raenyreads's Reviews (345)

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this manga for review!

A Vampire in the Bathhouse by Niko Izuki is a short, fun, light-hearted read following the antics of a demon vampire who journeys to the human realm in order to relax in a bathhouse.

The art in this volume is great, the backgrounds and characters are mostly super detailed and the expressions of the characters really bring them to life. The traditional bathhouse setting really brings a cosy vibe to the story. All the characters are very endearing, the side characters Umenosuke and Pequeno being favourites of mine! The relationship between the main characters Sakura and Luka is fun and kept me invested.

My only negative point is something felt off with the pacing. Somethings took too long and somethings were resolved very quickly. This did mean it felt like it dragged a bit.

Overall, a fun little read but not one I'd likely reread.

I think I was in a bit of a slump when reading this so it did hamper my experience a bit but trying to look past that I think this is still a really good round off to the series. 

An issue I've had throughout the series is that I've cared for some POVs more than others and this persisted into this instalment. Despite this though none of the POVs were bad, I just cared for some more. 

The biggest draw of this series for me was the world building and magic system, I've loved it since the first chapter of book one. I did enjoy where they took it in this installment, though I would have liked more of it.

The plot was good enough to keep me interested and I mostly like how it went. Some choices I'm not a fan of,

LEGS

, but I do like how it ended and felt that it had some good twists and turns I didn't see coming.

Anyway, these are just some random thoughts. I did enjoy the book and I recommend the series!

Do I know what happened in this book? Not at all. Did I enjoy the writing style, the vibes, and the journey it took me on? Yeah.

This is a spoiler free review for the whole series, up to where it is currently out in English volumes (volume 10). I update it periodically as I don't like rating individual volumes and would rather rate the series as a whole. 

This series is the cutest thing I have ever read! Want a fluffy cute romance with some emotional impact? Read this series! I kick my legs at the romance in this series in every single volume. The female lead being Deaf adds a lot of nuance and depth to the story. The main characters are highly endearing and I love seeing their relationship develop, along with the side characters. 

A big improvement on the first book in this series for me. The characters were still really great but the plot was much more satisfying to read in this one. Though the scale seemed a bit too big for what started as four elderly people solving crimes and so it lost me a bit there. I read through it really quickly though and I'll be continuing with the third book.

Samantha Shannon does it again. This was a brilliantly written book which kept me engaged throughout, though a couple chapters did feel like lulls before it picked up again. I love all the characters in this series and can't wait to see where they head next. Not a 5 star just because I'm still chasing the high of The Mime Order and this one just didn't quite get there.

I honestly didn't think this book was really going to be my thing, but I wanted to give it a try anyway, and I'm really glad I did. The way the book is written gets you straight into the story with short chapters to start. Then, when the chapters got longer, I was invested in the story and mysteries enough for it to keep me going. The ending had me thinking about the book for days afterwards as the magical realism elements leave it up to you to decide what happened.

I was pleasantly surprised by the themes of the book, which included acceptance and empathy, but also maybe a bit of revenge. Learning more about Abba and how her life interweaves with the story was a highlight. 

I will likely try more of the authors work in the future. It was missing a bit of a wow factor that would make it a five-star book, but otherwise, it's a great read. I'd recommend it if it sounds like something you'd be interested in!

I can't quite decide how I feel about this book. I went in with low expectations as I was reading it for a book club, not because I really wanted to. Those low expectations were surpassed. I ended up getting the hang of the language much easier than I thought I would and I found the plot to be engaging enough to keep me reading. However did I enjoy the experience? No, not really. All the characters are awful, which is of course on purpose, but still. I also don't know if I really got it.  I think I'm glad I read it but I won't really be recommending it.

I really liked the set up of this first book. The world created is really interesting and complex. The characters are also really well written and I enjoyed their development so far and look forward to see how they end up in the next instalment of the series. However, I don't think anything really wowed me yet and the plot is a little bit predictable from the start. Will be picking up the next book though.

The art in this series is gorgeous. As a marine biologist I especially loved the ocean and diving scenes. I also really liked the characters and their development arcs they went on. However, I think because this was an adaptation, the pacing felt kind of off and took me out of the story in places.