Angela

i think it's official at this point: i really like the dom/sub universe thing. it's so much more fun than the omegaverse

the plot thickens.

but in all seriousness, this is getting really interesting. the pieces are coming together, still a lot of lies, don't trust anyone

honestly, fuck this volume.
that face of ugetsu crying. breaks me everytime. manga was no exception. one chapter from the end, and i couldn't go back for months. ugetsu. dammit, ugetsu. my baby deserved so much better than this.

also, i can't say if i am on board with akihiko and ugetsu breaking up or not. i feel like they could've worked on it and stayed together but that's besides the point. /the point/ being that even if i can accept that them not being together is probably good for both of them in the long run [it's not, i refuse, what kind of sena/leo bullshit is this?? if you know, you know!] i still think, and this is probably a wildly unpopular and maybe even a controversial opinion, that akihiko and haruki should not have ended up together either. i don't see this relationship working long-term and i just don't like it. if this is supposed to be a romance manga, or at least a manga with a strong romantic element, i, as a reader, supposed to root for the relationship and want them together and be glad at the end when they do end up together... and i just don't. i'd much akihiko was alone at the end than with haruki. not cause i like haruki and think akihiko is like “undeserving” or smth [his words, not mine]. i don't actually like haruki this much. he's the most boring character of the series in my opinion, and the one i care about the least. so it's not that. i just don't vibe with it. i don't like it.

and the fact that my favourite character is the one left behind, hurting, by the end of it is just... i want an ugetsu arc. where he finds smb he can actually be with and still have his music and is happy and smiling and in love and is loved. give my baby a hug, a happy ending and tell him it's all going to be fine

that's an interesting take on vampires i haven't seen before

it's better than the previous two but i have lost interest completely by the end. i was just glad it was finally over

natsume and tanuma are so shippable xD
still not my favourite ship in this series

this volume is so heartbreaking

the first third of this book felt like a whiplash. we're here, now we're here, we're running, we're kidnapped, we're running again. bam, bam, bam.
and then it turned into teenage drama and an alina centric harem which is just the worst. i like you, you like me, she likes you, blah blah blah. even the darkling became such an idiot. this eternal thousand years old being is being such a lovesick idiot because of alina of all ppl? wow, just wow

the only character who saved this a bit is nikolai and even then, he had the same bad taste for love interest as all the other guys in this do

oh, and mal is so annoying, i wish the shadow monster would eat him already

i loved the last two stories and the first one had potential as well. the art style is also just my thing.

thankfully the fox/rabbit one has a separate series. i can't wait to read that one, it was my favourite story in this collection.

mpreg is really not my thing and that's all they ever talked about really. also i wanted a full volume about the fox and the rabbit so it having another story was a bit disappointing

this was fine and even cute sometimes but a bit too stupid for my taste

the ending was a bit too cheesy but i guess better this than tragedy

Merged review:

the ending was a bit too cheesy but i guess better this than tragedy

~sigh~
i really dislike ruth ware's way of writing pregnant women or women with newborn children. i just... they are so obsessive and the book turns more into a “woman obsessing over her child oh and there is a mystery plot on the background” type of book than a, you know, /a mystery book/.
another thing that irritated me in this one is the romantic relationship. it went from reading [at least to me] kind of toxic and unsafe to a sugary unrealistic mess.

the mystery itself, well, it was kind of boring to be honest. i didn't really enjoy it. the past timeline was interesting and i would read a book like that, this sort of dark academia set in oxford that ends in murder. but everytime we would cut to present i would just get so unbelievably bored. and this is not the first time i felt this way. ruth ware's The Lying Game left me feeling very similarly. which is unsurprising considering the books themselves are also rather similar. a dark academia past timeline? check. a woman obsessing over her child? check. a tumultuous romantic relationship? check. a friendgroup that fell apart but is now coming back together? check. an old case coming back to life? check.
you get the point.
and i just don't like it.
it also felt way too long. i might be wrong, but i think this is ruth ware's longest book thus far? well, it certainly felt that in any way.

it's interesting to me how much the anime added. usually the anime cuts scenes out. the only other series i've read where i had this experience of reading manga after watching anime and the manga being the one that felt more rushed was mononokean

i loved this so much. from art style to character dynamics, i love everything. this is so me, this is exactly what i love. i only wish it was longer but i guess we'd have angst then, so i'm good

have i found a new favourite manga author? is it too soon to tell?
in any way, this was great. more please

this was amazing

if you're into the trope combo, you'll like it. the art style is fun and the character dynamics are interesting. the sex scenes are hot [again, check content. imagine you're on ao3, know what you're getting into]

i think this is one of my favourite volumes. i like shibata. i'm not sure if i'm supposed to but i really do. and his present dynamic with natsume is interesting. i love how snarky natsume was with him.
i also like the story about the two gods and natsume and natori working together and getting closer. all in all, this was a very nice volume

this volume is so sad. one story about a crying kid spirit after another. i think kai's story is the most upsetting to me in the whole series.

also this volume has a bonus story that has nothing to do with the series that i didn't care for

i think this is my favourite volume so far. i love matoba a lot. he's easily my favourite character. and i like the three way dynamic between him, natsume, and natori [can we get a poly pls? pretty pls?].

not that i want to sound like a broken record, but matoba is such a good character. i want more scenes with him and natsume

idk what i expected but it wasn't this. this was kind of... nothing

so... no. just no.
also, this is not an alice in wonderland retelling. it's just not. apart from the names, which you can easily change to literally any other names [which i know because hatter was only one with a changed name and it didn't matter at all], this is not an alice retelling. so not only is this very bad, unnecessary, and preachy, it's also not what it promised to be.

i will say this, i liked cheshire. my favourite chaotic neutral cat deserved the one star i'm giving this book which is honestly way too much for this anyway

update 26.12.22
omg! i just got the audiobook. i am going to start from the beginning now and hopefully finish it by the end of december. i have about a week left and it's only around 10 hours. i can totally do it!