Review: Maid Sama!, Vol. 4

Maid Sama!, Vol. 4 by Hiro Fujiwara

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Last installment we left with Kanon trying to hypnotizing Usui. At the beginning of the fourth volume Kanon fails at hypnotizing Usui into hating Misaki. With his plans of getting rid of the female body in Seika High, he tries plan-b and hypnotized Misaki. When she wakes up at 7 o'clock in the morning she will hate Usui, but with Usui's help she's able to stay awake and avoid being hypnotized.

With a girl hating hypnotist on a rampage in the school, Misaki trying to increase enrollment into Seika High and the maids at the cafe try to help the manager's sister succeed in her beach side shop. With so much happening how can Misaki ever rest.

I enjoyed the fact that Aoi made another appearance in this volume. Misaki and Usui's romance is finally starting to grow, to a more then obvious state to all who see them together. The story's slowly progressing, as real life would make it seem. If you compare it to novels the romance and story is sluggishly advancing. But you can see that characters both major and minor are slowly evolving and breaking through their obstacles. Which is a nice aspect to this series.

I'm giving volume 4, 4 out of 5 stars isn't that neat. The reason for this is because Aoi makes an appearance, just kidding. The actual reason is because the Misui relationship is progressing at an enjoyable rate (you see what I did Misaki + Usui = Misui. Also Usui's love towards Misaki is all too obvious ... who is he? We haven't yet been able to find out ... it's starting to bug me. Maybe it will be revealed in the next installment of Maid Sama!



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Review: Maid Sama!, Vol. 3

Maid Sama!, Vol. 3 by Hiro Fujiwara

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Last installment we left with Seika Senior High midway through their sports festival with Misaki winning all the sporting events up to date (except one) with the goal to make life more comfortable for the female population.

In Maid Sama! volume 3 we continue the sporting festival by following an exhausted Misaki while she fights to win and also shows her soft side. Misaki's high school life isn't getting any easier neither is her work or social life. With many twists and turns from a cross dressing boy trying to steal Usui away by any means to mysterious happenings involving a high school hypnotist, life is anything but easy.

I found this volume fun and cute, although unlike the second volume it's more serious. The romance in this novel is slow if not at a standstill Usui just can't get his feeling to reach Misaki no matter how he tries. Although Misaki just isn't realizing her feeling, with helps prolong the story while the readers hope for the relationship to blossom. With the main two mostly detailed while the other characters are more background detail, it certainly helps with foreshadowing.

Don't get me wrong I did enjoy the read but I'll have to give it 3 out of 5 stars. I really liked Aoi-chan's appearance and hoped to see more of her, although it was short lived. The only serious event that might effect Misaki and Seika High is in the last chapter of Maid Sama! volume 3. If you're accustomed to reading my reviews, slow books with the intent to foreshadow the next book are a big turn off to me. This book is somewhat like that, although there were still some consistency to what I like to call mini stories or mini events.



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Review: Maid Sama!, Vol. 2

Maid Sama!, Vol. 2 by Hiro Fujiwara

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



We currently left volume one with Usui confessing to Misaki. In the second installment a flustered Misaki can't keep her head on straight, unsure of what Usui's got up his sleeve, so sure that he's messing with her. Her presidential work piles up, she isn't able to study, she can't concentrate on anything including the cafe. A series of events happens possible romance, school festival, Misa ... the boy!? and is the president switching schools!?

Volume 2 of Maid Sama! stays true to the initial portrayal of the characters in the first volume, little character development is made which normal for this type of story, after all it is only the second volume. Besides the recent list of characters, we have a new face added to the story I'll just say he's the president of another school and keep it at that.

I enjoyed the fact that Misaki enjoyed being a boy more than a girl, which didn't impress Usui. The side stories are very fun and light hearted which make the read enjoyable and slow paced. They are a few serious moments and knight on a white horse moments, but all in all this volume can't compare to the first, although the art work is as beautiful as always. I liked it but that's it, it's a good story but not 5 star good, that's why I'm giving it 3 stars.



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Review: Maid Sama!, Vol. 1

Maid Sama!, Vol. 1 by Hiro Fujiwara

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The first installment of Maid Sama! Bad tempered, boy hating Misaki Ayuzawa, is president to a school of an 80% boy population school. Her more then prejudice attitude towards any male, has caused her more then enough problems when it comes to the student council and overall student body respect. Although she has her own reasons, when she was younger her father fell in dept and left the family with the dept to payoff while he ran away from responsibility.To re-pay the dept and support her fragile mother and little sister she works as a maid at a cafe. One day Usui-san discovered her secret! What will happen to Misaki, will Usui-san spill the beans?

I enjoyed this manga very much, I usually don't write reviews from manga because they either lack to much information to write about, they didn't peek my interest, too predictable, characters aren't interesting, or it's just plain boring\bad. This manga is none of those, it has just enough happening in every chapter to keep my interest while sticking to the main plot.

I like the fact that you actually get to follow Misaki Ayuzawa story and see why she acts the way she does, her background story, a growing romance, and also a change in character. Most manga miss the fact that the first volume of a series is to introduce your main characters and not keep everyone in the dark. I think that most authors think that the readers should already know what's happening without even telling them anything, which really just leaves plot holes everywhere.

Maid Sama! volume 1 gets a total of 4 stars for an introduction volume to a series. It gives enough information to the story while still withholding just enough to make readers want more. I definitely recommend it to my readers who want a romance, comedy, shoujo, school life manga.



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Review: Death's Shadow

Death's Shadow by Darren Shan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The heroin Bec stars yet again in another one of Darren Shan's Demonata novel. The second time we peer through her eyes, she has taken over Bill-E's body and made it her own. With the tunnel yet again sealed, Grubbs, Kernel and her beloved Bran (Beranabus) set off into the Demonata realm in search of the mysterious demon they call "Shadow", leaving Bec with Devrish. Bec is forced to recite Bill-E's life day and night to please Devrish, while feeling lonelier then the 1000 years spent in the tunnel. She discovers that she possess the ability to read thoughts when she touches someone or something.

Many events happen to poor little Bec, just as she starts her new "normal?" life.

I personally did not like Bec that much, it was okay that's it and that Darren should stick to male leads in the future. Although Death's Shadow was in my eyes a great success, I was able to connect with Bec. This installment to the series maintains a good balance between action, plot line, character stories. I loved the way he interpreted Beranabus' story at the beginning of ever part (i.e. part 1,2,3) of the novel. If a series on Beranabus was created with him being the main character, you bet your sweet butt, I'd read it.

Because Death's Shadow was the 7th novel of a 10 novel series you can clearly see that the last few books including this one will/are tying up loose ends, concluding certain mini stories, and characters both minor and major. The conclusion to this novel is one that reveals so much but still leaves so many questions unanswered. I've already got my grubby little hands on the next installment Wolf Island, and I hope to have a howl of a time.




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Review: Orange Crows

Orange Crows by James Perry Ii

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I originally bought this manga for a friend, but got entranced by the front cover. Orange Crows volume one is a story about Cierra a young witch exiled, for Illegally accessing a research area for higher class witches, conducted her own magical experiment without a licence, and destroyed an important research room.

I must admit the story's slow and the characters are a little bland; with the exception of Cierra and Natty. The reason I rated it so highly was because it captured my attention, I got entranced in their world. The concept of Witches, Wizards, and Fairies. Also the fact that Fairies aren't these girly little winged people but more of magic absorbing monsters, makes it quiet intriguing. I also love the artwork, I know it's not amazing, nor is it detailed to every strand of hair. But that's what I love about it, It's draw detailed enough to the fact that it looks good without being overbearing.

This is definitely a manga I would follow up on in the near future.



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Review: Demon Apocalypse

Demon Apocalypse by Darren Shan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Book 6 of Darren Shan's Demonata, definitively one of the most reveling and plot twisting novel of this series up to date. We return to Grubbs, where we once left off from The Blood Beast. The plane aflame passengers in hysteria, demons slaughtering everyone they find. Grubbs' only hope is to take a leap of faith with a bum or hope Lord Loss kills him quickly... which he wouldn't do.

As the title explains there is a demon apocalypse in this novel. So much is revealed, once I look back from book number one (Lord Loss), up to book six the foreshadowing was everywhere. Although that's what makes a good book/series, being able to take even the smallest of events/actions and being able to create a plot twist. I obviously loved every note of this novel from beginning till the end. You'll see reoccurring characters, both those that you're used to reading about when the protagonist is Grubbs and those that you would think are impossible to be in the same timezone. The fact that The Demon Apocalypse ended the way it did, gives one just enough of a thrill, and satisfaction of the demonata story up to date that you'd be able to stop reading the series and be happy with the result. But it also pulls you along wanting all the more.

Darren Shan has once again put me at a loss of words, I was afraid that after Blood Beast it would just continue to go downhill but it pick right back up again, not skipping a beat. I give this novel 5 stars out of 5, it's well written, captivating, for anyone who loves a good created story, or just wants a everyday myth like demons/monsters with a twist. I dare you to put the book down once you start.



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