*THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE*
Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is an outsider to the competitive fencing world. Filled with raw talent but lacking proper training, he signs up for a competition that puts him head-to-head with fencing prodigy Seiji Katayama…and on the road to the elite all-boys school Kings Row. A chance at a real team and a place to belong awaits him—if he can make the cut!
-Goodreads
Rating: 8/10 Unicorn Horns!
-slow burn; nothing happens
*THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE*
Synopsis:
Outgoing high school student Noshiro finds himself drawn to Sanada, the school outcast, who is rumored to be gay. Rather than deter Noshiro, the rumor makes him even more determined to get close to Sanada, setting in motion a bittersweet tale of first love.
The first volume of this heartwarming high school story about how your first love isn’t always exactly what you expect begins with the popular Noshiro transferring to a new school and becoming intrigued by Sanada, a loner who doesn’t seem to have any friends—or even want any. Some of the other kids tell Noshiro that Sanada keeps to himself because he’s secretly gay, which only makes Noshiro more interested. He sets out on a campaign to win over the shy Sanada, embarking on a friendship that starts to feel like something much more intense.
-Goodreads
Rating: 8.5/10 Unicorn Horns!
-Homosexual harassment/discrimination
-exploration of sexuality
-recognizing self/other presumptions/homophobia
Here’s a look at some of the books and graphic novels that I have prioritized to read over the next couple of months.
Children’s and Middle Grade
My name’s Archie Albright, and I know two things for certain:
1. My mum and dad kind of hate each other, and they’re not doing a great job of pretending that they don’t anymore.
2. They’re both keeping a secret from me, but I can’t figure out what.
Things aren’t going great for Archie Albright. His dad’s acting weird, his mum too, and he all he wants is for everything to go back to normal, to three months before when his parents were happy and still lived together. When Archie sees a colourful, crumpled flyer fall out of Dad’s pocket, he thinks he may have found the answer. Only problem? The answer might just lie at the end of the rainbow, an adventure away.
Together with his best friends, Bell and Seb, Archie sets off on a heartwarming and unforgettable journey to try and fix his family, even if he has to break a few rules to do it…
-via Goodreads
When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni’s Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now, the tigers want it back. And when one of those tigers offers Lily a deal–return what Halmoni stole in exchange for Halmoni’s health–Lily is tempted to accept. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice… and the courage to face a tiger.
-via Goodreads
Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family.
It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy—that he thinks he might be gay. “You don’t want anyone to think you’re gay too, do you?”
But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King’s friendship with Sandy is reignited, he’s forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother’s death.
-via Goodreads
Young Adult
A boy comes to terms with his identity as a mixed-race gay teen – then at university he finds his wings as a drag artist, The Black Flamingo. A bold story about the power of embracing your uniqueness. Sometimes, we need to take charge, to stand up wearing pink feathers – to show ourselves to the world in bold colour.
-via Goodreads
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…
In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.
And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
-via Goodreads
Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can’t wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. She’s desperate to finish high school and escape her sad divorced mom, her volatile little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends…who don’t understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan’s biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl.
Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesn’t seem so stifling anymore.
But Keltie has some secrets of her own. And as the girls start to fall in love, everything they’re each trying to hide will find its way to the surface…whether Morgan is ready or not.
-via Goodreads
Adult
Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning…
Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but the neighborhood she loves is being erased before her very eyes. FOR SALE signs are popping up everywhere, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To preserve the past, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour: “Displaced: A People’s History of Brooklyn,” and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block – her neighbor Theo.
But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the efforts to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.
When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other – or themselves – long enough to find out, before they too disappear – permanently?
-via Goodreads
AN ORDINARY LIFE
Leigh Coulton has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job as a defence attorney, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilised – her life is just as unremarkable as she’d always hoped it would be.
HIDES A DEVASTATING PAST
But Leigh’s ordinary life masks a childhood which was far from average… a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and finally torn apart by a devastating act of violence.
BUT NOW THE PAST IS CATCHING UP
Then a case lands on her desk – defending a wealthy man accused of rape. It’s the highest profile case she’s ever been given – a case which could transform her career, if she wins. But when she meets the accused, she realises that it’s no coincidence that he’s chosen her as his attorney. She knows him. And he knows her. More to the point, he knows what happened twenty years ago, and why Leigh has spent two decades running.
AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT
If she can’t get him acquitted, she’ll lose much more than the case. The only person who can help her is her younger, estranged sister Calli, the last person Leigh would ever want to ask for help. But suddenly she has no choice…
-via Goodreads
As Lucy Muchelney watches her ex-lover’s sham of a wedding, she wishes herself anywhere else. It isn’t until she finds a letter from the Countess of Moth, looking for someone to translate a groundbreaking French astronomy text, that she knows where to go. Showing up at the Countess’ London home, she hoped to find a challenge, not a woman who takes her breath away.
Catherine St Day looks forward to a quiet widowhood once her late husband’s scientific legacy is fulfilled. She expected to hand off the translation and wash her hands of the project—instead, she is intrigued by the young woman who turns up at her door, begging to be allowed to do the work, and she agrees to let Lucy stay. But as Catherine finds herself longing for Lucy, everything she believes about herself and her life is tested.
While Lucy spends her days interpreting the complicated French text, she spends her nights falling in love with the alluring Catherine. But sabotage and old wounds threaten to sever the threads that bind them. Can Lucy and Catherine find the strength to stay together or are they doomed to be star-crossed lovers?
-via Goodreads
Non-Fiction
Presented as a record of Uwagba’s observations on this era-defining moment in history – that is, George Floyd’s brutal murder and the subsequent protests and scrutiny of institutional racism – Whites explores the colossal burden of whiteness, as told by someone who is in her own words, ‘a reluctant expert’.
What is it like to endure both racism and white efforts at anti-racism, sometimes from the very same people? How do Black people navigate the gap between what they know to be true, and the version of events that white society can bring itself to tolerate? What does true allyship actually look like – and is it even possible?
Addressing complex interracial dynamics and longstanding tensions with characteristically unflinching honesty, Uwagba deftly interrogates the status quo, and in doing so provides an intimate and deeply compelling portrayal of an unavoidable facet of the Black experience.
-via Goodreads
Based on a viral article, 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act is the essential guide to understanding the legal document and its repercussion on generations of Indigenous Peoples, written by a leading cultural sensitivity trainer.
Since its creation in 1876, the Indian Act has shaped, controlled, and constrained the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Peoples, and is at the root of many enduring stereotypes. Bob Joseph’s book comes at a key time in the reconciliation process, when awareness from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities is at a crescendo. Joseph explains how Indigenous Peoples can step out from under the Indian Act and return to self-government, self-determination, and self-reliance—and why doing so would result in a better country for every Canadian. He dissects the complex issues around truth and reconciliation, and clearly demonstrates why learning about the Indian Act’s cruel, enduring legacy is essential for the country to move toward true reconciliation.
-via Goodreads
What exactly is sexual attraction and what is it like to go through the world not experiencing it? What does asexuality reveal about consent, about compromise, about the structures of society? This exceedingly accessible guide to asexuality shows that the issues that aces face—confusion around sexual activity, the intersection of sexuality and identity, navigating different needs in relationships—are conflicts that all of us need to address as we move through the world.
Through interviews, cultural criticism, and memoir, ACE invites all readers to consider big-picture issues through the lens of asexuality, because every place that sexuality touches our world, asexuality does too.
Journalist Angela Chen uses her own journey of self-discovery as an asexual person to unpretentiously educate and vulnerably connect with readers, effortlessly weaving analysis of sexuality and societally imposed norms with interviews of ace people. Among those included are the woman who had blood tests done because she was convinced that “not wanting sex” was a sign of serious illness, and the man who grew up in an evangelical household and did everything “right,” only to realize after marriage that his experience of sexuality had never been the same as that of others. Also represented are disabled aces, aces of color, non-gender-conforming aces questioning whether their asexuality is a reaction against stereotypes, and aces who don’t want romantic relationships asking how our society can make room for them.
-via Goodreads
*THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE*
Synopsis:
For fans of Hellsing and Berserk comes an all new ultra-violent supernatural manga series about history’s most famous slasher, with a twist.
Jack the Ripper is not what he seems—but the truth may be more terrible than anyone imagined.
A young police detective from Scotland Yard struggles to unravel the mystery behind the brutal slayings that grip 19th Century London. What he learns will turn his world upside down, and pit him face to face against the Ripper himself. But is Jack his savior or destroyer?
With bold and graphic artwork in the vein of the classic vampire hunter manga series Hellsing, Jack the Ripper: Hellblade is a shocking and fascinating take on the world’s most famous serial killer.
–Goodreads
Rating: 6/10 Unicorn Horns
I hate to admit it, but this one was a complete impulse buy. I saw the sale price, it’s complete status (at only 5 volumes total), the cover that promised some horror, and so I totally ignored the screams of protest from my wallet. I’ve only read the 1st volume so far, but so far I don’t regret my choice. The first volume has more than delivered on the expectation of violence and horror scenes, so I can safely say this isn’t a read for people that are sensitive to either things. That said, the story telling and characters kind of failed to really grab my attention hence the rating.
The story doesn’t take time getting to the murder and mayhem: beginning with a detective waking up from a secret affair, some parental/family abuse (trigger warning), and a murder scene – all within the first chapter – with the explicit action building from there. If it wasn’t for the low price and 5 complete volume bait, I probably wouldn’t have picked this up considering how overdone Jack the Ripper stories are, yet I still found the twist on the Jack the Ripper story pretty interesting.
Sadly, that was about all I could say that I like about the story so far. For one thing, I would never even think of comparing this to works like Hellsing and Berserk. If I had read that Goodreads synopsis before picking this up I would have been very, very, disappointed. I’m not at all bashing this story, but to be real it simply isn’t even close to being on that level.
Another thing, dynamic, diverse, well-rounded, or even just plain likeable characters is something that makes a huge impact on how much I enjoy a story. It’s the difference between me superficially enjoying a story, and engaging with it on a deeper level – actually remembering what it was about, for better or for worse, months/years later and having something substantial to say about it. While I’m assuming things go deeper into the mysteries brought up in this volume in later installments (my thoughts on it could definitely change later on), reading this volume was almost like playing a jack-in-the-box game with the main character(s?), which kind of killed my ability to really get into things. Again, this is likely just due to the nature of the story as a mystery thriller, so this volume was likely just an introduction the situation and setting, but with only 5 volumes I simply didn’t expect that.
That said, it was still an okay start overall; nothing special but nothing terrible either. I am still looking forward to the sequel, seeing more of the main character(s?), and seeing where the storyline goes. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for an non-censored action packed thriller to kill some time (no pun intended).
*This review is spoiler free*
Synopsis:
Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.
Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?
-via Goodreads
Review:
The story is told in a partially non-linear format. Throughout the book we jump in time between the current summer and the previous summers of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. From the onset of the story we know that something happened two summers ago that had a negative impact on their friendship and that Poppy and Alex have not spoken with each other since then. One of my favorite aspects of the story is the friendship between Poppy and Alex. Funnily enough I actually enjoyed the friendship more than the romantic relationship that develops throughout the plot. Getting to see the relationship between the two characters develop and morph into something romantic was very enjoyable. They have a very insular frindship; lots of inside jokes, sarcastic teasing and eccentric habits that make sense to them,but may seem strange to others. These are some of my favorite types of romances/rom-coms to read and that dynamic was executed very well in this book.
There is an element of the story that focuses on personal development, specifically towards the ending of the book. In my opinion this aspect of the story was very well done and realistic. I appreciated a story with characters that have an established background and history with each other, that still needed to have growth for the romantic relationship to develop or progress. All too often in romances, especially those with the friends-to-lovers trope, after the romance begins there is no further individual character development or progression of the dynamics of the relationship.
People We Meet on Vacation is a quintessential “slow burn”, friends to lovers romance story. I would recommend it to any romance reader that enjoys the friends-to-lovers trope or that enjoys a slower paced romance with lots of build-up and sexual tension. One of the only negatives of the story is the length of the book. It is quite the tome, and if you’re in the mood for a romance with immediate payoff, this may not be the best choice. Otherwise, I would say that this is totally worth checking out. People We Meet on Vacation was a 8-out of-10 unicorn read for me and I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience.
*THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE*
Synopsis:
“An evil mage intends to annihilate the world. I need your help to save it from destruction!”
Everything about college student Amamiya Yuuhi is average: grades, looks, and his blasé outlook on life. So what happens when he awakens one day to a talking lizard, who informs him that there is a gigantic hammer in outer space that is poised to split the Earth into pieces and requests his allegiance in the fight against the forces of evil? Pretend it never happened? Unfortunately for Yuuhi, a bit of coercion in the form of a super-powered princess prevents him from returning to his mediocre life-as-usual.
-Goodreads
Rating: 8/10 Unicorn Horns!
This is another of the ones I read and bought a while back, and am currently re-reading. And since I have always wanted to review it, here it is. This turned out to be a really great surprise for me. From the synopsis I was expecting an odd, stupid (tbh) and clichéd story far outside of anything I’d ever want to pick up, let alone like. But at the time I was bored, didn’t mind trying something outside the usual, and…well…a big part was due to the fact, despite being hard to buy now, then I could get the whole 5 bind-up series for about $20 when the list price was about that much per volume (thank you BookOutlet!! 🙏). Surprisingly, and thankfully, within the first few pages I learned my initial impression was wrong.
The primary main character, Amamiya Yuuhi, was a major reason I decided to keep reading. He is the first anti-hero I’d come across in awhile, and it was refreshing to read about a hero that not only didn’t have any of the traditional hero-like qualities, but generally didn’t care about the world being saved. In fact, with one exception, he didn’t really seem to care about human life in general. It was more interesting, and often downright hilarious, than weird to watch the morally upstanding lizard, Sir Noi Crezant, and morally absent Yuuhi interact and struggle to survive the mage’s attacks together.
In addition them, both referred to as the Lizard Knight, the story quickly progresses and we gradually get introduced to the other Beast Knights each with there own unique personalities and reasons for joining the fight. Each one stood out in some way, and added to the story’s action packed uniqueness.
And of course there is the other main character, the princess Asahina Samidare, who after saving Yuuhi from one of the mage’s deadly golems using her superhuman, then gained his trust by placing her life in his hands – by throwing herself off a building. Though this surprising behaviour was quickly surpassed by her following declaration: to stop the evil mage from destroying the earth so she could crush it with her own two hands!
This was a story chalk full of humour, action, and a number unexpected twists that I would recommend to any fan of manga/anime, or anyone looking for a somewhat odd but great story that I quickly grew on me. And of course on that is filled with a large cast of characters with different personalities, most of which have diverse backgrounds and actually grow along with their experiences/interactions with each other (especially Yuuhi). With the age diverse cast of males and females it’s something I think most people can enjoy.
*warning, though if I remember correctly it does ease up in later volumes (I’m still re-reading it), there are a number of panty shot/fan servicey scenes in the beginning.
*This review is spoiler-free*
Synopsis:
A bride’s dream honeymoon becomes a nightmare when a man with whom she’s had a regrettable one-night stand shows up in this psychological thriller from the author of Eight Perfect Murders. Abigail Baskin never thought she’d fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb. But right before the wedding, Abigail has a drunken one-night stand on her bachelorette weekend. She puts the incident—and the sexy guy who wouldn’t give her his real name—out of her mind, and now believes she wants to be with Bruce for the rest of her life.
Then the mysterious stranger suddenly appears—and Abigail’s future life and happiness are turned upside down. He insists that their passionate night was the beginning of something special and he’s tracked her down to prove it.
Does she tell Bruce and ruin their idyllic honeymoon—and possibly their marriage? Or should she handle this psychopathic stalker on her own? To make the situation worse, strange things begin to happen. She sees a terrified woman in the night shadows, and no one at the resort seems to believe anything is amiss… including her perfect new husband.
-via Goodreads
Review:
I do not know where to begin with this review. Honestly, I did not anticipate disliking this author’s most recent release, in fact, I was thoroughly excited to be reading the novel so close to the release date. Since getting back into thrillers, just a little over a year ago, I have read most of Peter Swanson’s backlist. I’ve had varying levels of enjoyment and there are a few that standout way more than the others. I mention this to point out that although I was hella excited, I did not go into this novel with overly high expectations that the book wouldn’t be able to deliver on. The book just straight up doesn’t deliver much of anything. That is all its own doing…no unicorn expectations are at fault here.
From the onset of the story the reader is aware that the protagonist has had a one night stand with an anonymous man while away at her bachelorette weekend. The author does not shy away from letting the reader know that Abigail is a liar and a cheater. Through the plethora of increasingly unnecessary flashbacks to Abigail’s past, the reader is able to glean that she is not a perfect person and has done some questionable things and acted in some questionable ways. I do not feel that Abigail is written to be a likeable character, and I appreciated Swanson’s choice in characterizing Abigail in that way. However, pretty much nothing else about Abigail as a person makes sense and she has illogical and unrealistic reactions to events that occur in the book. Her motivations for doing certain things barely made sense as the plot progressed. As a character she came off as not compelling, somewhat bland, and non-sensical.
Overall, a major gripe for me with this story is character motivations. No ones motivations or actions made any sense…from our protagonist, her husband (especially when they first meet), the one night stand, all the way to the various side characters…everything and everyone was non-sensical and it drove me up a wall while reading. The story was overly predictable and the major reveals/plot twists were incredibly obvious. The delivery of the climax of the novel came off as implausible and left me confused about what the author was hoping to have accomplished with the choices he made. There are aspects, of what should have been the most thrilling parts of the book that ended up coming off as juvenile. Generally, I can overlook a thriller that ends up being predictable. Even in books where I’ve accurately guessed the whodunnit and how they did it, I can still rate them highly and enjoy the overall story IF I can enjoy my journey through the novel. That was most definitely not what ended up happening with Every Vow You Break.
The story was not compelling or captivating for me and I did not end up enjoying my overall reading experience. If you’re new to thriller and mystery novels and the premise sounds intriguing to you, then maybe it would be worth giving this novel a try. The story moves along at a steady pace and it is an easy book to get through, so I can see this possibly being a good entry point into the genre. Now, if you’re a seasoned thriller reader and the premise does not sound like something you would normally enjoy, I’d say maybe skip this one. Personally, I can’t rate Every Vow You Break anything higher than 3 Unicorn Horns, and even that rating I feel is overly generous.
*This review is spoiler-free*
Synopsis:
A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn’t have prevented it. Could she?
In a split second, Jenna Gray’s world descends into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of a cruel November night that changed her life forever.
Slowly, Jenna begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating . . .
-via Goodreads
Review:
The novel begins with the tragic death of a young boy as he walks home with his mother. The fatal hit-and-run prompts Jenna to leave her home behind and escape her traumatic loss by going to a coastal town in Wales. From the beginning of the novel we also get the P.O.V. of, Ray, the lead investigator on the case. Additional perspectives are introduced later in the story. I “enjoyed” Jenna’s perspective more than Ray’s – well, as much as you can enjoy being in the mind of someone who is experiencing such an unfathomable loss. The perspective of Ray, at times, felt as if it was bogging down the story, as we get to see his home life and strained relationship with his wife and children. This leads me into one of my complaints about the novel.
The first half of the story feels incredibly slow and as if not much story development is occurring. Just endless and endless pages of attempts by law enforcement to figure out the whodunnit, with what feels like no progress ever being made. Also, the first portion of the story has a very slice-of-life feel to it and heavily focuses on the mundane of Jenna attempting to rebuild some semblance of a life for herself. Although the second half of the novel more than makes up for it, I would say that this could potentially be off-putting for those expecting to be diving into a thrilling read and then encountering this for about 40% of the book. So, don’t go into reading this story expecting deep intrigue, suspense, and thrills from the jump…because it ain’t going to happen.
Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending and I was able to guess some plot points/reveals, I still thoroughly enjoyed my overall reading experience, and look forward to being able to revisit the story again in the future. I Let You Go is a well executed story with mysterious and suspenseful aspects expertly woven into the plot. This story is like the thriller equivalent of a slow-burn romance and I absolutely loved it. The novel does get “dark” and I honestly believe that the synopsis is quite misleading. For me the violence was not gratuitous or overdone, but if you aren’t expecting it or are new to thrillers and not expecting to read about such types of violence, it could be incredibly jarring. This wasn’t the perfect novel – or even the perfect thriller – for me, but because I enjoyed the journey of reading the story and the development of the storylines I’m giving I Let You Go 8-out of a possible-10 unicorn horns. If you don’t mind a thriller with a slow, somewhat calm start and an ending that isn’t wrapped in a neat bow…you should definitely check this book out.
*I just want to point out a few potentially triggering aspects of this story that are not made clear from reading the synopsis. This novel involves and/or mentions: the death of a child, domestic violence, physical violence, and sexual violence.
Hey Fellow Bloggers! I’m finally back with book/manga reviews, and plan on re-visiting your blogs over the new few weeks. I will (hopefully) be back for a while 😅
*THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE*
Synopsis: (I decided to write this myself, and have only included things that happen in the chapter long prequel for fellow spoiler haters)
In this world filled with demons, angels, vampires, and other supernatural beings, having romantic entanglements between races is considered a sin. One God punishes with a death bringing curse for their offspring. Main character Tsukimiya, being a half angel half vampire, is one of these forsaken beings searching for the only out God gave half breads. Drinking the blood of a pure demon before turning 18. Unfortunately for Tsukimiya, time is running out, and hunting pure blooded demons is no easy task.
While on the tail of a man eating demon, she meets an angel named Hinata who is more than willing to team up with her to take the demon down. After finding him and engaging in a life risking battle they both manage to take down the demon. But before Tsukimiya can take his blood she is betrayed, and is helpless to do more than watch as Hinata, who turns out to be a fellow half demon, drinks the blood that is her only lifeline. Out of desperation Tsukimiya makes an unlikely attempt to rob Hinata of the blood he’s just taken, though the result is unexpected. The curse gets split between the two, and now, short on time, they both have to find a way to survive.
Rating: 7/10 Unicorn Horns!
I read the first few volumes awhile back when I first bought it (about 4 years ago), but have been rereading some of the first series I picked up when I began collecting manga. Back then I was so excited I pretty much picked up anything with either a semi-interesting story-line, beautiful cover, or was on sale and with full colour front pictures (and, tbh, first encounter with manga eye candy) this was no exception 
The prequel has a number of cringe worthy cliched scenes and dialogue, but that dies down by the first chapter. I never finished the series, but to be fare I do remember it picking up a lot with better writing, drawing, and plot in later volumes.
Anywho, the first volume was entertaining and despite the many cliches the story does throw in a a couple unexpected twists. It might not be the best thing to pick up if you’re looking for something unique, but does the trick if you’re looking for something fun to read that isn’t completely predictable. It was filled with both humour (especially the banter between characters) and action. The artwork is fine, with some not so well drawn scenes/characters from time to time, but it does improve over time (…or I just got use to it lol).
Aside from Hinata and Tsukimiya, the two leading main characters, there is also Tsuzuki (a pureblood angel- dressed in white in above pic) and Hanamura (reading the paper). The last two especially made the humour in the story, moreso in scenes involving all four of them. They are all characters that have been seen in some form in other manga and anime, but complement each other and with the humour, plotting, and array of supernatural abilities were still enjoyable overall. And the villains aren’t much at first, but do get more interesting and complex (not so much there personalities, but with their scheming) later on.
So on a whole I’d recommend this one to teens and adults alike that are into common supernatural shonen/seinen manga or anime stories, and book lovers who are looking for something to pass the time and enjoy reading about angels, demons, and supernatural beings. As you could probably tell from the picture from the manga I included here, it does have a couple ecchi-like scenes, but don’t worry (or get too excited) they don’t get anymore explicit then that. So, aside from what I call “what-was-the-point-of-wearing-a-shirt” cleavage there isn’t much fanservice (ex. panty shots, supernaturally overlarge breasts that giggle every time the wind blows, “accidental” oops-I-just-tripped groping, etc.). The story may not be the best out there, but I thought it was worth reading and don’t regret buying it.
Gotta say…for a manga without an adaptation it’s got a lot of artbook worthy pictures 😍
My Boyfriend is a Vampire (Series) by Han Yu Rang
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
Shuriken and Pleats by Matsuri Hino
Green Grow the Lilacs: A Play by Lynn Riggs
*DNF
Honey & Honey Drops by Kanan Minami
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Blue Morning by Shoko Hidaka
The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
Red Queen (Series) by Victoria Aveyard
Professed by Nicola Rendell
The Maniacal Book Unicorn 