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viscountessevie · 2 years

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For S3 Kanthony: the Queen may have approved of their match, but that doesn’t mean the Ton is going to be anymore welcoming to Kate. Can you imagine how ticked some of those families would be that someone they view as a nobody is now heading a powerful family? Or how about Violet adjusting to someone stepping into her social role? There is so much potential drama here…why can’t we have this on our screen? Also, if Anthony were the only male child, I could see this being a concern. But this isn’t

This is such an old ask so thanks for waiting anon! I think it's related to this ask and the string of posts that had popped up on the main tag a while ago asking for an infertilty storyline for Kathony in S3 (those of you who wanted that are gross af - will explain more later)

When I first got these asks, I did agree these were compelling dramatic conflicts for S3 Kanthony but I just want happily married Kathony in S3. It's a least I deserve after Frannie's recasting and S3 leads.

Something to be noted about this ask is that it was written before the S3 leads announcement 😤 so even if we did get any of these storylines, Pelican is going to overshadow everyone like they've done the last two seasons. That aside, the writing for this show has been objectively god awful and I wouldn't trust the writers to properly complete these arcs well at all.

That reality check aside, let's talk about these potential storylines in a hypothetical world we'd get them:

The Ton's Pushback of Kate:

Yes, it would be interesting to see how Kathony navigates it. And while we did see the Bridgertons' fall from grace last season, it's not going to stick next season. They are pretty untouchable and will bounce back for sure. In that vein, Kate would be protected and the Ton just has to suck up and be nice to her.

Violet Adjusting to Kate being The Viscountess

Okay I know this has mess potential for the conflict of it all and there was a time everyone was saying that Violet and Kate would butt heads running the household. But I can see Book!Violet doing that more than Show!Violet. The latter seems very welcoming and ready for Anthony to marry last season. Girlie was ready to retire is my personal headcanon and it would be more interesting to see Violet guide Kate into the role. Kinda like our version of The Princess Diaries but The Viscountess Diaries ahahha.

Writing this back, I'm realising I just want Kate to be happy in S3 lmao she's suffered too much in her own season already, I don't want anymore drama for my girl.

You're SO right about a potential infertilty sideplot for Kathony. It's so boring, tired and not to mention the optics are going to be shitty. Like let's add one more failure/insecurity for Kate - its like those people who propose these overly angsty canon situations for Kathony are fucked up. Why do yall wanna constantly see these character suffer? I think in fics it's fine but if you overly do it, you might wanna examine that. This isn't just about Kathony fics, across the board I have seen some authors just straight up abuse their so called 'fave' characters in the name of angst it's annoying. Like why do you hate them being happy??

If Shonda does that route with Kathony, she's just as bad and honestly I don't know what to say. She just constantly lets me down with the shows she produces, I have officially given up on her as a creator who champions for her community and characters of colour.

As always thanks for reading this far yall and for this ask, anon!

#bridgerton #kate sharma #anthony bridgerton #kathony #Bridgerton S3 speculation #Kathony in S3 #Sanji Answers #Dani's Stamp of Approval #kanthypants & eldest daughters stamp of approval #kanthypants and eldest daughters gc

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heartcravings · 3 years

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your childhood celebrity crush vs. your current celebrity crush

thank you @guardians-of-exo for the tag!~♡

i always had many tiny crushes, but never quite on celebrities... instead on characters from movies, cartoons/anime, books, comics, you name it! mostly temporary things that would quickly be replaced by my newest obsession soon.

but a few of those have always stuck with me:

. nausicaa from nausicaa of the valley of the wind [i just always really loved a strong brave girl with a tiny furry friend, maybe because i secretly wanted to be one ^^]

. devon sawa as casper at the end of casper (1995) [sweet kind boys are the best :’) ]

. pocahontas from the disney movie [brave girl fighting for her beliefs? sign me up! ]

. edward furlong as john connor from terminator 2: judgment day [i was 12 when i finally saw the terminator series for the first time and it hit me so hard xD]

. kenshin himura and sanosuke sagara from rurouni kenshin (samurai x) [ i mean they were amazing and cute and i loved all the bickering ^^ ]

. finally, as for my current celebrity crush, you all know it of course:

*peekaboo* ^^

this cutie owns my heart! look at his damn cute earsie! gahh.. i just can’t deal with it jjfglkjdsahshsa!!

tagging @byuns-coco @thedeviousdo @your-sophie18 @starchild--27 @and-you-found-me @untouchabyeolman @ouvuo and anyone else who might want to share these! ♡

#got tagged #lovely mutuals #this was such a memory lane trip! xD #as always feel free not to do this!#i was gonna include cedric diggory from the hp books #and the main male lead from the princess diaries books?#but this was getting too long and out of topic xD #plus this was about celebrities not imaginary characters ^^#anyway i also remember having a crush on natalie imbruglia when i finally saw the music video of torn that was on this remember the 90s #playlist at a friends party #so yeah... do i have a type? xD

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starrylibrarian · 2 years

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A list of the most notable books I’ve read since Verity (and what I rated them on Goodreads)

Circe by Madeline Miller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this one a long while ago so I don’t remember much but I do remember feeling Circe’s sadness and heartbreak flow from the pages and wishing that I could give her a better life than the one she was given.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely cheesy with fan fiction vibes but I still really enjoyed reading it. It was predictable and the characters probably weren’t as flushed out as they could’ve been but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A heartbreaking romance that I remember pissed me off more than a few times with the way that it played out. I enjoyed the way that it incorporated poetry into the story.

The Entire Princess Diaries Series by Meg Cabot ⭐️⭐️⭐️-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐��⭐️

I love the Princess Diaries movies so I knew I would eventually have to read the books. They were a lot different from the movies but Michael was one of the best male love interests that I’ve encountered in a YA novel. They definitely dragged at parts and it was clear that they were written for a much younger demographic than I am a part of but even when they were repetitive, they were still enjoyable.

Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely wild and not what I expected in the slightest. I don’t remember the romance aspect being my main draw; instead I really enjoyed the way the main cast interacted and the setting was wildly different from most of the novels I read.

The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sapphic tragic vampire teen romance, what’s not to love?

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Horrific in every sense of the word, the world that Margaret Atwood creates is not one I wish to live in but I don’t really want to exist in the one that inspired the book to be written either. Atwood pulls out the horrors of life in America and highlights the worst possible outcome of taking these horrors to their extreme.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well-written but it truly glorifies the mental struggles of the sisters and their paths to suicide in a way that I feel is harmful to readers. Please don’t pick up this book if you are in a negative headspace.

While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cute romance between an actress and a producer set mostly in San Francisco. They help each other to overcome their biggest fears and in the end they come out the other side as stronger people for it.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Picked this one up because Taylor Swift wrote a song for the movie adaptation and I was not disappointed! The story is enticing and it pushes you to care for Kya, flaws and all.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

YA mystery-romance featuring a quartet of love-hatable main characters. If you know Casey McQuiston you can very easily guess who the main couple will be, but the other leads will draw you in just as much to their lives and the lives of their friends. Set in a Southern Private Catholic School, it tackles the intersection of religion and queerness and refuses to leave out the messiness and the beauty that come when they interact.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I felt my heart break for Evelyn Hugo and I felt myself waiting for a happy ending where I only ended up with a bittersweet goodbye. The ending was satisfying in a heart wrenching way.

Beach Read by Emily Henry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Adorable. My first Emily Henry read and I am so excited to pick up her other books. January and Gus have such great banter between them and their story is so intriguing that I read it in one sitting.

As you can tell by this list, I love romance novels and I almost never rate a book below three stars. Some of these I disliked more than others and some of these I wholeheartedly adored. One of these books on the list I was so excited for its release that I waited in line for three and a half hours to get my copy signed by the author. I’m sorry to say, I don’t have many words on the books I’ve read (unless you get me talking about them in person) but I’m not really the best at writing reviews. See you all again in a few months when I once again remember to update this blog on what I’ve been reading!

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fmdminji · 5 years

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* ⠀⠀ ♡ ⠀⠀ ─── ⠀⠀ hello, sweet loves ! guess who ?? it’s 𝐑𝐘𝐀𝐍 and i’m back at it again with a second muse, and to some of you, she may seem familiar at first glance ! so, without further ado, i’d like to introduce you to my beautiful babe, 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐉𝐈, wish’s leader, and main vocal. i’ve based her slightly on my first ever muse in this group, yeo yeoreum, but i’ve updated her, and revised her, so that she’s more well-rounded in my eyes ! below the cut, you’ll be able to find a tl;dr version of her biography, some fun facts that weren’t mentioned in her bio, as well as some plot ideas ! if you’re interested in writing with us, don’t forget to 𝐏𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 in the corner so i can message you. love you all v much !

* ⠀⠀ ♡ ⠀⠀ ─── ⠀⠀ BIOGRAPHY HIGHLIGHTS !

born in seoul, south korea to a single mother in seoul, south korea, minji’s upbringing wasn’t like many others in her class. she, her grandmother, and her mother all lived in a two bedroom apartment, and while the two women in her life worked hard to provide a great life for her, she was often dragged along to both of their jobs; finding a deep love for books, films, and television dramas, from a young age ! after all, she had to find little ways to entertain herself, so when she wasn’t keeping her nose tucked between the pages of a novel, she was lost in a land of fantasy; one where she was often the princess, and she was being rescued by a prince — a man that would save her from this lonesome upbringing. her obsession with romance started at an alarmingly early age, and by the time she was eight, she found herself filling up pages of diaries with love letters to boys in her class; keeping all of them a deep-dark secret from everyone !

however, when she was about to go and give her most coveted crush a valentine she’d saved a lot of money ( you know, a lot of money for an elementary schooler ) to buy, she was interrupted by another girl who, essentially, swooped in and stole her man, hah. the amount of jealousy and rage that flooded through her in that moment was so immense that, even to this day, those feelings of jealousy and wrath ( two of the deadliest sins to exist ) still have never left her, and unfortunately, they’re two of her most fatal flaws. that, and well, being almost desperate for a chance to fall in love with someone.

her teenage years were fairly mild, too, but every time she became entangled in a loving romance, she’d ruin it time after time for being controlling, possessive, and jealous, and it was hard for her to not only keep love interests for long periods of time, but her friends often found her hard to be around, too. her emotions were intense, and to be honest, all of them would find her exhausting to be around after awhile. so, even though she was able to make friends, they often left her alone, too, and the reason she was so attached to keeping men in her life is because she’s never had a father, nor any positive male influence, in her whole life. so, she uses romance as something to fill this void inside her.

though, when she was fourteen, she went with her mother to see a concert of decipher’s — a new boy group who had just débuted. they became her latest obsession, and her mom used money she’d saved up to treat her daughter to a day of fun together. though, while there, she was decided by bc entertainment scouts. her beauty is what made her standout, but when she auditioned, they realized she had a big voice, but little to no idea how to use it. so, after a private audition, they offered her a trainee spot.

her trainee experience was... rough. during this process, she learned to better control her voice, and she even picked up on how to play the piano pretty well, but after awhile, she got a bit bored with everything, so she made the bold decision to ignore the dating ban put in place and start playing the field. this is when she met her first love ( wanted connection ! ) and they began a relationship together that lasted a good while. he was in line to début in knight, and she was set to join the group now known as lipstick, but while the girls’ lineup was being finalized, they caught onto the two of them, and her punishment was that she wouldn’t début as lipstick’s lead vocal, as she was once told. they also forced her to end the relationship she was in, and her heart was broken.

so, in bc she remained, and she learned a lot about herself in those moments. not only did she get into trouble for even being in a relationship, but her jealousy continued to rise up back then, too, and she’d bully her fellow trainees — really, anyone who even dared to talk to her now ex-boyfriend while they were dating. deciding that she needed to focus on herself and her career so she could help her mother and grandmother out in the future, she quit screwing around and got to work, and later went on to début as wish’s main vocalist, and leader.

things started out well, but a few years in, she was beginning to realize that, while many of the other girls in her group were gaining traction and immense popularity, she was somehow falling behind. with hana now starring in dramas, sooyeon releasing tons of solo material, and now june about to make a solo début, too, her jealous rage is kicking in again. she went from a loving leader to someone that’s overwhelmed with envy for her own members, lol. so, that’s where she’s at now... wanting to kill all the girls in her own group that are more popular while she slowly starts to compete with them.

* ⠀⠀ ♡ ⠀⠀ ─── ⠀⠀ FUN LITTLE FACTOIDS !

as mentioned before, minji knows how to play the piano, and towards the end of her trainee years, she began writing her own little songs for fun; she has a few done and complete. she doesn’t really think she’s much of a composer / producer, no, but she aspires to write her own solo music when the time comes for her to make a début.

ever since wish was able to make their own individual social media accounts, she’s taken that allowance in stride, and has become quite popular on instagram ! she not only posts beautifully edited photos of herself, and her surroundings, but she’s also known to post acoustic, piano-led covers of songs she loves.

she currently feels as though she’s not getting as many lines on wish’s tracks as she was in the beginning, and hates that she’s really only there to hit all the high notes and call it a day, lol. she wants to be trusted with more than what she’s given, tbh.

not very surprisingly, she’s been involved in a few dating scandals in her past career, but shockingly, they weren’t true, and since her début, she hasn’t really had a serious bf.

* ⠀⠀ ♡ ⠀⠀ ─── ⠀⠀ LITTLE LIST OF PLOT IDEAS !

as denoted above, i’d looove to see her first love plot taken up ! i’ve envisioned the spot being taken by a member of knight, especially if they trained in bc from 2009-2012. they débuted first, so bc wasn’t able to truly punish them as badly as they were able to punish her. however, if you’re interested in this plot, and your muse isn’t a member of knight, but instead a member of charm, we can try to make that work somehow, too !

also mentioned above, she was a bit of an asshole to other girls while she trained from 2009-2012, and she softened slightly from 2012-2015. i’d love to see a plot where your muse was one of those girls she was really harsh to, and she’s had to try to make amends to her for it. in my eyes, this plot would make most sense if your muse is a member of lipstick, but we can see if we can make it work if your muse is in wish, too !

additionally, i’d love for her to have a best friend — male, female, or whatever else. this is someone who isn’t afraid to call her out when she’s acting like a brat, and though she gets so frustrated by that, she also appreciates it a whole helluva lot. their relationship will be really sweet, and they’ll be almost brutally honest with each other, but everything said is only out of love and respect, as they’d never want to truly wound one another.

i’d geek out really hard if like, your muse ( a member of decipher ) just so happened to be minji’s bias in the group, as she’s an avid fan, and she has a mad crush on them, and they either exploit how she feels about them and toy around with her, or they just avoid her at all costs because she’s... a bit much for them. that, or really, we can discuss other options if those two things wouldn’t fit your muse. i just think it’d be fun !

it’s no secret that my bbg loves love, and at one point in time, she became curious to know if she was interested in women, too. she tried to date your muse ( female-locked ) for awhile, but it didn’t work out, so she ended up breaking up with them. it could’ve ended really horribly and your muse hates her now, or they could be good friends. it’s up to your and how your muse would react to being led on by a confused straight girl.

being that minji dabbles in writing her own lyrics and playing the piano, i’d looove for her to have a producer friend, or partner of sorts, that’d start a soundcloud account with her. they’d release their own lo-fi, soft songs there, whether they be solos or duets, and it’d just be a really creative, fun-loving relationship. this could lead to a romance, or they could just remain close friends and creative partners; either option is fine with me !

speaking of romance: i’d love some people who really love playing with her heart, or who just use her for sex, and run the fuck away from her when she gets too attached.

the flip-side of that: i’d love for a guy, or girl really, to be really interested in her, but she’s too blind to see it, and instead, using them as like, a personal diary and spills all of her feelings to them about other people all the time. she doesn’t realize they have feelings for her, and it kills them when she talks about other people all the time, but they’re too afraid to really say anything to her rip.

i’d also like for her to have some lowkey fwb relationships, too. i just can’t promise that she won’t daydream about getting married to your muses, but you know... lol.

additionally, if you’re interested in discussing a more personalized, end-game romance plot that’s a slower burn, or something that burns up a little fast and they’re now stuck in a mess together, or whatever else, i’m open for discussions too ! don’t be afraid to let me know and we can talk about it a lot more !

#* / 𝐃𝐄𝐁𝐔𝐓. ‹ introduction. ›#* / 𝐎𝐎𝐂. ‹ ryan speaks. ›

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emilysbookreviews · 4 years

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Boomerang Boyfriend by Chris Cannon

RATING: ⭐️1/2

I was excited to read this book, because it contained one of my favourite book tropes - falling in love with your best friend’s brother/ sister. It has been done so well in books that I have read previously - like The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot and On The Fence by Kasie West, which are some of my favourite books. However, I was extremely disappointed with this book. It started out fun, and I thought I was going to enjoy it, but that changed quickly. I found Delia, the main female protagonist, to be kind of annoying. I don’t really know what it was about her, but I found her character very irritating and tiresome. I also found Jack, the main male protagonist, to be annoying as well. I didn’t mind him in the beginning, but as the book progressed I started to dislike his character more and more and by the end of the book I absolutely hated his character. The way that he treated Delia and got angry with her for not sharing something that was personal and obviously had nothing to do with him was a deal breaker for me. I especially hated the way that this conflict was resolved; as soon as Jack found out the truth, he was alright with being in a relationship with Delia and Delia had NO PROBLEMS WITH IT despite the way that Jack had treated for horribly for something that was so obviously none of his business!! Additionally, the plot, to me, seemed meaningless and didn’t have much substance to it; not much happened through the novel and a lot of the things that did happen felt as though they had just been written to make a word count. The romance between Jack and Delia felt forced, and it was kind of instalove. While I am not the hugest fan of instalove, I think that, when done in the right context, can kind of be acceptable. However, the romance in this story made absolutely no sense. There was basically no lead up to the relationship between Jack and Delia, and they appear to go from hating each other to being in love in a matter of days with absolutely no reason to do so. It was completely unrealistic, like a lot of other elements in this book, such as Jack getting to keep the puppy that he found even though someone owned him. While I thoroughly disliked this book, I did like the dynamic between Delia and Zoe, Jack’s sister and Delia’s best friend, which is honestly one of the only things that salvaged the rating from a 1 star.

My Goodreads

#boomerang boyfriend #chris cannon #emilysbookreviews #ya contemporary

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the-sound-and-the-fury · 6 years

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August Book Round Up!

I was a bit all over the place in August. I decided I was going to start reading the backlog of books I’ve had sitting at home before getting anything new, and instead I just started zipping through the library.

1. Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

1. Leave the ocean alone 2. If you're that determined to abandon the (relative) safety of the land, make sure the damn ship is functional 3. Don't trust the scientists to keep you safe, because their entire M.O. is to poke the dangerous things with a stick even when it's been established that the dangerous things don't like sticks As you might imagine, I was very stressed throughout the duration of this book, but I have to admit that it was very good. It's a boat full of people on an adventure to find killer mermaids, and I couldn't really pass that up. At times, I felt kind of bogged down by the science, but I also realize that the science was actually an important part of character development (including the motivations, influence, and often death of them). And I think the cast of characters was really the strongest point of the story. There were some that I would have liked more time with, and others that I didn't care for, but all I wanted was to see a little more communication between them. I also have so many questions about the ending. If I'm honest, I don't know if I really want the answers, I think I just have to allow myself to be relieved the book ended when it did. Otherwise, I'm no better than the idiots who boarded this expedition

2-3. On Duty (Smoke and Bullets #1) and Broken Protocol (Smoke and Bullets #2) by AR Barley

All I can think about is JVN on Queer Eye asking about secret romances in the firefighter episode of season 1, but apparently the happens in the third book, which I have deemed a little too expensive for an ebook at this point in time.

4. A Duke in the Night (The Devils of Dover #1) by Kelly Bowen

I think I would rather have a series about the girls attending the Haverhall School for Young Ladies because it was so sneaky, so it was almost a struggle to deal with the actual couple in the book (who at the very least knew each other previously, so the instalove wasn’t as bad). I also didn’t realize that this series isn’t finished yet, so in waiting for the rest, I fell down a dark path of adequate romance novels featuring titles and book covers that have nothing to do with the actual stories.

5-7. I’ve Got My Duke to Keep Me Warm (The Lords of Worth #1) and A Good Rogue is Hard to Find (The Lords of Worth #2) and You’re the Earl That I Want (The Lords of Worth #3) by Kelly Bowen

The instalove was pretty bad, but I need you all to understand that the Dowager Duchess of Worth (and all of her chickens, pet and decorative) was the best character I’ve encountered in historical or romance fiction. May she continue to right all the wrongs of the aristocracy.

Otherwise, Sebastian the valet from the first book deserved way more page time, the couple from the second book was my favorite, and the third book had the most interesting mystery plot even though it got a little big for this kind of series.

8-9. Duke of My Heart (Season for Scandal #1) and A Duke to Remember (Season for Scandal #2) by Kelly Bowen

I would have liked the first book to be twice the length and really delve into Ivory’s life story because the plot was really interesting, but alas, all we got was an insipid romance with a male lead who wasn’t written as strong as her.

Also, this series doesn’t have a duchess with pet chickens, and it suffers for that, which is partly why I couldn’t get into the second book and it took me so long to read. I might not even bother with the third book...

10-11. From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess #1) and Royal Wedding Disaster (From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess #2) by Meg Cabot

I finally gave in to this middle grade spin-off series of The Princess Diaries, and it was as adorable as expected. This first book overlaps with Olivia's introduction in Royal Wedding and she remains adorable. I love the continuing diary format, and the doodles are a fun addition

12. Uprooted by Naomi Novik

I had no idea where the story was going half the time, but I liked the journey. It really meandered around, but honestly so did the magic, and I appreciated that it felt different from a lot of other fantasy that I read. The Wood was creepy and I liked how it moved from backdrop to main character. Though I do think a little more character development could've been squeezed into the plot, given how much space was given to descriptions of food and clothes and such, but it never felt like anyone was so flat that it detracted from the action. Agnieszka was a great narrator in that she had a defined personality without overwhelming, but there were a few times I wanted to yell at her to focus so I could figure out what was going on.

Also, this is book #80 for the year, so I’ve hit my goal! Now I’m just trying to see if I can match last year’s book count of 122.

13-14. Royal Crush (From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess #3) and Royal Royal Crown (From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess #4) by Meg Cabot

The series continues to be adorable, and it’s funny seeing some of the original characters through Olivia’s eyes. Because everything that Grandmere does is funny to Olivia, even as I can see how it would drive Mia up the wall. But watching Grandmere interact with all the tween royals has been a highlight of this series so far.

That said, Olivia’s friend Nishi is like a bad combination of Lilly Moscovitz and Tina Hakim Baba from Mia’s more difficult high school years, but without any redeeming qualities, and I don’t like her. It’s been a while since I hated a 12-year-old, but I’m glad I can finally admit that.

15. The Looking Glass by Janet McNally

This story was sweet and sad, and as eager as I was to finish the book, I didn't want it to end. I did expect a little more ballet in action, but I appreciated the copious amounts of Fleetwood Mac, the road tripping, and the maybe-fairy tale characters appearing throughout. I will admit that I found the fairy tales more believable than Jack and Sylvie's visit to that camp, but that's a personal bias from my own camp experience. Also, this kind of makes me want to reread Girls in the Moon.

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recentanimenews · 7 years

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My Week in Manga: June 26-July 2, 2017

My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga I posted the most recent monthly giveaway. This time around participants have the opportunity to win both the first volume of Seiju Natsumegu’s Ghost Diary and the first volume of Chasiba Katase’s In/Spectre, two of the more recent manga series debuting in English translation that deal with Japanese folklore and legends. The winner of the giveaway will be announced on Wednesday, so there’s still time to enter the contest. And as usual, the giveaway is open worldwide. Last month I switched around my posting schedule a little bit, but July will go back to the usual order. Unless something unexpected comes up, next week’s feature will be a Bookshelf Overload and the following week’s will be an in-depth review of Tomoyuki Hoshino’s award-winning novel ME. I’m currently reading and greatly enjoying an advance copy of Kazuki Sakuraba’s A Small Charred Face, scheduled to be released by Haikasoru later this year, so expect an in-depth review of that in the near future as well.

As for other interesting things that I’ve recently come across online to read and listen to: Ollie Barder interviewed the creative team Akira Himekawa for Forbes and Casey Lee Mitchem had the the chance to ask Hirohiko Araki a few questions for Anime News Network. As announced by Publishers Weekly, Chris Butcher, one of the main driving forces behind the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, is now also an editor-at-large for Viz Media. (This should turn out to be a very good thing.) I’d actually forgotten that Publishers Weekly has a podcast called More to Come, but one of the most recent episodes focused on Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Some other recent podcasts of note include one of Wave Motion Cannon’s weekly podcasts which featured Gengoroh Tagame’s My Brother’s Husband and Kabi Nagata’s My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness as well as an episode of Manga Machination’s which also featured My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness along with the manga’s translator Jocelyne Allen as a special guest. And of course, The OASG’s Translator Tea Time podcast is still going strong, too.

Anime Expo started last week and as usual there have been plenty of new licenses and announcements to come out of the event. First of all, Netcomics debuted its most recent print release, Dreams of the Days by Kyungha Yi the creator of Intense. Viz Media announced a handful of things, inculding the manga series Fire Punch by Tatsuki Fujimoto, a fancy new hardcover edition of Hiromu Arakawa’s manga Fullmetal Alchemist, the Kenka Bancho Otome: Girl Beats Boys manga series by Chie Shimada, two Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector books–Haiku and Where Am I Meow?–and Dempow Torishima’s award-winning collection of short stories Sisyphean (which is closely related to Torishima’s award-winning and incredibly strange illustrated novella Sisyphean which was previously translated in the speculative fiction anthology Phantasm Japan).

Yen Press also made a number of announcements including but not limited to the following manga titles in print: Baccano! by Shinta Fujimoto, The Demon Who Became My Sister by Pochi Iida, Hatsu*Haru by Shizuki Fujisawa, Kemono Friends: Welcome to Japari Park by Furai, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Days of Goddess by Masaya Takamura, Mermaid Boys by Yomi Sarachi, Oh, My Sweet Alien by Kōji Miyata, Pandora Box–a deluxe, limited edition box set of Pandora Hearts by Jun Mochizuki–Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts by Yu Tomofuji, Silver Spoon by Hiromu Arakawa (I am extremely excited about this announcement!!!), Stupid Love Comedy by Shushushu Sakurai, Tales of Wedding Rings by Maybe, and Zo-Zo-Zombie-kun by Yasunari Nagatoshi.

Quick Takes

Boundless by Jillian Tamaki. I’ve read several of Tamaki’s comics over the years, including her collaborations with her cousin Mariko Tamaki. SuperMutant Magic Academy, one of Tamaki’s solo works, is a personal favorite of mine and so I was especially looking forward to the release of Boundless, a collection of nine of Tamaki’s short comics (eleven if you count one of the end pages and the back cover). Most of the comics collected had previously been released elsewhere, either online or in print, however there is newly-published content included in the volume as well. I had already read some of the selections before (and actually even own one of them), but reading them together provides a more immediate and interesting contrast between the works. None of the comics are directly related to each other and even Tamaki’s color palettes, illustration styles, and methods of storytelling change throughout the volume, but they all have a well-defined, emotional core. While some of the comics in Boundless are fairly straightforward, at times Tamaki’s approach is rather experimental. Overall, Boundless is a beautiful collection of comics exploring contemporary life, showing how talented and versatile a creator Tamaki can be.

Golden Kamuy, Volume 1 by Satoru Noda. The manga wasn’t on my radar until Viz Media announced that it had licensed the series, but as soon as I learned about Golden Kamuy I knew that I needed to check it out. The majority of series takes place in the early twentieth century soon after the end of the Russo-Japanese War. Saichi Sugimoto is a veteran of the war carrying the nickname of “Immortal” since he somehow managed to famously survive numerous battles and injuries that otherwise really should have left him dead. Instead of returning home a hero, Sugimoto is now living in the wilds of Hokkaido searching rather unsuccessfully for gold. But then he happens across a bizarre story that seems to be more than just a rumor–a massive amount of wealth was stolen from the indigenous Ainu people and hidden, its location secretly recorded in a code tattooed onto the bodies of convicted criminals. In addition to Sugimoto, the other lead character of Golden Kamuy is Asirpa, an Ainu girl who surprisingly agrees to aid him in his search. Despite being Sugimoto being “immortal” she proves to be critical to his survival, teaching him how to face off against bears and hunt for food among other things. It can be gruesome and violent, but I enjoyed the beginning of Golden Kamuy a great deal.

The High School Life of a Fudanshi, Volume 1 by Atami Michinoku. I actually didn’t realize that most of The High School Life of a Fudanshi was a four-panel manga before reading it; I think that I would have enjoyed it more if that was not the case. The majority of Michinoku’s work generally falls into the category of boys’ love. While The High School Life of a Fudanshi itself isn’t boys’ love, in a roundabout sort of way Michinoku’s first series is still about boys’ love. The titular fudanshi–basically a male fujoshi–is Sakaguchi. He’s a guy, and most likely straight, but he has a keen fixation on boys’ love media. (Despite that, he can still occasionally come across as a bit homophobic; it’s an unfortunate but realistic portrayal of a particular segment of the boys’ love fandom which is comfortable with gay men as long as they are fictional.) The High School Life of a Fudanshi largely follows Sakaguchi and his small group of friends. None of them seem to really mind that he has an interest in boys’ love, and some of them even encourage it. Eventually he even becomes close with some fellow fujoshi and fudanshi, but they all have the bad habit of shipping any men they see together, including their classmates. The High School Life of a Fudanshi ends up with a lot of innuendo and tease as a result. In general it’s pretty harmless, but it can be frustrating, too.

The Royal Tutor, Volume 1 by Higasa Akai. When Yen Press first released The Royal Tutor, the manga was a digital-only title. The series interested me, but I don’t usually read or buy ebooks, so I was very happy when it did well enough to warrant a physical release. (The recent anime adaptation probably helped matters some, too.) The kingdom of Granzreich has five princes, the first of whom is destined to inherit the throne. However, the other four must be ready to take his place should they need to, which is where the new royal tutor Heine comes in. The first volume of The Royal Tutor is often very silly, especially when it comes to the running gags about Heine’s small, childlike stature, but at its core is an story about an ideal teacher–someone who is willing to engage, work with, and inspire students wherever they’re at and on their own terms. By the end of the first volume Heine has already made a tremendous amount of progress in winning the princes over which leads me to wonder how much room is left for the manga has to continue to develop. Currently though, the series is eight volumes long and still ongoing, so Akai must have found a way to keep the story and characters fresh and interesting. If nothing else, the hints that Heine and his background aren’t everything that they appear to be is something left to be explored.

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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