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1082 reviews
Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 1 by Ryoko Kui
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
I had fun reading this volume. My goal is to read the entire series before maybe committing to getting a tattoo of it š I fell in love with the anime over the summer, but donāt want to make such a huge commitment without knowing more.
Anyway. The best part of this was reading about my beloved Chilchuck šš» He is an absolute nag, and I love it. I live for when he scolds the other members of his team. His whole rant to Senshi when Senshi was being reckless around traps? Incredible. Amazing. Iconic. I would love to have him be a pain in my ass š Heās everything to me.
Senshi still continues to have the other part of my heart. He is a dear and so sweet. I love how heās always concerned with making sure heās feeding the team proper hearty meals. What a dear!
Laios continues to be a freak in my eyes š His hard-on for eating monsters is too much for me. Heās got way too much of a one-track mind. He needs to chill. Fast.
Anyway. I look forward to continuing the series āš»
Anyway. The best part of this was reading about my beloved Chilchuck šš» He is an absolute nag, and I love it. I live for when he scolds the other members of his team. His whole rant to Senshi when Senshi was being reckless around traps? Incredible. Amazing. Iconic. I would love to have him be a pain in my ass š Heās everything to me.
Senshi still continues to have the other part of my heart. He is a dear and so sweet. I love how heās always concerned with making sure heās feeding the team proper hearty meals. What a dear!
Laios continues to be a freak in my eyes š His hard-on for eating monsters is too much for me. Heās got way too much of a one-track mind. He needs to chill. Fast.
Anyway. I look forward to continuing the series āš»
Semantic Error, Vol. 1 by Angy, Soori Jeo
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I had so much fun reading this! I wasnāt sure if I would love this, but I absolutely did!
First of all, Jaeyoung is absolute chaos, and I adore him. His determination to annoy , at first, was deranged. Absolute stalker behavior from Jaeyoung. Just because Sangwoo is easy to stalk doesnāt mean that Jaeyoung isnāt a stalker. Still. I found it all so amusing. He learned all the little ways to annoy the shit outta Sangwoo, and I have to admire the dedication. Plus, when he flips to wanting to be charming and nice? Be still my heart! Heās so fucking pretty. I love seeing him in his evil mode, but his nice mode is even more heart-melting.
Second of all, Sangwoo has never done anything wrong in his life. Ever. And I will stand by that. My guy just cannot stand by people getting credit for work they didnāt do, and I have to respect that. Truly I relate so much to his clear-cut view of life, and his need for routine. The narrative went out of its way to clarify heās not neurodivergentā¦but I beg to differ. The absolute need for routine and the way it fucks up his whole day if itās messed with is not neurotypical. It just aināt š¤·š»āāļø Still. Itās his way of being that makes me love him š So relatable and real of him to be a pain to others when he just wants to live his life and not have anyone bother him. I only wish for him to be able to return to fully being an Unbothered King šš»
Third of all, Iām so excited to continue this series! I already feel so invested! I need to see how their relationship develops, and I also want to see the friendship between Sangwoo and Jihye develop. She was truly so helpful to him in this volume, and my beloved deserves a friend š
First of all, Jaeyoung is absolute chaos, and I adore him. His determination to annoy , at first, was deranged. Absolute stalker behavior from Jaeyoung. Just because Sangwoo is easy to stalk doesnāt mean that Jaeyoung isnāt a stalker. Still. I found it all so amusing. He learned all the little ways to annoy the shit outta Sangwoo, and I have to admire the dedication. Plus, when he flips to wanting to be charming and nice? Be still my heart! Heās so fucking pretty. I love seeing him in his evil mode, but his nice mode is even more heart-melting.
Second of all, Sangwoo has never done anything wrong in his life. Ever. And I will stand by that. My guy just cannot stand by people getting credit for work they didnāt do, and I have to respect that. Truly I relate so much to his clear-cut view of life, and his need for routine. The narrative went out of its way to clarify heās not neurodivergentā¦but I beg to differ. The absolute need for routine and the way it fucks up his whole day if itās messed with is not neurotypical. It just aināt š¤·š»āāļø Still. Itās his way of being that makes me love him š So relatable and real of him to be a pain to others when he just wants to live his life and not have anyone bother him. I only wish for him to be able to return to fully being an Unbothered King šš»
Third of all, Iām so excited to continue this series! I already feel so invested! I need to see how their relationship develops, and I also want to see the friendship between Sangwoo and Jihye develop. She was truly so helpful to him in this volume, and my beloved deserves a friend š
The Handyman Method by Nick Cutter, Andrew F. Sullivan
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Iām finally free of the shackles of this book šš» Much like Trent, I felt trapped by this book. I can finally live again having reached the conclusion.
For about 60-75% of this book, it was sitting at a comfortable 3š I neither hated it nor loved it. I could see what it was trying to accomplish, but I wasnāt exactly impressed by the execution. This was especially the case as I found the writing unnecessarily confusing in a way that was frustrating versus mentally stimulating. Trust me when I say I can handle ambiguity and confusion. This book just took it a step too far for me.
Once we started reaching the resolution, however, thatās when I began to loathe this book. It was an absolute WASTE of my time. If we consider the āheartā of this narrative being about white cis hetero men inevitably falling into cycles of misogyny (with the need to be providers for their nuclear family, being āstrongā role models to keep the home together, all to be trapped into a specific framework of masculinity), the ending was mind-boggling. Letās get into it.
šØšØšØ
There is no reason for this to end with Rita deciding to spare Trent from being sacrificed to The Entity in the basement and allowing The Entity free reign of the world. First of all, it doesnāt make sense, and it doesnāt feel earned for her to give enough of a shit (one way or another) to even make the choice to save Trent. She didnāt even like that man! And if she was unhappy with how The Entity was warping the pact made with her ancestors, well sheās a damn lawyer! She. Can. Make. A. Goddamned. New. Pact. USE YOUR BRAIN, RITA!
To me the ending felt reminiscent of Eve and Adam. Eve falls for temptation, so weāre all damned to suffer because of the actions of a woman. Same here. Rita chooses to āsaveā Trent, so now all must deal with the shit consequences of that. If weāre trying to break cycles of misogyny and white cis hetero male thinking and living, we sure went back to square fucking one with that choice!
All of this wouldāve been so much better if it had exclusively focused on Trent, and we saw how slowly but surely The Entity spread its influence among all the men close and far from Trent. That couldāve been the horror of it all! It being inevitable and inescapable. Instead, we muddle and further fuck up the narrative by trying to incorporate both Rita and Milo being negatively impacted by the house, and itās just a shitshow. The message wouldāve been clearer and sharper if it had just been from the unreliable perspective of Trent.
šØšØšØ
A book truly hasnāt wasted my time quite like this one for a while. I guess I was overdue š Truly the only reason it didnāt become a DNF was because for most of it I was fine with it. It was a buddy read with my friend Steff, and I was fine going through the motions for the sake of discussing it with her. By the 2/3 mark, I was in deep enough that I Knew I wouldnāt be satisfied just with Steff telling me what happened in the end. I needed to read it for myself to then be able to fully explain why it was not only mildly a pain to get through but was also poorly executed in the end.
For about 60-75% of this book, it was sitting at a comfortable 3š I neither hated it nor loved it. I could see what it was trying to accomplish, but I wasnāt exactly impressed by the execution. This was especially the case as I found the writing unnecessarily confusing in a way that was frustrating versus mentally stimulating. Trust me when I say I can handle ambiguity and confusion. This book just took it a step too far for me.
Once we started reaching the resolution, however, thatās when I began to loathe this book. It was an absolute WASTE of my time. If we consider the āheartā of this narrative being about white cis hetero men inevitably falling into cycles of misogyny (with the need to be providers for their nuclear family, being āstrongā role models to keep the home together, all to be trapped into a specific framework of masculinity), the ending was mind-boggling. Letās get into it.
šØšØšØ
To me the ending felt reminiscent of Eve and Adam. Eve falls for temptation, so weāre all damned to suffer because of the actions of a woman. Same here. Rita chooses to āsaveā Trent, so now all must deal with the shit consequences of that. If weāre trying to break cycles of misogyny and white cis hetero male thinking and living, we sure went back to square fucking one with that choice!
All of this wouldāve been so much better if it had exclusively focused on Trent, and we saw how slowly but surely The Entity spread its influence among all the men close and far from Trent. That couldāve been the horror of it all! It being inevitable and inescapable. Instead, we muddle and further fuck up the narrative by trying to incorporate both Rita and Milo being negatively impacted by the house, and itās just a shitshow. The message wouldāve been clearer and sharper if it had just been from the unreliable perspective of Trent.
šØšØšØ
A book truly hasnāt wasted my time quite like this one for a while. I guess I was overdue š Truly the only reason it didnāt become a DNF was because for most of it I was fine with it. It was a buddy read with my friend Steff, and I was fine going through the motions for the sake of discussing it with her. By the 2/3 mark, I was in deep enough that I Knew I wouldnāt be satisfied just with Steff telling me what happened in the end. I needed to read it for myself to then be able to fully explain why it was not only mildly a pain to get through but was also poorly executed in the end.
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
Let me start my review by saying that truly I think itās personal preference why I didnāt adore this book.
The major problem I had with this was that it was tackling way too many issues. I understand that this is realistic, as many of us are often juggling multiple difficult situations at once, but as a reading experience it doesnāt work for me. Iād rather a novel focus on a small number of concerns, so it can fully dive into them in detail.
That being said, I definitely think this was written in away to be approachable for its target YA audience. The fact that it was mainly written in journal entries with some poems means that itās not difficult to get through it in terms of the prose.
Iām definitely going to be including this in my classroom library, as I do think many of my students would appreciate a story like this one. Ultimately, I donāt always try to read books with myself in mind. Sometimes, the gain I get from a book is knowing it fits well in my classroom.
The major problem I had with this was that it was tackling way too many issues. I understand that this is realistic, as many of us are often juggling multiple difficult situations at once, but as a reading experience it doesnāt work for me. Iād rather a novel focus on a small number of concerns, so it can fully dive into them in detail.
That being said, I definitely think this was written in away to be approachable for its target YA audience. The fact that it was mainly written in journal entries with some poems means that itās not difficult to get through it in terms of the prose.
Iām definitely going to be including this in my classroom library, as I do think many of my students would appreciate a story like this one. Ultimately, I donāt always try to read books with myself in mind. Sometimes, the gain I get from a book is knowing it fits well in my classroom.
The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
I had such a fun, silly little time reading this! It was an excellent read to prepare for the spooky season, and fits even better for the Christmas season!
First and foremost, I adored Hex with everything in my heart and soul. Iām always here for the emotionally reserved character and over thinker who has to learn to share their thoughts and burdens with others. He was genuinely my favorite character in the novel. I wanted more of him! I wouldāve loved to read from his pov š„ŗ
Coal, on the other hand, was chaos incarnate. He has 5 million thoughts, and often doesnāt know how to keep them Inside Thoughts. He did really make me laugh multiple times in this story though. And my favorite thing was his name changes to his group chat with Iris and Kris! š
Now when we talk Hex and Coal together? The two definitely had chemistry! I was rooting for them almost from the very start because the author built really well the dynamic between them and how theyāre being drawn to each other again and again.
Finally, justice for Iris! I really need a book with her and her potential love interest š Itās criminal how this book made me genuinely root fora m/f ship (initially I thought both characters were straight), only for then it turn out that the sequel will be about Kris with someone else. I felt like the story truly did hint at it turning out that theyāre not end-gameā¦but Iām still SAD. My only compensation will be if we manage to get a book 3 with Iris and a yet unknown love interest.
P.S Truly my one qualm with this book is that I never truly understood if Hex was half Mexican. It felt veryā¦white author trying to talk around it without just saying it straight out? Maybe I misread itā¦But as a Latinaā¦ Most Latine individuals are incredibly proud of their culture and heritage and arenāt afraid to state it straight out. So, it felt muddled here. It wasnāt clear if Hex was or wasnāt half Mexicanā¦or if his family was only in Mexico because DĆa de Los Muertos is such an important holiday with significant connections to Halloween because of the time of year it takes place.
First and foremost, I adored Hex with everything in my heart and soul. Iām always here for the emotionally reserved character and over thinker who has to learn to share their thoughts and burdens with others. He was genuinely my favorite character in the novel. I wanted more of him! I wouldāve loved to read from his pov š„ŗ
Coal, on the other hand, was chaos incarnate. He has 5 million thoughts, and often doesnāt know how to keep them Inside Thoughts. He did really make me laugh multiple times in this story though. And my favorite thing was his name changes to his group chat with Iris and Kris! š
Now when we talk Hex and Coal together? The two definitely had chemistry! I was rooting for them almost from the very start because the author built really well the dynamic between them and how theyāre being drawn to each other again and again.
Finally, justice for Iris! I really need a book with her and her potential love interest š Itās criminal how this book made me genuinely root for
P.S Truly my one qualm with this book is that I never truly understood if Hex was half Mexican. It felt veryā¦white author trying to talk around it without just saying it straight out? Maybe I misread itā¦But as a Latinaā¦ Most Latine individuals are incredibly proud of their culture and heritage and arenāt afraid to state it straight out. So, it felt muddled here. It wasnāt clear if Hex was or wasnāt half Mexicanā¦or if his family was only in Mexico because DĆa de Los Muertos is such an important holiday with significant connections to Halloween because of the time of year it takes place.
Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I couldāve sworn I wrote a review for this when I finished it š Let me try to remember my thoughts.
I guess the best place to start is my love for Ellery. I support all their rights and wrongs šāš» You give me a kid emotionally Going Through It, and I absolutely adore them and defend their every action. I also adored how protective they were of Knox š It was so sweet! And Ellery truly is committed once they decide their feelings for you. Get you a partner who would go to the underworld for you šš»
Speaking of Knox, he was such a cutie! I wanted all the happiness and love in the world for him. Heās so genuine and open about his feelings and interests. Itās amazing! F.T. Lukens is SO GOOD at contrasting sweet and earnest characters with characters that are more reserved and skeptical. Itās amazing (and not repetitive!) every time.
The main reason this lost stars was because the side characters were underdeveloped. Truly Ellery and Knox were the only ones propelling the story. Everyone else was just there for amusing decor š
However, F.T. Lukens always includes fun chaos in their novels. I can honestly say theyāve only written bangers from my perspective šš»āāļøāØ I always have a grand olā time.
P.S. Elleryās only weakness in my eyes is how frequently they note that their cousin is āweird.ā No, honey. Youāre weird and emo. Your cousin is the definition of emotionally stable and a good sport š
I guess the best place to start is my love for Ellery. I support all their rights and wrongs šāš» You give me a kid emotionally Going Through It, and I absolutely adore them and defend their every action. I also adored how protective they were of Knox š It was so sweet! And Ellery truly is committed once they decide their feelings for you. Get you a partner who would go to the underworld for you šš»
Speaking of Knox, he was such a cutie! I wanted all the happiness and love in the world for him. Heās so genuine and open about his feelings and interests. Itās amazing! F.T. Lukens is SO GOOD at contrasting sweet and earnest characters with characters that are more reserved and skeptical. Itās amazing (and not repetitive!) every time.
The main reason this lost stars was because the side characters were underdeveloped. Truly Ellery and Knox were the only ones propelling the story. Everyone else was just there for amusing decor š
However, F.T. Lukens always includes fun chaos in their novels. I can honestly say theyāve only written bangers from my perspective šš»āāļøāØ I always have a grand olā time.
P.S. Elleryās only weakness in my eyes is how frequently they note that their cousin is āweird.ā No, honey. Youāre weird and emo. Your cousin is the definition of emotionally stable and a good sport š
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
If I have one regretā¦ itās not giving up on this book sooner.
At first, I was genuinely interested in this story. I wanted to see how far Gyre would get in the caving expedition and learn how much we could trust Em.
Ultimately, though, this totally lost me with how repetitive it was. This couldāve been executed perfectly if it had been around 200 pages. Because, instead, it was 415 pages, it meant that we kept having the characters discuss the same dilemma over and over. It was insufferable.
What made matters even worse? Once my friend told me how this story ended, I was LIVID. Everything she mentioned was more and more ridiculous.
1. We have the random naked man running around the caves after he gave up on his own caving expedition for Em.
2. Then thereās the hallucinations that are only there to be creepy and āambiance,ā and weāre probably caused by the spores Gyre got contaminated with. Lame.
3. It was absolutely necessary to have more worm (tunneler) actionā¦but instead thereās limited content of them and instead thereās a scene where one of them dies on accident instead of accomplishing Gyreās goal (killing her).
4. Gyre and Em getting involved in a romantic relationship š§š»āāļø Excuse me? Iām all for gay shitā¦but not in a dynamic where Em literally drugs Gyre multiple times without her consent. Nor when sheās clearly mentally unstable with her deranged desire to keep sending more and more people into these caving expeditions regardless of how many have died. HUH?!?! Absolutely not!
In conclusion, this sounds awful. At least I didnāt make it to the end š©šš» Iām free at last!
At first, I was genuinely interested in this story. I wanted to see how far Gyre would get in the caving expedition and learn how much we could trust Em.
Ultimately, though, this totally lost me with how repetitive it was. This couldāve been executed perfectly if it had been around 200 pages. Because, instead, it was 415 pages, it meant that we kept having the characters discuss the same dilemma over and over. It was insufferable.
What made matters even worse? Once my friend told me how this story ended, I was LIVID. Everything she mentioned was more and more ridiculous.
2. Then thereās the hallucinations that are only there to be creepy and āambiance,ā and weāre probably caused by the spores Gyre got contaminated with. Lame.
3. It was absolutely necessary to have more worm (tunneler) actionā¦but instead thereās limited content of them and instead thereās a scene where one of them dies on accident instead of accomplishing Gyreās goal (killing her).
4. Gyre and Em getting involved in a romantic relationship š§š»āāļø Excuse me? Iām all for gay shitā¦but not in a dynamic where Em literally drugs Gyre multiple times without her consent. Nor when sheās clearly mentally unstable with her deranged desire to keep sending more and more people into these caving expeditions regardless of how many have died. HUH?!?! Absolutely not!
In conclusion, this sounds awful. At least I didnāt make it to the end š©šš» Iām free at last!
I'm a Wolf, But My Boss Is a Sheep! Vol. 5 by Shino Shimizu
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This was such a wonderful conclusion to this series! I just wish we had more volumes š
I loved finally being able to see Oogami and Mitsuji together. They were so adorable! My heart stopped with all the moments we got of Oogami being extra adorable now that his feelings were out in the open š„ŗ I was bursting with feeling!
I also loved that we got to meet Mitsujiās family and learn a little bit about Oogamiās family! Mitsujiās parents and brother were an absolute delight š Iām so glad they immediately liked Oogami and saw he was a good noodle! It made it all the more rewarding.
Iām also shook to my core at the fact that the wedding we got in here was between Usami and Shishikura! Canāt say I was disappointed since I loved seeing the extra content of them in the other volumes. They were cute as hell, and Iām glad we got to see them get married š
Anyway. I think thatās all I have to say about this volume! I loved it, and Iām glad it ended on such a cute and positive note āØ
I loved finally being able to see Oogami and Mitsuji together. They were so adorable! My heart stopped with all the moments we got of Oogami being extra adorable now that his feelings were out in the open š„ŗ I was bursting with feeling!
I also loved that we got to meet Mitsujiās family and learn a little bit about Oogamiās family! Mitsujiās parents and brother were an absolute delight š Iām so glad they immediately liked Oogami and saw he was a good noodle! It made it all the more rewarding.
Iām also shook to my core at the fact that the wedding we got in here was between Usami and Shishikura! Canāt say I was disappointed since I loved seeing the extra content of them in the other volumes. They were cute as hell, and Iām glad we got to see them get married š
Anyway. I think thatās all I have to say about this volume! I loved it, and Iām glad it ended on such a cute and positive note āØ
Run Darling by Adriana Herrera
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I had so much fun reading this novella! I think itās my favorite out of this seriesā¦truly a feat considering that Iām not a fan of age gap romances š
The steam in this was just IMMACULATE. The way Rhyne was absolutely worshiping Arabella? This is what Iām here for in romance. A dom man can be tolerated when he also clearly treats the woman like she hung the moon š Thatās always a delight to read.
There wasnāt much else to this novella tbh. Sure, the conflict of the age gap was there. There were some tensions our main couple had to work through because of it, but most of it is truly just talked out. We never get to the part where they tell Arabellaās family, but thatās okay. Iām happy with this just being heavy steam ššš»
Anyway. Iām always glad when I get a banger from Adriana Herrera as itās not always the case.
The steam in this was just IMMACULATE. The way Rhyne was absolutely worshiping Arabella? This is what Iām here for in romance. A dom man can be tolerated when he also clearly treats the woman like she hung the moon š Thatās always a delight to read.
There wasnāt much else to this novella tbh. Sure, the conflict of the age gap was there. There were some tensions our main couple had to work through because of it, but most of it is truly just talked out. We never get to the part where they tell Arabellaās family, but thatās okay. Iām happy with this just being heavy steam ššš»
Anyway. Iām always glad when I get a banger from Adriana Herrera as itās not always the case.
FANGS, Volume 3 by Billy Balibally
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
4.0
I never have enough of this series! This mangaka writes too slowly š Time for the agony of waiting to return. Itās always a gift when a new volume is out, but the slowness is a killer.
The information we learned in this volume was JUICY. Iām glad that, despite how tragic, we got to learn more about Ichiiās past.
Speaking of Ichiiās dark past, Megi is an absolute menace to society. Just absolutely deranged. The way he put his hands on En? I was ready to fight! Iām glad Ichii hit him in the head with his helmet š I only wish heād been able to fully bash his head in with it š But we must settle with what we get.
Beyond that, the rest of this volume was truly just En and Ichii fuckingā¦and Ichii finally giving in to being a sappy bitch. Still great, in its own way, but for ONCE I kinda wanted more plot. Thatās why this had to stay at 5š
The information we learned in this volume was JUICY. Iām glad that, despite how tragic, we got to learn more about Ichiiās past.
Speaking of Ichiiās dark past, Megi is an absolute menace to society. Just absolutely deranged. The way he put his hands on En? I was ready to fight! Iām glad Ichii hit him in the head with his helmet š I only wish heād been able to fully bash his head in with it š But we must settle with what we get.
Beyond that, the rest of this volume was truly just En and Ichii fuckingā¦and Ichii finally giving in to being a sappy bitch. Still great, in its own way, but for ONCE I kinda wanted more plot. Thatās why this had to stay at 5š