Ich lese auf deutsch und englisch, und bin für alle möglichen Genres offen. Meine liebste Stimmung: liebevoll (besonders naturverbunden oder tierlieb), unhinged (lässig verrückt/gestört mutig), queer, melancholisch, komisch/merkwürdig, sensibel, langsam. (Nicht alles auf einmal, aber wäre interessant, hihi.) Ich lese hauptsächlich Mangas/Comics/GNs, aber gerne auch text-basierte Bücher ab und zu.
I read in english and german, and am open for all kinds of genres. My favorite vibes: lovely (especially nature-loving or animal-kind), unhinged, queer, melancholy, weird, soft, slow. (Not all at once, but would be interesting hehe.) I mostly read mangas/comics/GNs, but occasionally also love to dive into text-only books.
Review of 'I Want to Be a Wall, Vol. 1' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Really cute!
I thought it’d be more awkward between them, but they’re actually managing pretty well. Love their healthy communication and that they respect each other’s boundaries. (Particularly Gakurouta respecting Yuriko’s aromantic-asexuality.)
I’m just confused as to why Yuriko doesn’t want Gakurouta to read BL Mangas/novels? Especially since he’s gay anyways. 🤨
-09.04.24
Really cute!
I thought it’d be more awkward between them, but they’re actually managing pretty well. Love their healthy communication and that they respect each other’s boundaries. (Particularly Gakurouta respecting Yuriko’s aromantic-asexuality.)
I’m just confused as to why Yuriko doesn’t want Gakurouta to read BL Mangas/novels? Especially since he’s gay anyways. 🤨
Yuriko and Gakurouta recount their first meeting and proposal to a curious Sousuke. Their first …
Review of 'I Want to Be a Wall, Vol. 2' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
Aah I’m so in love with their relationship!
I love the aro-ace and platonic love rep!
As well as the platonic crush and that one platonic “jealousy” storyline.
I love how sweet and comfortable they are with each other.
I love seeing them growing closer and learning new things about their views of life. Especially the last chapter with Gabriel and on their trip/pilgrimage!
I’m a bit envious of Yuriko tbh. Her platonic love life is everything I’ve always wished for my younger self too. I mean, I still kinda do, but especially my teenage self would’ve needed these type of friends. That type of platonic intimacy.
As much as I’d want for Gakurouta to get his feelings reciprocated and be happy with his one and only crush, I feel like Sosuke doesn’t deserve him. <spoiler>There was one panel that hinted Sosuke might fall for Gakurouta (thanks to …
Aah I’m so in love with their relationship!
I love the aro-ace and platonic love rep!
As well as the platonic crush and that one platonic “jealousy” storyline.
I love how sweet and comfortable they are with each other.
I love seeing them growing closer and learning new things about their views of life. Especially the last chapter with Gabriel and on their trip/pilgrimage!
I’m a bit envious of Yuriko tbh. Her platonic love life is everything I’ve always wished for my younger self too. I mean, I still kinda do, but especially my teenage self would’ve needed these type of friends. That type of platonic intimacy.
As much as I’d want for Gakurouta to get his feelings reciprocated and be happy with his one and only crush, I feel like Sosuke doesn’t deserve him. <spoiler>There was one panel that hinted Sosuke might fall for Gakurouta (thanks to the common “let’s pretend we’re dating to make your crush jealous” trope, basically), but Gakurouta is actually happy now. While he surely would be happier if he hadn’t had to suffer from unrequited love, Sosuke doesn’t seem that great. Or deserving of Gakurouta’s love. </spoiler>
<spoiler>Sosuke is a player and doesn’t seem he really cared about Gakurouta much in their 10 years. Only kept crawling back to him when he broke up with his girlfriend. I guess he got used to it and took him for granted, thinking he’d always be by his side, but now that Gakurouta's married, he’s realizing his happiness had been right in front of his eyes all along... </spoiler>
Idk.
That cliffhanger at the end tho...
I liked that one panel that (unintentionally?) explained the Manga's title. I've been wondering why it's called like that, when they aren't awkward with each other at all. Hence why I also imagined the story differently. But I guess it makes sense. xD
-09.04.24
9-11 is a collection of essays by and interviews with Noam Chomsky first published in …
Review of '9-11' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Der Start in die Geschichte war ganz gut. Ich hab lang nicht mehr ein Buch aus der auktorialen Sicht gelesen (außer Comics, meine jetzt aber speziell Romane), weshalb das auch mal wieder cool war.
Wundervoll ist die Repräsentation an Behinderungen bei den Nebencharakteren und der positive Umgang damit.
Genauso find ich es schön, dass der Autor sich für ein „einfaches“ Cover entschieden und was eigenes seinem eigenen Buch gegeben hat, das zwar nicht das ist, was Fans geil macht (vom künstlerischen Level her), andererseits es von den extrem detaillierten Covern hervorstechen lässt. Zwar traurig, dass man das heutzutage dazusagen muss, aber die meisten Autoren würden leider nicht mal dran denken, selbst einen Stift in die Hand zu legen, und greifen lieber zu seelenlosen Mashup-Maschinen, die auf Diebstahl basieren… also Pluspunkt dafür.
Wer klassische Shounen-Animes bzw. Light Novels mag, wie zB Naruto, für den ist es absolut was.
Mein AniManga Geschmack …
Der Start in die Geschichte war ganz gut. Ich hab lang nicht mehr ein Buch aus der auktorialen Sicht gelesen (außer Comics, meine jetzt aber speziell Romane), weshalb das auch mal wieder cool war.
Wundervoll ist die Repräsentation an Behinderungen bei den Nebencharakteren und der positive Umgang damit.
Genauso find ich es schön, dass der Autor sich für ein „einfaches“ Cover entschieden und was eigenes seinem eigenen Buch gegeben hat, das zwar nicht das ist, was Fans geil macht (vom künstlerischen Level her), andererseits es von den extrem detaillierten Covern hervorstechen lässt. Zwar traurig, dass man das heutzutage dazusagen muss, aber die meisten Autoren würden leider nicht mal dran denken, selbst einen Stift in die Hand zu legen, und greifen lieber zu seelenlosen Mashup-Maschinen, die auf Diebstahl basieren… also Pluspunkt dafür.
Wer klassische Shounen-Animes bzw. Light Novels mag, wie zB Naruto, für den ist es absolut was.
Mein AniManga Geschmack ist allerdings schon sehr „anders“, weswegen mich Klassiker wie Naruto und alles ähnliche an Storys nicht besonders anspornen. Ich mochte zwar immer wieder einige Kleinigkeiten, im Großen und Ganzen war es aber leider ein eher langatmiges Leseerlebnis. Wie gesagt mochte ich einzelne Aspekte (zB die Freundschaften, einige Messages bezüglich dem Helfen, behinderte Rep.), aber es gab immer wieder etwas, das mich nervte und einfach zu sehr „klassisch Shounen-Anime“ war (zB immer gewinnender Protagonist, Kampfszenen in gefühlt jedem Kapitel, Frauen sind untergeben).
Ebenfalls sollte am Schreibstil noch geschliffen (manchmal fragliche Begriffe verwendet) und auch die Rechtschreibung sowie Grammatik besser überprüft werden. Hat sich schon immer wieder sehr gehäuft.
Dem Inhalt würd ich nicht mehr als 3 Sterne geben, aber durch das Cover sind es dann 3,5.
Trotzdem werde ich bei den nächsten Teilen noch vorbeischauen. Vielen Dank für das Reziexemplar.
Review of 'Moon on a Rainy Night 4' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
The backstory of Kanon and Ayano has now been fully revealed. Her first appearance made it seem like she's just a mean bitch, but her story was actually quite heavy. Which doesn't really "justify" the way she acted in chapter 3, but makes it more understanding.
Truly amazing how optimistic Saki is and how she sees the good in everyone & everything.
With the festival coming up, Saki's and Kanon's class choir is planning to perform, which brings back bad memories of Kanon's last performance in middle school. She wants to participate, but also doesn't want to cause trouble for everyone. A previous antagonist unintentionally helps her with that, which was great but also sus. Not gonna spoiler, but I hope the situation will be cleared up in the next volume! It was quite sudden after all.
I also love the song choice for the choir, especially the thought the …
The backstory of Kanon and Ayano has now been fully revealed. Her first appearance made it seem like she's just a mean bitch, but her story was actually quite heavy. Which doesn't really "justify" the way she acted in chapter 3, but makes it more understanding.
Truly amazing how optimistic Saki is and how she sees the good in everyone & everything.
With the festival coming up, Saki's and Kanon's class choir is planning to perform, which brings back bad memories of Kanon's last performance in middle school. She wants to participate, but also doesn't want to cause trouble for everyone. A previous antagonist unintentionally helps her with that, which was great but also sus. Not gonna spoiler, but I hope the situation will be cleared up in the next volume! It was quite sudden after all.
I also love the song choice for the choir, especially the thought the author put in. I didn't even know the background and message of that song!
Review of 'Girl I Want Is So Handsome!' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
Quite unexpected! I guess I read a little too many Mangas with unbalanced pace, so I'm actually surprised the author had it balanced it here. It started fast, was fast in the middle and ended fast as well. Nice! I mean, there were still slow moments, so it's not like it was constantly going back and forth. Overall the pace was balanced, without spending too much time on unnecessary drama. There were still lots of misunderstands, but got cleared up quickly.
I also imagined the story a little different. I thought it would be typical Manga comedy with thousand chapters, where the MC desperately tries to approach their crush, but just ends up failing in a hilarious way. Basically what I think of when someone says "rom-com". While there was still basic comedy of AniManga with the nose-bleeding, for example, the author did not "waste" many chapters on the approach. …
Quite unexpected! I guess I read a little too many Mangas with unbalanced pace, so I'm actually surprised the author had it balanced it here. It started fast, was fast in the middle and ended fast as well. Nice! I mean, there were still slow moments, so it's not like it was constantly going back and forth. Overall the pace was balanced, without spending too much time on unnecessary drama. There were still lots of misunderstands, but got cleared up quickly.
I also imagined the story a little different. I thought it would be typical Manga comedy with thousand chapters, where the MC desperately tries to approach their crush, but just ends up failing in a hilarious way. Basically what I think of when someone says "rom-com". While there was still basic comedy of AniManga with the nose-bleeding, for example, the author did not "waste" many chapters on the approach. They actually go on a date already in the first volume.
But I'm not disappointed at all. It was a fresh breath for the genre.
What I didn't entirely like was that the main couple doesn't have that much chemistry... it's not non-existent or anything, but you probably wouldn't guess right away that they're together, if you were in a room with them. But that also kinda makes it more realistic?
On the other hand, the side couple was nice. Also a bit unexpected, as they had main-couple-energy.
Review of 'Moon on a Rainy Night 2' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
Quite a melancholic voume, which is why it gets 5 stars. If you've been following my reviews, you might've noticed that I'm a sucker for melancholy. And while it is sometimes a love-hate relationship with melancholic tropes, at the end of the day, I love it.
I won't spoiler what exactly the melancholic bits were – go read it for yourself! – but they were well done. Something I've more or less experienced myself (not in the exact same way, but similar), so it was easy to relate to all of the characters present. It's amazing and scary how difficult the topic can be. Though it wouldn't be that difficult, if society weren't so ableist and made life easier for disabled people.
Which the author also discusses. It's not even just disabled people who have it hard. Pretty much anyone who doesn't fall into the heteronormative way of living has …
Quite a melancholic voume, which is why it gets 5 stars. If you've been following my reviews, you might've noticed that I'm a sucker for melancholy. And while it is sometimes a love-hate relationship with melancholic tropes, at the end of the day, I love it.
I won't spoiler what exactly the melancholic bits were – go read it for yourself! – but they were well done. Something I've more or less experienced myself (not in the exact same way, but similar), so it was easy to relate to all of the characters present. It's amazing and scary how difficult the topic can be. Though it wouldn't be that difficult, if society weren't so ableist and made life easier for disabled people.
Which the author also discusses. It's not even just disabled people who have it hard. Pretty much anyone who doesn't fall into the heteronormative way of living has it difficult. Which sucks. But maybe this series can make a difference?
~
As for the romantic storyline, it's going quite well. Saki has less confidence when it comes to her crush – although that's due to the melancholic bits –, but Kanon on the other hand is getting more warm and comfortable with her. They held hands and had a movie date! As well as lots of communication. <3
Review of 'Moon on a Rainy Night 1' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Kanon and Saki are seat neighbors, who just have started high school.
Kanon is hearing impaired, but because she only lost her hearing at age 5, she can talk normally and afterwards focused on learning to read lips, which is why she doesn't communicate in sign language. This also leads to people not fully believing her that she's deaf, which makes high school even harder than it already is for any other average teenager.
Saki, a relatively normal teenage girl, bumped into Kanon the day before and because Kanon was so kind to her, she developed a crush (on top of finding Kanon beautiful). It's at first a surprise to her when she learns Kanon is deaf, but that doesn't stop her from trying to befriend her. If only Kanon weren't so closed-off...
~
Wonderful portrayal of, "yes, I'm disabled but that doesn't mean I can't be independent". It's also …
Kanon and Saki are seat neighbors, who just have started high school.
Kanon is hearing impaired, but because she only lost her hearing at age 5, she can talk normally and afterwards focused on learning to read lips, which is why she doesn't communicate in sign language. This also leads to people not fully believing her that she's deaf, which makes high school even harder than it already is for any other average teenager.
Saki, a relatively normal teenage girl, bumped into Kanon the day before and because Kanon was so kind to her, she developed a crush (on top of finding Kanon beautiful). It's at first a surprise to her when she learns Kanon is deaf, but that doesn't stop her from trying to befriend her. If only Kanon weren't so closed-off...
~
Wonderful portrayal of, "yes, I'm disabled but that doesn't mean I can't be independent". It's also great that it shows being deaf is a spectrum and, once again, things aren't just black & white.
I did hope for SL representation, since there are already a ton of talking characters in Manga, and simply not many who speak in Sign Language. On top of that, it isn't depressing like "Koe no Katachi", so it would've been awesome to have that rep. But on the other hand, it's also cool to have a disabled character, who can totally take care of themselves and doesn't let their disability take the better of them. (Well, more or less. She is quite closed off from people due to being bullied in the past, but overall she's quite confident.)
It's nice how Saki already seems to know she's lesbian and is very okay with having a crush on Kanon. Kanon sadly seems to be quite heteronormative, and I hope she's not homophobic...
Overall recommended, though. Will go "straight" (;) to reading volume 2!
Review of 'Moon on a Rainy Night 3' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Well, that was quite melancholic at the end again (which was both great and not), but overall this volume had much more of a sad vibe.
Saki still is effected by what Rinne said, and at the same time also by her past. There isn't much revealed yet, but from what is teased, it's possible Saki had a crush on a girl before and it didn't end well. With homophobia/heteronormativity involved.
Like I said, I do love melancholy (like in the last chapter of this volume), but not when it becomes overly sad. Not even in a depressing way, but more in a "why does society have to be so close-minded" way. And at some point that can get a bit annoying, so 4 stars again.
The author and artist do overall a great job in portraying these heavy matters. I'm just not a fan of homophobia, especially when it …
Well, that was quite melancholic at the end again (which was both great and not), but overall this volume had much more of a sad vibe.
Saki still is effected by what Rinne said, and at the same time also by her past. There isn't much revealed yet, but from what is teased, it's possible Saki had a crush on a girl before and it didn't end well. With homophobia/heteronormativity involved.
Like I said, I do love melancholy (like in the last chapter of this volume), but not when it becomes overly sad. Not even in a depressing way, but more in a "why does society have to be so close-minded" way. And at some point that can get a bit annoying, so 4 stars again.
The author and artist do overall a great job in portraying these heavy matters. I'm just not a fan of homophobia, especially when it started out relatively positive... and considering it came out in 2022. I will keep reading though.
A Christian Bible is a set of books divided into the Old and New Testament …
Review of 'The New Oxford Annotated Bible' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
Meh... So much for progress. Well, they did have another kiss but <spoiler> it took like 5 chapters until they calmed down from the embarrassment of their first kiss, and now there's another love rival. </spoiler>
The first chapter was really funny, though. Seeing their different reactions – Chidori ending up stress eating and making her grandma confused, and Nanoha being like, "I'm finally an adult now". XD
Then there were was just a bunch of awkwardness, and at some point it actually made me feel icky, because they acted as if they had a fight or something bad had happened. A kiss shouldn’t be negative (well, unless you’re physical-contact-repulsed, but that’s not the case with the two).
Then they finally talked about it, more or less. ... And then <spoiler> a new love rival comes in. And this time it's a serious rival, because it's a childhood friend and …
Meh... So much for progress. Well, they did have another kiss but <spoiler> it took like 5 chapters until they calmed down from the embarrassment of their first kiss, and now there's another love rival. </spoiler>
The first chapter was really funny, though. Seeing their different reactions – Chidori ending up stress eating and making her grandma confused, and Nanoha being like, "I'm finally an adult now". XD
Then there were was just a bunch of awkwardness, and at some point it actually made me feel icky, because they acted as if they had a fight or something bad had happened. A kiss shouldn’t be negative (well, unless you’re physical-contact-repulsed, but that’s not the case with the two).
Then they finally talked about it, more or less. ... And then <spoiler> a new love rival comes in. And this time it's a serious rival, because it's a childhood friend and she's kinda part of their friend group now. Oof. Worst is also that the rival literally saw them kiss, but all they took from that was, "oh, if she's into girls, that means I have a chance". And they also hugged – like a real, proper hug, which Chidori & Nanoha didn't have. </spoiler> I know Chidori & Nanoha are endgame (I mean, just look at the covers of the next volumes...), but still, though, there will be some drama and hurt, and ugh... I'm not eager for that.
Also, there were some chapters, again, where it was about Chidori's weight and I'm seriously so sick of it. Everyone keeps teasing her how "chubby" she is, when she's not even chubby, and she herself keeps thinking Nanoha will hate her, if she gains weight. There was a whole chapter about it even. And she didn't even look in the slightest, as if she gained weight!! C'mon. If someone isn't unhealthily overweight, please stop with these remarks. It's extremely annoying and toxic behaviour.
While celebrating Kwanzaa and its many traditions with her parents, Kayla hopes that her big …
Review of 'Together for Kwanzaa' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
(German below.)
The drawings are all very nice and look like they’ve been drawn with coloring pencils, alas, hand-drawn on paper, which definitely is more work than drawing digitally. Wonderful.
I especially loved the mandalas and patterns in the background or as a frame, which remind me of rug art.
I loved the detail in the background of the first page, where you can see a calendar with the marked days. That way you can easily see when the holiday is celebrated!
There are a few words and sentences in Swahili, and I liked that they wrote the pronunciation in brackets right behind the word/sentence and a translation as well.
At the end, there’s an index anyway though, which is good too.
I did learn quite a lot. For example, it’s interesting that corn is symbolic for children in a family. Why corn specifically? Will research …
(German below.)
The drawings are all very nice and look like they’ve been drawn with coloring pencils, alas, hand-drawn on paper, which definitely is more work than drawing digitally. Wonderful.
I especially loved the mandalas and patterns in the background or as a frame, which remind me of rug art.
I loved the detail in the background of the first page, where you can see a calendar with the marked days. That way you can easily see when the holiday is celebrated!
There are a few words and sentences in Swahili, and I liked that they wrote the pronunciation in brackets right behind the word/sentence and a translation as well.
At the end, there’s an index anyway though, which is good too.
I did learn quite a lot. For example, it’s interesting that corn is symbolic for children in a family. Why corn specifically? Will research it afterwards.
Also, I always thought the order was the other way round (from the outer candles to the middle, so that the middle candle is lit at the end). But it does make more sense that the black candle is lit from the beginning on. The meaning of the colors of the candles are also interesting.
Definitely an educational book for children and adults alike. The pictures are colorful, which surely will draw a lot of children in; it did do it for me, especially the decorations and patterns in the backgrounds.
I can highly recommend this little book to anyone, especially those, who like to read about different cultures!
~
A little unrealistic was the reason why the brother couldn’t be there from the beginning. Is it common in the USA to be stuck in a school for days because of a snow storm?
I mean, it’s not a big deal and most kids probably won’t even care about that, but maybe it could’ve been changed into a little more realistic reason.
~
Overall it was a very pleasant read and I enjoyed it a lot. Big thanks to the gratitude publisher for sending me a review copy! <3
~~~
Die Zeichnungen sind schön und sehen aus, als wären sie mit Buntstiften ausgemalt, also auf Papier, was durchaus mehr Arbeit ist, als es digital zu machen. Schön.
Gefallen haben mir immer wieder die Mandalas und Verzierungen im Hintergrund oder als Rahmen, welche an einen Teppich erinnern.
Am Anfang hat mich das Detail mit dem Kalender im Hintergrund sehr entzückt. So sieht man gleich, von wann bis wann das Fest geht!
Es gibt einige Begriffe und Sätze, die in Swahili geschrieben wurden und hier gefällt mir, dass die Aussprache gleich dahinter in Klammern steht und ebenso eine Übersetzung im nächsten Satz folgt.
Ganz am Ende gibt es trotzdem ein Verzeichnis, was ebenfalls toll ist.
Ich hab einiges dazu gelernt. Zum Beispiel ist interessant, dass Mais für die Kinder in der Familie steht. Warum gerade Mais? Da werde ich mich gleich mal schlau machen.
Ebenso dachte ich immer, die Reihenfolge der Kerzen wird andersrum angezündet (also von außen nach innen, sodass die mittige Kerze als letztes brennt). Macht aber schon mehr Sinn, dass die schwarze Kerze die ganze Zeit über brennt. Interessant sind auch die Bedeutungen der Farben.
Durchaus ein lehrreiches Buch für Kinder sowie Erwachsene. Die Bilder sind bunt, was Kinder sicherlich anspricht; mich hat es auf jeden Fall, besonders die Verzierungen und Muster fand ich wunderschön.
Ich kann das Buch jedem ans Herz legen, vor allem diejenigen, die gern mehr über andere Kulturen lesen!
~
Etwas unrealistisch fand ich den Grund, warum der Bruder nicht anwesend war. Ist es üblich in den USA, dass man mehrere Tage in der schule wegen einem Schneesturm festsitzt?
Kleine Sache, wird wahrscheinlich kein Kind stören, aber joa, hätte man vielleicht ändern können.
~
Insgesamt hat es mir aber sehr gefallen und deshalb möchte ich mich beim Gratitude Verlag herzlich bedanken, mir ein Rezensionsexemplar zuzuschicken! <3
-30.12.23
Review of 'Pluto Urasawa X Tezuka A New Vision Based On Astro Boy The Greatest Robot On Earth' on 'Storygraph'
2 stars
Nichts Neues. Derselbe Klischee, den es schon überall im Hetero-Romantasy gibt.
Ich fühle mich schon etwas schlecht, so wenig Sterne zu geben, aber ganz ehrlich… wenn man’s nicht in den Klappentext schreibt, dass es Romantasy ist, aber Romance doch sehr im Vordergrund steht, selbst schuld, muss ich ehrlich sagen.
Die Romantasy-Leser legen das Buch womöglich weg, weil sie denken, dass kein Romance dabei ist (denn der Crush wird eigentlich immer im Klappentext erwähnt), und Nicht-Romance-Leser kaufen es, weil sie sich freuen, dass es endlich mal Fantasy ohne Romance geht.
Was einfach nicht für beide Seiten funktioniert. Leser sind enttäuscht, und die eigentliche Zielgruppe, der es gefallen würde, findet es nicht. Außer diejenigen, die auch aktiv Rezensionen lesen, aber das machen ja nicht alle.
Ich mein, als ich das Buch gesehen hab, sahen Titel und Cover schon sehr typisch YA-Romantasy aus. Ich hatte keine großen Hoffnungen, aber nachdem …
Nichts Neues. Derselbe Klischee, den es schon überall im Hetero-Romantasy gibt.
Ich fühle mich schon etwas schlecht, so wenig Sterne zu geben, aber ganz ehrlich… wenn man’s nicht in den Klappentext schreibt, dass es Romantasy ist, aber Romance doch sehr im Vordergrund steht, selbst schuld, muss ich ehrlich sagen.
Die Romantasy-Leser legen das Buch womöglich weg, weil sie denken, dass kein Romance dabei ist (denn der Crush wird eigentlich immer im Klappentext erwähnt), und Nicht-Romance-Leser kaufen es, weil sie sich freuen, dass es endlich mal Fantasy ohne Romance geht.
Was einfach nicht für beide Seiten funktioniert. Leser sind enttäuscht, und die eigentliche Zielgruppe, der es gefallen würde, findet es nicht. Außer diejenigen, die auch aktiv Rezensionen lesen, aber das machen ja nicht alle.
Ich mein, als ich das Buch gesehen hab, sahen Titel und Cover schon sehr typisch YA-Romantasy aus. Ich hatte keine großen Hoffnungen, aber nachdem ich den Klappentext gelesen hab, dachte ich doch tatsächlich, dass der Tag gekommen war: High-Fantasy ohne Romance.
Ein wenig Zweifel hatte ich ja schon, aber der Name Arely hat mich dann doch „manipuliert“. Für Kontext oder all diejenigen, die mir nicht auf Instagram/Amino folgen: ich hab einen OC namens Arely. Der Name ist schon relativ unbekannt, weshalb ich nicht gedacht hätte, den mal in einem Hauptcharakter zu sehen. (Ja, ich weiß, der Grund ist schon etwas dumm.)
Vielleicht war es Schicksal, wer weiß, aber sehr Spaß hat mir es nicht gemacht. Romantasy ist nicht mein Genre, zumindest nicht Hetero.
Alle, die ACOTAR lieben oder mögen, werden sicher auch das mögen, aber wer meine Bewertung zu acotar sieht, der weiß, dass das nichts für mich ist. Zu hetero, zu misogyn, zu mainstream, zu klischeehaft.
Ein wenig besser war hier, dass die Protagonistinnen bereits 22 sind, und nicht 16, wie so immer in YA, also immerhin. Trotzdem haben sie sich teilweise verhalten wie Teenager; und ja, ich weiß man ist in dem Alter noch nicht ganz erwachsen, aber wäre nicht gesagt worden, dass sie 22 sind, hätte ich sie auf maximal 18 geschätzt.
Ich fand es schon interessant und einigermaßen spannend, die Geheimnisse des Licht- und Schattenreiches zu erfahren, und was es mit dem Nebel auf sich hat.
Das Ding nur ist, dass alles sehr vorhersehbar war und absolut nichts Neues ist. Und die meiste Zeit, wann immer mal was preisgegeben wurde, wurden mehrere Seiten mit Romancedrama verschwendet. Das Buch wäre locker um die Hälfte kürzer, wenn man die ganze Romance und Erotik streicht.
Vor allem war es nicht mal nötig. Gerade was das Liebesdreieck angeht.
Ich finde Romance an sich nicht schlimm und auch gibt es ein paar wenige Romantasy-Bücher, die ich mag, auch wenn es nicht mein Genre ist.
Nur muss das dann auch gut geschrieben sein. Die Romanze hier hat sich des Öfteren gezwungen angefühlt, nach dem Motto, jedes Fantasybuch braucht auch Romance, weil es anscheinend nicht ohne geht. Der Gedanke, dass Leser womöglich auch kein Romance mögen würden, da die ganzen Mainstream Bücher (*hust* acotar, iron flame *hust*) diese sehr klassische Romance haben und sehr sehr beliebt sind.
Wenn man Erotik schreibt, dann soll man’s auch richtig tun. „Ich umfasste seine Männlichkeit.“ … Ohne Kontext weiß man noch nicht mal, was damit gemeint ist. Ich denke mal, die Männlichkeit soll den Penis darstellen. Ist das wirklich nötig? Kann man nicht einfach Penis schreiben oder wenigstens Hoden oder männliches Glied??
Ich weiß nicht, ob die Autorinnen sich von dem Mainstream manipulieren lassen haben oder ob sie die YA-Romance von Anfang an geplant haben… beides würde hinkommen.
Ist an sich auch egal. Es bestätigt nur wieder einmal, warum ich keine Mainstream-Bücher lese.
~
Der Schreibstil war an sich gut und die Welt einigermaßen interessant bzw. hatte Potential, aber auch nichts Neues. Licht- und Schattenreiche sind keine neue Idee im Fantasygenre, also hab ich schon etwas mehr Einfall/Abwechslung erwartet. Vielleicht ein paar Plottwists, die es in anderen Büchern nicht gibt. Aber die kamen nicht. Oder vielleicht mehr Diversitäten (Sexualität, Behinderungen (physisch sowie mental), körperlich, religiös (ja, gut, es gab nur eine „Religion“ bei denen, aber es gibt doch immer Leute, die sich neue ausdenken, selbst bei so kleinen Völkern), etc. Es gab nicht mal übergewichtige, sondern jeder (vor allem die weiblichen) hatten die perfekte moderne Statur.)
Immer dieser Trope, wo man eine Romanze schreiben will, aber auch Fantasy, und dann copy-pasted man die klischeehafte Fantasywelt mit den klischeehaften Protagonistinnen und Liebespartnern (+ Liebesdreieck), steckt den klischeehaften Konflikt der beiden Königreiche rein, und puff, neues Buch.
Gerade bei 2 Autoren denkt man, sie würden sich Klischees ausreden und zusammen Neues ausdenken, aber anscheinend nicht.
Was die Charaktere an sich angeht…
Uff, es war schon ein wenig anstrengend. Bei den Protagonistinnen bin ich immer hin- und hergeschwankt. Mal fand ich Noreia extrem nervig, dann wieder Arely, dann Noreia, usw. Ich konnte zwar beide eig. immer verstehen, aber das machte es nicht besser. Gerade bei sowas mag ich die Ich-Perspektive nicht… Ich hab mich zwar über sie gesorgt, aber es war echt nur anstrengend, weil es immer wieder was gab, das mich über sie wütend gemacht hat. Vielleicht war es auch ihre innere Wut und Hilflosigkeit, die auf mich abgefärbt hat...
Die anderen Charaktere waren aber nicht viel besser. Ganz im Gegenteil. Für die Protagonistinnen hab ich mich anfangs wenigstens noch gesorgt und gehofft, dass sie überleben, aber bei jedem anderen war es mir eig egal… naja, bis auf Aislinn und anderen ähnlichen Angehörigen. Sonst war aber jeder so nervig, dass sie es verdient hatten, zu leiden.
Zum Ende hin wollte ich eigentlich nur noch, dass sie alle sterben. Dieser Hass der beiden Königreiche war einfach nur zum Kotzen.
~
Das Ende war auch so schlapp. Sehr vorhersehbar; nichts, was mich irgendwie überwältigt oder irgendwelche anderen Emotionen, als nerviges Augenrollen in mir ausgelöst hat. Ich war einfach nur froh, dass ich endlich fertig mit dem Buch bin.
<spoiler> Okay, ein ganz wenig war ich doch überrascht, weil ich erwartet hatte, dass beide überleben. Ich hatte es zwar in Erwägung gezogen, dass nur einer überlebt, aber meine Wette lag mehr darauf, dass sie beide überleben. Also doch ein wenig Überraschung, aber umgehauen hat es mich nicht. Ja, der Tod der einen war ein wenig traurig, aber auch nicht traurig genug. </spoiler> Wie gesagt war ich einfach nur froh, dass es jetzt endlich vorbei ist. Und vor allem die ganze Wut und der Hass aufhört.
Geendet hat es dann so wie ein Disneyfilm: der dunkle Fluch gebrochen, die Bestien zurück in Menschen verwandeln und überall wurde es wieder grün, wie durch Zauberhand.
Der einzige Pluspunkt hier: es endete nicht mit einer Hochzeit zwischen <spoiler> Coel und einem der Protagonistinnen. Ich hatte Coel die ganze Zeit über gehasst, und musste immer nur kotzen, wenn er nur erwähnt wurde. Ist zwar schade, dass er doch noch im Königreich geblieben ist, aber wenigstens sind sie nicht wieder zu einem Liebespaar geworden. Wenigstens etwas. </spoiler>
Diese einzelnen Pluspunkte haben meine Entscheidung der Sterne doch erschwert (ich schwankte zwischen dem 2. und 3. Stern), also hier eine Unterteilung meiner jeweiligen Bewertungen:
Charaktere: 2/5
Story: 2,5/5
Worldbuilding: 2/5
Unterhaltung/Spaß: 1/5
Gefühle: 2/5 *
Schreibstil: 3,5/5
Idee/Originalität: 1/5
*Gefühle = damit meine ich, welche Gefühle – von den 5 Hauptemotionen – ich beim Lesen gespürt hab. An sich vermischt es sich ja immer, aber zum Verständnis:
-Wut: hab ich am meisten gespürt, die ganze Zeit über. Gab immer irgendwas, das ich nicht mochte und aufregen musste. War sehr anstrengend.
-Ekel: geht mit Wut einher. Entweder es hat mich wütend gemacht, oder geekelt. Gerade die Romance-Szenen fand ich nach einer Weile echt abartig. Ein paar Erotikszenen hab ich dann nur noch überflogen. Es war irgendwann nur noch Cringe und zum Kotzen. Keinen der Paare hab ich annähernd geshipt.
-Angst: kein bisschen, nicht mal um die Protagonistinnen.
-Freude: auch nicht wirklich. Ab und zu, als Arely ihren verdienten Sieg bekommen hat, aber auch das vermischt sich mehr mit Wut.
-Trauer: null. Das Ende war ein wenig traurig, aber nicht zu sehr, dass ich mich wirklich traurig gefühlt habe.
—> 2 von 5, weil Wut sich mit jeweils 2 vermischt hat. Freude war so gering, dass ich es nicht als einen Punkt zählen kann.
Endergebnis:
2+2,5+2+1+2+3+1 = 13,5
13,5 / 7 = 1,93
Welp, scheint wohl, der 3. Stern schien in der Mathematik nicht mal zu Verfügung zu stehen…
~
Ich bedanke mich trotzdem an die Autorinnen für ein Rezensionsexemplar.
Mir bereitet die schlechte Bewertung genauso wenig Freude wie euch, aber vielleicht könnt ihr ja einen meiner Kritikpunkte in eurem nächsten Werk umsetzen. Gerade was Diversität angeht.
-30.11.23
Review of 'Does It Count If You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? Vol. 2' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Akane gets an invitation to attend a secret meeting of all owners of sex-robots. She hopes to get some answers on basically everything, but it turns out the meeting only creates more questions.
Only the reader gets to know why: because it wasn’t a meeting. Akane apparently has a one-of-a-kind robot, and it seems a childhood friend of hers is behind that? Not exactly sure in which relationship she is to Akane or what she gets from stalking and watching her with her machine... okay, maybe that’s her fetish and maybe she needs someone to test the robot. But apart from that? There seems to be more at least.
Akane meanwhile gets to experience a new feature from Nadeshiko: illusion sex. Kind of. Nadeshiko can connect with every device, such as normal glasses, which then connect to Akane's brain and make her see things. For example a duplicate version …
Akane gets an invitation to attend a secret meeting of all owners of sex-robots. She hopes to get some answers on basically everything, but it turns out the meeting only creates more questions.
Only the reader gets to know why: because it wasn’t a meeting. Akane apparently has a one-of-a-kind robot, and it seems a childhood friend of hers is behind that? Not exactly sure in which relationship she is to Akane or what she gets from stalking and watching her with her machine... okay, maybe that’s her fetish and maybe she needs someone to test the robot. But apart from that? There seems to be more at least.
Akane meanwhile gets to experience a new feature from Nadeshiko: illusion sex. Kind of. Nadeshiko can connect with every device, such as normal glasses, which then connect to Akane's brain and make her see things. For example a duplicate version of Nadeshiko. Not only does she see her but also feel, hear, etc.
So, yeah, there’s a threesome chapter.
Which is cool, but also creepy. Imagine a robot can hack into a normal pair of glasses and have access to your brain and therefore all of your senses! If that robot falls into the wrong hands... damn.
Well, apart from the technological aspects, the story is not that interesting.
Though the volume ends with a new character introduced, probably a love rival.
And apart from that, I do wonder what Nadeshiko’s creator wants exactly or who she is and all that. So, yea, I’ll be continuing.
Also, on the other hand, there’s no homophobia. It does play in the future, but not that far, so it weren’t that surprising, if people still haven’t accepted that queerness won’t go away, but it’s great that this is not the case. It’s normal, and that deserves half a star more, so 3.5!
-24.11.23
Once upon a time in Renaissance Italy, Bianca, a young lady from a good family, …
Review of "A Man's Skin" on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
Bianca has reached marrying age and in Renaissance Italy this means your parents find you a suitable partner to marry and bear children with. For Bianca, this means the rich merchant Giovanni, whom she never met. All she'd want is to at least get to know the man she's gonna spend the rest of her life with, but that of course isn't a woman's right. Her grandmother then tells her a secret, which might just be the opportunity Bianca was looking for. Who knew it's also what will change her life for the better, even if that path isn't as easy as it may seem.
~
That was honestly really good, and much better than I'd expected.
Characters & audience The author portrays women realistically, both the way men see them and the way they are among each other. For plot reasons, all women kind of had different opinions about …
Bianca has reached marrying age and in Renaissance Italy this means your parents find you a suitable partner to marry and bear children with. For Bianca, this means the rich merchant Giovanni, whom she never met. All she'd want is to at least get to know the man she's gonna spend the rest of her life with, but that of course isn't a woman's right. Her grandmother then tells her a secret, which might just be the opportunity Bianca was looking for. Who knew it's also what will change her life for the better, even if that path isn't as easy as it may seem.
~
That was honestly really good, and much better than I'd expected.
Characters & audience The author portrays women realistically, both the way men see them and the way they are among each other. For plot reasons, all women kind of had different opinions about their lifestyle. Bianca, the protagonist, of course was a feminist fighter, but it still was realistic and according to the time period. It took a while until she started fighting actively and even then it wasn't as active as it would be for our modern times (in case you're afraid this might be just another feministic fairytale). And even at the end, her rights go as far as the time period and the men around her allow her to.
I think every man, especially the misogynistic ones, should read this. Not sure if they will get transformed into a normal person then, but it might open a few eyes or at least get a bit of insight.
If you're a woman, it will probably not be anything new, and not even a great novel that will end up being your most favorite. You've seen it all, or most, that Bianca has gone through herself, even in our times. But still is worth the read. One of the reasons being, is that feminism isn't the only aspect discussed here.
The author doesn't portray men as the only "bad guys", though. He does also show how women corrupt each other and how female pride can be just as bad as men's.
Themes All in all, this isn't just a comic about women's rights. It's also about lust and sexual desire, religion, society, attraction, freedom and friendship.
The ending is not only beautiful because Bianca is happy (as happy as you can be in times like these), but also because of her relationship to Giovanni. I'm not gonna spoiler, but while the background characters mostly had their marriage being highlighted in a bad way and what the negative side of marriage is; our main couple shows that even with those negative sides, if you work together, set aside your labels and just see each other as two humans, that bond on paper doesn't have to be your cage. You don't have to follow societal norms, and that includes the reactions and expectant behaviors of what happens when your partner doesn't stick to the "rules".
Art style The art style might appear as average or "amateurish" at first and maybe still like that once you're finished, and while it's true it's not detailed, it's far from being amateurish. Also, it fits. It's stylistic and looks like it comes out of a sketch book from an artist of that time period. Especially the bonus sketches at the end underline that even more. I don't think a detailed style is necessary anyways; the story comes perfectly across, the emotions feel as intended and you can follow the plot without confusion. Characters are diverse, both in appearance and in personality. With a stylized style, the artist also doesn't have to stick to the strict laws of anatomy and has more freedom to express his creativity, so that's a plus. Colors are also used confidently. What more do you want? An easy style also lets you read it faster, because you (or I at least) don't feel guilty about not staring at it for as long as some other styles deserve. (You know that feeling, when a painting is so detailed that you feel like the only justification would be to put it into a museum, where people can stare at it for hours? Yeah, you don't have to worry about that here. Though it still is good enough to be stared at, and you could for sure put some pages into a museum, if you liked.)
~
Overall, very good, as said, and recommended to every gender as well as every age group. (The erotic scenes are less graphic than what primary schoolers learn in sex education, btw, so even children can read it.)
Review of 'Does It Count If You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? Vol. 3' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
I wasn’t very fond of Jun at first, as I’m not a fan of Lolis, especially when they’re used as love rivals. But when Nadeshiko offered for them to be a poly... didn’t find the idea too bad actually. Why not.
Although they’re age gap is pretty large, and they’ve known each other since they were really small (*), polycules still are quite underrated, or rather, underrepresented. So, yea, in that sense it’d be cool, and Nadeshiko’s imagination of their threesome actually looked good...
However, when Jun was hiding in the closet (ha, I see what you did there, author) and listening to their conversation purposefully to find things out... nah man. Not a fan of eavesdropping, especially when it’s because of jealousy.
(*) Idk, technically childhood friends to lovers isn’t bad, but all the memory flashbacks to when they were young (and especially Nadeshiko’s lewd imaginations) is …
I wasn’t very fond of Jun at first, as I’m not a fan of Lolis, especially when they’re used as love rivals. But when Nadeshiko offered for them to be a poly... didn’t find the idea too bad actually. Why not.
Although they’re age gap is pretty large, and they’ve known each other since they were really small (*), polycules still are quite underrated, or rather, underrepresented. So, yea, in that sense it’d be cool, and Nadeshiko’s imagination of their threesome actually looked good...
However, when Jun was hiding in the closet (ha, I see what you did there, author) and listening to their conversation purposefully to find things out... nah man. Not a fan of eavesdropping, especially when it’s because of jealousy.
(*) Idk, technically childhood friends to lovers isn’t bad, but all the memory flashbacks to when they were young (and especially Nadeshiko’s lewd imaginations) is a bit uncomfortable...
~
I first continued this to find out what Nadeshiko’s “mother” wants and all that, but honestly, that woman has become so annoying, that I’d rather she just left them alone.
Also maybe because I’m not a fan of that third-party-therapist trope, when the couple could resolve things if they just talked with each other. Well, it’s not like they don’t talk, but in this case I don’t like her “mother’s” ideas and the way she’s 24/7 stalking Akane... is she secretly in love with her and seeing her do it with a sex-robot is what turns her on? Or is Akane really just nothing but a test person for her career, basically?
Idk, but I hope this won’t turn out a romance. Stalking tropes are just... nope.
-24.11.23
Review of 'She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Vol. 3' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
It starts off right where volume 2 ended: on the balcony. But takes a bit off a quicker pace, compared to the last two volumes, and leaves me with more mixed feelings than before. Still 5 stars, but there were some heavier themes here. As much as I appreciate the author for speaking up for these things, I did prefer the lighthearted vibe from the other volumes. Not too bad though.
When I first read in the blurb that there will be 2 new characters joining their circle... tbh, I wasn't too excited about it. Even though there were time-skips in the previous volumes and it's safe to say they've known each other for a few months, it hasn't been that long for me (it actually has, since I started it in April, but it doesn't feel that long). I want more of the two alone. I found it's a …
It starts off right where volume 2 ended: on the balcony. But takes a bit off a quicker pace, compared to the last two volumes, and leaves me with more mixed feelings than before. Still 5 stars, but there were some heavier themes here. As much as I appreciate the author for speaking up for these things, I did prefer the lighthearted vibe from the other volumes. Not too bad though.
When I first read in the blurb that there will be 2 new characters joining their circle... tbh, I wasn't too excited about it. Even though there were time-skips in the previous volumes and it's safe to say they've known each other for a few months, it hasn't been that long for me (it actually has, since I started it in April, but it doesn't feel that long). I want more of the two alone. I found it's a bit too soon for new friends to join the circle, even if they might not be love rivals or anything. In the end though... it wasn't too bad. They did help them out after all, and, even though their friendship blossomed way quicker than Kasuga's & Nomoto's, they do have platonic chemistry and it works.
And – aaah, I loved the chapter where they talked about the aro-/ace-spectrum but also the spectrum of gay/lesbian! "Just as aromantic and asexual folks have a spectrum, there's a wide range of lesbians too." "As if being gay is solely about what is going down in the bedroom!"
Talking about spectrums, I gotta admit, I love the author for having diverse characters on the "food-spectrum". It is a Manga about food, after all, but at first you'd might not be expecting a wide range like that. For example, Nomoto loves cooking, but she doesn't eat much herself. Kasuga loves eating, is plus-sized and a positive portrayal of a not-much-represented-body-type for women (sadly). Then, the new character has deipnophobia. And the other new character loves eating, although is the same body type as Nomoto, but doesn't like cooking and is basically married to a microwave. Really love the diversity and different representations!
And I really really loved that cookie cutter reference from volume 2! Such a nice continuation from that message!! <3
It really is the little things, damn... when they made plans for Valentine's day, I felt like a teenager watching people kiss on tv for the first time (blushing and giggling uncontrollably) ... When Kasuga brushed Nomoto's cheek, I almost lost it! I feel like I'm way more nervous (in a good way) than Nomoto and Kasuga together, lol, but I just can't help it! The author's way too good at this slow-burn!!
~
Gosh, I really hate Kasuga's father, though. I mean, I already hated him in her flashbacks from the other volumes, but this... is too much. I appreciate the author for bringing it up (although it's not a new trope), but... ugh. I just hate him personally. Why do people like him never get some karma? They deserve it the most. A difficult chapter. But the ending of that chapter was all the more worth it... <3
