Me on Horimiya Volume 3

Title: Horimiya Volume 3
Original story: HERO
Artist: Daisuke Haiwara
Release Date: April 26, 2017
Publisher: Yen Press

The longer Hori and Miyamura keep each other's secrets, the closer they get. When Hori blurts out an inadvertent "I like you," will Miyamura respond in kind? Or could the slip up spell the end of their friendship...?

Horimiya Volume 3 is the start of Hori-san and Miyamura-kun's world opening up, more and more people entering what was their space, all while the two of them wonder about their feelings. If they actually do like each other more than just friends.

The cast of characters is slowly expanding. More people are creeping their way into Hori and Miyamura's space where once it was just the two of them, sometimes with Ishikawa or Yoshikawa or Hori's brother Souta. Now the student council, Sakura and Remi and president Sengoku, are popping up more and more in their circle of friends. The three of them have their blunt questions, wondering if Hori and Miyamura are actually dating, leaving Ishikawa to be flustered while still nursing a crush on Hori. And then comes Miyamura's old middle school friend Shindou and his loud and boisterous ways, leaving Miyamura feeling awkward and unsure. Unbelieving. He still can't get past those depressing middle school days.

Things are starting to get serious, get real for the two of them. Those feelings they have, it's getting harder to not say them. But at the same time, all this closeness and comfortableness, they don't want to ruin it. Change their relationship. They sort of have one of two choices to make: never say anything or take the risk. Because which would be more painful and awkward, saying nothing or saying something? This manga, this series, nails awkwardness and friendship and making connections. It's at times sweet and funny, serious and honest. A definite must read.

(I purchased a copy of this title.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (337)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Echo After Echo
Author: Amy Rose Capetta
Release Date: October 10, 2017
Publisher: Candlewick Press

From Goodreads:

Debuting on the New York stage, Zara is unprepared—for Eli, the girl who makes the world glow; for Leopold, the director who wants perfection; and for death in the theater.

Zara Evans has come to the Aurelia Theater, home to the visionary director Leopold Henneman, to play her dream role in Echo and Ariston, the Greek tragedy that taught her everything she knows about love. When the director asks Zara to promise that she will have no outside commitments, no distractions, it’s easy to say yes. But it’s hard not to be distracted when there’s a death at the theater—and then another—especially when Zara doesn’t know if they’re accidents, or murder, or a curse that always comes in threes. It’s hard not to be distracted when assistant lighting director Eli Vasquez, a girl made of tattoos and abrupt laughs and every form of light, looks at Zara. It’s hard not to fall in love. In heart-achingly beautiful prose, Amy Rose Capetta has spun a mystery and a love story into an impossible, inevitable whole—and cast lantern light on two girls, finding each other on a stage set for tragedy.

It's not the usual sort of book that I read, but there's something interesting about it. The mystery and the theater combination, the implied tragedy and sorrow.

Me on Horimiya Volume 2

Title: Horimiya Volume 2
Original story: HERO
Art: Daisuke Hagiwara
Release Date: January 26, 2016
Publisher: Yen Press

By all appearances, Kyouko Hori and Izumi Miyamura are worlds apart. Bright and capable, Hori is always surrounded by classmates, the center of attention. For Miyamura, a quirky loner, getting through class unnoticed counts as a good day. But ever since these two started sharing secrets, they've found themselves drawn into each other's orbit little by little and the distance between them shrinking bit by bit...

Horimiya Volume 2 is continuing the story of Hori-san and Miyamura-kun's high school days. Days of studying and student council issues, of worries about the future and reflections on the past.

Though the writing and the expressive artwork and the charm of the characters, there's something so honest and believable about this story. About Hori and Miyamura. Both have their worries, their strengths and weaknesses. Their anxieties. Hori is unsure about the future, unsure about her feelings towards Miyamura when she starts feeling more and more comfortable around him, and Miyamura can't let go of the past, of a childhood that found him called gloomy by classmates. His feelings for Hori are changing as well, and because of how isolated his elementary and middle school years were, he doesn't think Hori's interest will last. Or that of Ishikawa and Yoshikawa. I would definitely recommend this manga to new and old readers, those looking for something serious but also with great moments of awkwardness and comedy.

(I purchased a copy of this book.)

Me on This Week's Book Week (264)

This Week's Book Week is rather similar to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews only with far more rambling and a less witty title. ;)

Hi! It feels like summer is finally here. It's going to be sunny and warm for days. I kind of want it, the rain depresses me right now.

Reviews going up this week will feature some books! I have no idea which ones, though. ;) One will probably be The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman (before I return it to the library).

Bought/borrowed/received:

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang (e-galley from First Second Books through NetGalley)
All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater (ARC from Scholastic Canada)

Me on Now I Rise

Title: Now I Rise
Author: Kiersten White
Release Date: June 27, 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press (Random House imprint)

Lada Dracul has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she's always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada is out to punish anyone who dares to cross her blood-strewn path. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. But brute force isn't getting Lada what she wants. And thinking of Mehmed brings little comfort to her thorny heart. There's no time to wonder whether he still thinks about her, even loves her. She left him before he could leave her. What Lada needs is her younger brother Radu's subtlety and skill. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople—and it's no diplomatic mission. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned an unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. Radu longs for his sister's fierce confidence—but for the first time in his life, he rejects her unexpected plea for help. Torn between loyalties to faith, to the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, he knows he owes Lada nothing. If she dies, he could never forgive himself—but if he fails in Constantinople, will Mehmed ever forgive him? As nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won... and souls will be lost.

Now I Rise is the continuation of an epic tale of power and family, of faith, of sacrifice and determination.

Lada is continuing forward with her mission. her dream. It's time to take back Wallachia, to become its prince. But it's not that simple. She needs men, more than those currently loyal to her. And she needs the nobles of Wallachia and Hungary to stop seeing her as a useless girl with only one purpose. Determined, stubborn, ruthless, bloodthirsty, Lada will stop at nothing. But when battle turns to negotiations, Lada is as subtle as a punch to the nose. What she needs is Radu's way with words. But she can't have him. Radu is too busy hiding. Hiding in his marriage, hiding his feelings for Mehmed, hiding the conflict in his heart. The regret he feels for not following Lada. But he can't escape Mehmed, can't escape what he feels for him. And when Mehmed asks for his help? Radu is willing to do anything. But pose as a spy? Leave him for Constantinople? He's not sure if he can do this, not sure if his heart can be pulled in so many directions. Not sure if he's willing to make the sacrifices it could take.

It's hard to describe this book. The story is continuing from where the first book left off. Lada is still hungry, hungry for power and respect. Hungry for the throne. And Radu is still conflicted, not sure where to turn when caught up in Mehmed, Lada, his feelings, his faith, and the battle he sees coming. If you enjoyed the epic journeys and the conflicted, battered hearts of the first, you will relish this second book while cursing the wait for the third.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Random House through NetGalley.)