September ’18 Wrap Up

Hello friends! It’s now officially the end of September!

Which is slightly upsetting on my part because September is my favourite Autumn month.

I don’t know about you, but for me September screams “new beginnings” to me.  Which is why I figured that at the beginning of September my mind kept reaching for romance novels. Just….romance novels. Which is odd, but I guess it’s the whole coziness that had me lovey-dovey.

Yet I knew that I also wanted to read fantasy books! Characters who are assassins, or characters just finding out that they have magic themselves. Or maybe these characters are falling in love for the first time.. Maybe all three?! I had no idea. But my mind was screaming “romance romance romance” to me, and I had to try and oblige, hahaha.

I had no set TBR for September, but I did want to read a few of the books that I own. Whether that book I read would be a re-read, or reading the story for the first time.

The Water Dragon’s Bride Vol. 05, by Rei Toma | Manga Review #51

This review contains spoilers.

A modern-day girl gets whisked away to a strange land where she is sacrificed to a water dragon god!

In the blink of an eye, a modern-day girl named Asahi is whisked away from her warm and happy home and stranded in a strange and mysterious world where she meets a water dragon god!

Asahi is in danger because people want to use her to get the water dragon god’s power. She doesn’t want anyone to be hurt because of her, so she goes with the water dragon god and Subaru to pay a visit to the emperor. However, in exchange for his protection, the emperor makes an unexpected demand!

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In the last (4th) volume we saw that the Water Dragon posed as a human to not only become closer to Asahi, but to keep an eye on her and the people around her as well. That’s what I believe, anyway. It’s been so long since I read the fourth volume, haha.

Dawn of the Arcana Volume 03, by Rei Tōma | Manga Review #39

Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage…and a mysterious power!

Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, so no one expected there to be love between the unlikely couple. Nakaba is starting to warm to Caesar, however, and her attendant Loki doesn’t like this one bit. Are Loki and Caesar destined to be enemies? And how does Nakaba’s power, the Arcana of Time, fit into all this?

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I know I say this about every other manga review I write, but I genuinely kind of forgot what happened in the second volume. However! Reading the different volumes is like going on a different adventure with every volume I read. Same characters, same overall story, yet a new adventure every time.

I went into reading this third volume kind of remembering what happened in the second volume. Nevertheless, this story is a great one to read, and I enjoyed what happens in this one! I especially liked learning more of the Arcana.

One of the things I liked in this 3rd volume was that Caesar stood up for his wife (Nakaba) to his King Father and Queen Mother. Which is no small feat since everyone in the Belquat kingdom, save for Caesar himself, seems to hate Princess Nakaba.

I am enjoying the fact that Nakaba is trying her damndest to not fall in love with Caesar, yet her heart isn’t listening at all.

Seeing what Nakaba can do with the Arcana is amusing. I wonder what her powers will grow into, and how effective her seeing will be. Seeing Nakaba work through her own thoughts was entertaining, and honestly, a little sad as well. Like, I don’t like seeing Nakaba sad because she’s usually a bright girl.

Seeing the secrets of Belquat was puzzling, because now the reader (and the characters) know what is really going on.

What happens at the end of this book is something that I adore about this series. — I enjoy getting to see Caesar act like a normal kid. I don’t actually know how old these characters are, but I do know that they’re highly entertaining and that I’m enjoying getting to know their stories.

This Akhil character is interesting. I wonder how his character will play out for the rest of the series.

My overall thoughts on this third volume is that the story seems to be making smooth progress. Of course there are bumps and lumps throughout the story to make things interesting, but I’m enjoying those as well.

I give Dawn of the Arcana Volume 03, 3.5 stars!

Happy Reading!
— Adele

The Water Dragon’s Bride Volume 04, by Rei Tōma | Manga Review #38

A modern-day girl gets whisked away to a strange land where she is sacrificed to a water dragon god!

In the blink of an eye, a modern-day girl named Asahi is whisked away from her warm and happy home and stranded in a strange and mysterious world where she meets a water dragon god!

Because the water dragon god wants to interact with Asahi more, he descends to the village in the guise of a human. Asahi’s friend Subaru has mixed feelings about this but joins them on a journey to the capital. What adventures are in store, and how will their fates change?

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I really didn’t know what to expect before I started reading this fourth volume, because I had forgotten the details of the first few volumes. However! I’m glad that the story takes off where the third volume ended, and I’m happy that the story is as interesting as ever!

Reading Asahi’s story is immensely satisfying. Especially with how the story is progressing (like I’ve said).

gosh, there was trouble again in this fourth volume. I didn’t like seeing how one of the capital’s priestesses caused all of the trouble, but I am pretty proud of how Asahi handled it all!

I’m anticipating (and predicting) that in the next few volumes, we will see the characters that were introduced in this volume again. I’m quite sure they’ll be causing quite a bit of trouble!

I give this fourth volume, 3 stars.

Happy Reading!
— Adele

June 2018 Wrap Up + Mini Book Haul

Hello, friends! How are you doing? — Today’s post is my Wrap Up post for June. We’re already 6 months into the year! The older I get, the faster time flies past me.

My TBR for June was actually only 3 books. These books were Sea of Change by Kelley Armstrong, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, and Eve by Anna Carey.

The first week of June, I actually participated in a readathon, dubbed #goatathon, over on tumblr! Three of the four books that I had planned on reading during the Goatathon were the books I marked as my June TBR! So that worked hand-in-hand for me.

Dawn of the Arcana Volume 02, by Rei Toma | Manga Review #34

Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, but things take a surprising turn when Caesar finds himself falling for his strange wife! Caesar tries to get Nakaba to return his feelings, but she maintains that he is her enemy and that she hates him. So when Nakaba has a vision of Caesar getting killed, will she say anything to save him?

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I genuinely didn’t know what to expect going into this second volume, since it feels like it’s been an age since I last read the first volume of Dawn of the Arcana. So I was quite nervous for the characters honestly!

The plot escalates quite quickly! Everything about this story engages you in the story. From the art work, to the characters, the pace of the story. As well as the fact that we see more of a development in the overall story within these 4 chapters.

It was different seeing a known passive character to act so vengeful. Something about another character has me concerned, since they play a pretty vital role in the story. I also don’t like that there seems to be a love triangle going to happen? Anywho…

What I liked about this second volume was that these chapters were incredibly fast to read. But these few chapters are also really engaging. While reading I could easily palce myself in the story and watch everything play out like a movie.

I give this second volume of Dawn of the Arcana, 2 stars!

Happy Reading!
— Adele

The Water Dragon’s Bride Volume 03 by Rei Tōma | Manga Review #32

This review contains spoilers.

A modern-day girl gets whisked away to a strange land where she is sacrificed to a water dragon god!

In the blink of an eye, a modern-day girl named Asahi is whisked away from her warm and happy home and stranded in a strange and mysterious world where she meets a water dragon god!

Unable to return home, Asahi grows into a lovely young woman. As a priestess, she must spend time with the water dragon god for a ritual every year, but because of her connection to the water dragon god’s power, someone kidnaps her! Will Asahi be able to escape unscathed?

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The story in this third volume of The Water Dragon’s Bride actually moves pretty quickly. There were some new characters that were introduced and I’m sure we’ll see again in the fourth volume.

I think what I like about this third volume the most is that this book is told as they are teenagers!!! Asahi and Subaru, that is. Everyone else is a little older as well. But the story, for the most part, is still very much Asahi, Subaru, and the Water God.

What I didn’t like about this story was that Asahi was kidnapped. But, it was rather interesting. As an afterthought though, it kind of feels like the story is just getting thrown together.

What I enjoyed about this third volumes was that the Water God is slowly being more intrigued by Asahi. I hope that one day the Water God will love Asahi. I hope that’s the way that this manga will go.. I genuinely enjoyed reading that the Water God has in their own way developed feelings for Asahi.

I actually quite like the Tree God, too. Tree God is honestly more caring and it shows. Actually come to think of it, all of these Gods are really well planned out. What they each represent is how they act as well.

I’m very pleased with how the story is going. I like how involved in the story I feel, when I’m reading the books. Though I’m kind of saddened by the fact that the series isn’t close to finishing like i thought it was. After I read the fourth one, I have to wait even longer for the 5th one to come out in English, and for my library to acquire them.

I give this 3rd volume 3.5 stars!

Happy Reading!
— Adele

May 2018 Wrap Up & Book Haul

Hello! Today’s post will be my monthly wrap up for May. As you can see by the title, haha. I also ended up buying quite a few books, so check those out as well!

Knowing that I probably wouldn’t stick to it, I actually came up with a TBR this month!

My TBR for May included: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas, Under the Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wendig, The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima, Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson, and finally, A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab.

I ended up reading way more books that I thought I would’ve this month, since May is typically one of the busiest months of the year for me. Yet I ended up reading 08 books, and 10 manga. Not bad if I do say so myself!

The Water Dragon’s Bride Volume 02, by Rei Tōma | Manga Review #28

 

This review contains spoilers. 

A modern-day girl gets whisked away to a strange land where she is sacrificed to a water dragon god!

In the blink of an eye, a modern-day girl named Asahi is whisked away from her warm and happy home and stranded in a strange and mysterious world where she is sacrificed to a water dragon god! What plans are in store for her, and what will happen when she comes face to face with this god?

After a ritual in the village leaves her hovering on the brink of death, Asahi is rescued by the power of the water dragon god! Has he awakened to feelings of compassion, or does Asahi need to flee this treacherous world before something even worse happens to her?

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I was quite intrigued by the first volume so I started reading this second volume right away. However, quickly into the story I saw that this book was heading in a direction that I didn’t even foresee. There were quite the plot twists!

April 2018 Wrap Up & MINI Book Haul

I didn’t know what April would bring, reading wise. For the first week of April I only read one book, and that’s kind of out of character for me, since I typically bing-read for the first week of the month. I was reading though. Just not books, nor manga. I discovered Webtoons! I’ve been really enjoying it, and getting to know more art styles, stories and characters. I’ve had a blast so far, using that app.

Hello! Welcome to my monthly, end of the month Wrap-Up & -sometimes- Book Haul where I talk about my readings, posts, as well as talk a little about what has happened in my life in the spans of the month.

Books Read: 16