Manga Review: Haikyu!!, Volume 6, by Haruichi Furudate

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: December 2016

Volumes: 26+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shoyo Hinata is out to prove that in volleyball you don't need to be tall to fly!

Ever since he saw the legendary player known as “the Little Giant” compete at the national volleyball finals, Shoyo Hinata has been aiming to be the best volleyball player ever! He decides to join the team at the high school the Little Giant went to—and then surpass him. Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else?

After having overcome the Iron Wall of Date Tech, it’s finally time for Karasuno to have their rematch with Aoba Johsai! Kageyama and Karasuno claimed victory in the practice match, but how will they fare in a real game? Tensions are high as Tohru Oikawa is out to crush Kageyama once and for all.

Review:

Karasuno continues their game against Date Tech, and it's intense. They're trying hard, and they're ever optimistic. Date Tech proves to be a very good competitor, too, with their Iron Wall that makes it very hard to hit past.

When that game ends, the group gets to go home for a night, then are back the next day. They get a little practice in, and to talk about their next competition—this time with Blue Castle. Blue Castle proves to be even harder, with their head man good at encouraging his team mates and very watchful of subtle movements.

Oikawa's team mates like him and look up to him, and I do admit that he's good at working his teammates. But he's also a huge jerk, and I don't like him at all. I honestly don't see how anyone else does, when he feels rather fake to me. He's definitely smart, though.

We're left on yet another cliffhanger, and I really can't wait to see what happens next. I want to see how this game end—I'm really not sure if they're going to go forward or not.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Teaser Tuesday[251]: The Body in the Woods (A Point Last Seen Mystery, #1) by April Henry

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

--------------------------------------

The Body in the Woods (A Point Last Seen Mystery, #1) by April Henry

Genre: YA Contemporary Mystery

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Release Date: 2014

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this new series told from multiple perspectives, teen members of a search and rescue team discover a dead body in the woods.

Alexis, Nick, and Ruby have very different backgrounds: Alexis has spent her life covering for her mom’s mental illness, Nick’s bravado hides his fear of not being good enough, and Ruby just wants to pursue her eccentric interests in a world that doesn’t understand her. When the three teens join Portland County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, they are teamed up to search for a autistic man lost in the woods. What they find instead is a dead body. In a friendship that will be forged in danger, fear, and courage, the three team up to find the girl’s killer—before he can strike one of their own.

This first book in April Henry’s Point Last Seen YA mystery series is full of riveting suspense, putting readers in the middle of harrowing rescues and crime scene investigations.

Excerpt:

“He thought but didn't say that the camera hadn't stopped the woman's blanket from being set on fire.” (Hardback, pg. 98)

What are you reading?

Manga Review: Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 16, by Yuto Tsukuda, Shun Saeki, and Yuki Morisaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump Advanced (VIZ Media)

Release Date: February 2017

Volumes: 25+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 13. 17.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Food fights and fan service—what more could a fan want?

Soma Yukihira’s old man runs a small family restaurant in the less savory end of town. Aiming to one day surpass his father’s culinary prowess, Soma hones his skills day in and day out until one day, out of the blue, his father decides to enroll Soma in a classy culinary school! Can Soma really cut it in a place that prides itself on a 10 percent graduation rate? And can he convince the beautiful, domineering heiress of the school that he belongs there at all?!

Day three of the Autumn Moon Festival has begun, and Soma is still trying to recover from ending deep in the red on its first day. Looking to finally overtake Restaurant Kuga in overall profit, Soma unveils his ace in the hole—a new mapo tofu recipe! Will it be enough to push this first-year to victory over a Council of Ten member?

Review:

I've missed several volumes, and this one starts in the middle of a food business competition. Soma has decided to compete against Kuga, in Chinese cooking. Kuga has a popular restaurant, with extremely spicy food. Soma has a small food cart with Megumi, and they apparently did very bad on the first day. They finally start trying new things and calling in extra people on the next two days, though. In the midst of this, we also get glimpses of what the others are up to, and what amazing food they're making.

During this, Erina gets a surprise guest, and he throws everything into a bit of chaos. We finally get to see what made Erina the way she is today, though—why she's so cruel and snobby about food. It's interesting to see the overthrow of power, as well, and who is on what side.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this plot goes next. 

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Maid-sama!, Volume 15 & 16, by Hiro Fujiwara

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2017

Volumes: 18.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1&2. 13&14. 17&18.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A 2-in-1 edition of the romantic-comedy series where a student council president secretly works at a maid café!

As if being student council president of a predominantly male high school isn’t hard enough, Misaki Ayuzawa has a major secret—she works at a maid café after school! How is she supposed to keep her image of being ultra smart, strong and overachieving intact once school heartthrob Takumi Usui discovers her double life?!

Misaki continues to realize just how different her and Usui’s family backgrounds are after witnessing a huge party thrown for Usui’s birthday… And later, a mysterious newcomer appears at Maid Latte—someone who stirs up a lot of mixed emotions in Misaki!

Review:

Throughout this volume, Usui's new classmates continue to try and befriend him. It's still rather weird why they're trying, but they are. It doesn't work all that well, because Usui is just not interested. It's nice to see how Misaki reacts around them, too; she doesn't trust them, but she doesn't outright defend Usui, either.

Aside from that, a surprise guest from Misaki's past shows up. Here, it's mostly upsetting how her mother lied about what happened, and how that changed Misaki's views so harshly. There's even more tension between Suzuna and Hinata—they better at least get a side story by the end, or I'll be so upset.

Misaki gets to see what Usui's school is like, and Usui gets to see what happened with his mother. Usui makes yet another big decision in this volume. In reaction, Misaki gets to decide how she's going to be there for Usui, and it's nice to see how strong their relationship has really become. There are several sweet, short moments between them, and I like seeing them stepping away from the chaos to be together for a moment.

I believe the next volume is the last, and I cannot wait to see how it all wraps up.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Ten Count, Volume 3, by Rihito Takarai

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: SuBLime (VIZ Media)

Release Date: February 2017

Volumes: 5+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Corporate secretary Shirotani suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder in this doctor-patient romance fraught with compulsion!

Corporate secretary Shirotani suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. One day he meets Kurose, a therapist who offers to take him through a ten-step program to cure him of his compulsion. As the two go through each of the ten steps, Shirotani’s attraction to his counselor grows.

While out on the town with Kurose, Shirotani daydreams about the younger man kissing him. His desire quickly overcomes his phobia of human touch, and he gives himself over to his counselor’s hands for relief. Watch as the relationship between the corporate secretary and his counselor continues to boil over in this story of love and therapy.

Review:

I know that this book has some real issues. Quite a bit of the way that Shirotani's issues are handled are very problematic. He's really fragile here, and yet Kurose does appear to abuse that. It's hard to tell if any of this is actually helping Shirotani or not; he's still pretty much in the same state as when the series started, maybe even worse.

This does really bother me, but at the same time, I'm still quite enjoying this series. I like it for the problematic, dirty smut that it is.

I do like how intense Shirotani's reactions are, though. Every time someone touches him, when he's worried about germs, when him and Kurose start getting intimate. I can really tell what is happening in his head, and his worries and reactions feel very real.

This volume gets quite dirty, as well. There are a couple of really intense and dirty scenes between the two, and I quite like them.

Even if parts of this series aren't good, I'm really enjoying reading it for what it is. I want to read more.

Manga Review: Toriko, Volume 37, by Mitsutoshi Shimbukuro

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: February 2017

Volumes: 43.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 36. 38.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Toriko is a Gourmet Hunter out to eat the world!

In a savage world ruled by the pursuit of the most delicious foods, it’s either eat or be eaten! While searching for the tastiest foods imaginable, Gourmet Hunter Toriko travels the world with his bottomless stomach, facing every beast in his way.

Komatsu and the gang dive under the sea and reach Blue Grill, and it’s more intense than any of them could have ever imagined! The underwater civilization is full of master chefs with amazing talents and everyone is eager to put their skills to the test! But this Giant Clam is rotten at its core, with a lot of shady business going on behind the scenes. To enter the Back Channel and reach Another, Komatsu and the gang must defeat the masked rulers of Blue Grill, the Five Ten Shell Masters, to prove their worth—or literally die trying.

Review:

The main group gets to start in the cooking competition, Yuda being the first to fight this planet's chef. It's a life-or-death kind of competition, apparently. In the midst of all this, we also get to see what everyone else is doing. Each small group moving around and finding the other key ingredient creatures. There's a fight with a spider creature, and we see Midora fighting off with a known enemy (I guess).

The most interesting part of the volume, to me, was seeing Komatsu and the boy that found him. He's separated from everyone else, and he meets a boy who lets him stay the night. Only, this shows Komatsu what is really happening to people on this planet. It's rather creepy, and we get left in the dark for the rest of the volume.

This volume was actually a little boring to me, but maybe I just wanted to see more of Komatsu's current plot.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Teaser Tuesday[250]: Roar (Stormheart, #1) by Cora Carmack

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

--------------------------------------------

Roar (Stormheart, #1) by Cora Carmack

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: June 13, 2017

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.

Excerpt:

“Aurora had seen enough. She donned her disguise again.” (Hardback, pg. 118)

What are you reading?

Manga Review: Haikyu!!, Volume 5, by Haruichi Furudate

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2016

Volumes: 26+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf (comes with extra gift!).

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shoyo Hinata is out to prove that in volleyball you don't need to be tall to fly!

Ever since he saw the legendary player known as “the Little Giant” compete at the national volleyball finals, Shoyo Hinata has been aiming to be the best volleyball player ever! He decides to join the team at the high school the Little Giant went to—and then surpass him. Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else?

Having lost all of their practice games against Nekoma, the cracks in Karasuno’s teamwork are more apparent than ever! With Inter-High qualifiers looming over them, Hinata, Kageyama and the rest of the team need to work hard to stand a chance. But with two of the prefecture's top four schools in their qualifier block, Karasuno’s chances look slim. How will they overcome this challenge when just thinking about their second opponent, Date Tech, makes Karasuno's ace, Asahi, tremble in fear?

Review:

Some of the in-between competition times, and some of the time at the beginning of the competition as everything is being explained, can be a bit boring for me. I don't really care much for the actual volleyball rules and techniques. Plus, the in-between time doesn't have very much character focus—it doesn't spend extra time outside of games to let the characters hang out and grow and get to know each other. Most of the focus is on the game and their skills progression. Which I actually don't mind.

The group gets to practice some more, they have two weeks to practice what they've learned from the practice game. And then they start on the inter-high competition. Karasuno's first round is against another small school, and though they give a good game, Karasuno wins. After the first game, I liked seeing how shocked Hinata is, because this is the first time he's won a game. At the same time as he's reflecting, we get to see how the loss is for the other team. We also get a small break to see how the girls' volleyball team is doing, and how they might be getting some inspiration from the overly optimistic boys' team.

The second round is against a team that Karasuno lost against the school year before, which certain members are still upset about. It's nice to see how the team works together in order to make up for it, especially for Asahi. Even though the team is still learning and getting to know each other, they do work well together. They are becoming a solid team.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kamisama Kiss, Volume 24, by Julietta Suzuki

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: June 6, 2017

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 23. 25 (Limited Edition).

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Nanami inherits a shrine, it comes with divine powers and a hot fox spirit!

Nanami Momozono is alone and homeless after her dad skips town to evade his gambling debts and the debt collectors kick her out of her apartment. So when a man she’s just saved from a dog offers to let her stay at his place while he’s away, she jumps at the opportunity. But it turns out that his home is a shrine and Nanami has unwittingly taken over his job as a local deity!

Review:

We finally get the conclusion of the Akura-oh plot line. It's rather bittersweet, in the end.

After that, the group has to go back to normal life. We get a chapter featuring Mizuki, because he's upset about what's happening with Nanami. Now that Nanami and Tomoe are back home, they get to see the realities of what will happen if Tomoe goes through with becoming a human—which he's made up his mind about.

They decide to take some time and prepare, and I'm intrigued to see what they will look like at the end of it. Part of it is sad, but it does make sense for them. Nanami gets really stressed out about preparing, because she believes they're going to need a lot. It makes sense, but I think that Tomoe should have been doing more. Which makes it even better when he takes over and does what he thinks is right.

This series is great; it falls in the background for me a lot, but it's always a fun read. I'm looking forward to seeing how it ends.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Noragami: Stray God, Volume 18, by Adachitoka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: June 6, 2017

Volumes: 18 (Hiatus)

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 17.

Add on Goodreads.

RightStuf Synopsis:

 Now that Yato has defeated Takemikazuchi, he must protect Bishamon long enough for the thunder god to convince the Heavens to call off their punishment. Meanwhile, Yukin strives to keep Yato and the crafter alive to ensure Yato’s safety, but when Bishamon takes deadly aim at Kōto, Yukin resorts to drastic measures…

Review:

One fight ends, only for an even bigger one to start. Yato finishes his fight with Takemikazuchi, and then goes to help Bishamon. Meanwhile, we see that Kazuma has reached Bishamon, only for a painful departure. Hiyori is trying to do what she can to help, though I'm not quite sure what that is leading to. In the midst of this, we get a little backstory, regarding Kazuma's nickname for Bishamon and how it came about; we also see that Kofuku got her nickname from Daikoku.

And then Yato and Yukine get taken in, and it's just—it's... It's awful and I'm so, so upset about it. It's painful to watch, and then that cliffhanger... I cannot believe it's ending there.

This volume had me really worked up, and really upset.

I am so upset that it's on hiatus at this point in the series. I really miss those monthly releases about now.

(On a side note, I do hope that the author is okay, and it's not too serious.)