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Omamorishimasu, Dokomademo – Junko
Akira arrives in Tokyo from the countryside to start a new job but instead discovers that not only has his company disappeared but also his housing. Unemployed and homeless before he’s even started life in the big city, life’s looking pretty grim but maybe someone’s looking out for him after all because who should text him at that moment but his childhood friend Chihiro. Providing a home, cooking meals, and even pocket money – just why is Chihiro doing so much for someone he hasn’t seen since he was 10? Why does he consider Akira to be his best friend? And just who are those serious looking guys in suits? There just may be more excitement in the big city than Akira’s ever dreamed possible.
A reluctant bodyguard and his childhood friend seem interesting in theory but there was not enough fluff in this one. Best character was Hoshi. I sensed some tension between him and the older brother. I’m hoping the author would explore that.
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The Raven Cycle: The Dream Thieves – Maggie Stiefvater
Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…
Not gay per se but I love Ronan and he swings that way so this is highly recommended. Actually, I didn’t notice that he was gay until I read the reviews but he was always been my favorite of the four boys so it’s a nice bonus. I liked this second book better (possibly my fave in the series) as I now have a clearer grasp of what Gansey was all about (I struggled with that on book one) and we get to know Ronan’s family and why he’s so damn angry all the time. Ok, it’s not just all Ronan and his family. Adam has his issues. Blue is still great and Noah is Noah. The adults have more active roles. The Grey man is worth getting to know as well. I could say something about Gansey too but really, I just adore Ronan.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits
(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17347389-the-dream-thieves)
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I thought it would be fun to take the kind of character that nobody would like, none of our readers would like, and shove him down their throats and make them like him.
Stan Lee -
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World’s End no Niwa – Motteke
Mutou, a university student, just started to live alone for the first time. In his new place, he met his next door neighbor, Uematsu, a translator living in a really old house haunted by the past. In a time where flowers are in full bloom in spring, Mutou begin to feel happiness and attraction from spending time together with Uematsu on his porch.
However, Mutou came to hear that Uematsu had someone important that he can’t forget…Will Uematsu be able to open up to Mutou at the end?
A slow brewing sweet romance begins now!Got bored and skimmed. Plus there’s the huge age gap. The only thing I like is the title.
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How To Be A Normal Person – TJ Klune
Gustavo Tiberius is not normal. He knows this. Everyone in his small town of Abby, Oregon, knows this. He reads encyclopedias every night before bed. He has a pet ferret called Harry S. Truman. He owns a video rental store that no one goes to. His closest friends are a lady named Lottie with drag queen hair and a trio of elderly Vespa riders known as the We Three Queens.
Gus is not normal. And he’s fine with that. All he wants is to be left alone.
Until Casey, an asexual stoner hipster and the newest employee at Lottie’s Lattes, enters his life. For some reason, Casey thinks Gus is the greatest thing ever. And maybe Gus is starting to think the same thing about Casey, even if Casey is obsessive about Instagramming his food.
But Gus isn’t normal and Casey deserves someone who can be. Suddenly wanting to be that someone, Gus steps out of his comfort zone and plans to become the most normal person ever.
After all, what could possibly go wrong?
Gus or Grumpy Gus is a lovable but very socially awkward video store owner who struggles with very unsettling feelings towards a certain asexual hipster named Casey. Gus happens to like things the way they are and hates sudden changes or uncertain things. To help him deal with his feelings he consulted his trusty encyclopedias (he reads them alphabetically). When his trusty encyclopedias failed him, he asked the internet. There he goes through through steps on how to be a normal person and follows them verbatim with hilarious results.
Casey is Don Atari from Zoolander. I swear. I hear his voice every time Casey speaks. That doesn’t mean he’s not adorable. I mean, he and Gus are just so perfect for each other. One of the things that got me reading this is that Casey is asexual. Rarely do we get MCs who are asexual and in a love story no less
The rest of the characters are also fascinating and quirky like the We Three Queens who could be sisters or lovers no one knows and Lottie who likes alliterations. Casey’s friends are as hipster as they could get but they mean well.
The moment I started reading this, I knew it was just 5 stars all the way. This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Read the chapter where Gus was asking Casey for a date and tell me if that didn’t make you laugh out loud. And yes there is an actual wiki guide on how to be normal (I checked). The only quibbles here are the pot smoking and that I don’t find stoner and stoner talk attractive so overall a 4 for me.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25548442-how-to-be-a-normal-person)
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So I’ll be bold, as well as strong, and use my head alongside my heart.
Mumford & Sons -
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Yamada to Shounen – Mita Ori
On his way back from work on Christmas Eve, Yamada (26) discovers a drunk and crying high school boy and takes him home. That boy was mulling over being in love with someone of the same sex.
A straight adult and a gay high schooler.
It is a piece that sets gender aside as their hearts grow ever closer. This is Mita Ori’s long-awaited series.
Yamada looks like shit, is only 26 but act likes an old man. The boy is sweet and is good at cooking. The story was underwhelming but is thankfully kept short.
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Wanted, A Gentleman – K.J. Charles
WANTED, A GENTLEMAN
Or, Virtue Over-Ratedthe grand romance of
Mr. Martin St. Vincent … a Merchant with a Mission, also a Problem
Mr. Theodore Swann … a humble Scribbler and Advertiser for LoveAct the First:
the offices of the Matrimonial Advertiser, London
where Lonely Hearts may seek one another for the cost of a shillingAct the Second:
a Pursuit to Gretna Green (or thereabouts)
featuring
a speedy Carriage
sundry rustic Inns
a private Bed-chamber***
In the course of which are presented
Romance, Revenge, and Redemption
Deceptions, Discoveries, and Desiresthe particulars of which are too numerous to impart.
Eloping couples, damsels in distress, bland heroes, dastardly villains, wild goose chases. Your average penny romance novel tropes except that things are not always what they seem.
Swann runs a business publishing ads from people looking for husbands or wives and moonlights as a writer. He has a scheming mind and I love it that he looks average. St. Vincent is a black merchant with a lot of baggage from the past. He was tasked to pursue his former master’s daughter who ran away with a man a.k.a Troilus. The story itself was not all about the Swann and St. Vincent. It was discovering who was the mystery man who swept away the underage heiress and stopping them before they reach Gretna Green and exchange vows. Swann and St. Vincent’s relationship gradually developed over the course of the chase. In order to bring back the errant damsel to the bosom of her family, they realized they needed a villain more than a hero.
Is it a fun read? Yes! K.J. Charles never lets me down. But I didn’t feel that much invested in the couple. I felt the friendship more than the romance between them. If they didn’t end up together romantically and settled as friends, it would have been entirely OK with me.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and love(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31225405-wanted-a-gentleman)
