akira_outofthegravity's reviews
175 reviews

Have you ever read a romance book that had you sighing like a teenager reading Twilight for the first time? I hadn’t- until I read this book.

This is the cutest book ever, and I’m not typically a romance fan. It had lesbians, bisexuals, a favourite trope of mine (the dating bet trope), a small amount of angst, a ton of love and heart and joy.

Delilah is such a lovely character and honestly I loved her development. I think that it’s a really interesting arc for her- going from being bitter and lonely to opening up and also realising just how much grief can blind you. I think she and Isabel are two sides of the same coin, which is why they don’t get along, but where Isabel controls Astrid, Delilah controls herself. 

Also Claire is toooootally my type. She’s such a sweetheart and it’s nice having a plus sized woman be so happy and loved and confident in herself. I really liked Astrid and Iris too. Watching Claire come out of her shell and learn to trust others is really gorgeous.

The smut is soooooo good 👀 not over the top but gentle and sweet and pretty hot too. An instant favourite and I cannot wait for the sequels! Especially the next book with Astrid as the main lady.

I like the stories! Some are better than others but I like the setting and the art is great. Wish there was less incest/rape but like, it’s not super prominent. Just a bit icky.

I like how all the stories tied together at the end, and I think my favourite story was Linus and Conor.

Pretty fucked up but entertaining!

When this book is good- it’s good. When it’s bad it’s mediocre at best. And unfortunately there is more bad than good. 

There’s very little in the way of plot development or character development. And very little in the way of plot. I wanted to like this book so much but I just don’t. It’s not scary, it’s not compelling, the writing is nice but most of the characters are whiny- including our narrator Cat.

She is the epitome of Not Like Other Girls + the pinnacle of Tumblr Depression. Is Talia rude as hell? Yes, but Cat is so judgemental of her it’s insane. Faiz begins as a semi relatable and sweet guy but just becomes unbearable once the story begins to ramp up. Lin is the most bearable but that’s also because he has the least personality of the bunch. While Khaw has a talent for writing it’s wasted on this story. It reads like a first draft which is a shame because it could be really spooky. The “sacrifice” they make is really well written, and I enjoyed the emotions of it. But also it was way too meta. Like we know Cat is bi, and she’s supposed to die first, we know it’ll “subvert our expectations”. The minute a piece of horror work becomes too “clever” I clock out.

Too bad the characters suck, the writing is pretty juvenile, and the pacing is way off. 

Edit: after reading a few reviews I have changed my mind. This book is worse than I thought. I think I wanted to love this book with its creepy cover and title, but the ending is so dumb. Everything about this book is dumb. Khaw’s writing although beautiful in parts is so fucking bloated. They have clear skill and talent- so use it!!! Also I hope they fire their editor.

I’m crying so hard right now. This is a good book that is turned into a great book by the Hadal Zone portion. I’m literally sobbing. 

This is a very unique book. It’s about Leah and Miri. Leah is a marine biologist who occasionally goes on dives that last for weeks. However one time she and her crew don’t resurface for six months and her wife Miri presumes her dead.

When she does resurface, this Leah is not the one Miri remembers. It’s a dual narrative, with Leah writing about her experiences in the submarine with her two colleagues, while Miri’s portions explore the relationship before and after the event, as well as Miri’s personal coping strategies- or lack thereof. 

This is an incredible story, and the layout is really fascinating because the story progression does give you the feeling of sinking and being unable to stop the inevitable- much like what Leah feels during the accident. It’s an ending you can see coming, but really that just makes it more tragic. 

The ending is beautiful and I like how horror focused this story is without distracting from the story- but most of all I love how Leah and Miri love. You can feel the adoration and romance oozing from the pages. Above all, despite everything they love each other. Even when Leah seems lost, a part of her seems to be fighting to return to Miri. Even when Leah seems unreachable, Miri still tries to accommodate her. And that makes this a 5* read for me. A lot goes unanswered, but to be honest I don’t mind. That’s not what the story is about- it’s not a mystery, it’s not crime, it’s romance and tragedy.

Personally, I think the story is actually an extended metaphor for Leah’s death and Miri’s grief process. Leah and Matteo die down in the ocean, and the last entry is her being released to the afterlife, while Miri letting Leah go in the ocean is her finally accepting her death. That’s my interpretation anyway.

 

Admittedly this is not one of Higashino’s finest works but it’s such an easy and clean read that I can’t criticise it so much.

I loved how all the individual parts of the story interlinked, everyone is connected in a way. And to be honest I wasn’t super interested in finding out who killed the victim, but rather how everyone’s stories pieced together.

Not his best work, though maybe that’s also the fault of the translator, but still a decent read!

I support women’s rights, I also support women’s wrongs.

Similar to Piercing, this book focuses more on the build up to the climax than on the actual climax itself. It’s a well written critique of misogyny in modern Japan, and while I started feeling sorry for Aoyama his attitude towards women reflected by himself and Shige made me worry less about him over time. 

I really enjoyed it! I preferred Piercing both story wise and also gore wise, but I’m glad I read this and I’m excited to watch the film too!

I think this is a really interesting collection of short stories. They all have very common themes like female sexuality, witchcraft, smells (which I thought was particularly interesting), children/childhood, mass hysteria/fanaticism, and religion. 

While some stories are better than others, I think they’re all a good read! My top three are:
1. Where Are You, Dear Heart?
2. Meat
3. Kids Who Come Back
With a special mention to Angelita. 

I feel that perhaps a study guide of sorts would help understand the symbolism of the stories, but honestly they’re all really good and I enjoyed all of them to a degree. 

TRIGGER WARNING:
Be warned though: most stories contain some element of child abuse/pedophilia/forced incest/child prostitution/etc. 
“kids who come back” contains some transphobic and lesbophobic slurs/characteristics. 

I’m really torn on this one. On one hand it is really cute, and I don’t regret reading it, but I have a couple major problems with it:

1. It is just Nice. It’s a nice book. It’s not amazing or revolutionary, nor is it offensive. But it’s pretty forgettable, and I know for a fact I won’t re read it. And tbh I don’t even want it to take up room on my shelves it’s such a middle ground book. 

And my biggest issue: after purchasing but before reading I found out that this is actually republished work. Republished fanfiction- of Reylo (Kylo Ren and Rey) from the Star Wars sequels. Now, all the power to Ali Hazelwood, I’m a fanfic writer myself and I think that it’s a great way to get into the industry. The fact that she wrote this and published it later is fab. (I don’t hate Reylo shippers either) But the fact that it is Reylo fanfic made me squicky. Then it became a domino effect of who’s who. Anh is Rose, I assume Malcolm is maybe Poe? Jeremy I think is Finn. Dr Aslan is Leia, Holden is Huxley, Adam’s lecturer who he hates is Luke, and the rest fall into place. 

I don’t know why this ruined the book for me, maybe because I don’t like the ship Reylo particularly, maybe because I don’t think that Adam Driver is attractive but every scene with Adam the character all I could picture was the actor. 

The book has some other issues, mainly pacing. The beginning is too fast, we’re thrown in the deep end and it’s like “woah”. Secondly Anh. I love Anh, genuinely. She’s great, and so the moments where she’s like “hey Olive go be cute with your bf” come out of the blue and are really jarring. And pretty invasive. And I’m glad Olive calls her out on it later in the book. Thirdly, the plot is a little thin. The plot relies too heavily on miscommunication and, this may be me being insensitive, but the “everyone who loves me leaves” feels like a get out of jail free card for the protagonist not to tell Adam she loves him. It’s paper thin, especially since she does have friends! Who she loves! 

Also Olive’s demisexuality is great- but use the label and stop referring to people who have a sex drive as “normal”, I’m ace and I’m tired of that crap. 

That’s all my gripes to be honest. Olive is a good protagonist, who I cared about. Adam is a pretty good love interest. He’s a feminist, he’s really protective of Olive but not in a creepy way, and he’s sweet! 

But that’s about it. It’s a nice story, but nothing new or spectacular. It’s very middle of the road, with manufactured drama, but a protagonist you root for.

EDIT: in light of Hazelwood admitting she writes novels based on tropes her editor spoonfeeds her I’m decreasing my rating. Mediocre white women rule this industry, while people of colour get left behind. This is poorly written, under the guise of “feminism” and honestly the “steminist” label makes me barf. 

I have nothing to say other than this is such a powerful book, and I think Nakata Kabi is very brave.

Nakata-san, if you happen to read this, I want you to know that you made a depressed lesbian feel seen. Like that nurse did for you, you have done for me. I’m re starting my medication, and you helped me feel less afraid of doing so. I wish you all the best, and I will be eagerly awaiting any more biographical manga, as well as your original series. 

Thank you. ありがとう。(〃ω〃)

I think that 3 volumes is enough to keep the gag fresh while not overstaying it’s welcome. Surprisingly heartfelt, I really think that this series is so much more than just boys in skirts. It’s about not conforming to gender norms, accepting yourself as you are, and loving your friends. 

I think a really underrated series. I’m sad to see it go, but I’m happy for the short time we spent together.