Serenity

Full disclosure, Baird is my favorite character, and Delta squad of course. I've played the original trilogy and read all the books written by Karen Travis. The fact that this book has a lot of Baird in it is a major reason why I enjoyed this book so much, including Delta squad. The beginning of the book is my favorite part since all the major characters are all together. However, there were things I didn't like and I'll need to disclose some spoilers to explain why but I'll try to keep it minimal.

My major gripes with this book are two things. One, there was a lack of character development for Del and JD, and two, regarding one scene in particular that made Baird look like a jerk (to avoid cursing).

The best part of the book is the beginning in my opinion because we learn a few new things about the world of Sera since the last trilogy. Specifically, we get to see New Ephyra, we learn more about First Minister Jinn and her connection with Anya Stroud, and we get a good idea of how Jinn is running the place. The pace slows down though once the group parts ways back into the world outside the safety of New Ephyra.

The book jumps between Marcus/Kait, JD/Del, and Jinn/Baird/Sam who stay behind. The sections with JD and Del were mostly boring for me. It's funny because these sections are written from Del's point of view and there are a lot of them, and yet, we don't really learn more about his character or JD's. I was hoping to get some insight into his past or his friendship with JD. Instead, we mostly get standard banter between the two and nothing deeper than that. I'm not sure if that was done on purpose (maybe the author was told not to expand on them and to focus on Kait or something?), but I would have loved to learn more about Del and JD. Funny enough, I feel like we learned more about Jinn than these two and one is related to Marcus Fenix, the main protagonist of Gears of War.

My second major gripe involves a particular scene with Baird (warning for spoilers in this paragraph). In chapter 4 of Part 2, Baird, Sam, Cole and Jinn find out that Del and JD are stranded on a crater at the Locust Burial Site and things aren't looking good for them. Considering Baird's relationship to JD (we know that JD call's him Uncle Baird and that Baird thinks of JD as his son), and Baird's relationship with Marcus, most would think that Baird would be one of the first to suggest sending a rescue team to save them. He doesn't do this. Instead, his first thought is to use the Hammer of Dawn (which doesn't work) to obliterate the site and he says, “There's no getting off that tower. They're already dead.” To paraphrase, he says he loves JD, but there's no hope. I know that Baird really wants to get the Hammer of Dawn working again, but I have a major problem with the thought of him disregarding the life of someone he loves so quickly just to win the debate with Jinn to let him get the Hammer of Dawn back online.

Baird was part of Delta Squad and worked closely with Marcus during the war. Delta Squad got out of some seriously bleak looking situations, and the audience who played the games know that no matter how bad things looked, Delta squad figured a way out. Hell, we all remember when they were SWALLOWED by the Riftworm and how Delta squad managed to cut their way out. They SURVIVED. Baird experienced this, and he's one of Marcus' closest friends. Even if things look like shit, Baird knows that JD is a Fenix and if anyone can figure out how to get out of trouble apart from Marcus, it's his son. At the very least, Baird should have requested to send a raven to pick them up. His first thought should be to save the man who he considers his son, a boy he watched grow up and made toys for as a child, or to at least brainstorm SOMETHING. I felt like Baird didn't even TRY to figure out a way to save them. He took one look and was like- well, there's nothing we can do. Let me get that weapon functional again, please! If this is really what Baird is like now, that really sucks. Baird has always been the “asshole” of the group, but I never felt he was heartless. Those who read Karen Travis' books also know that Baird is actually a nice guy despite his attitude. Has Baird changed so much now that he's rich and successful? Has he lost compassion for those closest to him that he considers family? Even Cole questioned Baird, asking him if he would really use the Hammer of Dawn on JD. Maybe Baird IS really like this now, but I have a hard time accepting that.

I actually agree that the Hammer of Dawn should be online, and I understand Baird's argument. Again, my problem is that I felt that Baird jumped on the idea of using the Hammer of Dawn without much consideration for JD. If he said “There's gotta be a way to save them” or “let's send a raven” before saying, “we should consider using the hammer of dawn”, I would have been fine with this scene. I felt that he didn't even TRY to save them. To reiterate, Baird is my favorite character so I'm totally biased here, but the scene really upset me as I personally just have high expectations for this character. It also made me cringe later on when they reunited and JD went to hug Baird and called him “Uncle”.

Most of the book was slow and just OK. It picked up a bit towards the end when everyone got back together. The only parts I would consider re-reading is the first few chapters where most of the world building was. I hope the next book is better with more details and character development. Karen Travis went into details about the characters, even minor ones like Birdie, and I loved that. If you're a gears fan who really likes the world of Sera and wants to delve deeper into the world apart from the video game, it's worth reading this book. However, don't expect much. I liked the book, but it's not one of my favorites.

I really wanted to like this book since I loved the original series, but sadly, it was mostly boring. Maybe the author for this series is different?

So, this book is told from the perspective of Brambleclaw and Leafpaw. Brambleclaw is chosen by Starclan to go on a journey with Tawnypelt, Crowpaw, Feathertail, Stormfur, and Squirrelpaw.

My biggest gripe is that Brambleclaw's character wasn't really explored. He's the son of Tigerstar and there is so much there to unravel and explore, yet the author doesn't utilize this enough to give him more dimension. I like his character, but they manage to make him uninteresting and instead use Squirrelpaw to give him Some character. The author also underutilized his relationship with Tawnypelt. They could have had a sibling moment, but she seems unfazed about leaving her brother behind for Shadowclan.

And Squirrelpaw is..... annoying at first. Everything offends her, and she's so touchy about her father (Firestar). She gets better at the end of the story, but I don't understand what her issue is because her sis Leafpaw is sweet. Crowpaw seems to take her role as the whiny complainer for the rest of the novel thankfully.

All of my favorite scenes are with Firestar, Graystripe, and Sandstorm. Even then though, Firestar is so intense with trying to keep Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw apart that those scenes aren't too enjoyable. Honestly, the only reason I kept reading is because Leafpaw's perspective includes Firestar.

I would have preferred to have seen Firestar taking a fatherly role with Brambleclaw and seeing their bond. Instead.... We get this book. Mostly boring and underwhelming. I may not continue because the story isn't the same without Firestar as the lead.

I adored this book!! I love Star Trek, so I totally appreciated all the efforts and details that went into the illustrations and story. Basically, an adult Gorn is telling his child how awful the Federation is as the Federation celebrates the holiday season. You get some hilarious references to TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT, and Discovery. The only series that I haven't watched yet is Discovery, so I didn't fully understand who the characters were, but this did not detract from my enjoyment of the book as they only had two pages dedicated to that series (the rest had about four pages or more).

The illustrations were my favorite part of the experience - so gorgeous and detailed with funny references from the series that most Star Trek fans should understand. If you haven't watched the series though, you may not enjoy this book or understand the jokes.

This book is now a family favorite and we plan to read it every year :)

This book was OK but somewhat mediocre.

We got some of Kurosawa's sad backstory. it shows that he struggled being himself because he was basically too good looking and perfect for people. As a kid he unintentionally seduced, his friends girlfriend, and in another situation, he cut his hair to appease some business partners so he wouldn't look young. The only person he could be himself around is Adachi.

They celebrate their one year anniversary and go apartment shopping together. It's sweet, but kind of boring. It reminds me of the first volume honestly. Not bad, but nothing to get excited over either. This volume is basically one to tidy up a few loose ends and set the stage for the wedding.

On the plus side, we do get an update on Minato and Tsuge. Last time, Tsuge admitted to Minato that he had “alternative motives“. However, Mito is rushed away and then he ignores Tsuge's texts. He is heartbroken, but understands that his words probably freaked out Minato. Adachi finds out that he's actually left with a dance crew, and one night, Tsuge sees him dancing on the big screen in public. He can't stay away, so he buys him a pair of shoes and drops it off where he was performing. Minato runs to go see him and he apologizes for ignoring him and explains that he wasn't sure what he meant and was too afraid to contact him back. So he did get weirded out. In the end,Tsuge confesses his feelings. He thinks Minato will reject him, so he goes to leave and his chastised for giving up too quickly. They end up hugging, and it ends there.

Their story was the most interesting part of this volume, but still, overall a meh volume.

I love Transformers, so I had to give the comics a try and I'm glad I did. There are many different stories. I enjoyed them all, but I especially loved learning how Megatron rose to power (the part when we first see the seekers is super cool), Blurr's spotlight, Shockwave's spotlight, and Infiltration. Infiltration is the second major story arc and features Ratchet (with the humans). If you're a Ratchet fan like I am, you'll enjoy seeing him. The humans aren't too annoying, which was my main concern. Overall, beautiful art and engaging stories equals one happy transformers fan girl :)

On to volume 2~!

Overall, an interesting and fun read. I really liked how all of these historic events tied into the vampire plot. As you read, you feel like it is being told by Abe Lincoln. However, sometimes the book was slow and boring. Mostly in the middle when there wasn't any vampire action. We get tons of background information about Abe, his family and friends, but the juicy bits of the Civil War aren't as long or detailed in comparison, which is a shame because it was exciting to read.

By the way, if you watched the movie first or at all, you'll notice that both are VERY different. Yeah, they got the point that Abe is a vampire hunter who wields an axe with Henry helping him out, but the movie makes up a lot of scenes and some characters.

If you like history and vampires, give it a try.

Jurassic Park is one of the rare instances where the movie is superior to the book. I'm rating this a 4 due to its boring start (pre-island), it's stupid ending, and the fact that Malcolm and Genaro carried the story for me. This book is very different from the movie. Both have their strengths, which I will share via spoilers.

What the movie did better:

1. The kids. They are annoying in the book. I understand that Lex is 7 or 8 years old, so she deserves a plethora of grace, but she's extremely annoying. The author seemed to hate her; she made all of these mistakes that nearly killed them. She was even pooped on by a pterodactyl. Whereas Tim is 11 yrs old and this brilliant little Dino-nerd that is the only one that can work the computer and bring the power online (instead of Lex in the movie). I much prefer their behavior and relationship in the movie where Tim still loves dinos, but Lex is mature and the elder sister.

2. The movie bypasses the boring backstory for the most part while keeping the most important scenes I think.

3. The characters in the movie are more likable for the most part, minus Genaro!! They did my man Genaro dirty in the movie. Not cool. I really liked Genaro in the book- more on that later. Ellie Sattler specifically was shown to be more interesting and fleshed out than the book. In the novel, she's mostly admired for her legs rather than her scientific knowledge.

4. The ending. The book ending is so boring, dumb, and anti-climatic. To start, the raptors in the main building are not killed by a trex. They are killed by Grant tricking them into eating eggs filled with some sort of chemical that poisons them (forgot which). He killed like, three of them this way. In no way did I find this believable or exciting. One raptor, yes, three - no. Then when the raptors are gone, Hammond is practically MIA and Genaro is the one to call the Costa Rican government for help to blow up the island via air strike. Grant goes berserk, roughing him up physically and blaming HIM solely for the park (not Hammond), forcing him to search for the raptors nest to count the number of creatures to make sure they all die. I thought it was extremely unfair of Grant to assault Genaro and call him a coward. I firmly believe that Grant's priority in seeking the raptor nests was scientific curiosity, not genuine concern for mankind. Muldoon should have backed him up, as he and Genaro spent lots of time together, but even he turns on Genaro at the end and threatens him with electric shock to get him into the raptor nest. When they are finally at the nest, nothing happens. The adult raptors miraculously don't notice 3 humans (unbelievable) in their den. Then everyone is rushed from the island and the Costa Rican government blows it up. Soooo boring.

Things I think the book did better:

1. Malcolm is even cooler! We get far more monologue from Malcolm in the book than the movie, and he's somehow cooler. The fact that he's balding just makes him more badass because he doesn't let his receding hairline take away from the fact that he's intelligent as hell with his chaos theory. God I love Malcolm.

2. More Dr. Wu: Dr. Wu was hardly in the movie, which is a shame. In the book, he and Hammond have lots of moments together where we learn more about him. He's brave, and tries to save Ellie when the raptors were trying to kill her. I was sad to see him die in such a gruesome way, but there is something poetic about the major players in Jurassic Park dying at the claws of their own creation (Hammond, Arnold, and Wu).

3. Genaro the Lawyer is badass. The movie did him dirty and combined him with Ed Regis' character in the book, the Public Relations person that pees his pants and abandons the kids in the car. In the book, Genaro stays with Ellie and the vet with the triceratops, so he never encounters the Rex and gets eaten. Then, Ellie stays behind, but Genaro goes out with Muldoon to find Grant and the kids, and he is out there in the park trying to help get the park up and running. He even agrees to help Muldoon with the raptors although he's afraid. I don't blame him for wanting nothing to do with the raptors nests at the end. Frankly, it's easy for Grant to call him a coward when no one is waiting for him at home. Genaro has a wife and kids to take care of, so he shouldn't be treated like shit at the end when he's already risked his neck multiple times.

Other things didn't like about the book:

1. The trex following Grant and the kids. It's literally stalking them. Why!? There are so many dinos for the trex to eat. Why follow the three, small humans so much?

2. Grant never confronting Hammond about his role in opening a dangerous park. I guess he didn't want to risk pissing off the man that funds his dig sites (coward).

Anyways, I rate it a 4/5 for these reasons. I still loved the book, and I enjoyed the narrator for the audiobook.

In this volume, a few interesting things happen. To start, Adachi sort of proposes to Kurosawa and it's super sweet. Then, they meet each other's parents. Adachi's family accepts them, but not Kurosawa's at first. His mother has a mental breakdown when she learns that he is with a man. Kurosawa tries to keep this from Adachi, which leads to their first fight. It has a hopeful ending, and they learn to communicate better from the ordeal. Definitely a great volume and likely my favorite one so far.

Unfortunately, we don't get to hear from Tsuge and Minato in this volume ;-;

Great book and audiobook! Allen Parr narrates himself and sounds exactly like he does on YouTube. Some topics were difficult to grasp, so I plan to get the physical book to study more. I highly recommend having the actual book with you, or do as I did plan to read it a second time for deeper comprehension and note taking.

Yup! The magic is gone! Despite this, the story is only getting better. In this one, Adachi started working in the new branch office and they are missing each other. Kurosawa is visiting Adachi and he asks Adachi to move in with him so they will be together forever once he's done there. Adachi mentions it sounds like a proposal and a Kurosawa freaks out because he wants a do-over since he has planned a more extravagant proposal lol but Adachi told him to cut it out, that he doesn't need to look cool for Adachi. Kurosawa pulls out engagement rings and Adachi accepts them. The most hilarious part came afterwards. Adachi comments that he's surprised how well the ring fits, like the pjs in a prior volume, and he jokingly asks if Kurosawa has more things his size and Kuro looks guilty. Adachi demands he show him and Kuro doesn't want to, but Adachi insists and thankfully, he's not freaked out that Kuro has boxes of stuff for him, even matching aprons lol so domestic and cute!!

Honestly, their romance is so much better without the magic. Adachi relied on it so heavily that he hurt Kurosawa constantly. At the same time, the magic did serve its purpose to make him more confident and go for it. So, I'm thankful for what the magic accomplished, but I'm glad it's gone.

As for Tsuge and Minato, Tsuge is trying to get the courage to tell Minato his feelings. Minato had a big audition and he made it thanks to Tsuge getting him there on time. I'm rooting for them!

Another good volume. In this one, Adachi is struggling to express his feelings verbally to Kurosawa. He is offered a position in a new store and instead of speaking with Kuro, he asks advice from a coworker on how to turn down the offer. Kuro doesn't like that Adachi didn't ask him about it since they're a couple. He was angry and jealous, and Adachi froze, unable to voice anything. He writes a letter to Kuro after getting advice from Tsuge, who encourages him to speak with Kuro about his feelings since he doesn't have magic like them.

Kuro travels to see him, and Adachi wants to show him his feelings and actually has sex with him. I wasn't expecting that so soon in their relationship. Guess the magic is gone now?

Overall, it was an ok story with a strong start and mediocre ending. Hashimoto plays an online game and unknowingly becomes close friends with his boss in the game. Honestly, I enjoyed their online relationship more than their real life one. For one, I don't really think Hashimoto is ready for a relationship. He's an extremely oblivious character, as in, he can't tell when someone likes him. This trait seems to be cute to many people, but I don't share that opinion. That sort of behavior comes off as immature to me. Shirasa is such a mature, good man, and shows tremendous patience with Hashimoto, clearly demonstrating that he loves him. Salted Salmon (their online friend) bluntly tells Hashimoto to step it up because when you date someone you should be more than just “best friends”. To be fair, Hashimoto was honest with Shirasa about his feelings (he isn't sure if he likes him or looks up to him), so I hope for Shirasa's sake that he figures it out soon. So yeah, I can't say I like the couple, or Hashimoto, but the online gaming itself and their gaming time was fun to read.

My favorite volume so far! In this book, Adachi finally tells Kurosawa the truth about his ability to read minds & our four main male characters meet for the first time.

Adachi and Kurosawa invite their friends to their company as testers for new products. Kurosawa gets jealous of Tsuge (Adachi's friend) because they seem close and Adachi touched his abs (lol). Tsuge immediately picks up on Kurosawa's jealousy but he's worried about his own problems.

Tsuge invited the dancer crush of his and needs Adachi's advice since he too can now read minds as a 30 yr old virgin. While they're talking privately, Kurosawa (the jealous and possessive guy he is) is eavesdropping and jumps to conclusions. He snags Adachi to a private room to ask if “there is someone else” and Adachi reads his mind about Tsuge. He clarifies that they're just friends and Kuro pushes that Adachi is hiding something bc he is never so open with him in private as he is with Tsuge.

Adachi finally admits that he's a wizard and can read minds. Kuro takes it well but he is embarrassed at first. Something I don't understand is that Adachi tells Kuro that he couldn't read his mind when he was drunk that time Adachi took care of him, but I thought he could?? I will have to go back and double check. Kuro seemed relieved at that. I know there is a flashback to Kuro admitting that that's when he fell in love with Adachi, so I'm confused.

Anyways, Kuro takes advantage of Adachi's abilities to speak to him privately in the office lol and he even lands a steamy kiss on Adachi in the office too in private after the confession.

As to Tsuge, I wasn't too interested in his romance, but after this book, I'm rooting for him to get together with Minato. He's a good guy, but the ending was brutal. Minato privately thinks that Tsuge is like a father figure (ooof!). Poor guy. There is an 8 yr age gap which doesn't help.

DNF. I read 42% of the book before stopping as I lost interest. The story was promising, but I was annoyed at the constant references to her veganism and diet. Yes, I get it, the werewolf likes meat and you can't eat it anymore due to health reasons. The character spends more time musing over her diet rather than trying to figure out who may have killed her grandmother. I lost patience.

I did like that the protagonist was an older woman, rather than a teenager, and I did like how it was written. I just lost interest. Maybe I'll try to finish it another time and give it another shot.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I watched the Donghua first, but I much prefer the novel as it goes into more detail on personalities of the characters and fills in some of the gaps that the Donghua couldn't get to yet. One example is that the novel explains what Xie Lian is thinking. I actually prefer novel!XL over Donghua!XL. I would recommend reading the novel first.

The first book is basically season 1 (if anyone is curious). If I'm remembering correctly, event-wise, the Donghua and novel are very similar for the most part with only a few exceptions (spoilers ahead):

(1) The last chapter was definitely my favorite as we see more interaction between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. Specifically, there is a scene that's slightly different from the Donghua. In the Donghua on the last episode, Xie Lian cups Hua Cheng's face and thoroughly inspects it before realizing he's being weird. In the novel (and Manhua!), however, Xie Lian POKES Hua Cheng's face instead and is MORTIFIED by the realization.

“He was only curious to see what a supreme Ghost King's skin would feel like, but apparently, his body moved faster than his mind and poked him! How extremely outrageous of him!” (Page 363)

The novel gave me a greater impression of Xie Lian's embarrassment. And funny enough, poking another person's face just seems bolder to me than straight out cupping, and funnier too since it was just one curious POKE. It truly was just an endearing moment between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. On the other hand, the donghua made it a more “sensual” moment in a way since they zoom in on Hua Cheng's expression. It's not a bad thing, but I prefer that the novel made the scene more of a comedic moment between the two as Hua Cheng laughed it off. It was a great scene showing how their friendship is growing, which I deeply appreciate. I'm also a sucker for the “slow-burn” romances, which probably affects my preference for the novel's version.

(2) In the Donghua, XL is very private about the black cursed shackles - going so far as to cover them if he notices someone looking at them. In the novel however, XL is less reserved, explaining what is it when Nan Feng and Fu Yao notice the mark for the first time (Page 57). When San Lang notices them, XL allowes him to look and just shrugs it off (Page 195).

(3) The curtain at the Puqi Shrine. In the Donghua, XL purposefully puts lots of talismans on the curtain to try to expose SL as a ghost. In the novel, he merely changes the curtain for a new one which already had a seal drawn on it (XL did it in the past). My impression from this scene is that XL put the new curtain up for protection, not to test SL. It was only after SL left that XL considered that the seal may be preventing SL from entering the shrine (Page 200).

There are a few other differences, but these stuck out the most to me. I can't wait to read the next novel :)

In this book, Adachi and Kurosawa go on their first date... it doesn't go too well. Adachi is so preoccupied with how strangers perceive them that he doesn't enjoy himself. He pushes Kuro away, which is sad. Honestly, it's a good thing Kuro is persistent because Adachi is really hurtful when he pushes Kuro away. If someone like Adachi treated me that way, my self-esteem wouldn't let me recover. I would feel way too hurt to be constantly rejected. I understand that Adachi is awkward, but he still needs to do better. It's lucky for him that Kurosawa is patient.

Kuro on the other hand, wants their first date to be memorable (since it's Adach's first date ever) that he doesn't consider how Adachi might feel going on a helicopter ride (not his thing!).

Of course, Adachi enjoys seeing poor Kuro fail (he's kinda mean, isn't he?) since Kuro comes off as perfect. But, at least Adachi decides to plan their next date so that he is more involved in the relationship. It goes better. Plus, he finally talks to Kurosawa and explains what he needs - time to adjust to being a couple.

If Adachi talked more and listened to Kuro's thoughts less, it would help their relationship. That being said, Adachi is starting to question whether or not to tell Kuro the truth, that he can read his mind. He feels guilty. I wonder if he will tell him in the next volume.

In this volume, we see lots of jealous Kuro who hates it when anyone gets close to Adachi. We also have Kuro confess his affections for Adachi, but then Kuro runs away, thinking Adachi doesn't feel the same. Adachi struggles to figure out how he feels for Kuro, and things only get more complicated when Adachi mistakenly thinks that a girl in the office likes him too (she actually noticed Kuro's crush and is hoping they get together). In the end, Adachi figures it out and rushes to the airport in dramatic fashion to tell Kuro he likes him.

Overall, a fun read!

I sincerely enjoyed this book. I'm a fan of military space operas and it just hit the spot in unexpected ways. The story is written from the first person perspective of John Perry, an old man who made me laugh, smile, and wish for a happy marriage. The story is heartwarming at times and pulled at my heartstrings. It discusses love, friendship, family, life, death, science, oh so many things. By the end of it, I was reminiscing to earlier times before the war started when my favorite characters were still alive. RIP my dear old farts.

I really liked this book. It wasn't what I was expecting, it actually exceeded my expectations, so I would rate it as a 3.5. I've been curious about this series due to all the random YouTube recommendations with clips that occur later in the story. So I had an idea of the characters, but got something better.

Anyways, the story is about a girl that got kidnapped and then sold to work at the palace. She loves making medicine, and is the only maid that can read. She's discovered after she tries warning two concubines that they've been poisoned. A beautiful eunuch figures her out and then assigns her to work as a lady in waiting for the emperor's favored concubine.

Maomao is funny. Her only passion is making medicine, and she's like a mad scientist with her experiments (all on herself too). She's immune to many poisons, including the eunuch that discovered her, Jinshi.

Jinshi is a “eunuch” (I saw spoilers so I know he's not) and very attractive. He's accustomed to men and woman pursuing him sexually and romantically. He's beautiful, but Maomao isn't interested. Instead, she's repulsed whenever he tries to charm her. She looks at him with disdain whenever he flirts with her, and because of this, he only continues to do so mercilessly for fun. Thankfully, his aid, Gao Shun, another eunuch, warns her not to look at him like that because it delights Jinshin and the ladies can't function around him (most annoying for him lol). She's catching on to his game.

I was hesitant to begin this story because it takes place in a palace. I've seen bits and pieces of the drama “Ruyi's Royal Love”, which is a story regarding the lives of the wives and concubines of the emperor. It's a cut-throat series where poisoning, death, and backstabbing is the norm as they try to gain the emperor's favor and quite heavy. However, this story is more light-hearted, despite there being a poisoning off the bat in the beginning lol (the culprit was a powder, not a person).

I've seen some clips already so I know that drama awaits later in the series, but for now, I'll continue reading as it's definitely fun and I like the characters.

This volume was better - a 3.5 rating. There's still a lot of the same stuff about Adachi reading Kuro's mind, but the scenarios are cuter, including a trip to the hot springs. I like the scene where Ada is upset that Kuro is “perfect” until he realizes that he's insecure and not. Kuro's thoughts about going slow and wooing Ada since he's inexperienced with relationships is very endearing. Kuro visiting Ada when he's sick at home is also sweet. Kuro is just sweet in general and Ada is super lucky to have a guy like that interesting in him.

I enjoyed reading this book. What I liked most was how descriptive Lewis was when describing the different settings and how Narnia itself was created. The writing was very rich and I could see everything vividly and beautifully. The characters are also interesting, and it does an excellent job of setting the stage for the following novels.