YA romance

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Lenni Reviews: “Rainbows After Storms” Vol. 12, by Luka Kobachi

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

Nanoha decides that vocational school in Osaka is the path for her, but that means Chidori’s school in Tokyo is three hours away. While making plans, they enjoy the last school festival for the literature club.

While this volume moves quickly from point to point – we’re up to November again by the end of it – it’s really an adorable set of slice-of-life stories. We get a bit more backstory about when Nanoha first saw Chidori and was trying to befriend her. Our main couple is surprisingly mature and in love. It’s very sweet. However, it was strange to see Chidori with long hair. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Hima-Ten!” Vol. 3, by Genki Ono

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

Tenichi goes to Kanna’s place to clean and he ends up going shopping with Himari and Kanna. There is also the school camping trip.

This is cute but I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into a harem manga. Tenichi is just a decent dude and it’d be a shame that just being decent would be enough to have ALL the girls fawning over him. But, it is nice to see Himari and Kanna’s relationship. They’re co-workers in a way and have the common situation of being driven in their careers (even tough it’s still damn creepy for a teenager to be a pinup model). They seem to be in a civil and supportive relationship and I’d be happy to see that explored more. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Seaside Where Dragon Boys Dwell” Vol. 1, by Asato Shima

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

After her father’s death, Mizuka moves in with her uncle to a town know for Dragon Folk. Her uncle has another boy boarding with him, a Dragon Born named Tenshin and despite her cheerful efforts. he remains aloof and cold.

This is really about two outsiders finding a place where they can be comfortable together. We have a bit of lore about the dragon children but the core of this is Mizuka and Tenshin becoming a little found family with her uncle, Yoshinaru, who is a goofy, well meaning scientist. The art is beautiful and creative in the way it shows the dragon transformations and how they fit into the modern world. It’s sweet so far and I look forward to see what else is explored here. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Hima-Ten!” Vol. 2, by Genki Ono

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

Tenichi is still cleaning for Himari, but as he has a crush on Honoka, he goes on a date with her.

Even though Tenichi is crushing on Honoka, the dating pool is heading into harem territory. I don’t know if I like that as it doesn’t seem to quite fit the tone we’re established, but we shall see. We introduce Kanna, a model Tenichi runs into who happens to be friends with Himari. And when I say model, this HIGH SCHOOLER does sexy pinup work. They could have picked something more appropriate for Kanna like maybe a regular model? Another business owner like Himari? Hell, make her a secret gaming v-tuber or something. It’s a sizable stain on this previously silly, fun series. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 7, by Kazune Kawahara

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

Sae and Kamishiro are headed into winter break and rumors of how other couples will be spending their time makes Sae wonder what the next step in their relationship will be.

It’s silly to see them fumble around. And in the “aww, you young people” type of silly. They’re almost too wholesome, so we have Sui trying to confess to Ayukawa to provide some conflict. It’s all still pretty low stakes and the characters are mostly levelheaded for teenagers. 3 out of 5 because it’s cute, but not doing anything new.

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Lenni Reviews: “Daydream Darling” Vol. 1, by Io Sakisaka

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

Iroha Hosho avoids chatting with her classmates and spends her time daydreaming outside with her only confidant, Sou Akutsu. One day, another student sees her outside, revealing the secret Iroha had been keeping.

This can be like Komi, but Iroha is very different. And so far, the cast is kinda fun! Nobody’s being a bully or weird at all. They’re pretty mature, actually. For a second, I thought this would have a darker vibe but it’s a nice slice of life with a clear budding romance in the works.

As for why I thought this was gonna get dark. *SPOILERS* the reason is that at the start the Sou Iroha is talking to is in her head. He’s the daydream. I thought we were gonna go full on psychosis but nah. Iroha is just an awkward people pleaser who needs to be more confident. 3.7 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: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 6, by Kazune Kawahara

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*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.

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

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*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.

 

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

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*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.

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