From the back cover: The mystery writer Harriet Vane, recovering from an unhappy love affair and its aftermath, seeks solace on a barren beach—deserted but for the body of a bearded young man with his throat cut. From the moment she photographs the corpse, which soon disappears with the tide, she is puzzled by a mystery that might have been suicide, murder, or a political plot. … [Read more...] about Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers: B
Kare Kano 11-12 by Masami Tsuda: B-
One thing that Kare Kano does differently from a lot of shoujo manga is that it puts its side stories about the main couple's friends in the middle of the series rather than the end. That might be a disruptive and frustrating choice if one is consuming the story rapidly—the "Dark Arima" arc has been left hanging since the end of volume nine—but for someone like me, who hasn't … [Read more...] about Kare Kano 11-12 by Masami Tsuda: B-
Sarasah 1 by Ryu Ryang: C
Ji-Hae Namgung has harbored an obsessive crush on her classmate, Seung-Hyu, for over a year and a half. Because her “love” hasn’t faded in all this time, she believes it’s more substantial than most and won’t give up her attempts to win Seung-Hyu’s heart, despite the fact that he has repeatedly and emphatically rejected her. As she chases after him after his latest refusal, she … [Read more...] about Sarasah 1 by Ryu Ryang: C
High School Debut 11 by Kazune Kawahara: B+
From the back cover: Haruna becomes worried when she sees Yoh hanging out with an unattractive classmate. (Yoh does seem to have strange taste in women, after all...) She has good reason for feeling uneasy—it looks like this girl really does want to sabotage their relationship! Review: The main reason I love High School Debut is that it skewers some of the typical shojo … [Read more...] about High School Debut 11 by Kazune Kawahara: B+
Patience & Sarah by Isabel Miller: B-
From the back cover: Early in the nineteenth century, in a puritanical New England town, two women did something unspeakable, something unheard of—they fell in love with each other. With nothing and no one to guide or support them, Patience and Sarah tried to follow their hearts. And when family pressures separated them, the two women dreamed of leaving their homes, of being … [Read more...] about Patience & Sarah by Isabel Miller: B-