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ink-impressions

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Joined 9 months ago

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2024 Reading Goal

28% complete! ink-impressions has read 14 of 50 books.

Mia Ikumi: Tokyo mew mew (2003) 2 stars

Review of 'Tokyo mew mew' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

The story revolves around our main character Ichigo, who is on her first ‘date’. When Ichigo and four other girls become involved in an odd DNA incident, they merge with the DNA of extinct animals. It’s apparent that they’re part of a much bigger plan. The people in charge have selected Ichigo and her newfound friend to take part in a secret project. Their mission: To protect the planet from aliens who are using the planet’s animals to attack humans.

It’s the most strange shojo manga I’ve ever read. Most strange shojo manga I've ever read leaves me with conflicting feelings of liking and hating it. The entire reason for the girls' sudden transformation into animals was nothing short of ridiculous. Despite their reluctance, someone forces the girls to take part in this experiment, and the responsible individuals continue to kidnap and manipulate them.

This series aims at young girls …

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live …

Review of 'In the Lives of Puppets' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

The forest is home to three robots: Father figure Giovanni Lawson, sadistic nurse robot, and a vacuum robot looking for love. It is also home to Victor Lawson, a human. It’s a family, hidden and safe.

When Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android called “HAP,” he discovers that Hap and Gio share a dark past filled with human predation.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their location, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Vic's family must travel across an unforgiving, otherworldly country to save Gio from decommissioning or reprogramming.

Despite conflicting feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: is conditional love possible for him?

Perhaps this is the fastest book I have DNF’d. As hard as it is for me to do, I can’t avoid it. It took me six chapters to realize I wasn’t able to finish... …

reviewed Wedding Peach. by Nao Yazawa (Viz graphic novel)

When they're not mooning over boys, Momoko Hanasaki and her friends Yuri and Hinagiku transform …

Review of 'Wedding Peach.' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Young Momoko Hanasaki, who dreams of getting married like her mother. In one moment, she is mooning over the captain of her soccer team. In the next scene, she is fighting evil as a magical girl. She enlists the help of her friends Angel Light and Angel Daisy to complete the mission. Will they be able to defeat Rain Devilla and her accomplices?

Can love triumph over evil? Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, knows for certain!

This manga is an outdated magical girl story. I enjoyed reading this story. This book is just what you would expect if you crossed Sailor Moon with weddings! Featuring pretty dresses, girl power and a lot of love. This cute manga will delight you!

There is one part of the story where I felt the story was weak: the selection of Momoko as a magical girl. Here, one villain witnessed her before …

Robin Yeatman: Bookworm (2023, HarperCollins Publishers) 1 star

Review of 'Bookworm' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Victoria is unhappily married to a career-driven, ambitious lawyer. As she struggles with overbearing in-laws, a dead-end job she cannot seem to leave, and a best friend who doesn’t understand her, Victoria escapes into her beloved books and imaginary tales. In a favorite cafe, she notices an attractive man reading a similar novel to hers. As a woman seeking a happy ending, Victoria believes it is. He must be her soul mate, the handsome book lover.

I have many reasons for DNF this book. Throughout the entire book, Victoria made me hate her. I did not feel any sympathy for the main character’s situation because she was so overly negative and judgemental.

Hers is a voluntary relationship, one that she entered and stayed in because she’d rather lie, cheat, and even murder than get another job or make a living on her own. If she's unhappy in their relationship, there's …

Mary Monroe: Mama Ruby (Paperback, Dafina) 1 star

Review of 'Mama Ruby' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, Ruby Jean Upshaw knows what she wants and how to get it. By fifteen, Ruby craves fast men and cheap liquor, and even her preacher daddy can’t steer her in the right direction. Othella Mae Cartier, daughter of the town tramp, understands Ruby’s true nature only.

When Ruby discovers she's pregnant, fear overwhelms her for the first time in her life. As Ruby hides her growing belly, she gives birth secretly at Othella’s house. After Ruby gives away the child, Othella convinces her to run away with her to New Orleans—with the help of a shocking revelation.

Regret over giving up on her baby and following Othella’s advice. Ruby’s only motivation is revenge against her friend Othella, who betrayed her.

I read this book because a co-worker recommended it to me. I will enjoy this book, she said. Reading this book was a mistake for …

John Green - undifferentiated: The Fault in Our Stars (Paperback, 2014, Speak) 3 stars

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never …

Review of 'The Fault in Our Stars' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

It is my first time reading a John Green novel. I really wanted to love it, especially after hearing such rave and heartrending reviews. I was eager and ready. After a disappointing experience, I am not likely to read more books by this author.

 The book had many problems for me. I found it to be very insincere and constantly distracted by the obvious intention to tug on the reader’s heartstrings rather than just allowing things to unfold that were beautiful despite the sadness.

The biggest problem I had was that I simply didn’t believe the character of Augustus or his connection to the main character Hazel. The plot completely disregards everything else, centering only on these concepts.

Augustus came across as completely pretentious and obnoxious. His entire character felt contrived, and I never felt connected to him. But it wasn’t just Augustus. Hazel’s character was likable, but her relationship …

Hiroaki Samura: Blade of the Immortal Omnibus Volume 1 (Paperback, Dark Horse Manga) 3 stars

Review of 'Blade of the Immortal Omnibus Volume 1' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

There is no death for Manji, an immortal samurai. His ability to do so is literally non-existent. To accomplish this (either by poison or by decapitating his head), he vowed to kill a thousand men. He has remained immortal for years, but he is uncertain of the exact duration. An unknown person took the life of his only sister, leaving him without a clear sense of purpose. In the quest for revenge to kill Kagehisa Anotsu and his Itto-Ryu clan, Rin hired Manji to be her bodyguard.

The story lacks substance, but the excessive dialogue can be overwhelming. It is ambiguous, so you need to figure out what it means. Don't expect an epic action event, but I understand the reasoning behind the slow storytelling. Throughout the story, the layers of characters unravel slowly, and I can’t help but wonder whether there might be side-stories that will kill the story …

CLAMP: Wish (2002, Tokyopop) 1 star

Review of 'Wish' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

During a mission, an angel gets trapped in a tree after an attack. A guy who finds her rescues from the tree behind her. She is very grateful and grants him a wish (hence the title). There’s just one problem: he doesn’t have a wish.

There is also a devil trying to spy on an angel. To solve the problem, he entrusted his friends with the task.

The story is very cute. That’s basically it.

The idea had potential, but it lacked proper development. Untapped potential went unused. There was a lack of development between the two main characters. There was a slight sense that Kohaku loved Shuichiro. Although I saw little evidence of Shuichiro being in love, he was always stoic and showed basic kindness.

Because of the undeveloped nature of this manga, it is hard to explain. There was a sense of having read a manga in the …

Schoolgirl Amu has 3 secret magical companions. They are searching for a magic egg, a …

Review of 'Shugo chara!' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

A Shugo Chara is a guardian character that hatches from an egg to help people become what they want. Because of her wish, Amu has three such eggs, each containing a different Shugo Chara. With the help of her guardian characters, Amu's life changes from one stroke to the next. Amu becomes friends with the school’s most popular students, but also attracts many unwanted guests.

My feelings towards this manga are mixed.

It’s supposed to focus on a group of elementary school students (4th grade) but they seem much older, and the sexy encounters and crushes seem out of place at that age. I believe the target audience for this book is middle-grade readers, around 12-13 years old, regardless of the school grade it focuses on. The protagonist, Amu, is an introverted new student at school who everyone thinks is cool because she seems aloof and weird.

One morning, the …

Lisa Springer: There's No Way I'd Die First (2023, Random House Children's Books, Delacorte Press) 1 star

Review of "There's No Way I'd Die First" on 'Goodreads'

1 star

There are no words to describe how much I dislike this book. I read it a few days ago.

Because I am clearly not the target age for YA novels anymore, I try to be lenient with the characters, but I can’t help but roll my eyes at these spoiled rich kids no matter how lenient I am.

Although we are supposed to empathize with and enjoy the narrator’s character, she is so trapped in her own bubble that she is literally running around pondering how to ensure the best possible alibi for herself and the guilt she will feel if she ends up shoving her new love into the killer’s arms.

As for the killer, I could elaborate extensively. Yet, that would involve spoiler-marking the entire review, which I don't relish. Rather, I will just say that I saw his motive coming a mile away and hoped I was …

Arina Tanemura: Sakura Hime : the legend of Princess Sakura. 1 (2011) 1 star

Review of 'Sakura Hime : the legend of Princess Sakura. 1' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

There are no words to describe how much I dislike this manga.

My only regret is that I wasn’t able to rate this book higher since the art was pretty good and it sounded like a good plot. Sadly, the plot lacked coherence for me, likely because of my search for deeper meaning. The author lacked coherence and substance.

The story does not explain Sakura's powers, except for her sword. The story introduced Sakura's powers in the first chapter, but it wasn't until chapter 2 that she activated them. I wish someone could give me some information, without overwhelming me with too much explanation. How do they work? What is her method of activating them? Does she require the moon? Why does she wear such a modern dress (and it’s ugly)? The author seems to rely on the magical girl genre to explain things to her instead of developing her …