Lenni Reviews: “Marriage Toxin” Vol. 14, by Joumyaku & Mizuki Yoda

(Image Source)

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

Gero and Chinatsu face the self proclaimed head of the Iron Clan, Chuto as they continue to protect the former head, Nabe.

After they complete their assignment with Nabe, Gero is summoned to his family home with Kinosaki. Here, we get to meet Kiara, the head of the Poison Clan. So, there are some interesting things brewing. The mission with Nabe brings Gero and Chinatsu closer, but Gero’s clan is cooking up something sinister. I’m guessing this forced marriage is a cogs in a bigger machine that Gero has no idea about and isn’t as simple as there just needs to be an heir.

And if anyone hurts Kinosaki, I will riot. 3.9 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

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

(Image Source)

*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.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

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

(Image Source)

*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.

Follow me on Bloglovin.

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

(Image Source)

*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.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

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

(Image Source)

*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.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

 

Lenni Reviews: “Steel of the Celestial Shadows” Vol. 10, by Daruma Matsuura

(Image Source)

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

Aki and Tsuki travel to the bowels of the village where those who have harmed others when their powers manifested are sealed away. They want to enlist their help to finally defeat Toki.

Oh, this volume has so many twists and turns. It feels like it’s over way too soon. While it may not be battle heavy, there’s plenty of plot to chew on. We get some interesting intrigue around what Aki has seen in her visions, as well as Toki’s backstory. She’s a classic twisted child villain and unapologetically evil. This series continues to explore all these angles I’d never considered and I’m really enjoying it. 4 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Lenni Reviews: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 6, by Kazune Kawahara

(Image Source)

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

Sae and Koki are officially dating and the whole school has opinions about it.

We also dip into Koki’s backstory about his feelings for Sae. We’re at the stage of a YA romance where they’re figuring out what dating actually means for them. Sae is overthinking things and most of this is Koki remembering how long he’s wanted to be with Sae. Since they’re fumbling a bit, there isn’t much progress. Not a bad volume, especially if you’re looking forward to finally seeing these two together. 3.5 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Lenni Reviews: “Let’s Do It Already!” Vol. 9 by Aki Kusaka

(Image Source)

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

Keiichiro is given an ultimatum and is disowned for one year. While Yuri is happy they can live together, it is a major adjustment.

I’m sure at this point, being disowned temporarily doesn’t really matter because clearly, these two are so in love, these punishments are not really punishments. The family is trying to enforce their rules while also being pulled into the orbit of this lovey-dovey couple. As this is the last volume, it wraps up on a happy note, and I’m glad it ended here. There are only so many times the dance of “we have to abide by the rules, we didn’t, fallout, resolution” can only go on so long before it gets old. This is a cute series. If you like YA romance, it’s not a bad one to pick up, especially if you like it silly. 3 out of 5.

 

Follow me on Blog Lovin.

Lenni Reviews: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 5, by Kazune Kawahara

(Image Source)

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

The closing of the school festival is a fireworks show, an ideal setting for Sae to confess her feelings.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say if you’re familiar with this genre at all and you’ve read through this series so far, (spoilers) that you know they’ve both had feelings for each other the whole time, right? So, with everything out in the open, where do we go from here? Will there be more drama, will we have more flashbacks to their past, or will we just bask in their awkward cuteness? I dunno about the flashbacks but it’s all sweet enough either way to enjoy this volume and look forward to the next. 4 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

Lenni Reviews: “Colette Decides to Die” Vol. 7, by Alto Yukimura

(Image Source)

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

Now that feelings are confessed, the skeletons and the underworld are all in a tizzy. Meanwhile, Aries and Athena continue a long-standing rivalry.

While Ares and Athena’s duel takes up a good chunk of this volume, it’s a fun bit of comedy. I think including Colette in it was a bit forced? I get that she’s the main character, but I would have liked to see the competition without her involvement, more than there already was. Just to get more of the gods interacting, maybe a bit of backstory about this rivalry from Athena’s perspective. Something to widen the world a bit now that Hades and Colette are officially a couple. It’s not bad, I was just hoping for something a little different. 4 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.