Aporia

WARNING ⚠️! 

The work being discussed contains homosexual themes. If LGBTQIA+ makes you uncomfortable, I encourage you to skip this post.

Now...let's get started!

I have read this one 3 times. Yes, I said 3. The first time, I didn't quite know what I was reading except that it was going to be a BL romance. For those who don’t know, BL stands for "boys love" (i.e., no women). 

I was immediately drawn into this manhwa (korean manga, typically in full color, read from left to right) by the artwork, even though it's not a style I would normally find attractive. However, the artist's use of dark colors and mixing of sharp and soft lines, really kept me captive. My heart was racing the minute the two main characters met and I pretty much flew through the story because I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter. I stayed up late, devouring the story in a day, and honestly, I missed a lot.

When i went back to read it again, I was able to slow down, mainly because the story was no longer a mystery to me. But I was also able to fully appreciate the time and skill that went into crafting each panel. I really was awed by how much effort it takes to not only write a good story, but draw one. 

Admittedly, I was a bit jealous. As an author, I have always thought my work would be more popular if God had given me the skills to draw as well because people respond to beautiful imagery. That being said, if any artists out there are looking to collaborate, feel free to let me know. ^_^

Okay...so let's get back on topic. 

Aporia is about Gyum and Ja-wook, two strangers who meet and enter a Dom/Sub relationship. Outside of the basic premise of the famous 50 Shades series, I don't know anything about BDSM. However, if you want an example of what a healthy D/S relationship looks like, I think this story is a good starting line. Gyum makes sure to stress the need for safe words and communication during play. He also makes sure to do aftercare on Ja-wook when the session is finished.

Ja-wook is new to a D/S type of relationship. He's completely captivated by Gyum's good looks so he agrees to go along with something completely outside of his understanding. I think he hadn't been in a relationship in a long time, so he often doesn't speak up when he's uncertain or confused.

During my first reading, I found him to be very frustrating because he wouldn't speak up. On the second and third pass, it was more tolerable becaue I had a full understanding of his character. I also think there was a level of loneliness or a fear of rejection driving Ja-wook's actions. 

Of course, I don't want to over analyze because everyone reacts to stories differently based on their own experiences.

I will say that the smut scenes were 🔥, but far too short for my liking. If you give this story a chance, I doubt you will be disappointed. Happy Reading!

Creator: Seontae 

Where to find: lezhinus.com

*Note: while there are other ways to read, please support creators on official platforms if you can afford it. It helps them be able to afford to create more.

https://patreon.com/user?u=40408878&utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

So...Let's talk about smut.

I have been on the fence for a while on whether I could pull back the curtain on this topic. 

There are many euphemisms for describing work with sexual content. Erotic literature is commonly referred to as smut, dirty, or filth. I think branding an entire genre with words that carry a negative connotation is unfair to both the writer as well as the reader. When asked about what you do for a living, most of these authors talk around the truth. They might say they write romance novels or that they’re just a fiction writer. This is to avoid the judgmental gazes of basically all of society. And if you're a fan and someone asks what you're into, you'll either lie, or in the case of my coworker and myself, get real close and whisper in each other’s ear like you've committed a crime.

I won't try to be too polite with my terms here. Frankly, I like the word 'smut'. It's fun to say and the books are fun to read. I've spent the past year or so devouring 100s of books and I've narrowed my list down to the ones I think rise to my strict criteria for recommendation.

All I can say for now is look forward to the next post. ^_^

Happy Reading!

ROXY

I finished this book in one day--not because it was necessarily good but because I didn't have anything else to do. I'm not sure that the standard numerical or star rating scale will work to rate this story either, because I'm not sure how I feel about it. I decided to explain my outlook on Neil and Jarrod Shusterman's newest title by viewing them through two separate lenses: Reader and Writer. 

Writer:

     As a writer, I appreciate and applaud the idea of personifying the various drugs. It worked well with the idea of each described narcotic acting as a supernatural influence on all the mortals they come in contact with. I can also appreciate how difficult it was to come up with human psuedo-names (don't worry, I coined that word for emphasis) for each of the drugs described. I'm currently working on a story where I need to come up with names for places and things that need to be cleverly similar to their everyday counter-parts. It's a challenge and to do it well takes care and time.  The authors also are telling two stories that run parallel but also overlap/interact with one another. 

     Where the story falls short, is that almost every drug was assigned a personality that was too in line with the cliched or misunderstood opinions that society has. There were too few examples or explanations of how these drugs actual purposes. There were too few or no examples of people who were capable of using the medication as directed without abusing it. I feel the story lacked balance. For that reason, the story gets an execution score of 3.5 stars.  

As A Reader: [WARNING...CONTAINS SPOILERS]

     As a reader, as a parent, I can understand the intent of this story.  While it provides a very superficial look at drug addiction, Roxy brings attention to real issues that we need to be aware of and prepared to discuss. Unfortunately, the only character I was able to connect to was Isaac Ramey. His character reminds me so much of myself when I was young--talented, kind, focused, innocent. To see all his potential wasted did bring me to tears. Even though the first chapter warns the reader that Isaac won't survive this story, it was devastating to watch his vibrant future and all the infinite possibilities come to an abrupt end. 

    Watching Isaac struggle with normal things to a point where he felt he needed drugs to escape (for lack of better phrasing) made my heart hurt. It was hard to see him struggling and feeling like he needed to solve his problems on his own. When you're standing at the border between childhood and adulthood, it is hard to recognize that you're still a child and have the right to ask for help. 

    Unfortunately, attachment to one character when there's 36 chapters and 377 pages means that for me, this story fell flat. I wholly acknowledge the level of creativity for certain story elements. I tip my hat to the authors for daring to shine a light on a can of worms most people would like to pretend isn't festering in society's kitchen. However, I failed to connect with this story. While I wasn't bored, I was not captivated in any meaningful way. 

I also would not recommend this particular story for anyone under the age of 15. Given the subject matter and the way it was presented, this is not something I would let my younger children read. 

Body Bags

The title is obviously what drew me to this book. I know they tell you not to choose a book by its cover but on more than one occaision, I have been seduced by a beautiful cover or an interesting title. And it doesn't hurt that I love a good whodunnit. 

While this particular book won't give you nightmares like something from the Jeffrey Deaver collection would, Body Bags is still a good way to spend a few hours of your time. 

Our story centers around Jenna Blake, a young woman who is starting college. She arrives at her university unsure of what she wants to do with her life. Like any college kid, her parents each have ideas about what she should do with her talents. While she eventually settles on something to study, she gets there by unusual methods. 

After witnessing her college professor murder a classmate and then subequently die, she wants to know what happened. Curiosity, am I right? Couple that with Jenna's position as an intern at the college's pathology lab and Jenna is in the perfect position to help solve deadly crimes. 

When I first read this book as a teenager, I was sucked into the mystery. I couldn't put it down and I just had to know what was going to happen next. Re-reading this as an adult, there were other layers to the story that really make this book a gem. 

For starters, I never realized how diverse the characters were. I also think the author did a decent job of capturing those youthful feelings of attraction. He also did an excellent job of capturing the frustration and panic that comes with realizing you have to figure out your entire future. Jenna's choice was tough because she wasn't sure how to find her own path while still living up to her parents' expectations. 

As murder mysterious go, it was pretty tame. It's perfect for 12 and up, depending on what you allow your child to read. Unfortunately, I think this one is out of print. I was able to find a few copies floating around on ebay and Powell's (independent bookstore). 

How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom

 After 3 anime in a row, I decided it's time for a book. Of course, I'm cheating a little bit and killing two birds with one stone--anime and book. Why? Because I started this one in the manga form (remember: Manga are books too! ^_^) and when I learned that the anime was coming, I stopped reading and waited for Funimation to provide moving pictures. 

When it comes to TV/Movie adaptations, the book is basically a spoiler. Rather than read ahead, I decided to stop with volume 3 and wait to let the story unfold on-screen. Of course, there are times when you will want to go back and read the manga instead of relying on the production studio to give you the all the deets...ahem, The Promised Neverland anyone? 

Anyway...back to our hero. Kazuya is 19 years old and has no family left. In my opinion, this makes him better suited for the isekai style story because he doesn't really have anyone to miss him if he suddenly disappears. And hero summonings don't really ask for permission. You just get scooped up and plopped who knows where. In this case, our hero is lucky, well, sort-of. He was summoned as a way to help a poor kingdom pay its financial obligations to a larger one. Instead of being sold off like a bride in some period drama, he instead becomes the king and starts revolutionizing the kingdom.

He's basically the Kingdom of Elfrieden's most powerful civil servant. He clears up corruption, finds a way to feed the starving citizens and even fixes the supply and demand issues with crop production and trade. 

I would classify this story as more of a slice of life type. I personally feel the action and adventure parts are secondary to the main focus of watching Souma Kazuya's mind and policies at work. The artwork is in my preferred style, so it gets 5 stars from me. Acting on both the subtitled and English sides also get 5 stars. Each actor was perfectly suited for the personality of the character portrayed. It was definitely a unique spin on the isekai hero summoning so I give execution of the idea 5 stars. 

Also, we've been lucky enough that the studio decided not to stop with a 12-episode season, so the story is ongoing. This is one I will be adding to my personal collection. It's definitely one of the better ways to spend a Saturday afternoon. 

For those of you without a Funimation subscription, you can find both the subs and dubs on Hulu. Keep in mind that TV won't answer all your burning questions so there's always the manga or the light novel to fill in the blanks. 

Happy Reading!!

 

Blue Period

 What a wonderful story!

While what makes a story great depends on the reader/viewer. That's what art is about. And ironically, this story, about art, is art to me. LOL. 

https://www.netflix.com/title/81318842

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've watched this 5 times. The first time I watched it alone. Netflix only had 3 episodes up and waiting until the following Saturday for the next one nearly drove me crazy. The second time, I watched it so I could show my husband how great it was. Alas, he decided that playing Fallout 4 was more interesting. The third and fourth time, it was just me, bingeing as new episodes were released and the fifth time was with my daughter. She loves to draw and paint and I thought there would be enough stuff to educate and inspire. She's a hard worker and a stickler for what's typical/rules. She sometimes has trouble just having fun and experimenting. Oddly enough, these are traits she shares with the MC of this anime. 

It was worth it to see her pull out her easel and paints and just doodle without stressing over if she could paint within the lines of her own sketch. I'm getting off track. 

This story is about a Yatora Yaguchi. Yaguchi is a high school boy who hasn't found any joy in his life. He's basically going through the motions of living. On the outside, he seems like a slacker and a delinquent but he's actually a hard worker. He's an only child and he's family isn't wealthy, so he's focused on getting a stable, steady job in the future. One day, he wanders into the school's art room and gets drawn in by an amazing painting he sees there. It's this moment where his passion is awakened. 

He doesn't spend much time fighting his inner self about whether or not he is a good artist. He actually constantly tells himself that he doesn't have talent and that all he can do is work hard. He decides that he wants to take a risk on his future and follow his passion to get into a public art college. Where Yaguchi truly has room to develop is on how to have fun and express himself using art because he never truly showed himself to others before. 

Because I often share my anime finds with my children, I will warn you about two things. 

1) There is a little nudity in this. It is not sexual in nature. He is an art student after all and nude models aren't an uncommon subject matter. 

2) Also, there is a transgender character.  Yuka-chan/Ryuji-kun. Ryuji is a male who dresses as a female and feels more comfortable as a woman. The only person in her family who accepts Yuka as she is, is her grandmother. There's lots of complexity that comes with that in relation to family dynamics and how the character relates to others. The manga probably explains it better, but since it was on backorder and I have yet to receive my copy, I can't say how well the author does or doesn't cover those issues. [I am a lover of print media, so I own very few ebooks.]

It was great seeing a manga that I was actively trying to obtain be turned into a show and I'm anxious to see what season 2 has for me. 

[links are not to advertise, just to help you find it if you're interested]

Ranking of Kings

 In a word: Impressive. 

Ranking of Kings is one of those artwork exceptions I was talking about in my previous post. 

from IMDB

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1000981273?playlistId=tt13409432&ref_=tt_pr_ov_vi

The artwork was so adorable I immediately decided it was for a younger audience and skipped past it. Of course, I have boredom to thank for opening my eyes to this gem. Boji, our star, is a prince who is deaf and dumb. While he can't hear or talk, that doesn't mean he is oblivious to the negative opinions everyone in his family and his kingdom have about him. He keeps up a positive attitude and he's determined to be a great and kind king. 

I found this anime on Funimation. The first episode was dubbed in English and I watched the rest subtitled. The acting on both sides meets my high standards so I have no complaints. The artwork, while not in my preferred style, also gets a 5 star rating. Without the cuteness of the art, Boji's story just doesn't have the same effect. He is absolutely the most adorable, loveable thing!

The story was definitely more sophisticated than the artwork makes it seem. Boji is an older brother to Daida. Everyone thinks Daida would make a better king because he's physically strong and doesn't have any disabilities. Of course, as the first born, Boji is expected to inherit the throne, which he does. Unfortunately, he is overthrown by a secret vote between his step-mother and the former king's other advisors. Shocked by this, Boji asks to leave the palace and go on an adventure. The queen reluctantly agrees and sends him off with two soldiers to guard him.

While he's gone, lots of bad things start to happen. Miranjo, a mysterious woman trapped in a magic mirror, starts on her path to revenge, one of Boji's guards tries to murder him, dangerous criminals get released from prison, someone tries to kill the step-mother using magical beasts, and Boji finds someone to teach him how to become strong enough to put the naysayers to shame. The kingdom is about to fall to ruin and the only hope is...you guessed it...Boji!

I just finished season 1 with my kiddos and we're excited to see what happens next. 

Some heroes wear capes and some wear tiny paper crowns.