Very cute! I just find Melly so adorable with all her energy.

This book wasn't nearly as fun as the first, but it tries to include a message about being content with what you have/just being yourself. 

Fairly quick and cute. A wacky gameshow may be the literal key to an ancient treasure.

Not sure why everyone was in a "dot eye" style, but it's a change of pace. Huey, Dewey, and Louie are boring here and do absolutely nothing. Overall, this felt like a Ducktales comic. 

 Good thing Human Resources isn’t a thing here. The way the prince was rubbing on Rangetsu was a lil inappropriate lol. The Rangetsu’s finally starting to be honest about herself and her struggle to trust Prince Tenyou. There are some weird dreams too that have Rangetsu questioning herself. 

I really liked the conversation about the brothels. What’s just a night of pleasure for some is a life of prostitution, with the ills that come with that, for Aijin women. I want more of the beast servants. They seem very interesting. 

Wonderful cover! I found the story a little lackluster, and, at times, boring. I wanted to like the brothers, but I didn’t get a chance to know them before everything unfolds. There wasn’t enough of the dragon prince for me either. I’m sorry but the paper bird, Kiki, was annoying. It didn’t really add anything, and she wasn’t a cute or fun magical animal sidekick. This story was more plot-driven than character-driven, so I accredit that to the lack of emotion I feel for the characters. 

On the positive, I never knew where the story was going. It kept averting expectations. I like that the author tried to show no person is just good or evil. I think the rocky, tense relationship between Shiori and her stepmother is one of the best parts. Also, YA male leads have evolved. Gone are the sulky, angsty bad boys. In this era, we’re getting sweet, kind boys who can communicate. Now,

I think Shiori and Takkun are dry to be honest, but their connection is sweet.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t enthused with this book, but I might have to read book 2.

ugh, they’re going to the underwater Dragon kingdom. I wanna read that.

“You can… forget that too.” Pretty smooth!

Ahh, these characters are pining for each other. The frustration. The misunderstandings. The shoujo!!!

This is one of the cutest manga I’ve read in a while. I love the artwork and the characters too. It almost makes me forgive it for that earlier step-sibling nonsense. 

Something, I enjoy about this series/mangaka is that she captures subtlety well (in body language), like, the nervousness, shy touches, and the need for closeness.

Seems like trauma/violence porn at some points (or maybe it’s the realities of a cruel regime). Elias (and Helene), in particular, can't seem to catch a break. But it's the character connection/interaction between Elias and Helene that keeps me hooked. 

I never would’ve dreamt of it, but I find Helene the most interesting. She cannot kill Elias and yet she must; the Commandant is playing chess with her, her soldiers don’t respect her, and her family has sworn allegiance to Marcus, a certified butthole, fighting his own demons. I don’t dislike Laia, but I feel like I’m just being told she’s brave/different now. But I’m not really seeing it.

her invisibility power does sound like it could be dope now that she’s mastered it.

I also loved that Elias got to see his family again. 

There are some parts I enjoy and others I don’t like. As far as interest, it’s like 4 – 5 stars, but I don’t know if I like how some of the heavier elements are handled. But I can’t put this series down either, so onto book 3 I go. 

TW: genocide, enslavement, prison torture, seizures, death, child abuse

Ending thoughts (major spoilers):

it feels like Helene gained this whole family overnight. I don’t remember them being mentioned in the first book much, if at all. 

I was surprised when Laia slept with Keenan because most books have the female lead “untouched” by no one other than the LI, even during a love triangle. 

I liked that the Scholar people played a huge role in their own escape. It wasn’t like Elias was the chosen “savior” or something. Maybe he brought morale up, but they also helped themselves. It’s always iffy when the savior of a people is an outsider, but I think the story avoided that.

Also, loved that he died. You don’t expect the hero to die in these stories, even if he does cheat death for a few pages more. 

The whole Keenan-Jinn felt majorly cheesy. I thought he was just helping the warden because they had information on a family member of his who wasn't killed.