thelilbookwitch's reviews
498 reviews

update: 1/3

My full review is here!

Loved this book! Screamed about it, texted friends about it, giggled out loud, punched my fist in the air, and felt many many things while reading it. If you're looking for something to get you through the doldrums of a post-Mandalorian season ending world and don't mind some romantic subplot melodrama and hacking with your bounty hunting, this is the book you've been looking for!

The first page is probably the hardest to get through, in all honesty, and that's probably because I'm an adult. I initially DNF'd it when it debuted because it had Not Like Other Girls dog whistling for me. But don't worry! Emika Chen is not an NLOG! Just stick with her past the description of her rainbow hair you'll see.

I knocked the review down to 4 stars for a few small reasons: negative/stereotypical views of sex work (minor, but it comes up a few times in the book), the two books (Wildcard the sequel) could and probably should be one long book because there will be a tonal dissonance between them if I'm correct, and a slightly predictable "twist" (cliffhanger?) at the end, and not enough went into fleshing out the side characters.

The rest of this book is executed so well, it holds this review steady at 4 stars.

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Review to be posted soon!

This volume really needed some editorial direction... and maybe a few trigger warnings.

Spoiler

Hana's abduction and subsequent attempted sexual assaults, yes plural, are handled so poorly. She has absolutely 0 reaction to what happened, her concern is all about Takane and.... that kind of experience just.... doesn't resolve in that way for survivors. I really hope the author doesn't simply brush this off and creates a delayed reaction for Hana... it would be so disingenuous otherwise.

Back to the typical antics of their relationship, maybe it's my proximity to reading vol. 11, but I'm really surprised with how Hana is handling things. She's told no one what happened it seems, and Takane is being incredibly overbearing. A lot of emotional work and growth has to happen in the next few volumes...

Full review [here].

How does one find themselves in a cult? How does one wake up from a dozen years of brainwashing and closed circuit logic and reasoning? How does one slip from searching for personal growth to becoming a personal slave? This is Sarah Edmondson’s story.

This book appeals to the morbid curiosity we all have about what we don’t understand. The seemingly hardest portion of the book is tackled immediately in the first chapter so readers can spend the rest of the book really figuring out the “why” of it all. It is the most graphic portion of the story, in my opinion, and still worth the risk of being triggered to read.

In some ways, Sarah Edmondson’s story is, as she calls it, the tip of the proverbial ice berg. She acknowledges there are darker, more harrowing accounts of what happened that have yet to come to proper light. Only brief snippets mentioned of them from the trial, almost whetting the palate in a sinister way. Knowing they exist might make some people feel like Sarah’s book is a cop out for what could have been grittier, but ultimately this book isn’t about shocking the audience. By focusing on the “how” and “why,” I found this book to be more satisfactory than any serial killer Wikipedia article or Netflix true crime documentary.

I might break this down more over on my blog, but ultimately the themes of racism Pierce was trying to tackle here by having her protagonist enslaved are unchallenged, and to some extent, just brushed under the rug without any real work on her part as a white author.

In addition to white washing slavery, the protagonist is written without any flaws and her problems are solved too neatly without any deeper psychological consequences. Her complete lack of rage at being enslaved, even what I'd consider her passivity at the situation, struck me as deeply false.

DNF'd on page 35.

Despite not being a mother or even a caregiver myself, I still found this book immensely enjoyable. I love reading Lucy Knisley's updates on Instagram and was pleased to see the style held up when translated to a solid page.

There is little to say about this book beyond any parents (especially new parents) will appreciate her succinct ability to capture tough moments and also the humor of new babydom.

Definitely back in the groove with this one! I found myself grinning and shortling again as Takane and Hana fell into their bickering dynamic. It's definitely turning into a game of trying to force the other person to confess their feelings first, and pretending not to be considerate, and I love it so much.

Full review [here.]

Not the best follow-up to the first, but still compared to other shojo romance series, it holds its own. I'm already working on the 3rd volume, and the author definitely gets back in the groove of the tone and dynamic of the first volume. Hopefully this one is just a bump in the road...

This manga is back on top as my favorite! I honestly don't think I need to rehash every volume on my blog, but suffice to say I can't wait to keep reading.