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A review by cyanide_latte
Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives, Vol. 1 by Rem, Ellen Schreiber
4.0
In my attempts to find older manga, manhwa and American-made manga titles that were released, I recall stumbling across the second volume for this series, and then waiting for ages for copies of the first and third volumes to become available on Thriftbooks. Suffice to say, I'm happy that I finally own all three and was able to start reading this for the first time.
Something I found out prior to actually starting this was that this trilogy is based off a pre-existing set of YA paranormal/vampire romance novels that also fall under the Vampire Kisses umbrella. And now I feel like I'm going to need to, at some point, pick up those books to read just to gain some further context and I'm a bit annoyed about it. I don't think it's entirely necessary, mind you. This first volume does a fairly good job of introducing the characters, their relationships and their histories without necessarily needing to have read the original books, I would say. (Obviously I've not read them myself, but I don't feel particularly lost going into this and finishing this first installment.)
For what its worth, I get the sense from reading this manga that the books themselves might be extremely trope-heavy to an exhaustive and awkward level, but what I think might be cause for reflexive cringe actually works here, in a fun, hilariously charming sort of way. It's like eating a stack M&M Chips Ahoy! cookies, is the best way I can describe the feeling this volume gave me. My only other major complaint is how short this volume is, especially when lined up with the other two installments. It makes 2 and 3 look chunky by comparison, that's how dinky this first volume is.
I suppose my final thought for now is that you should expect some level of cheesy cringe from this, so don't go into it if you're looking for something that is deep and takes itself seriously. If you want something fun that's easy to escape into, a fast read, and has the quality of prepackaged cookies with M&Ms and chocolate chips, then definitely give this a shot.
Something I found out prior to actually starting this was that this trilogy is based off a pre-existing set of YA paranormal/vampire romance novels that also fall under the Vampire Kisses umbrella. And now I feel like I'm going to need to, at some point, pick up those books to read just to gain some further context and I'm a bit annoyed about it. I don't think it's entirely necessary, mind you. This first volume does a fairly good job of introducing the characters, their relationships and their histories without necessarily needing to have read the original books, I would say. (Obviously I've not read them myself, but I don't feel particularly lost going into this and finishing this first installment.)
For what its worth, I get the sense from reading this manga that the books themselves might be extremely trope-heavy to an exhaustive and awkward level, but what I think might be cause for reflexive cringe actually works here, in a fun, hilariously charming sort of way. It's like eating a stack M&M Chips Ahoy! cookies, is the best way I can describe the feeling this volume gave me. My only other major complaint is how short this volume is, especially when lined up with the other two installments. It makes 2 and 3 look chunky by comparison, that's how dinky this first volume is.
I suppose my final thought for now is that you should expect some level of cheesy cringe from this, so don't go into it if you're looking for something that is deep and takes itself seriously. If you want something fun that's easy to escape into, a fast read, and has the quality of prepackaged cookies with M&Ms and chocolate chips, then definitely give this a shot.