3.5 overall for the series. The relationship felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped to me, like Emi and Kei meet and immediately are living together and working on organizing events, and for me, personally, I like more of a slow burn, more yearning. I did like the surprise development in the third volume, and how it forces Emi to take more control of her life rather than following Kei around. Even though it wasn't everything I might have wanted, it is always a treat to find yuri with adult characters and unusual settings.

I think I have to break up with Agatha Raisin with this one. The homophobic and body shaming comments are distracting, and I can’t focus on the mystery.

When I was younger, I found The Doll’s House arc a bit confusing and difficult to follow, but rereading it now it hit me much harder than it used to. There is so much sheer unfairness in this story, so many characters running up against things that they don’t deserve. And there are moments of connection that shine so beautifully before being cut short.

It’s also striking to me how queer this book is, which I absorbed kind of passively as a mostly closeted queer teenager and haven’t thought about in a long time.

I haven’t read the rest of Sandman since I was in my early 20s (and still haven’t read Overture at all, shockingly), so I’m intrigued to see how rereading those volumes will go.

I liked The Sun Down Motel a lot, so The Book of Cold Cases sold itself to me pretty easily, being as it is another dual-timeline, true-crime-inspired tale of murder and ghosts from Simone St. James. For some reason, I didn't tear through this one like I did with The Sun Down Motel, which might just be down to life circumstances and distractions because there is a lot to enjoy here, not the least of which is the tension between the two very different main characters, both of whom have had their lives put on hold by their proximity to murder. I think that Shea will be relatable to a lot of women in their 30s or slightly younger, who are all too aware of how wrong things can go for women and girls, especially, and for whom thrillers and true crime feel like preparation, a mental inoculation against the darkness. I mean, hell, that's me reading this very book.

Oddly appropriate reading alongside Flowers in the Attic, with the glamorous but troubled mother, the family secrets, and the 20th Century Gothic atmosphere. No incest, though.

Like its predecessor, A Prayer for the Crown-shy is a verdant little oasis of a book that I loved reading, but that also absolutely broke my heart for the world that we live in.

I finally read this after years of resistance because my coworkers love to make fun of it. But reading with the intention of being a hater really backfired on me, because in spite (or because) of its outlandish, soap opera luridness, I really enjoyed it. I’ve read articles by Gillian Flynn and Megan Abbott about Flowers and its influence on their writing, and I’ve become fascinated by VC Andrews and her life. At this point, I’m planning to read the rest of the series and probably all the books Andrews completed before her death (and subsequent possession of the body of Andrew Neiderman?), and I’m more interested in digging into her cultural impact and her place in the Gothic tradition than in making fun of her and calling her trash. Because there’s plenty to get a surprised giggle out of in Flowers, but I think taking it seriously is a lot more fun.

Oh, this is perfect. Sweet, rife with hands brushing against hands and soft-focus, floating-flowers moments. I swear that my soul heals a little bit with every yuri manga I read.