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Lenni Reviews: “Alice in Borderland” Vol. 5, by Haro Aso

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

This volume is the King of Clubs game with Kyuma; the musician who likes to be naked. There is also a side story with Chishiya in a game of black jack; showcasing just how calculating he is.

Why anyone gives Niragi more than half a braincell is beyond me. That’s easy for me to say as a reader, I guess, if I get people like that in real life, I pay them no mind. Other than that, the game in this volume is wild. It’s really tense and emotional, even in the side stories. And even if you’ve seen the show, the side stories give some more insight so it’s not just a rehash. Other than some deep strategy talk that feels super slow compared to the excitement of the game, this was a good volume. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fist of the North Star” Vol. 5, by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara

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

Ken journeys to a prison called Cassandra; The City of Wailing Demons in search for his brother, Toki. To find him, Ken must face off against the twisted and cruel Warden Uyghur and we meet another brother of Ken’s, Raoh; who wants nothing more than to rule over everyone and it seems nobody is powerful enough to stop him.

This plows right into the action and does not give the reader much downtime, making this volume fly by. Things surge forward in the plot, our main group is coming together, and there’s a bit of mystery brewing in the background. This one ends on a cliffhanger so I’m excited for more! 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Alice in Borderland” Vol. 2, by Haro Aso

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Feeling confident about the games, Arisu isn’t too worried about what may be next. But, with his friend’s visas expiring soon, they can’t be picky about the next game and soon find themselves in over their heads.

I don’t wanna spoil anything so I am being deliberately vague in my description above. I do have to day, when Usagi is added to the cast, the character development for her and Arisu is well done. They work well together and I like following them as they navigate this crazy world. Again, if you’ve seen the show, you know what’s going to happen but it’s still cool to experience this story in both formats. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fist of the North Star” Vol. 4, by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara

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

Ken is one of four who studied Hokuto Shinken and his older brother, Jagi, is now a vicious warlord impersonating Ken in an attempt to ruin his reputation. Ken goes on a journey to defeat Jagi and repair his good name.

I keep thinking Mamiya is going to do something in the plot other than swoon over Ken but unfortunately, no. She’s a good character and I’d like to see her bravery and ingenuity do more than have her end up as a hostage. But other than that, Ken and his brothers are a cool part of this story and the plot takes turns I did not expect, but it worked for me. Jagi is wrapped up quick and we move on to Toki, who I am much more curious about. This volume ends on a cliffhanger so, we’ll have to wait and see what his deal is. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fist of the North Star” Vol. 2, by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara

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

As Ken continues his journey through the wastelands, he faces evil wherever he sees it; including a man named Rei: The South Star on a mission to kill Ken.

Now, while I like this series, volume 2 is heading into repetition. Bad guy comes, does bad things, Ken kicks his ass, yay for good guys. The types of villains change but the end results are the same: Ken wins. It’s only a matter of how and how much collateral death happens around him. It’s alright but I’m hoping for some new things. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Testaments” by Margaret Atwood

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In this sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, we continue our journey through Gilead through a protester of the totalitarian regime in Canada, the daughter of a Commander, and Aunt Lydia, a Gilead enforcer.

I have to say, this is a lot less subtle than the first book and perhaps that’s a good thing. Some parts ramble a bit but it’s overall very harrowing and sad. One quote stuck out to me:

“Stupid, stupid, stupid: I’d believed alll that claptrap about life, liberty, democracy, and the rights of the individual I’d soaked up in law school. Those were eternal verities and we would always defend them. I’d depended on that, as if a magic charm.”

I read this months ago and this is sadly relevant still. It’s absolutely a pageturner and the writing is of course amazing. 4.5 out of 5. 

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Lenni Reviews: “Levius/est” Vol. 3 by Haruhisa Nakata

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

As Levius prepares for his fight with the current champion, his trainer Zack wonders if Levius could ever be prepared for a fight on this level. Meanwhile, Amethyst returns (from way back in volume one) with an unbeatable new fighter named Balthus; the brother of A.J. who claims she no longer remembers him.

I was wondering if and how Amethyst would make his return and manipulating A.J.’s brother after all she did to protect him was just the type of messed up thing I’d expect from Amethyst. This volume is a real page-turner with some interesting character development and again, the fighting is drawn incredibly well. I am super pumped for the final showdown with Amethyst! 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “An Unkindness of Ghosts” by Rivers Solomon

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

Aster, a surgeon, is assistant to Theo, the Surgeon General on board the spaceship Matilda. The ship is heavily segregated with darker-skinned poor people consigned to the lower decks and forced to toil in the service of the upper decks. It is only Aster’s medical talent and connection to Theo that allows her a level of freedom to grow her own plants and discover the mystery behind her mother’s disappearance when she was a baby via a journal she left behind.

While highly creative and interesting, I think this is another book that would have benefitted from being only in the third person to give me more of the world around our characters. Don’t get me wrong, the world-building is great but I found myself getting confused too often in this book.

However, I did enjoy this book. We have some great realistic characters, a dystopian future starship, an intriguing mystery to solve, and great integration of LGBTQI characters. It’s like Titan A.E. only with even more social commentary. I came to enjoy Aster’s attitude but I really wondered as to the fate of the Matilda. Mostly Theo since I enjoyed him as well. Maybe there will be more in this universe in the future? I sure hope so. 4.6 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Sea of Rust” by C. Robert Cargill

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

Humanity is gone. Robots are also going extinct. Two remaining AIs are readying to go to war to claim the remaining freebots to add to their collective consciousness. While out scavaging for parts, former caregiver bot, Brittle, gets swept up in an insane gamble to save the last freebots on Earth.

If you like movies like 9, this is the book for you. The plots are similar in that the machines win a war against humans and the world is in ruins; minus any definitive heroes. Every character is flawed and out for myself, making this book ooze the very essence of a bleak, dystopian world. And I loved the adventure.

One nitpick I would have is the robots are almost too human but reading about a bunch of bland, personality drained dolls bashing up against one another would be boring. So, I’m all for it. 4.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Sinless” by Sarah Tarkoff

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

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Grace lives in a world where your sins are physically manifest on your body. Pretty people are good and bad people have been punished with physical deformities and are ostracised from society until they earn forgiveness. When she encounters a boy seemingly immune to Punishment, it starts a chain of events forcing her to face some rather ugly truths about the world she lives it.

While an awesome concept, it feels immature in execution. About halfway through the book, Grace comes off to me as stumbling over the line between “flawed character” and “spoiled brat” so I found her hard to relate to; even as a YA novel. As things go on, (spoiler maybe??) she turns into the Queen of Being Kidnapped as this happens WAY too often in order to get her to the next plot point.

It’s a good thing this is essentially told by an older character because I am way more interested in adult Grace than teenage Grace. I almost want to read the next one with that want in mind. Despite not being thrilled with the protagonist, I still wanted to know what happened next enough to read through to the end. 2.7 out of 5.

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