but Aya Kanno knows how to make her beautiful, dainty characters appear menacing and conniving when they ...
923092
I'm not familiar with Shakespearean stories, so I went into this manga with zero expectations and lemme just say, this is a totally underrated series and it's a damn shame. The art itself has such a delicate look, but Aya Kanno knows how to make her beautiful, dainty characters appear menacing and conniving when they need to be.
3871681
This is a beautiful coming-of-age book. Cindy Pon perfectly captures the difficult, often emotional transition from child to woman. Skybright, the protagonist, sees her mistress getting her period and developing a romantic interest, and all Skybright wants is for everything to remain the same as it always was. The nuances in their shifting, changing relationship are reflected literally - but also metaphorically - in the change Skybright experiences... not from child to woman, but from child to... serpent demon?! It sounds ridiculous but the metaphor here is perfect, as Skybright attempts to deal with shame, confusion, and estrangement from her own body which is both unique to her struggle but so common to girls undergoing the transition to womanhood. I think most girls will recognize some of themselves in Skybright as she struggles to find her new voice.

I really loved the relationship between Skybright and Zhen Ni. It was unique and interesting and definitely counter to what one would expect. Skybright is Zhen Ni's handmaiden, which basically means she's her lifetime servant. Some might call her a slave. Most narratives would have played this off as a relationship inherently fraught with conflict and cast Zhen Ni as the villain - but such is not the case here. In this Asian fantasy, it is clear that this is the expected order of the world, and Skybright accepts her place in it as part of a community. She sees Zhen Ni honestly-- as a bit spoiled and needing to have her own way-- but she also loves her deeply, and takes ownership of her mistress's appearance and accomplishments. I really appreciated this - it felt much more authentic, and Pon really steered away from imposing our own cultural expectations on the narrative. It allows the reader to appreciate that other social structures are not "evil" or "oppressive" simply because they do not reflect our expectations. I also loved the contrast between her servant-master relationship with Zhen Ni and that between her and Stone.

I also loved the pantheon of gods and demons. They were very authentically "Asian" in the sense that they are very removed and aloof, so ancient and perfect that the concerns of mortals are fairly irrelevant to them.

My one criticism is minor: people and events happen way too conveniently. Skybright wonders about demons or Kai Sen, and the instant she goes into the forest she sees them appear. Or she travels a long time to get somewhere, and Kai Sen is also magically there. It's something that bugged me, but honestly I doubt any kid reading this is going to mind.

I should say that although this book is ideally suited for girls around, say, 10-16, it definitely has broader appeal. I "read" it via audio book, and my 7 year old son caught snippets here and there in the car. He was soon begging me to let him listen along, and I finally just bought him his own paper copy, which he is reading now. I mean, serpent demons and fighting monks. What's not to love?
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Laura Thalassa has somehow found two phenomenal characters in that magical mind of hers. I don't understand how she can make characters so beautifully flawed that work together so wonderfully. I adore Callie and Des.

I love their darkness and the juxtaposition that is their true selves. That Callie is a siren that's shy and doesn't like to talk about sex. That Des is a dark fairy thug who's also a beloved king. They're just wonderful. The amount of compassion they both share (not to mention the passion (; ) is I think what makes them so incredibly endearing.

Normally I would say I'd like a little more involvement from the secondary characters. Though, Callie's best friend's entrance into the Night Kingdom is pretty spectacular. I find I don't really feel the need for much interaction with the friends. The two MC are complex and flawed enough that they easily hold my attention. It's like they're a constantly shifting shape in the shadows where a new corner is catching the light every second.

This book allows you to get to know both characters, but especially Des, so much more. And the overarching struggle is brought much more into the light as well. The world you've created with the Night Kingdom is so different and yet so comfortable. It's amazing. I cannot wait for the next installment.
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An innocent hike takes Kara Magari into the strange world of Ourea. She stumbles upon an ancient book and becomes the Vagabond. She's bound to the cursed book and thus to this beautiful yet terrifying world. Quickly she realizes she can't trust anyone. Those who don't want her dead only want her for their own purposes. The only exception is the gorgeous Braeden Drakonin. Assassin, shape-shifter, and heir to the most feared ruler in all Ourea. Struggling to bring peace to the great realm, Kara must survive both those who wish to kill her and the torments of her own heart.

S.M. Boyce has created a magnificent world filled with frightening and original creatures. It's a fantastic start to this trilogy and unlike other fantasy books with the typical elves, orcs, and dwarves. I was sucked in, eager to explore along with Kara. The details paint vivid pictures of the various regions, cities, and peoples. I was quickly captivated by Ourea.

Kara is a strong and interesting heroine. Thrust suddenly into a role she doesn't want or understand, she handles it the best she can. Braeden is the perfect complement to her. Dark and mysterious with a good heart hidden in what everyone else would consider a monster. Their romance is slow building and it makes it all the more powerful.

I'll definitely be picking up the next book!
624293
RoseBlood by A. G. Howard

I love A.G. Howard. She dances on the line of literary in young adult, and its both magnificent and wonderfully entertaining. Her lyrical voice is strangely hypnotizing, which sets the perfect tone for her latest novel.
RoseBlood is a gothic story inspired by Phantom of the Opera. (Not a retelling, per se, but something that borders the concept. If I explained why, Id ruined a million surprises about the book.) Its seductive, musical, and mysterious. There are masks and secret hallways and old opera houses waiting to be explored. Not to mention an awesome cat named Diable.
Told from two perspectives, I was amazed I never stumbled over the perspectives changing, especially since theres a tense change, too. But I enjoyed Rune and Thorn, flaws and all. In fact, I think the flaws made this tale. They were dark, sometimes torturous, and challenged the characters to not only overcome their pasts, but also their sulking moods. The back and forth between the characters also blended in with the past-and-present setting. RoseBlood takes place in a boarding school in modern-day France, while also somehow clutching onto the past. Its also reminiscent of her Splintered series, with gorgeous landscapes, lush rooms, and magical momentsno matter how small. Though, I would say there is a bigger focus on romance in RoseBlood.
That said, there were a few things that made me uncomfortable: The use of gypsy for one. And the fact that a French school only accepted American students. (Seemed sort of glossed over and strange.) I also wish we saw more of her friends, because they were awesome side characters. But if you loved Splintered, youll more than likely enjoy this new take on the Phantom of the Operaand all the strange, unsettling moments that come with it.
~SAT
Recommended to: YA romance readers, paranormal romance in particular, and fans of Phantom of the Opera (though if you're looking for a retelling, this might not be for you. Its just inspired by the story.)
Favorite Quote: Thorn, however, preferred the monsters of those tales. Their tragic misbalances and flaws were so much more compelling than any perfection could be. (pg. 65)
Favorite Word: Taphophiles: a cemetery tourist: Wednesday, when we finally get some quiet moments to sew without students coming in for measurements, she tells me she and her husbands are taphophilesaficionados of all things graveyard. (pg. 106)
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Ashlyn Woods has just transferred to one of the campuses on the west coast, where she can't wait to start her life over as a normal college student. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she discovers that she is a Soterian: a person who develops special powers when the balance of good and evil shifts too far in evil's favor.

Soon she and the other Soterians are studying martial arts and learning to use their powers to prevent California from tipped upside by evil. But they quickly discover that they're up against a much more dangerous enemy than they could have imagined.

And when Ashlyn meets Kai, a devastatingly gorgeous (yes gorgeous) guitar player, she realizes she must sacrifice more than she ever imagined.

I loved this book and the whole idea of super powers and battling evil. This is an awesome fantasy novel and I would recommend it to teens!

I hope this review was helpful.

Kitty Kat
3913630
This was such a unique book!  I tend to shy away from high fantasy, but books like Shadow and Bone make me keep coming back to the genre.  I was immersed in the world of the Grisha right from the first few pages, and didn't want to come back to reality!

I liked Alina right from the start.  I really felt for her: she is an orphan who is totally alone in the world except for her best friend Mal.  She has never excelled at anything, is very skinny and shy around other people.  Her one joy in life is her friendship with Mal.  They grew up together in an orphanage and forged a very strong bond.  Alina and Mal enter the army together and are assigned to the same regiment.  Mal is a tracker and Alina works with the cartographers (map-makers).

In the world Bardugo has created, there is a class of humans called The Grisha.  They are the most revered and feared members of society, and they possess magical powers.  The powers range from the ability to call the elements, healing, and fighting.  The Grisha live set apart from everyone else and are ruled by The Darkling.  The Darkling is the most powerful of the Grisha, and is feared by all, even the King.

Alina and Mal's regiment has to cross the Shadow Fold, which divides the nation of Ravka.  The Fold was like a dark, terrifying desert to me.  The sand is like a sea, in fact, it is called The Unsea.  It must be crossed on sand skiffs and it is always dark in the Fold.  There are flying monsters called volcra that eat humans---thus, the main danger of crossing the Shadow Fold.  While Alina and Mal are crossing the Fold, their regiment is attacked by the volcra.  One of the volcra snatches Mal up to take him away and eat him, and all of a sudden Alina's power is revealed.  She has no idea that she has any powers, but the threat of Mal's death unleashes her true nature.

After her display of power, Alina is taken away by The Grisha to become one of them.  She becomes The Darkling's favorite, as her power is so rare and valued.  The Darkling wants Alina to help him destroy the Shadow Fold.  But, all is not as it seems.  The people Alina thinks she can trust are actually conspiring against her, and suddenly, she has no idea what is real and what isn't.

These plot twists are what made the book so good for me.  I loved that the villain is not readily apparent, and that Bardugo makes the reader actually like the villain as well as the heroes of the story.  I truly had no idea what would happen, and I love that!

My one complaint about the story was that I had a hard time catching everything. This probably would have been remedied if I would have just slowed down and read more deliberately, but I was unable to stop myself from reading quickly because I just had to know what happened next!  There were some paragraphs I had to read twice, the story was just that nuanced and detailed.  I love a good, detailed plot, which was the best part of Shadow and Bone.

I loved the ending, which provides a good amount of closure, while setting up book two quite nicely.  I am on pins and needles to find out what happens next in the world of The Grisha.  I would recommend this book to anyone, especially fans of YA, fantasy, and paranormal fiction.  It was an excellent read!
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Toru, Akari and Chaika are continuing their quest and it seems a relic they need is possessed by the female warrior Dominica Skoda whom we met in the previous volume.  When they are caught in a bad situation, it's Dominica herself who rescues them and offers to put them up at her manor.  It turns out she is a dragoon cavalier, meaning she receives magical abilities from a dragon that make her near- invincible. Dominica is proving to be a fascinating character, ruthless yet sympathetic, one moment blase, the next vitriolic. The fact that Chaika has a startling resemblance to her late sister is proving interesting.  There is also some wild tension between Akari and Toru when Akari concocts a cover story about their being incestuous lovers on the lam (and Toru tries to convince their host that he has a delusional sister).  Dominica challenges them to a duel for the relic and it looks bad, but as this volume ends, Toru demonstrates some psychological warfare skills that will either save the day or get them killed.  There is a backup story told from Akari's point of view that is a delightful spoof of Chaika.  Once again, the series delivers a winning volume; Chaika: The Coffin Princess is a series well worth discovering.
4172253
Mallory and her father Adam have been running from something for years. She knows hes a witch, and stole something from the daimons, but Adam has kept everything a mystery. Shes been raised to learn of the evils of daimons, and has spent her life learning how to kill them. When she meets Kaleb, her life changes. Secrets are revealed, and she will have to decide who to trust.

Kaleb is a cur, the lowest of the low in the world of daimons. He has struggled and fought his whole life to earn money for food and, because of this, has become one of the top ranked fighters of The City. In the Carnival of Souls, where evil and sensual pleasures take place, he is on his way towards winning Marchosias Competition. It is a fight to the death. If he wins, hell be elevated to a higher caste and leave the life of the curs behind him forever. If he loses, he dies. He does not intend to lose.

Aya is a top ranked daimon and has the world at her fingertips, but refuses to accept her lot in life. She does not want to get married and be forced to breed. Her only way out is to become a fighter and win Marchosias Competition. Against all common sense, and uncaring of those who say a woman should stay at home, Aya has succeeded beyond her wildest imagination. She can sense victory, and her plan to overturn Marchosias and rule The City is within her grasp. She does not intend to lose.

These three lives are interwoven in this fantastical world of daimons and witches. Melissa Marr has woven a spell around each, making them sympathetic characters despite their differences. The cliffhanger ending leaves no doubt there will be a sequel.
4208228
With her third mystery in three years, I. J. Parker continues her series featuring Akitada Sugawara, a twenty-five-year-old member of the nobility whose family is no longer influential in the emperor's court in 11th century Japan.  When three yearly tax shipments from Kazusa province disappear without a trace, Akitada, a minor official in the Ministry of Justice, is assigned to investigate, a task he accepts enthusiastically, believing it to be a great honor.  Traveling through the cold countryside by horseback in the "Gods-Absent Month" of November, Akitada is accompanied by an elderly family retainer, Seimei.

From the outset, Parker creates a fast-paced and exciting narrative which keeps the reader interested both in the action and in the revelations of eleventh century culture and tradition.  In the first fifty pages, the reader experiences the murder of a beautiful noblewoman, the gruesome death of a prostitute, the attempted robbery of Akitada and subsequent fight to the death with robbers, the attempted assault of a young deaf-mute woman by several Buddhist monks, and a violent attack on a member of Akitada's party by a female martial artist of enormous skill.

Though this novel is the most recent Parker novel to be published, the story line occurs chronologically earlier than both The Rashomon Gate and The Hell Screen, two previous mysteries in the same series.  Akitada is a young bachelor here, meeting Tora, a powerful aide who appears in both the previous books, for the first time.  As Akitada tries to discover the fate of the tax convoys, he investigates the death of the retired governor of the province, observes the behavior of "monks" who seem unfamiliar with traditional ceremonies, investigates unsavory neighborhoods and elegant residences, and falls in love.  The action develops gradually, and builds to a conclusion that is filled with fireworks.

The cultural separation between noble and commoner, the tension between the Buddhist and Shinto religions, and details about government and cultural traditions are included very naturally within the story.  Parker develops her characters realistically, allowing her readers to identify with them, also including unusual characters whose idiosyncrasies make them memorable--the Rat, a beggar-informer;  Higekuro, a former member of the nobility who is now the paralyzed director of a martial arts school;  and Otomi, the deaf-mute artist whose sketches of a monastery figure in the investigation.  Often humorous, Parker creates a well-developed and exciting mystery about a different kind of detective, continuing a series which deserves to draw many new readers!  Mary Whipple
4909129
Out of the hundreds of manga series I've read, this series does some things I find wonderfully unique.  Despite the young girl Haruka being an integral part of the story from Chapter 1, this series is emphatically NOT a "lolicon" or older guy loves younger girl story.  Rather, it is a tale of the confluence of people who have experienced hardship and pain beyond imagining, and this confluence organizes itself into an underground network that privately funds the means to fight and bring down the very criminals that caused their pain and suffering.  The police have a strong presence, but they are underfunded for today's tech savvy criminals, and they are often left behind as justice is served by the hidden people.

One of their "tools" is Hijikata Mamoru, a former military operative who was wounded while freeing children from an organ harvesting group.  His injury resulted in blindness, but within his chest beats the heart of a true ronin, or "sword wiithout a master".  His skills are legendary, even with a conventional sword, but backed by the underground "Sparc" network, he is now armed with a weapon so keen, the blade whisks through steel and concrete alike with ease.  Mamoru himself, is a man who is a weapon; having been forged and honed to hair-trigger sharpness by a lifetime devoted to the ancient art of swordsmanship.  As I read this series, there are times when you wonder whether he's a good guy, a neutral guy who has his own reasons, or a bad guy who will take the best opportunity to fully test his abilities.

Haruka, who is gifted with precognition, is a hot commodity among the Yakuza and other criminal elements.  She teams up with Mamoru in the beginning by sensing that he is the only one capable of protecting her.  When she finds him, she offers to hire him "until death do us part".  Mamoru is surprised by the wording,  but accepts the contract, and it is now Haruka's job to hold Mamoru's reins and keep him from becoming so absorbed in the fight that someone gets killed.  She takes her responsibility seriously and uses her skills to the best advantage of all concerned.  This doesn't stop her from wondering what it might be like if she had feelings for her powerful protector.

Both Haruka and Mamoru are backed up by a crack team of individuals with  a wide variety of specialized skills and technology.  Mamoru's blindness is countered by his glasses which allow him to see the world in wire grid forms, while his wing man, Igawa, keeps track of movements and information in a mobile command van.  Together with other strong characters. the story is more than anything I could have guessed it would be, and I'm definitely in for the whole ride!

Originally, I was attracted by the superb artwork throughout.  And again, here I was surprised by sequences of images that are sometimes so craftily choreographed, that it felt like I was seeing a well-thought-out storyboard for a movie.  Great angles, great expressions, great characters with individual personalities, and graphic line work that is above and beyond the normal "fluffiness" of manga by many country miles.  Even when the storyline gets slow, there is so much in the way of artwork to review and appreciate, that I don't mind.  In fact, I hope it goes for a good while yet, since it would be hard to have too much of this series.

Give it a chance and give it a read.  If you do, I sincerely hope that you enjoy it every bit as much as I do!
1597484
From a very young age, we are taught that there are times in life that a person simply has to grin and bear it. Reach a little further, try a little harder, accept another little setback. But as author Kate Kryus Quinn reminds us in her insistently gruesome first novel, sometimes ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE is too much to take.

Annaleise is a miracle girl who somehow stumbled back into the civilized world after a dramatic disappearance over a year earlier. But even though everyone who knows her claims that she's the same girl, she's positive that she is an imposter. It isn't just the memory loss resulting from missing brain matter; Annaliese can't shake the feeling that she's someone else --- a girl named Anna. Suffering from nightmares, flashbacks of someone else's memories and a number of threatening acquaintances, Annaliese tries to uncover who is really living in her skin. But the answer may turn out to be a little more than she bargained for.

As Annaliese slowly chips away at the mysteries surrounding her reappearance, she realizes that she may be the very monster she's been running from. It seems that Anna has been involved with some very unsavory business --- selling souls, breaking hearts and some hard-core cannibalism. She's been on the move for a long time, switching from body to body as each girl approaches her 18th birthday. But Annaliese is trying to right Anna's wrongs. And while trying to determine exactly what she is responsible for (and to whom), Anna finds herself drawn to the old Annaliese's family, friends and even Dex, the unusual boy next door.

ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE could probably use a few more pieces to make the puzzle fit together. Annaliese is never questioned by the police, despite the fact that she has been gone for a year and her case has never been tied up. Neither is it ever truly explained where she has been waiting, or why the transfer to Annaliese didn't turn out like the others. Another loose end left dangling is why her feelings for Logan have evaporated, leaving a strong attraction to Dex, an essentially unknown loner, in their place. The ending is abrupt and Annaliese's poetry is, well, bad, but to be fair that may just be Quinn's way of keeping the story realistic. In any case, that's really only a little piece of it.

Reviewed by Rebecca Kilberg
2295936
This book is a Russian nesting dolls of tensions, from Jessie's inner struggle to her interactions with a dysfunctional family to the setting in a low-income neighborhood. If the point of art is to make the audience feel something, Gayle has succeeded a thousand times over as an artist. Gayle has woven a coming of age story full of vibrant characters that evokes the kinds of stresses that come with childhood, family, school, and spirituality. Her mastery of character and character development make this an immersive read that kept the pages turning.
4296177
Admittedly, its been over a year since I read Susan Spanns debut novel, Claws of the Cat. The biggest side effect (I know of, at least) of being a reader and writer for a living is that the constant Victoria Falls of new stories, characters, plots, and worlds that submerge my brain tend to make them all jumble and slosh into sometimes indistinguishable tales.

Not so with Claws of the Cat.

Set in Kyoto, Japan in the fifteen hundreds, Claws of the Cat is a crime fiction mystery and the story of two men, a shinobi in disguise, and his ward, whom he is sworn to protect, a Portugeuse-born Jesuit priest, both drawn into investigating the brutal murder of a samurai in a local teahouse. If the mystery remains unsolved, the price is the Jesuits life.

Now, you may be saying to yourself, But I don't know a thing about fifteenth-century Japan. The beauty of Susans storytelling is her talent for drawing readers into this rich and culturally intriguing world with delicacy and subtlety, and her stripped-down, dry-witted style is the perfect complement to her equally sharp-as-a-tack and canny main characters, Hiro Hattori and Father Matteo. When youve finished reading Claws of the Cat, you will feel as if youve taken a minivacation, both in time and place, to old-world Kyoto, sipped tea in the local teahouses of the Pontocho District, felt mud from the streets squishing beneath your getas, barely dodged the lethal swipe of neko-tes wielded by an adept and dangerous kunoichi, and plotted conspiratorially over cups of sake against the shogunate with other rulerless, wild ronin. In short, this is a whodunnit mystery that will paint your imagination vivid, rare, and intoxicating colors. Dont miss it! And most exciting of all, the follow-up novel, Blade of the Samurai, is coming soon.
4305549
Picture this: a feminine-looking, goofy swordsman who has vowed not to kill, but is secretly a lethal ex-assassin known as Hitokiri Battosai.

Yep, the title character of "Rurouni Kenshin" is a pretty unusual male lead for an action series. The first VIZBIG volume of Nobuhiro Watsuki's classic manga series -- containing the first three volumes of the manga) has some initial awkwardness as it introduces the main characters, but it's got plenty of action, plenty of delightfully wacky humor and a teeny hint of romance. Okay, more than a hint.

Searching for Hitokiri Battosai, a young dojo owner named Kaoru assaults a sword-carrying stranger... and promptly whips his butt. Turns out his sword blade is upside-down, and he insists that "this one is merely a rurouni... a traveling swordsman with no destination." Unfortunately someone using that name is disgracing Kaoru's dojo -- and they have their eyes on taking it over.  It's only then that the mysterious Kenshin shows what he's really capable of.

Kaoru asks him to stay on, and it turns out to be a good thing -- the dojo becomes embroiled in the fate of a feisty young samurai boy, who's being used as a pickpocket for a gang of thugs, then with some cowardly ex-students. But the real dangers are when the town is visited by a deadly assassin who somehow paralyzes his victims, and takes Kaoru hostage to bring out Kenshin's full ferocity. And there's the Fight Merchant Zanza (real name: Sanosuke), a powerful young man seeking fights with strong opponents who is hired to fight Kenshin. But both have personal reasons to want to defeat Kenshin as well.

And Kenshin and Sanosuke end up in a particularly nasty situation when they rescue a young woman pursued by thugs... and it has something to do with a very potent, deadly kind of opium. To rescue her, they charge into the mansion of the wealthy Kanryu, who has hired some deadly bodyguards of his own -- the Oniwabanshu.

Nobuhiro Watsuki's "Rurouni Kenshin" has become a classic for its haunted pasts, explosive action and a wide array of antagonists -- some of whom don't stay that way, like Sanosuke. The first VIZBIG volume starts off fairly light-hearted by comparison, but gradually gains some darker shadings. Watsuki starts dipping into the darker side of life (such as Yahiko's miserable life and the) and the sociopolitical strife of the era (Sanosuke's tragic captain Sagara).

Obviously any series with a swordsman is going to have some action, and Watsuki delivers a whirlwind of sword blows and superhuman leaps, which can do anything from smashing an opponent's arm to slamming his head through the ceiling. But there's also plenty of comic relief in here, usually supplied by Kaoru's short fuse and Kenshin's space-cadet attitude ("... but now you've got nowhere to go!" "Hmm... so persistent... what can one do but surrender?")

Kenshin is a pretty likable if odd hero -- he's goofy, spacey, eager to please and polite to a fault, as well as being skinny and pretty-faced. But he gets creepy empty eyes when he starts fighting, and when Kaoru is threatened he becomes a deadly force to be reckoned with. Kaoru makes a good counterpart, being as blunt and strong-willed as Kenshin pretends not to be, while Yahiko is an unexpectedly likable younger sidekick. And Sanosuke makes a good later addition -- he's got a tragic past as part of the unjustly-maligned Sekihotai "false army," which still drives him on.

The VIZBIG edition is a pretty solid piece of work -- good binding, nice paper, some gorgeously vibrant color pages, and it contains the full content of the first three volumes (including the short story that the series was eventually based on). It's also larger, which makes it easier to read if someone were to find the usual pages too small.

The VIZBIG edition "Rurouni Kenshin Volume 1" is a solid start to an excellent series, as it introduces us to the legendary Battosai and his first round of adventures in late 19th-century Tokyo. Definitely a good read -- and it gets better.
3497606
GRACE just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it's also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

GRETCHEN is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

GREER has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful Gorgon maligned in myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.
2560428
This is the first time I've ever become enveloped into the world of manga. Rare characters like Annie are the most intriguing among many characters I've read upon. For her complicated past, her developing change since her interactions with other characters, and of course her unique hand-to-hand combat skills that had me cheering in joy. It's uneasy to wonder what will happened to her in main storyline of SNK, even more so it's become an agonising wound waiting for her return. Thankfully though this story served itself greatly as a giant bandage until her return.