Teaser Tuesday[263]: The Cresswell Plot by Eliza Wass

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!

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The Cresswell Plot by Eliza Wass

Genre: YA Suspense

Publisher: Hyperion

Release Date: 2016

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

The woods were insane in the dark, terrifying and magical at the same time. But best of all were the stars, which trumpeted their light into the misty dark.

Castella Cresswell and her five siblings—Hannan, Caspar, Mortimer, Delvive, and Jerusalem—know what it’s like to be different. For years, their world has been confined to their ramshackle family home deep in the woods of upstate New York. They abide by the strict rule of God, whose messages come directly from their father.

Slowly, Castley and her siblings start to test the boundaries of the laws that bind them. But, at school, they’re still the freaks they’ve always been to the outside world. Marked by their plain clothing. Unexplained bruising. Utter isolation from their classmates. That is, until Castley is forced to partner with the totally irritating, totally normal George Gray, who offers her a glimpse of a life filled with freedom and choice.

Castley’s world rapidly expands beyond the woods she knows so well and the beliefs she once thought were the only truths. There is a future waiting for her if she can escape her father’s grasp, but Castley refuses to leave her siblings behind. Just as she begins to form a plan, her father makes a chilling announcement: the Cresswells will soon return to their home in heaven. With time running out on all of their lives, Castley must expose the depth of her father’s lies. The forest has buried the truth in darkness for far too long. Castley might be their last hope for salvation.

Excerpt:

“All day at school my ears were perked, listening for any hint of a fire, but I didn't hear a thing.” (Hardback, pg. 82)

What are you reading?

Manga Review: Blue Exorcist, Volume 17, by Kazue Kato

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump Advanced (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July 2017

Volumes: 20+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 16. 18.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Rin and his exorcist classmates are caught in a secret war against the forces of darkness.
Raised by Father Fujimoto, a famous exorcist, Rin Okumura never knew his real father. One day a fateful argument with Father Fujimoto forces Rin to face a terrible truth the blood of the demon lord Satan runs in Rin s veins! Rin swears to defeat Satan, but doing that means entering the mysterious True Cross Academy and becoming an exorcist himself.
Shura Kirigakure has always been one of Rin and Yukio s most trusted friends and mentors, but her past is a mystery. When Shura suddenly goes missing, Mephisto sends Rin and Yukio to the cold and wintry north to find her. The journey is a chance for the brothers to talk over recent events, and try to sort out where things stand between them. Out in the frozen countryside, Shura reaches her destination, and a meeting with an entity who will impose an ancient curse upon her "

Review:

This volume focuses solely on Shura, pretty much. She's disappeared to her hometown, and so Rin and Yukio have been sent to help her. Rin and Yukio are already on uneven ground, because Yukio has been acting weird, and Rin is trying to find out why.

But then they find Shura, and realize she's dealing with a long-standing agreement with a demon. She's at the point where she is supposed to fulfill her part, and she's trying to refuse it while realizing that she doesn't really have a choice. Of course, Rin and Yukio have their own idea of how to deal with it.

I honestly did not really care about this arc. For some reason I don't really find Shura that interesting? I do like Yukio and Rin's relationship, and I liked seeing that grow. I don't mind Shura, though, and I liked seeing when she was a kid with Fujimoto. She has an interesting backstory.

This series has seemed to stray a little from the main plot line, but I'm not really sure where it's going at this point. I'm still liking it, though.

Manga Review: The Water Dragon's Bride, Volume 3, by Rei Toma

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: October 2017

Volumes: 7+

Spoilers?: Yes.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A modern-day girl gets whisked away to a strange land where she is sacrificed to a water dragon god!

In the blink of an eye, a modern-day girl named Asahi is whisked away from her warm and happy home and stranded in a strange and mysterious world where she meets a water dragon god!

Unable to return home, Asahi grows into a lovely young woman while living in this challenging world. As a priestess, she must spend time with the water dragon god for a ritual every year, but because of her connection to the water dragon god's power, someone kidnaps her! Will Asahi be able to escape unscathed?

Review:

We get some new insight into the relationship between Asahi and the Water Dragon. It's interesting to see how they spent their time during the years. Later in the volume, we get to see Asahi testing their relationship, as well. How she decides to push him into helping, relying on him and almost daring him to do something for her. They have an odd agreement between them, and I like it.

Which is confusing to me, since I also really like Subaru. He's sweet and would be my clear pick, if the Water Dragon weren't winning me over so easily. I'm very conflicted about it.

Aside from this turmoil of relationships, we get a new plot point, as—unsurprisingly--another village decides it could use Asahi's in with the Water Dragon. It should lead to some interesting action.

Another new point is that, since the beginning, this has felt like a very quiet series. Asahi lost her voice early on, and it has had an overtone of silence, with only her thoughts. In this volume that changes, and it adds a new voice, and gives her the opportunity to finally demand things and make her voice heard, instead of other people deciding things for her. It's also another moment of progress between her and the Water Dragon.

This series is surprisingly addicting, and I'm very interested for the next one.

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

Manga Review: Dreamin' Sun, Volume 1, by Ichigo Takano

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Seven Seas

Release Date: May 2017

Volumes: 10.

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

While loitering in the park, Shimana Kameko, who intended to run away from home and skipped school, meets a suspicious man in a kimono. This man, who had been locked out of his house, offers Shimana a place to stay. However, he requests she fulfill three conditions in exchange for her tenancy?!

Review:

I really enjoyed Orange, so I was eager to pick this one up. I'm a little unsure now, though.

This felt very much like an older shojo series, with a teenage girl who ends up living with a group of boys. I haven't read a series like that in a while, but Shimana is not the best protagonist.

Shimana runs away from home, because her father has a new kid with his new wife and she doesn't feel like she fits in anymore. It honestly feels like she's throwing a fit. In her angst, she stumbles upon an older guy, who's hungover and locked out of his house. She gets roped into getting the key from one of her classmates, along with a few other conditions in order to live there with them for cheap.

Mostly, Shimana is whiny. She's an angsty, whiny teenager. Meh. She ends up living with Asahi, who's a smart, cute guy from her school, and Zen, who is more of a loud dork. I'm actually a fan of both of them so far; I'm leaning toward Zen, but Asahi is a good guy, too.

We also meet Miku, an older woman who's slightly crazy, but I think will be a good influence on Shimana. There's some hints of a deeper meaning behind their landlord's job and his connection to Shimana, but I'm not too worried.

This was an interesting first volume, and it got better by the end. The art style looked like an earlier kind from Orange. I'll probably keep reading.

Teaser Tuesday[262]: The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions, #1) by Michelle Hodkin

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!

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The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions, #1) by Michelle Hodkin

Genre: YA Supernatural

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: November 7th, 2017

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.

Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.

And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.

They’re right.

Excerpt:

“It's.. I'm—

Triggered. Triggered is the word for it, much as I hate to admit.” (Hardback, pg. 156)

What are you reading?

Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 23, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2017

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 22. 24.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?!
Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won t want to miss out on Shonen Jump's laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series!
It's hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.
On Marika s wedding day, Raku bursts in just before the couple seals their vows. Will Raku and the gang manage to rescue Marika from her mother s minions? And when they return to their ordinary lives, how will the whole adventure affect Kosaki and Chitoge s feelings for Raku?"

Review:

This series is very clearly nearing it's end, as two characters get some kind of closure for their crushes. I've liked most of the characters in this series, but some of the romantic feelings never worked for me. Quite a few of them, actually—particularly the ones in this volume.

(Aside from the end of the date between Raku and Chitoge, of course. That was rather adorable.)

Haru has particularly been very meh to me, both as a character and a romantic option. She's just seemed like a younger version of her sister, who is better and got more character development.

The main things that's bothered me about Tsugumi, on the other hand, is how strong she's always portrayed (supposedly, at least—but let's not get into that), and yet she's always embarrassing and hurting herself around Raku, being “forced” to rely on him. It's just unnecessary and annoying.

On the bright side of this, we also got a bit of time between Ruri and Shu, whom I actually like together. I really like when Shu gets serious, since it barely happens and it's always done so pointedly and so well, like at the end here.

This was a good volume for side-romance endings. I'm looking forward to getting to the more important ones and seeing what happens there.

Manga Review: Haikyu!!, Volume 14, by Haruichi Furudate

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2017

Volumes: 28+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 13. 15.

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?

It’s the middle of the quarterfinal round of the Spring Tournament qualifiers, and Karasuno’s captain, Daichi Sawamura, is injured! With their most reliable player out of the game, the only one who can replace him is...Chikara Ennoshita?! This volume also includes the bonus one-shot chapter “Nisekyu!!”—a collaboration with the author of Nisekoi!

Review:

Daichi is out of the Wakunan game, and it shows how much each of them depends on each other. Aside from that, we get to see Shoyo do some crazy fast moves on the court. It's impressive, and yet he still doesn't think he's on level with the Little Giant.

Aside from that, it's sweet to see how badly all of them want to try and do better, for each other and the team and for themselves. How they give each other the chance to try again and again, even if they mess up. And how, even when one team loses, we get to see them mourn it and feel determined to do better next time and to try again.

At the end of the volume, we get a fun little cross-over chapter with Nisekoi, and that was great. It was fun to see how well they worked together, and the camaraderie that formed, even when Nisekoi has a much more exaggerated style of action/fighting. It was fun.

I love this series. I'm looking forward to reading more.

Manga Review: The Ancient Magus' Bride, Volume 6, by Kore Yamazaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Seven Seas

Release Date: January 2017

Volumes: 8+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Path Not Chosen

Chise is gradually learning to understand both human nature and the whims of the fae, as well as how to balance them and walk her own path. Suddenly, she receives a mysterious letter from bustling London. What could an alchemist's apprentice want from her...?

Find out in this long-awaited sixth volume, in a dark fairy tale romance between the human and the inhuman!

Reads from right to left in the traditional Japanese format.

Review:

In the first half of this volume, it's nearing Christmas. Chise meets Alice in town to go shopping for their partners, something neither has really done before. In this, we get some odd awkwardness, and we get to see Alice's backstory. It's rather sweet, seeing their growing friendship and their feelings for their partners in how they want to do good for them.

After that, Chise chooses to help a girl find her missing brother, only to end up having to find Elias as well. It's nice to see how their relationship is progressing, how they're slowly growing to want to be around each other and miss each other, and how they're growing to understand those feelings.

This is a sweet little series, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Also, I got this with the extra little booklet. I don't see why they couldn't have just put it into the volume, since it was so tiny; but it was still a sweet little extra.

Manga Review: Toriko, Volume 38, by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2017

Volumes: 43.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 37. 39.

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.

Jiro prepares for the most sobering fight of his life after he learns the Nitro’s true plan—reviving Acacia and permanently killing Neo! But for that plan to happen, they need Acacia to eat God. There’s just one problem...Acacia's incomplete Gourmet Cell Demon splits into seven pieces and scatters all over the Gourmet World, threatening to destroy all life on the planet even before the Gourmet Eclipse begins!

Review:

I found this series more enjoyable when I first started it. It was just weird and entertaining then. Now it's serious and that only makes it weird. The whole recipe thing, all the weird creatures that are food and have weird names... It just doesn't make any sense to me anymore, and now it's just making me confused, and a little bored. I'm finding it harder to care, I suppose.

Komatsu meets the boys' mother and helps them in this volume. He also gets eaten by this creature and has to overcome? Several of the group volunteer to go fight certain sea creatures in order to get the materials to make these invincible cooking tools, only to later find out that time goes by faster there—so even though it's a few days where Komatsu is, the guys go through years.

I just... I have a hard time taking this series serious, and it's harder to find it funny when the characters are so serious. And this whole sea creature thing just seems unnecessary.

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

Teaser Tuesday[261]: Renegades (Renegades, #1) by Marissa Meyer

Renegades (Renegades, #1) by Marissa Meyer

Genre: YA Sci-fi

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan)

Release Date: November 7, 2017

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

Excerpt:

“'Are you looking forward to having a new teammate starting today?'

Adrian blinked.” (Hardback, pg. 195)

What are you reading right now?