saifighter's Reviews (253)

I'm not really sure how to rate this one.

What is with the pacing? And it almost feels like there are huge scenes missing?

Like we never get to see Chiyuki trying out for those other agencies or doing the photo shoot that she did on the street. That would have been the more interesting parts to see. If Chiyuki is one of the main character I want to see her working hard to achieve her goals. 

Although, she doesn't need to work hard. Because shes a nepo baby. -_- Chiyuki is really annoying and I really don't like her.

Also we just skip straight to the big fashion show and it doesn't feel earned at all? For being published in a Shonen magazine, it doesn't have a shonen spirit at all. Where are the scenes of them working hard, training their skills, taking on challenges.

I guess the art is cute if generic looking. And  Ikuto and his interactions with his community seem interesting.

Definitely not picking back up again. 

Actually terrible and complete filler. I think you can probably just skip this book. 

Certified banger.

I have mixed feeling so this one, much like how Cassie has mixed feelings about literally everything. 

DNF at 42%

This got pretty miserable really fast. Not for me.

 Wow. This manga is so beautiful., I would literally just stare at every page for minutes at a time, drinking in all the details. The clothing, jewelry, carpet, wood paneling, the panels and environment. it was all so beautiful.

The age gap, since everyone is commenting on it, doesn't really bother me. The author commented in the Afterwords that the usual age of marriage for this time was 15-16. So both characters are kind of the wrong age to be getting married, which I appreciate since it doesn't feel like there is a huge power imbalance or someone is being taken advantage of. They are kind of both the fish out of water here. In chapter three Uncle Amak and the other family members kind of comment on Amir being too old. In the end of chapter one, you can see some other characters saying that Karluk is too young ("but her groom is some snot-nosed whelp.") So the manga acknowledge that its a little weird, which is why the story is happening. But it really has me interested: why is Amir not married at her age? Why was someone as young as Karluk picked as her husband? I really want to read to find out!

That being said I actually really like Karluk and Amir's relationship. In chapter 3 (my favorite chapter) they get a lot of alone time traveling together. To me they just feel like a family and I really like it. Probably because the relationship hasn't become sexual yet. They just seem to care about each other and also they have no idea what they are doing lol. Navigating their relationship is the main conflict after all. I'm excited to see them work out the situation they are in as they grow together as a family.

I really like the family members too. They already love her so much it seems and accept her really quickly despite the odd circumstance. Rostem's chapter is so cute. And I love Seleke and Balkirsh. They have such big personalities. Really all the women in the manga do. Amir is also so cool and kind of a bad ass. I love her! I love Karluk too. I like how quiet and observant her is. i feel like you can read his emotions and thoughts just from his facial expressions in panels. Kaoru Mori is so talented.  Even though Seleke's husband Yusuf only has a few appearances, he also has so much personality. I love this whole family and really just want to learn as much as I can about them. Even Smith, the random foreigner who is staying with them. 

Lastly, I read a physical copy of the book. Its pretty nice to hold a hard copy manga.

I will 100% being reading the rest of this. I'm gonna get volume 2 like right now! 

I'm so angry. This came highly recommended from a podcast that I like. I was really skeptical when the author announced in the introduction that they were still a Christian that lived outside of purity culture. The final straw was when a person being interviewed said that she was married to a republican while she was a democrat. The women in this book are still in the choke hold of religious oppression that its completely blinded them to the fact that they are still in the throws of purity cultures big sister: anti-feminism. For an author that is on a mission to show the religious trauma of purity culture to still be participating in that culture is honestly disgusting. Skip this book. It is not as pro-woman as it seems to think it is. 

I'll start by saying that I don't really know a lot about Playboy or the Hefners or anything like that. I know what it is but its not really something that was around me growing up and I didn't confuse any TV with it involved. Thank being said-

I know its ghost written by Lara Love Hardin but the author (authors?) perfectly painted this picture of being trapped social, physically, and financially. I know its hard to gauge authentic in a book written by a ghost writer. But the voice in this book really feels genuine. The motifs and theme around cages and birds, while clique, was something I really connected to. The complicated emotions are fully on display. Its emotional without being just grief porn. It feels like a good balance.

After reading this I read through the comments and there seems to be some discourse about if what Crystal is saying is true or if she is just ripping on other girls. I don't know. For what it was it was a good read but not something I would go around recommending based on its subject topic.

Solid 3-ish

If "The Legends of the First Empire" was a delicious layered cake on your birthday than "Nolyn" is like eating whip cream straight from the can at 6am, still drunk from the night before.

For me, the Legends series is a master piece. I loved it so much and was honestly heart broken when I had to say good-bye to so many of those characters. So I was really excited to start "Nolyn" and to see what the children of the previous book were up to.

As always, MJS's writing was witty, funny, engaging, and honestly perfect. I enjoyed the writing even when I wasn't really enjoying the book. And I'm sad to say that there were large portions of this book that I really didn't like. I really struggled to finish "Nolyn" and contemplated DNF-ing a few times. Two months and a few weeks to finish a MJS book is so unheard of for me. I usually finish them in 2 weeks, not 2 months.

And you know, its got great characters, great writing, interesting plot points, and everything else you expect in a MJS. There really isn't anything bad about "Nolyn" except that its sitting in the shadow of a giant. 

I have absolutely no desire to continue reading this. While reading it I just kept thinking, "Man I really wanna read more of Blue Period." I think for me chapter 5 really solidified my opinion. It was just a weird chapter. The artist bad, the story isn't bad, I just wasn't invested at all.