Category Archives: reviews

Accidentally in Love: The Witch, the Knight, and the Love Potion Slipup, Vol. 2

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By Harunadon and Eda. Released in Japan as “Koisuru Majo wa Elite Kishi ni Horegusuri o Nomasete Shimaimashita: Itsuwari kara Hajimaru Watashi no Dekiai Seikatsu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Arthur Miura.

I have to give this book credit. I finished it and it kept me reasonably entertained, despite doing literally everything wrong that it could possibly do. First off, it was going to be hard to begin with. The first volume was very much finished. Done in one. So a second (and, it would seem, a third) seems like overkill. But, I get it, new novel imprint, please produce content. Secondly, the title, which is entirely about the events in the first book, makes about as much sense as The Ideal Sponger Life when it comes to future books, right? Wrong. What if we used ANOTHER love potion! And of yes, the forgotten, slightly evil childhood friend is here too. Plus, Charlotte is back. Remember the girl who says loins constantly? She’s still saying that, more than ever, and she’s also playing detective and being watched over by a guy who I know is being shipped with her but I’m ignoring that. Despite ALL this: not too bad.

Cecily and Zeke are now in love, and she’s met his family and gotten their approval to get married. Her mother also approves, though she seems to be constantly smirking about something. Now she just has to get her father’s approval, which is likely to be a problem, as he’s one of THOSE fathers. This also means that she has to go back to her witch village, which she supposedly can’t return to for another year. But her mom says it will be OK, so…? To add to all this, Charlotte decides she’s going to come with her, mostly as she feels lonely without Cecily. This means Alphonse, her guard, and Maria, her maid, also tag along. This trip has gotten much bigger. Still, they all arrives, and things seem to be going well… till her childhood friend Cain arrives. Turns out he’s also a witch… and he’s just dosed her with a love potion!

Despite all my whining above, most of this is handled pretty well. Except the loins thing. Still annoyed about that. But Cain is an antagonist without slipping over into pure evil, and his motivations are mostly “a childhood thing I dreamed of for ten years has been smashed to bits by reality”. The love potion may have Cecily says she loves Cain and want to spend all her time with him, but that’s ALL that it does, and when Cain, out of frustration, DOES try to kiss her, she’s able to resist it. As with the first book, true love wins out over dosed love. Cecily and Zeke are, frankly, a bit too wet and soppy for my taste, but that is the genre that I am reading, so I suppose I can forgive it. And while Charlotte may act more like a 7-year-old than a 14-year-old, her “detective” bits were pretty cute and funny.

There’s a third book on the way, which I assume will have the second wedding, back in the capital. I do wonder how they’ll work a love potion into it, though… In any case, this was decent, despite (waves hand aimlessly) everything about it.

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 4

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By Yuishi and Kagachisaku. Released in Japan as “Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game de Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gal ga, Dō Mitemo Boku ni Beta Bore Des” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara.

As I was reading this book and looking at the inner illustrations, I am reminded that the core audience for this is meant to be guys, and most likely guys trying to relive their past high school history only with much better luck with women. As such, the art is very reminiscent of old-school visual novels: try not to show the guy at all, and if you do show him, make it as little as possible. That can’t quite be done here, because so much of this art is “the perfect date”, which involves things like our young couple making the ‘heart’ sign with their hands, but it mostly fits, as do the covers. The Introvert is the reader. The Gyaru is what we’re here for. Well, that and the happy ending, which this book drags out as long as possible but eventually gets to.

Well, Yoshin and Nanami have finally gotten to the one-month mark, and they’re both ready to confess their terrible, terrible secrets. But before that, they have one last date to go on… or rather, two dates, which they insist is the same date. The first day is her choice, and we see them go to a sweets-themed amusement park, where they see chocolate made, go on train rides around the park, and take cute pictures of each other. The next day is his choice, and they go to a petting zoo, getting to deal with sheep, monkeys, polar bears, and many others, and take cute pictures of each other. Then they go to a shrine, where both basically pray for the gods to watch over them as they confess their terrible, terrible secrets. Finally, we get to the following day at school, where Nanami leads Yoshin to the spot she confessed to him… and says it was all a lie.

I will admit, this book can be a bit trying at times. It is so sweet it’s almost sickness inducing. Not only are Yoshin and Nanami adorable together in the eyes of the reader, everyone else in the book thinks so too. Amusement park employees squee over them. Little kids point out how they’re holding hands. Old folks who’ve been married for fifty years say that the two of them already feel like they’re married. All of this despite the fact that, until the end of the book, kisses on the cheek is as far as they’ve gone. Even the confession, where Nanami admits she asked him out on a dare, and Yoshin admits that he overheard this and knew, is framed adorably, with a “Gift of the Magi” quality to it as they both beg each other for forgiveness and affirm their love. Heck, they talk a lot in this book about what they’ll do when they have kids. These two have it bad for each other.

So yes, this is good, but a bit much at times. What’s worse, there is a 5th book, so we get even more sweetness without the pull of “they’re secretly sad because they think they’ll break up”. What could possibly happen now? Licking ice cream off each other’s face? Who knows?

The Deer King, Vol. 1

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By Nahoko Uehashi and Masaaki Yamamoto. Released in Japan as “Shika no Ō” by Kadokawa Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Cathy Hirano.

I was not originally planning to read this book, as I have sort of given up on any license that is basically “we got this because there’s an anime movie version of it”, and most folks saw this when the movie came out two years ago. But then I saw it was from the author of the Moribito series, and I recalled a lot of friends were very much into that series, so I thought I would give it a shot. I’m glad I did, as it’s a very different kettle of fish to the standard “what if we were transported to another world?” fantasy novel that you see these days. The Deer King is a more fantasy kind of fantasy book, exploring a world where, over two centuries ago, a plague ravaged the land. Now that plague has returned, and doctors are desperately trying to figure out how it’s spreading and how to cure it. Meanwhile, one of our two main characters has it, and instead of dying he seems to be changing.

The book is divided between two protagonists, alternating their stories. Van is a rebel leader who was captured and has now been sentenced to work in the salt mines as a slave. Suddenly the mine is invaded by wild dogs – and those who are bitten go into convulsions and die. Van does not die, though, but seems to gain some sort of unworldly connection with something instead. He takes the one survivor – a toddler who was also bitten but did not die – and escapes, trying to find a place to stay. Meanwhile, a doctor, Hohsalle, has discovered that an ancient plague is returning, seemingly brought about by being bitten by wild dogs/wolf hybrids. Is all of this somehow being deliberately engineered in order to kill off the conquerors? and can Hohsalle find a cure or a vaccine while also negotiating troubling politics?

The double viewpoint can be frustrating – this 350-page book is divided into sixths, with Van getting part 1, 3, and 5, and Hohsalle 2, 4, and 6. Just as you’re getting into the narrative from one protagonist, it switches to the other. That said, I also appreciate the different viewpoints. Van can be difficult to like, despite the fact that he’s clearly meant to have the audience’s sympathy – it’s not quite clear what he’s become after being bitten, but the general sense is that if he ever gives into it and stops trying to be human, Bad Things will happen. Which, um, makes it a bit of a problem that Yuna, the little girl he rescued and then adopted, has been kidnapped. As for Hohsalle, his care as a doctor is excellent, and he clearly wants to save people, but he’s also rather casual and flippant about the other aspects of life. We frequently follow his bodyguard and straight man, Makokan, just for a more down-to-earth viewpoint.

Still, the plot was interesting enough that I’ll read the second volume. recommended for those who like high fantasy combined with race-against-time thrillers.