March Manga Wrap Up

I read nothing else but manga this month and all because I started a new series recommended to me after finishing The Demon Prince of Momochi Place. After the first three volumes, I took out the rest out of the library until it took me three weeks to catch up with this series. Curious to find out which series took over my attention, and what other new series I started with? Then read on.

1. Kamisama Kiss by Julietta Suzuki

Let me say that I was consumed with this series! I am caught up to volume twenty four and I am still waiting for volume twenty five at my library, but after reading all volumes back to back this month, I am now determined to start buying this series because I absolutely love it. This is the second best shojo series I have read since Yona of the Dawn. It all begins with a young girl name Nanami, forced out of her home after her dad abandoned her because of his gambling problems and debt. Before long, she meets a stranger after she saved him from a dog, and as a thank you, he gives her his place to stay in. But Nanami discovers that it is an abandoned shrine and inside lives a fox shinshi name Tomoe and two shikigami. It also turns out that Nanami has become a shrine deity!

February Manga Wrap Up

I read a lot of manga that I began building my own collection beginning with some of the CLAMP series and an ongoing series called Yona of the Dawn. I started thinking about all the time I spent reading all kinds of manga that I may as well start talking about some of them that I read each month. I do read more than one series in-between, so I will choose to talk about some of the series that I recommend and these are ones that I finished reading or I am caught up with in a series. Now here is my monthly wrap up of manga I read in February.

1.The Demon Prince of Momochi House by Aya Shouoto

A completed series about Himari Momochi who inherits a mysterious house in the mountains on her sixteenth birthday. An orphan, she has never seen this house before but to her surprise she finds three handsome squatters already living in the house and have taken over her role! And she learns that the house exists as a barrier between the human and spiritual realms.

Best Standalone Books I Read in 2020

Yesterday I posted about the best series I read in 2020, and then I started thinking about some incredible standalone books I read in the same year. A couple of them are underrated and deserve an honourable mention, and the rest are popular mentions.

The Swallow: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter 

This is a middle grade story about two girls: Polly and Rose who feel like social outcasts until one day they find each other and believe that the other girl is a ghost. A surprising friendship follows as they both learn how similar they are, and they spend their days feeling invisible and finding solace from their books. This was a beautiful and touching story with a bittersweet ending that shocked me and almost made me want to cry. One of the best middle grade and a standalone book I have read.

Best Series I Read in 2020

Finally the year 2020 is almost done and about damn time. This was a difficult year, personally and mentally. Everything that I used to do at home, at work, and with my family I had to learn to readjust my routine while surviving through this pandemic. It was a tough year and I struggled a lot just to get through the day, and I feel like I have aged a few more years too. I have the rest of this year off to refresh and just relax while counting down to 2021. This also gives me a chance to reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good part: my reading challenge for 2020. I read 160 books. Let me be specific: I completely finished reading 160 books. Goodreads says that I read 164 but 4 of those books I did not finish and so, they don’t count.

I was thinking about making a list of all the best books I read this year but instead, I decided on writing about the best series I read. It makes it more interesting and you will notice that I listed manga series too. Instead of listing all the volumes (and there are many because mange series are ongoing) I encourage you to look it up. 

Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi

I want to share a special thank you to my friend and manga reader who recommended this to me. Yona of the Dawn is the best shojo series I have read and I am so glad to have started it! It is still ongoing and I love every volume. The characters, the building romance, the friendships, the politics, the betrayal, the geography and history, it’s all in here! I also love the illustrations and the light hearted and comedic moments really add a nice touch and makes the characters more interesting. If you’re looking for a good shojo manga, I highly recommend Yona of the Dawn.

Review: Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Rating: 4 hoots out of 5 hoots

Published: July 7 2020

Number of pages: 336

Format: electronic advanced reading copy

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Genre: fantasy, romance

Audience: young adult

Get it at: Chapters Indigo

Shelve it at: Goodreads

Summary:

Soraya has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens. She is cursed to be poisonous to the touch and she must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time.

A demon is inside the dungeons and holds the knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of Soraya with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison. Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she wonders who she is and who she is becoming.

My Review:

I received an advanced reading copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Quick note: I received the advanced reading copy late and I took my time reading it because July was a weird month for me. A lot of things were happening to me for the past two months that it was hard for me to focus on reading and writing this review. 

Review: Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen

Rating: 2.5 hoots out of 5 hoots

Published: May 5 2020

Number of pages: 464

Format: electronic advanced reading copy

Publisher: Tor Teen

Genre: fantasy, romance

Audience: young adult

Get it at: Chapters Indigo

Shelve it at: Goodreads

 

Summary:

Lydia is a scholar who finds herself tangled up in the plots of the most powerful man in the Calendar Empire. With her life in danger she escapes to the far side of the Endless Seas and is entrapped in a foreign war. Killian is marked by the God of War but his gifts fail him after the Corrupter invades Mudamora. Disgraced, he vows his sword to the crown princess but his oath and loyalty are put into a test. After Mudamora falls beneath the armies of the Corruptor, Lydia and Killian strike a bargain to save those they love the most until there are consequences they both must face to survive.

My Review:

An electronic advanced reading copy was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Funny story, I didn’t know this was a sequel in a series, I honestly thought this was a standalone. I was very surprised to have found this out after I received the electronic ARC! I wasn’t sure what to do as I only had 60 days to read the ARC, and with my job I wasn’t sure I could start and finish the first book on time. Plus the libraries are closed so that didn’t give me a lot of options. I decided to just dive right into Dark Skies and review it as it is without any knowledge about the first book. So here goes my review. 

Review: Defy or Defend by Gail Carriger

Rating: 2.5 hoots out of 5 hoots

Published: May 3 2020

Number of pages: 240

Format: electronic advanced reading copy

Publisher: Gail Carriger LLC

Genre: espionage, romantic comedy, supernatural

Audience: adult

Get it at: Chapters Indigo

Shelve it at: Goodreads

Summary:

A vampire hive descending into madness. A beautiful spy with a sparkly plan. A handsome bodyguard who must keep both vampires and the spy from killing each other. A charming story of espionage, love, and makeovers set in the Parasol Protectorate universe.

My Review:

An electronic advanced reading copy was received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Minor spoilers below!

I just want to say a big thank you to Gail Carriger for reaching out to me about her next new book in the Delightfully Deadly series. This series is the spin off from the Finishing School books and follows after Poison or Protect.

Dimity Plumleigh-Teignmott is back! For those who don’t know or haven’t read The Finishing Schools series, Dimity is Sophronia’s best friend and sidekick with a love for all things sparkly, hence her codename Sparkles in this story. After graduating, Dimity has earned her place in the Honey Bee where she takes on espionage missions for the War Office. A fitting position for a Finishing School graduate who has a knack for flirting while gaining many marriage proposals from her unsuspecting targets, and keeping dangerous yet, fashionable weapons hidden in her purse. 

I’M BAAACK (and other updates)

Hello all,

During these difficult times, it’s hard to find ways to preoccupy yourself when you’re self isolating and distancing yourself from other people. And with the reports and cases you hear in the news and social media everyday, it can be really stressful. These past two weeks alone has given me anxiety as I try to limit myself from going outside except when I have to work. But the challenge of isolating myself when I’m not working is that I get bored easily. One thing that’s help me get through this is knowing that everyday when I am limiting myself to go outside, I am doing it for my mom and her health. We all have to make compromises but we are doing it for ourselves, our family, friends, and our neighbours, so let’s all try to be kind and work together on supporting one another.

In a positive outlook, I’ve started reading books again. Not just manga, although I’ve been alternating between reading manga series this past months, but I’ve also received unsolicited advanced reading copies from Raincoast Books. I’m currently reading an ebook Dark Skies which after I received my copy, I later found out in Goodreads that it is a sequel to a new YA series. I haven’t read the first book and yet I’m already reading the sequel. I feel weird telling the publisher who sent me the ARC to take it back because they already sent it to me so I guess I will be reviewing this with no knowledge of the events in the first book. Raincoast Books also sent me a physical advanced reading copy of The Circus Rose with is a short read and a standalone. It reads like a middle grade story and because it’s only over 260 pages long it shouldn’t take long for me to finish.

So yes, I’m back to reading books again! I’m pretty excited with this new development and I am glad I managed to ease my way into reading books again and not just 5 straight months of reading manga (although that also counts as reading and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!) That’s all I wanted to share with anyone who is following me at the moment. I hope everyone else out there is keeping it together during these uncertain times but I really believe that this will be over and we can return back to our normal lives again.

Stay safe and healthy everyone.