Never been so disappointed in my life as when i went insane reading Once A Villain by Vanessa Len (the plot twists!!!!! my GOD) only to find that the fandom is practically non-existent 😭😭😭😭
How is this series not more popular????? It's fucking fantastic, the world-building is so unique and interesting, the characters are so loveable even when they're being awful people. There's timeline shenanigans!!! Almost the whole main group is queer!! Vanessa Len says fuck you to love triangles!!
Genuinely don't understand why no one is talking about this series. I came on here looking for fanart and found 2 artworks, both were amazing but like. only 2!!! Do i have to learn to draw for this fandom??
Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin for sending me a copy of this one. All thoughts are my own.
This was an INCREDIBLE end to this trilogy. I was absolutely hooked the entire time, desperate to find out what would happen next.
I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil the whole series. But this is an absolute masterpiece and I highly recommend you read it.
Every ending is so rewarding, every battle, every loss, all of it lead to that incredible ending and I feel so satisfied. I especially love where the romance plot ended up - what a gift!
╰┈➤ 𐔌 Read Below for more In-Depth Reviews and thoughts I couldn't fully include in the images! ıllı
✦ ‧₊˚ ꒰ 📖 ꒱ ⋮ WHAT I READ & FINISHED
╰┈➤ 𐔌 Gokurakugai by Yuto Sano ⋮ 3.25/5 ıllı
I was initially excited for the serialization of the series after loving the one shot and had high expectations.. That unfortunately weren't met. When I tried to read this upon the initial release, I gave up immediately as I was upset with the direction it went. HOWEVER after being told my a cool manga store clerk it does get better I decided to give it another chance and read through the entire volume. I was still disappointed, especially with the main characters as I felt like they lacked depth compared to the one shot. Their characters felt flanderized and lost what made them stand out in the genre.. HOWEVER, reading through the entire thing, I was able to see the potential of Tao's character development and focus in the future, along with the new characters introduced! The character design and art style itself is amazing and the series biggest strength, it's VERY cool and stylized. I also really enjoyed the side stories focusing on navigating and surviving poverty, child abuse and grief, and I hope to see more stories like that in the future. The Trouble Shooting agency is framed as being morally ambiguous, but.. Isn't really shown as that.. So stating I like when Tao and Alma do listen to others stories and offer support might be contradictory.. But I do like this aspect. Wish they were shown being more ambiguous through other actions though. The pacing could be a bit off at times, most glaringly in the final chapter of the volume, but it ended on a bang and I'm looking forward to actually checking out volume 2. I'm disappointed, but I do have hopes for what the series could be.
╰┈➤ 𐔌 Don't Let The Forest In by CG Drews ⋮ 4/5 ıllı
Atmospheric and beautifully written! I had so much FUN actually just reading it with how it's formatted and written with the use of purple pose. The thrill, suspension and mystery had me immensely invested. I wasn't aware ART was featured in within the book, so for me it was a pleasant surprise that really enhanced the experience- There was a lot of little artistic and visual details in the book I loved, like the texture on the paper and the blood splatters next to each and every page number and chapter headers. It made the book feel ALIVE which is.. Very eerie and fitting for it. I really loved the caring yet twisted relationship between Andrew and Thomas, it's probably my favorite part of the story itself (outside of the use of purple prose). I was heartbroken at the ending.. In a bad way. I was utterly disappointed. The pacing and descriptive details seemed.. Different and rushed? It didn't feel like the book. And the ending itself left me asking the wrong questions I feel like. I was GENUINELY upset. And then I put the author's other popular book on my read list. I'd give it a 5/5 if the ending was executed better.
✦ ‧₊˚ ꒰ 📖 ꒱ ⋮ CURRENT READS + PROGRESS
╰┈➤ 𐔌 Cinderella Boy by Punko ⋮ S2 EP27/S2 EP41 (ONGOING SERIES)
I LOVE CINDERELLA BOY I LOVE THIS SERIES. ABSENTEE SO FAR AS BEEN MY FAVORITE ARC I loved the take of following a found footage movie style format, turning it into a book, and then turning that into a welcoming framed as a book!??! What did I even say. I love it though. I'm a little behind with the releases but I can't wait to catch up this March. I love the characters and have felt like this series hasn't failed at anything once really. The fashion is also really awesome.
╰┈➤ 𐔌 Never A Hero by Vanessa Len ⋮ Pg 195/510
My friend lent me the first book in the series and I LOOOVED it, so he lent me the second book in the series (THANKS ELI!!) and I've been having a wonderful time reading it. I'm still aching, yearning and mourning from the first book, and reading this makes it worse so far.. In a good way. I love being able to see characters in an entirely new situation and context, and getting to know them. It's heartbreaking since I know these characters and I don't and I miss them but they're there?? It's awesome. Can't wait to continue reading this.
╰┈➤ 𐔌 Everything Is Fine by Mike Birchall ⋮ EP 62/114
MIGHT NOT FINISH..? I enjoyed the first two seasons a lot and I binged them all in one night, it was crazy. I thought it was really interesting and enjoyed the moral dilemmas. The point of the S2 Finale was SUPER tense and I was on the edge of my seat, but I kinda felt like the introduction of S3 was lackluster.. Yet also a lot? The introduction of the new characters like, I love their designs themsleves, but I don't think they fit much with what was written and shown before. Threw me off a bit.. But I've been thinking abou it a lot, so I might go back to it!! I'd definitely recommend the first two seasons!!
╰┈➤ 𐔌 After Dark by Al Berg ⋮ EP 27/70
I absolutely ADORE the art style, it's what initially drew me to the comic, and then I saw it was about werewolves and was like "OMG!!", I truly feel like the art style truly matches the dark atmosphere of the story. I never really took notice how important an art style can be for a story outside of a visual appeal or an artist's style. Like,, a lot of times I've been like you woah this looks cool what an awesome art style when watching/reading something, but for this series I feel like experience would be different if it had a different art style. I dunno. Just made me realize how important art style is in a project and I think I learned a lot from it. I also love it follows an unreliable narrator. It took me a whole to catch on the series had it, and I initially found out interacting with the community, but once I did I was like "oh. OHHH." And it led me questioning everything in the story up to that point and with that in mind, I've become wary of Drew and bit uncomfortable during flashbacks with his character.. IN A GOOD WAY. It's eerie nit being able to know what's true or not, and knowing something is off. I'm under the impression he changes and develops, it's not all he is, but it's really interesting from a fan and writer perspective to view. I can't wait to read more!!
So... am I the only one who saw the ending coming and was actually glad about it? It was obvious from book 2 tbh. My Goodreads review on Never a Hero 2 years ago was literally me saying this would happen lol
