Weekly Round-Up! #26

I had a lot of fun reading this last week. We got a ton of new books into the library and I was really excited by some of the titles. The first books I read were the first two volumes of a comic book called Fence by C.S. Pacat. Now I have read a few other books by this author so I am familiar with her work and I was really looking forward to checking out this comic book series. And boy was I not disappointed. This is a super slow burn romance comic centered around the world of fencing at an elite fencing school called Kings Row. Our MC is Nicholas Cox, an illegitimate son of a fencing legend. He begins his time at the academy by having tryouts to get onto the fencing team and has to go up against his half brother (and fencing prodigy) Seiji Katayama.

I really loved the first two volumes of this and I’m super excited to see where it goes. I can’t wait for us to get the next few volumes so I can see what happens next! If you are a fan of slow burn romances or Boys Love manga or similar books then this series will be right up your alley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next book that I really loved (and thought was super cute) is called Chi’s Sweet Home (Part 1) by Konami Kanata. This was such a cute book! I loved Chi and her family. The book is all about a kitten named Chi who goes on a walk with his mommy and siblings but then gets separated from them and gets lost. He ends up being found by a family in the park and they take her home to try and find out where she came from. They never intend to keep Chi but they soon fall in love with her and she becomes a part of the family. The only problem is that their apartment building doesn’t allow pets! So Chi has to stay hidden from the superintendent or her family will get kicked out! Can they keep their new furry family member undetected? You’ll have to read and find out!

If you like slice of life type of manga then this one will be right up your alley! The artwork is very cute and the color pallet is nice as well. There are also three bonus cat comics in the back of this book that are super cute!

Next up we have a graphic novel that I had been dying to read called Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki. Here is the Goodreads description: “Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.

Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem. Maybe it’s Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever. Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.”

This was a fantastic graphic novel. I really enjoyed reading about Freddy and her questionable decisions. Honestly, she was a really crappy friend throughout the book and it was really nice to see her growth by the end of the story. This is a great high school slice of life type book so if that is something that you are into then this will be right up your alley.

The next book that I read is volume two of Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga. This is the second book in the series and in this book we really get to go back and see how some of the characters got to where they are now. This is a fantastic volume where we explore the history of the Red Face Pox which is the disease that wiped out most of the male population. We also get to see how and why the most beautiful men and secreted away in the Shogun’s Inner Chamber. I will say that this is a book that I would definitely recommend for adults or older teens. This has explicit content and is something that would be more appropriate for an older audience.

Next was a really cute manga called Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama. This book is about Coco, who wants to be able to do magic so badly but magic is only for a select few people who are born with the ability. Coco wants to be a witch more than anything in the world. When Quifrey, a traveling magician, comes through her village she may just get her lifelong wish!

This was an adorable manga with the most beautiful artwork. Seriously, the artwork was amazing. The story was really good too and I’m excited to see where the next few volumes go. The first book was left on a cliffhanger so I can’t wait to see how it gets resolved. I really liked the magical system as well. Having spells cast by writing them on paper was really interesting. And I really can’t get over how cute the little girls are when they’re all dressed up in their witch outfits! They are SO CUTE! LOOK AT THEM.

This next book was one that I wasn’t sure if I was going to like but I really ended up liking it. It’s called Yuri is My Job! Volume 1 by Miman. Here is the description from Goodreads for you guys: “Hime is a picture-perfect high school princess–she’s admired by all and never trips up! So when she accidentally injures a café manager named Mai, she’s willing to cover some shifts to keep her façade intact. To Hime’s surprise, the café is themed after a private school where the all-female staff always puts on their best act for their loyal customers. However, under the guidance of the most graceful girl there, she can’t help but blush and blunder! Beneath all the frills and laughter, Hime feels tension brewing as she finds out more about her new job and her budding feelings…”

I went into this one not really sure if I was going to like it or not but I’m really glad that I gave it a shot! It was pretty cute and I love the fact that the cafe that the girls work at is parodying the classic yuri type relationships that you see everywhere. As much I like the yuri genre, it’s nice to see someone poking fun at it a little bit. I thought this was a breath of fresh air for this genre and I’m curious to see where it goes.

This next one is a comic book that I received as an ARC from work and I was really excited to read it. It is called Black Canary: Ignite by Meg Cabot. I have read a lot of Meg Cabot’s work so I was very interested to read a comic book by her (illustrated by Cara McGee). I’ll start off with saying that I did like this but you need to go into it knowing that this book is geared towards younger kids. I hate when people read something for kids and go, “It’s not sophisticated enough blah blah blah” it’s for children you fools!! Keeping that in mind, I really liked this. It was a good introduction to the world of Black Canary without having so much backstory that it would be overwhelming. I liked the character of Dinah Lance and the story flowed really well. This is something that I would recommend to a kid that comes in and is looking for a comic book with a strong (but flawed) girl MC.

Next we have one of my favorite manga series, Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura. This is the seventh volume of the 2-1 omnibus that I have been reading and I absolutely LOVE this series! In this volume Tsukimi is going to sacrifice herself in order to save Amamizukan and the Amars by going to Singapore to be a designer for avidy which is run by the mysterious Kai. As she is trying to quickly learn all about the fashion industry (and struggling HARD) Kuranosuke is determined to get her back.

I really loved this volume and I already have the next one ready to go! The series is almost over and I’m super excited to see what happens in the end but I’m also sad that it’s almost over 😦

Last but not least we have a really cute middle grade graphic novel that I really ended up enjoying quite a lot. It is called Pandora’s Legacy by Kara Leopard. Here’s the description from Goodreads for you guys to check out: “The Panagakos family are descendents of Pandora, their family tasked with protecting Pandora’s box and capturing the monsters that have escaped over the years. When Charlie, Janet, and Trevor accidentally break the box, it’s up to the three of them to fix it before their family finds out…or worse…

What starts out as a typical family vacation to Grandma and Grandpa’s house quickly erupts into supernatural mystery and peril when three siblings accidentally break an old, mystical jar hidden deep in the woods. As magical monsters pour out of the fractured relic and run amok, Charlie, Janet, and Trevor must find a way to capture all of the creatures in order to save their family—and potentially the entire world—before it’s too late.”

I thought this was a super cool retelling of the Pandora myth. The artwork was really nicely done as well. There were plenty of diverse characters and a talking cat too! And the cat turned out to be a titan! I only wish this had been longer. I’m really hoping there will be more to the story. The way the ending was left there could be another story after this one. I actually learned a few things about Greek mythology as well which was really cool. I would recommend this to fans of Greek myths or just myths in general.

That is it for this week! I really enjoyed all of the books that I read and we have them all at the library if you want to check them out (literally and figuratively)! I would love to hear about what you guys are reading in the comments down below!

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