Top 10 Beach Reads

Since this was also a Top 10 Tuesday list last year that I did I decided to make sure that I didn't put any of the books I put on the list last year so most of this books won't really be what I think of as beach reads(especially since when I go to the beach I spend the day swimming not reading so I'm not really sure what a beach book is)
1. Hex Hall: I think this book would be a good beach read because the story of the first book at least has an overall humorous tone and while thinks do get dark at times through out the book it never gets too dark. Plus there's witchcraft and the amazingly cute friendship between Sophie and Jenna(the witch who knows nothing of the supernatural and the vampire who love all things pink) which is my favorite thing in the book.
2. Heroes of Olympus: I think this series fits because it's an action adventure series that has quite a lot of comic moments also there's great characters and mythology through out the books. There are times when things don't look like they aren't going to work out but so far things haven't become too dark or sad yet.
3. Cardcaptor Sakura: This is the series that makes me happiest because the story is by far the sweetest one I've ever read and I love everything about the series the characters, the relationships, the plot and the themes. This series is adorable and I never get tried of it and the artwork is gorgeous as well, also I've been in a bit of a Clamp mood the last couple of days so I'm putting a lot of Clamp on this list but I feel this series best fits my idea of a beach read.
4. Beauty Pop: This is a series that I think fits being a beach read because it's one that makes me laugh and I don't take it too seriously but I still love the series. This series is about people who are over the top serious about hair cutting and most of these people are boys which makes it even more hilarious.
5. Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass: This book is one of my favorites because it's about a world of nonsense and I think that it'd be a good book to loose yourself in while your down at the beach.
6. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: I'm honestly putting this on the list mostly because I'm in a Tsubasa mood at the moment and I really want to reread the series but I do actually believe the first half of the series would be a good beach read. The first half of the series is relatively light hearted and there's plenty of adventures and general silliness as well as the start of our group of travelers eventually becoming like a family which is one of my favorite things about the series. Then of course my favorite thing in the series is probably that in the first half of the series we get plenty of sweet/cute moments between Syaoran and Sakura which I always adore. I'm going to spam a few pictures of these two because I love them, they're cute and I need more pictures of them on my blog.
 
 

7. Shugo Chara: This is a lovely magical girl series that deals with self discovering and is super cute and I love the characters and the plot as well and I think it's a nice light read that would be good for the beach.
8. Magic Knight Rayearth: This is a series that I think would be a great beach read because it's full of action and adventure as well as a great three girl friendship that is incredibly sweet. Also it's another magical girl series and I'm a big fan of those. The end of the first half the series is pretty sad though so be sure to read the second half of the series if you want a happy ending.
9. Kobato: This another series by Clamp which means it has gorgeous artwork also I love the kindhearted but somewhat clueless heroine and I love seeing her try her best to do good deeds. It's a sweet fun series that I think would be a good beach read.
10. Wolves of Mercy Falls series: This series I think would be a good beach read due to it's description of the temperatures because it always manages to make me feel a bit of a chill. Although I wouldn't exactly call the series light because of Sam's past and well Cole in general and Isabel is pretty messed up in Linger as well and the whole being a wolf thing doesn't sound all that great either so it has quite a few darker elements in my opinion which makes me love the series even more but if your goal is to read a happy book it wouldn't be my first choice.

Manga Review: Magic Knight Rayearth II Vol. 1

                                         Magic Knight Rayearth II Vol. 1Review

The second half of the Magic Knight Rayearth series starts off with Hikaru, Umi and Fuu having a hard time dealing with what they had to at the end of the first series so the three girls meet up at Tokyo Tower and are brought back to Cefiro. Once the girls return to Cefiro they are told by Presea, Clef and Ferio(who the learn is a prince) that the world is falling apart without a pillar the girls feel that they are responsible since they were forced to kill Princess Emeraude even though no one blames them for doing what they had to do. The girls soon learn that people from other worlds are coming to Cefiro in order to become the new pillar and take over the Cefiro the girls decide that they want to fight to defend Cefiro.

The girls fight in their mashins against Eagle of Autozam in his FTO which is a giant mecha much like the girls mashins it seemed like the girls would loose the fight until a man named Lantis comes into the middle of the fight and puts a stop to it. After the fight the girls meet up with Caldina, Rafaga, and Ascot who have all seen the errors of their ways with the help of Hikaru, Umi and Fuu from the battles they had with them in the first half of the series and are now friends. Also Ascot has aged himself quite a few years because he has a crush on Umi but she's completely oblivious to this despite the fact that he's pretty obvious about it. After this the girls are told that Lantis is Zagato's brother and that he had been away in Autozam for quite sometime prior to Princess Emeraude's death.

That night when Umi can't sleep she goes and talks to Clef about how she's sorry that when she first arrived that all she cared about was getting back home and that she didn't really grasp how serious the situation was. Clef assures Umi that her reaction was normal and that there's nothing for her to be sorry about but he feels like he should apologize for keeping the truth from her and  not helping her but Umi assures him that he did help them with giving them Mokana for guidance. Also that night Fuu also can't sleep and ends up talking to Ferio she apologizes for not trusting him when they first met but he tells her it was fine since she was just trying to stay alive. Ferio then gives Fuu back the ring that he gave her in the first half of the series after Fuu mentioned that she looked for it when she got back to her world, she was very embarrassed when she said this and also very cute, Ferio mentions that he wants Fuu to have it since his sister told him to give it to someone special. Their interactions are very sweet and I love these two just as much as I did in the first half of the series. Hikaru also wakes up that night and she ends up apologizing to Lantis about the part she played in his brothers death and even offers to let him hit her if he wouldn't hurt Umi and Fuu. But Lantis doesn't feel any need to punish any of the girls and tells Hikaru he doesn't blame them but Cefiro.

People from the worlds of Fahren and Cizeta are also coming to Cefiro in hopes of becoming Cefiro's new pillar. By the end of the volume the girls learn that the way Cefiro chooses it's pillar is by that person being able to find a certain path that will lead to a test they must take. I overall loved this volume and I still love the beautiful art work as well. Please tell me your thoughts on this volume.

Manga Review: Pretty Guardain Sailor Moon Vol.3

                                       Pretty Guardain Sailor Moon Vol.3 Review

In this volume Usagi as Sailor Moon has to face a brainwashed Mamoru as Tuxedo Mask in battle since he is under Queen Beryl's control. Usagi ends up fully remembering her past life as Princess Serenity only to seem to repeat how her last life ended in her battle with Mamoru but in the end they are both saved by the legendary sliver crystal. Sailor Venus was able to defeat Queen Beryl in the end but Queen Metalia wasn't defeat along with her and she ended up absorbing the power of the legendary sliver crystal for sometime and even when Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus combined their powers they were unable to defeat her. In the end Sailor Moon is able to defeat Queen Metalia from drawing power of the legendary sliver crystal and she was also able to remake the Moon Castle due to her new found power. In the end everyone was able to live and their lives were peaceful for a time.

Shortly after the defeat of Queen Metalia, Usagi and Mamoru meet a young girl who we call Chibi-Usa who demands that Usagi gives her the legendary sliver crystal and ends up staying with Usagi's family after she hypnotises them into thinking she was meant to be there. Due to Chibi-Usa mysterious origians and actions Usagi doesn't trust or particularly like Chibi-Usa.

Shortly after Chibi-Usa's arrival two of the Spectre sisters arrive and challenge Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury both of the sisters are able to be defeated but both Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury are taken kidnapped after the sisters defeat. The Spectre sisters were working for someone who is called the Wise Man and both of the sisters had similar powers to Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury with Crimson Rubeus having the powers of fire and Berthier having powers having to do with water, also the sisters stragities were similar to the sailor scout they fought.

I continue to enjoy this series I still love the characters and I found the conclusion to the first arc of the series to be very enjoyable and I love how the second arc is starting off as well. I'm also continuing to really enjoy the artwork as well. Please tell me your thoughts about this volume.

Manga Review: Cardcaptor Sakura Vol.4

                                                Cardcaptor Sakura Vol.4Review

This volume starts off with Sakura, Tomoyo and Syaoran being trapped in the maze card, to capture the maze card they have to find there way out of the maze. They come up with some ideas to try and make their search easier such as Sakura tries to use the Fly in order see which direction to go but the walls of the maze grew as she fly up, they tried to use Syaoran's compass but since it's used for locating Clow cards it doesn't work since their in a clow card and Tomoyo suggest they put one hand on a wall because she heard that's the way to get out of any maze. In the end their new teacher Kaho Mizuki ends up helping them out of the maze by smashing the walls with an object that contains powerful magic. Sakura seals the card after getting out of the maze but was nervous to do it in front of Kaho so Kaho turned away despite it being obvious she already knows about magic.Also in the first chapter we learn that back in middle school Touya and Kaho use to date but the two broke up when she moved away and she had predicted that the two of them would already be in love with other people the next time they meet.

The next story of the volume deals with Sakura's class going on a school trip at the beach were there is of course a clow card to be capture there. The first half of this story doesn't mention much about clow cards but does mention Sakura fear of ghosts and scary stories. Also Syaoran once again tells Sakura to be suspicious of Kaho but Sakura say she can't help but to like her and then the two of them start talking about their crushes on Yukito which makes them both blush. Sakura then tells Syaoran they shouldn't give up on their crushes because of the age difference and she gives him this smile that makes him blush and then he gets confused about his feelings so he decides to run away.

Later on while on the trip during this thing called the test of courage where the walk in a cave with a lit candle. While on the test of courage everyone starts to disappear which of course frightens Sakura greatly but after she runs into Syaoran he's able to calm her down and get her to sense that a clow card is causing everyone to disappear. After Sakura is done crying she tells Syaoran that he's nice he denies this and tells her he just doesn't like seeing people cry which does nothing to disprove Sakura's point. When they find a candle and Sakura doesn't have anything to light it with she is very impressed when Syaoran can use magic to lite it and she tells him this which makes him very embarrassed and he blushes a lot. Sakura decides to ask Syaoran about why he wants to capture the clow cards while they're approaching the clow card and he mentions the disaster that would fall upon the earth which Kero-chan had mentioned in previous volumes they try to figure out what it is but come up with nothing. The end up approaching the clow card and Sakura ends up capturing the card which turns out to be the erase card. Sakura tries to the card to Syaoran but he tells her that it's her card and after she thanks him for that he gets embarrassed and runs away again.

In the last chapter of this volume Sakura along with Tomoyo, Yukito and Touya go to a festival at Kaho's family's shrine and at said festival Sakura ends up capturing a clow card. The card she captures is called the glow card and it was a very peaceful card and Sakura ended up thanking the card because she had a nice moment with Yukito because of it.

Overall loved this volume the art remains beautiful, I continue to love the characters and their relationships with each other and the plot continues to entertain me. Please tell me your thoughts on this volume.

Top 7 older Books I don't want people to forget about

1. The Glass Menagerie(1944):This play is about a dysfunctional family and ever member of the family have a distinct personality and all of the relationships are wonderfully complicated. I also love this play because I relate to the character Laura more than I do any other character pretty much ever. It seems to me that most people I haven't even heard of this wonderful play which makes me sad and it makes kind of perfect to include on this list since people generally have already forgotten about this play.
2. Catch-22(1961): This book has a dark sense of humor and I like the way that it uses absurdity. I love this book that deals with pilots during world war II yet it's actually funny rather than sad although there are a few sad moments which makes sense due to the subject matter.I also think this would be a good book to remember because the phrase catch-22 is quite popular so I think it would be nice if people read the book that made that phrase popular.
3. Brave New World(1932): I just think this book is a really interesting dystopian novel and I like that in the end the society couldn't be saved because no one wanted to be saved.
4. Reading in the Dark(1996): This book is beautifully written and tells the story of a family with many secrets and how the main character finds out all these secrets and how those secrets more or less keeps him from being close to his family any longer. I really loved this book and I wish more people would have read it.
5. Tokyo Babylon(1990-1993): This series is one were I love all three of the main characters and I find even the episodic stories to be really interesting but that may be because the stories always has a lot to do with society and human nature in general. I also love the extremely sad ending that still breaks my heart and reduces me to tears if I think about it too much. I think that this series is in danger of being forgotten because it's out of print at the moment therefore it's hard to find but it's totally worth looking for.
6. Through the Looking Glass(1871): This is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and oddly enough despite many films taking elements from this book it seems that most people forget this book exists. This book is similar to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland so if you liked that book you'll like this book.
7. Magic Knight Rayearth(1993-1996): This is Clamp's first magical girl series and although I'd admit to saying that I love Cardcaptor Sakura more this series is also brilliant and I love how strong the emphasis on the friendship between the three girls. I also really liked that magic, sword fighting and mechas are all combined in this series. I love this series and I wish more people remembered it.

Manga Review: Pretty Guardain Sailor Moon Vol.2

                                      Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol.2 Review

This volume begins with Usagi discovering that Mamoru is actually Tuxedo Mask and he already knows that she is Sailor Moon. Usagi and Mamoru seem to grow a bit closer in this volume and there are quite a few moments were they cutely flirt with each other in the first half of this volume. It's also discovered in this volume that Usagi is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity and that Mamoru is the reincarnation of Prince Endymion who was Princess Serenity's lover who was killed in front of her and who's death drove her to take her own life.

In this volume Sailor V is revealed to be Sailor Venus the leader of the sailor scouts but in this life goes by the name of Minako there actually not all that much revealed about her within this volume. In a battle with the last of Queen Beryl's servants the legendary sliver crystal is formed from Sailor Moons tears after Tuxedo Mask is injured in her place the power of the crystal is able to heal him but his taken prisoner by the dark kingdom.

In this volume we learn that Queen Beryl wants the legendary sliver crystal in order to revive Queen Metalia who was the one who brought destruction to the moon kingdom many years ago. The dark kingdom ends up brainwashing Mamoru and using him as weapon in order to get back the legendary sliver crystal and at the end of the volume Queen Beryl has gotten the legendary sliver crystal and is vowing to kill all of the sailor scouts.

I overall really liked this volume and I liked how much plot development happened in this volume. I still really like the artwork but brainwashed Mamoru looked a little silly at times. Please tell me your thoughts on this volume.

Manga Review: Magic Knight Rayearth Vol.3

                                              Magic Knight Rayearth Vol.3 Review

In this volume the Hikaru, Umi and Fuu look for the meshins the magic knights will need to defeat Zagato and free Princess Emeraude. Umi is the first to find her meshin which was found under the sea and in the form of the dragon and was named Ceres. Ceres says that Umi will have to prove the strength of her heart before it will be her's, Umi proves the strength of her heart by protecting her friends from Ascot's monsters and by making Ascot see that if the monsters are really his friends he shouldn't make them fight for Zagato's cause. Ceres then goes into her armor after it transformed again but before that Umi sees that it's true form is a giant robot.

Then Fuu is able to find her mashin on the floating mountain, it's original form is a bird and it's called Windom. Windom tells Fuu that she must also prove the strength of her heart. Fuu proves the strength of her heart with how she is willing to die for her friends if need be and by overcoming Caldina's spell. She's also able to inspire Caldina(who only works for Zagato because he pays well) quite a bit with her speech about friendship. Fuu's armor also transform and Windom goes into her armor after showing it's true form of a  giant robot.

Hikaru is then able to find her mashin in a volcano who's original form seems to be a wolf and is named Rayearth, Rayearth tells her to prove the strength of her hurt. Hikaru is able to prove the strength of her heart by protecting her friends at the expense of her own well being and by being able to free Dal Rafaga from the mind control that Zagato put him under. Then all three of the girls armor transforms again and they are put in the robot form of their meshins and are off to defeat Zagato.

Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are able to combined their powers and defeat Zagato who had built his own mashin, with his last words Zagato wishes for Princess Emeraude's freedom. The girls then goes inside the castle to free Princess Emeraude only to find out that Princess Emeraude looks much older than she had when she originally appeared to them and to their surprise she's extremely upset about Zagato's death. Princess Emeraude then tries to kill Hikaru, Umi and Fuu who are still very confused by these turn of events only to have the younger version of Emeraude appear and explained that the reason for Cefiro troubles is because Princess Emeraude(who as the pillar of Cefiro is only aloud to pray for peace of Cefiro) fell in love with Zagato and she summoned the legendary Magic Knights because only those from another world could kill her. Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are forced to kill Princess Emeraude because if they don't she'll destroy all of Cefiro .The volume (and first half of the series)concludes with the three girls being transport back to Tokyo tower and hugging each other and crying.

While I overall loved the volume and the first half of the series as a whole, I find the end to be very sad and it makes me glad that I know there's a second half of the series. I liked that Clamp took the risk of not having the bad guy be who you thought they were but I feel heart broken for what Hikaru, Umi and Fuu had to do. I still love the series characters, plot and artwork. Please tell me your thoughts on this volume or series.

Manga Review:Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol.1

                                            Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol.1Review

Sailor Moon was the first anime I ever watched it was back when I was in elementary school and had no clue about what anime was but I loved Sailor Moon all the same. More recently I have watched the sub version of Sailor Moon and I found that I still enjoyed the series so when the manga started to be rereleased I was very excited to read the series.

Sailor Moon is about a girl named Usagi Tsukino who can be a bit of a crybaby and her "hobbies included sleeping, eating and taking the easy way out." Usagu one day meets a talking cat named Luna who grants her magical powers in order to stop the servants of Queen Beryl from stealing the energy from good people and to find and protect the legendary silver crystal and the Moon Princess. Usagi's powers grant her the power of the moon so when she transforms she becomes Sailor Moon but Usagi is somewhat reluctant to become a hero because she's easily scared by the villains but she does feel like she has to stand up for justice and to save innocent people.

Through out the volume more Sailor scouts are introduce that help Usagi defeat Queen Beryl's servants. The first one is Ami who is one of the smartest girls at Usagi's school but is a bit of loner because other students believe that's she stuck up(she's not at all) but Usagi ends up becoming friends with her before she finds out she's Sailor Mercury. The next one she meets is Rei who's family owns a shrine and she already has some supernatural powers, she turns out to be Sailor Mars and she uses her fire powers to defeat Queen Beryl's first servant. The last one she meets this volume is Makoto a girl that is unusually tall and strong but is actually pretty girly, she turns out to be Sailor Jupiter. I really loved meeting all these girls through out the volume and I liked how they all became friends.

Also throughout this volume Usagi when she's Sailor Moon continually runs into to a guy that goes by the name Tuxedo Mask and throughout the volume Usagi develops more and more of a crush on him and he seems to feel the same way about her. Usagi shares quite a few romantic moments including a kiss with Tuxedo Mask through out this volume. Usagi also runs into a high school boy named Mamoru several times throughout the volume who she often argues with but looks pretty much exactly like Tuxedo Mask. I really loved the relationship between Usagi/Mamoru, Sailor Moon/Tuxedo Mask in this volume.

I think that the art in this volume is super pretty older shugo style which I really love and I wish that more of the newer manga was in this type of style because all the artwork is really pretty and girly. I overall loved the plot and characters that were contained in this volume and I liked that this volume moves so much faster the anime ever did. I overall love this volume and I'm looking forward to the next one. Please tell me your thoughts on the series.

Manga Review: Cardcaptor Sakura Vol.3

                                                  Cardcaptor Sakura Vol.3Review

The first of this volume deals with the Mirror card which has taken Sakura's form and is causing trouble all around town. I find this story to be particularly interesting because this one of the few times when the card seems like a character rather than just a mystical force. I liked that although the Mirror card start off rather malicious that it changed after Touya was injured but still wanted to help her even though he knew she wasn't his sister. I liked that Mirror card felt bad for what she did and that she let Sakura capture her. I also really enjoyed that this chapter showed that Touya would help out people who were ghost so that they could move on.

In the next story Sakura is invited over to Tomoyo's house in order to deal with a card that has been causing trouble by keeping a box with precious items of Tomoyo's and her mother's locked inside. Also in this story there's more of Tomoyo's mother, Sonomi, remembering Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko, fondly and there's a mention once again of how she disliked Sakura's father for taking her away. I really enjoyed the brief flashbacks we got in this chapter of when Nadeshiko was still alive and I must say that I enjoy Sakura's parents as couple a lot. At the end of the chapter Sakura captures the Shield card using the Sword card.

In the last story of this volume a new teacher arrives in town and she seems to have a lot of power which makes Syaoran distrustful of her but Sakura just thinks she's really pretty. The volume ends with the Maze card turning up but not much really happened in the last chapter.

I overall really liked this volume. I liked that Sakura was able to use the Clow cards for fortune telling as well as the cards normal use in this volume. I also continue to enjoy all the characters and the relationships they have with each other. Please tell me your thoughts about this series.

Top 10 books for people who like X author

For People who like Ally Carter's series Gallagher Girls and Heist Society:
1. Magic Knight Rayearth: I would say it's similar to the Gallagher Girls series because it's about a group of girls who have vastly different personalities but are still close friends who considers each other to be sisters and work well together. The girls in both series are also pretty good at fighting their enemies.
2. Kami Kaze Katiuo Jeane: It's similar to Heist Society because it's about a young girl that steals priceless art in order to help people although the reasons in the two series are very different.
3. Shugo Chara: It's similar to Ally Carter's series because it has a strong female lead who forms close and important friendships and has just enough swoon worthy romance.
4. Sailor Moon:Another series about a group of girls that are good friends and are capable of fighting evil.
5. Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus: I find that these series are similar to Ally Carters because friendship is an important part of the series.
6. Secret Circle: Has lots to do with friendships.
7. Rosario+ Vampire: It's set at a bordering school, the girls can kick some ass and friendship is an important part of the series.
For people who like The Hunger Games:
1. Battle Royale: Has a similar idea with having a bunch of kids kill each other on tv except this time they all actually no each other.
2. Uglies: Is another teen dystopian with a corrupt government that likes to control it's people.
3. 1984: A classic dystopian that tries to make thinking differently a crime.

My Top 10 Book Heroines

1. Tohru Honda(Fruits Basket):Tohru is pretty different from any of the other characters on this list because she doesn't really have any special talents other than being extremely nice and she doesn't really set out to defeat enemies. Tohru is able to save pretty much everyone including the main villain just by being kind and accepting them for who they are flaws and all. The reason I think that her character can work as a hero in this series(because in most series she wouldn't be very heroic) is because most of the characters problems are psychological and all the other characters really needed was for someone else to tell them that it was okay to be who they are, that's exactly what Tohru does for them.
2. Sakura Kinomoto(Cardcaptor Sakura): Sakura is another character that is able to win people over with kindness but unlike Tohru it isn't her only skill. Sakura is also very skilled in magic and she can be suprisely resourceful with how well she is able to use it. She also doesn't give up when she is faced with a challenge.
3. Daenerys Targaryen(A Song of Ice and Fire series): I technically only read the first book and watched the first 19 episodes of the tv series but I don't see my love for Daenerys changing anytime soon so I thought it was okay to include her. I love Daenerys because of how she goes from this timid girl to a powerful warrior queen throughout the first book. I also love how fierce she became but even through that it's still very clear that she cares for her people just that now she'll make sure their enemies will suffer. I also loved that she was able to walk through fire and not get burned.
4. Sakura Hime(The Legend of Princess Sakura):She's a rebellious princess who has to find demons now and so far she seems to be pretty good at defeating them with her sword. She's also pretty brave and believes in protecting Innocent people even when it's likely to get her hurt.
5. Amu Hinamori(Shugo Chara): I just find her relatable since she doesn't really know who she is or what she wants out of life but she also has quite a bit of magical powers and a firm sense of what's right and what's wrong.
6. Katarina Bishop(Heist Society series): She's really smart with her being able to pull off quite a few heists even though she isn't even old enough to graduate high school and she also has good morals now because she refuses to steal from anyone who hasn't already stolen from someone else first. I also love how she acts in her scenes with Arturo Taccone because in those parts she's so witty and brave.
7. Chloe Saunders(The Darkest Powers series): I love that she compares everything to a movie and that once she discovers that she's a necromancer that she keeps trying to figure out how her powers work and that she's trying to figure out how to take down the Edison group.
8. Alyss Heart(The Looking Glass Wars series):Over the two books of the series I read she already had to win back her throne once and in the second book there's yet another war she has to try to win, so I think it's save to say she's a bit of a war queen.
9. Katniss Everdeen(The Hunger Games):I feel like now a days you couldn't make this list without mentions Katniss who is brave and has great bow and arrow skills.
10. Tally Youngblood(Uglies series): She has pretty much led revolutions and all though she does seem to suffer from chronic backstabbing syndrome she has made the world she lives in a better place.

Manga Review: Magic Knight Rayearth Vol.2

                                                Magic Knight Rayearth Vol.2Review

The second volume of the series starts off right were the first one ends with the girls meeting Ferio who at first the girls are unsure if they can trust him but they decide he's most likely not an enemy do to the fact that he saved them from getting killed and Mokona seems to like him. After finding out the Ferio also wants to go to the Legendary Fountain of Eterna as well but doesn't know the way Fuu convinces him to come with the girls as there bodyguard since he seems like a good fighter and monsters attack often in the Forest of Silence.

Just as they make it out of the Forest of Silence, Umi is attacked and seriously injured by Alcyone(the evil sorceress from the first volume) so Hikaru of course decides to avenge her her friend with the magic she learned in volume 1. Umi wakes up during a point in the fight were it looks like Hikaru is going to loose and through Mokona Guru Clef is able to teach Umi magic that was able to defeat Alcyone and save Hikaru. Once Umi completes the spell she collapses because she's still badly injured and then Fuu is able to learn magic the same way Umi did and she's able to heal Umi.

 After seeing all this Ferio figures out that the girls are the legendary magic knights and after they ask he tells them what he knows of the story. Ferio leaves soon after this because the only reason he wanted to go to the Fountain of Eterna was because he wanted to see if he could become a magic knight because he also wanted to save Princess Emeraude but since he now knows that Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are the knights he now knows that only those three can be the magic knights. Ferio gives something to Fuu and kisses her hand before he leaves which makes Fuu blush a lot.

The girls then arrive at the Fountain of Eterna and after figuring out how to get into it. They go in and are faced with some that they love and after they acknowledge that in real life this person would never hurt them they are able to defeat it and receive Escudo. With the Escudo Presea is able to make the girls the weapons that they'll need to defeat Lord Zagato and save Cefiro. The girls then go on their way to find the mashin.

I loved this volume and I loved to see that the girls think of themselves as sisters. I also liked meeting Ferio and I like the relationship between him and Fuu. I liked learning about how everything in Cefiro works do to the will of someones heart and I find it interesting that the monsters are created from the fear of the citizens of Cefiro are feeling. Please tell me your thoughts on this volume.

Fangirl Friday 9

Fangirl five Friday is a weekly meme host Nancy Drew is my Homegirl and what it's meme that has you list the top five things you've been fangirling about this week.

1. Game of Thrones:This week I caught up with Game of Thrones by watching episodes 5 through 8 of season two. I was really upset when Renly died and I'm still really pissed at Stannis for not only killing him but also for using a shadow creature that he couldn't possibly defeat. I liked that the Tyrells as well as Brienne stayed loyal to Renly even after his death. I really liked the relationship that developed between Catelyn and Brienne because it seems to be one that is built on the respect they have for one another. I found Arya's deals Jaqen killing people for her to be very interesting and I really liked seeing her interactions with Tywin because I find Tywin to be such an interesting character and I like that he seems kind of fond of her even though he clearly knows she's up to something. I hated that Theon betrayed the Starks and took over Winterfell and then chopped a guy he's known for years head off as Bran bagged him not to, I hate Theon so much now. I like that Deanerys is working on gettting back the Iron Throne(and I think now would be a really good time to do so since everyone hates Joffrey and would gladly give the first person to show up in Kings Landing the throne). I was really creeped out by the guy from the house of the undieing and I hate that he stole Deanerys's dragons. I liked that someone threw a piece of shit at Joffrey's face but I hated that people nearly raped and murder Sansa even though she's just as much a victim of Joffrey's cruelty as the rest of the kingdom. I really liked the episode A Man Without Honor because it focused on Jamie quite a bit and I've always liked his character although I felt bad about it since he's done some pretty awful things but he has charisma. I also really liked how Varys points out that Tryion is good at the game and he likes it which makes him a good hand of the king unlike Ned and Jon Arrayan who were noble men and hated the game.

2. Revenge:The season finale aired this week and the episode was really good and exciting. There was a lot going on in this episode both in terms of plot and characters. I also really liked that there was a lot set up in this episode to make next season very interesting.

3. The Avengers: I saw The Avengers this week and I found it to be a very good movie with lots of action in it as well as a good plot and a lot of good characters. I hadn't watched any of the movies leading up to this film but the film makes me want to watch all of the films that led up to this one.

4. Cardcaptor Sakura: I got the second omnibus edition of the Cardcaptor Sakura manga this week so I've been reading it and enjoying all the pretty colored pictures that were included with this edition. I just love this series it's super sweet and cute.

Manga Review: Cardcaptor Sakura Vol.2

                                            Cardcaptor Sakura Vol.2 Review

The second volume starts off with Sakura enjoying field day at her school were she competes in a race and does a cheer leading routine. At the field day event Sakura meets Tomoyo's mother, Sonomi for the first time and learns that she and her father, Fujitaka have knew each other because through Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko who happens to that Sonomi and Nadeshiko were cousins. Sonomi has always disliked Fujitaka because she feels he stole Nadeshiko from her but does admit that he made Nadeshiko very happy. Also during field day the Flower card causes a lot of flowers to fall down so Sakura has to capture it but not before Flower dances with her.

The second story of the volume deals with a new student named Syaoran Li who transfers into Sakura's class who doesn't seem to like her and knows about the Clow Cards, he also has magic of his own. Later on in this story Sakura's friend Rika's mind is taken over by the Sword Card and ends up attacking Sakura, Sakura is of course reluctant to fight her friend and since her and Kero-chan were talking about what to do Sakura is almost cut in half by the Sword Card but Syaoran saves her(which of course made me all happy but then he was mean to her). Sakura then decides to use the illusion card to distract Rika with an image of her beloved which happens to be Terada-Sensei, Sakura plan works and she's able to capture the card.

In the last chapter of the volume Sakura is shown through one of Tomoyo's videos of Sakura that she has recently captured the Thunder Card(that really should be called lightening since that's what it acts like). Later on in the chapter Sakura finds out that the Shadow Card is causing trouble so she sets out to capture the card but has trouble at first but after seeing that Syaoran's lighting spell help to tame the Shadow Card she uses Thunder and then Sword to capture Shadow. After she does this Sakura thanks Syaoran for his help while she smiles and wrap his small injury with a piece of cloth this causes him to blush but he acts like he still doesn't like her.

Through out this volume a lot is learned about the characters and their relationship with each other such as the fact that Tomoyo is actually in love with Sakura but is pretty sure that Sakura will never feel the same way. I also liked seeing how protective Touya can be over Sakura with how much he worries about her after he saw Syaoran be mean to her and how much he dislikes him for that. I also liked the strange crush that Syaoran develops on Yukito and like that both him and Sakura are always so cutely embarrassed when Yukito is nice to them. I also like all the times Touya and Yukito tend to stare at each other and Touya's tendency of brush things off of Yukito's shoulders. I find the relationship between Rika and Terada-sensei to be both creepy and sweet but I find it strange that they would already be engaged.

I overall loved this volume just like I do the rest of the series and I liked that one of my favorite characters were introduced in this volume. Please tell me your thoughts on the series.

Top 10 Books I read in a day

I don't read novels in a day because when I read a book and I really really love it I try to make it last as long as possible so this list will consist entirely of manga since I almost always finish them the same day I start them.

1. Fruits Basket Volume 11: This is my favorite volume of the series although I love them all I feel that it's turning point as well as the half way point of the series. There's a good amount of character, relationship and plot development that happens in this volume. This is also the volume that makes me fear Akito the most out of pretty much all villains because this volume shows that Akito isn't the type of villain that will kill you but the type that makes you wish you were dead. While these volume did have dark moments it also had fun light happy ones and sweet romantic ones as well.

2. Fruits Basket Volume 10: My second favorite volume of the series it's mostly a light fun volume about our main characters having fun at the beach house but there's relationship and character development. Also the mood takes a dark turn once Akito shows up.

3. Fruits Basket Volume 15: This is one of the saddest and funniest volumes of the whole series. It's one of the saddest due to having Yuki's back story about his depressing childhood but it's one of the funniest because of the play Sorta Cinderella, the best version of Cinderella I've ever read/seen although really inaccurate.

4. Fruits Basket Volume 14:This volume gives us Rin's back story therefore making her one of my favorite characters of the series and her mental breakdown which also leads to her and Tohru developing an odd friendship. I also like the chapters dealing with the student council since I always find them entertaining. I also liked how Tohru's character was fleshed out a bit more in this volume.

5. Songs to Make You Smile: The first book on this list that's not Fruits Basket(I probably could have had this whole list be Fruits Basket but I decided to limit myself to 4) but it's buy the same person. This is a collection of short stories that are wonderful and sweet.

6. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Volume 5: This volume finished off the arc that was set in Spirit which seemed like an old fashioned English town and I really liked the arc. It also started the Oto arc which is one of my favorites it's set in a world that has cos play and there are these creatures called oni and Fai, Sakura and Mokona run a cafe. I also love this volume because Sakura almost remembers she knew Syaoran before she lost her memories but of course fate doesn't allow her to remember.

7. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Volume 6: This volume continues the Oto arc and it's just as good if not better than the last volume. This volume includes some insights into Fai's character, insights into Syaoran's past, further development of relationship, the great party were everyone gets drunk expect for Kurogane  and Seishiro appears which always makes me happy even though it's usually not a good thing for our heroes.

8. Higurashi When They Cry: Abducted by Demons Volume 2: This volume deals with Kechi's increasing paranoia and his eventual mental breakdown that ends in death as per usual in Higurashi. I love the way this volume handles his psychological state because it makes the reader see were he's coming from and it's just done really well it's even better than it's done in the anime.

9. Shugo Chara Volume 6: A lot of things happen in this volume with both Kari and Utau changing sides in this volume, I especially liked Utau's breakdown and her rediscovering why she wants to be a singer. I also just love this series in general.

10. Clover: This actually includes all four volumes, I just find this story to be so different and interesting.

Manga Review: Magic Knight Rayearth V.1

                                           Magic Knight Rayearth V.1Review

Magic Knight Rayearth is a magical girl series created by Clamp meaning the art is beautiful as always. The series about how three 14 year old girls Hikaru, Umi and Fuu, are transported into the magical land of Cefiro and are then told that they were summoned by Princess Emeraude in order to become the ledgendary magic knights and save the kingdom. The girls accept this task after they learn they can't return home until they save Cefiro.

The girls are given magic by Clef but he only had enough time to teach Hikaru how to use before being attacked by Alcyone a sorceress that works for the evil Lord Zagato who has taken over Cefiro. The girls are instructed to go to Presea who will make them weapons after they gather the right materials for her while she lends them some of her other weapons for their journey to retrieve the materials as well as Mokona who will guide them.

I love all of the girls and I love that they are all different from each other but have developed a deep friendship very quickly with them calling each other sisters by the end of the volume. I love Hikaru for being being super eager to complete the task of being a magic knight and I like that she accepted it so quickly. I like her special bond with animals and how she can communicate with them. I love Umi for being pretty, good at fencing and I like that she isn't really accepting any of this because I feel like at least one character should take a while to accept this situation. I love Fuu for being really into RPG and think of their situation in terms RPG, I also like that she comes off as being both smart and a ditz, Fuu is my personal favorite.

I overall love the series I find the plot to be very interesting, I order all the characters that aren't evil including the side characters and the art is really beautiful. Please tell me your thoughts on the series in the comment section below.

Manga Review: Cardcaptor Sakura V.1

                                                    Cardcaptor Sakura V.1Review

Cardcaptor Sakura is created by Clamp my favorite mangkas who are known for their gorgeous artwork among other things. Cardcaptor Sakura is about a ten year old girl named Sakura who accidentally causes a set of magical cards called Clow cards and then she made a cardcaptor by Kerberus(also known as Kero-chan)in order to collect the cards and prevent them from causing problems.

 Sakura is a sweet optimistic girl who lives with her father and older brother, Toya who constantly teases her but is also very protective over her. She has crush on her older brother's best friend Yukito who is very nice and polite.Sakura is best friends Tomoyo who is the only person that knows her secret at this point and she likes to make Sakura cute outfits to wear when she captures the clow cards and she likes to videotape Sakura's cuteness.

The plot is fairly straight forward a strange occurrence happens due to a clow card and then Sakura has to find away to capture the card.A lot of the stories about how to capture a card deals with a character or relationship such as the illusion card which both revealed that Sakura is afraid of ghosts and dealt with how she desired to see her mother again. This chapter also revealed that Toya could see ghosts.

 The characters are all likable even the minor ones and all the relationships between the characters are handle nicely. The art is extremely cute and pretty which fits the story perfectly. I overall love this series and the first volume is a great start to the series. Please tell me your thoughts about the series.

Manga Review: Sakura Hime:The Legend of Princess Sakura V.2

                            Sakura Hime: The legend of Princess Sakura V.2: Review

In the second volume Princess Sakura is given chance to be under the Emperor’s protection if she is able to defeat a Youko that has been killing people in the mountains and she’ll be able to return home and break off her engagement with Aoba. Through out the volume we learn that despite everything Princess Sakura loves Aoba and he half loves her and half hates her which makes for a complicated relationship.

In this volume there’s a Youko who’s been controlling or working with the Councilor and when Oumi, one of Sakura’s lady in waiting discovers this she’s threaten with death if she doesn’t trick Princess Sakura into going into a trap. I’m glad that Oumi decides to not trick Princess Sakura but I found her death scene were she tells the Princess about how her family died from being attack by youkos and how she sorry that she has a hard time accepting Sakura and Asagiri because of it.

I overall really enjoyed this volume and look forward to reading the next one. I continued to love Princess Sakura but I missed her friendship with Kohaku. I liked learning more Aoba since it made me like his character more. I’m also curious about the Youko that wants Sakura to become an Youko that killed Oumi towards the end. Please tell me your thoughts on the volume.

Manga Review: Sakura Hime:The Legend of Princess Sakura Volume 1

                              Sakura Hime:The Legend of Princess Sakura Volume 1Review 

The Legend of Princess Sakura is by Arina Tanemura who also wrote Kamikaze Katio Jeanne and Gentlemen's Alliance Cross, the story is set in ancient Japan and is about a young girl named Sakura who has been betrothed to marry Prince Ora but she doesn't want to marry him because she has never met him so she rans away. After she rans away she looks up at the moon on the night of a full moon and then learns that she is a descend of Princess Kayuya who is the only person can kill the demons of the moon that are called Youko but since Sakura is her descend she can also defeat them and by the end of the book she vows to destroy the Youkos and protect humans.

This paragraph will include spoilers. In the middle of the volume after Sakura has went to live with Prince Ora she learns that Prince Ora hates her and he tries to kill her because she is a Princess of the Moon and he fears that she'll eventally turn into a Youko and kill him and the rest of his people. Sakura manages to escape but is very freaked out by what she just learned and she falls into a lake and almost drowns but is saved by a girl ninja named Kohaku who after seeing that Sakura is a good person she decides to protect rather then turn her into the Prince.

I overall really liked this volume and felt that quite a lot has happened in a short amount of time. So far I like Princess Sakura I can understand were she's coming from and she seems like a nice person and she pretty good with using her sword to slay Youko. I also really like Sakura's spirit friend Asagiri I find her to be completely adorable, she seems to be a good friend to Sakura, and in the side bars it said she had a sad past which hope we get to learn about in future volumes. I also love Kohaku because she's energetic, really nice and a good fighter. At this point I would really like for Sakura and Kohaku to be a couple because their so sweet together with them both wanting to protect each other but doubt it'll ever happen.

I also found the art to be very pretty and similar in style to the other series I've read by Arina Tanemura. I overall really liked this volume and I plan on buy the next one as well. Please tell me your thoughts on this volume.