historical fantasy

atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Steel of the Celestial Shadows” Vol. 9, by Daruma Matsuura

(Image Source)

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

In Yumiko Village, Aki’s hometown, one of the 12 Divine Generals, Toki: The Rooster, targets Aki.

Toki is a scary villain. I think in general, enemies that can puppet your loved ones and allies against you are creepy. We also get to see the time when Toki and Bokutake trained together, and this makes up a big chunk of the volume, bookended by Toki’s attack. She is genuinely terrifying, and I’m a little annoyed that there’s a cliffhanger (spoilers?) without a plan to stop her. Sure it’s the classic “evil child” trope, but it is effective. 4.9 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Steel of the Celestial Shadows” Vol. 8. by Daruma Matsuura

(Image Source)

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

Konosuke, Aki, and Bokutake need to recover from their battle with Dosuke and Katsu. They rest at Aki’s home village, where there are many people with special gifts live and train. But just because they are there to heal doesn’t mean they are safe.

We also get Bokutake’s heartbreaking back story but fuck this volume for ending on a cliffhanger right when things are getting good. It was the cruelest of endings after all the emotional turmoil! I mean, it’s good, I love where this is going, I love seeing Tsuki as a real part of the cast, but sometimes a cliffhanger doesn’t make you run to the next volume; it feels like a kick in the teeth. 4 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Steel of the Celestial Shadows” Vol. 7, by Daruma Matsuura

(Image Source)

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

Konosuke and the others arrive at the Sessho-seiki Tsuki just unsealed. The man who kidnapped her, Dosuke, is ready to fight to keep Tsuki to unseal more and Konosuke must face both him and his sister, Katsu to save her.

I gotta give it to Konosuke; he has a fantastic character arc so far. He went from this depressed, hopeless guy to someone who fights so hard against such powerful foes. It’s awesome. So much of this plot is driven by people who are at their lowest seeking powers that come with a terrible price and this volume has some great action, making this very thrilling. I’m looking forward to seeing how this goes, considering there’s some time jumps. I don’t know how that will factor in to the main plot and how diving so deep into the bad guy’s backstories will fit in? Maybe there will be some reincarnation shenanigans? We shall see. 4 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Steel of the Celestial Shadows” Vol. 6, by Daruma Matsuura

(Image Source)

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

Konosuke, Aki, and Bokutake face off against the gambler: Rabbit Eyed Tenroku.

This volume also includes Tenroku’s backstory of suffering through famine (this was pretty fucked up…) and Konosuke’s powers finally manifest. It’s a little spoilery but I enjoy the idea of having luck so good that it destroys everyone around you. Very Twilight Zone. There’s plenty of plot to chew on with Konosuke and Tsuki’s powers. What hooked me about this series was their relationship and I hope these new revelations don’t negatively impact what they’ve built so far. 4 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Elusive Samurai” Vol. 15, by Yusei Matsui

(Image Source)

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

Tokiyuki has joined forces with Kitabatake Akiie and Go-Daigo’s southern court to seize Kamakura again but faces a powerful enemy when they try to get through the pass.

Shina is still the MVP. She’s so interesting and cool that the story had to nerf her just to make room for the others. I’d read a side series about just her. The other good thing about this volume is Takauji getting a brain blast to compare being 17 in two vastly different time periods. I think the message rings hollow to prefer being in blood, life threatening battles as a child instead of living in relative peace and worrying about the future of your job with the advent of AI. I’d rather worry about AI than worry about getting shot at, honestly. This was overall okay. 3.5 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Dinghai Fusheng Records” Vol. 1, by Fei Tian Ye Xiang & Qian Er Bai

(Image Source)

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

Chen Xing is the last Great Exorcist who is fated to die on his 20th birthday. He is searching for his fated counterpart to save the world before that happens and meets Xiang Su about to be executed for a crime he didn’t commit.

This feels all over the place but not in a really bad way. It’s based on a novel and I think what’s happening is the parts of the novel that would work best in this new format are what’s included so it affects the pacing a bit. I had no problem rolling with it but this is an interesting fantasy that will tickle your BL itch as it’s focused on the fantasy story not tossing these two into bed right away. 3.7 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Steel of the Celestial Shadows” Vol. 5, by Daruma Matsuura

214151785

(Image Source)

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

Konosuke finds out the extent of Lord Haretake’s plans to unseal the sessho-seki stones. Now he’s out to get the next stone first and rescue Tsuki.

The gambling turn was… Certainly a choice that was made. It takes up a lot of time after getting me invested in Lord Haraetake since we went through the long back story and the major threat in this story. Yes, I know such little jaunts introduce new characters and explore the personalities of the existing ones but it still felt odd. It wasn’t bad just odd. I do hope Takeyama is around more. He is awesome. 4 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.