timefliesaway's reviews
559 reviews

Monster High: New Scaremester, Vol. 1 by Jacque Aye

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

4.75

What a scarific cliffhanger at the end! I bloody need to to read volume 2. 

 

It’s been a while since I’ve consumed any MH media, but, bull, have I missed the ghouls! 

 

The two monsterpride short stories were absolutely fangtastic! Two ghoul-couples and one boo-couple, creepy cute and scaremazing! 5/5 screams <3 

Some uhh-nderful messages as well. For hexample: “Who cares what your relationship is supposed to lurk like? We’re monsters, after all, we already defy expectations.” 

 

Too frad that they weren’t in the main story, but it was still a clawsome read overall. 

 

I especially lava all the scareverse monsters in the background, and Ghoulia’s zombie language which consists of moans and groans. And, of corpse, the bootiful monster puns. 

 

5/5 screams for the art as well. 

 

~ 

 

Thanks IDW publishing for a scareview copy. Ghostly cool of you! 

 

-11.03.25 

Low Orbit by Kazimir Lee

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I didn’t really know what I was getting into or where the story is gonna lead. Especially after reading many fantasy books lately, after the sci-fi novel became part of Azar’s story, I was sure there was gonna be a twist in there somewhere, like she’s in a coma and then she’ll swim through the world of the novel, which will help her later on in real life... 

None of that, haha. 

 

A very non-fantasy slice of life story about Azar, a Malaysian-American lesbian in the closet from her parents, and Tristan, they/them pronouns, with a dad who's an author and shouldered with other non-queer-related problems for themselves.

These two basically live in the same house, after Azar and her mom moved to Vermont from New York, where her dad still is stuck, rearranging some things with the apartment. And she has a crush on Jodi, a butch. School is actually okay for her, there’s not really much going on in her life, just basic human stuff. 

On a random day like any other, she finds a book under her bed, a sci-fi novel set on another planet tackling racism, written by Tristan’s dad. She finds herself immersed by the story pretty quickly, and let’s days pass while she reads and escapes reality for a bit. 

 

The book may have not turned out to be anything paranormal, but it sure made things roll in her life. In a realistic way. 

I found myself immersed into the story similar to how Azar was into the sci-fi novel, just more delicate. The pace, the writing style and the art is tender, never high in contrast, and quite relaxing to read. 

 

It might’ve been confusing and unclear at the start, but that portrays life pretty well – heck, if I were to make a novel about my life, everyone would have a similar reading experience. And that’s not a bad thing. I’m a slice of life fan after all, especially when it’s rather slow-paced and focused on the most normal, ‘boring’ plot-points. I especially loved the panels with an excerpt of the sci-fi novel, where environments were shown, perfectly encompassing the passing of time, as if Azar has placed a camera outside the house, to not miss anything of the outside world, while she’s in another world. 

 

I was surprised by a lot of characters, their developments and the relationship to each other. Tristan was that cool best friend at first, that helps their gay bff to get a gal, but carries actually a lot of weight on their back. Shannon is that chill uncle who feels more of a roommate, open to Queerness and, as an author, fluent in subtext. You can talk to anything about him. (Which was really nice, I loved the uncle-like relationship Azar had to him!) But he too has his baggage. Azar’s mom seemed at first pretty toxic with her subtle gaslighting, but got more development in the end than I expected. Her dad too had some unexpected secrets. 

 

Just like the character designs. Kazimir Lee is not afraid to show edges, curves, fat and different/unusual proportions. While some background characters may have gotten the “simplistic” design treatment, making them look picture-perfect sometimes, most look very realistic, in a beautifully ugly way. (Human.) 

For example, I may have not had a picture of Jodi first, but I expected her to rather look like the usual lesbian crush. But nah, she’s fat, loud and piercings. And so is our protagonist, except she’s rather neutral in gender-expression, but mostly comfortable fashion style, with wiggly socks and pretty small, sometimes looking squished. No fat-phobia, which is also a plus. 

And disability rep with a wheelchair user. 

 

Definitely recommended. 

The ending turned a bit melancholic, in a tender, the-future-is-unknown way, which is also a plus, cause I’m a sucker for melancholy. Overall a cozy and happy read, humorous in-between and all in all light-hearted. 

 

~ 

 

Thanks a lot to IDW publishing for an e-ARC. 

 

-09.03.25 

You Wish by Jeff Victor

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

“This place could use a little magic, that’s all I’m sayin’.” 

And magic she shall get. 

 

Cool idea with cute art, mesmerizing fantasy world and nice, diverse character designs. Plus the funny ‘denglish’ (or so they sound like) words in the genie language! 

 

I would’ve liked to have a bit more of the “magic card tricks” described in the blurb, as there are cards in the beginning, but not many card tricks. Still, her loneliness, living in the middle of nowhere, was shown quite well. 

 

Characters: I loved the loving & caring dad, the pet-to-be Gribblet, the relatively relatable Vulgarin, the mysteriously majestic Arbiters, and, of course, magic-loving Avery. Her mom, Caressa, only fell a little flat and was a cliche damsel-in-distress character. 

 

But overall it was fun, and I’m sure lots of kids in the target group will love this! 

 

Looking forward to volume 2, I want to know more about Gribblet. I have my theories ... 

 

~ 

 

Thank you to IDW Publishing on Netgalley for a digital review copy. 

 

-09.03.25 

Junkyard Joe, Volume 1 by Geoff Johns

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Das war mein erstes Buch vom Autor sowie Künstler, und ich wusste auch nicht, dass es Teil einer größeren Serie ist. Bis auf ein paar kleinen Verwirrungen, wie technisch fortgeschritten die Welt ist (obwohl es nach 2022 spielt, denk ich? Der cliffhanger/teaser am Ende schreit jedoch high-sci-fi), konnte ich es dennoch gut verfolgen und die Story hat mich neugierig auf mehr gestimmt. 

 

Die Idee ist wirklich gut: Ein Killer-Roboter, der helfen soll, einen Krieg zu gewinnen, dort dann aber die Horrorszenarien des Krieges live erlebt und sich selbst abschaltet, weil das zu viel für ihn ist. 

 

Durch diesen Switch wirkt er damit natürlich viel menschlicher als maschinell, aber dadurch, dass er nicht sprechen kann und blechstark ist, bleibt dennoch eine gewisse Distanz zwischen ihm und den Menschen um ihn herum. Besonders dass er stumm ist und nur mit einfachen Bewegungen kommuniziert, fand ich gut umgesetzt. Er ist mir ziemlich schnell ans Herz gewachsen, genau wie’s Muddy und den Kindern wohl ging. 

 

Die erste Hälfte war relativ langsam erzählt, vor allem die Zeit in 1972, ich mochte den slice of life Aspekt. Gegen Ende nimmt es aber echt in Fahrt auf, was ich, besonders während dem Finale, doch etwas zu schnell fand. Obwohl es rührend war. 

 

Abgesehen von den Zeitungscomics aus meiner Kindheit, war das glaub ich mein erster amerikanischer "Superhelden"-Comic in dem typischen Tintenstil aus den USA. Jetzt verstehe ich auch, warum die so beliebt sind – fast realistisch gezeichnet, hat aber dennoch einen fiktiven Flair. Detailgetreu und vor allem anatomisch genau mit einigen großartigen “Stunt”-Posen. 

 

~ 

 

Danke an den Cross Cult Verlag auf Netgalley für ein digitales Reziexemplar. 

 

-08.03.25 

Sunflowers by Keezy Young

informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

5.0

 Bipolar/borderline disorder has really interested me for a while, and thus I’m glad I found this graphic novel, especially that’s it’s free to read on the publisher’s website. 

 

It’s short, but relatively informative. Wonderful art, which gives a good insight in how Keezy feels and lives with her disorder. Not that much new info for me, but was still a perspective worth reading. 

 

-08.03.25 

Star Quest Academy: Above and Beyond by Adrian Lynch

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

Thanks to my cousin, Amélie, who has the habit of looking for namesake characters in books and sending them to me for me to read. Might’ve not found the book without them. 

 

~ 

 

Doesn’t feel that brand new, possibly has lots of similarities to other works (someone mentioned Harry Potter, can’t confirm though), but it was a fun ride. (And I’m way older than the target group!) 

Diverse, adventurous, creative, and focused on friendship, which always is a plus. 

 

• Story: 

Quite fast-paced, there’s always something happening with barely any time to rest. Sure, it makes sense for it to be a constant adventure, but even the plot points came right after the other, not giving the reader any time to process. 

 

And quite cliche at times as well. The academy is said to be really safe and high-tech, and yet, Amelia, an earthling with no knowledge of space, was the one who always had to rescue everyone. A bit contradicting and the opposite of "show, don't tell". At least, I’d find it sus if I were a tourist there. (And adds a reason to join the villains.) 

 

It’s diverse, I loved that, but honestly could’ve been a little more so, especially with the pronouns – even with the universal translator, I can’t imagine everyone’s pronouns is translating to he/him and she/her, as well as boy and girl. 

 

Also the skin colors. The appearance of many different creatures have been described, often vaguely, and the skin colors were rarely mentioned. But when it was added, it was always a light one – milky, ebony, pale, etc. A bit odd. 

At least their hair, dresses/clothes and even objects (like jets) were quite colorful! 

 

Personal highlights: 

- the library 

- the talking book 

- space whales 

- Voice(s) of each building/place 

- the jets 

- Psymersion 

- aliens don’t like humans 
 - Disability Rep: limping character + character who loses limbs, often his ears, which makes him temporarily deaf 

 

Personal confusions: 

It’s cool that most are and shops sell only vegetarian, at least on the main planet, but they still have leather, milk products, etc. From what creature do they take these then? Or is it plant-based (i.e., leather from mangoes, milk from soybeans)? 

 

• Characters: 

It being fast-paced leaves barely any time to flesh out the characters. Amelia and Jingles, and a few side characters (like Honey (can’t believe that’s her name) or Glux), had a relatively deep personality (albeit cliche at times), and I’m especially fond of Jingles. 

 

The male-leaning* characters, however, apart from Toulay, fell a little flat and useless sometimes. But it’s also kinda nice to have more female-leaning* characters in the spotlight and the opposite of Bechdel’s Test to be the case. 

 

(*male/female-leaning: I’m guessing the men/women in the alien species are not called ‘men’/‘women’, possibly have different genders altogether. They are described as such, though.) 

 

The villain(s) were surely interesting; I kinda rooted for them, and yet at the same time I was on the heroes side. Well, could be because the villains aren't evil, just grey-leaning and acting out of fear, rather than wanting to actively harm. That was cool. I do agree with their goal, just not really their ways of doing so… 

 

• Overall: 

Recommended. Some nice quotes and messages that aren’t the usual “humans are the best”, but also call out human’s negative sides and show it to the reader well, without forcing it. 

 

A few illustrations would’ve made the reading experience more colorful, like the bus ride was at the beginning. (Wouldn’t have to be anything fancy; simple chapter headings/patterns would’ve worked too. It just feels a little empty.) 

 

If there’s gonna be a sequel, I’m definitely interested. 

 

~ 

 

Thank you to The Book Guild on Netgalley for a digital review copy. 

 

-07.03.25 

きみが死ぬまで恋をしたい(7) 7 by Nachi Aono, あおのなち

dark emotional lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

“Does liking someone mean that you have to become lovers?” 

 

“I didn’t realize what your relationship was. And yet, I still tried to forcibly assign a name to it...” 

 

I really love that the mangaka talked about this! At the end tho, it seems, they took the black & white route. I mean, nothing’s set in stone, and the label of a relationship can always change. Considering how mature everything’s been handed so far, I had really hoped for a QPR or something along those lines. 

 

It’s clear they want to be a special someone to each other, but you don’t have to be lovers for that. I feel like she’s forcing herself because everyone says that you automatically become lovers (or get heartbroken) if you like someone. 

That’s really so odd about society. Love is the one emotion that’s sooo vast with such variety, and yet everyone’s always coming to 1 conclusion. Don’t y’all feel dumb? And we’re supposed to the the intelligent species... 

 

It’s still nice that there’s no extreme awkwardness with stuttering. Even though the characters are blushing a lot, they’re still comfortable around each other. So that’s a plus. 

 

And so are Esther and Rika. I’m rooting for them. 

 

For the other storyline, Sheena started to work in the infirmary alongside Fran-sensei and helps out with the injured soldiers. It’s sweet how she’s finally found something to be useful for. I teared up in that chapter. 

 

-04.03.25 

 

“It’s just as Fran-sensei says: War is a never-ending struggle. Interrupted only by fleeting breaks.”  

Love you till you die, Band 6 by Nachi Aono

dark emotional informative lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Finally some more lore, but a bit anti-climatic. The reason there’s a war really seems so ... petty? I mean I get it’s important to make sure the enemies don’t get the ‘treasure’, but it doesn’t really feel worth dying for.
If anything, the school should be trying to destroy that ‘treasure’ to finally end the war, instead of focusing on ‘winning’ it. Cause there are no winners in war.

Well, regarding the other plots ...
I really am not sure what the mangaka is planning with Mimi’s & Sheena’s relationship. The amount of times people around them and Mimi herself is saying how much they look like mother and daughter, makes it a hard time to ship them romantically, let alone sexually. As said in a previous review, I wouldn’t mind if that’s gonna be their relationship. 
Besides being 14 years old, Mimi seems like 10 max, but the age doesn’t really matter – her personality just doesn’t fit with the word ‘lover’. I can’t imagine her dating anyone. Neither can I really see Sheena dating anyone. But do they have to? Can’t they just be sisters or a QPR? Especially since Sheena will outgrow her soon.

It’s nice to see Ari and Esther befriending each other tho.

-04.03.25

Love you till you die, Band 5 by Nachi Aono

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Very glad to see Ari again, even though it’s so heartbreaking! I’m still so mad at the mangaka for doing this. But it’s nice that Ari could talk with someone who had a similar fate. 

 

What I really love about this manga, is that all relationships are just cozy. They want to be together, and they don’t mind intimacy, in whatever way. No extreme blushing, no getting flustered every time their hands brush. They’re just comfortable with each other. What love (any type) should feel like. 

 

Same with the arguments. They’re not childish arguments like “I’m jealous that you’re spending more time with X than with me”, but really going deep. Where both parties are right, where both of them are just concerned about the other. 

Same for the discussion between Fran-sensei and Omi-sensei. They both got a point. 

 

Well, it’s war after all … yet the mangaka manages to include really sweet scenes, making you forget about the war, and that the school is a boot camp, for a while. 

The melancholic feeling that’s been captured quite well. 

 

-04.03.25 

Love you till you die, Band 4 by Nachi Aono

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

The mangaka is soo cruel!! I did not expect that in a seemingly soft and cute yuri manga. The artstyle is lying! 😭💔

But honestly I’m so mad about Mimi ... like, now she was angry about S’s death but in the previous volume she was literally standing next to her, while S was bleeding!! I swear, if Mimi had reacted better, maybe S would still be here ...

Haru is a nice new character (well, they did have have a short appearance in v2), though it feels like they just replaced A&S ... too fast-paced for my taste. 
Maybe that is the feeling of war tho ...
I’m not sure what their pronouns are tho. Are they cross-dressing or ftm or simply prefer wearing trousers? Sheena uses -kun with them but she/her pronouns so that’s confusing. But the nurse has been also misgendered (although only by Mimi, if I remember correctly?), so it could be that it’s a transphobic society or the concept of transgender doesn’t quite ‘exist’ in that world ... yet. Not sure. Japanese culture regarding the gender is a bit confusing sometimes anyways. 
But I do like that quote: “It’s something you chose for yourself, right? If so, then there’s nothing weird about it.”

It’s cool that Sheena discovered more about her magic and how she could potentially help soldiers. I wonder if she will ever reach protagonist-level power or not, cause Mimi already is OP. I do love that the OP (so far) isn’t the protagonist though. Would be cool if it stayed that way.

-03.03.25