles hers, and he gets his memories back. There's some fun words exchanged between them all, as well. Oh, and Aram officially asks her to marry him with a flower in hand.

In the next chapter, Airi is trying to learn some magic. She has to learn to be able to pass back into her world, since her own mirror broke, but she's having trouble with it. She's not understanding it, and the other girls are jealous because Aram is hanging all over her and following her to class. They do make a scene after the girls call her out. But the best part of the chapter is when Jeile has to tutor her, and him and Aram fight over her. They are just adorable.

The next chapter mostly focuses on the two officially stating to the kingdom that they are married and that no one can do anything about it. And we meet Jeile's fiance. Jeile is against it, and he's also engaged to Lei's twin sister, and when coming into account his first meeting with Lei, this is hilarious. Next, Airi has to do a trial for Aram's mother, in which she has to go back home and find a ring that her great, however-many, grandmother left. Her and Aram and Jeile look all over for it, and Airi finds it in her mirror from a curse, and she gets to meet her as well. This is a cute little scene. We also see Lei, who has been pretending to be Airi in the human world while Airi has been stuck. Least to say, Lei is not happy about it.

Chapter twenty-one focuses on several things. It first shows Lei and Aram's mothers relationship. They have an odd one. Aram's mother, all on her own, though, is odd. She's a bit sadistic, and likes seeing her kids being tortured a little, and she scares Airi (which is understandable). Lei, though, has feelings for her, and she tortures him because of it, while no one else knows. Next it shows Raz, who gets to leave the kingdom because he fulfilled his agreement with Aram's mother, but then he gets sucked into a thing and stuck in the human world. He was summoned, we find out, by Nakaoji's little sister, who wants Nakaoji killed (which is very fun). Nakaoji isn't fazed, and we find out later that he descents from some guides who help people from the other side when they get to the human world. And apparently Chrisnelle, the traitor that Airi descends from, was also a guide. This is interesting, and I wish that we'd have gotten to see more of Nakaoji and what he knows. It has me intrigued, and now I can't know anymore.

Anyway, then it focuses some on Jeile. It shows him and Maruru, his fairy, and Nei, his fiance. (At least I think her name is Nei. It's mentioned in the author notes on the side, but I don't remember ever being formally introduced to her.) And we see some of his past, when he first met Maruru, and was put down because of it, but he had to show that he could do anything. Nei doesn't seem to mind that he has a special fairy, or that he has several other women that he has given flower names. Although she's a little unemotional, like Lei is. But she seems to really like Jeile, and when Maruru fully grows into herself, becoming full size, they both share him. This is a little weird, but not too surprising, and I don't really mind it. I wouldn't mind seeing more, actually. But I just love Jeile, a little bit.

And then there's a short story explaining Raz's situation in the human world with Nakaoji.

In the final chapter, there's a cute scene between Aram and Airi, and they go out on a date. (Sidenote: I love her dress in this scene. I am jealous and want to steal it from her.) It's Aram's seventeenth birthday, and there's a ceremony because he has now become eligible royaly, or whatever, and his marriage to Airi is announced. And we see Jeile with his wife and two kids, where he gives them a present in which Aram turns into a little kids in the dark.

One thing that bothers me about this is the age difference. It's pointed out that Airi is twenty and Aram is seventeen, but that doesn't seem as big of a difference as it was when they first met. Am I wrong? I don't know why, but this is still bothering me. Also, is Airi just going to live as long as everyone else in Astale now that she's there? Because she shouldn't be as slow with it as they are, unless they did something, right? Um, whatever, I guess.

Then there's a cute little story where Airi has messed up a spell and Aram finds her and helps her fix it.

I love this series, and I want more. But that's alright, I guess. I like Airi and Aram together. I like Jeile, all by himself and with other people. I'm interested in Nakaoji now, and I'm also a little intrigued by Raz and what's going to happen with him, and Mariabel, although reluctantly. Oh, and Lei and Aram's mother. They're so odd, and I wouldn't be surprised if something did happen between them. But I would want to read it, as well as what the King thinks of it all. As I was saying, I love all of the characters and I want more of them. And Aram is adorable. He's sweet and innocent, for most of the time, and he blushes so easily. He's so cute.

And there's so much to the story, even though it's a short series. I don't think that it got that much attention, either, which is a shame, since it's so good. Hino's art is awesome, as are her characters and story. There are so many cute scenes and lines in this series. Even though some things bothered me, I still love it.

Review: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Knopf Books (Random House)

Goodreads Synopsis:

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

Review:

I got this and read it around the time it came out, which was last year. I've read their other books and enjoyed them, and I enjoyed this one as well.

I seem to have a hard time differentiating Cohn and Levithan's characters. I know that they're different people, and I know what's happening with both, but their voices tend to mix in my head. So I'm not really able to say which of the two that I preferred.

Anyway, Dash finds a moleskin notebook in Strands (which is a big bookstore in New York, and it is amazing,) that has instructions in it. We find out later that Lily's brother made it and placed it in a particular spot in the store for a person to find, a person for Lily. Dash decides to follow the instructions, and then proceeds to leave the book for the owner, Lily, to find and follow his instructions. And thus starts the passing of the notebook.

I like all of the sightseeing in the book. The two are familiar with New York, as they live there, and do lots of dares before passing the notebook on. And they leave it in lots of different places, which is fun. They don't actually meet, face-to-face, till a bit into the book. And because of that, a lot is focused on them on their own, and their families and friends, and the dares. I especially liked the scenes in Strand, the beginning mostly, because I love Strand and I like how it's pointed out that the customer service isn't amazing.

I didn't particularly like the ending. It left things hanging, and while I see the reason, I still don't like being left hanging. Although I wasn't really expecting a big romantic scene, since I have read their other joint books, and they don't have big romantic scenes in them. More would be nice, but the characters and stories are good enough without them. But I just like lots of romance, so I'm biased.

I did like this book, although I could have liked it more. It's still a good Christmas read, though. There's quite a bit of family time, mostly with Lily, which is nice. All of the sightseeing and adventures are fun. It's a fun holiday read.

Manga Review: The Story of Saiunkoku, Volume 2, by Kairi Yura and Sai Yukino

Rating (Out of 5): 3

Publisher: VIZ Media

Volumes: 18

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shurei Hong, destitute but of noble birth, has always dreamed of working as a civil servant in the imperial court of Saiunkoku, but women are barred from holding office. The emperor Ryuki, however, refuses to take command, leaving everything to his advisors. Shurei is asked to become a consort to the emperor to persuade the ne’er-do-well ruler to govern.

Review:

For some reason, I'm having a hard time getting into this series. It's just a little too slow, or something. I'm starting to like the characters, but the story moves slowly. But it's also a historical story, and I'm not too big a fan of history, even if it is fiction.

In this volume, Shurei finds out that Ryuki actually know more about what she's been teaching him than she thinks. When she demands to leave, Ryuki locks her up in his room. Even though this is really a terrible thing to do, it's actually quite funny. And Ryuki didn't know that she was a stand-in and was only staying there temporary. It's adorable how much Ryuki likes her.

And then Shurei's poisoned and kidnapped, and Ryuki has to rescue her. Ryuki has to make a deal in order to get the antidote for her. After she wakes up, they talk some, and when Shurei is saying goodbye to everyone, Ryuki kisses her and confesses that he likes men and women, (because Shurei was under the impression that he only slept with men,) to which Shurei is outraged.

And then there's a small side story about Shurei, her father, Seiran, and food. It's about when Shurei and her father first take in Seiran and Shurei's mother has just recently died. It's a cute, sweet little thing.

There were other parts in the volume with the other characters, more serious parts that I'm having a hard time with. I can't seem to remember who's who, or what's going on with all of them, why they're doing what they're doing. And some of them seem interesting, I just don't seem to remember them, and I don't think I've seen enough from several of them. I'm starting to like Shurei a bit more, and Seiran is interesting, but I haven't seen enough of him, gotten enough of his character yet, either. But I do really like Ryuki. He's adorable, and fun, and he likes Shurei and it's cute how they always argue with each other, and he refers to himself (sometimes, not always) as 'we', and he actually knows what he's doing and can fight. I like him most. But all of the other characters, and the history, is making it hard for me to read.

I'm going to continue the series, but I hope that it gets more exciting, and lets up a little on the history and background parts. I just don't enjoy them, and I do want to get into this series. But for now, it's just alright (aside from Ryuki, because I kind of love him).

Review: Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley

Rating (Out of 5): 2.5

Publisher: Little, Brown

Goodreads Synopsis:

The worst thing about having it all is having to deal with it all-the good, the bad, and the just plain weird. Like seeing more of my dad when he's on the cover of Business Week than I do in person. Like the surgeon whose schedule was too jammed with professional ballplayers to deal with my busted up knee...until he heard who my parents were and miraculously his calendar was wide open. Like the pseudo boyfriend who was more in love with my last name than with me.
Everybody thinks Syrah is the golden girl. After all, her father is Ethan Cheng, billionaire, and she has everything any kid could possibly desire, right down to a waterfront mansion, jet plane, and custom-designed snowboards. But most of what glitters in her life is fool's gold. Her half-siblings hate her, her best friend Adrian's girlfriend is ruining their friendship, and her own so-called boyfriend is after her for her father's name. When her broken heart results in a snowboarding accident that exiles her from the mountains—the one place where she feels free and accepted for who she is, not what she has—Syrah must rehab both her busted-up knee, and her broken heart, and learn that she's worth her weight in real gold.

Review:

I didn't particularly enjoy this book.

It's about Syrah, who hurt herself while snowboarding. She doesn't really feel at home with her family, and everything isn't perfect even if her family has lots of money. She's dealing with her family, and then she makes a new friend who volunteers at a hospital with all of the little kids. Plus, her friendship with Age isn't working because of his girlfriend, plus she has a boyfriend that doesn't really want her.

First, I didn't really like Syrah. She seemed to complain, or think, about things a lot without doing anything about them. Like with her mother, for example. Her says things that bother her, but she never does anything about it. This is one of the things that really bothered me. Some of it might be because I could relate to the not doing anything, but I didn't really sympathize with it.

There wasn't much romance, either, and it wasn't very exciting. I did kind of like the scenes in the hospital with the kids. Also, I don't really care for snowboarding, but it didn't take up as much of the book as I expected it would.

So, I didn't particularly care for this book. Mostly because of Syrah, I think, 'cause I just didn't really like her.

Review: Kissing Snowflakes by Abby Sher

Rating (Out of 5): 2.5

Publisher: Point

Goodreads Synopsis:

Just in time for the holidays comes the perfect winter break read! This fun, sweet, wintertime book is filled with humor and romance.

The picturesque montain ski lodge is the perfect place to spend winter break...if you have a boyfriend! Otherwise, that cozy leather couch in front of the crackling fire looks a lot less inviting. Good thing that there are lots of cute, blond, sweater-wearing ski instructors around to choose from....

This fun, sweet tale of holiday romance on the slopes is the perfect wintertime read!

Review:

I also read this a while ago, but it was just alright. Nothing spectacular, and it definitely could have been better.

It's about Sam, a girl who is being dragged with her father, new step-mother, and brother to a ski lodge. She doesn't like her step-mother and doesn't want to be out in the snow. She meets a boy Drew, and fools around with him some, while a different boy, Eric (obviously the better one), is also at the lodge.

Sam was okay. I didn't not like her, but she didn't particularly stick out to me either. She wasn't the smartest girl out there, though. She could have been more open to her step-mother, and should have seen earlier than she did that Eric was better than Drew. (So much wasted time on him.) But even when she does finally get to Eric, it's mostly just okay. A little flat, and not as fun as I'd been hoping for with all the wait with Drew.

I just didn't feel a lot for this book. Most of it was okay, and the romance wasn't as good as it could have been. Plus, I don't really know where they're supposed to go from there, how things are going to work out past the sky lodge. They like each other, but it wasn't all that steamy or romantic. The book overall wasn't all that exciting, either, though. There just wasn't enough for me.

I still get the image of the kissing snowflakes scene between her and her step-mother in my head every once in a while, though. So there's that. Well, that and the dragging on with Drew, and her holding hands with Eric in the woods near the end, is mostly what sticks out in my head. None of the scenes are particularly good things about the book, but still.

Manga Review: Papillon, Volume 3, by Miwa Ueda

Rating (Out of 5): 3

Publisher: Del Rey

Volumes: 8

Goodreads Synopsis:

ENEMY SISTER?

Shy tomboy Ageha has decided to make all her dreams come true. Thanks to her inspiring (and very attractive!) guidance counselor, Kyû-chan, Ageha is taking total control of her life. But she has one major obstacle to overcome: Hana, her twin sister, who’s jealous of Ageha’s amazing transformation. And Hana will stop at nothing to ruin her sister’s life!

Review:

This volume focused more on Ageha and Hayato's relationship. Within the first chapter, Hayato mistakes Hana for Ageha, and so Hana takes advantage and acts like a complete whiny brat to him. He decides to break things off with Ageha, which she is very upset about since she doesn't know what she did wrong. Also, another counselor (someone who also works at the school or something. We only see him for this one scene, and are never really introduced,) talks to her and gets it in her head that a counselor/patient relationship is bad. That if the counselor starts a close relationship with their patient, then they're failing with the therapy because therapy is what needs to help the patient, not the relationship. Ageha gets all upset about it, thinking that Hayato doesn't actually like her and was just being nice when he accepted. (While talking to the counselor, before he goes off on counselor/patient relationships being bad, Ageha states "But, but... can't they be in a relationship if there's chemistry between them?" This is one of the stupidest things I've read in a while. I mean, really? It's like a teacher/student relationship. They're usually prohibited, it doesn't matter how they think they feel about each other. How does she not already understand that?) And then she gets sick, which is when the whole mess with her sister starts. After a couple of chapter where everything just gets worse, they realize their mistake and make up. Ageha also meets Hayato's supervisor, who gives some good advice that makes her rethink some things. Also, Hana confesses to Hayato that she doesn't like seeing Ageha happy, which is why she did all this. (I guess Ueda had her openly confess this to him because he's going to be the one to help Ageha grow up, or something?)

Most of this could have been resolved had the two talked things over. But they didn't, and Ageha just kept running away and not trying to find out why he had suddenly changed his mind. And Hayato didn't try to find out why she was suddenly acting like a different person. Hayato's reason isn't as understandable as Ageha's is, with all of her low self-esteem.

Anyway, after they have made up, Ageha starts bothering him with text messages. And she believes something Hana has told her and overreacts, which Hayato resolves with a sentence. I hope that she doesn't continue to fall for things as she has been. Hayato calls her honest, which is kind of true, but she's also stupid. She makes up with him by giving him a gift and talking to him, which is a little cute (and stupid).

Things with Ryusei are also being brought up. He's having problems with Hana, with her being self-centered and constantly bothering him. He's been talking with Ageha and moping about Hana, and it's obvious that some things are going to happen between him and Ageha. Hana does this sob story thing to him, claiming that Ageha has stolen her boyfriend before, which is totally fake. (It is, right? I don't believe it, at least. But maybe something will be revealed later?) And then the last chapter is about Ageha and Hayato kissing. She sees him kiss someone else, even if it was the girl that forced it and it took him by surprise. He doesn't think it's as big of a deal as she does, and says that it might happen again, since he's a flirt and a counselor, which upsets her. So she runs off to Ryusei (it is her, right?) with her hair in pigtails and her old glasses, and she's still upset and is leaning in to kiss him as the volume ends.

This series is full of ridiculousness. It's all over-exaggerated and stupid, and I still don't like Ageha very much. I really don't like Hana. She doesn't even have much reason for what she's doing, unless that's explored more later. It would be nice if her part of the series ended soon and something else comes up, just so it doesn't drag on too long. And Hayato is alright, still. I kind of like Ryusei, and I don't know why. I'm warming up to him, even though he's a little pathetic and I'm probably going to end up not liking him at all later. And I'm starting to wonder what Hayato sees in Ageha. He's older than her and in college, training to be a counselor, while she's an immature high school student. I don't really see the attraction.

So, overall, it hasn't got much better. It's still terrible. More drama has unfolded, and more is probably to come. Or definitely to come. And I have the next two (one and an omnibus) books, so I will continue reading. I have low hopes, but hopes nonetheless, that it will get better. Or at least hopes that I'll find a character I like, that will have made this worth reading. Maybe Ageha's friends? They seemed nice... *wishful thinking*

Review: Secret Santa by Sabrina James

Rating (Out of 5): 3 

Publisher: Point

Goodreads Synopsis:

A tale of love, romance, confusion, and Christmas perfectly timed for the holiday season.

Noelle, a hopeless romantic, just knows that her gifts have to be from her senior crush! And geeky Froggy thinks the game is the perfect way to get super-popular Celia to fall for him...except she thinks his gifts are from Jake, the school's resident bad boy, and starts to crush on him! Romantic mishaps abound, but all is revealed the night of the Winter Dance, where there's more than one surprise waiting under the mistletoe!

Review: 

 

First of all, this is a girly Christmas story. It's a little immature, childish, and exaggerated. There are way too many exclamation points used, for instance. I read it several years ago, and I enjoyed it. It's full of fluff and not a whole lot of substance other than cute romance. I know this, but I still mostly enjoyed it.

It jumps around to several different points of view. And it's centered around a secret Santa thing their school is doing. (Do schools actually do this kind of thing? I feel like most people wouldn't have the money for it, which sucks, but it would be awesome.)

There's Noelle, who likes Charlie but is Ryan, his younger brother's, secret Santa. She's a very crappy Santa to Ryan, but things work out. There's Lily, Noelle's best friend, who's just recently been cheated on by her then-boyfriend, Jason, and has now decided to take a break from relationships. She gets Connor, and ends up getting what his best friend, Simon, likes. And there's Celia, who's just moved here and ended up hanging around with the popular girls, Amber and Shawna, but who is not very materialistic and doesn't know how to get closer to Noelle and Lily and away from Amber and Shawna. She gets Jake, who she's been crushing on, while Froggy, her nerdy lab partner who is crushing on her, gets her. Shawna gets Dennis because Amber decides they need older boyfriends, but she likes Connor, her actual boyfriend. Amber chooses Charlie, wanting to steal him from his girlfriend. (Does that sound complicated? It wasn't, in the book. Sorry, if it is.)

Those are the main characters, but there are also a few smaller roles thrown in. Like Mindy, the gossip. And David, Froggy's best friend, who goes for what he wants despite the rejections he receives.

Quite a bit happens, plot wise. As in, several of the characters have to do some growing to get what they want. And there are a lot of mess ups and complications with the presents and relationships.

Despite the over-exaggerated way of the book, it was still good. What I was expecting from a short, girly book, really. It was fun. I liked Celia and Froggy most; I liked her predicament with wanting to be away from the popular, mean girls and be friends with the nice girls, and Froggy was adorable. But I like the nerdy types, so I'm partial to him. Lily and Simon I liked second most, after them. I wasn't a big fan of Noelle and Charlie and Ryan, mostly because I didn't like what Noelle was doing. That was just stupid and not okay. Amber I did not, as I was supposed to. Most of the others were mostly just okay, I guess. But I did like the variety of characters that are shown.

I don't know why, but I like these kinds of books. I've read some of James' other books, and liked them about the same as I did this one. Despite the not great, over-exaggerated writing, I do enjoy them, quite a bit. They're just romantic, fluffy, and good.

Manga Review: Love for Dessert by Hana Aoi

Rating (Out of 5): 2.5

Publisher: Aurora Publishing (Luv Luv)

Amazon Synopsis:

Rei is a cheerful, happy-go-lucky worker at an ad agency who loves sweets so much that she has whipped cream for dinner! Conversely, her coworker Kuze is grumpy, temperamental and not the sweets kind of guy. That is, until one night when a kiss mixed with cream forces them both to reconsider their taste for sweets and their taste for each other. It seems that the only kind of dessert with whipped cream on top that Kuze likes... is Rei! 

Five additional stories, filled with sweet and spicy love and sex, feature a woman with a craving for guys in suits, a love-starved lolita, a hostess with bad taste in men, a woman who consults a fortune-teller about her hunger for love, and a college student with a strange, but sweet, boyfriend.

Review:

 

I've been wanting to read the manga from Aurora/Luv Luv for a while, or, really, ever since I'd heard of the company. I wasn't very into this type of manga when they were being published, and I only started paying attention to the companies the last couple years, so I didn't know about it at the time. I found this volume by itself at a used book store, and was very excited about it.

It wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be, though, which I'm a bit disappointed by. I hope that some of the others released by Luv Luv/Aurora are better.

The manga is a one shot full of short stories. I didn't know this, but I didn't mind it. It's also full of smut, which I did know, but could have been better.

The first story, 'Love for Dessert', is about a girl working in an office who likes one of her co-workers, but is always staying late to work with a different one who is very stand-off-ish. The guy she likes turns out to be a jerk and she ends up falling for the one she's always working for. The title comes from the fact that the girl like whipped cream, he doesn't, and they play with it a little.

The second one, 'Icing on the Cake', is about a high maintenance girl who is thinking of dumping her boyfriend until she sees him in a suit. He had a not very good job before, and when she sees him in a suit for his new job, she assumes that it's a higher paying job. Anyway, they get into a fight about the suit, she goes on a group date and finds out that she 'only likes him in a suit', and they make up. I understand, kind of, having a suit fetish, but the part about only liking him in one wasn't done very well. I didn't believe it, and she was a high maintenance girl, which is never really brought up or done anything about.

The third story, 'Bubblegum Princess', is about a stuck up girl who's mom dresses her up in lolita clothing. She ends up falling for a boy who she knew as a little girl that stays with them so he can work as a hairdresser. They fight at first, and then she finds herself falling for him and apparently he's already fallen for her. And there's a subplot about how she believes that her mom only sees her as a dress up doll, which is solved in, like, a page. And also, she wears glasses, and on the last page, something is thrown in about them not helping her see. But nothing about her glasses was mentioned before that, and it bothered me. I just didn't like her very much.

The fourth story, 'Red Bean', I actually did kind of like. It's about a girl who works at a host club, but everyone at school thinks that she's a prostitute, but this mostly bothers her, and she feels no shame about it. She starts getting close to a guy, who everyone calls Bean because of his hair, and who gets embarrassed very easily. She finds it cute, and is usually the cause of it. She doesn't tell him about her job until he saves her from a stalker customer, and he's embarrassed but happy about it. But then she decides to quit her job, and even though she says it's because of the customer being pushy, it seems a bit more because he doesn't really like it.

'Sweet Future', the fifth story, is about a girl who is having problems finding a job and that sees a fortune teller often. Her boyfriend doesn't understand it, openly disapproves of it, and then gets her a small, temporary job tutoring a boy. She isn't getting along with her boyfriend, which I understand, because she's sensitive and he is all business. Anyway, the fortune teller, Joseph, is stalking her, and her student saves her from it. She falls for the student, who is adorable, and he likes her back. It still feels a little weird, though, because she's his teacher. I'm not really sure what the age difference is, though, and that might make is better.

The last story, 'Puppy Chow', is about a girl who is going out with an outgoing boy that likes giving her choices. She thinks, though, that he just can't make decisions, and starts going back out with her last boyfriend who chose everything for her and that cheats on her again. There's a big thing about her not being who she really is, which is true, but I don't think that just going back to the boy from the beginning helps her solve it. She does end up going back to the boy from the beginning, who happily takes her back, and he find some puppies, which is kind of where the title comes from.

This whole thing wasn't all that good. I liked 'Red Bean' most, as I said earlier. And I guess I liked the couple from 'Puppy Chow', and despite me, I did kind of like the couple from 'Sweet Future'. I liked the boy from 'Bubblegum Princess'. That's mostly it, I think. The stories were a bit flat, which might be because of the short length of each story, but it also might not be. The art is what bothered me most, probably. It was a little flat, didn't really show their expressions very well, and just wasn't very good. And I'm a little picky with art. Also, though, the romance and smut weren't very good. I was hoping it would be really good. It didn't get me all hot 'n bothered. Not at all. And it wasn't even all that romantic, really. It was disappointing.

Also, the picture on the back cover is bothering me. It's kind of pretty, but it has nothing to do with any of the stories in the book. Does it? 'cause if it does, I missed it. I like it, though.

So, this wasn't a very good volume to start with from Aurora. I hope that I can find more, though, because I want the other ones, still.

Sidenotes: Why does Amazon still have some in stock, with 'more on the way'? Aurora is closed, isn't it? Didn't it close, like, two years ago or something? Shouldn't the books be out of print? I thought they were... Whatever, I guess.

Review: Best Foot Forward (Companion Novel to Rules of the Road) by Joan Bauer

Rating (Out of 5 Stars): ~3

Publisher: Penguin (Speak)

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this sequel to the beloved Rules of the Road, Jenna Boller is dripping with newfound maturity after her life-altering summer on the road. She has a job she loves at Gladstone Shoes, a best friend who makes her laugh, and a dysfunctional family she's learning how to handle. Jenna feels ready for anything--until Tanner Cobb, a guy with a past, a police record, and dangerously good looks, walks into her life. Suddenly Jenna's surrounded by crises, including a shoe empire on the verge of crumbling. Tanner's street smarts seem to be what Jenna needs, but can she trust him enough when the going gets tough?

Review:

 

I've read several of Joan Bauer's books and enjoyed them. And I read Rules of the Road a while ago, but just recently found out that it had a sequel when I looked at the book. I was a little surprised, mostly because most of her books are one-shots, but also because I hadn't known there was one (since I usually know if there is).

Anyway, I finished this book relatively quickly, as I was expecting to.

It's about Jenna, who's now working for Mrs. Gladstone at the shoe store on her own town. The summer is ending and she'll be starting her junior year of high school soon. (Oh, if you haven't read the first one, it was about Jenna driving Mrs. Gladstone, a bossy old woman who owns a shoe company, on a little road trip to where a stock holders meeting is going to be held. Some other things happen, but mostly Mrs. Gladstone's son is taking over the business and not doing a good, moral job of it. Also, this will probably contain spoilers if you haven't read either of the books.) So she's going to be going on part-time, and Mrs. Gladstone's son is still doing business badly, even worse than before, really, when some, illegal, things behind the scenes get some spotlight. Plus, they're looking for some new employees but not finding any. They have hired, though, a boy, Tanner, who stole from them and is making it up by working for them. Jenna really know what she's doing, and she's Mrs. Gladstone's assistant, pretty much, so she makes phone calls and all that. She's also going to Al-Anon meetings because of her dad, which is helping, and helping Tanner, and his family, get past what happened to them. And there's some romance, but not much, and not really what I was expecting.

This book, like most of hers, wasn't amazing, but I still liked it. I'm not really sure what I like about her books. They're not really my style, normally. I tend to go for the romance's. Bauer tends to focus more on real life things, like business or politics or religion, with intent focus on some kind of business, like shoes or newspapers or restaurants. And the romance is very little, in all of them (that I've read so far). There's usually some, a little bit of it. And in this book, it was very small, and not with who the back said it would be. Of course I would like more romance, as I love reading kissing scenes, but I still like her books. And, since they're so small, I read them in about a day. They're fast, easy reads, that I usually go for if I'm looking for something fast and easy. And her style of writing, while very easy and simple, still has moments of pretty and cute, in that she describes little things of small notice.
 I just like it, I guess.
She can create really good characters, too. I liked Jenna, Mrs. Gladstone is an awesome old lady, Tanner was good and his little brother is adorable, and Murray is also pretty awesome. Charlie seemed cool, and he seemed like he could be good for Jenna, but we didn't get much of him. We also didn't get a lot of her family, more than Charlie, but still. They seemed alright from what I did see, though. And Mrs. Gladstone's son is a jerk, and was described pretty well, and I totally hate him for what he did to the company and Mrs. Gladstone. He really does not deserve her.
Also, not that this wasn't believable, because Jenna was written out very well, but I just realized that she wasn't even a junior and she took a road trip with her boss, and is now practically her assistant. That seems really young. I realize that some people are ready, and Jenna has had to grow up early with her family and all, but I couldn't imagine doing all that as that age. That's a little impressive.

Manga Review: Papillon, Volume 2, by Miwa Ueda

Rating (Out of 5 Stars): 3

Publisher: Del Rey

Goodreads Synopsis:

A NEW LIFE, A NEW LOVE

Ageha has always lived in the shadow of her popular twin sister, Hana. But with the help of her eccentric and brilliant guidance counselor, Ryûsei, Ageha is turning her life around. Now she’s confident and in control . . . and falling for Ryûsei! Is Ryûsei really the right guy for Ageha?

Review:

I can't really say that this volume was any better. It's still kind of terrible, but I still enjoyed reading it, for some reason. I haven't really read a lot of the drama type of books, mostly because there aren't that many out there any more, but I enjoy them. Even if they are terrible. And this one... is.

So, this one starts with Ageha seeing Ryusei and her sister kissing, and then she freaks out and runs away. And then Hayato catches up with her and she tries to act like everything is fine, even though she just freaked out. But he's all nice and cheers her up. And then they talk some, and she talks about her mother, who she thinks doesn't like her. A bit of the volume is about her and her mothers relationship. Her mom tries to control things between Ageha and Hayato, and then they get in an accident. Hayato plays a trick to get them all to talk things out, and it works and there's a heartwarming moment between them. Or whatever.

And then later, Ageha makes some cookies in class and wants to give them to Hayato. She gives them around, including to Ryusei without feeling any bit of weirdness, because she sees a bunch of girls hanging around Hayato. This part actually wasn't done too badly. Because she doesn't think much of Ryusei, like how she obsessed over him earlier, and is thinking lightly of Hayato without it being overwhelming or realizing it. And she even mopes around the house and eats all of the cookies without really realizing what she is doing.

Anyway, then Hayato calls her for help, and she has to watch these kids for him. She assumes wrong, but does it anyway, and finds out how her mom felt when taking care of her, and gets a little attached. And then she talks with Hayato after the kids leave, (because they are his sister-in-law's), and they go out on this fake date thing to a carnival. He does some perverted, fun things, and they go on a Ferris wheel where she confesses and he's says 'alright', pretty much.

It's kind of cute, I guess, but a little stupidly over-exaggerated and petty. I'm not even sure what I like about it. Because, as I've said, it's terrible. Even the sappy moments, like the ones between her and her mother, were kind of stupid. Really, the art isn't amazing, the story isn't all that well done, the characters aren't even that interesting. Hayato is probably the one I like the most, and he's just alright. Ageha is getting better, I guess, but it seems like she supposedly matured so much between now and the first volume. And while she needs to mature, that's too fast for it to happen, and she still has several moments of immaturity. And her and Hayato's relationship isn't very believable. I just don't see it.

Again, I hope that she gets better. I hope that all of it gets better. Even though the style is probably going to stay the same, and Ageha is probably going to still bother me. Maybe Hayato will get even better, and I will start to believe their relationship, at least?