Knitting Mochimochi: 20 Super-Cute Strange Designs for Knitted Amigurumi by Anna Hrachovec

 
Knitting Mochimochi: 20 Super-Cute Strange Designs for Knitted Amigurumi by Anna Hrachovec
My Rating: ★★★★★

I’ve been wanting to pick this book up for some time, so I was super excited to finally get it. Like Anna’s other knitting books, this is full of a variety of adorable patterns that will be easy for beginners to make. This time around, there is a combination of tiny knits and larger patterns, such as slippers. As usual, the patterns are simple and easy to follow. Anything that might be difficult for new knitters has clear instructions that are easy to follow and accompanied by pictures.

One of the things I like about this book is that there’s a section on how to make your own patterns. I think that’s a great resource for new knitters, which I also didn’t expect to see here. If I had picked this book up a year after I learned to knit, I would’ve been all over that section since I found it harder to make my own patterns when I was a new knitter compared to making my own patterns as a new crocheter.

As always, I do think it’s weird that the knitting essentials chapter is at the end of the book when it should be at the front with the basic toy making techniques. It’s just such an odd placement. It doesn’t affect me since I’ve been knitting for around twelve years, but I do think it’s a strange choice especially because there’s tips for new knitters in the book.

Star⇄Crossed!! Vol. 4 (Star⇄Crossed!! #4) by Junko

 
Star⇄Crossed!! Vol. 4 by Junko

My Rating: ★★★

When Chikashi decides that he wants to try his hand at acting again, Azusa thinks it’s a great idea. At least, that’s what Azusa thought until Chikashi lands the role that makes him the love interest of someone from his past. When Azusa finds out that Chikashi has a past with his new costar, she is filled with jealous and realizes that she Chikashi may not be the person she built him up to be in her mind.

I’ve been enjoying this series, so I’m said to say that I’m extremely disappointed with what has turned out to be the final volume. Overall, the story is pretty good. I was enjoying watching the drama go down while I wondered what God told Haru in the last volume. When that is finally revealed, the turn the story takes is quite interesting. I had a lot of fun watching Haru face the dark version of herself while on the quest she wasn’t sure she wanted to be on while she was angry.

Sadly, this is when the story takes a turn for the worse. It quickly rushes to wrap up the story, which clearly had a few more volumes of storytelling left before abruptly ending. I have some questions about why the series suddenly ended, but for now, I’m left wondering what was in store if it continued past four volumes. Junko does admit that it’s rushed in the mini comic thank you from the author at the end, so I guess we may never know what happened. It’s a shame because it’s a pretty good series that ended so abruptly, but what can you do? Sometimes things happen, so I’m going to let it go. That said, I do think that Junko is a great storyteller and I plan on checking out more of their work in the future.

The Betrayed (The Betrothed #2) by Kiera Cass

 
The Betrayed by Kiera Cass

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from HarperCollins Children's Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hollis Eastoffe was married for one glorious hour before her wedding ended in bloodshed. Now widowed, she flees Coroa with her in-laws in hopes of finding a shred of safety. While majority of her in-laws are caring and loving, Hollis quickly finds that not everyone is welcoming her to Isolte with open arms. Despite how welcoming some people are, she quickly finds her place and helps usurp the king responsible for the death of her husband and parents.

While I preferred the secondary characters over Hollis in the first installment, I needed to know what happened after her wedding ended in a bloody disaster. Fortunately for me, I loved Hollis this time around. I think she grew a lot very early on due to unfortunate circumstances, which ultimately made her a great character to follow. It was interesting to follow her in a new setting, see the Isolte we heard so much about in the first book, and meet the family Silas always spoke highly of.

I also found the romance to make a lot of sense this time around. Without spoiling the romance and what two characters it is between, I will say that they had so much chemistry that I wondered if they’d make their feelings known or if it’d be left as unrequited love. It was a huge improvement from the romances in the first book.

There were also couple of really good twists that left me reeling in addition to an event that was so crazy that I had to put the book down and process it despite wanting to continue reading. I do think that it suddenly wrapped up very quickly and probably could’ve been a trilogy rather than a duology, but I’ll live. Overall, I loved the story and didn’t want it to end.

Star⇄Crossed!!, Vol. 3 (Star⇄Crossed!! #3) by Junko

 
Star⇄Crossed!!, Vol. 3 by Junko

My Rating: ★★★

Stuck in Chikashi’s body for the longest time yet, Azuza finds herself in a new predicament: bathing with Chikashi’s P4U bandmates only to faint. She wakes up to find the lead of P4U, Haru, kissing her in Chikashi’s body! Unable to figure out what to do with the latest turn of events, Azusa tries to avoid him as much as possible, but how long can she manage it without revealing the truth of her and Chikashi’s predicament?

I have loved this series since I first started and was excited to see Azuza’s character development as she started to see Chikashi as more than just her idol. Sadly, she reverted a bit back to how she was in the first volume. I was a little sad about that, but I do think it worked well for several of the hilarious moments I saw throughout this volume.

That said, I do think it was interesting to get to know Haru more. We’ve been seeing the other members of P4U in bits here and there, so it was interesting to get to know Haru as well as learn about his long-time connection to Chikashi. Plus, there’s his crush on Chikashi and the revelation about why Azuza and Chikashi have continued to swap bodies. I’m really interested in learning what that’s about because as of right now, Haru is the only one who knows. 

While this volume was hilarious, it wasn’t as good as the previous volumes. I hope to see more character development without anyone taking significant steps backward in future volumes.

Daughter of the Sun (Tales of Inthya #2) by Effie Calvin

 
Daughter of the Sun by Effie Calvin
My Rating: ★★★★★

When Orsina of Melidrie was told she must eliminate an evil force based on someone’s vision, she did not expect to be on the road for two years. Tired and lonely, she hopes the chaos goddess, Aelia, is the force she’s meant to eliminate so she can finally return home. Unfortunately for her, this is not the mission that Orsina is destined to complete, and she finds herself on the road with a companion for the first time. The only drawback is that her new companion is actually Aelia, who is trapped inside her avatar after their first encounter.

Told in rotating perspectives, we follow Orsina and Aelia on their adventure together. They make an interesting duo since Orsina is paladin of the Order of the Sun, and Aelia is a chaos goddess that Orsina just tried vanquishing for manipulating people and putting them in thrall. I had a lot of following them and watching them slowly fall in love with each other.

Initially, I was disappointed that we weren’t following Esofi and Adale, especially after how the first book ended. However, I was quickly on board with following these characters. I thought they were a fun and interesting duo to follow. One of the things I was really fascinated by was the world building. Because Orsina and Aelia travel all over Vesolda, I got to see the world the characters live in truly blossom.

The world building was absolutely brilliant. Seeing Orsina and Aelia in a variety of settings dealing with many characters, both human and celestial, made me look at this series in a new way. Plus, I got to learn a lot more about the mythology than we learn in the previous book on top of seeing the world through a celestial being’s perspective. I had a really hard time putting this book down and am looking forward to the next installment.

Gudetama: Mindfulness for the Lazy by Wook-Jin Clark

 
Gudetama: Mindfulness for the Lazy by Wook-Jin Clark
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Oni Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re looking for a cute and fun comic about how to be mindful, this is a great comic for you! This short read delivers the same cute artwork I always see for Gudetama on top of the same sense of humor I’ve come to expect from Wook-Jin Clark. Because of this, I was not surprised to see fun and vibrant panels full of beautiful artwork for the entire book.

The book has a great message that’s great for young adults and anyone who missed learning what it is to be mindful while growing up or otherwise are unaware how expansive it can be. While I think the book is geared toward young adults, I would say it’s probably best for middle to high school ages in addition to adults due to some of the artwork. I also think it'd make a great gift for any fan of Gudetama as well as any adult who needs a lesson on mindfulness, empathy, and what it means to compromise so that everyone is happy.

Star⇄Crossed!!, Vol. 2 (Star⇄Crossed!! #2) by Junko

 
Star⇄Crossed!!, Vol. 2 by Junko

My Rating: ★★★★★

When Azusa and Chikashi stop swapping bodies, she thought it was the last she’d seen of him until he turns up as a new student at her school. It turns out that Chikashi’s manager has decided they need to spend more time together so that they can better mimic each other when they swap places. Just when things couldn’t get any more complicated thanks to fans rushing their school, Azusa and Chikashi swap places for the longest they ever have.

This series is bringing me so much happiness right now. It’s so much fun to read. I love the characters, the humor, and the overall story. The second volume slowly expands on what the first volume gave us. Now we get to see the characters start to truly blossom. Azusa is both hilarious, caring, and loyal as a person in addition to being an extremely loyal fan. Her response to any fellow fan trying to get pictures of Chikashi had me laughing so hard. That’s not even including to her trying and failing at not fangirling hard herself when they swapped bodies again.

I do think we learned a little more about Chikashi this time around, but not much. I’m not complaining though. There was a lot going on, but I did like the glimpses we got at character development and I think I like where it’ll be going. I also like that we’re starting to get to know other characters, mainly Azusa’s best friend and now Chikashi’s bandmates. I’m interested in seeing where we go from here, especially after that ending!

I already have the third volume, which I’m extremely excited to read sometime this week. I’m having a blast reading this series and highly recommend it if you’re a fan of body swap comedies.

Adventures in Mochimochi Land: Tall Tales from a Tiny Knitted World by Anna Hrachovec

Adventures in Mochimochi Land: Tall Tales from a Tiny Knitted World by Anna Hrachovec
My Rating: ★★★★★

I was absolutely delighted while reading this. The opening is a series of short stories told through a small amount of text and adorable photos utilizing cute and tiny knitted items. After the three stories, the patterns begin. There is a total of 25 comprehensive patterns with photographs demonstrating what a section of the pattern should look like during the construction. I haven’t had time to knit any of the patterns, but they are cute and easy to understand. I really want to knit the donut and a few other patterns when I have time.

I do find it odd that the knitting abbreviations, essentials, and tips for new knitters are at the back of the book. Ideally, these would be placed before the patterns. However, I’ve been knitting for several years, so it doesn’t bother me that these appear at the very end. I just think it’s an odd placement, especially if someone skips reading the table of contents and also happens to be new to knitting. That said, I do think that the essentials and tips section are easy to understand and extremely thorough, so they will be a huge help to new knitters planning to make these patterns.

This Wonderful Season With You by Atsuko Yusen

 

This Wonderful Season With You by Atsuko Yusen

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from the Independent Publishers Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When the Electronic Engineering Club is at risk of being shut down due to its lack of members, the leader goes on a mission to keep the club from closing down. After all, they’re a three people club and they only need one more member to dodge being shut down. That’s how the newest member, Enoki, finds himself handing out club fliers in hopes of gaining some interest. When he draws the attention of a muscular and sporty guy who doesn’t know a thing about electronic engineering, he finds himself with an unlikely new friend that slowly becomes something more.

While this story heavily relies on stereotypes at the beginning, it does a good job at fleshing out the characters and showing that they’re not the stereotypes that were initially presented to us. This is especially true about Enoki and his love interest, Shirataki. Enoki is initially presented as a very stereotypical nerd while Shirataki is a stereotypical and rough jock. However, as the story continues, we discover that there’s much more to the both of them and that they’re not the stereotypes they’re made to be when we first meet them. I love how we slowly learn more about them as an unlikely friendship forms before it eventually becomes a romance.

I love the overall cast, especially Shirataki’s family. I was surprised that the two other members of the Electronic Engineering Club are barely developed, especially since Enoki spends a lot of time with them. I wish we learned more about them aside from the surprise development from the club leader toward the end. They’re the only characters that remain stereotypes throughout the story.

This is such a great slice of life friends to lovers story. I almost wish that it wasn’t a stand-alone manga, but I think it would start to drag on if it got a second installment. The story is perfect as is, and I’m looking forward to checking out more stories from this author.

Katakoi Lamp by Kyohei Azumi

 
Katakoi Lamp by Kyohei Azumi
My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from the Independent Publishers Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kazuto Muronoi is running his dad’s coffee shop when he falls for his sweet and cute favorite regular, Jun. After six months, Kazuto makes it his mission to get his name in hopes that it leads to something more. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that Jun has been frequenting the shop because he’s crushing on Hisahara, a woman who works at the café. Content with being just friends, Kazuto is determined to help Jun get with his crush even if he gets hurt somewhere along the way.

This is a cute slow burn following Kazuto and his crush, Jun. It’s slow enough that we get to know nearly anyone in the story quite well before it suddenly picks up speed at the very end. I thought it was quite cute with a cast of sweet characters. Though, I found myself thinking some of the supporting characters far more interesting than the leads. As much as I liked Kazuto and Jun, I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if we followed Hisahara and Kazuto’s friend, Kyosuke, at some point since they’re more interesting characters.

That said, I had a great time reading the book. It’s cute and short on top of having great artwork and a set of mostly realistic characters. If you’re looking for a slow burn slice of life romance, I think that this will be a great book to pick up.