Manga Review: For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams, Vol. 1 by Kei Sanbe

Yen Press
Jan. 29th 2019
192 Pages

As a young child, Senri Nakajou saw his family murdered before his eyes, and he’s lived for revenge ever since.

From his daily activities to his studies, everything is about attaining the power and money necessary to find the killer and make him pay-even if it means getting a little dirty himself…- Goodreads

If you have not read, Kei Sanbe’s manga Erased, you should do that now. It was fantastic and although the ending was a bit eh, it is still worth the read and buy 100%.

With that being said, because of how much I loved the first series, I started at this one. And let me tell you something, this man has a way of getting your attention in a short amount of time.

Senri had a rough childhood and this is even before he saw his family murdered. His father is abusive, his mother doesn’t do anything and the only person he has is his twin brother. The two share a very strong connection that goes much more than one twin getting hurt and the other twin feeling it.

Senri rage comes from seeing his families death but also because of his Twin. Without giving much away, he grows up bottling his anger, conning people of their money all the while going to school. When an opportunity comes to find and extract revenge on the person that ruined his life, Senri doesn’t hesitate but at the same time he doesn’t realize the mess he just put himself in.

I loved this story and I cannot wait to fully dig into it. There are several things going on at once but nothing is confusing, nothing is over complicated, nothing seems forced and everything is connected.

I was interested in the characters because their stories are building up this quiet world that is literally waiting to explode with the truth. The pace of the manga was good; actually surprisingly good. There is so much packed into these pages I thought it would move faster but it didn’t. The pace was thought out, not rushed but moved in as much real time as a book can get.

The artwork was a little bit off. Especially for a specific female character; her lips were almost as big as her face and this is something that was seen in manga in maybe the 70s or 80s. I wasn’t expecting to see it with a book by Kei because the art work in Erased was pretty good.

Overall, a must read for those that love themselves a murder mystery. However, I would recommend waiting until the second book comes out, which is in June.

5 Pickles

Book Review: Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone

Lake Union Publishing
Published Aug. 1, 2018
267 Pages

Jane’s days at a Midwest insurance company are perfectly ordinary. She blends in well, unremarkably pretty in her floral-print dresses and extra efficient at her low-level job. She’s just the kind of woman middle manager Steven Hepsworth likes—meek, insecure, and willing to defer to a man. No one has any idea who Jane really is. Least of all Steven.

But plain Jane is hiding something. And Steven’s bringing out the worst in her.

Nothing can distract Jane from going straight for his heart: allowing herself to be seduced into Steven’s bed, to insinuate herself into his career and his family, and to expose all his dirty secrets. It’s time for Jane to dig out everything that matters to Steven. So she can take it all away.

Just as he did to her.- Goodreads

I requested this book on Netgalley by a referral from another book reviewer. The premise of the story sounded great and when I jumped into, I was genuinely looking forward to reading this. I know this intro sounds like I didn’t like the book but I did but I also know what it is.

Jane Doe is a slow burn to a predictable conclusion. Yup, that is the book in a fairly completely nutshell. There are things that are great about this book but it is simple. Like all revenge novels, the book is slow. There needs to be a build up of suspense and as a reader you need to get to know the characters.

Jane is dull and completely uninteresting. The author did nothing to really spice her up but played on the fact that she was a plain girl that was extremely intelligent when it came to manipulation and seduction.  I can see why the author did this. She wrote Jane to be as unemotional except for the reason why she is seek revenge. She made her really lacking to make what she was doing even more spectacular, for the lack of a better term. Jane, despite her non-existing personality, there is something about her that you know if you passed her on the street, you may do a double take.

As I mentioned this book is a slow burn. It takes its time to build up because although Jane’s plan is predictable it is the perfect plan. Not a whole lot happens, so if you are expecting Jane to be diving in and out of cars and sneaking into office buildings for files in the middle of the night, don’t pick up this book. Jane does her stealthy thing but the mission impossible theme music or even thrill is not to be found in this read.

Overall, if this is your first time reading a revenge book, I would highly recommend it. Its a solid read and I enjoyed it. It was the perfect book for a road trip.

3 Pickles

 

 

 

Book Review: The Hollow Girl by Hillary Monahan

Delacorte Press
Published Oct. 10, 2017
272 Pages

Five boys attacked her.
Now they must repay her with their blood and flesh.

Bethan is the apprentice to a green healer named Drina in a clan of Welsh Romanies. Her life is happy and ordered and modest, as required by Roma custom, except for one thing: Silas, the son of the chieftain, has been secretly harassing her.

One night, Silas and his friends brutally assault Bethan and a half-Roma friend, Martyn. As empty and hopeless as she feels from the attack, she asks Drina to bring Martyn back from death’s door. “There is always a price for this kind of magic,” Drina warns. The way to save him is gruesome. Bethan must collect grisly pieces to fuel the spell: an ear, some hair, an eye, a nose, and fingers.

She gives the boys who assaulted her a chance to come forward and apologize. And when they don’t, she knows exactly where to collect her ingredients to save Martyn.- Goodreads

It has been some time since I read a book that emotionally damaged me to the point that once I finished it, I sat in silence. This book has triggers. It has things in here that some women have experienced. If you are a sensitive reader, this book is not for you.

I am not a sensitive reader but this book definitely made me rethink that for a moment.

Bethan is attacked and in the worst way possible. Not only does the boy who tries to protect her gets hurt, she is hurt on a physical, spiritual and emotional level. I am hurt on that level for her. The author doesn’t shy away from what happens. You know what happens, you see what happens and man do you feel so horrible about it. But what I appreciate what the author did about making that the focus was she didn’t create Bethan to submit.

Bethan doesn’t fully allow her anger to take over. As angry as she is, she doesn’t try to let things get too far. She is fairly rational with her punishment. I call it punishment because its not revenge. Bethan seeks not only justice but to right a wrong to something done to someone trying to save her.

Beyond all of this, the author added a twist to the story, which was unexpected and well placed. However, it doesn’t really change the story or even the flow. It was a filler. A good one but a filler none the less. If the author did not add it in there, it would not have been missed.

The story moved along very well and although this was my first read by this author, the talent was there. To take a very sensitive topic and give readers the whirlwind emotions in a emotional and deep reading, is impressive.

The only fault or issue, I had with this read, is I was desperate for an affectionate relationship. Bethan has a relationship with her grandmother but I didn’t feel love between them. I felt that it was more of a obligation. I wanted there to be love and its kind of put in there but it isn’t there enough for me.

Overall, I was surprised about this read. I liked it but as previously mentioned it is not for sensitive readers.

4 Pickles. 

NetGalley Review: Cold Burn of Magic (Black Blade #1) by Jennifer Estep

K-Teen
To Be Published April 28, 2015
368 Pages

Lila has been living on her own since her mother died. In a world where monsters truly exist, magic defines who you are and elite families are constantly trying to kill each other to control the city, Lila has a lot to hide from.

Add in the fact that she possesses talents that can make her extremely powerful, Lila has reason to stay under the radar but when she jumps into a fight that she really needs to stay out of her once hidden identity comes to light in the worst way possible.

Let’s jump right into this . . .

Although this was a good read it is extremely easy to tell what influenced this writer.

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass and The Falconer by Elizabeth May.

Literally in that order. It is not to say that Estep didn’t bring something new to the table or create her own story but some of the aspects from these other books really came through in Cold Burn of Magic.

I liked Lila she was very blunt and honest with herself and the situations she was in. I really loved her thought process and how she paid really close attention to detail. In most YA book the blunt girl that isn’t blunt because she is naive but because she doesn’t have time for games is rare.

Oddly enough the person that was naive was the love interest. I really didn’t like him. He was too innocent and noble. It made him unrealistic. I really couldn’t and still can’t see a romance between the two but the author does a decent job of expressing a mutual attraction between the two.

I enjoyed the pace of the book, I enjoyed the mythology and how easy it fit into the world. What I didn’t like was how I was able to spot three books into this novel. It bothers me because it shows a lack of originality. Even though the author was able to create its own and keep me interested, it still sucked.

Overall I look forward to the second book and some more original thought.

3 Pickles

Book Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Chronicle Books
Published Sept. 12, 2013
378 Pages

Lady Aileana Kameron, the daughter of the Marquess of Douglass was supposed to have a life of complete luxury, constant balls and time with her best friend but when her mother was killed by a faery everything changed.

Now Kameron attends balls during the day to keep up appearances and hunts faeries at night to find the one that killed her mother. But things become complicated when her two lives begin to intersect causes those she care about to become in danger.

There was a lot of good in this book which surprised me. The book is set in Scotland 1844 and Kameron is a know it all. She hunts faeries with the help of two faeries; a pixie that lives in her closest and mends her clothes and one of the most powerful faeries who is content killing his own kind.

Kameron has a need to prove herself mainly to herself and that is fine but it is too much when she is bluntly wrong . . .  and she is wrong quite a bit. She is so stubborn that at points in the book I really couldn’t stand her. However, I liked the fact that she was strong, smart and creative.

There are two things in this book I could have lived without but it didn’t damage the book too bad; the “love triangle” and the steampunk. What is funny about the love triangle is the author knew it was useless so she switches it to a friendship pretty much right at the beginning. I am glad she did because it would have killed the book with unnecessary drama. Kameron may have been fighting her feelings throughout most of the book but she wasn’t so stupid.

But I also didn’t understand a few things regarding that either. I’m telling you if I interview this author I will ask her (I can’t tell you because its kinda a big spoiler).

The steampunk was cute; Kameron and her mom use to invent things and when her mother died Kameron kept the tradition. There wasn’t enough steampunk in the book for me to feel it to be needed. I guess it was a extra factor to try to get people into the book.

Beyond that the writing was captivating. I liked the blend it had of the two lifestyles and for the most part I liked Kameron. And that ending . . . . the biggest cliff hanger I have read this year. It makes me want to read the next book but it pisses me off at the same time.

Overall I did really like this book. 4.5 Pickles

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Poison Dance: A Novella (Midnight Thief 0.5) by Livia Blackburne

Lion’s Quill Press
Published Sept 24, 2013
86 Pages

* Received this Arc from the author, Livia Blackburne, in exchange for an honest review*

James is a deadly assassin working for the Assassin’s Guild and has been since he was 14. He is the best at what he does and that s why Thalia seeks him out. Thalia is a dancer seeking a way to avenge her sister’s death. Agreeing to help Thalia only if she helps him find a way out of the Assassin’s Guild, James is on the thin line of life and death.

The story was a simple and uncomplicated. This is not a bad thing it actually made the story so much more interesting because it wasn’t filtered with over complicated characters or romance. James is an assassin nothing hidden about that. When Thalia finds him he shows that he is not the typical brute but he also shows that he has common sense. Although he is attracted to Thalia he doesn’t let that over cloud his thoughts.

Thalia wasn’t a bad character either. Sensible, determined and realistic. She knows she doesn’t know how to kill to man and she knows the man that she wants to kill is a politically important man but she isn’t doing anything stupid or rushed.

I really loved the fact that the book was realistic and it wasn’t done with a lot of cheesy quotes or cliches. There is a romance between James and Thalia but it doesn’t over power the book at all and it makes me sad that the book Midnight Thief has nothing to do with the two.

However, what I didn’t like about the book was it felt a bit rushed. It is understood that there are limits to a novella but I wanted so much more! I wanted to know more about James and why he went with Thalia a lot easier than I thought. I wanted to know more about Thalia’s childhood.  But this isn’t such a bad thing because as an author you want your readers to want more. *sigh* I wish it was longer though.

Overall score: 5 Pickles