Snow White with the Red Hair

It's been a while since I've read any manga and this one came highly recommended to me. It took me a minute to get back into the flow of reading it - but after I did I enjoyed it. This was fairy tale spin off centering on Snow White and it opens up with her being told that the Prince is sending for her to be his newest concubine because he has heard of unusual apple colored hair. She runs away into the woods to escape that fate and while there she encounters a stranger who turns out to be a prince from a neighboring kingdom. They develop a friendship as she helps heal him with some herbs. I don't want to spoil too much. Basically Snow White has bright red hair, is a commoner, and an herbalist who tends to catch the eye of royalty. I don't know if I'll continue with the series - but it's a neat concept. 

The Complete Chi's Sweet Home: Part One

Stinking adorable. This manga about a kitten who is taken in by a young Japanese family is beyond cute. Separated from mama kitty he has to learn the ins and outs of being a "domesticated cat" from his new family and it's a learning curve for everyone. Constantly hiding from the landlady (no pets allowed!), this cute manga is adorable, funny, and will ring true for any cat owners out there. The illustrations are also precious. A cute quick read for all ages!

Monstress

Beautifully illustrated and complex, I haven't seen a graphic novel like this in ages. Filled with beautiful illustrations, a little bit of manga, and comic art this new series is sure to attract a wide audience. The storyline can be a little hard to follow at times, but overall I think it's worth checking out. Mix horror, manga, steampunk, and fantasy and you have Monstress. It's dark, gorgeous, and twisting and I wouldn't even begin to do it justice by trying to write a summary for it. Just check it out for yourself :)

Pop Manga Coloring Book

A fun and funky coloring books that fans of manga will eat up. The coloring book is on the large side so not easily frame-able but you'll want to display these pretty pages when you're done coloring them. It's filled with adorable creatures, big eyed beauties, underwater awesomeness and a little chibi that pops up on some pages and offers coloring advice. It was hard to find a page to start with because they were all begging to be colored! My only beef with this coloring book is that the pages aren't perforated so it's not easy to rip out your masterpieces when you're done. Other than that, it's really beautiful. A bonus is, that even though it's a paperback, it has a removable dust jack that has a large bonus coloring page on the inside of it. Win!

I received this coloring book for free from Blogging for Books in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.

Return to Labyrinth vol. 4

I'm sad this series had to end after four volumes, I want more! I need to investigate if there is fan fiction for this. If so I obviously have to read it! I love this world and Jake Forbes take on it wasn't bad. It was neat to see Toby and Sarah all grown up and to revisit characters that I had grown up loving as a child. This is probably a series that I will buy and re-read every few years. I didn't love how Jareth was portrayed but I loved being back in that world. All the feels!!!

Return to Labyrinth vol. 3

So far this has been my least favorite in the series but that will in no way deter me from finishing the whole thing. I don't think I liked this one as much because Jareth is portrayed as such a jerk. He's just a misunderstood romantic! In this volume, Toby has his coronation and we discover the secrets behind the mystery "goblin" girl. Slower paced than the first two, it took me longer to get into. Can't wait to see how everything turns out in the final volume!

Return to Labyrinth vol 2

Another wonderful installment in the Return to Labyrinth series! I love that we get to know more about goblin culture and what it takes to be king. Toby is having a hard time governing the Labyrinth now that Jareth has up and left him to rule in his stead, but thankfully Toby quickly makes some friends (and enemies). I can't wait to fin out more about the mayor's servant (a human girl! how did she get there?!?) and the end of this manga made my heart race a little (you go Jareth!). All in good fun this is a must read for Labyrinth fans. I can't wait to finish the rest in this series!

Return to Labyrinth vol. 1

LOVED this! It was a little weird seeing this done as a manga but the artist did a great job in making many of the characters and goblins look the same (except for Sarah as an adult, she looks weird). Basically this story picks up when Toby is a teenager. Everything starts going wrong for him in school and one day a goblin runs in and steals his homework, enraged and not knowing what is going on he chases the creature through a small tunnel in his closet and ends up in the labyrinth where his older sister had been years before (although he doesn't know that, she never told him). He finds himself making friends with a fairy and adorable mini-ludo type creature and they work together to get to the castle, outrunning foes along the way. It's awesome and I can't wait to read the next three!

Vagabond

I literally picked up this manga for two reasons: 1) it had cool artwork and 2) it was $1. So, my expectations weren't super high or anything. It was a really quick read and I finished it in about an hour. The manga follows Shinmen Takezo as he struggles to put his life together after being on the losing end of a massive battle. With the help of some mysterious ladies, he is able to get back on his feet. He vows that he will kill anyone who tries to kill him and as such... kills a lot of people. Wielding a wooden sword he makes his way across the countryside killing any who would dare stop him. As the book proclaims, "This is the journey of a wild young brute who strives to reach enlightenment by way of the sword - fighting on the edge of death."

For fans of action packed historical manga.

Battle Royale: Angels' Border

I've heard this compared to Hunger Games and... yeah, it pretty much is. It's just a manga/ graphic novel version that is just as dark and depressing, yet oddly good. There aren't any science fiction or fantasy elements in this story, just a bunch of ninth graders trapped on an island with weapons and forced to kill each other until only one remains. There is a lot of back story though on some characters which adds to the depth of it. Sometimes I got a little lost on who was who or who liked who, so it's essential to pay close attention when reading. Also, I hadn't read  a manga in a while, so it took a hot second for me to get in the habit of properly reading from right to left. Definitely an interesting read!