I read a lot in August! Some good, some not-so-good. I’m starting to be a little bit more strict with what I read, pausing and dropping series that I don’t absolutely enjoy. This was a little bit difficult for me to start, as once I begin collecting a series, I really want to see it through… However, I have just too many series that I want to start! It doesn’t make sense for me to not read something that I may really enjoy, just to continue reading something I don’t really like.
Nevertheless, let’s take a look at my favourite reads from August!
** I always exclude Colette Decides to Die from my top ~ lists, as it’s my favourite series, and will make absolutely every list I make if I don’t.**
The Manga!
Shiokaze to Ryuu no Sumika / 汐風と竜のすみか, Volume One
- Genre: high school, fantasy romance, with a focus on fantasy.
- Volumes: this series is ongoing with 2 volumes currently out.
Why did this manga make the list?
This is my absolute favourite volume that I read this month. Absolutely everything, from the art, to the overall concept, to the plot, to the storytelling,,, absolutely everything was perfect in my eyes.
While this is a romance series, it’s a very slow burn romance. This series focuses on a great deal of themes and topics, with friendship, family, and community being at the forefront. I really appreciated this, as it allows me to really grow attached to all of the characters and the overall world of the manga. I love a series that has a lot of lore to it, and this one certainly does.
Kurahime to Koikarasu / 昏姫と恋烏, Volume One
- Genre: high school, fantasy romance.
- Volumes: this series is ongoing with 1 volume currently out.
Why did this manga make the list?
I’m a sucker for a good fantasy romance, what can I say. This one couldn’t be more different from the above series, though they are both technically romantasy. Kurahime focuses more on our heroines individual struggles as an exorcist, and the boy who forces his way into her life.
This series focuses more on our main characters, and has the fantasy world as a backdrop. While there is certainly lore, and other characters, they are by no means at the forefront of the story. When other characters do pop up, their stories tend to end rather quickly, leaving more “screen-time” for our main characters.
I really liked our female lead, as though she’s depicted as the strongest out of all the exorcists, she’s still just a teenager. So, it’s natural that she sometimes makes mistakes! I’m a big fan of characters being written realistically, even in a fantasy setting.
Firefly Wedding / ホタルの嫁入り, Volume Three
- Genre: historical romance, toxic romance.
- Volumes: this series is ongoing with 8 volumes currently out.
Why did this manga make the list?
I think it’s no big secret that I’m a fan of unhinged male leads. I tend to be drawn to stories that I know I would never be able to write – I like to be surprised! So, naturally, when I was first introduced to Shinpei’s character, I was hooked.
Volume 3 of Firefly Wedding had so many ups and downs I felt like I was on a rollercoaster while reading it (in a good way). Both our FL and ML got ample “screentime”, and we got to see a few new sides to our FL Satoko!
Again, I like a story with realistic characters. So, while Shinpei is clearly the least-realistic character in this series by far, Satoko is surprisingly grounded. When she does unhinged things, they’re grounded in reality. Some almost does something in chapter one that had me feeling a kind of way, as though it would have been absolutely horrifying, it absolutely could have happened.
Check out my full review of volume one here!
The Failure at God School / 神さま学校の落ちこぼれ, Volume Two
- Genre: fantasy, adventure.
- Volumes: this series is ongoing with 11 volumes currently out.
Why did this manga make the list?
While this series is touted as being a “romantasy”, come volume 2 there are still no sparks flying. I think this will be a ve~ry slow burn series, which I actually really like! There are two characters that I can envision as the male lead, but I really couldn’t say with certainty which it will end up being. This is because just about every side character gets so much of their story told!
The story follows Nagi and her classmates around, and while Nagi is clearly the protagonist, I never felt like I wanted to know even more about any of the other characters. As soon as I started feeling curious about a certain one, they would pop up, and the story would focus on them for a good few pages!
I really am enjoying the authors storytelling, as it feels like they’re really putting in the effort to make a fantastical world, not just a romance. I feel like thanks to this, once there is actually some romance introduced to the story, it will hit much harder.
Check out my review of volume one here!
Witch Hat Atelier, Volume Two
- Genre: fantasy, adventure.
- Volumes: this series is ongoing with 13 volumes currently out.
Why did this manga make the list?
Witch Hat is one of the few series that I’m reading in English! Because of this, I like to buy it in-person. Unfortunately, the book stores around me really don’t tend to have all that many manga volumes in stock, so it took me quite a few months to finally get my hands on this one. Because I was anticipating reading it so much for so long, I feel like I rated it a tiny bit higher than I would have had I been able to get it normally.
This is still a fantastic story though! I really love the different relationships that we get to see throughout this volume, even the negative ones. The tonal shift did hit me a little bit at first, as some of the character reactions we get in Witch Hat would never fly in a shoujo manga. Even still, I did really enjoy it, as it allowed me to really understand what some of these characters are going though. When you’re under a lot of pressure, you may say things you don’t mean. Or, you may say things you do mean but would never say normally. I felt for Coco when her fellow apprentices weren’t the nicest to her, and I really loved watching her learn from her mistakes and grow.
How about you?
What was your favourite read of August?
Maddies Manga 
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