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Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 4: Founder of the Royal Academy’s So-Called Library Committee, Vol. 4

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Due to a translation schedule that can only be described as bananas, we are slowly catching up with the series in Japan. Slowly being the word – this is the 16th book in the series, and it came out in Japan in 2018. The latest book is the 28th, which came out in December. But if we continue to do 6 a year, while Japan does 4, we will eventually get there. It’s enough to make a reader feel confident about looking at fanart. But, as anyone who’s ever looked up Japanese Bookworm fanart knows, this can be very dangerous. Look, I don’t know who Rozemyne will end up married to in the future. Indeed, this particular book makes it very clear that Wilfried is a very good choice – and that Ferdinand would be a politically bad one. That said, anyone looking at pixiv will see that one pairing is overwhelmingly the favorite, to the point where it’s 95% of all the art. And it ain’t Rosemyne/Wilfried. We shall see.

As with all Bookworm volumes, there’s a lot going on here. Rozemyne’s desire to avoid a lot of hard embroidery work causes her to not only revolutionize the ink industry, but also invent invisible ink, which will no doubt prove very useful in future books. The spring prayer happens in the middle of the book, and a discrepancy between the bible that everyone else knows and the one that Rozemyne has read in the High Bishop’s office leads to a literal miracle. The archduke learns that, in terms of the “commoner” parts of the city, his territory is at the very, very bottom, which leads to a need for sewers – and a mass cleansing. Most importantly, Rozemyne is engaged to Wilfried, and while some readers may still be grumpy with him due to past events, it’s shown to be a political necessity, as Rosemyne is a Hot New Item.

As I have said many times before, these books are long. This one is 343 pages, which is actually 30 pages shorter than the previous one. And yet I always find myself wishing that the books went into more depth. Worldbuilding can be tedious when it’s another boilerplate isekai talking about casting from hit points, but this series really is entirely about the worldbuilding – it’s a major reason why it’s a huge hit (though I will admit our smol book gremlin is the main reason). Even the side stories told from other perspectives are excellent – we get Wilfried’s thoughts on his engagement, and show off how much he’s matured. We also get to see Gunther and Myne’s family once more. And, most importantly, we get the politics. It’s not entirely Rozemyne not caring about anything but books – the politics in this world is genuinely hard, and you need a lifetime of training.

This volume ends with the implication that the next one will be even more focused on infighting and intrigue. Which is great, I love that. But I do hope it also shows Rozemyne casually inventing more stuff, and playing more magical rugby, and causing Sylvester, Ferdinand and Benno to hold their heads in pain at her antics. The books are long, and yet all too short.

From Toxic Classmate to Girlfriend Goals, Vol. 1

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By Sametaro Fukada and Fumi. Released in Japan as “Yatarato Sasshi no Ii Ore wa, Dokuzetsu Kuudere Bishoujo no Chiisana Dere mo Minogasazu ni Guigui Iku” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Tentai Books. Translated by Callum Conroy.

In general these days, if you are in a classroom and you see a girl sitting next to you who either a) has a face that makes her look evil and threatening or b) a cool beauty who no one can approach, odds are that she is going to be an incredibly sweet girl who merely has tremendous communication issues. If you weren’t aware that this book is another in that type of series, you haven’t been paying attention to Tentai Books’ recent licenses, as they’re starting to have a niche in the “sugar sweet romance between weird boy and aloof girl” genre (though Seatmate Killer reversed those adjectives). If you are the sort who believe that good books need conflict, then this is not for you: there’s only one major conflict in the book. Instead, sit back and watch Koyuki be the world’s worst tsundere, and Naoya realize that, in fact, he does want to get closer to her.

Naoya is a young man who has become an expert at reading people’s faces to figure out not only their emotional state but also their backstory, family connections, and what they’re thinking. He credits it to a family backstory that we get some of, but it’s hinted there’s a lot more to it than that. One day he runs across a creeper trying to pick up a young woman who clearly does not want his attention, and proceeds to verbally destroy him to get him to back off. Little does he know that this woman is Koyuki, legendary at their school for her callous words and cool attitude towards everyone. Except, now that he comes to really look at her, he realizes that all this is wrong and that she’;s just colossally bad at offering help or accepting thanks. Worse, she falls for him rapidly, and he is trying his hardest to avoid getting in a relationship. Will she be able to break down his walls?

A lot of the humor in this book for me came from, as I hinted, the lack of conflict. Throughout, we see things set up where they look like they might lead to some drama… but they don’t. Naoya may be reluctant to get into a romantic relationship, but once he realizes that’s where this is heading he doesn’t back off or try to change how he acts around Koyuki. We meet her sister, who’s trying to make sure that he’s good boyfriend material… and he passes easily. Then we meet his family, including an overprotective father… and he STILL passes easily. This actually makes it funny when we finally DO get to the drama in the volume… and it comes from him confessing to her too quickly, something she has (supposedly) spent the entire book trying to achieve. And when she finally gets what she wants? She has a total meltdown.

Not to worry, though, it works out. The author, in the afterword (and apparently also the publicity for the series) guarantees a happy ending. Which is good, because we have other books if we want drama. We have this if we want to see an incredibly dorky girl try to point at her boyfriend in a haughty way but fail because she’s simply too adorable to pull it off. Cute and sweet.

Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire, Vol. 3

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By Hayaken and Nagu. Released in Japan as “Eiyu-oh, Bu wo Kiwameru tame Tensei su. Soshite, Sekai Saikyou no Minarai Kisi ♀” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mike Langwiser.

It can be very difficult sometimes when you are writing a series which has exactly one joke. It gets harder the longer the series gets because, well, it’s just the one joke. But, believe it or not, sometimes that is enough, and you’re able to keep going because yes, it’s a good joke. The joke for Reborn to Master the Blade is that Inglis is a meathead who only thinks of fighting strong opponents. And throughout this book, that’s what we get, over and over. Either she’s fighting them or, more often, she’s trying to fight them and failing because of things like politics or the other party refusing or having to save lives and the like. And we also see other characters knowing this and essentially smacking their foreheads. It’s one joke. But we’re early in the series, and the joke is still funny. And also Inglis as an overpowered meathead is pretty cool. As with previous books, the fights are a highlight.

Our main cast are still trying to deal with Ripple, who is still sucking in mana and letting out monsters (and does not even have a pebble to toss or wind to blow). Unfortunately, the response of the kingdom to this seems to be “send Ripple back home and get a new heiral menace”. Which, it is implied but never outright stated, would mean Ripple’s death. What’s more, it becomes pretty clear that the reason all this is happening in the first place is that Ripple is being “punished” by one of the Highland factions in order to… well, in order to be sneeringly evil, because this is not the most subtle book in the world. Inglis and company try to work out a plan, part of which involves her and Rafinha going undercover as maids to a ceremony held by the King for a Highland ambassador. Sadly, he too is mostly cartoonishly evil. Fortunately, Inglis is there and can hit things very hard.

The other great part of this book, besides Inglis wanting to fight fight fight, is the introduction of her antimatter universe counterpart, Yua. Yua is astonishingly strong, just like Inglis, and you’d think that she’d finally found the perfect opponent. There’s just one problem: Yua doesn’t care about fighting. She’d rather take the path with the least effort where she can be lazy, and even has to be talked into fighting a bunch of potentially lethal monsters. She’s also got that ‘stoic’ Rei Ayanami-ish personality, which also balances next to Inglis’. Oh yes, and she gives everyone nicknames. Inglis is “Big Boobs”, because this is a Japanese light novel. Basically, she’s a hoot, and I am glad she was not killed off towards the end of the book, which looked like it might actually happen for a while. There’s also lots of terrorism and political maneuvering and people losing arms and then getting them sewn back on with magic, but… let’s face it, it’s not Inglis fighting.

So yes, if you like dumb meatheads who only think of one thing, this is still that thing. I do think this will work better in Vol. 3 than in Vol. 17, though…

Holmes of Kyoto, Vol. 7

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By Mai Mochizuki and Shizu Yamauchi. Released in Japan by Futabasha. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Minna Lin.

This volume was already starting off in a big hole as I read the synopsis before getting the book. I have to be honest, “I’m breaking up with you to keep you safe” is something that I really, really hate. It didn’t help that we get another of the plot devices I hate, which is the threat of rape framed as “I will despoil her”, because Virginity Is Important, Franklin. So yeah, this was already starting from a deep hole, and it’s a credit to the author that I will still likely be reading the next book. That said, they really need to accept that they are better at writing mysteries, antiquing and travelogues than they are romance, and also that the books work better in short story collections. It helps that the first half of the book does NOT involve this plot, even though it too has a trope that I’m not fond of, the “I’ve misunderstood a secondhand conversation and think my boyfriend is in love with someone else”. Honestly, this whole book is land mines.

Holmes and Aoi are dating, and are both calm and intelligent, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t free from stress. When Aoi hears that Holmes and Yoshie, the owner’s girlfriend, had an intimate conversation while in America, she knows it’s gonna be a misunderstanding but goes there anyway. After this Holmes is asked to judge a tea ceremony between two brothers to help figure out who’s going to take over the family. Unfortunately, after this, everyone’s least favorite Moriarty shows up to ruin the book. Ensho is back, trying to get Holmes to appraise an incense container and also to be creepy and threatening. After being startled that it’s actually genuine, he vanishes… only to show up at Aoi’s high school to threaten her. This is enough for Holmes, who decides to break up with her in order to keep her away from Ensho, who clearly has a vendetta.

It is suggested at the end of this book that we’ve seen the last of Ensho as a recurring villain, and thank God. It’s reminiscent of Jon Pertwee’s second season of Doctor Who, where you know who the villain is because The Master is in every story that season. He’s worn out his welcome. As for Aoi, honestly, given everything that happens to her here I’m rather stunned that she managed to sail through her college entrance exams. The “theme” of the book, such as it is, is that words can hurt and affect people even if they are aware that the words are complete bullshit. We see that with Holmes’s grandfather, father, and him, and it’s all the more startling because it’s people we know are calm and intelligent. That said, this series continues to be at its best when discussing antiques or touring landmarks of Kyoto, and those were once more the better parts of the book.

That said, the writer may be running out of Kyoto, as the next volume sees Homes and Aoi headed to Yawata City! Which, yes, is also in Kyoto Prefecture, but it’s the thought that counts. In the meantime, if you do read this for the potboiler soap opera, this will be filled with that sort of thing. For the rest of us, let’s hope it’s done.

Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight, Vol. 13

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By Hyougetsu and Nari Teshima. Released in Japan by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen.

We continue the trend of the series gradually shifting from Veight’s adventures to Friede’s, though as long as the subtitle of the series remains the same I would not worry too much about losing everyone’s favorite vice-commander. (the best joke in this volume, by the way, is how everyone now wants to be a vice-commander because that’s what Veight was and they associate it with being all-powerful.) The narration here is closer to a balance between Friede and Veight, as is the action, though it’s weighted more towards Friede in the front. She’s something of a breath of fresh air in that, while she is undeniably strong and clever, she’s also a kid and thus cannot simply brute force her way through everything the way that Veight does. Indeed, late in the book Veight gets yelled at for solving a problem by blowing it up, even though, to be fair, that was likely the only way the problem could be solved. Friede is not super OP, so we are more interested in how she fixes things.

We pick up where we left off last time, with Friede, Shirin and Yuhette being sent to Rolmund as part of an ambassadorial visit, with the hopes that if it goes well it could lead to actual negotiations by adults in the future. What follows is essentially a continuation of the Rolmund arc from previous books, as it turns out that, unlike Meraldia, things are still very much in flux there politically. Eleora mostly has everything handled, but insurrections keep happening, and she cannot be everywhere. This is problematic when her niece, the heir (you know she’s not gonna get married, she’s one of the women who lost to Airia in the Veight sweepstakes) ends up kidnapped by one of the rival factions. Who’s going to be the one to find her? Will it be those whose job it is to do it? Or will it be our little girl protagonist? Take a guess.

I was amused at the niece/heir, Micha, who at first appears to be one of THOSE rich kids (you even see her pointing, always a sign in Japanese media that someone is rude) but quickly bonds with Friede, to the point where by the time the visit ends they’re best friends. Admittedly Friede also saves her life, which does help cement close friendships, or so I hear. As for Veight, he gets to do more on the back end of the book. Facing off against a sandworm is a scene for those who prefer the old, Veight is badass sort of story, but for me the highlight was the politics, including Veight opening up to his daughter about being a reincarnation. I too would miss easy to access potato chips if I were a werewolf in a fantasy kingdom. Not to mention paper curr3ency, which rears its ugly head as this book ends and will likely come up in Book 14.

Which we may or may not see soon. Square Enix has purchased the rights to Der Werwolf in Japan, so Vol. 14 and forward need to have J-Novel Club negotiate with a new publisher. Till then, fans of the series can enjoy this book which continues to very, very slowly pass the baton to its new heroine.

Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, Vol. 4

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By Miri Mikawa and Kasumi Nagi. Released in Japan as “Ikka Kōkyū Ryōrichō” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by afm.

I will admit that after the cliffhanger of the previous volume, I was not expecting the plot for most of this one to be “ghost story”. And yet it also manages to help to drive forward the love triangle as well, as it’s hard to maintain a cool, relaxed, professional demeanor when the person you love is sneaking into your room every night. Especially when they’re really a ghost who is there to slowly sap your life essence. This isn’t QUITE Rimi’s fault this time, but she’s the only one that can fix it, and honestly if she fails execution is likely what awaits. Again. If this were the previous three volumes, then the problem would be solved by food, but here food is only part of the answer. Rimi needs to actually look inside the ghost’s heart and see why they’re doing this. Which will, unfortunately for everyone involved, mean looking inside her own heart and doing what’s best for everyone.

The book starts off with the fallout from the previous one. Both Rimi and Shusei both trying to repress their love, and succeeding only in the eyes of each other (we get monologues from each about how the other one is much calmer about this). And the Emperor is, of course, waiting patiently for Rimi’s answer to his proposal. All this emotion flying around means that Tama, the Quinary Dragon, is feeling ill and lethargic. After researching things, they decide to decamp to a different palace, one with more spiritual energy, in order to heal Tama. Unfortunately, this palace comes with its own version of the Seven Mysteries of the High School, and Rimi finds herself dragged to a cursed well by impetuous consort and repressed lesbian Yo, who decides that investigating cursed objects that scream “do not open this cursed object” is awesome. Unfortunately, it triggers a curse. And now everyone’s going into everyone else’s room – supposedly – like it’s a British farce.

The food may take a back seat this time, but the romance and political intrigue does not. Despite Shusei trying to run away from it at every opportunity, he’s finally told the secret of his birth – and understands the implications for how he can use it to make Rimi his. Unfortunately, Rimi identifies strongly with the ghost here, who had to give up on her true love in order to become the Empress because it would be better for the kingdom. It comes down to waffling about things because of your love or making a clean break without regrets, and Rimi, who has matured more with each volume, makes the difficult choice. Which is very good news for the Emperor, but very bad news for the cast in general, as after reading the last forty or so pages of this book I’m fairly sure that this series is going to be ending with most of the cast dead.

But that’s future Sean’s problem. For now, this was probably the best volume in this series to date, one where true loves goes up against political expediency and comes out the loser.

Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?, Vol. 11

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By Dachima Inaka and Iida Pochi. Released in Japan as “Tsujo Kogeki ga Zentai Kogeki de Ni-kai Kogeki no Okasan wa Suki desu ka?” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

Sometimes you need to be careful not to read too much into “this character is overpowered an perfect”, even in a light novel. We’ve spent ten volumes so far watching Mamako and Masato, and honestly it has felt like most of the growth has been on his end. He’s a teenager, after all. That said, the game that we’ve been watching has not been entirely for children to mature and learn to get along better with their mothers, it’s also been showing us some pretty awful mothers. From Wise’s selfish mom to Mehdi’s education mom to Porta’s workaholic mom, each of these mothers has shown us that equal work needs to be done on both ends to repair the relationship. As such, it should not be too much of a surprise that we get to the final volume, which is supposedly about Masato facing off against his father the Demon Lord, only to realize that Mamako has been the real final boss all along.

The reason for the appearance of Masato’s dad (who works for the government) is that the beta is over, and it’s time to stop playing the game and go back to the real world. But first, there are a few hurdles to be overcome. The game ‘resets’ itself somewhat, first by having to get everyone to re-register their roles (fortunately for Masato, no one else really wants to be the Hero); then by erasing the memories of most of the supporting cast, in order to make Masato’s task harder. But he’s matured, something he shows off quite well in the first half of this book. A little too well – not only are Wise and Mehdi disturbed that a Masato who’s not pathetic might actually be… attractive to them, but Mamako is realizing that she’ll soon be unable to be a mom for him 24-7… and she hates that, however much she might pretend otherwise.

So yes, Mamako *is* one of the mom stereotypes we mentioned before. She’s the smothering mom. We’ve seen this throughout the series – the gag is that the game revolves around her and that he’s unable to do anything himself. But slowly, as the books have gone on, he’s managed to take more of a role in deciding what to do and how to solve things. He’s growing up. High school and college are around the corner. And then he’ll move out, marry Wise/Mehdi/whoever (Porta, thankfully, is left in the little sister role), and Mamako won’t have her baby boy around. The finale makes sense in a conceptual way – given the entire game has revolved around Mamako to date, she ends up literally becoming the game writ large… very large. But finally they are able to get through to her, and we end up with an epilogue that has everyone in reality dealing with the Mom game going into wide release.

Ignoring the joke ending that is basically “and the adventure continues…”, this was far more solid than it had any right to be. The series should have ended several volumes ago, but at least it mostly stuck the landing.

In the Land of Leadale, Vol. 4

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By Ceez and Tenmaso. Released in Japan as “Leadale no Daichi nite” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange.

Last time I called In the Land of Leadale “a slow life series with a potentially dark, chewy center”, and that definitely applies to this book, though keep in mind the darkness at the center may in fact keep you up at night. For the most part this continues to advance the series’ vague plotline. Cayna is getting better at social interaction (having a child to care for helps), and while she still does ludicrous things, they’ve become more of a spice than the entire book itself. There’s also lots of cuteness and slow life stuff. Unfortunately, there’s also a group of goons who are hired to kidnap the children Cayna is caring for, and they fill the “evil light novel guy” gamut from cheerful sociopath to literal pedophile. Seeing them get their asses handed to them by our favorite catgirl maid is a big highlight of the book. We then get to see their actual fate, which, not gonna lie, was straight up terrifying. I was not expecting pure horror in this series.

Cayna, settling in in the village with her adopted daughter and her butler/maid familiars, realizes that she has not interacted with Mai-Mai as much as her other two children, and also wants to introduce Luca to her. So it’s back to Felskeilo we go, with not only Luca and Roxine but also Lytt, just to make sure Luca has an appropriate companion. Once there, it’s time for the annual festival!… which may not happen, as there’s a mysterious unidentified swimming object in the massive river that goes through the city. Those familiar with previous volumes of Leadale will not be too surprised at what it actually is, but that does not make dealing with it any easier. Add to this that Cayna’s… unusual horseless carriage has drawn the wrong kind of attention, and it’s a wonder that Cayna has any time left over to be ludicrously powerful! But that’s OK. She makes time.

So yeah, I will not get too much into the fate of the horrible mooks, as I’d like to leave it for the reader. It’s scary, though, even if they deserve it. The most interesting part of the book might come near the end, where Cayna starts theorizing about why all of a sudden they’re seeing the reactivation of so many quests. It’s actually quite a clever idea, and manages to hit on another of the things I like about this book – we’re not sure if this is a “trapped in a game” world or not, and the narrative itself is deliberately obfuscating things. The other fun thing about this book is its sweet moments. Cayna’s casual overpoweredness can also lead to relaxed, fun situations, such as the giant fishing party at the end, and the bond she’s developed with not only Luca but also Roxine is great. (Also loved Roxine’s dere moments in this.)

This is the last volume to come out before the anime, and given the state of recent LN adaptations, that’s cause for worry. Still, if you still enjoy slow life OP women and don’t mind a literal demon coming along and turning evil men into things, this is a great series to read.

Rosen Blood, Vol 1

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Rosen Blood Volume 1 by Kachiru Ishizue

The phrase “gothic reverse harem vampire shoujo manga,” is jam-packed with many plot tropes and Rosen Blood certainly manages to be all of those things. I might wish for slightly more character development, but I found myself sufficiently diverted by all the vibes this manga serves up. The manga opens with heroine Stella Violetta waking up in a luxurious bed with a handsome man with slightly outsized canines introduces himself as her host, Levi-Ruin. Stella was on the way to take up a position as a maid after her sister died and she’s completely destitute. She begs Levi-Ruin to let her work in his mansion and he promptly takes her on a tour.

Levi-Ruin’s house is inhabited by a number of men with outsized canines. There’s Friederich, who is flirty and a bit handsy, the exceptionally pretty Yoel, and the nearly psychotic Gilbert. Levi-Ruin warns Stella that she can’t go outside because the estate is surrounded by a forest of thorns, and she’s not supposed to go into the basement. It takes Stella quite a bit of time to figure out what might be happening, even with Gilbert exclaiming over her “elegant, pulsing veins…” But I suppose most gothic heroines wouldn’t automatically assume the worst when they head into a life of servitude in a creepy yet luxurious mansion. The art in this series is delicate and well-executed to produce plenty of surreal and emotionally overwrought scenes as Levi-Ruin and his companions struggle with having a human in their midst. If you enjoy spooky romances, Rosen Blood packs plenty of atmosphere into one volume. I’d like to see a bit more complexity in Stella’s personality, but I enjoyed the first volume and I’m curious to see where the story goes.

Dragon Daddy Diaries: A Girl Grows to Greatness, Vol. 2

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By Ameko Kaeruda and Sencha. Released in Japan as “Totsuzen Papa ni Natta Saikyou Dragon no Kosodate Nikki: Kawaii Musume, Honobono to Ningenkai Saikyou ni Sodatsu ” by GC Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

If the first volume of Dragon Daddy Diaries primarily revolved around the castle that is our heroes’ home base, then this volume is definitely set in the school. Indeed, we have to figure out excuses to get the rest of the cast to the school, and so our dragon daddy ends up being a security officer for the grounds, while Maredia and Clowria… well, sort of mooch around, but I suppose we can call them security as well. Basically what all this means is that the plot beats this volume all come from the school, and we don’t want to divide up the cast. It’s because we have a new main cast member, and she’s a welcome addition, even if she does, as Maredia notes, share a few character points with the Dark Queen herself. Luca is a new first year student, and she has a complicated backstory, a chip on her shoulder, and a desperate need for validation.

As for Olivia, she has managed to become a second year student, despite a huge amount of property damage to the school caused by her trying to learn beginner level spell and firing off advanced-level bursts. This means she’s now a sempai, and she tries to befriend her new roommate Luca, something that does not go very well for most of the book. Luca was supposed to be the King’s Student, a spot that Olivia has now taken, and thus Luca spends most of her school days challenging Olivia to various duels… and losing, because Olivia has been trained by a dragon and it shows. (That also comes out in this book, by the way, so everyone at last knows that he’s a dragon.) The other plotline going on is that they are searching for the Seven Supreme Hallows, powerful magical artifacts lost in the mists of time. In order to find them… a beach episode may be necessary.

As with the first volume, this series runs on tropes and sugar, and if you don’t like too much of either of them you may want to give this a miss. What character development there is comes mostly from Luca, though it is worth seeing Maredia manage to slowly emerge from her shut-in persona and begin to once again embrace her chuuni persona. Luca’s growth mostly stems from… parental neglect is the wrong term, but it’s a good lesson in why being too strict can sometimes have negative effects. When you’re never praised no matter how well you do, that bar can seem farther and father away. That said, I was a bit disappointed that the dragon having a chat with Luca’s mother was a speech done offscreen. Possibly as it would have interfered with the syrupy sweet mood. Even when battling an undersea turtle monster, the series doesn’t go much further than “he has a thorn in his paw”. Or in this case an ancient relic in his forehead.

This won’t make you count the days until the next volume comes out, but it’s a great read for a sunny day at the beach.

Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts with a Village, Vol. 5

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By Mizuumi Amakawa and Mai Okuma. Released in Japan as “Fushi no Kami: Henkyou kara Hajimeru Bunmei Saiseiki” by Overlap. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Maurice Alesch.

By and large fushi no Kami has been a worldbuilding novel. We’re here to see Ash and company drag the kingdom into the modern era, and we do get a bit of that here, particularly with the development of anesthetic. That said, there has also been an undercurrent of romance to the whole series. Ash has several girls in love with him, and up until this point has pretty much deliberately ignored it. Good news for fans who were hoping for resolution of this plotline, we definitely get it here, as Maika, with the help of almost everyone else in the cast, makes her move. Of course, Ash is unlikely to simply say “sure”, so stronger measures might be needed. And what of Arthur, who is the romantic runner-up in this scenario? Well, she remains a romantic runner-up, I’m afraid. Fushi no Kami does not seem all that interested in polyamory. Fortunately, Maika is awesome enough for five wives.

There is a certain amount of predictability in this volume, to be fair. Once we learn the story of how Maika’s parents got married, the rest of the book writes itself. That said, there is one big surprise, which is Ash casually admitting his feelings for Maika. Ash is a great protagonist, but he also has a tendency to default to ‘blank slate’, both when he talks to others and in his own narrative voice. As such, hearing him casually state that he loves Maika out loud is startling. That said, if you look at most of his actions in the past it makes sense, and his biggest reason to avoid it (they were both kids) is no longer an issue, as both are of marrying age in this fantasy world. That said, his response of “but I’ll never get married because I’d always put my dream over any spouse” is also very Ash. He wants his beloved to be happy.

As for Maika, we know enough about her to know she is not going to mope around after Ash rejects her. Especially not when she learns how her parents got married, and figures she can simply repeat history. Especially if it involves being a cool sword fighter! We’ve seen Maika’s training in the blade throughout the series, and no one has ever really been able to even come close to defeating her. Unfortunately, that applies here as well – despite a couple of attempts to insert drama into the story, with one opponent stating that he’ll be using lethal blows – there is a general lack of tension in her fights the entire way through. That said, it leads up to the best part of the book, where, after Ash says he can’t marry her because his dreams come first, she explains she’ll simply insert herself in between them, as long as it takes. Plus it’s not as if his dreams aren’t hers as well, she just doesn’t have the pat life to draw upon.

There is a decided lack of romantic fallout with Arthur, though that could simply be because she and Maika are best friends. Or it could carry over into Book 6. Which is not out in Japan, so for now we are left with a very nice love confession.

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools, Vol. 2

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By Hisaya Amagishi and Kei. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahliya wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Nikolas Stirling.

Last time I said readers should not be surprised if this romance series turned into romance in the next book. It turns out that it may take a bit longer than that. Both of our protagonists are suffering from the death of a beloved parent who was their whole world. Moreover, due to different circumstances, both of them are avoiding love at the moment. As a result, while to the eyes of the reader it might look like they’re basically dating at this point, it really is merely a series of dinners, with the occasional experimental magical sword crafting as a side dish. That said, by the end of the book I think Volf is starting to realize how he actually feels about this captivating young woman/drinking partner. As for Dahlia… well, it’s going to be a bit. Heck, we can’t even credit her break up as being responsible for her avoiding love, as it’s made clear in a side story here that Tobias was also not even on her radar. She’s just dense to love. As are they all.

Fortunately for the reader, Tobias and his new bride are entirely absent from this book, which instead focuses on one major flaw that Dahlia has: she does not realize that her new inventions are stunningly revolutionary, rather than just off-the-cuff things that she can casually give out over drinks and dinner. This includes toe socks and insoles, something she suggests when hearing about Volf and his fellow knights having to battle in a swamp and constantly having issues with wet boots. As it turns out, Athlete’s Foot is a huge problem among the men in this world, and Dahlia’s creation – as well as advice she gives them based on experience from her past life – it enough to set up meetings with royalty. And let’s not even get into the magic bracelet she gives Volf that essentially allows him to leap tall buildings in a single bound. She really does not know her own strength as a craftswoman. Fortunately, everyone else does.

I joked on Twitter that the series was called “Dahliacoholic”, and it’s certainly true that pages and pages of this already very long book are devoted to her and Volf sitting around and having dinner and drinks and more drinks. Fortunately, she pretty much only does this around Volf, and he’s as bad as she is but also a gentleman. He also has a woman who he has an agreement with that they pretend to be lovers – for Volf it’s because he wants to avoid the adulation he tends to get walking around town, and for Altea because she appears to have been interested in his mother more than any man in her life. They both make good cover for each other. Which is good, as otherwise rumors about Volf and Dahlia would be rampant. She doesn’t quite have the social standing to be involved with a noble at the moment… but that may change if she keeps inventing at this speed.

I do think these books could stand to be shorter – like their main couple, they enjoy lingering over dinner and drinks and are in no rush to go home. That said, the mood of this book is excellent, and it manages to be a “slow life” that is actually slow, unlike a lot of those sorts of books.

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, Vol. 1

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By Mo Xiang Tong Xiu and Xiao Tong Kong (Velinxi). Released in China as “Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong” on the JJWXC website. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Faelicy & Lily.

It’s rare I read a book that features so many genres that I normally don’t really deal with. I haven’t really read any Chinese “light novels” before. I don’t really do BL all that much. And I am almost totally unfamiliar with Xianxia, the supernatural fantasy “cultivation” genre that this novel is both part of and also parodying. But there were three very famous books coming out from this author that were getting MASSIVE buzz, and I wanted to read at least one of them. I picked this one partly as it was the shortest volume, and partly as it seems to be the least popular of the three (I like my problem children), but mostly because it’s also squarely in a genre I do read obsessively: Reincarnated Villainess. Or, in this case, villain. Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe may not quite match up exactly with Katarina and Maria, but at times it feels like it’s not for want of trying. As for the book itself? I’m glad I read it.

Shen Yuan has been reading a Chinese webnovel obsessively, despite raging in the comments about how the author is a hack. When the book ends, he gets so upset he actually dies… and finds himself in the body of Shen Qingqiu. No, not the hero. The hero’s evil master, who mercilessly abused and bullied the actual hero of the novel to the point where his eventual brutal torture and murder is one of the most disturbing in the book. Needless to say, this does not fill Shen Qingqiu with joy at ALL. Nor does the fact that there’s an omniscient System Voice telling him what he can and cannot do… which means he can’t simply change his evil ways right away. Can he manage to somehow avoid his bloody fate? Can he actually get Luo Binghe to look at him in a better light?… and wait, does he really want him to look at him in THAT kind of light?

Knowing nothing of the books and their genre, I was expecting this to be more serious than it was. It’s a hoot a lot of the time, particularly our hero’s screaming at the incredibly bad plot devices and scenarios that he is now forced to live through. That said, he gets wrapped up in both the people of this world and his charge, Luo Binghe, very quickly. The ‘danmei’ in this first book is pretty light, mostly consisting of Luo Binghe falling for his master in a very obvious way and Shenj Qingqiu boggling about the fact that he’s suddenly become the heroine rather than any of the hundreds of women that Luo Binghe was supposed to be bedding in the original (we even get the equivalent of “that’s the line she says to the guy in the game!” from Bakarina). There are also a few genuinely great plot twists along the way, and the characters are obvious cliches (that’s the point) while remaining fun to read.

So yes, I’m definitely happy I picked this up, and will definitely be reading the second book in the series. I’m not sure whether I’ll venture into the other two series, though – how funny are they?

If I Stay, Books 1-2 by Gayle Forman

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If I Stay
Mia has a perfect family (hip parents, adorable younger brother) and a perfect boyfriend (Adam, a sensitive punk rocker) and is a perfect cellist (surpasses multiple teachers!) whose perfect audition landed her a spot at Juilliard after graduation. Her perfect life (well, okay, there’s a modicum of tension with Adam about her moving away to New York in the fall) is destroyed when a car accident on a snowy day claims the lives of her parents and brother and leaves Mia in a state of astral projection, able to see what’s happening to her body while she struggles to decide whether to stay and live out her life after such a devastating loss or die and potentially join her family.

I’m not sure what I expected from If I Stay, exactly. Perhaps something spookier? Instead, it mostly alternates between Mia reflecting on memories with various loved ones and observing the goings-on at the hospital, including an episode in which Adam, instead of simply asking Mia’s grandparents to help him get in to see her, stages an elaborate distraction involving a rock star singing in the corridor outside the ICU. It’s as cringey as it sounds. I also wasn’t fond of the suggestion that it’s inherently virtuous to like classical music.

Despite my complaints, though, I didn’t hate it. Mia’s “this can’t be real” terror is conveyed well and I did get unexpectedly verklempt a couple of times. The book also gets much better once Mia’s best friend, Kim, is introduced. It’s through stories about Kim that we finally start to see Mia as someone less than perfect, which is decidedly welcome. I do find, though, that I wish the whole book had been about Kim in the first place! I find her much more interesting than Mia.

In any case, I did like this enough to check out the sequel.

Where She Went
Where She Went is quite a lot better than its predecessor. Told from Adam’s perspective, it’s set three years in the future as he—now a world-famous, Grammy-winning rock star and yet totally miserable—runs into Mia in New York City. It turns out Mia dumped Adam only a few weeks after she went off to Juilliard and never told him why, which completely destroyed him for a while until he channeled his pain into a batch of songs that would catapult Shooting Star’s major-label debut into multi-platinum status. They each have one night before they’re due to head out on tour and Mia suggests they spend it checking out some of her favorite spots around the city.

I thought Adam’s mental state was conveyed well. He’s hurt, he’s angry, he’s closed off, he’s sick of being tabloid fodder, and he no longer feels any love for music. Although he once vowed to let Mia go if she would just stay, it’s clear that he hasn’t been able to do that. Throughout the course of their conversation, however, he’s finally able to see that the person who’s really been harming him all this time is him, not Mia. The payoff here felt well-earned. Also, Mia does not come off as perfect here as she did in the first installment, which I appreciated.

In a series with some supernatural touches around the edges, it’s notable that the thing that really stretched my credulity is that everyone is so ridiculously successful at such a young age. Adam is a huge celebrity. Mia was extra special even at Juilliard and their meeting occurred at a concert she was giving at Carnegie Hall. Not only that, she’s somehow famous enough that a journalist from the rock scene knows about her and wants the scoop on her and Adam’s relationship. Even Kim has become a war photographer who sells her photos to The New York Times.

Still, this was quite good and made me a bit sniffly, which I perversely enjoy.

Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim, Vol. 1

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By Iris and Noboru Kannatuki. Released in Japan as “Magical Explorer – Eroge no Yuujin Kyara ni Tensei Shita Kedo, Game Chishiki Tsukatte Jiyuu ni Ikiru” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by David Musto.

I will admit that I am not nearly as familiar with the ‘eroge’ genre as our protagonist is in this book. Certainly I’d thought that they all tended to be the same as most visual novels: you pick a route, you make choices, you get a girl, coitus ensues. Magical Explorer tells me that this genre is far broader than I expected. The game that our protagonist suddenly finds himself in (it’s never explained how, and he seems to have no desire to return to Japan) is a fantasy dungeon crawling game, with party balancing, learning new spells and skills, and the like. AND a lot of hot girls that the hero gets it on with. Honestly, given that at one point we’re told that in order to get all the route extras you have to buy five copies of the same game from different stores, I feel happy to be ignorant. That said, what about this book in particular?

Our nameless protagonist suddenly finds himself in the body of Kousuke Takioto, who is… NOT the hero of the dating sim world he finds himself in. He’s the “best friend” side character who is loud, flashy and crass to contrast with the hero’s dull, “insert reader here” qualities. As the hero amasses more and more girls, most players don’t bother to keep Kousuke in their party – why would they? This is an eroge! So he’s in the body of someone doomed to be left behind and ignored? Or… more importantly… he’s in a world where he can use magic powers! Yes, friends, let’s not pretend guys are only interested in sex. Cool powers are also high on the list. After moving in with the headmaster of his new school due to a tragic backstory (which he was entirely unaware of, being it never came up in the game), he decides to get his magic more powerful, explore dungeons, and leave the game plot behind. But will it leave him behind?

Given that our hero’s first thought on being in a porn game is “I wonder how I can level up my magic”, I assume he must have seen the School Days anime and knows the dangers of trying the more obvious “I will bed all the girls” choice. And there is a certain amount of cool magical and fighting content here… that I suspect no one is really reading the book for. No, they’re reading the book for scenes that you’d normally get special CG art for, and we get quite a few of those. Our hero accidentally falls and grabs tits and asses. He walks in on girls getting out of the shower. He manages to level up his magic to the point where he can see through steam and blindfolds to ogle women. And the final scene in the book runs on porn logic, and so is so stupid I hesitate to even bring it up. It’s all here.

This wasn’t bad, per se. It’s very good at giving its readers exactly what they want. If you decided to buy this, you’ll likely enjoy it. If you thought “ew, no”, you’re probably not even reading this review anyway. I think I’m done here, though.