businesswife's reviews
237 reviews

Hate Me, but Let Me Stay, Volume 1 by Hijiki (ひじき)

lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

This is a very sweet omegaverse with a very good entry level intro on how the system works generally and also in this universe. A great starter manga on it. The romance is also very sweet and the main couple gets together very quickly idk what more volumes are/would be about and idk if I will get them. I might get one more and see if I care to continue. I do like the characters a lot.

Content Warnings

Moriarty the Patriot, Vol. 1 by Ryōsuke Takeuchi

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

So fun! I love the portrayal of Moriarty he's so fun. I cannot wait to see what he does next. I also really enjoy this style of manga where is broken into cases. I'm a huge fan of this can't wait to get more.

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Solo Leveling, Vol. 5 by Chugong

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adventurous tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I love this series. So action packed. The leveling system is very fun. The art is amazing and I cannot wait to see what is in store next there are so many plot hooks and I'm not sure what is coming next.

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Chaos King by Kacen Callender

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

TLDR: I love this series. I like this book slightly less than the first book and that is just because I got so excited about the Poly relationship in book one and that is not the focus in this book. This one is a lot more about the growing instability that has come after Hain is killed. This is an amazing book about power and what people will do for it and with it. It also has some of the best queer rep I have ever seen.

Plot: This book broke my goddamn heart in a way that books I love less cannot. Ash is a part of me now. The struggle between the two people he loves most in the world and literally the rest of the world had me on the edge of my seat throughout this book. I cried, I gasped, and I was shook by the end. I had no idea where the plot was going a lot of the time I was just being torn in to pieces along with Ash while his world was being torn apart around him. I cannot articulate how much I loved this book. The only reason this is not a five star like the first book is I'm not as much a fan of the type of ending that this book has (going to try to leave this vague). BUT both of these books will live rent free in my head forever I love them so much and I think the ending makes perfect sense with how high the stakes are in this series. Also, I don't think I have ever read a YA series that held nothing back like this one does. Highly recommend. OH and I have to talk about how kickass the magic system is in this! The alchemy, the source, the chaos! OMG it is so beyond cool and consistent and I love it! Powerful but it makes sense and it still has it's limitations, this book is so good!

Characters: I love everyone in this book. Ash is a very complicated character with his problems and hes going through so much in this series, but that didn't make me love him any less. I also think hes a beautiful representation of non-binary transgender person. He is comfortable with some parts of himself but not other and I just love how much different gender and sexuality representation is in these books, its so beautifully handled all while there is a war a foot. Marlowe is also just an amazing women throughout this series, also a very complicated character with a loaded background who has been through a lot but fights for what she believes in anyway and I love her in this. (I talk about the other 2 main characters, Ramsey and Callum in my review of Infinity Alchemist which you can find on my Goodreads or Storygraph, link below)

Worldbuilding: Great urban magic setting. The houses that are all over what we know of as New England in the US and being connected through magic portals is so cool. I also love having the capital with some of the more powerful houses being in one city that has such an obvious split of the Houses and the other people. There is so much tension built with geography and the buildings in this series its really beautiful. Even having the religious House, Lune being so far from the others so they can do thins with no oversight until it's to late. Also it is very outside of time because of magic the technology is still a little old, with trains, and no phones, and a lot of teleporting around to see people in person. It's just neat.

Review by Nic @polycraftory on Instagram, Tumblr, and Tiktok, where I do book reviews and crafts with my polycule. If you are curious about my thoughts on more books, you can find me @businesswife on Storygraph. You can also find content warnings on my Storygraph review of this book. You can also find my reviews @polycraftory on Goodreads.

Content Warnings

The Rising of the Shield Hero, Volume 01: The Manga Companion by Aneko Yusagi

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adventurous dark sad fast-paced

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

1.0

This starts as a very classic isekai then the main character is turned into a villian by everyone around them. For... being the shield hero? So they can rob him? Then he instead of being a good guy and trying to prove he's a good dude he buys a slave child to help him because he needs a party member. Bad things happen to him and he is responding to those bad things but also I don't love how he decides to respond to them. This series just is not for me.

the main character gets acussed of raping a girl which he super didn't do then becomes a villian and buys a raccoon slave girl.

Content Warnings

Farming Life in Another World, Vol. 1 by Kinosuke Naito

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

This is a fine manga. It's really just about a man just wanting a second chance at life. And when he gets it he just wants to be a famer and left alone. That's all fine I was less into the more non con element of this

where some women come into his life and just decide he will be the father to their children. And he doesnt get a say in that at all. And he even says they do not hear him speak against it they are helpful to him but he doesn't have a say in impregnating them

I won't continue with this series but it's fine.

Content Warnings

Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide, Volume 1 by Mone Sorai

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.

I love the art for this and I'm sad I cannot stick with it but these boys do not seem to like each other AT ALL. I do not understand their relationship at all. I through they might just be overly nervous about being caught as gay and a goofball but the uptight boy is kinda a JERK. I just cannot. Them springing the were gonna get married when they don't even touch. Nah I'm okay.

Solo Leveling, Vol. 4 by Chugong

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adventurous tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Still loving this series.

Solo Leveling, Vol. 3 by Chugong

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

Im really loving this series. I didn't know if it would live up to the hype but it does. It is fast and the action is great. I also really enjoy the characters and their developemt.

Content Warnings

The Dragon's Betrothed, Vol. 2 by Meguru Hinohara

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

Meguru Hinohara is the absolute best and I stand by that. Therapy Game and this are top tier. This is such a good small snack of a series so far and I am hopeful for a volume 3. This silly little dragon water God needs to get his bride and finds that a man has been promised the position. The man in question is such a sad guy until he meets Rin and the rest is just history. In this volume they make so much progress in their relationship and also personal growth. The art is top teir and also the story is great. High recommendation to any BL reader and this is a soft entry into monster romance.

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businesswife's reviews 237 reviews

businesswife's reviews
237 reviews