Tag: Volume 1

Kingdom Hearts, Vol. 1

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Kingdom Hearts, Vol. 1 by Shiro Amano
Series Name: Kingdom Hearts
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy
Intended Age Group: All Ages
Publisher: Tokyopop
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-59816-217-2
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

When a strange storm hits his island home, 14-year-old Sora is separated from his friends and swept into a mysterious new land. There he meets Court Wizard Donald and Captain Goofy, who are on a mission to find their king, Micky, and return him to his throne at Disney Castle. When the three learn of the Heartless, ominous creatures who feed off the darkness in the hearts of others, they join forces to recover Sora’s friends, return the king to his rightful position and save the universe from the Heartless!

Personal & Info

I’ve been a fan of Kingdom Hearts for a long time. I’ve fallen behind a little on the newer stuff, but the series, no matter which format, will always have a special place in my heart. The version of the series I have in my collection for Kingdom Hearts is out of print. It’s four volumes. I have all of them, so I will be reviewing all four.

Reprints were done for this series sometime around 2013, in which they compiled them into two books instead of four. Those will be the primary versions I link, but I will include a couple links where used versions of the old editions can be found. The 2005 print that I have, would be less convenient to find.

I can’t say for the reprints, but the editions I have read left to right instead of right to left. I still consider it a manga because that’s pretty much the only difference from the norm.

Going into this, it’s been a couple years since I played the game, but I have played it several times, so I have a solid grasp of the plot. This is technically a reread, because I have read it before. It has, however, been several years, possibly over a decade, since the last time.

Characters

Sora is the main character. He is like your stereotypical average kid thrust into fantastical save the world scenarios.

Kairi and Riku are Sora’s friends from the island. Riku is basically the cool guy, who is also a tad mean. Kairi is like the girl next door that Sora and Riku are both crushing on. The manga doesn’t make the crush very clear compared to the game.

Donald and Goofy are well known Disney characters. For this series, they are Sora’s traveling companions and allies in combat.

Various other Disney and Final Fantasy characters make appearances throughout the series. I will not list those for people who might not have any exposure to the series. I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise appearances.

Story & Thoughts

This volume covers Destiny Islands, Traverse Town, and Wonder Land. The beginning of the book has a slightly different introduction where the game tutorial would be. There’s a page that tells a story about a broken world. I’m fairly certain this piece of lore is not part of the games. I can’t say if it’s part of the light novels, though, because I have not yet read them. Those will be read and reviewed at a later date.

The island section, which would be the start of the game, where we meet Sora and his friends, seems rushed. We don’t get a solid feel for the characters before everything takes off. Some jokes and interactions from the game were cut, probably to save on time and pages. This is shorter than the average manga, though, so I think they could have made it work.

The story overall seems mostly accurate. I think the fluidity of the panels in some parts is a little jank. With the extra fast pacing of the story, someone who hasn’t played the game might not get the full experience from just reading the manga. It definitely doesn’t have the same feel to it as the game either. The manga seems to try hard for a loony type of comedy that you might see in old Disney cartoons. I get why, but I’m not sure it helps the quality.

The cover art for all the chapters looks really nice. The art throughout is decent, but I think everyone seems to have a case of the baby faces. Sora looks much younger than fourteen. Leon, oh my gosh, Leon looks twelve.

I wouldn’t recommend this as your only Kingdom Hearts experience. You should definitely play the game, or watch someone else play it.

My Happy Marriage, Vol. 1

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My Happy Marriage, Vol. 1 by Akumi Agitogi, Rito Kohsaka, Tsukiho Tsukioka
Series Name: My Happy Marriage (Manga)
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Romance 
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64609-146-1
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

All She wanted was a bit of happiness…

Considered night worthless for having failed to inherit the superhuman powers of the bloodlines into which she was born, Miyo Saimori lives her days unwanted and unloved.

Her stepmother and very own father have little time or affection for her, and Miyo must suffer being treated as a servant by her half sister who, unlike Miyo, is blessed with the unusual powers of their blood.

Ultimately seen as nothing more than a nuisance and a drain on the family wealth, Miyo is packed off to the Kudo house as a bridal candidate for its heir, Kiyoka Kudo.

Whispers abound about the Kudo clan, the most powerful in all the land, but will the allegedly cold and cruel ouse into which Miyo aims to marry prove much warmer than the family she left behind?

Personal & Info

This is a fairly new release. It came out the same day as The Apothecary Diaries volume 6. I’ve seen it around a bit since the release, so when I saw it at my local bookstore, I decided to look into it.

This is apparently the manga version of the series, because there is also a light novel series. However, they are both extremely new to the English translation right now, so I don’t think it matters which one I start first. I think the light novel has a little more out than the manga does, but the manga was right there, so I wouldn’t have to order it.

Characters

Miyo Saimori is the main character. She experiences abuse from her own family, and is sent to court a man everyone considers cruel. Nobody expects her to stay long.

Kiyoka Kudo is the love interest of the story. Everyone thinks he is too cruel for anyone to marry, but he has high political standing and wealth, so many families try to arrange a marriage anyway. Most end in failure within a three day time period.

Yurie is Kiyoka’s housekeeper. She has taken care of him since he was young, and he trusts her implicitly. She is a very kind older woman.

Kanoko is Miyo’s step mother. She is a mean woman who resents Miyo. Her name does not come up in the volume, as far as I can remember, but it does in the short story at the end of the book.

Kaya is Miyo’s younger half sister. She receives everything Miyo does not.

Koji Tatsuishi is Miyo’s childhood friend, and the only person who is ever kind to her while she lives at home.

Shinichi Saimori is Miyo’s father. He cares not a whit for Miyo.

Sumi Usuba is Miyo’s mother. With this being a Cinderella inspired story, she is not around. We only see her in flashbacks.

Story & Thoughts

Halfway through the first chapter and this story already pulls on my heart strings. I was not expecting this to be this good. The cover doesn’t stand out to me, and the synopsis sounds mediocre, but dang. I’m going to have to keep reading the series.

The tone of the story comes off as rather serious. Miyo is a woman with a broken spirit. She’s sent to the Kudo household fully expecting to either be sent away or die there. She doesn’t even care which result occurs because either of them would be preferable to going back home, which she can’t do anyway.

There is some intrigue going on in the background, because it turns out the paranormal ability from the Usuba bloodline is special. There are people who want it. Even if Miyo herself does not have it, there’s still a good chance it could pass to her children. You know, because that’s how genetics work.

I don’t want to say too much, because I don’t want to detract from the experience of reading the book yourself. Just know that I am very interested in seeing where the story goes from here. I want to know what becomes of Miyo’s life under Kudo’s roof.

Combs and Memories

This is a short story in the back of the book. It’s about seven pages long. Miyo reminisces about a servant’s kindness regarding a comb. This is a novel style story, and if the light novel is anything like this, I’ll probably like that, too. I will likely get that version of this series eventually.

His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper, Vol. 1

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His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper, Vol. 1 by Saiko Wadori, Mika Kajiyama
Series Name: His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper
Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Isekai, Romance 
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-63858-407-0
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

For Takatsuki Sakura, a trip to the library turns into a fantastical journey. She has been swept away to a grandiose castle ruled by a gorgeous demon king. Magic and wonder covers every room. Taking it in, Sakura can hardly breathe…because of all the dust and dirt. A curse has prevented this kingdom from cleaning. Only Sakura and her housekeeping knowhow can scrub away this dark magic and grime!

Personal & Info

Not going to lie, I grabbed this because the cover looks nice and the description mentions the word library.

Housekeepers and maids are always popular in manga. I don’t think I’ve actually tried any series with them in the title, though. I did see a couple episodes of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, and I like that. I’ll probably try reading or watching more of that eventually. Anyway, my point is, this is my first real try(maybe specifically with manga) at anything with maid or housekeeper in the title.

Characters

Sakura, is the main character. She’s an enthusiastic neat freak, because her mother traumatized her as a child.

His Majesty the Demon King, I don’t believe we get a name in this volume. We’re going to have to wait and see about that. He’s so pretty.

Milia is a cat demon with shapeshifting abilities. She’s the girl with purple hair on the cover.

Lehaye is the chamberlain to the King. He takes advantage of any profitable opportunity.

Sadeen is His Majesty’s personal guard. He’s mostly good at doing strong man things.

Ruval is a minstrel, and self-invited guest in the palace.

Story & Thoughts

Isekai are a dime a dozen these days, so I’m always a little wary when trying them. This one is surprisingly good. I give it a three and a half out of five. Three and a half usually means above average enough that it stands out to me and I want to continue the series. It seems like it can only get better from here. Several plot hooks are thrown in toward the end of the volume.

The kingdom this takes place in is heavily reliant on magic. Nobody knows how to do anything without it. This is why Sakura is their only hope for cleanliness.

This series is interesting because it has cleaning tutorials thrown in. Legit tutorials, like using salt to clean iron, and the use of baking soda as a cleaning agent. It even talks about alkaline solutions. You could probably legitimately learn some cleaning tips from reading this.

The King is not exactly what one would expect in a standard isekai. He’s literally just living in luxury, and has no plans to cause any chaos. There’s no evil army for a hero to fight against. He’s not even a villain. I think the atypical cast adds to the charm of the story. The whole thing is unexpectedly wholesome.

The afterward describes the series as a rom-com, and I do agree with that. There are funny moments scattered around, and the story doesn’t seem super serious. Nothing blatantly romantic happens in this volume, but there are definitely hints of romance to come. I’m interested in seeing what happens.

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 by Kousuke Oono
Series Name: The Way of the House Husband
Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life, Contemporary
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0940-3
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

He was the fiercest member of the yakuza, a man who left countless underworld legends in his wake. They called him “the Immortal Dragon.” But one day he walked away from it all to travel another path – the path of the househusband! The curtain rises on this cozy yakuza comedy!

Personal & Info

My husband loves yakuza themed stuff with humor mixed in, so our copies of this series belong to him. He highly recommends the series, and the announcement of it caught my interest, too. Reading this makes me want to see how the anime turned out.

I was going to give this a three and a half, but it made me laugh, so I’m bumping it to a four. I also took a short break halfway through, so it’s fair to make up for any discrepancy there may have been.

Characters

Tatsu is the main character, also known as “the Immortal Dragon.”

Miku is Tatsu’s wife. She’s a designer of some sort, and also a geek, which I think is amazing.

Masa appears to be someone Tatsu knows from his days as a yakuza.

Gin is the family cat, and one of the best characters in my opinion.

Story & Thoughts

When I hear something is a comedy, I’m generally not sure what to think about it until I read it myself, especially with manga. As with anything, there are different types of comedy, and different ways to make stories funny. This series seems to have its own formula that works well.

Each chapter is a slice of life story. There is a simple event, encounter, or task to be done. Some of them are funny throughout, while others save the punch line until the end of the chapter. Sometimes there is more added to the punch line on the page after the chapter end, where there is a single picture drawn.

I think the main point of the comedy is how unexpectedly considerate Tatsu is, and how seriously he handles everything. He has a lot of eccentricities. When was the last time you saw someone criticize a Roomba for not being able to clean crevices?

The art style contributes, too. There are times when it looks like a run of the mill highly detailed manga, and then there are others where it looks dark and ominous. I’m curious how Tatsu’s tattoo is drawn, because it looks different than everything else.

I will definitely be continuing the series. I have questions, like how did Tatsu and Miku end up together? Because they seem like very different people. They are funny together though. I love how Miku is a geek and Tatsu tries to understand what she likes, while also trying not to let her spend their money frivolously.

Violet (Spell Library #1)

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Violet by Mia Harlan
Series Name: Spell Library
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Reverse Harem, Romance, Shifters, Vampires
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Independent
Edition: Kindle
ASIN: B086HXCNHT
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description

Violet is a young chameleon shifter on the run. She’s spent the past year posing as her 80-year-old best friend in Silver Springs. No one can ever find out who she is or what she looks like or she might end up dead. Not even her three fated mates: a bear shifter, a vampire mage, and a troll cop. But that might be out of her control.

Personal & Info

I see a lot of ebook ads on social media. That’s where I found this one. The description was so out there and funny on its own that I added it to my wish list. I scroll through my wish list regularly for sales, and this one was free one day, so I grabbed it. I’m glad I did, too, because this book is glorious!

I am unable to find any hardcopies or listings on other major sites, so I’ve only listed the link to the Amazon kindle version.

It’s been a while since I read this, but I like to read this series every so often as a pallet cleanser when I need a break. At this point, I’ve read four of them (in the past two years), so I’d like to get reviews up for them so I won’t be missing any when I get around to reading more of them.

All of these books CAN be read as stand alone novels, but they do connect a little. The characters appear in other books, and the main connector is a novel that gets passed to each main character.

Characters

Violet, the main character, is a chameleon shifter. She impersonates her best friend to work at the library. Violet is in a bit of trouble, so nobody can know who she really is.

Violet, Violet’s best friend (yes there are two Violets), is a skunk shifter. Other Violet impersonates this Violet at work.

Liam is troll police officer. I don’t mean the jokester kind, he is a literal troll. He’s related to one of the old ladies that frequents the library.

Bert is Liam’s partner. He’s a vampire who chooses to work the day shift.

Cash is a wealthy vampire. His name is rather fitting when you think about it. I think he invented this world’s version of social media, if I remember right.

Nole is a bear shifter. He works at the library with Violet. I believe he has two brothers, but I probably won’t be mentioning them.

Story & Thoughts

This book has me laughing and giggling most of the way. The first half is hilarious

The story occurs within the span of only a few days. Day one, Violet is practically bombarded by men. I won’t say how, because that would spoil the comedy.

My favorite is Cash. I like his sense of humor the most, and he seems like the sweetest, in my opinion. No details on how or why, because I don’t want to spoil anything.

The story is not purely comedy, though. It gets serious in the second half, but the events practically fly by, so it doesn’t feel like the book itself is serious.

Both Violets get a happy ending, which is great. It’s not really a surprise though, because as a romance, a happily ever after is standard. I am a little surprised at the ending old lady Violet gets, though. That part caught me off guard, but good for her.

The general setting of the story intrigues me, but I have to wonder what humans see if they can’t see all the paranormal stuff.

I’m tempted to give Violet a perfect score, because, as a comedy, the rating system is a little different. I laughed a lot, which is good, but I feel like there is something missing from the serious section. I love this book. It’s a great break from the more serious fantasy I often read.

Dark Lover

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Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
Series Name: Black Dagger Brotherhood
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Contemporary, Erotica, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Urban, Vampires
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Signet Eclipse/Penguin Group (USA)
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 0-451-21695-4
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

In the Shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood…

The only purebred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed – orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate – Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead…

Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn’t there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of brotherhood and blood frighten her. But his touch ignites a dawning hunger that threatens to consume them both…

Personal & Info

The blog does not line up well with my reading of this series. I was a ways into it before I even started thinking about making a blog. At the time I’m typing this, I’m ten books in, and actively reading the series. However, I feel like I should include the series in my reviews, so I’m going to try to go back and look at my pitiful notes and muddle my way through to get caught up.

I’d heard this series was good, but I never went out of my way to buy it. That is, until I found a deal on getting the first several volumes cheap. I jumped on the opportunity, and I don’t regret it. With this in mind, you can be sure the editions I have, for at least the first few, are likely outdated. I don’t think you can even find this edition in stores anymore. If you go looking for this book, you’ll find an updated cover that looks nothing like this one.

Content Warnings

I’m not sure how important content warnings are. I know they’re important to some people, and others don’t care. There are a few things in this book that might raise some flags for certain types of people. I’m not used to covering content warnings, but I’ll do my best for this. Remember, I haven’t read this in about a year, so I might forget or miss some. Anyway, here they are: attempted rape, sexual themes, violence, and kidnapping.

Characters

Beth and Wrath are the main characters here, obviously. I remember I like Beth. Wrath did a few things that could be considered creepy. I think Tohr was also significant. He was the only one Wrath trusted to keep an eye on Beth, because Tohr is already married. If you like dominant and possessive men, this is definitely for you.

Some of the other brothers, if not all (I can’t remember), were introduced. I’m almost positive it was all of them. Their names couldn’t possibly be any “edgier.” They’re so edgy it’s comical. Here are their names: Wrath, Tohrment, Rhage, Vishous, Zsadist, and Phury. I got used to it after a while. Most of them use abbreviations, so that helps.

There’s a loose cannon cop named Butch, always a good trope.

Mr. X is the villain of the story, and by villain I mean the right hand man of the guy who is the real villain, but we don’t exactly see the real villain much. His perspective gives us insight into how the slayers, or Lessers, as they are called, operate.

Story & Thoughts

Story-wise, I think the book started a bit slow. There were, maybe, 4-8 different perspectives for converging events, so there was a lot of ground for plot and lore to cover before things got good. To try to name some of the perspectives, I think they were Beth, Wrath, Marissa, Mr. X, Butch, Havers, and José de la Cruz. If there were more, I can’t remember, and I don’t care enough to check the book more thoroughly. If you get confused by books that have multiple perspectives being swapped all the time, this might not be for you. I personally like books that tell stories that way. I don’t know why, I just do, so it didn’t bother me. However, in regards to the pacing and plot prep and everything, I wasn’t expecting two thirds of the book to go by before Beth’s transition.

There are plenty of sexy bits in the story. Most of the time they contribute to the story or character development in some way. That’s why it’s considered erotica. To be an erotica, the sexual parts of a story have to be important to the plot. They definitely are for this, even if some of them weren’t exactly the most natural or reasonable implementations (refer to what I said about Wrath doing a few things that can be considered creepy).

I have to say, this book was also memorable because of the writing. There were typos, but there are bound to be typos in any book, especially early editions, like I think this one was. Some of the word choices though, were odd. I don’t have any examples off hand, but some of the slang is very dated. Maybe it wasn’t at the time this was published, I’m not sure. The slang was definitely dated enough to be cringe-worthy. I couldn’t help giggling while I read.

Something else to know, there’s a glossary in the front of the book. Ward created words for the Vampire language that will be frequently used. They’re easy enough to remember, but if you forget, it’s there to refresh your memory. Some words are similar to the English language, that’s intentional. I can’t remember if it’s in this book or another, but they clarify why that is.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 1 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 1 by Isuna Hasekura
Series Name: Spice & Wolf (Light Novel)
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Commerce
Intended Age Group: 15 & up
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-7595-3104-8
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

The life of a travelling merchant is a lonely one, a fact with which Kraft Lawrence is well acquainted. Wandering from town to town with just his horse, cart, and whatever wares have come his way, the peddler has pretty well settled into his routine – that is until the night Lawrence finds a wolf goddess asleep in his cart. Taking the form of a fetching girl with wolf ears and a tail. Holo has wearied of tending to harvests in the countryside and strikes up a bargain with the merchant to lend him the cunning of “Holo the Wisewolf” to increase his profits in exchange for taking her along on his travels. What kind of businessman could turn down such an offer? Lawrence soon learns, though, that having an ancient goddess as a traveling companion can be a bit of a mixed blessing. Will this wolf girl turn out to be too wild to tame?

Personal & Info

I’ve wanted to get more into light novels, and I can say from experience good ones have been hard to find for as long as I can remember. Many of the ones I initially wanted to read are now out of print, or were never completed in English. I decided to test the waters again, and I heard this series was one of the best, so here we are.

I think it’s important to mention I have not read the manga, nor have I seen the anime, so this was my first exposure to the series in general.

Before I delve in, the book has a few color pages right inside the cover. These are particularly interesting because they appear to be preview images, like if you were to watch a TV show and the episode started off with a sizzle reel of what’s to come. I haven’t seen this kind of thing in books before. Usually it’s just some cute artwork or a poster fold out. Speaking of cute artwork, though, the table of contents has a cute chibi image of Holo.

Characters

Okay, now on to business. Let’s start with the characters. Lawrence and Holo seem well thought out. Lawrence comes off as a bit of a blank slate character with merchant skills and a kind heart, because he lives life on the road, traveling alone. Holo, on the other hand, has a strong personality. Her snarky behavior is good for encouraging Lawrence’s character growth, and even expanding his wit. The two have great banter, and it helps pass the otherwise dull parts of the book in an amusing way. A large chunk of the first few chapters(there are six total in this book) was spent getting to know them, and world building.

Story & Thoughts

This is an interesting series. I’d heard it was mostly commerce themed, so I wasn’t sure if I would like it. Lo and behold , it’s actually intriguing to read. Some of the stuff went over my head, so I’m sure it’s not for everyone.

The story delved into the value of coin based money, and how you can tell if a coin’s value has changed. They mentioned weight, purity, even sound, then continued on to explain how fluctuations in coin value affect society, markets, and how profit can be earned. Lawrence explained those things to Holo, which functioned as explaining it to the reader. Holo understood quickly, but the reader might not. I personally had to slow down a little and re-read that section to make sure I got it, or at least understood enough to follow the story related parts of what they said. They weren’t always super clear. Sometimes there were some dots you’d have to connect yourself to understand their full meaning.

Complexities aside(not that they are a bad thing), the story is good. It’s not particularly exciting. Most of the story is travel based, for obvious reasons, but the banter between Holo and Lawrence fills that space nicely. Things ramp up when an opportunity to make some major cash arises, and the final segment of the book left me at the edge of my seat. The ending was a little odd. No spoilers, but the last chapter ended a bit abruptly. There’s an Epilogue that finishes it up and ties together all the loose ends. I hadn’t seen one used that way before. Usually, they’re after the actual ending, and show what characters do after the story, but no, this series uses Epilogues as the wrap up.

I’ve heard this is supposed to be a romance series. If it is, it’s definitely a slow burn. I didn’t see anything in this volume to indicate it was a romance, aside from the whole man and woman traveling alone thing.