More than any other non-shojo series, Emma is the one I most frequently see being mistaken for shojo. It's easy to see why: it's a low-key love story between a lovely and graceful maid and the liberally minded son of a wealthy merchant family. When we first meet Emma and William, she is working in the home of his former governess, Mrs. Kelly Stownar, whom he's been very remiss … [Read more...] about Emma 1-2 by Kaoru Mori: A
Historical Fiction
Adolf 2: An Exile in Japan by Osamu Tezuka: A
From the back cover: Japanese reporter Sohei Toge returns to his homeland, where he finally learns the secret that led to his brother's brutal murder at the hands of the Gestapo. But now the Japanese secret police are on his tail, and the SS officer who tortured him in Germany has followed him to Japan to hush him up—permanently! As fate would have it, Yukie Kaufmann, the … [Read more...] about Adolf 2: An Exile in Japan by Osamu Tezuka: A
Kaze Hikaru 9-11 by Taeko Watanabe: A-
Beware: spoilers ahead. I have come to the conclusion that Kaze Hikaru is not only worth owning—as opposed to borrowing it from the library, which is what I’ve been doing up until now—but is also pure evil (in the very best way, of course). Volume nine begins with a reorganization of the Shinsengumi that sees Sei reassigned from active patrolling to a position taking care of … [Read more...] about Kaze Hikaru 9-11 by Taeko Watanabe: A-
These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer: A-
From the back cover: Society believes the worst of Justin Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon, who is clearly proud of his sobriquet, "Satanas." It is he who buys Léon body and soul from a scoundrel in a Paris backstreet. The red-headed urchin has strangely familiar looks, and should play a fine part in Justin's long-overdue schemes to avenge himself on the Comte de St … [Read more...] about These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer: A-
The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer: B-
From the back cover: Temporarily abandoned by their scapegrace father, Prudence and Robin Lacey are forced to masquerade as the opposite sex to avoid capture by their political enemies. Prue makes a devilishly handsome young man and her brother Robin is equally beguiling as her "sister." This, however, makes for some dangerous entanglements when Prue, as Mr. Merriot, falls in … [Read more...] about The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer: B-