Candy Bunny Reader

  This book was recommended by @xoxobookishgirl over on Instagram, and is part of the 12 books 12 friends challenge. This is the last one! Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon by Shio Usui f ollows Uno Hinako, a twentysomething who tries to have a normal life by following society's expectations of looking a certain way to try to fall in love, but she is not happy. One day one of her coworkers named Asahi Sato finds her crying alone in a park, and she cheers her up by sharing doughnuts with her. The two quickly become friends, and Uno starts trying to unlearn her people-pleasing behavior, but it isn't easy. Luckily, she has fun hanging out with Sato and her younger sister, and bonding over food.  So far I loved this first volume! I gave it 5 stars . It has everything I like in storytelling: queer characters, slice of life elements, and food. I also love the messages of how "normal" looks different from person to person. I am excited to read the next three volumes (it's ...

    Because this is only three manga volumes long. I Want to be A Wall by Honomi Shirono is a slice of life manga series about a newlywed couple. The wife is named Yuriko and she is asexual. The husband is named Gaku and he is a closeted gay guy  (well, to everyone else except Yuriko)  with an unrequited crush on his childhood friend Sousuke (who is also their gardener). Neither one of them is actually in love with each other, but they still support each other platonically.  Along the way, we end up learning more about Yuriko and Gaku's past as well as more about their respective families and friends. They all end up making really big decisions about their futures.  This series was so heartfelt and emotional, and pretty funny at times, too. It had great commentaries on people marrying for different reasons. It's not always for romantic love, and that's totally valid! There's plenty of great queer representation, too. As an asexual person myself, I related ...

Wow! My first dark academia book, recommended by the wonderful @greenghostreviews over on Instagram.  The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern , to put it simply, is about Zachary, a college student who finds a mysterious book called Sweet Sorrows in his university's library. The book was donated by the equally mysterious Keating Foundation. Within the book are symbols of a bee, a key and a sword. Zachary wonders what it could all mean, especially since the story seems to be about him! He finds huge lead at a party that is literary-themed. From there he finds himself in the middle of a magical underground world of all the stories that exist in the world, as well as the people behind it that are trying to preserve it all.  This book was so atmospheric and whimsical! Intertwined with Zachary's story are other stories in and around the actual Starless Sea and its Harbours. Everything comes together neatly at the end. It kind of reminded me of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Gr...

  The little frog in the corner is not part of the book. It's just a candy wrapper of mine that I saved.  The first volume of Our Not-So Lonely Planet Travel Guide by Mone Sorai is about two guys who are boyfriends who plan to travel to different countries around the world before getting married. One guy is named Asashi, who is very practical and serious. The other guy is named Mitsuki, and he is more laid back and cheerful. In this first volume, they visit Thailand, India, and Georgia (the country), in that order. They meet some interesting people along the way, as well as an old friend. Each person they meet shows them something cool about the country, from landmarks to food. Sometimes things go qrong, but at the end of each day Asashi and Mitsuki have fun!  I am so glad I decided to finally pick this up! It's such a simple but sweet story so far. The queer representation is great, and you do get to learn some things about other countries along with the characters. The ...

  Calling all Avatar fans! The Rise of Kyoshi by FC Yee and Michael DiMartino (Michael is one of the creators of the original Avatar TV show) is the story of Avatar Kyoshi (one of the avatars before Aang from the TV show), how she mastered all four elements, and her rise to fame.  Kyoshi was abandoned by her parents at a young age and found by Kelsang, a high-ranking Air Nomad, who gave her work as a servant of Yun, the alleged new Avatar. She becomes good friends with Yun and the daughter of his firebending teacher, a girl around her age named Rangi. But one day when trying to deal with a couple of pirates and it gets intense, Kyoshi accidentally discovers she is the actually the next Avatar, not Yun. It puts a strain on their friendship, and Jianzhu, the Earth Sage in charge of Yun, commits the unthinkable. Kyoshi's life is no longer the same, and she and Rangi run away to try to find the the group of daofei (outlaws) that her birth parents used to be the leaders of. Kyoshi...