Saturday Smalls — March 16th, 2019

March 16, 2019

This week’s mini review round-up includes 1 novella and 3 manga!


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Limbs by Tim   Meyer

TITLE: Limbs: A Love Story
AUTHOR: Tim Meyer
RELEASE DATE: February 9th, 2019
GENRE: Horror
AGE RANGE: Adult

Some people are attracted to tall people, or blonde people, or people with deep voices… but not Ray. No, Ray’s preference is a little more unique than that: he’s attracted to amputees — and ONLY amputees. It hasn’t been much of a problem, but when he falls in love with an able-bodied new coworker, he has to find a way around his little “preference” if he doesn’t want to lose the best relationship he’s ever had.

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Holy hell, that was a ride. The synopsis for this book is wild enough on its own, but then the execution? I was so nervous going into this, worrying that it would end up ableist and offensive as hell, but somehow, Tim managed to take this immensely polarizing, twisted plot and find a way to present it in the most tactful, respectful way possible.

While Limbs advertises itself as a love story, it’s definitely also solidly horror, as there’s also the terror of the fact that there is a slasher on the loose, and there’s a lot of gore in some of Ray’s internal monologues, especially during his most conflicted thoughts about his girlfriend. I’d most strongly recommend this for horror fans who don’t mind a bit of sappy romance and have a sense of humor: if that sounds like you, please take the chance to read this bizarre, hilarious, creepy little novella because Tim’s writing is just so much fun.

5stars

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Orange by Ichigo Takano

TITLE: Orange: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1
AUTHOR: Ichigo Takano
RELEASE DATE: January 26th, 2016
GENRE: Contemporary
AGE RANGE: YA

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I’ve heard so many of my friends rave about this manga series that I was really excited to read it, but I was told to go into it “as blind as possible”, so I went in thinking it was just a basic contemporary romance about some high schoolers. Nope. There is so much more to this than “just” a romance.

First, let me say that these characters are SO PRECIOUS and I would protect any of them at all costs—especially Suwa! I feel like he’s the quiet, unsung hero of this story, in a sense, and he breaks my heart so much but I just love him. Naho is so precious, and her girlfriends are wicked protective and flawless. Even Hagita is a trip, though he’s my least favorite.

Orange has some very minor sci-fi elements, but that’s all I’ll say, because if you don’t know what the story is about, please don’t look it up—just grab a copy and read it. This has been one of the most tragic, lovely, sweetest stories, and I’m on the edge of my seat, dying to read the next volume right this moment.

Trigger warning (spoiler-ish) for:

Talk of suicide (including descriptions), attempted suicide, suicidal thoughts, grief, death, depression

5stars

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Orange by Ichigo Takano

TITLE: Orange: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2
AUTHOR: Ichigo Takano
RELEASE DATE: May 31st, 2016
GENRE: Contemporary
AGE RANGE: YA

On the day that Naho begins 11th grade, she receives a letter from herself ten years in the future. At first, she writes it off as a prank, but as the letter’s predictions come true one by one, Naho realizes that the letter might be the real deal. 

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That was so good. I loved these characters so much and every single page was just the most emotional, beautiful story. I gather that the author’s intent was not only to tell a story, but also to remind readers of how important it is that we keep an eye on our loved ones and make sure that they’re doing okay — because sometimes, you have no idea how close to the edge someone in your life might be. I know it certainly reminded me that I need to check on the people who matter to me, too. ♥ Thanks for that, Ichigo.

5stars

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Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi

TITLE: Sailor Moon: Eternal Edition 1
AUTHOR: Naoko Takeuchi
RELEASE DATE: September 11th, 2018 (originally July 1992)
GENRE: Fantasy
AGE RANGE: YA

Teenager Usagi is not the best athlete, she’s never gotten good grades, and, well, she’s a bit of a crybaby. But when she meets a talking cat, she begins a journey that will teach her she has a well of great strength just beneath the surface and the heart to inspire and stand up for her friends as Sailor Moon!

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When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things in the world was Sailor Moon. I was too young to enjoy the manga at the time (this was in the 90s, when I was a teensy thing!), but I was obsessed with the anime and adored the characters and plot. A bunch of young girls running around, transforming into superheroes and saving the day?! Heck yeah! (Let’s not even get into how much of my affinity for it probably relied on my unbeknownst-to-me crush on Sailor Mars…)

I went on to check out the manga in my preteen/early teen years, but this is my first time revisiting the series in so long, and it was such a fun blast from the past. This Eternal Edition is gorgeous and beautifully updated, and the story is still silly and action-packed and enjoyable. It wasn’t as amazing as little-kid Destiny found it to be, of course, but I had so much fun rereading this and will definitely be picking up #2 of the Eternal Edition set ASAP!

4stars

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More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

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    1. I’m so glad the author was able to make Limbs work well! I’m putting it on my TBR right now, horror + romance = sooo up my alley.

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