It's Gay? BUT DOES NOT SLAP.

You could literally not pay me to finish this work. And the reasoning is 50/50 art and content.

The way that they speak about women is disgusting, and within the beginning of the book we hear about a pretty disturbing act of violence against a woman.

The art, honestly goes from moderately unsettling to I had to close the PDF and now wish I could find eye bleach. Because I want to permanently forget I ever saw this.

Is it Gay? No.
Does it feel like a piece of propaganda? Yes.

I definitely enjoyed this manga at parts. But as soon as I'd step away, I was left to consider how Civilians are depicted vs Police Force in this work. This depiction being that the civilians are being to hard on the police for just doing their jobs..

While the protagonist does have fleeting thoughts about corruption in the force it is quickly smoothed over by a piece of humor or wholesomeness.

So all in all, I won't be returning to this manga series.

This was gorgeous and heart felt. This book captures the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" in it's entirety.
This sweet story was honestly the highlight of my day, and I plan on purchasing this book for my little sister for Christmas.

We are in reality here to know how the Everyday English translation stands up as a representation of the original.

Overall I think SparkNotes did incredibly well, I particularly liked "You can push my buttons, but you can't play me for a fool". My instant thought was damn dude, it had an impact that I never felt when reading this part before.

I was initially disappointed was the change of "Get thee to a nunnery" rather then a nunnery to use the word Convent instead (since per the SparkNotes annotation this can mean a religious institute or a brothel), but in digging further the British Library says this was also the intent of the initial statement, So I was taught something new in returning to Hamlet.

This manga is sweetness and wholesomeness, and that is all that it wants to depict itself as. But in reality it shows hints at a much vaster world then the sliver we are shown and also a much darker world.
The real question is whether Kazutake plans on delving into the darker parts that they hint at. If they do, this could be incredibly interesting. If they don't I feel like the Slice of Life will become dull quite quickly.

From what is shown in the first volume of "Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawerence" it comes off as a run of the mill humorous slice of life Manga. But if it just continues to be just Slice of Life and not capture it's fantasy background I don't think it will meet it's full potential.

I am very hesitant to continue this because of just that.

Trigger Warnings for Parental Death (Off Page), Parental Mental Illness, and Hoarding.

This book captured the feeling of living in the midwest (especially in a small town) incredibly accurately, and Jesse Vilinsky honestly made my workday with her Midwestern accent. (Even if the Australian accent was grating)

This book was honestly probably my favorite book I've read this Summer. I enjoyed it from beginning to end, and towards the end had me tearing up to the point I had to go hide in the break room to ensure no one saw.

I enjoyed the growth of Jane shown throughout this book. She constantly works to be a better person. She also has some amazing friends as support throughout this book. I also liked the fact that the way Jane's Mother's Mental Health is shown felt real for me.

This book is honestly fun from beginning to end, and I would recommend it full-heartedly. Jane is bi and while the romance is shown isn't of the gay variety. But I have the urge to deep it "It's Gay, and It Slaps" Because just because you're with a guy doesn't make you not bi.

IF I ever were to have friends with children, I definitely get this for them. It has a lot of interesting ideas, some of them being tried and true classics, some of them things I'd never thought of before.

When dealing with kids constantly it is easy to get overwhelmed making it difficult to find things to keep the rascals entertained. This book is the solution.

Did Shadow Service lure 'me in by having an incredibly similar title design as G.I. Joe? Yes
Do I regret picking it up? Not one bit.

This is a crazy read from start to finish, and it just got weirder and weirder as it went. Then the Cliff hanger had me verbally cursing because I need to know what happens. Also, more about what in the world is going on.

I read this book directly after reading A Song Below Water. So my bitterness towards Naema was still incredibly fresh. Which honestly made the first part of the book a trudge that I don't think I would have experienced if I had, had more of a gap between them.

I do think this book is an intriguing take on Privilege, Social Justice, and Racism paired with the powder keg that is Social Media. In contrast, A Song Below Water made me think more broadly of events in the last several years.
A Chorus Rises left me feeling like I had been taken back to Fall/Winter 2020 and January 2021. Specifically to how Social Media had been twisting and warping our real lives, showing how much damage can be caused by what happens within the World Wide Web pages.

Naema gets a redemption arc that I long to see in works of fiction. It does not feel ingenious, though. It isn't a 180, where she completely turns her back on her old self. But we get to watch him grow and learn as she branches out. This causes it to feel genuine rather than just expecting the reader to believe someone has changed.

This was an excellent follow-up to A Song Below Water, and I would recommend it to those who enjoyed it.

(Thanks to NetGalley Macmillian Audio and Tor Teen for allowing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!)

I don't think I've ever had a narrator so thuroughly ruin a book for me as happened in this book. The voices that are used especially for characters like Alex and Kelly. It was an uphill battle for me not to just toss the book to the side for that reason.

I did find the story to be dark and funny in all the right places. It never felt like it was taking itself to seriously. And would have been an enjoyable read had I been reading a physical copy rather then an audiobook.

Would recommend, but only if you don't have to subjugate yourself to the audiobook.