Tag: Romance

Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! Vol. 1

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Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! Vol. 1 by Aki Iwai
Series Name: Abe-kun’s Got Me Now!
Genres: Romance
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: ebook
ISBN: 9781646595594
Rating: 2/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble BookWalker

Description

Akari thinks her school karate team is just a bunch of macho gorillas. When her best friend Takuto decides he wants to join the karate club, and the school’s karate champion Abe confesses to her, Akari finds herself spending more time around the team. Will her opinion of the so called gorillas change?

Personal & Info

I got this for free from a massive BookWalker sale. I don’t normally list them in my links, but because that’s where I got this ebook, I will be including them in the listing. They had a sale not that long ago where you could get a ton of volume ones for free, so I have a huge list of them I can read when I need to post something and haven’t finished whichever novel I’m reading.

I have nothing against BookWalker. It’s just that my personal preference tends to be print books, so I usually only list links where people can find print editions. BookWalker is purely ebooks from what I can tell. If you like your manga and light novels digital, maybe check them out sometime.

Characters

Akari Yae is the main character. She refers to the karate team as gorillas and prefers guys who are more like her sweet and charming childhood friend Takuto.

Takuto is Akari’s childhood friend. He is kind and sweet, and he wants to be stronger and more athletic like Abe.

Kazune Abe is the star karate athlete at school. He likes Akari, and goes out of his way to express it and try to win her love.

Story & Thoughts

The story primarily focuses on Abe pursuing Akari as a love interest. However, Akari insistently and consistently states she is has no interest in him. This leads the plot to have quite a few red flags in the relationship department.

Abe is forceful in many ways. He often doesn’t let Akari leave when she wants to, and there are multiple times where he just picks her up and walks off with her to go somewhere. He’s also rude in ways that cut her down. He calls her stupid and an idiot on multiple occasions. Abe is so possessive he won’t even let her manage the karate team for more than a weekend. He referred to her as a thing that he owns, and would not let her make her own decision.

If you like the whole possessive, dominant, old fashioned guy, who doesn’t respect a no trope, you’ll probably like this just fine. But for me, I just see red flags all over the place. It’s also super weird that Akari’s best friend Takuto supports the whole thing. Abe is practically a god in his eyes.

Despite all the red flags and denials, it does seem like Akari likes Abe. It’s hard to tell if it’s just physical or not, because she is definitely attracted to his muscles. She doesn’t get a chance to figure out her own feelings because Abe just won’t leave her alone.

I’m not interested in reading more of this series, so this is probably the only volume of it I’ll be reviewing. This particular style of romance doesn’t interest me. I don’t like the whole guy chases girl until she eventually caves in style of story.

Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 10

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Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 10 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire: Season II
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4879-1
Rating: 3.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Average human teenage boy Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters – no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches, and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! And now he’s a sophomore!

On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns because he only has eyes for one of them – the far-from-average vampire Moka.

On the plus side, Moka only has glowing red eyes for Tsukune. On the O-negative side, she also has a burning, unquenchable thirst for his blood…

Personal & Info

This volume advertises two free mini-posters. These ones are no different than standard color images at the beginning of any manga. Like volumes nine and six, the posters are front and back, so you can only actually display one of them if you choose to tear them out and hang them anywhere. The first one is Tsukune with some kind of circuit board pattern on his arm, and the second one is a pretty picture of Ruby with a magic circle on her abdomen.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is the only human at a school for monsters. Due to various events in season one, he wears a chain lock on his wrist, similar to Moka’s rosario.

Moka Akashiya is the beautiful vampire love interest. She is considered the most beautiful girl in school, and the series likes to play up that fact.

Kurumu Kurono is the second beautiful love interest. She is the character with the largest breasts in the group, and the whole school also fawns over her, but not nearly as much as Moka.

Yukari Sendo is a twelve year old genius, and a witch.

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is a yuki-onna, but the translation constantly calls her a snow fairy. She’s also the most considerate of Tsukune’s happiness.

Fangfang Huang is a freshman, and the son of the leader of a Chinese mafia.

Ruby Tojo is a witch who works for the school.

Many members of Moka’s family make appearances.

Story & Thoughts

This volume is combat heavy, so don’t expect a lot of humor and fan service. Most of the book is a single fight scene, and the start of another. The good thing about this, though, is we get to see Ruby shine. She doesn’t usually get to do much, but she’s the star of the volume. I find it surprising she’s not the one on the cover.

The gang has spent a whole month training, and it’s finally time to go save Moka. We don’t get to see what everyone has learned, but we do get to see some of Tsukune’s new abilities, and a substantial amount of Ruby’s. I don’t think I ever thought about what kind of spell caster Ruby is before. Apparently she’s a conjurer, and that’s pretty cool.

I do think this volume is a bit stereotypical. It follows the final dungeon trope of everyone taking turns fighting the strongest foes while crunched for time. I like the trope because it gives the characters a chance to show off their skills, but at the same time, it’s a cliché.

There are only three bonus comics at the end of the book, because there weren’t enough pages. They are mostly about Moka’s time in captivity.

Can You Just Die, My Darling? Vol. 1

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Can You Just Die, My Darling? Vol. 1 by Majuro Kaname, Sousou Sakakibara
Series Name: Can You Just Die, My Darling?
Genres: Horror, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Thriller
Intended Age Group: Mature
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: ebook
ISBN: 9781642122725
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble BookWalker

Description

Neat freak Taku Kamishiro has a crush on his childhood friend, Mika Hanazono. Unfortunately for him, so does everyone else in town. After an incident outside his home, Kamishiro finds his romantic feelings have become murderous. Kamishiro fights to control his new urges in this morbid and gory romance.

Personal & Info

I got this for free from a massive BookWalker sale. I don’t normally list them in my links, but because that’s where I got this ebook, I will be including them in the listing. They had a sale not that long ago where you could get a ton of volume ones for free, so I have a huge list of them I can read when I need to post something and haven’t finished what I’m working on.

I have nothing against BookWalker. It’s just that my personal preference tends to be print books, so I usually only list links where people can find print editions. BookWalker is purely ebooks from what I can tell. If you like your manga and light novels digital, maybe check them out sometime.

This book has four stars as the rating because I docked one for the gore and general content I don’t usually enjoy. I thought everything else in the story was well done and amazing.

Characters

Taku Kamishiro is the main character. He likes cleaning for no reason, and has a sister who seems to wear her shirt backwards frequently. People call him captain clean, because he is always cleaning.

Mika Hanazono is Kamishiro’s childhood friend and crush. She seems mean and abusive hitting and kicking him all the time. It seems like she was mean to him when they were kids too.

Koji Shinomiya is captain of the soccer team. He is considered handsome and smart, and he wears a unique earring. Like everyone else, he has a crush on Hanazono.

Ms. Tanaka is Kamishiro’s neighbor.

Koki Atsumi is Hanazono’s homeroom teacher. He is popular with the students because he is kind and earnest.

Yamada is the ace pitcher of the baseball team. I don’t think we get his first name.

Story & Thoughts

Okay, so this book is…something else. I’m typing this shortly after finishing, and my nerves are just…definitely rattled. The thriller part of the story is definitely done well. The finale of the volume put me on the edge of my seat.

I didn’t know what to expect going into it, but it certainly was not what I got. There are numerous gory scenes. I don’t normally read or watch things with substantial amounts of gore. Despite the unsettling content, the story is actually more engaging than one would expect. I don’t plan on reading more of the series, but if I came across more volumes for free, I would probably read them. That’s saying a lot for something outside of my usual genre preference.

This book gives me similar vibes to zombie fiction, but it’s a little different. Basically, there is some kind of contagion that causes people to have murderous impulses. They seem to be directed at those they care about most, but not exclusively. The side effects also include super human strength, among other things. I get the feeling it’s more like an increase on all of the body’s base abilities, like making a murderous super soldier.

I cheated a little since I don’t plan on getting any more volumes. The ending of this one was a huge punch in the gut and I needed some answers, so I looked for an answer to one specific question just to quell my curiosity. If I end up reading more later, knowing this answer is not going to spoil the story for me. I just really wanted to know this one thing. If you have read this volume, you probably know what I looked up.

Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 9

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Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 9 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire: Season II
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4209-6
Rating: 5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Average human teenage boy Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters – no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches, and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! And now he’s a sophomore!

On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns because he only has eyes for one of them – the far-from-average vampire Moka.

On the plus side, Moka only has glowing red eyes for Tsukune. On the O-negative side, she also has a burning, unquenchable thirst for his blood…

Personal & Info

This volume advertises two free mini-posters. These ones are no different than standard color images at the beginning of any manga. As with volume six, the posters are front and back, so you can only actually display one of them if you choose to tear them out and hang them anywhere. One is Mizore and Kurumu is their swimsuits, and the other is Moka and Tsukune standing back to back.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is the only human at a school for monsters. Due to various events in season one, he wears a chain lock on his wrist, similar to Moka’s rosario.

Moka Akashiya is the beautiful vampire love interest. She is considered the most beautiful girl in school, and the series likes to play up that fact.

Kurumu Kurono is the second beautiful love interest. She is the character with the largest breasts in the group, and the whole school also fawns over her, but not nearly as much as Moka.

Yukari Sendo is a twelve year old genius, and a witch.

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is a yuki-onna, but the translation constantly calls her a snow fairy. She’s also the most considerate of Tsukune’s happiness.

Fangfang Huang is a freshman, and the son of the leader of a Chinese mafia.

Lingling Huang is Fangfang’s big sister.

Tohofuhai is one of the Three Dark Lords. He looks like an old man most of the time, and his specialties are seals and magic.

Aqua is Moka’s eldest sister. She works for a branch of Fairy Tale and absolutely adores Moka.

Ginei Morioka, also known as Gin, is the Newspaper Club’s president. Normally we hardly ever see him.

Story & Thoughts

This volume has more chapters than usual. There are six. The first third finishes the events of combat with Aqua. There are some epic and dramatic moments there.

I think the most important section is the last half of the book. It focuses heavily on Kurumu. She shines here, but at the same time it’s so emotionally tragic it almost made me cry. Kurumu does not give herself enough credit. She doesn’t get many chances to shine, so I love that for her in this one, even if it’s in an unpleasant situation.

Gin arrives at some point with Ruby and a few others when the story switches focus to training. I don’t usually pay attention to how people talk, but Gin’s speech drove me up the wall in this book. I had to read it without the…What would it be? An accent, maybe? Gin speaks in an annoying way in this volume, and I just can’t help wondering if I just didn’t notice before, or if it was a new translation choice. He says things like, “yer” instead of your and, “purty,” instead of pretty. It makes him sound really annoying, and I hate it. I swear he did not speak like that before.

Overall, this volume is another serious one. There is very little comedy, if any, but it covers a significant amount of content. As a whole, I think it might be one of the best volumes, but that’s just my personal opinion. Everything in it is important.

Dick Fight Island

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Dick Fight Island by Reibun Ike
Genres: Action, BL, Comedy, Erotica, Romance
Intended Age Group: Mature
Publisher: SuBlime/Libre
Volumes: 2
Series Rating: 5/5
See my individual reviews here:
Volume 1 – Volume 2
Get your own copies here:
1 – Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks
2 – Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description

The archipelago islands of Pulau Yang Indah are hosting their quadrennial tournament to choose the king for the next political term. But, this isn’t just any normal tournament. The archipelago’s traditions are strange and different. The competition consists of one on one matches of man against man, with the first to ejaculate being the loser.

Harto, of the jewel clan, returns from abroad to participate as his clan’s chosen warrior. He’s brought a new technique from the mainland, taught by his college roommate, Matthew. Will this new skill be enough to win him the tournament? And what about after, would Harto even want to be king?

Find out what heartwarming and erotic love stories result from this unique island tradition.

About

As far as I know, this series is only two volumes long. There appears to be some short story publication as well, but it’s a Japanese release only.

This is very much an erotic series. There are dicks and butts all over the place in both volumes. It is censored, but minorly. The books use a gray/black bar method. The bar is small, and doesn’t obscure much of anything. It’s not even used consistently. Some pictures don’t have it at all. I think it depends how detailed the image is and possibly what angle.

The consent of the tournament is a little sketchy. By entering the tournament as warriors, they’re basically consenting to the possibility of things happening, but the goal is to avoid it. Use your own discretion to decide if you’re okay with that.

Personal

I’ve been a fan of BL stories for a long time, but I haven’t been able to start a collection until recently. After hearing all the positive feedback about this one, I decided to get it and try it for myself. I’m glad I did. It’s short, sweet, and hilariously silly.

Characters

Harto is the main character. He’s from the jewel clan, and he attends college abroad. Matthew is his roommate.

Matthew Manami is Harto’s roommate from college abroad.

Pisau is from the sun clan. He trains for the tournament with Yudha.

Roro is chief of the earth clan. He has emotional history regarding Rej.

Yudha is from the warrior clan. Yudha has a crush on Pisau.

Taring is the son of the leader of the matrilineal fang clan. He is the youngest in the competition because his clan doesn’t produce many men.

Naga is from the dragon clan. He has history with Vampir regarding his eye.

Vampir is from the healer clan. He has shaman powers, and he tends to get a little intense.

Bulan is from the moon clan. The moon clan is in the northernmost island, and the members tend to be known for their beauty. Bulan has a thing for chief Roro.

Safir is the chief of the jewel clan. He currently rules as co-king with Rej.

Rej is the chief of the healer clan and rules as co-king with Safir.

Story & Thoughts

Volume one focuses on the events of the tournament. Eight warriors from the eight different islands of the archipelago come together to battle it out in the erotic competition to determine their king. Of course, romances are going on in the background. The most obvious one being Matthew following Harto all the way to his home country.

Volume two focuses on Harto and Matthew’s backstory, followed by jumping ahead to check on how everyone is doing after the tournament. Everyone has essentially paired up, whether for romance or training. This one seems to have much more “action” in it than the first one.

Negatives

Honestly, there are few negatives. I guess if you don’t like dubious consent, that’s likely the big one. Aside from that, all I can think of is probably the weirdness of Taring dating his uncle. That only gets a page or two of attention, though. It’s gross, but it’s extremely minor, so it’s easy to overlook.

I don’t consider this a negative, but apparently other people do, so I’m going to list it here and address it. The people of the archipelago do not seem to know what a prostate or anal sex are. It sounds ridiculous, but that’s the point. It’s part of the humor, and not everyone is ignorant about it. There are characters who do know about it. It’s just the ones who are inexperienced or never thought of trying something like that who don’t know about it. Just roll with it, it’s not meant to be taken seriously.

Positives

The biggest positive, in my opinion, is basically everyone gets a happy ending. Everyone is paired with somebody, and each individual relationship gets attention. The story leaves nobody out.

There are lots of dicks and butts, that’s important for this kind of story.

It’s hilarious. The story is serious without taking itself seriously. The determination of the characters during the tournament is part of why it’s so funny.

The story is so heartwarming. Characters overcome cultural differences and hidden feelings to be with people they might not have thought possible in wholesome ways. A few of the relationships might seem a little strange or possibly toxic, but that’s mostly because the characters are so quirky. It’s like a few of them don’t know how to act around the people they like. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It just means they still need to grow a little as people.

There’s also way more detail than you would expect. Not only does each character have a backstory and romance of their own, but each island has some lore.

Dick Fight Island, Vol. 2

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Dick Fight Island, Vol. 2 by Reibun Ike
Series Name: Dick Fight Island
Genres: BL, Comedy, Erotica, Romance
Intended Age Group: Mature
Publisher: SuBlime/Libre
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-9747-2655-4
Rating: 5/5
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Description from the Book

Matthew is studying at a prestigious college, and his new roommate, Harto, is almost too much to take. Harto hails from the mysterious Pulau Yang Indah and grew up with strange island cultural practices involving…well, the butt. Matthew does his best to shield his new roommate from teasing before it devolves into actual sexual harassment, and Harto isn’t unmoved by Matthew’s kindness – in fact, just thinking of him can bring him to orgasm. But these new developments terrify him too. As his clan’s chosen warrior, he can’t risk growing weak. Will he be forced to choose between his new love and the clan that raised him?

Personal & Info

The first book is really good, so of course I had to get the second one. It does not disappoint. It’s unfortunate the series only has two volumes.

This book shares the same type of censorship as the first. The gray/black bar that does not cover much and seems to be used inconsistently.

Characters

Harto is the main character. He’s from the jewel clan, and he attends college abroad. Matthew is his roommate.

Matthew Manami is Harto’s roommate from college abroad.

Pisau is from the sun clan. He usually trains for the tournament with Yudha, but their relationship is developing more than that.

Roro is chief of the earth clan.

Yudha is from the warrior clan. He usually trains for the tournament with Pisau, but their relationship is developing more than that. He expressed the desire to move in with him during the events of the tournament.

Taring is the son of the leader of the matrilineal fang clan. His involvement in everything is insignificant.

Naga is from the dragon clan. He has history with Vampir regarding his eye.

Vampir is from the healer clan. He has shaman powers, and he tends to get a little intense.

Bulan is from the moon clan. The moon clan is in the northernmost island, and the members tend to be known for their beauty. He is crazy about Roro.

Safir is the chief of the jewel clan. He currently rules as co-king with Rej.

Rej is the chief of the healer clan and rules as co-king with Safir.

Story & Thoughts

This volume starts off with the prequel story of Harto and Metthew’s relationship. There is a little of that in volume one, but this is an expanded version. It shows what their lives living together are like at college before the tournament. It covers their growing pains as friends from different cultures, and how their relationship goes from friends to something more romantic.

After that the story jumps forward to after the events of the tournament. It addresses all the couples formed as a result of the tournament. We see how they are doing, and what progress they have made in their relationships.

Much like the first book, this one is sweet and funny. Even the stories for the characters I don’t like as much are enjoyable to read. Surprisingly, though, this volume actually has a lot more “action” than the first. There is no tournament in this one, but there is more erotic content than there was in the competition.

I think Taring got cheated in both books. In the first one, he is out in what is basically a preliminary match. In this one, he only gets a few pages. His love story is also a bit of a let down, and probably one of the only truly creepy ones in the series.

Dick Fight Island, Vol. 1

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Dick Fight Island, Vol. 1 by Reibun Ike
Series Name: Dick Fight Island
Genres: Action, BL, Comedy, Erotica, Romance
Intended Age Group: Mature
Publisher: SuBLime/Libre
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1720-0
Rating: 5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

The tournament to choose the next king of the islands is about to begin. The rules are simple – whoever comes first loses!
Participating warriors protect their mighty swords with armor that grows larger and more elaborate with each tournament. But one warrior has returned from studying abroad with a technique certain to force a pleasurable eruption! Is there a competitor alive able to withstand it? Or is this deft warrior destined to become king?!

Personal & Info

I see adds for this everywhere, so I had to order it and see what the fuss is all about. Apparently it’s highly recommended by Barnes and Noble employees as well as people across the internet.

There’s a color image of all the contestants in the front. There’s also a page introducing them all by name that tells you which island they are from, with one or two extra details. The pictures on the character page are all close ups of the penis armor they each wear. It’s silly to see, but I’m glad it’s there.

Characters

Harto is the main character. He’s from the jewel clan, and he attends college abroad. Matthew is his roommate.

Pisau is from the sun clan, which specializes in fishing. He trains for the tournament with Yudha.

Roro is chief of the earth clan. He has emotional history regarding Rej.

Yudha is from the warrior clan. Yudha has a crush on Pisau.

Taring is the son of the leader of the matrilineal fang clan. He is the youngest in the competition because his clan doesn’t produce many men.

Naga is from the dragon clan. He has history with Vampir regarding his eye.

Vampir is from the healer clan. He has shaman powers.

Bulan is from the moon clan. The moon clan is in the northernmost island, and the members tend to be known for their beauty. Bulan has a thing for chief Roro.

Safir is the chief of the jewel clan. He currently rules as co-king with Rej.

Rej is the chief of the healer clan and rules as co-king with Safir.

Matthew Manami is Harto’s roommate from college abroad.

Story & Thoughts

The story is simple and erotic, but also sweet, and overall silly. The Pulau Yang Indah archipelago islands host a rather unusual tournament every four years to determine their king. There are eight islands, and each nominates a warrior to represent them. The goal is to make your opponent ejaculate first. Because of this odd tradition, the contestants wear revealing, but elaborate, armor to protect their genitals.

Despite the unique and erotic premise, the book is actually captivating and romantic, if you don’t mind dubious consent. There are descriptions and details about each of the islands and their individual cultures, as well as the characters themselves. Each character has their own backstory and their own romance. I think the quote from Reibun Ike at the end of the book describes it best: “This is a battle manga, but also a heartwarming story.”

There is censorship, but it doesn’t cover much. It’s the black bar kind, but they’re more like solid gray bars. Usually they just cut the dick in half as if they aren’t allowed to show the full shaft, but sometimes they don’t use it at all. I think it depends how much detail is in the picture.

The biggest complaint I see going around about the book is that the citizens of the archipelago apparently don’t know what a prostate or anal sex is. It sounds ridiculous, but that’s the point. It’s part of the humor, and not everyone is ignorant about it. There are characters who do know about it. It’s just the ones who are inexperienced or never thought of trying something like that who don’t know about it. Just roll with it, it’s not meant to be taken seriously.

I absolutely love this book. It’s hilarious and sexy. Few books make me laugh as much as this one does.

Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 8

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Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 8 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire: Season II
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4050-4
Rating: 5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Average human teenage boy Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters – no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches, and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! And now he’s a sophomore!

On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns because he only has eyes for one of them – the far-from-average vampire Moka.

On the plus side, Moka only has glowing red eyes for Tsukune. On the O-negative side, she also has a burning, unquenchable thirst for his blood…

Personal & Info

No bump for the rating of this volume. There are still things I remember later on in the story, but there’s enough I don’t remember to consider them fresh reads from here on out.

This volume boasts a free mini-poster inside. Like volumes seven and five, it’s a fold out. This one features Aqua, the eldest Shuzen sister.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is the only human at a school for monsters. Due to various events in season one, he wears a chain lock on his wrist, similar to Moka’s rosario.

Moka Akashiya is the beautiful vampire love interest. She is considered the most beautiful girl in school, and the series likes to play up that fact.

Kurumu Kurono is the second beautiful love interest. She is the character with the largest breasts in the group, and the whole school also fawns over her, but not nearly as much as Moka.

Yukari Sendo is a twelve year old genius, and a witch.

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is a yuki-onna, but the translation constantly calls her a snow fairy. She’s also the most considerate of Tsukune’s happiness.

Fangfang Huang is a freshman, and the son of the leader of a Chinese mafia.

Lingling Huang is Fangfang’s undead big sister.

Story & Thoughts

Pretty much the entire volume consists of Moka’s backstory. We learn what her relationship with Aqua was like when they were kids. More significant vampire lore is addressed, and we learn more about Moka’s mother, Akasha. The story is intense and heart wrenching. The only comedy parts in this one are the bonus comics.

Kurumu uses an ability we’ve never seen before. She’s always been able to do it, but hasn’t had reason to until now. I’m not sure if it makes her tail gross, though…It looked slimy.

I imagine some people would probably be upset because this volume is super serious, but I love the serious volumes. The funny ones are great, too, but I enjoy both ends of the spectrum. I feel like a series needs a decent balance of both to be good. This series has some serious volumes and some funny ones, as well as some that cover both equally, so I think it’s great.

This volume doesn’t even wrap up this adventure, yet. It’s one of the longest events in the series. This book and the one before it focus on Moka’s backstory, and it looks like the next one will continue the invasion on the Huang house with the combat portion.

Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 7

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Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 7 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire: Season II
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4026-9
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Average human teenage boy Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters – no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches, and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! And now he’s a sophomore!

On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns because he only has eyes for one of them – the far-from-average vampire Moka.

On the plus side, Moka only has glowing red eyes for Tsukune. On the O-negative side, she also has a burning, unquenchable thirst for his blood…

Personal & Info

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, I’m giving the volumes I’ve already read a slight bump in rating to show how much I liked it my first time through. I don’t want my familiarity with the series to hurt the score. There is less thrill when you already know what happens, so I’m accounting for that. The bump is only about a half star.

This volume advertises a mini-poster inside. This one is a fold out, like volume five, featuring Moka and inner Moka separated by a mirror. Again, I can’t imagine why anyone would tear this out.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is the only human at a school for monsters. Due to various events in season one, he wears a chain lock on his wrist, similar to Moka’s rosario.

Moka Akashiya is the beautiful vampire love interest. She is considered the most beautiful girl in school, and the series likes to play up that fact.

Kurumu Kurono is the second beautiful love interest. She is the character with the largest breasts in the group, and the whole school also fawns over her, but not nearly as much as Moka.

Yukari Sendo is a twelve year old genius, and a witch.

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is a yuki-onna, but the translation constantly calls her a snow fairy. She’s also the most considerate of Tsukune’s happiness.

Fangfang Huang is a freshman, and the son of the leader of a Chinese mafia.

Lingling Huang is Fangfang’s undead big sister.

Story & Thoughts

This volume focuses heavily on inner Moka. Now that she is out all the time, she’s socializing more than she ever has before, and her experiences are giving her more feelings than she is used to. She thinks this is a weakness forming, but she has the other Moka talking to her to help even things out and give her advice. It’s like seeing their relationship backwards, which is probably why the first chapter has the title Reverse.

The group is traveling to get Moka’s rosario repaired. The last two chapters are probably the most important. We get a look at a chunk of Moka’s childhood and see her family. The most important part of it seems to be the introduction of her third and final sister. We have not seen her, yet, so these flashbacks are covering a bit of what she is like.

Between those events and the usual shenanigans, there’s also plot building going on in the background. Fairy Tale is making moves and plans they have already put into motion are under investigation. There are some familiar faces returning, and not for anyone’s benefit.

I always enjoy the volumes that delve into character backstories. It’s also nice seeing inner Moka as more of a person. She deserves to be more than just the person who shows up when people need saving.

I can’t help feeling bad for Fangfang. He gets treated so poorly all the time. All he wants is to have friends and do right by his family.

Ghost of a Chance

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Ghost of a Chance by Jayne Ann Krentz
Genres: Ghosts, Mystery, Romance
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Mira
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 1-55166-524-7
Rating: 2/5
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Description from the Book

It was time to lay some ghosts to rest…

Anne Silver’s brother had been working to expose a clever ring of swindlers when he was struck down by a car – a clear case of attempted murder. Now Anne’s determined to finish what her brother started. But she can’t do it without the help of ex-CIA agent Julian Aries, a man who once betrayed her.

With Julian as an unwilling conspirator, the couple goes undercover to face ghosts old and new – an unsolved murder and a clever gang of fake psychics. But as Anne and Julian put their lives on the line, the icy chill of danger and a powerful desire they can no longer deny force them to confront the greatest unsolved mystery of all…their unlikely love.

Personal & Info

Jayne Ann Krentz (and all her other pseudonyms) is one of my favorite authors. Her books always feel comfortable to read, so I am amassing a collection. This one is a 250 page stand alone.

I purchased this novel from my local used book store for a dollar. Apparently it’s out of print. I think you can still find some audiobook or ebook versions if you don’t want the hassle of locating a print edition. The links I provided SHOULD lead you to some print editions if that’s what you want.

Characters

Anne Silver is the leading lady. She works at a university as a research assistant, and her brother Micheal is a reporter.

Julian Aries is the leading man. He is ex-CIA, and, in my opinion, there is absolutely nothing charming about him.

Prue Gibson is the housekeeper of the house they will be using to ensnare the ghost hunters.

Thomas Craven is the lead ghost hunter.

Sara is the “sensitive” that can sense and communicate with ghosts. She claims to have no last name.

Dan Hargraves is Craven’s assistant. He handles all the notes and research regarding their ghost hunting adventures.

Story & Thoughts

I think the most important thing to point out starting out is the fact this book is from the 80s. There are themes and opinions involved that definitely show the perspective of the times. The date in my book says it was published in 1984. If you don’t like to see consent disrespected, or how men would think or act in the 80s, you might not like this book. If you do like that, then you might also like Serpent in Paradise by the same author.

The story itself is okay. I don’t have any issues with that. Anne and Julian plan to trap some ghost hunters who use their profession to rob houses. That’s all well and good. The plot even wraps up nicely, though I’m not surprised about the plot twist at the end. I actually had my suspicions early on.

The biggest issue in the whole book is Julian. I have pages of notes about how horrible Julian is. I cannot stress enough how frequently he disrespects consent. There is technically no rape, however a significant amount of consent is in a very gray area, or in the badgering category, which does not really count as true consent.

Julian tries to find sexual meanings or responses in practically everything. He does not understand simple human compassion, and he is delusional enough to mentally justify all of his actions, even if his justification completely goes against something he was told. There are no redeeming qualities about him. He is a toxic person, and Anne should not like him at all. Any sweetness at the tail end of the book does not make up for the entirety of the book before it, nor does it change anything about him. Julian basically ruins the whole book.

Aside from all the Julian garbage, there are only two more things I think are worth mentioning. Anne doesn’t stand up to Julian nearly enough. She lets him manipulate her too much. The last thing isn’t related to the story, but there seem to be a significant amount of typos.