I really can't believe it's a few months into 2023! I honestly haven't had too much time to read a lot, so these past few months I've mostly been reading manga. Manga has always been something quick and easy to read, especially when the recent days have been really tiring with work and other obligations.
However, I do miss writing a lot! I thought I'd stave off my craving for writing by writing about what I've been reading recently. But one day I will go back to actually writing :")
Books Mentioned
- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
- Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
- You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
- Blue Lock (vol.1-19) by Muneyuki Kaneshiro & Yusuke Nomura
- Tougen Anki (vol.1) by Urushibara Yura
- Tokyo Aliens (vol.1) by NAOE
- Hirano to Kagiura (vol.4) by Harusono Shou
- Tokyo Revengers (vol.31) by Wakui Ken
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Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Rating: ★★★★+0.25 (4.25/5)
I was skeptical going into this one, since I've seen many harsh reviews on this book. Some of them I had to agree with, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of this book. I was a little taken aback by how dark this book was, even though I've read my fair share of mature books. I mostly think the shock I experienced was due to the fact that I've read a few Leigh Bardugo books before, and so I know her as the author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. The tone of this book is drastically different from what she usually writes, and I think she pulled it off excellently. Alex really grew on me, and I adored Darlington. The magic system was not explained very deeply, but learning about it slowly throughout the book really put readers in Alex's shoes. It did throw me off in the beginning though, and I do have to admit that the first hundred or so pages were slow-going since I was getting used to the format of the book.
Overall, Ninth House is a must-read for dark academia and fantasy enthusiasts. It is a huge departure from Leigh Bardugo's usual storytelling, and I believe she succeeded spectacularly with this debut into the adult genre.
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Rating: ★★★+0.25 (3.25/5)
I had a sudden craving for something in the romance genre, and while I am trying to stave myself for the next month while I wait for Emily Henry's new novel, I decided to pick this one up. This one was really fun! I really enjoyed reading Alexis' chapters, since I really loved her character. I also like that she is in her 30's, and this probably isn't a new thing in the romance genre but it's still something I don't see too often. I understood her every thought and struggle and frustration, and I thought she was a very realistic and relatable character. I wish Daniel had a bit more to him though. Daniel was pretty lackluster. I liked how kind he was and how much he cared for Alexis, but I wish he was a bit more of a realistic character. He seemed too much of an ideal version of what every woman wants in a man, and less like a human being.
In the end, the thing that threw me off about this one was the fact that I didn't feel like much was solved in the end. And while I am completely fine with endings that are left only half unraveled, I don't think that was the point of this one.
Overall, this was a fun read! It wasn't the best thing I've ever read, and I was left wanting a little more than what I got, but I think it is a solid romance novel and I recommend it for anyone who likes somewhat secret, forbidden romances.
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
Rating: ★★★+0.75 (3.75/5)
This one was such a fun one to read! It was a very different format of a love story than what I'm used to, with the two main characters starting off engaged but at odds with each other. The beginning did throw me off a little, because both of them were unlikable and childishly petty at the start, but as the story progressed and the root of their grievances were uncovered, I felt a lot of sympathy for the both of them. I don't really mind a story built off of miscommunications, and I thought this story handled this string of miscommunications very well.
I have this recurring problem of feeling unsatisfied by the ending of books, and that rings true once again for this book as well. The end felt a little incomplete to me. Though I know it wouldn't be true to life if everything was perfectly wrapped and completed with a pretty little bow at the end, I felt like there were many issues that were left completely unresolved, or were resolved in a way that didn't feel very satisfying.
Overall, I loved watching these two fiancés fall in love with each other all over again. Nicholas and Naomi's romance was very sweet, and I love when all these terrible miscommunications were put to rest and they remembered why they got together and decided to get married in the first place. A wonderfully chaotic second-chance romance.
Blue Lock (Vol. 1-19) by Muneyuki Kaneshiro & Yusuke Nomura
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Ah, Blue Lock. Where do I even start? The first thing I have to say about Blue Lock is how different it is from the many other sports anime/manga I've consumed. Though soccer (or football, whatever floats your boat) is a team sport, friendship and teamwork and sportsmanship are all things that are not a priority in Blue Lock. In fact, it is discouraged, since the organizer of the "Blue Lock Project" that our protagonist is participating in is trying to train the most egotistical striker in Japan. Each of the characters' backstories and motivations are very interesting, and I'm very excited to learn more about each of the characters as the series goes on. I find their friendships and rivalries with each other extremely interesting, and I know there are still a bunch of characters I have yet to really get to know as of volume 19 and I'm really excited to read further!
After reading Kuroko's Basketball and Haikyuu!! I feel like I've become accustomed to having both my individual favorite characters and also my favorite teams, so reading Blue Lock is very interesting because nwo I find myself rooting for individual characters instead. I try to ignore the fact that only one is going to be left standing at the very end :") I pray for Mikage Reo's success and happiness every day.
Overall, Blue Lock is such a fun read and has such amazing characters, I think everyone should give it a try! Especially my fellow sports manga enthusiasts; Blue Lock will not disappoint!
Tougen Anki (Vol. 1) by Urushibara Yura
Rating: ★★★+0.75 (3.75/5)
A pretty neutral rating for now since I have only read volume 1 and I don't think that's enough for me to form any real opinions on the series yet. As for first impressions, I loved the first chapter a lot. It was a lot for a first chapter, but I'm not opposed to a jarring and emotional start to a series. It definitely made me a little emotional, and did a very effective job at making me really care for the protagonist. As the story goes on, it is resembling your very typical shonen manga plotline, which isn't a bad thing, it's just that there are parts of the shonen manga plotline that lose my interest briefly, and I think that's where I am right now. But overall it has captured my attention enough for me to want to continue reading, so I will probably be back with updates in the next few months or so!
Tokyo Aliens (Vol. 1) by NAOE
Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)I definitely got cover baited by this one, and I'm really glad I did! I have also only read one volume of Tokyo Aliens, but it has been very entertaining so far. There's a very balanced ratio of drama and humor, which I appreciated, and the art style is beautiful throughout the manga. The characters are also very interesting and mysterious, even our main character is a mystery to the reader. Overall, I'm very intrigued by this one and I can't wait to read on!
Hirano to Kagiura by Harusono Shou
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
It's been a while since I kept up with Hirano to Kagiura, and I really should've been better at keeping up with it since I had a wonderful time catching up. I forgot just how cute these two are, and the recent chapters really cemented just how much these two love each other's company. I'm always constantly floored by how Harusono Shou portrays their relationship, and how effectively they are able to convey the depth of their care for each other.
This is one of the cutest love stories I've come across in a long time, and I'm so excited to see how their love story will continue to unfold.
Tokyo Revengers (Vol. 31) by Wakui Ken
Rating: ★★★+0.5 (3.5/5)
Happy end of Tokyo Revengers! This was an extremely controversial volume, and I think when it comes to manga it's always a big toss-up on whether it will have a satisfying ending, or if it will leave us disappointed. I'm going to say that I'm definitely not as mad about the ending as most people are, but I'm not entirely happy with it either.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
((I will intentionally make it hard to read — highlight for word to background contrast))
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Though I am a lover of sad endings, I'm happy that Tokyo Revengers ended happily. I thought the very last chapter at the wedding was extremely cute, and I was so happy to see all of the characters I've grown to adore deeply have their own happy endings. However, I was a bit disappointed to see that all the emotional strain that led to their own painstaking developments was erased to create this happy ending. I'm going to use Koko and Inupi as an example since they are the characters I was most familiar with and the most invested in. I thought their separation after the Tenjiku Arc was necessary for their development. They learned to grow individually and separate from each other, and when the final battle during the Kanto Manji Gang arc happened, we saw how Koko learned to let go of the past and learn to live for himself. We also saw in real time how he realized that he should appreciate what's in front of him, and that is why he decided to betray KMG to support Inupi instead. Because of the time skip erasure shenanigans, suddenly this separation never happened. These realizations never happened. There was never a fire, Akane never died, and somehow that felt disingenuous to their character arcs.
However, one thing that I really did enjoy was the very end, where it's revealed that Chifuyu remembers every lifetime. I thought that was a nice angsty touch at the very end.
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END OF SPOILERS!
Overall, Wakui Ken had a very complex story that could have been pretty strong commentary on juvenile delinquent-ism, and that was exactly where I thought this story was going, but it took some twists and turns that led it to fall a bit flat in my opinion. Though I do believe the plot of Tokyo Revengers grew quite unsteady towards the end, I still have to say that it is one of my favorite series to date. I adore the characters and how much they've grown throughout the series. ⸺ ⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕ ⸺
Lately I've been trying to enjoy life a little more, and what better way to enjoy life than to find a million things to look forward to :") So, here are some things that I'm looking forward to in the following months:
I want Happy Place by Emily Henry to come out RIGHT NOW. I have finally caught up to Emily Henry's adult romance catalog, and I am now a big fan. Maybe People We Meet on Vacation didn't do it for me, but Beach Read and Book Lovers definitely did. And not to reduce books to tropes, but this one is going to be a second chance romance? I am beyond excited!
I've read a bit of Episode Nagi but the excitement is extremely heightened after the announcement of the upcoming movie set to release in 2024! It's no secret that Nagi is one of my favorite characters in Blue Lock, and his complicated relationship with his pre-Blue Lock teammate Reo is written so interestingly in the main series. From the snippets of Episode Nagi that I've seen, I'm very excited to learn more about the nature of their relationship through Nagi's eyes.
I'm also (very predictably) extremely excited about the announcement of the Episode Nagi Movie! Nagi and Reo's shoujo manga love-at-first-sight meeting on the big screen? Sign me up :")
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I am still contemplating whether or not to buy Happy Place right when it comes out or to wait for it to come out in paperback 🤔 Unfortunately, I feel like paperback books are not that much more inexpensive than hardback books nowadays. I miss when I was buying paperbacks for less than $10 a piece; paperbacks can go for around $20 these days! I think the only fortunate thing is that I don't own any of Emily Henry's other books, so if I did decide to buy the hardback it wouldn't look out of place.
It's been a wonderful year for exciting new book releases! What are you looking forward to reading in the following months?
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