Love Advice From the Great Duke of Hell, Vol. 1 by unfins

 

Love Advice From the Great Duke of Hell, Vol. 1 by unfins

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from WEBTOON Unscrolled through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Astaroth, a Great Duke of Hell, was minding his own business when a teenage boy named Paul summoned him to the mortal realm. It’s a shame Paul has failed to notice that one does not just sell their soul to a demon to get a date! In six days, Astaroth will return to hell with Paul’s soul, but not before chaos ensues!

I knew this book was going to be funny when I started it, but I was not expecting to be laughing so hard at almost every turn. We follow Astaroth, Paul, and Paul’s sister Elena from the moment that Astaroth is summoned from hell to aid Paul in his romantic pursuits. One of the things I love about this story is that no one is on the same page, which adds to the absolute hilarity that ensues. The artwork is fun and really helps drive the humor home. The characters' facial expressions alone had me cracking up at times. However, even if the artwork didn’t help with that, I think the humor would stand up well on its own.

I don’t want to say too much and risk accidentally spoiling the story, but if this sounds like something you’d be interested in reading, I say do it. I was laughing so hard throughout each chapter. I’m actually debating on following the story’s original format on WEBTOON when I prefer published volumes in book format. That’s how much I enjoyed this book!

Threads That Bind (Threads That Bind #1) by Kika Hatzopoulou

 

Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou

My Rating: ★★★★★

In a world where the descendants of the Fates can inherit their abilities, that very same world is not very kind to the people blessed with powers. Io Ora is the youngest of her Fate-born sisters, and her ability is one that people fear. She’s a cutter, and people are terrified because her abilities could be deadly in the wrong hands. Io spends her days as a skilled private investigator, but her latest job is taking her out of her usual realm of work. There’s someone turning women into wraiths and using them to kill specific people. Now Io finds herself working for the Queen of the Silts to find who is behind the killings, which has her working closely with the fated mate that she’s been avoiding meeting for years.

I absolutely loved this book. We follow Io as her life is turned upside down by her latest investigation. Someone is turning women into wraiths and sending them out to do their bidding, and now she needs to figure out who is behind this and how to save whoever is turned into the next wraith. Insert the Mob Queen, aka Queen of the Silts, and her soulmate, and Io has a lot on her hands here. Did I mention that Edei Rhuna has no idea about their Fate-string that’s connected them as soulmates their whole lives? Or that her oldest sister has always told her to cut that strong? I wasn’t joking when I said that Io has a lot on her plate, and that includes guilt!

The first chapter was a little rough because we were given so much information in such a short period of time. However, it was setting up the world that Io lives in, it was just A LOT. If you can get past that first chapter, you are good to go because this is such a good story. We have a variety of interesting characters that are great to follow. There’s also so many layers to the story, and family is a big part of that.

I was a little confused about how Io didn’t notice a particular character was a red herring being thrown at her by the culprit, but then the story would’ve been shorter, so I guess I can’t complain. However, I didn’t figure out who the actual culprit was even though the signs were there. I really enjoyed reading this story and seeing the mystery slowly unravel. That ending was both crazy and sad, but it has me ready to start the next book ASAP!

Into the Quiet (Cupid's Fall #2) by Beth C. Greenberg

Into the Quiet by Beth C. Greenberg

My Rating: ★★★★

When Cupid discovers that his punishment isn’t over yet, he never expected his heart to lead him to a married woman. While he’s not excited to have his heart broken all over again, he’s a little confused about why he’s been led to Ruthie when she’s already married to her true love. Now Cupid gets to take a crash course in construction and other housework as he converts a nursery into a dream office for Ruthie while figuring out how to fix her marriage.

I’ve been enjoying this series and loved this book even more than the first! This time around, we follow Cupid, Pan, Ruthie, and occasionally Zach through their rotating perspectives. I really like how we get to learn more about Cupid and Pan this time around. It was so interesting to see how lonely Cupid has been and how much he’s realizing as much now that he’s been thrown into mortal life.

In fact, I enjoyed seeing how much character growth there was on Cupid’s end throughout this book. It was less hitting the town and getting laid and more settling in, getting to know people, and figuring out the harder sides of life. I loved how Ruthie played into this because the attraction was there, but she was determined to not cheat on her husband. Instead, they have a meeting of minds and life experiences. It took their almost romance on an unexpected but delightful journey that I wouldn’t say was an emotional affair, but it could’ve been if that was what Ruthie was interested in. It was great to see how this friendship of sorts led them to grow in ways they weren’t expecting.

The only thing that was weird was Zach’s alleged affair. It seemed like he was cheating but then we got to his chapters and saw things weren’t as they seemed. It was extremely confusing because it seemed like everyone, including Athena, knew what was going on only to discover even they didn’t know for sure. It was just really strange and didn’t quite add up.

That said, I really enjoyed reading this. While Cupid and Ruthie don’t have the romance he was hoping for when he met her, this was still a romance novel. We also see Pan continue his romance of the moment while Cupid romances a few older women. Plus, Ruthie and Zach’s marriage was an excellent plot that I wasn’t expecting to love as much as I did. Now I’m excited for the next book and seeing if Cupid and Pan will finally do something about their attraction toward each other!

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, Volume 1 by Trí Vương

 

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, Volume 1 by Trí Vương

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Ten Speed Graphic through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Follow Oscar Zahn as he tells the stories of the souls he’s doing his best to help. While avoiding his own demons, this floating skull with a heart of gold does everything within his power to help his friends, ghosts who haven’t realized they’re dead, and even those who have been long forgotten.

I really enjoyed reading this book. In this volume, we get to know Oscar through the stories he shares with us. We start with the story of a young soldier. Long dead, he and his fellow soldiers have been trapped on the battlefield that took their lives for decades. This story was probably the saddest out of the stories we see by the end of this volume. It was easy to almost forget that these characters weren’t ghosts reliving a version of their final days.

The first story really pulled me in, so by the time Oscar moves onto the next soul in need, I was fully sucked into the book. I like that the first story is more about the souls he helps than him, and then we slowly get to know more about Oscar once we already know about how important his work is. It’s surprisingly character driven and manages to have a lot of depth no matter what’s happening. It’s truly an intriguing story full of wonder and mystery. The artwork helps tell the story beautifully, and I’m really looking forward to eventually learning about the memories that Oscar has been running from.

I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner

 

I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner

My Rating: ★★★★★

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

George is enjoying life as much as they can with their two close friends, Eleanor and Charlotte. Things are good as long as they ignore the fact that they have to wear men’s clothing in secret and dodge their aunt’s attempts at finding them a husband. Meanwhile, Eleanor and Charlotte are excited at facing their marriage prospects, only Eleanor can’t picture falling in love with a man and most of Charlotte’s potential suitors see her as beneath them. As they all reach adulthood, they’re facing their friendships falling apart and learning that what’s considered proper isn’t always right.

I absolutely loved this and the Jane Austen and Little Women vibes it gave. We follow George, Eleanor, and Charlotte through their rotating perspectives, but we mainly follow George and Eleanor. It starts out as following a great friendship between the trio before the cracks start to appear as adulthood and the realities of the pressures of society begin to take their toll. I don’t want to say too much and accidentally spoil the story, but it was an excellent read. The storytelling is wonderful and I especially loved seeing how the characters grew as the story progressed.

The artwork is stunning and I loved seeing some of the concept art at the end of the book. It also includes a crash course in history at the end with some resources for readers to check out! I can’t wait to check out more of Hari Conner's other work because this was amazing.

Mamo by Sas Milledge

Mamo by Sas Milledge

My Rating: ★★★★★

When Jo Manalo’s mom falls into a coma of sorts thanks to whatever has been going on in Haresden, she’s determined to find help. That’s how she found herself asking the town witch to take a look! It turns out that Orla O’Reilly isn’t really the town witch. That was her grandmother, Mamo, and she’s dead! Orla just wants to get in and out of Haresden, but there’s something about Jo that makes her want to help out. Plus, there’s something weird going on in town, and Mamo’s mislaid bones may be the cause!

I was sucked into this story the moment I started reading it. We follow Jo and Orla as they work to right everything that Mamo’s mislaid bones have caused. Orla isn’t exactly friendly, but she’s drawn to Jo and feels like it’s her responsibility to get her grandmother’s bones laid to rest properly. Along the way, we see how magic works in this universe as well as Jo learning a little bit about the magic that lives in Haresden. I really loved getting to know Jo and Orla as well as learning about the different people and magical entities.

Plus, the cover art and overall artwork throughout this entire book is absolutely stunning! The artwork really lends itself to how the story is told. While I love the whole story, there’s just something very whimsical about the art that I just love and find super memorable. I hope to see more stories like this from Sas Milledge because I could have read five volumes following these characters!

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 1-3 by Umi Sakurai

 

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 1-3 by Umi Sakurai

My Rating: ★★★★★

Dubbed an ugly cat, Fukumaru has been skipped over by potential adopters again and again. Everything changes when Mr. Kanda comes in and sees a friend in him, making Fukumaru his first cat! Together, they can face the world as they slowly heal some of each other’s old wounds.

I absolutely love this series. We follow Mr. Kanda and Fukumaru through their rotating perspectives, which allows us to see them in the present with glimpses into their individual pasts. It’s a slow moving slice of life story that is sweet and heartwarming while also slowly providing a lot of depth. I really love how the story starts out about Mr. Kanda and Fukumaru while slowly expanding to include the lives of the characters they’re connected to. We see everything from grief and loneliness to jealousy, humor, and beautiful companionship in this series.

So far, I’ve read the first three volumes and I can’t wait to continue the story. I think that this is a perfect read for anyone who loves Chi's Sweet Home. If you loved that series and are looking for more feel good stories but also want more layers and depth, this will be an excellent choice. I’m really enjoying the story so far and I can’t wait to see who will reconnect, what new friendships will form, and how Mr. Kanda and Fukumaru will continue to impact each other as well as others.