melabanana's reviews
363 reviews

This was the cutest intro to a new manga series for me. I loved Suzume as a main character and I can’t wait to know the back story of Souta and what secrets hide behind the door!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a e-copy. 

Thank you Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for a E-arc copy of this book. 

In this story we follow Kiela as she escapes the library she works at due to a revolution and ends up at her abandoned childhood home alongside Caz, a very anxious spider plant. While seeking refuge here she must learn to open up to the rest of the island inhabitants, and what better way to do so than selling jams? Or “remedies”?

I really enjoyed this book. The overall atmosphere was super relaxing and peaceful and the entire cast of secondary characters both in animal and human forms were absolutely great. Caz was the absolute best, I felt represented and I never thought I could relate to a plant, but here we are. 

The plot was not super complex, but considering this is a cozy fantasy I think it was the perfect amount of plot versus vibes, so I had no problems with that. 

The main issue I had with this book was the romance. It felt super insta-love and I personally felt like it was super rushed. The characters themselves said they knew nothing about each other while “being in love” so definitely ruined the rating for this a bit. 

Overall this was a solid read and I enjoyed most of it. 

Thank you Daphne Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read a e-copy of this. 
In this novel we follow Lorelei and five fellow students as they look for a magical spring that will help them overturn the war. While traveling there however, their professor is found dead; so Lori wants to find the killer before they strike again and has to ally with Sylvia to investigate. 
The plot of this was really good and I enjoy the adventure aspects, however the characters made the rating lower for me. While I didn’t really care about liking the rest of the cast, Lorelei was insufferable through the entire book. I could understand her feelings and actions to a certain point. However her treatment of Sylvia was out of pocket and straight up rude while she helped her and understood her. 
I would recommend this book to you if you like an adventure with high stakes with morally grey characters this book is for you.