Suna No Shiro
Such a great story! It's the type of old manga that doesn't rely on the art to move the story along; you get absorbed into the characters' world and genuinely start to feel emotionally attached. This is a josei I'd read on a chilly fall day with a cup of cocoa lol
Kimi No Sei
Started off kind of promising, with the heroine wanting to get revenge for her past, though she was an absolute idiot in the way she went about it (popular boyfriend + zero guy experience = obviously falling in love). But then the story quickly deteriorated into a sloppy, jumbled mess. The worst part is, the author goaded me into anticipating a potential hookup with the professor (I'm such a sucker for mature, intelligent guys!) only to drop that plot point as soon as I got excited. Boo! And don't even get me started on the stalker girl and her creepy sis-con brother with undue resentment towards Takaya. Ugh and that cheesy line about not turning them in because they also wanted to "protect their loved ones" was ridiculous. Not only did the girl literally say she wanted to see Takaya hurt, the guy who actually hit Yurina over the head was some random dude! Who the hell was he protecting?!! All in all, an average read but with enough wasted potential to disappoint me.
The Rules of Love
A very realistic portrayal of what happens when a woman dating a fuckboy finally wises up and moves on. It even got the entitlement and guiltlessness of the guy down pat. Only thing I really didn't like about the story was the fact that her "moving on" didn't really happen until she found someone else. it's as if the author was trying to say she couldn't really get over him until she dated someone else which, after seeing her strength in refusing him, disappointed me a bit.
Heart no Ousama
Sad there were only 2 chapters on the first couple :(
Shuukatsu!! - Kimi ni Naitei
I'd rate this as fairly average: not too bad but nothing spectacular, either. Tons of cliches (like the uber perfect hero with no faults at all) and what I would call "pretend deepness" where the author writes a line that makes you think the character will go soul searching but the actual event is dull and anticlimactic. The MC cried a bit too much for my tastes, but it was nice seeing a more "mature" take on college relationships. Yup, average. A good way to spend an hour, though
Kingyo Sou