January Wrap-Up

Happy January & Happy 2022 🎉

I always get extremely excited to fill in my Goodreads goal at the beginning of the year; I've settled with 2 books a month at 24 books this year! I try not to overshoot because I care way too much about hitting the reading goal, and I know that my time for reading diminishes a lot in the midst of the school year. Some months I'll read 5 books, other months I'll read none. So 24 is a very attainable goal at the moment. But I am guilty of changing the goodreads goal when it seems like I am getting there way too soon.

This month, I had a stressful start to the new school term. However, one of my classes really pushes me to read a lot more to explore different writing styles as well as writing subjects, and I've been trying to open my mind to the vast possibilities in the genres of contemporary and literary fiction. But of course, I am unable to completely break away from my beloved fantasy books.

Books Mentioned

• The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
• And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
• Hori-san to Miyamura-kun (Vol. 1 - 10) by Hagiwara Daisuke
• My Love Mix-Up (Vol. 1 - 2) by Hinekure Wataru & Aruko
• Sasaki to Miyano (Vol. 1 - 8) by Harusono Sho
• Hirano to Kagiura (Vol. 1 - 2) by Harusono Sho

⸺ ⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕ ⸺ 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, sexual harassment, sexual content

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Summary

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding... six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Rating: ★★★ (3/5)

As an avid lover of fanfiction myself, I had to pick up The Love Hypothesis. I've heard that this book was originally a fanfiction of the Star Wars franchise, and I personally don't have any ties to the Star Wars fandom, but I always have a multitude of praise for fanfiction authors who put so much time into writing and sharing their stories for pretty much nothing in return.

I am a huge fan of the fake-dating trope in fanfiction, and I very predictably had a lot of fun with this book. As a STEM student myself, I really loved the insight into grad school, and if I'm not wrong I think Hazelwood was a Ph.D. student herself. I really liked the pacing of the relationship development as well as the main character, Olive's, support system. 

However, I personally wasn't a fan of the forced PDA in the first half of the book. I know that in many fake-dating stories this trope is often needed to push the story along, but I wish they had gone about it in a way that didn't feel so unnatural. A lot of characters' actions also felt very impractical to me, and I just couldn't wrap my head around a lot of their reasoning for doing what they did sometimes.

Overall,  The Love Hypothesis is an extremely enjoyable book full of romance's favorite tropes, and I highly recommend any romance-lover to give it a try (if you haven't already; I'm always so late to the game when it comes to the romance genre)!

Genre: Contemporary

Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman

Summary

An exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man’s struggle to hold on to his most precious memories, and his family’s efforts to care for him even as they must find a way to let go.

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Honestly, the summary says it all. This story was so lovely and emotional, and I loved how we got to know so much about each of the characters in so little time. We learn of the grandfather's youth, how he meets his wife and the changes he goes through as he grows older and wiser. We also are presented a portrait of a family, one that is imperfect as most families are, but still a beautiful one. 

I loved the relationship between the grandfather and his grandson, Noah. I loved how they bonded over numbers and mathematics, and I loved all the fun stories the grandfather would tell Noah. And I love how much Noah adored his grandfather—it really reminded me of my own relationship with my grandmother.

I found it fascinating to read about the relationships between various family members, and how differently they act around different members of the family. I found the relationship between the father, Ted, and the grandfather extremely moving. There is a level of strained tension between them that has definitely inserted itself there with history, but the depth of their love for each other, despite it all, was extremely heartwarming (and heart-wrenching at the same time). I also love how they both put on their best face for Noah, to give Noah the best life he can possibly have. I think a lot of parents and grandparents do this for their children, an attempt to break this cycle, and just thinking about it brings me to tears. 

Backman's letter at the very beginning about love and fear coming hand in hand, and how personal this novella is to him, makes the story that much more moving. As someone still going through the motions of grief myself, this story was a great comfort.

Overall, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer is a wonderfully moving portrait of a family, and a love letter to all the loved ones we've ever had the pleasure of loving and the misfortune of losing.

Genre: Shounen Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Trigger/Content Warnings: depression, implied sexual content

Hori-san to Miyamura-kun [HoriMiya] (Vol. 1 - 10) by Hagiwara Daisuke

Summary

Kyoko Hori is a bright and popular high school student, in contrast to her classmate Izumi Miyamura, a gloomy and seemingly nerdy, glasses-wearing boy. At home, Hori is a homebody who dresses down and looks after her younger brother, Souta. She takes every attempt to hide this from her classmates, as to not disrupt her social status and cause others to worry. One day, Souta comes home with a nosebleed. He had been accompanied by a boy with numerous piercings and tattoos, who introduces himself as Miyamura. After recognizing Hori, even when she is dressed down, they agree to keep their true identities concealed from their peers. However, over time, when the two begin to learn more about each other, they learn they have more in common then they originally thought.

Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)

It has been a minute since I read a romance manga! And I honestly had such a fun time with Horimiya. The story itself starts off really cute, and I love Miyamura's style and his "double-life," if you can call it that. I also greatly admire Hori's dedication to her family, and Souta is the cutest kid ever.

I think the thing that I loved most about this story was the friend group. They have the cutest, most heartwarming friend group, and I felt like their development into a group was really funny and cute and pretty natural, even with each person's interesting introduction. Their dynamic as a friend group is also hilarious; I feel like the boys' banter was so, so funny. I do wish the girls had been developed a little more, and I wish they had their own hangouts like the boys. I feel like the boys were very spoiled with their sleepovers and lunch dates, and whenever we saw the girls on lunch dates it was mostly to contrast how absurd the boys are. 

As for Hori and Miyamura's relationship, I thought they were really cute. Not the most groundbreaking romance manga couple I've ever read, but still very cute. I feel like their development into a couple was very fun and exciting, and when they got together things petered out a little bit, as to be expected since they're secure in their relationship, but I wish there was more. I think the manga dragged a bit in the middle since I wanted more from Hori and Miyamura but it was definitely saved by the fun friend group dynamics.

Overall, Horimiya is a very cute and very fun manga, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of slice-of-life stories with a very cute romance!

Genre: Shoujo Romantic Comedy

My Love Mix-Up! (Vol. 1 - 2) by Hinekure Wataru & Aruko

Summary

The girl Aoki is in love with is in love with another boy, who thinks Aoki is in love with him. Why does first love have to be so complicated?

Rating: ★★★★+(0.25) (4.25/5)

Now this is the miscommunication trope done right. 

I really loved reading the first few volumes of this manga, it had me cackling with laughter just a few pages in. The initial miscommunication, with the name written on the eraser leading to Ida believing that Aoki (poor, sweet child) has a huge crush on him. I thought the artist's art style also really brought the whole thing together; they drew the funniest expressions whenever something hilarious happened, and I loved Aoki's range of facial expressions. 

I also really loved the friendships that were established throughout the story. Aoki and Hashimoto's friendship and their bond over their respective crushes was really heartwarming and also hilarious. This entire manga is hilarious, honestly. 

Overall, I highly recommend this manga if you're looking for a sweet romance and a very good laugh. There aren't too many chapters out yet, but I am highly anticipating the release of the upcoming volumes!

Genre: Slice of Life 

Sasaki to Miyano (Vol. 1 - 8) by Harusono Sho

Summary

Miyano spends his days peacefully reading Boys' Love comics and worrying about how girly his face is-until a chance encounter leads to a scuffle with his senior Sasaki. Intrigued by his feisty junior Miyano, delinquent Sasaki uses every opportunity he can to get closer...

Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)

My preferred method of coping with grief is bingeing romance manga :") and Sasaki to Miyano does not disappoint.

I really loved Sasaki and Miyano's friendship. I loved how Sasaki was always so open to learning about Miyano's interests, even if they are unpopular among his peers, and how he would defend Miyano's interests from those who look upon it disparagingly. 

I also just thought their relationship was so cute. Sasaki was always so far gone for Miyano, it was so cute. They actually took quite a while to get together, and I was impatiently rooting for them the entire time. I also really loved the other background characters! I'm definitely picking up Hirano to Kagiura because I loved Hirano's character in Sasaki to Miyano and I also really loved Kuresawa and Hanzawa. 

Overall, this was such a cute manga and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for something light-hearted and fun!

Genre: Slice of Life

Hirano to Kagiura (Vol. 1 - 2) by Harusono Sho

Summary

The diligent high school freshman Akira Kagiura and his senior Taiga Hirano have been roommates for half a year. Kagiura used to be anxious about his future dormitory life, but thanks to his energetic senior looking out for him, he has come to feel content and at ease. As he continues to rely on Hirano more and more each day, he develops strong feelings for his selfless friend. In the six months they have left as roommates, Kagiura is determined to put a name to the relationship he cherishes so dearly before it comes to an end.

Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)

Just found out Sasaki to Miyano has a spinoff series with our favorite fake blond and his infamous roommate. I loved how we find out that Miyano was right this whole time about the ohmygod they were roommates situation :")

I think Kagiura is absolutely adorable, and Hirano is, of course, the perfect male lead. I think their chemistry is amazing, and the humor in this manga is top knotch. There aren't a lot of chapters out, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ones that are out right now and I am very much rooting for them to get together. Get it together Hirano >:(

⸺ ⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕ ⸺ 

Hoping everyone is staying safe, especially with the current condition of the world. Wishing everyone a wonderful 2022, and a very Happy Lunar New Year!

—璇