cyanide_latte's reviews
1609 reviews

Are You Alice?, Vol. 4 by Ikumi Katagiri

adventurous mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

While this definitely is a slower-paced volume, I really have to appreciate it for the way it really takes the time to further characterize the Dormouse for us and help us to understand the role he plays in all of this. Definitely not what I was expecting, and I really have to say that I'm continuing to enjoy this manga immensely!

Are You Alice?, Vol. 3 by Ikumi Katagiri

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

I'M SQUINTING AT YOU, CHESHIRE CAT. I'M SQUINTING REAL HARD.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare, Kelly Link, Robin Wasserman, Maureen Johnson, Sarah Rees Brennan

adventurous emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Though I'll always have a soft spot for Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy, I honestly think this may be my favorite of all the short story collections in the Shadowhunter Chronicles. Maybe that's the bias towards the character of Jem/Brother Zachariah showing itself, but these stories are really fulfilling in a way I'm not used to these collections being. I love seeing the way all these wove into so many aspects of the greater world Cassie Clare built, how they tie together around a pretty significant plot point throughout all the books, and also the ways in which they very much are their own stories.

I'm not sure if I have a favorite among them, though there were a couple that did feel weaker than the rest. (Still far more solid than past short stories though, which I think speaks to the strength of how well Clare and her collaborative partners in these collections have come to write together and improve on their joint writing efforts.)

This is probably also going to have a lot of nostalgia and positive feelings for me in the future. It is the first book in all the Shadowhunter Chronicles that I read with my husband for the first time. We've been going through the series together, book by book in publication order, but prior to reading this one I had read every book before on my own. He had at least read The Mortal Instruments. But it was special, getting to go through this for the first time with him and make observations and discussions with one another as we did. (He says that his favorite short story is The Land I Lost; he has a major soft spot and a fierce love for Alec and Magnus and their journey to becoming partners and parents, and learning how they ended up with their second kid. Though he does say that The Lost World is a close second favorite among them.)

Are You Alice?, Vol. 2 by Ikumi Katagiri

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Oh no. Oh my heart, I shouldn't have gotten attached, I suppose. Just goes to show this is quite the unexpected series, and its unpredictability is both startling and engrossing.  The mystery also continues to keep me pulled along, and we get more hints and insights into the messy tangle of movements by the other characters and how that is affecting the course of things outside of its expected unfolding. I really love the way this writing both handles exposition and moving along the plot so the reader is kept engaged!

Are You Alice?, Vol. 1 by Ikumi Katagiri

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

To start at the beginning, a very dear friend has lent me their copies of the volumes of this series and highly recommends it, as far as various manga and series based on AiW go. It's difficult to really explain the premise going on here.  Even if I could explain it beyond the initial summary given on the site, I doubt if I should. I can see why my friend said it's wisest to go into this as blind as possible, because 1: trying to coherently explain the premise is difficult to begin with, without info-dumping to the point of excessive spoilers, and 2: even assuming one could, I don't think the degree of impact on the reader would be quite the same as it is when you go in knowing as little as possible. The mystery of this series is what drives the plot, in a way, and keeps you invested. But for what that's worth, this is one hell of a solid first volume! I'm already wanting to start on the second.

Gal Gohan Vol. 9 by Marii Taiyou

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.25

Perhaps it's par for the course and I've just been away from this series for too long but the content felt raunchier in this volume. It also feels like it was way faster and some of the character development a bit more undercut than I recall.

That being said, I do appreciate the part of this volume that focused on Fujiwara's graduation anxiety, self-reflection and further growth of interpersonal relationships. Seeing her go from the character she was in the early part of this series to someone who bonded with Miku and thus reevaluated her preconceptions of gals as a whole was touching, as well as seeing how Fujiwara has become a person capable of recognizing the importance of taking care of herself and developing friendships and stepping outside her comfort zone. Her graduation address is honestly super sweet, as are her last few interactions with Miku in this volume. It really feels like it drives home how much both girls have impacted one another for the better and really become close friends, and honestly I love that a lot.

My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions, Vol. 1 by Yoko Akiyama

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

This was a lot of fun. It was just cute little side stories but honestly, with as heavy as the main series can be, that's what I want sometimes. Between what I'm seeing here and what I got in the light novels, it's very much needed.

Long Buried by E.D. Lewis

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I follow E.D. Lewis on his YouTube channel, and when he mentioned in one of his videos that he had put out this copy of a short story he wrote, I had to check it out! (According to his author's foreword at the beginning of the book, this was originally published in the short story collection "Local Haunts: a HorrorTube Anthology". However due to certain constraints needed for the publishing, he was unable to publish the complete story within that collection as he would have liked, and so here it has been re-released as a standalone story.)

I enjoyed his writing and his narrative voice quite a bit! There's a lot of mystery to be unraveled going on in this short story. My only real complaint is that it ends and I wish there were more of it! What I got was very intriguing, and if he ever chooses to further expand upon what he has here, I look forward to reading that as well!

My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 6 by Kōhei Horikoshi, Anri Yoshi

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This one was okay as far as these light novels tend to go. Most of the chapters were just kind of okay. I thought chapter 4 was very cute, and chapter 5 was honestly rip-roaring hilarious. I was actually laughing out loud, it was just a thing of beauty. I'd been expecting to be exasperated with this particular installment because I kept seeing so many other ratings and reviews talking about the sheer amount of errors in this book, but honestly even for the errors that are there, it wasn't unreadable. I do expect better quality than this from Viz, but at least I was able to read it without issue. And unless there are more installments in this series that simply have not been translated into English yet, this concludes my initial reading of the MHA light novels! I'm glad I managed to finish reading them all!

the witch doesn't burn in this one by Amanda Lovelace

emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

5.0

Thank you, I needed this one.