Book Reviews

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Lenni Reviews: “Not Your Idol” Vol. 1 by Aoi Makino

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Former member of the idol group Pure Club, Nina Kamiyama, now dresses as a boy after being assaulted at a fan event. She now lives as a normal student, having retired from the group until one of her classmates, Hikaru, finds out who she is.

If you’re triggered by victim blaming, maybe skip this one. While this isn’t exactly subtle when talking about harassment or assault, it works fine. This is also critiquing idol culture, but I get the feeling that this will be more about Nina dealing with her trauma and eventually finding out who attacked her. Because not only is he still at large, but he is still stalking her. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Taika’s Reason” Vol. 1 by Paru Itagaki

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is suggested for mature readers.

To address the problem of declining birth rates, the Pet Humanization Policy is established, turning pets into humanoids. When Ao’s pet pitbull undergoes the procedure, she is unsure if he is behind a gruesome attack.

This is gorier than I ever anticipated. I thought this would be a goofier version of Fool Night, but instead of plants, it’s pets. I’d get some laughs over the humanized Taika adjusting to being in a human body with dog senses, but nah. There is death and gore. Major whiplash. I love how Paru Itagaki seriously explores the implications of this world and the darker implications of “what if our pets were human?” I feel the art is a bit too sketchy in some places. I feel like “sloppy” is too mean a term for it but it takes some extra effort to understand some scenes. But I’m into it. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rooster Fighter” Vol. 10 by Shu Sakuratani

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Morio and Chicken Little head to the ocean while Keisuke and his group make a journey into underground caves on a quest to enter the Inner Yolk.

This is a lot of lore about the eggs and getting ready to train with whichever element the members of the group match with. I love that Elizabeth has her own side quest that’s relevant and shows off her skills. While this may feel a bit like filler, I’m hoping all this lore and training will have a good payoff. Chicken Little and Morio may be a complete side story, but their relationship is really sweet, and I enjoy it when they’re featured. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Alice in Borderland Retry” by Haro Aso

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Ryohei is a clinical psychologist working as a school counselor. He’s married to Yuzuha and they are expecting their first child. When everything seems perfect, Ryohei is thrown into Borderland once again after a tragic accident.

This is an interesting way to try and return to this concept and see our main character again but I think I would have loved to dive into why people are thrust into a death game after accidents or why Ryohei in particular has the type of mind to gravitate to death games when under duress. It was cool to read but unless you’re a big fan and are dying to read more from this universe (or complete your collection), I’m not sure you have to grab this one. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Firefly Wedding” Vol. 7, by Oreco Tachibana

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Shinpei teams up with the other swordsmen on the island to get rid of Yanagida but despite this, the true mastermind behind Satoko’s abduction arrives to tear them apart.

While the fight scenes are fun, Shinpei and Satoko are just sweet to watch. Through them, we learn more about Shinpei’s childhood but it’s told with the same straightforward way as everything he talks about. Nothing matters to him but Satoko. As for her, she just needs to throw the whole family out. I know it’s not that simple and Shinpei has a litany of red flags but geez… She may be better off on Sex Worker Island with less awful people. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Hima-Ten!” Vol. 1 by Genki Ono

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Tenichi Imori is a high schooler who loves his side work cleaning houses. Cleaning is his passion. Things get interesting when a new student, Himari Yoshino turns out to be his newest client.

I love me a good low-stakes romantic comedy. I also enjoy that Himari isn’t an oppressive tsundere. She just doesn’t want the fact that her place is a mess to tarnish her professional image. She’s not mean or malicious, but we’ll see how long that lasts with a possible love triangle on the horizon. It’s also completely reasonable that someone who goes to school full-time, models, and runs a company would let chores fall by the wayside, bringing them together. I like this, it’s a decent start. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Seen” Vol. 2, by mmmｋ

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Eguchi and Ikezawa get ready for the school festival.

Yeah, it’s not often that I drop a book. I DNF’d this after they needed to change their underwear at the school festival. Sorry, I have to draw my line in the sand. I am no prude. I read and write some degenerate smut, but it’s degenerate smut with adults. No rating. I’m just done with this series.

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Lenni Reviews: “Bug Ego” Vol. 2, by ONE & Kiyoto Shitara

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Kokudo revealed universe-altering life hacks to Hitsujiya, who has been using them, but these two aren’t the only ones who are aware of these reality-warping tricks.

I don’t know if this is weirdly weird or weirdly brilliant. Other than how oddly wholesome Kokudo and Hitsujiya’s friendship is, I’m just along for the ride. Play around with a hack that helps you win a prize by tricking your brain into thinking a food you hate tastes good? Go for it. It’s so absurd, I’m just enjoying the journey. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Boy’s Abyss” Vol. 14 by Ryo Minenami

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is suggested for mature readers.

While Chako is in the hospital, Gen and Reiji finally deal with Yuko. Ms. Shiba still has plans to keep Reiji to herself.

I swear, Minenami takes the phrase “can it get any worse” as a dare. Spoilers and trigger warnings, but I was NOT prepared for the incest and pimping out children to pay debts. Throw the whole family out. Hell, the whole damn town. I said it before, and I’ll say it again, Reiji needs to change his name and run far away from all these horrible people and start fresh in a place where the only person who knows anything about his past is his therapist, who can’t legally tell anyone. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite” Vol. 8, by Julietta Suzuki

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Amanatsu rushes to find Rinya’s show, where Rinya is trying to convince Hina to finally bite Amanatsu, but to practice on him first.

Now that all the feelings are out there, Hina does need to decide if she will have Victor break his contract with Amanatsu and replace it with her own to protect him and cement their relationship. This is such a big deal that her father decides to get involved. This would have been super interesting if some other person hadn’t shown up instead. Kinda took the wind out of that reveal for me. Its like when a joke is funny but not in the right place and sucks the energy out of a scene. Not terrible, but very meh. 3 out of 5.

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