I find that one has to be in a certain mood for Case Closed. If one's not into it, its episodic nature and the knowledge that even 60 volumes in, Conan's secret still hasn't been discovered can be annoyances. If you're in the mood for a short mystery, though, the series can be a lot of fun. Five cases of varying lengths get solved over the span of these two volumes. There's … [Read more...] about Case Closed 4-5 by Gosho Aoyama: B
Vampire Knight 8 by Matsuri Hino: B
Have you ever seen anyone claim, in defense of Vampire Knight, “It gets better! Wait until you get to chapter 35!”? Well, it turns out that they’re half right. Chapter 35 is a game-changer, with the full details of Yuki’s forgotten past coming to light along with unexpected revelations and their attendant complications. I found part of what occurs easy to predict, given the … [Read more...] about Vampire Knight 8 by Matsuri Hino: B
Ouran High School Host Club 13 by Bisco Hatori: B
Feelings. That’s entirely what this volume is about. First, you’ve got Haruhi taking a love quiz and finally realizing that what she feels for Tamaki isn’t just admiration of his many good qualities, but actually love. Not that she’s ready to deal with that just yet, so she resolves to take his advice and start accumulating more life experience. Next, Hikaru informs Tamaki that … [Read more...] about Ouran High School Host Club 13 by Bisco Hatori: B
Ouran High School Host Club 12 by Bisco Hatori: B+
From the back cover: Hikaru and Kaoru's fight over Haruhi is taking its toll on Hunny and Mori, who are trying to watch over the estranged twins. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Tamaki, Kyoya starts looking for Tamaki's mother in France. Review: Three plot threads are simultaneously underway in this volume, though they converge nicely by the end. In the first, Kyoya is using the … [Read more...] about Ouran High School Host Club 12 by Bisco Hatori: B+
The Floating Admiral by Certain Members of the Detection Club: B-
Book description: In 1932, thirteen members of London's exclusive Detection Club—including notables like Dorothy L. Sayers, G. K. Chesteron, and Agatha Christie—decided to undertake a challenging project. As Sayers writes in her introduction, "The problem was made to approach as closely as possible to a problem of real detection. Except in the case of Mr. Chesteron's … [Read more...] about The Floating Admiral by Certain Members of the Detection Club: B-