House of Night: The Graphic Novel #1

book: House of Night (Graphic Novel)
author: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast, Kent Dalian, Joëlle Jones
series: House of Night Graphic Novels #1
pages: 132
genres: vampires, young adult, mythology
publication date: November 9th, 2011
publisher: Dark Horse comics

Until recently, Zoey Redbird was an average high-school student worrying about grades, boys, and breakouts. But priorities have a way of changing when you are Marked as a vampyre, enroll in the vampyre academy House of Night, and have to figure out a whole new social hierarchy, affinities for elemental magic, and physiological changes that make you crave blood.

I started reading this graphic novel with high expectations. Not because it was House of Night, but because it was a graphic novel and I LOVE graphic novels. Maybe I would have liked it better without those high expectations, because this graphic novel wasn't what I expected it to be.

This graphic novel's cover looks pretty attractive, but the inside drawings aren't as beautiful as I expected them to be according to the cover. It might, of course, just be me who has too high expectations, or just my own preferences, but for me it just didn't have the WOW-factor. 

The story told in this novel has nothing much to do with the actual series. It took place between the first and the second novel of the actual series. You get to know how Zoey came up with her ideas about how to rule the Dark Daughters. The story is divided into 5 parts, Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Spirit. All of them have a lesson bound to them, about some type of ancient mythology. For instance, there was one about Circe, a Witch from ancient Greek Mythology, and one about Herakles, aka Hercules, a hero from ancient Greece. *not all were Greek, but just to give 2 examples* That was my favourite part about the story, the myths. What I didn't like about it is that the myths were vampyre-ified. Nobody should mess with my myths!

A good kick-off for a graphic novel series, and I will check out the next one, but not the best graphic novel I have ever read.

I give this graphic novel 2.5 stars.

xo Mar

A review copy was provided by the press and Netgalley, in exchange for a honest review. I was not given anything in reward for a positive review, I have just given my honest opinion on this book.

Manga Tuesdays; Kagen No Tsuki

Manga:  Kagen no tsuki (last quarter)

Written by:  Ai Yazawa

Genres: Mystery, shoujo, supernatural, romance

Volumes:  3

Anime: no, though there is a movie (I think Hyde plays in it)

own/ library/ borrowed/ read online

read online via the sites: www.manga.animea.net and www.mangareader.com

completed/ ongoing

publisher:  Shueisha

Summary:

Mizuki is a girl who wants to run away from her life. As she smiles at everything sad that happens to her, her soul becomes heavier day by day. Her escape door is Adam, an English singer. But is he really real, or is everything they have been through just a dream? Adam sees his dead Japanese girlfriend in Mizuki, but strangely, nobody, apart from a girl who met her at the gates of heaven, can see Mizuki. This is a story that takes place somewhere between dream and reality.

source: http://www.mangareader.net/1409/kagen-no-tsuki.html

Review:

This is Adam, since he wasn't in the upper
picture and he is just too beautiful to not be
in this post, I decided to put him here =)

I really love this manga. Ai Yazawa's art is so beautiful and I really love the story line as well. Mizuki is easy to relate with and the kids who decide to help Mizuki are really cute and fun with their child problems. But my favourite character in this manga is still Adam. He is so handsome and broken, just amazing. I also love the way the manga is written. There is one poem in it I really love so I will write it down here =) :

'Like the fading moon,

Ruining the darkness,

Paling these lips.

I sing something

I pray something

As I lose the sun

That is you.'

It's probably even more beautiful if you can relate to the story. The story makes some unexpected twists and is sometimes quite sad, though it has a (bit too) happy ending (for me). Still awesome manga, but since it's Ai Yazawa, I wouldn't expect any different from her.

Rating:

5 stars

Some things about manga for non-manga readers :P :

Manga is a Japanese cartoon or comic. There are lots of them in all kind of different genres (really from porn to manga for little girls). Of most mangas there is a new chapter released every month, so that's why some are ongoing (it also can be that the translation group is a bit slow. DON'T EVER GET ANGRY BECAUSE OF THAT THOUGH! Manga's are translated by volunteers, and not very much people speak both English and Japanese well enough to translate them. If your bothered by it, join such a group! They are always looking for new members! Also editors and cleaners are needed!).

If you are too lazy to read, of most mangas there is an anime to watch ;)

If you consider reading manga pay attention! Manga is written from right to left!

some terms:

Shoujo= Manga for mostly teenage girls (it can be very childish, it can be really mature)

Shounen= Manga for mostly teenage boys (example: Naruto )

Josei= Manga for older women (the manga site says: late teenage and adult audiences, this is usually because the characters in the manga are not in high school anymore, this doesn't mean it's not fun to read if you are younger)

Seinen= Manga for older men (also for late teenage and adult audiences, also usually fun to read if you're younger)

School life= is sometimes quite interesting because the japanese school life seems very different than what I am used to

Shoujoai= girls love

Shounenai= boys love

Yuri = let's just say: the more advanced version of girls love

Yaoi= the more advanced version of boys love

Some things about Manhwa for non-manga readers :P :

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
written by: Laini Taylor
series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1
pagecount: 417
genre: young adult, urban fantasy
publication date: September 27th, 2011
publisher: Little Brown

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.


Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. And it did not end well.

The extremely promising first sentence of this book was absolutely worth the book. Never before had I seen a book that got so much positive attention on blogs before. I just started reading blogs, and the whole blogosphere was buzzing about this book. Everyone read it, everyone loved it. And now I have read it too. And -not so very astonishing - I fell in love with it.


The story, set in the mysterious city of Prague and in 'Elsewhere' hypnotised me. I couldn't put it down until I had finished it. I didn't eat, drink or sleep for a couple of hours, and if breathing wasn't mandate I wouldn't have. It was interesting, beautifully written, a wonderful female protagonist and a very mysterious romance. Also, there were angels and demons, need I say more?


Karou, the main characters, belongs in my list of favorite female protagonists of all time. She has a very annoying ex-boyfriend who is 'stalking' her, but she doesn't care. Ex-boyfriend Kaz 'Jackass' will do anything to win back Karou's love. But he just might go a little bit -or way- too far. Still, Kaz was not a stereotype stalker ex-boyfriend. He was acting very humorous all the time, and was acting like a friend and jackass at the same time. All the time. And that's what makes him crazy Kaz, someone I would love to meet someday, no matter if in real life or a dream. And then there was Akiva, the wonderful angel. -Akiva, will you please marry me?- I absolutely fell in love with him and his way of thinking and acting. Still, I had a hard time figuring out him. Is he the good one or the bad one? To me, he was neither black nor white. He was gray, something in between.


Karou herself is a very complicated character. She is a helper of Brimstone, a demon who collects teeth. She collects the teeth for Brimstone, but has no idea why. For the teeth, Karou gets rewarded with wishes she can use for herself. There are small, not valuable, wishes, but there also are bigger ones, that can give you a long and healthy life, or something else. Once, she had wished for blue hair, and she got it. Never has she dyed it agian. Blue hair is one of the things that totally belongs with Karou's character. Karou is a strong, independent girl, but who is she actually? Karou is about to find out the reality about herself and the world.
The plot of this book is very complicated at the beginning. But then everything starts to unravel, and you figure it all out, sentence by sentence. The closer you come to the ending of the book, the more you understand it. I didn't have a clue about the ending of this book when I was halfway, and that's amazing. I don't like it when a book is very predictable. The setting was perfect for this book, as were the character names. They fit all of them so well!


If you haven't read this book already you totally should read it sometime -very- soon!!


I give this book 5 stars!
xo Mar

Wattpad

Hey there :)


I don't know if you are all familiar with wattpad. Wattpad is a great way to connect with authors, and to 'publish' your own creative outbursts online. You can read thousands of free ebooks -some edited, some aren't. - And there are lots of on-going books you can read chapter by chapter. 
Wattpad is mostly used as an app for smartphones, but you can also use if via your computer/laptop. You can do this via www.wattpad.com :)
On wattpad you can creat an account, vote on stories and fan people, so you get updates about them and new chapters they added to their stories.
Then there are the annual wattyawards. These are a great oppotunity for aspiring writers to get published. Also, it's just fun to participate in the wattyawards, no matter if you win or lose.
I myself don't participate in them, because I haven't put any of my stories online. It would be unreadable for 99% of the planet's inhabitants, since it's all in Dutch, a language hardly anyone speaks. -Yeah, I'm from the Netherlands-
Anyways, wattpad is a great way to discover new books, and to connect with the authors of some of your favorites. Make sure to check it out sometime :)


Now I will tell you something about one of the favorite wattpad books I have read. It's called SwEeT MaDnEsS and written by a girl who writes by the name cold_lady19.
It's a story about a girl who is haunted by a demon. She keeps on confusing real life and non-real life. Arix, the author, really is great at making me believe the non-reality things. Or are they real...? It's a great mystery and horror story, and those are 2 of my newly favorite genres. I fell in love with this story from the first few sentences. A nice way of writing, amazing plot, and it kept on surprising me! I just can't believe it hasn't been published in book format already!


read SwEeT MaDnEsS online for free at wattpad! Do it now :) http://www.wattpad.com/story/810374-sweet-madness-watty-awards-2012


Do you have a wattpad account? post a link to it in the comments and I'll fan you :)


Love,
Mar

Fresh on my shelves Friday #4

Hey guys, another Fresh on my shelves Friday post is here :) Fresh on my shelves Friday is a weekly personal meme in which I show you what books I recieved, bought or won over the last week(s)


this week I recieved 11 books, which is an amazing lot of books. 
For review I got 3 books:

-Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00 by C.R. Hiatt *for a book tour*
-The Wayward (Waterspell #1) by Deborah J. Lightfoot *for a book tour*

-Beautiful music for ugly children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills *thanks to Flux press and Netgalley*


Furthermore I won 2 books :D

-Vaempires: Revolution by Thomas Winship
-Vaempires: White Christmas by Thomas Winship
Thanks to Shae at understanding Shae's story and the author 


I got 3 books from the library:

-Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Taylor Laini
-Need by Carrie Jones

-The vampire diaries #3+4 by L.J. Smith
LIBRARY LOVE!


Finally, I bought 3 books:

 -Vampire Academy
-Frostbite

-Shadow Kiss
*all by Richelle Mead*
I hope I really enjoy the series. I stumbled upon these books, and they were so cheap I just couldn't leave them there.


Did you get any exiting books? Tell about them in the comments!


xo Mar

200 Followers :D

Hi there,


OMIGOSH It's so amazing. I just danced for a coupla minutes, which is really strange, since it's incredibly hot in the Netherlands.


I'VE GOT 200 FOLLOWERS!!!! *does the happy dance*


I would love to do a giveaway, but I can't, which absolutely sucks.
I just wanted to thank you a lot for following me and being awesome. 


200 followers is a massive milestone for me. I never thought I would reach it. And then just suddenly the number next to followers was over 200. And I was amazed. *I still am*


For the last couple of days I haven't been blogging much. It's the last weeks of school, and everything is so busy and I just can't blog and read and do my homework *yeah, I'm a geek, problems?*


I want to share a virtual hug with all of you. 


Thanks a lot, keep up that awesomeness! :)


xo Mar

Manga Tuesdays; Usagi Drop

Manga: Usagi drop

Written by: Unita Yumi

Genres: Drama, Josei

Volumes:  9

Anime: Yes, and it's seem really nice, I really got caught up watching it, sorry, it makes that this release is even later :P O, and there seems to be a movie as well :)

own/ library/ borrowed/ read online

read online via the sites: www.manga.animea.net and www.mangareader.com

completed/ ongoing

publisher: Yen Press

NOTE: I just wanted to let u guys know, I'm open for requests!

Summary:Going home for his grandfather’s funeral, thirty-year-old bachelor Daikichi is floored to discover that the old man had an illegitimate child with a younger lover! The rest of his family is equally shocked and embarrassed by this surprise development, and not one of them wants anything to do with the silent little girl, Rin. In a fit of angry spontaneity, Daikichi decides to take her in himself! But will living with this overgrown teenager of man help Rin come out of her shell? And hang on, won’t this turn of events spell doom for Daikichi’s love life?!http://www.mangareader.net/1618/usagi-drop.html

Review:

Well the first half of the story is really cute and lot of fun. It just about Rin and Daikichi and there 'little adventures' (< those quotation marks make it seem very wrong, I'm sorry about that). Anyway Daikichi is really fun to read about, as he makes al kind of mistakes, but slowly starts to act like a parent.

The second half of the story is about when Rin is in High School and a little spoiler, she falls in love with Daikichi. That's like falling in love with your dad... IT'S JUST GROSS OKAY! Anyway, it's also about the love that blooms between one of her childhood friends and her, and you may read it yourself to see who she ends up with.

It was really nice to read, very calming and fun to read. At least the first half. The art was very pretty and all characters are very enjoyable. The second half is a bit disturbing,  but if you get over that, it's still good, though I liked the first part waaaaay better :)

Rating:

3.5

Some things about manga for non-manga readers :P :

Manga is a Japanese cartoon or comic. There are lots of them in all kind of different genres (really from porn to manga for little girls). Of most mangas there is a new chapter released every month, so that's why some are ongoing (it also can be that the translation group is a bit slow. DON'T EVER GET ANGRY BECAUSE OF THAT THOUGH! Manga's are translated by volunteers, and not very much people speak both English and Japanese well enough to translate them. If your bothered by it, join such a group! They are always looking for new members! Also editors and cleaners are needed!).

If you are too lazy to read, of most mangas there is an anime to watch ;)

If you consider reading manga pay attention! Manga is written from right to left!

some terms:

Shoujo= Manga for mostly teenage girls (it can be very childish, it can be really mature)

Shounen= Manga for mostly teenage boys (example: Naruto )

Josei= Manga for older women (the manga site says: late teenage and adult audiences, this is usually because the characters in the manga are not in high school anymore, this doesn't mean it's not fun to read if you are younger)

Seinen= Manga for older men (also for late teenage and adult audiences, also usually fun to read if you're younger)

School life= is sometimes quite interesting because the japanese school life seems very different than what I am used to

Shoujoai= girls love

Shounenai= boys love

Yuri = let's just say: the more advanced version of girls love

Yaoi= the more advanced version of boys love

The Selection by Kiera Cass

title: The Selection
written by: Kiera Cass
series: The Selection #1
genre: dystopia, young adult, romance
pages: 329
publication date: April 24th, 2012
publisher: HarperTeen

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.


But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.


Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

First of all, this review was NOT influenced by childish behaviour of anyone, nor was it by all the bad publicity it got. It's just me being honest. Secondly, if you read this book and liked it you might will not like this review... Just thought I should let you know.


The cover really tricked me into reading this one. I read some negative reviews of it, and there was a lot of commotion around this book. I wanted to know what they were really talking about, so I decided I should read this book. And I did. And I think I should get a price for finishing it, because it was horrible, aweful, eye-bawling bad.


Also, I wanted to read this book because it was "The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games" Well, Hell no it wasn't! How dare they call this book anything like The Hunger Games. I'm not the #1 Hunger Games fan, but this book certainly wasn't anything like it. I don't really like the Bachelor, but I have watched some episodes. Maybe even an entire season. It had no rose ceremonies or something, and that's the thing that I really like about the Bachelor.


I usually like dystopian books, and this one was referred to as dystopian. While reading it, I was getting more confused by the page. Where was the dystopian bit of this book?? I was looking for it. But it was nowhere to be found. That really sucked. Cass made some poor attempts, a caste system, which doesn't seem dystopian at all. It's just today's reality, only a little bit exaggerated. Then there is this new country, Illéa, which is the new USA. There have been 2 more world wars. It is extremely strange, after the 4th world war, it would be strange if there was anything left on this world, right? But well, no way I will call this book dystopian.


The main character is called America Singer. What a stupid name is that! All other character names were 
'normal', which is pretty strange, considering this book was meant to be dystopian. 
Also, America was a very flat and stupid character, and a very disappointing female protagonist. Let me explain it by the means of a random quote: "Would Maxon want me to change? Was that why he was off kissing other girls? Because there was something not quite right about me?" Quotes like me just make me want to bawl my eyes out, multiple times. Girls should be strong and independent, not whiny and stupid. I will not even start talking about Maxon, just to keep this nice and prevent me from having to censor this review... :l


The plot of this book -series?!?!- didn't amuse me at all. I was so glad I finished it. And how on earth does the author manage to write so many words about so little?! She can write a whole trilogy about NOTHING AT ALL!


The way it was written was very immature and basic. Something happened, a thought popped up, it gave me  a feeling, I did this. This made the book even worse to read.


So, please, if you want to try this book you should check it out in your library or borrow it from someone, but please don't buy it for your own sake. And remember, this is just my own opinion, I am all right with you if you like it. I'm just being honest. 


I give this book 1 star, because I can't give it negative stars... :$


xo Mar

Fresh on my shelves Friday #3

Fresh on my Shelves Friday is a weekly meme in which I show you the books I recieved over the last week(s)

This week I got only 2 new books, but I'm very much looking forward to reading them!

White Cat (Curse workers #1) by Holly Black 

Saving June by Hannah Harrington 

(^thanks to Harlequin UK and Netgalley)

So that's it :)

what did you recieve this week? 

xo Mar

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

title: Insurgent
written by: Veronica Roth
series: Divergent #2
genre: Young Adult, dystopia
pages: 525
publication date: May 1st, 2012
published by: HarperTeen

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.


Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

“Insurgent,” he says. “Noun. A person who acts in opposition to the established authority, who is not necessarily regarded as a belligerent.”

I had been smart, and had kept my expectations of Insurgent very low, so I wouldn't be utterly disappointed in it. It was a completely unnecessary thing to do, I found out while reading. Insurgent is one of these books that completely blew my mind. I just finished it 5 minutes ago, and I still am kind of speechless. I liked Insurgent even better than Divergent, and that was one of my favourite books of 2011. 


Tris and the other characters show a lot of development. Only, character development is not a very accurate way to describe it. I could better day that it was a whole character transformation. The way the title of this book describes Tris 2.0, it's amazing. I can imagine Veronica Roth reading through a dictionary searching for a perfect name for this book, then stumbling upon the word Insurgent. I can almost imagine her squeeing and doing the happy dance. It's something I would do if I were her... :) 


Tris's character has grown from a little girl into a full-grown powerful independent women. Even though she still is very small looking from the outside, which btw really adds something to her character. She isn't Beatrice anymore. Tobias 'Four' also showed a lot of charcter development. The most important to me was a change in his fears, about which I can't talk without spoiling the story... Then there are some new characters, and some old ones who, sometimes very unexpectedly, returned.


Immediately after the ending of Divergent, Insurgent started. This was pretty hard for me. It had been over 4 months since I'd read Divergent, and I had forgotten lots of character names, and quite a lot of the plot. After a few chapters I was completely sucked up by the story again, and all my questions about what happened to who in Divergent disappeared. The story continues, but there are some massive changes in the structure of the soceity. War between the Factions if luring around the corner, and friends aren't who they seemed to be. Tris reminds me of Katniss a lot, and the plot of Insurgent reminded me a lot of Mockingjay's plot. They weren't really the same, but they just shared some similarities I couldn't avoid seeing. The story kept me interested from the title until the very last word.


The ending  already has me craving for the next -and final :c- book in this series. It doesn't even have a title :o! I wish I had it right now. Accio Divergent #3! Does anyone have the blueprints for a time machine? I really need one at the moment.


What did you think of Insurgent? Share it in the comments below :)
rating: 6/5 stars :) -Yeah, to me that seems completely possible-


xo Mar

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

title: City of Lost Souls
written by: Cassandra Clare
series: The Mortal Instruments (TMI) #5
genre: Young Adult, paranormal romance
pages: 520
publication date: May 8th, 2012
published by: Simon and Shuster


Don't read the blurb or this review if you haven't read the first 4 parts in this series and are intending to do so, there are some massive spoilers included in it, which I couldn't prevent using.

The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.


No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?


Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.


And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

When I recieved this book I immediately started reading it, and I didn't put it down. At all. This book is dangerous for you! You will not eat, sleep or talk to anyone for as long as it takes you to finish it! Don't start reading it the night before finals. You'll fail! 


Clare has done it again! A whole new shadowhunter book, and some new massive turning points in the plot that kept on surprising me. How on earth can she think of this?! I try to explain TMI to my friends sometimes, but they don't get it. There are so many crazy things happening. I'm like: 'So there is this girl, and she is a shadowhunter. Then her mother is abducted by some evil guy who turns out to be her father. Then she meets this gorgeous boy, and she falls in love, and then he turns out to be her brother. Then there is this other boy she kisses. The first boy she loved isn't her brother after all, the second boy ís. He turns out to be evil, like her father. Then there is the best friend, who becomes a powerful vampire. And he is friends with some werewolf girl. Meanwhile, they save the world from demons a couple of times, meets some very strange people, gets some special powers, ... . Then they free her mother. The mother marries her best friend, who is a shadowhunter / werewolf. Then the boyfriend of the girl dies and is resurrected by the angel. But he is bound to the evil brother, who also died. They both live. -end of part 4 -" and they're like DAFUQ did you just say?!


Sometimes it annoys me that Clare's books are so crazy, sick. This is the 7th shadowhunter, and the idea is getting older and older. I love shadowhunters, don't get me wrong, but 7 books and 2 more that are coming soon is a little bit overdone.


The characters show development. Some just a little, some changed 100%. My feelings about certain characters definitely changed while I was reading this book! Some of them were acting enormously selfish 'in the name of love'. Give up your life for your lover's life is stupid. I mean, when you die either (s)he becomes extremely depressed and wishes (s)he had died, or (s)he doesn't give a  sh*t and just goes on with his/her life, so (s)he wasn't worth dying for. 


The thing with all the dramatic romance is the thing that really freaks me out about this book. Yeah, love exists, we know that. But seriously, it seems as if no-one can be single. Almost every possible combination of 2 has been used in one of the 5 books in this series. And the worst thing is, you read more bad than good things about their relationships. 


CoLS is told from multiple points of view, but still is very easy to read. I read it in a couple of hours only, which is pretty quick for me. Next book I so hope I can read parts from Magnus's point of view! He is like, the most awesome character of this whole series! Team Magnus <3


This book has got everything a TMI fan looks for, but it isn't the best part in the series. It is awesome, crazy and depressing and heartwarming at the same time. Yay for Magnus!


rating:
I have been thinking for a very long time about my rating. Finally I decided I would give it 5 stars. But only just... 


Whoa, longest review ever, and I still haven't put down all my feelings about this book... !
xo Mar

Manga Tuesdays; Lying Mii-kun and broken Maa-chan: Precious Lies

Manga: Lying Mii-kun and broken Maa-chan: Precious Lies

Written by:  author: Iruma Hiruma

                         Artist: Satou Atsunori

Genres: Mystery, Psychological, Romance, Seinen, Slice of Life, Tragedy

Volumes:  1,  5 chapters

Anime: no

own/ library/ borrowed/ read online

read online via the sites: www.mangareader.com

completed/ ongoing

publisher: Kadokawa

Summary:        
The setting is a rural city in which kidnapping and series of murders are happening simultaneously. Eight years ago, a boy and a girl were kidnapped and suffered through the hands of their perpetrator. The victims, the compulsive liar "Mii-kun" (the narrator), and "Maa-chan" (Misono Mayu) reunite and start living together, despite the fact that the recently reported missing children were within Mayu's apartment...source: http://www.mangareader.net/lying-mii-kun-and-broken-maa-chan-precious-lies

Review:

Oh, how I love this manga.... Though it's just 5 chapters long, I could read it three times without getting bored of it, because it's quite complicated and I just understood it the second time I read it. Now I believe I've already read it like five times, just because I love it's wickedness :D

I actually want to tell a lot more about this story but since it's a mystery I will spoil it...  anyway in this manga there are a lot of surprising events, lots of people are not who you think they are and even in the last few pages the story is a twist. I really would recommend reading it at least twice because it's cool to see the hidden like 'messages'.  

I think I also really loved it since it includes three of my favourite genres (tragedy, psychological, romance, though the romance is lacking) especially the psychological part is really good in this manga.

The art is also very nice, quite simple, more like most animes are drawn, but I think it fits the story and I like it more than in most mangas with seinen.

For the ones who are into it, it also contains a bit of blood and stuff, not too much, but what do you expect for a manga of 5 chapters.

Overall it's really good, you should just go and read it :D

Rating:

5 stars

Some things about manga for non-manga readers :P :

Manga is a Japanese cartoon or comic. There are lots of them in all kind of different genres (really from porn to manga for little girls). Of most mangas there is a new chapter released every month, so that's why some are ongoing (it also can be that the translation group is a bit slow. DON'T EVER GET ANGRY BECAUSE OF THAT THOUGH! Manga's are translated by volunteers, and not very much people speak both English and Japanese well enough to translate them. If your bothered by it, join such a group! They are always looking for new members! Also editors and cleaners are needed!).

If you are too lazy to read, of most mangas there is an anime to watch ;)

If you consider reading manga pay attention! Manga is written from right to left!

some terms:

Shoujo= Manga for mostly teenage girls (it can be very childish, it can be really mature)

Shounen= Manga for mostly teenage boys (example: Naruto )

Josei= Manga for older women (the manga site says: late teenage and adult audiences, this is usually because the characters in the manga are not in high school anymore, this doesn't mean it's not fun to read if you are younger)

Seinen= Manga for older men (also for late teenage and adult audiences, also usually fun to read if you're younger)

School life= is sometimes quite interesting because the japanese school life seems very different than what I am used to

Shoujoai= girls love

Shounenai= boys love

Yuri = let's just say: the more advanced version of girls love

Yaoi= the more advanced version of boys love