don't be dull, be fannish

( Synopsis... )

Review: I felt so sorry for Peter. First he gets beaten, then he loses his memory, he is accused of thieving and arrested, someone tries to kill him and if that wasn't enough, he loses his job and his home. And it looks like whenever he thinks that it can't get worse, life proves him wrong. Fortunately, Mike thinks that Peter's worth taking a risk. And I wanted to kick Cole in the balls - that man had a nerve, really!

This used to be my favorite romance when I was a kid. Today, though... I don't know. I think I'm just not cut for simple romances anymore. I just don't get women who don't feel truly fulfilled until they have a husband and a brood of children. Jacinda gave up her career to take care of her sister's child, which I can understand - but as the book progresses, she does everything to accommodate the boy and later on Dare, she just lets Dare take over her life and that's something that my very soul rebels against! I mean, the MacLachlan brothers are lovable but there were moments where I would have told them firmly to back off! Jacinda just went with it. And the romance itself was needlessly complicated by their reluctance to, I don't know, date? It just felt way convoluted and sugary at the same time. I do love the MacLachlans and their backstory though.

What a cute manga! Sure, it's rather silly in places (especially the card catching part) and the heroine is just a ten-year-old girl, but it's a classic! I love Sakura and her family, the way Toya (her older brother) teases her and calls her a "Godzilla" just to annoy her - on the other hand, when Sakura's in danger, he gets fiercely protective and that's just awesome! The most interesting part for me, though, is the relationship between Toya and his best friend Yukito.

The style is also gorgeous - it's classic Clamp, before the mangakas modernized their style. And their chibis are especially hilarious. Chibi!Toya looks like an angry cat :)

Vol. 15: That whole world, the setting was so creepy, all apocalyptic and a bit Dune like. It made me wonder what Kamui was waiting for so patiently the whole time, the way he refused to budge away from the underground water source. And the other!Syaoran appeared again. So freakishly terrifying with his stone cold attitude.

Vol. 16: And we finally learn more about Syaoran and about what's going on. Wow, that pretty much sums up my reaction. Simply WOW! This time, creepy doesn't even begin to cover it. I was all teary eyed after what happened to Fai, his determination to die made me all sad. On the other hand we got to see just how much Kurogane cared for Fai, the way he cradled him gently and even went up against Syaoran to protect him. I was glad that I had the next book in the series at hand because the cliffhanger was heart-stopping!

Vol. 17: Ouch. Poor Fai. From now on, he and Kurogane are tied together forever. And Fai really wasn't happy about it. When he stopped calling Kurogane names and Kurogane realized it - that broke my heart. I wonder what Fai's secret is. But I was glad to see Sakura show some spunk. Looking cute is fine but it's not enough for me. Also, Kamui and Subaru vs. Fuuma and Seishiro again, huh? And still, there are the Kamui/Fuuma and Subaru/Seishiro vibes there, just like always. Clamp, please, never change!

Story by Shinobu Gotoh, art by Kae Maruya. The story of Yuichi and Iori is quite sad as they are separated by supernatural circumstances - I admit that I even got teary-eyed in places - but the manga ends on a hopeful note so it's not really an unhappy ending, more like the story is left open ended and you can supply the ending you would like. The thing that catches your attention from the start though, is the art. Wow, the art is amazing, enthralling even I would say. I need to find other works by Kae Maruya!

"Crimson Spell vol. 2", review: Better than vol. 1 - the story seemed much more cohesive. Fantasy and yaoi in one, offering yet again a strange but strangely alluring mix of silliness and gore, dub-con/non-con and love. And amazing drawings. Ayano Yamane's style makes fans of well-drawn manga swoon, that's for sure.

"Crimson Spell vol. 3", review: Very angsty. And hot. Vald's despair, Havi's desire to protect his lover, a huge battle and Vald turning all demonic. Excellent! I also loved the short bonus story about how Havi and Vald's first meeting went down! That was so incredibly cute!

Review: Not a bad manga - but also nothing special. Rather forgettable. The narrative seemed choppy and disjointed, some parts didn't make sense, the artwork was average. The most interesting thing was Takumi's confession to Gie, when Takumi told his boyfriend about what happened to him that made him afraid to be touched and alienated him from his parents. I was rather surprised by the revelation. Such trauma isn't exactly common in BL manga and usually, it's glossed over, it doesn't have any consequences.

( Synopsis... )

Review: There were some great moments in this volume. Like when Kurogane realized that Syaoran changed into someone else. Or when Fai used tones to spin magic. Or when they discovered the ruins and the acid rain started to fall. Or when they found the slaughtered bodies. Or when the leader of the people that attacked Syaoran was revealed. Awesome!

( Synopsis... )

Review: The Sawney Beane case was interesting and I loved the part that focused on Robin, his past and his relationship with Ishiah. But!

Everything else felt like watching a merry-go-round, for real. They went after Sawney and got their butts kicked, they went after Sawney and got their butts kicked, they went after Sawney and got their butts kicked... Someone tried to kill Robin and failed, someone tried to kill Robin and failed, someone tried to kill Robin and failed. Cal bemoaned Georgina and slept with another girl, Cal bemoaned Georgina and slept with another girl... If the author cut the book in half, it would have been much denser and much more enjoyable.

Also, I love Cal, Nick and Robin, but Promise and Georgina? Two-dimensional at best. The author should either take the time to flesh them out or she shouldn't make them the be-all and end-all of the brothers' love life. Though I'm interested in seeing more of Ishiah and his relationship with Robin.

Overall? The weakest book in the series yet.

( Synopsis - in German... )

Review: Some time ago, I came up with a strategy: To be fair, I will give every book exactly 100 pages to get me interested somehow. In something. If that doesn't happen, I will drop the book - and "Maliande - The Call of the Dragon" is the first victim.

Boring doesn't even begin to cover it. 100 pages and nothing interesting happens. The characters are bland. The story doesn't move forward the tiniest bit. Basically, the whole Part I - which is the 100 pages - takes place in a valley. Three men come in, one's injured. Lehen, the daughter of the farmer who offers them a place to stay, treats the injured man's wounds and falls for one of his companions, Nahim. She helps her sister with a childbirth. The men chase away a band of orcs. The men leave. That's 100 pages of nothing at all! I mean, other reviews say that the book gets really good once Nahim returns home but why should I be obliged to trudge through hundreds of pages to "get to the good part?" No, thank you.