Avoiding Mr Right by Keiko Okamoto, Sophie Weston
Avoiding Mr Right is a delightful romance story. Young Christina Howard docks into Athens port to find out she cant access any of her funds or anything, a terrible situation for a girl to be in. With only $20 to her name a handsome young man tryies to whisk her of her feet, however our heroine is not so easily sweapt! Headstrong and independent at 23, Christina had seen her mother go through life dependent on men for everything, and she is very determined she is not going to be the same!
The story, converted from a novel by Sophie Weston and then re translated back into English via this manga , has a smooth and linear story with the usual romantic twists and turns one usually expect of this genre. However, nothing has been lost in the translation to manga – the story is very smooth and seems delightfully more complete with the fantastic drawing of Keiko Okamoto who has done a spectacular job.
This is a easy read, virtually no sex (definately no actual sex – sex by inference) and would appeal to romance buffs everywhere. It would even be a interesting lead in to the genre for 14-16 year olds.
Fantastic read and great manga imagery.
I would like to thank Emanga.com, DMP and Harlequin for providing this delightful reading material
The Amalfi Bride by Ann Major, Marito Ai
Regina, a high flying, high achieving American lawyer has endured so many disappointments in her family and love life that she embarks on one final solo trip to Italy to try purge herself of all negativity before returning home and having a baby by sperm donor.
Upon arriving at Amalfi Regina finds a beautiful dress shop and finds herself undenibly attracted to a young gentlman she presumes is a gigolo – a male prostitute. Thinking that a holiday romance, free or paid for, wouldn’t hurt, she embarks on a 3 day affair with the man, who turns out to be a lot more than she thought.
A nice sweet story of holiday romance that certainly pulls at the heart strings, “The Amalfi Bride” comes across realisticly plausable in plot for the most part. I fount the art work absolutely exquisite, however in some places slightly minimalistic as there has been no real back ground detail added except on prominent pages. Any sex scenes are infered rather than full on drawn.
The delicate yet sexually driven story would appeal to those who love light romance, or in need of something light to read on a plane or on the beach. It was a delight to read even if I am not usually into these types of stories, and definately recommendable.
*quick note* Dont worry about the misspelling on the cover – the translation of this manga is actually really very good!
This particular title is available from Emanga.com or from Amazon as a kindle edition. I would like to thank Digital Manga Publishing for furnishing me with this delightful read.
Dry Heat – Yugi Yamada – Review – The Heat is On
Dry Heat – Yugi Yamada – Review – The Heat is On.
Dooyoo review
please log in to read, and maybe even rate!
Dance with the Devil: Let Dai Vol. 1 – Sooyeon Won
I think when a person reaches certain times in their life, they come across a book or a film that speaks to them, and it leaves a mark deep upon them. In my early teen years, the book that did this for me was Rumble Fish. It was angsty, it was unexpectedly philosophical, and it delved deep into the psychology of adolescent youth. Even today, I recall that book, and recall how it shaped me. It still speaks to me, albeit in a different way than it did all those many years ago. This is one of those sorts of books. While it deals with youths coming of age, it also examines the adults about them and the need to keep growing. Youth will take away many things and grow from the experience, adults will recognise these things and remember, while growing from a bit more from the inner voices contained within.
The setting is Seoul, Korea. This means it is, like Rumble Fish, set in an urban landscape and deals with gang violence and issues of family, friendship, love, and loyalty. Jaehee Yoo is a nice kid from a single parent family. His father died when he was a young child, but he has grown up cherished and cared for by his mother. They have a somewhat close mother and son relationship, and he has the trappings of an almost perfect teenaged life: he is fairly popular at high school, he has a girl friend, and gets good grades. Even his relationship with his girlfriend is as apple pie as can be: She is cute, sweet, and he never fails to buy her flowers or chocolates as the occasion demands. They get along well, going on dates to the game arcade, and to the movies, while holding hands and exchanging shy kisses every now and again. His mother is relieved, for Jaehee is a good boy and on track.
At least he was until the day he was in town and heard a girl screaming from an alleyway. A group of rough boys were trying to get this young lady to hand over her purse, and she was refusing as the money belonged to her school club. Jaehee stepped in, hoping to distract them long enough for her to run away. She saw the fear in his eyes, but fell in love with his determination to help regardless. She turned to run as he commanded, but sadly, ran straight into Dai. Dai, the much feared leader of the Furies. Dai, who once he has laid eyes on you, takes you straight to hell. And unfortunately for Jaehee, he has laid eyes upon him in the worst possible scenario, and drank him in.
This brings Jaehee to a crossroads. He can try to continue his path with his girlfriend, Eunhyung Song. He could also choose instead to accept the attentions of the girl he tried to save, who is now fixated upon him as her knight in shining armour. The main problem the two are unaware of with this is that she is Yooneun Song, and the boy she whispers to her sister about, is actually her sister’s boyfriend. His third choice is to follow Dai, and abandon all he has known before. He chooses to continue his normal life, but the oblivious Yooneun is in pursuit, and Dai is the Devil. What the Devil wants, he gets, and he leaves no exit.
Yooneun, Eunhyung, and Jaehee find this out at different personal costs. For Yooneun, she discovers that Dai is her nemesis when it comes to Jaehee. For Eunhyung, she discovers what happens to the innocent who stand in the way. With Jaehee, he discovers dancing with the Devil costs at least part of your soul and a piece of your heart. And Dai, well Dai discovers that when you take part of person’s heart and soul for yourself, you end up giving some of yours too, and that the consequences can both be both tragic and deadly to any and everyone even close to the periphery of resulting fallout.
Won Soo-yeon manages to bring these characters to vivid life using prose as beautiful as his art. The art within the panels is wonderfully detailed, from street scenes to cameo pictures of the characters. His pictures seem to move, so that going from one panel to the next is a natural gesture, making the story flow seamlessly. The plot is well thought out, and Soo-yeon makes excellent use of the ability to share the thoughts of not just one main character, but all of them as necessary, without it becoming a confused, incoherent mess. The result is that we get a full psychological profile of each of the main characters at critical junctures, developing empathy for each in turn, including the seemingly sociopathic Dai. It makes us question the nature of love, evil, and friendship, and explore the concepts of truth and loyalty. Far from being a mere story of friendship and teenaged romance, this is also story about the human condition and makes you take pause to really think.
Let’s face it though. It does have romance. Girl has boy>boy sees girl> girl sees boy> boy sees boy, and round and round it goes. But as you might expect from the plot, this is no sugary piece written mostly for girls who are into pink and frilly. No, this is aimed at everyone. It is a frank look at growing up, accepting people and events, and being accepted yourself, or being rejected utterly. It’s also about discovering that love has no boundaries with regards to social class or gender where the heart is concerned. It is also about the harsher realities of life and facing your demons. It is simply one of the best novels, graphic or prose, I have read in over a decade.
Available as a paperback and also to read at the publisher’s own e-reading site, Netcomics.com
