Okay, so I would first like to say how absolutely stunning Rei Toma's artwork is. I mean it is out of this world gorgeous and I have never seen such beautiful scenes. My jaw dropped so many times when I would turn the pages to such gorgeous scenes and her characters are in such detail.

This story follows Rangetsu an Ajin (human with animal features, like ears and tails, and some have special abilities/gifts) who has disguised herself as a boy to infiltrate the imperial palace as a King's Beast to avenge her twin brother's death. Toma also delves into the second class nature that these Ajin face. If young boys show that they have special abilities as Ajin they are enlisted into the army and young girls tend to be sold into sex work, brothels, or other awful situations. Which is exactly what Rangetsu escapes from when her mother attempts to sell her to a brothel.

Since I have not read Dawn of the Arcana I don't entirely know if I am missing any background information; however, Toma does an amazing job at explaining the world in this manga and the classism of the Ajin and Humans.

The story flowed so wonderfully. I found myself wanting to know what happens and see the relationship between Rangetsu and Prince Tenyou develop. I want to know more about Rangetsu's past, her time in the training camps, and how she came to be one of the best fighters amongst most of the Ajin.

I can't wait to delve into the next volume, it definitely was a great start to a new series!

Spy x Family, Vol. 12 by Tatsuya Endo

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't dole out 5 stars easily. In fact the last 5 stars I gave was well over a year ago. Is this a book that deserves a 5 stars because it's a masterpiece? A work of art? A book to be enjoyed by the masses and studied piece by piece? Not particularly. Many times I guessed where the plot was going. I have read plot lines similar in other books. I would even (sad to say) compare this exactly to the hunger games (I am not a fan of comparing books to past pieces of literature that formed large pop cultures and other books).

However, this book is a 5 star for other reasons - reasons that may not make sense but make sense to me. It's a 5 star because the moment I picked Powerless up I was enraptured from start to finish. A 5 star because the action gripped me to where I was turning pages so fast I could barely read just as quickly. A 5 star for just the pure and utter enjoyment I got out of reading it.

It's not a masterpiece, it's not like the classical literature I would read or the intricate fantasies I dive into. However, it doesn't need to be a masterpiece to bring me joy, to make me feel, to keep me wanting for more even after the last page has finished. A book that had me thinking about it even when I wasn't reading. A 5 star just because of the feelings it gave me. Sometimes a 5 star is as simple as that.

Content Warnings

Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love how Maehrer takes the classical "fairytale" and amplifies the things that make them so cliche but adds in the humor to almost make fun of those cliche moments. It's like reading all your favorite fairytales in one but with the hilarity of the situations and the characters.

The chemistry that all these characters have kept me on my toes. Evie and Trystan's (The Villain) chemistry is by far my favorite and yet at the same time loathed the slow burn romance. I love slow-burns they are by far my favorite type of romances. This kind of slow-burn is the one where both character's realize they love each other, realize the other loves them and will STILL not do anything about it. *sigh* maybe the next book.

I will say just like in the first book, there is a lot of lull between the scenes. Many times not much is happening and when something does happen it's an explosion of things but then it dwindles back to nothing. This lends the book to be quite long and cumbersome at times.

As for the mysteries, there were a few things that took me by surprise but due to maybe over-explaining on the author's part or me just catching on easily, there wasn't a lot that blew my mind or that I didn't think of/discover myself.

Still I can't wait for the next one, and it's sad I have to wait so long to see how my lovebirds will fare.

Content Warnings

Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I am all for a good enemies to lover's trope and this one definitely hit all the right notes. The characters were witty, the pace was decent, and the story was well executed.

This is definitely a book for enjoyment over intricacy. At times the plot would get lost in the author's need for smut. The games and twists were intriguing but were shoved to the background many times for the character's to play out their emotions. I wanted to know more backstory but that tended to get lost in the mayhem of focusing on the characters and the present.

I know the author said you don't have to read the Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy to pick up this standalone that take place in the same world...I beg to differ. If you haven't read Kingdom of the Wicked at times some of the smaller plot pieces will be lost on you, and also the ending of KoTW will be spoiled as the book picks up right after that and gives away a lot of that plot. There are also a lot of characters that are introduced in KoTW and you get the backstories there not here.

Content Warnings

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

That was strangely a delightful read. I went into this not expecting much as I have only seen it in passing on Youtube, Instagram, etc. However, I quite liked the mix of magical realism, romance, regency era, and fae lore. Then of course we had the charming banter and word sparring of Dora and Elias which I ate up.

If you are looking for an in depth magic system or insight into fae lore that really isn't this; however, if you are looking for a warm, cozy fantasy like romance then this will be perfect for you.

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was actually quite enjoyable for a book that was outside my comfort zone. I honestly did not know what to expect going in and my first thought was expecting gore, violence, and scenes that made me squeamish. However, I really didn't get a lot of that. Yes there was gore and some schemes were kinda disgusting but nothing that made me put the book down which was what I was hoping. Also, I guess I was expecting slightly higher stakes - I mean these are literally two serial killers and I felt like all they did was get away with murder and no questions were asked. I didn't feel like there was much of a "conflict and resolution" like in other books and so this was definitely focused on the very slow-burn sexual tension romance.

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asipofcozy's reviews 206 reviews

asipofcozy's reviews
206 reviews