Still in the first month of the Teen Reading Challenge, so you’ll have to continue to suffer through some manga updates. Actually, the challenge runs through April, so best prepare yourself now, sorry! Not everything I read was for the teen challenge - there are some awesome other books mixed in.
First up is Asa, by Jay Crownover. The final book of the Marked Men series, and it was an excellent ending indeed. I may have gotten a little emotional a time or two, especially at the end. Author Crownover said that the Marked Men may show up in her new series, The Saints of Denver, here and there, and I’m hopeful that’s true. I definitely can’t wait to start The Saints of Denver - beginning with Leveled, the prequel novella.
Next is The Earl and the Fairy, volumes 1 and 2, by Mizue Tani. Not my first historical manga, but it still felt different, if that made sense. I was surprised such a big plotline was wrapped up in two volumes, but at the end of volume 2, you see that it’s definitely not over. I already requested the next volumes, so I’m excited to see where it goes!
After that, I read Captive Hearts, volumes 1 & 2, by Matsuri Hino. I initial decided to try out this series because the description was ridiculous and adorable sounding. But it wasn’t until I actually got the manga in my hands that I realized that is only one of the three stories included in this volume, so that story is very short, and the others even shorter. The second volume just contains the main story, so that was an improvement… but I don’t think I’ll read any more in this series.
The next book was one I reviewed for Romance Reviews Today, so alas, I’m not allowed to cross-post them. Never Tear Us Apart by Monica Murphy was absolutely awesome. I loved it. And now I have to wait for an eternity (or like.. three months?) for the next one. It reminds me a lot of Asking For It and Begging For It by Lilah Pace, but with a lot less rough sex. A lot less sex in general, actually. But definitely check it out if you like your romance on the dark, edgier side.
Next up, Sweet As Sin by J.T. Geissinger - man, did I both love and hate this. I’m fickle, when it comes to fiction - sometimes I can be really strict about how characters act and react to things, and other times I’m more lenient than I would be in real life. I think if Nico treated me the way he sometimes treated Kat, I’d punch him in the nose, leave and never look back. But in fiction, I enjoyed it because it brought more drama to an already drama-heavy book, and sometimes I just like characters to suffer and have to jump through extraordinary hoops to get their happy ending.
Next I read two graphic novel memoirs, “Are You My Mother?” by Alison Bechdel, and “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” by Roz Chast. The Bechdel book was good, but while she emphasized that it was a book about her mother, it focused more on Bechdel’s interest in psychoanalysis than anything else. The second book, by Chast, was a memoir about her taking care of her parents in their final years. This one really hit home, since I recently went through a similar situation. Both were incredibly well written, but I will admit to liking Chast’s book more.
I actually read more than this (as in.. the entire run of Hot Gimmick - 12 volumes! And 5 volumes of Sensual Phrase..) but I figured this was more than enough for this week!
Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~
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