Johan

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

DNF'd at 40%

The book doesn't seem to have put much effor into worldbuilding beyond the fact that technology is advanced enough to create mythological creatures irl. New characters appear without any kind of introduction but from the way they talk it seems they know each and it also seem like we should know them but I guess the author skipped presentations?

There's no explanation or even reflection about MC powers that let him telepathically talk with this mythological creatures. You're just supposed to take for granted that he has those powers and he's the only one with them and that instantly gives him Mary Sue/Gary Stue vibes.

The art also has an amateur-ish vibe that I can only describe as being similar to those comics western teenagers make when they are in ther "manga" phase, when they want to draw their comics as if they are mangas.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Always nice to read feel-good queer stories. Rather than focusing on the period in her life before she realized her identity and decided to transition this manga focused on the author's journey to fulfill herself in her identity. And it also shows us how even when surgery is something that she wanted and needed it can still be nervewracking and dificult and painful.

Although it's kind of hard reading about how estrict and something transphobic the laws in Japan surrounding trans people are it was kind of an interesting read to learn about it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

If your summary promises to tell the story of this big heist, what attracts most of us to read this comic/graphic novel is the promise of said heist. In that sense, I personally find it a big mistake to provide only such a small sample of pages that have nothing to do with the premise.

The art is fantastic, with this grotesque quality that I find it really fits what little of the story we were given, but the pages just go so fast, I could barely start getting into the reasons why Maria decided to became a con artist before it ended.

It has potential but the sample is too small to properly judge.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Came expecting nice talk about snacking not trauma dumping. I'm only really interested in reading about this kind of stuff either when I know the person, I find the person interesting or the stuff they're talking about sounds interesting. As rude as this is going to sound, there is nothing terribly out there to her story: teenage girl snacks a lot, puts weight, feels self concious, has low self esteem, developes ED that eventually kind of learns to get under controll in her 20's/30's. And the ending of the book kind of had nothing to do about snacking? It is true that a big reason why she fought often with E. was her picky-ness with food, but fundamentally, that relationship wasn't a healty one, she herself mentioned fighting with him all the time. Good for her getting out of that toxic dynamic tho.

Also, the art is totally not my style, I'm not really a fan of these "unpolished" cartoons.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I honestly wasn't expecting to like this manga that much. I gotta say I'm not a fan of the art style, so when I started reading I got a bit predisposed to not enjoy the manga that much, but when I met Uno and Kobayashi, learned about their struggles and their ways to overcome their hardships and how their friendship developed... my heart just melted. I found myself giggling and kicking my feet several times throughout every chapter!

While Uno isn't officially diagnosed with anything so far he comes across VERY heavily as an autistic teenager, and while I'm not autistic myself I find his portrayal a pretty accurate representation so far.

If you're in need of a feel-good manga that isn't completely fluff and doesn't focus on romance but on friendship you need to read this one for sure. You won't regret it. I'm eager to continue the next volume already!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

While I found the art absolutely breath-taking and the story quite interesting for the most part, there's a couple of things that left me (more than) disappointed, enough to make me give this manga only two stars.

First of all, the most relevant to the average reader I guess: there just isn't enough information about the historical and political landscape. Yes, perhaps I should have thought twice before picking an historical drama set on a place and time period I know nothing about, but I still would expect a bit more information (infodump if you want) about it, to sort of "catch up" with it. As it is, the story is interesting and you can sort of follow what happens and the "characters" but it gets a bit tiring because of russian naming conventions and titles.

Second: While probably accurate to how royalty behave, the reveal at the end of the manga was frankly disappointing, boring, it just fell flat and made me think "they had to suffer all of that just for this reason?" It just wasn't very satisfying on a narrative plane.

Lastly, and my biggest complain: What's up with calling this an erotic manga when the only "erotic" content is compromised of multiple rape scenes of a character that is a minor for the most part??? That's just fucked up in so many ways I can't even process what went through the mind of the author and the publishing house for them to greenlight this as erotic?? And then they had the gall to go and make the girl that was raped forgive her rapist?? (And it was even sort of implied that she liked him?? Insane)

I say grab this manga only if you have previous knowledge about the historical and political landscape and are okay with rape apologist narratives because this one sure reek of it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

(The ARC provided was a sample of the first 130 pages of the comic so this review only focuses on those pages)

I really enjoy period pieces that focus on women "rebelling" or finding little pockets of freedom within their circumstances, so this story was right up my alley. I also greatly enjoyed how she went from hating Sahara to seeking her company after the girl showed HER interest as a PERSON, instead of as a woman or wife. It was really interesting to see the dynamics of two very different cultures and mindsets clashing with each other.

Personally, I was hoping for a romance between Sahara and Amelie. I have no way of knowing if there will be one since this is only a preview, but the blushing moments when Amelie looks at her give me a bit of hope, so if you're looking for some historical fiction lesbians this miiiiight be something worth giving a read?

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I think this graphic novel suffers a bit from trying totalk about so much stuff in the span of so many years. As someone that is not terribly well versed on the story of England during that century I often found myself taking my phone to search for stuff. Some people might find that enjoyable as it kind of promotes learning to fill the gaps, but as the comic is already quite long I wish it focused on a more concrete time period/situation and explained a bit more about that.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This one Is going to my list of extremely cute feel-good romances to read for when I feel sad!

The art was pretty good and while it wasn't really out there it had a different enough vibe compared to a vast majority of BL's one tend to find out there (you know the type, one is a giant, the other Is super tiny, one is the manliest man to ever man, the other is the most femenine man in existence, the GIGANTIC hands, etc., etc.)

I especially enjoyed how real the characters felt. Their dialogue flowed in such a natural way that I actually felt for one second that the author had usted dialogue from their real life, just like in the manga (manga-ception? Lol) Yaotome motivations felt realistic despite being a bit out there and exagerated for the sake of creating romance, the pace of their relationships (as teacher-student, friends and later as lovers) was just right imo. Even "the third act break-up" was resolved in a very mature way that actually made me feel like they are grown-ass adults instead of "adults" with the personality of teenagers at best.

If I had to point one gripe it would be that, as much as I enjoyed the characters talking through the misunderstanding, It would have been nice to have a little bit more of tension or some kind of problem to wrap up the story in a slightly more satisfying way, but like I said, the manga exudes feel-good vibes, so I can't complain to much hahaha.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Very complete and comprehensive history of videogames, in a chronological sense, as an art form, it's relation with computers and technology, as a medium of expression, the separation between AAA and indie games, etc. I'm not the most well versed person in videogames but I had a lot of fun seeing all these familiar names be it people or retro games.

While personally I really didn't care at all about the story of the journalist and the artist inside the comic I admit it does lighten up a bit what would essentialy be a time-line. And the playfullness does add to the "game" atmosphere (and it also heavily reminds me of Split Fiction so... bonus points for that) It doesn't add up much but it's not detrimental by any means.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Reading the first chapter, and perhaps judging by the art, I expected more of a comedy story, and it does have plenty of comedy, don't get me wrong, but I was pleasantly surprised with the depth given to Makoto identity as a crossdresser, femenine man, maybeee someone that might fall under the trans/nonbinary umbrella?

I'm also very surprised at the depth of the relationships between the main characters and their clear personalities that come through even in this little amount of episodes.

There's certainly some complicated feeling burried both with Makoto and "Master" (lol) and I can't wait to learn more about them. I'm also awaiting to see the growth of the relationships between Makoto and Aoi and also Ryuuji and Aoi.

Overall, a lighthearted enough book that can be read purely for the laughs but also contains characters that one can identify and relate with. I want to read more of It.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The art is beyond beautiful and I find it impressive how well they manage to capture the likeness of all the different animals in the book as well as the different species of birds. I also really like the use of different techniques to illustrate different situations (especially funny when the birds get high af lol)

Sadly, the little comics are more miss than hit for me. Most of them weren't really funny, and some of them I even had trouble pointing out what was trying to be said or represented.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This one seem to be the kind of story where you're confused half of the time, not knowing what's happening, but intrigued nonetheless.

It's a bit exagerated in most regards, it reminds me of soap operas, with it's cartoon-ey villains, the prodigy child who is perfect at singing and acting and also pretty but treated like trash by basically everyone surrounding her. Nothing wrong with that if that's the kind of stories you enjoy reading or fancy at the moment, it certainly makes up for a good beggining to a revenge tale.

Like I said, it's an intriguing beggining but it's mysterious nature might be a bit annoying to those who might enjoy when the plot is laid out/defined since the start.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The art style has this messy, rough, unfinished quality that may fit the genre but it's the type that makes it really hard to discern what's going on. Paired with the weird style of panneling I had to do double takes more than once.

The plot... how to describe it? If you enjoy wacky camp over-the-top movies with the most insane plots, the type that are fun because you watch to make fun of them or because you watch them high, then this might be of your interest. Personally I didn't really care much for it, especially the US propaganda vibes it gave.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

As I started reading the book I found myself thinking "why Is It called Brain Damage?", since none of the stories seem to revolve around that. That might be because the brain damage in question is the one the reader might suffer after finishing each story!

I found myself going wild in my room when the plot twist of each story unfolded itself. I even found myself trying to predict them after the impact the first story left on me, to no avail.

The book is short, true, but each story is written in a thight way. They don't feel rushed, nor too short, nor like there was more that should have been said, despite leaving some questions unanswered. I agree with the sentiment of the author, horror works best when it's a little vague.

The stories have a little bit of everything, from gore to body horror, to real life horror, to supernatural. There's a little bit for everyone, and every story is filled to the brim with absurdist comedy as well as a healty dose of black comedy, without poking fun at any kind of group like it's usually done.

Before reading this I didn't knew anything about Shintaro Kago but after experiencing his style It's quite eager to read more from him!

La prosa deja mucho que desear la verdad. Es casi puro explicar ("tell") en lugar de describir ("show") y muchísima repetición de líneas ("se sorbió los mocos"). El primer libro se me hizo un poco más interesante porque era un mundo nuevo, estas conociendo a los personajes, aprendiendo todas estas clases nuevas y sus poderes, y ese interés como que soporta un pelín el peso de la prosa. Pero en este segundo libro si que la sentí mucho más, para mal.

También sentí que la trama era inexistente. El primer libro es algo así como "un sistema como de videojuego aparece de la nada y la gente tiene que ver como adaptarse y sobrevivir" pero el segundo no tiene una trama clara. Si me dices, va de enfrentarte a una mazmorra, eso sucede como a la mitad del libro ¿luego que? Si me dices, va de ver como sobrevivir a la amenaza de una dragona que se acerca a la ciudad, de nuevo, eso sucede más o menos a partir de la segunda mitad, no es algo que el lector tenga presente, aparece un poco de la nada. Convendría tener un poco más claro cual se pretende que sea la trama antes de sentarse a escribir para entretejer los puntos principales desde el principio de poquito en poquito, y también entre si, de manera que no se sienta como dos eventos sin conexión.

Otra cosita, la muerte de Estefanía se sintió super forzada, especialmente considerando su clase. Justo antes de su muerte la pones a decir de la nada que cuide a los chavales por si se muere y va y se muere. Se siente incluso más forzado considerando que Pepe sobrevivió a la muerte dos veces aunque anteriormente se dio a entender que necesitaba de alguien que moviera al parasito de un cuerpo a otro. Pero las dos veces que murió estaba solo y logró moverse de un cuerpo a otro sin problema. Hay que tener un poco más de consistencia.

También me hizo ruido el que Sade estuviera tan triste/molesta por la muerte de Estefanía pese a que se conocieron... ¿ese mismo día? ¿hace unas dos horas a lo mucho? No tiene sentido.

En fin, hay muchas cosas que me dejaron decepcionado con el libro, especialmente porque es de los pocos LitRPG en español que conozco. Y si, el LitRPG no se caracteriza por tener los libros mejor escritos del mundo, pero igual esperaba un poquito de mejoría comparado con el primer libro. Convendría dejar marinar un poco la historia, trabajar con lectores beta o un editor (si no se hace ya). Le doy dos estrellas porque el final final con la revelación de las mejoras de sistema me picó el interés otra vez, me recordó un poco a Sword Art Online y tengo que decir que suena divertido así de primeras. Veremos si logra captar mi interés un poco más que este segundo.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

While I really liked the art and the idea of the story I find myself feeling underwhelmed by the actual execution. Somehow the comic feels incomplete, perhaps because of it´s short length. I feel like they tried to cram a story that could have been easily expanded in a couple episodes in a single volumen that's only a 100 pages long! Everything happens quite fast and it ends up being slightly confusing as a lot of stuff just doesn't have any explanation, nor there's any kind of worldbuilding. The magic seemed interesting but there's no explanation to how It works, how one can improve, become stronger, etc. Perhaps some stuff will be explained and expanded on future installments but so far I see no indication of this being a comic with more than this single release?

I just feel like they had a good idea, they should have just let the comic breathe,

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The beggining pages might be a little confusing, with all the speech bubbles in all the different languages; you might feel like you have to read or pay attention to everything. This is done on purpose to make you feel like the characters, who are living in a foreign country where they don't fully understand the language, and I think it was a super clever thing to do.

I absolutely loved the romance between the two main characters, I think it was very believable and very well written. You can totally feel their chemistry and you can see how they get closer and closer each page. I also loved the portrayal of these awkward moment that happen again and again between them trying to make the other understand dialogue or certain jokes told in a language the other doesn't speak or that makes no sense in their own language. And the way that both characters share their very own mixed language that only they really understand might just be THE sweetest thing I've read in a long while. It's a very tangible way to experience the connection and closeness they share.

The representation of the struggle when you learn a couple of languages, where you kinda become more fluent in the new language(s) but also start to lose your fluency in your native language is soooooo real, I laughed hard at that. 

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I feel like I've read this very same story a dozen times before. The “forced maternity” theme is not original at all, and the writing is just not strong enough to carry such a “cliche” plot. It's not badly written per se, nor is it a bad theme, it's just unoriginal. And the plot twist, if we can call it a plot twist, is predictable since the very first second. 

It's enjoyable enough, I guess, if you haven't read this type of story before.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This one left me with a bittersweet feeling after I ended my read. With the way the story Is told, in a non linear way, and Abby foreshadowing events that she hasn't told us yet, the whole read has a bittersweet taste.

I like and dislike the use of the first person narrator in the novella for the same reasons: It leaves me with the feeling that Abby Is not a completely reliable narrator. I don't really have reasons to feel this way yet in the back of my mind I have the feeling that some of Nora crimes/actions aren't real or didn't happen as she recollected them. It gives the story a dreamlike feel, like other have said before, but I kinda wanted a more straightforward retelling of Nora's actions, because she's such an interesting characters.

I think the story had more to tell and this could have been a liitte longer, but at the same time it doesn't feel incomplete nor rushed. It was a very good debut imo.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

As this is the first book of this type that I read, I'm not quite sure how to approach rating and reviewing it. If I compare it to a youtube video or a podcast, which tend to focus on a single case at a time, the book feels lacking. The description of the stories feel simple and clinical. Very to the point, without much imput from the author. One could say it lacks flavor? There's also a lack of details regarding the murders, although depending on the person that might be a good thing. The author also doesn't propose theories for those cases that aren't quite cut clear (not his per se, just the common case theories regardin who might have done it or how things happened)

But as this book doesn't focus on a single case, unlike youtube videos or podcasts I have to say that a great amount of research went into the book considering the author recopilated the insane amount of 35 cases. The book is not super long, but had Estep delved even a bit deeper into each case the book would have ended up being like 600+ pages long, which might put people off. I also think the fact that the shortness of each retelling might be a positive point for those that enjoy a short side read before going to sleep.

Regarding the audio, the voice actor has a pleasant enough voice, it's deep but not super deep and it has a nice neutral accent that makes it easy to understand what he's saying without being distracting. He doesn't put a lot of emotion onto the reading, but I guess that might be how non fiction books are narrated? 

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Based on the blurb of the book I thought the story would lean a bit more onto the spooky and mysterious side, what with the antique shop with ghosts description. Instead this book would be more accurately described as a cozy mystery-romance.

While It was definitely not the kind of book nor story I expected I have to say I didn't dislike It. I did felt like there was little plot going on but it was precisely that fact and the not quite urgent nature of the situation that gave the story the cozy mystery vibe. Depending on what you're seeking this might be good or bad. 

I think the romance was especially well done. In fact, I would say it's the focal point of the book. It's a proper slow burn, where the characters start as actúal friends and you can feel their chemistry and see why they like each other. Both characters aré also very nice people. Antony can end up feeling like too nice of a man, though, especially considering the time period the book is set in, but as far as love interests he's great, and I would gladly suspend muy disbelief for the rare nice respectful love interest. Regarding Lizzy, I think her characters is very well written. She does what she needs to do when the situation ask for it, even if it's hard, which paints her as a very intelligent young woman who takes very rational decisions for the good of her family, even if that means parting with important objects or people. It's a nice change of pace to have a protagonista who you root foor instead of someone that angers you with every single stupid decisión.

Ultimately, while the characters aré very well written and the romance Is very nice, I came to the book because of the spooky story, so I ended up a bit disappointed and let down, but if you came to it aware of it being cozy mystery I think you will find it a very enjoyable read

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This one is quite an interesting mix. I never thought I would read a slice of life cozy thriller/secret agent story yet here we are. 

The art style is really good and also quite original. It has that manga feel but at the same time it kind of feels like an american comic?

While the autor does somehow make it work, mixing very cozy slice of life foodie moments with some very good action sequences, I end up feeling kind of let down wanting for more on both sides? The action is very well done, great coreographing when there's fights, and doesn't shy away from showing blood, gore and violence when needed to show the violent nature of the LEL. At the same time Shimazaki seems like such a nice guy, who just wants peace and to make those who he cares for happy. I simultaneously want more fights and more cozy Shimazaki learning to adult after years of being trapped by the LEL. 

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The idea behind the book sounds super interesting. A book, whose author is unknown, written for me? A tale about my imagination being concious of being a concept of me? Sounds quite trippy but interesting! I think the first and last chapter of the book capture quite well the kind of vibe I wanted and waited from the book but sadly these two are quite independent from the rest of the narrative.

First and last chapters focus on Imagination talking to us almost from a philosophical point of view, trying to explain how we are connected, how they make us what we are, make us real, are more real than us, etc. while the 95% that is the rest of the book ends up being the tale of self discovery Imagination went through. It just feels very disconected from the first and last chapters because they are so different. The narrative voice is completely different and the deeper questions asked at the beggining and at the end are nowhere to be seen in the middle part. 

I feel like the idea is nice, but the execution was not adecuate to fully bring to life the idea. This would have been better in my opinion as a short story or something like a fictional essay written by Imagination, while they mulled over and over the ideas of being a figment of our imagination. 

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

When I came across this book I thought the premise of the story was super interesting: A fantasy story focused on moving between different realms/realities. That sounds super fun! Sadly, besides the initially interesting sounding plot (and the promise of queer romance) the book falls flat in pretty much everything it tries to do.  

- The romance was rushed and underdeveloped, there was just no chemistry between the leads. They meet, they fall in love in 30 pages? and that's it. 
- The story is frankly inexistent. Having read the entire book I still can't say what was the plot. The author failed in coming up with a plot and whatever plot there “was” failed to instill any kind of sense of urgency or danger. I couldn't tell you what was so bad about the thing that the characters were worried about because nothing happened previously either to make us worry or to signify change or an advancing status. 
- The narration is super repetitive, filled with telling instead of showing and filled with phrases like “nothing would be the same again”, “things were about to change”, etc. Not lying, every chapter has like five or ten of this phrases. It gets tyring really fast. 
- New characters that serve no purpose appear from nothing all the time? I don't need you to bring a new named character just so they can ask a random question and never appear again.
- Some characters kept certain events secret but sometimes other characters would pop up and talk about the secret without on page explanation of why they know about the secret or when were they told about it. And this happened more than once.
- Whenever the character is supposed to practice his powers the only practice was
“You have to do this” 
character does it first try, without sweating. One line of description
“Good, you did excellent, keep practicing”

I could seriously go on and on but I'm gonna stop here. 
The book doesn't even feel like a first draft, more like a fanfiction. It needs a LOT of editing. Worse, it demands the author sits and takes more time to plot the book, the plot, the relationship between the characters, the mysteries. Everything.