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Manga Review | Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts by Yu Tomofuji

Title: Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts

Author(s): Yu Tomofuji

Artist(s): Yu Tomofuji

Beastkind and humans live entirely separate lives. Each is designated land with an agreement to never cross into the other’s borders, except for the agreed-upon ritual. To uphold the peace between the human kingdoms and the beastkind, humanity must give a human sacrifice to the king of beasts. Unfortunately for Sariphi, it is her turn to be sacrificed. Oddly enough, though, she isn’t afraid. She has known she was meant to be a sacrifice for a long time and has resigned herself to this fate, ultimately happy that her life and death could be meaningful.

During the ritual, she is faced with the king of beasts. However, instead of killing her, he turns into a man and tries to set her free. Since taking the throne, he has never once killed a sacrifice and instead helped them all to escape. Even so, Sariphi doesn’t leave. She has nowhere to return to and now has no meaning for her life. The king is entranced by her lack of fear, something he must contend with every day because while he is the king of beasts, he is not entirely a beast. Drawn to her, the king decides to let her stay with him under the pretense that she will one day be his bride and help close the divide between human and beastkind.

Having lived her whole life under the assumption she would one day die as a sacrifice, Sariphi must now find a new motivation to continue. She battles against prejudice, political schemes to keep her from becoming queen, and efforts even to take down the king of beasts. Can a human girl survive in a world made for beasts?

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Novel Review | Salad Days by Jing Shuibian

Title: Salad Days

Author(s): Jing Shuibian

Jiang Shen is a poor boy in a rural village. He spends his days playing with friends out in the rice paddy fields, helping his father work the fields, chasing wild chickens, and fishing. The most time he ever spends in the city is when his mother takes the vegetable harvest to sell. While his mother is busy in the city, Jiang Shen usually spends his time exploring the Children’s Center, where he stumbles upon a ballet class. The teacher catches him looking and invites him in, where she discovers he may have an innate talent for ballet. It isn’t long before Jiang Shen’s focus goes from his idyllic village days to something much larger and grander.

On the other end of the spectrum is Bai Jinyi. He comes from a filthy rich family and wants for nothing. He spends his days training at the Children’s Center in boxing, with his goal being to go international and win the gold belt. However, while attending training one day, an unusual sight catches his eye: a little boy among a gaggle of girls in a ballet class. Inexplicably, Bai Jinyi becomes drawn to this little boy, and for once in his life, Jiang Shen is the one thing he wants, even more than boxing.

They say the rich never box and the poor never dance. Yet, Jiang Shen and Bai Jinyi are set to defy those odds. As the two grow and change and their dreams grow more and more focused, the one thing that keeps them tethered together is their growing feelings for each other. So, can these happy days continue for two boys whose paths would never have crossed otherwise? And can they grasp their dreams while holding onto each other?

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Manhwa Review | I’m the Soldier’s Ex-Girlfriend by Ji Hyun

Title: I'm the Soldier's Ex-Girlfriend

Author(s): Ji Hyun

Artist(s): SETE

Maise Hazelnut is supposed to be the saintly female protagonist of the harem romance novel The Soldier’s Girlfriend. But, unfortunately, the current Maise is not that saintess character. Instead, she is a girl from the 21st century who has reincarnated into the world of her favorite novel! But she’s not just any character – she is the saintess! She initially enjoys the adventure and her cute, soon-to-be-soldier male protagonist boyfriend, Sucre. However, it doesn’t take long before all of it gets old, especially when Maise is often getting kidnapped so Sucre’s enemies can threaten him. While he is off gallivanting on various male protagonist adventures, he is also flirting with all the beautiful women of the novel.

Fed up with the plot, Maise decides to live her life her way. The first step to do that is breaking up with Sucre, and while he doesn’t take it well, Maise holds firm. So, newly single and living her best, peaceful life, Maise goes out to look for her true love. In her pursuit, she is set up with the mysterious Eith Lancell. He’s handsome, considerate, and everything that Sucre wasn’t, which is just what our independent female protagonist is looking for. Eith seems just a bit too perfect, and it isn’t long before Maise suspects there is more than what meets the eye with her devilishly handsome new beau.

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Manhwa Review | Make Me Bark by Sagold

Title: Make Me Bark

Author(s): Sagold

Artist(s): Sagold

Sungjoon’s life is finally coming together. After toiling away and saving every penny, he finally has enough for a deposit on a new apartment. “New” is a generous word to describe the rundown facilities, but Sungjoon worked hard for it, so it’s good enough for him. However, all his luck soon turns for the worst when he finds that his apartment caught fire on his way home from work. With no money to his name and no home to go to, Sungjoon is at the end of his rope. Out of desperation, he goes through his phone to see if there is anyone who could possibly help him.

As much as he doesn’t want to, he calls Hyo-in, a classmate from high school and now in college. He doesn’t know him well, but he does know one thing: this guy is filthy rich. Surely he can help Sungjoon. As expected, Hyo-in has no problem helping out, but he does have one request. In exchange for a place to stay and for pay, Hyo-in wants Sungjoon to be his puppy. It is an odd request, but all Sungjoon has to do is wear a collar, go on walks, and greet Hyo-in when he gets home. Surely Sungjoon can handle that. Right?

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Novel Review | Hello, I am a Witch and my Crush Wants me to Make a Love Potion! by Eiko Mutsuhana

Title: Hello, I am a Witch and my Crush Wants me to Make a Love Potion!

Author(s): Eiko Mutsuhana

Artist(s): vient

Rose is a witch – a being that lives outside of the laws of any country, government, or man. Since she is a being separate from humans, she has lived in isolation on the city’s outskirts her entire life. As a result, Rose isn’t the most socialized person in the world. To make matters worse, the only reason witches can use magic is due to the singular rule they can never break: they can never tell a lie. This leads to almost all of Rose’s conversations being vague responses, riddles, or just non-responses. This has never been an issue, though, since she lives alone, and the only people she interacts with are her guardian, Tien, and the occasional customer seeking out her potions.

Her peaceful existence is rocked, though, when a man she happened to fall in love with four years prior suddenly arrives on her hermitage’s doorstep. He is part of the royal guard and is a nobleman in his own right by the name of Harij. Rose encountered him once in the market after her grandmother and caretaker passed, where she was subjected to people celebrating her grandmother’s, the witch of the lake’s, death. Harij was the only one who defended her grandmother and, by extension, Rose herself, and Rose never forgot him. Unfortunately, though, Harij isn’t there for just any reason. He is seeking a love potion.

Rose’s pride as a witch won’t allow her to deny the man she loves such a potion, but that doesn’t mean she won’t take advantage of the situation. She draws out the time it takes to make the potion, sending Harij out on errands to procure the ingredients needed, and as time goes on, Rose’s love for Harij only grows. Meanwhile, his affection toward the witch grows, too, or is that just Rose’s imagination? Even if Harij did fall in love with her, how could a witch fall in love with a human?

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Manhwa Review | Pleasure Principle by Rotten Green T

Title: Pleasure Principle

Author(s): Rotten Green T

Artist(s): eol (formerly cereal)

Jiho is broke and accident-prone, which is not a great combination. So, to resolve his financial issues, Jiho goes on the hunt for a job online when he discovers a listing that seems too good to be true. However, no matter how questionable the listing, Jiho can’t be too picky. So, he calls and secures an interview. Unfortunately, what he finds when he arrives is not your typical shop. Instead, it is an adult shop.

Jiho immediately regrets his decision, but before he can leave, the shop’s manager pulls him into the interview. She asks a few personal and inappropriate questions, which freaks Jiho out enough that as he rushes to leave, he ends up knocking over a bunch of merchandise, totaling a hefty sum in damages. With no other choice, Jiho agrees to work there to pay off his new debt. Thankfully, though, the job pays well, and Jiho even finds himself enjoying the job.

That is until one day, after work, he bumps into a VIP customer, causing the customer to drop his phone in the street. Unfortunately, the phone is promptly run over by a passing motorist. This immediately indebts Jiho to this mysterious VIP customer. Thankfully, the customer is willing to forgo a monetary repayment and instead just wants to receive “special service” when he comes to the shop. Well, what luck! Surely that can’t be too difficult for innocent Jiho to handle… right?

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Manhwa Review | Love is an Illusion! by Fargo

Title: Love is an Illusion!

Author(s): Fargo

Artist(s): Fargo

Hye-sung is an alpha. Er, or at least he thinks he is an alpha. However, that belief quickly goes down the drain while Hye-sung is working at a party and runs into the dominant alpha and musician, Dojin. After being exposed to Dojin’s pheromones, Hye-sung goes into heat. Dojin tries to take care of Hye-sung and save him from himself as the newly awakened omega tries to throw himself on a few alphas. Dojin whisks Hye-sung away to a hotel where Hye-sung rants and raves that there is no way he could be an omega. Finally, Dojin, flustered by Hye-sung’s pheromones and frustrated by Hye-sung’s delusional beliefs, proves to Hye-sung that he is indeed an omega… physically.

After the dirty deed, Dojin realizes that he actually enjoyed it even though he supposedly hates omegas because of the notion that omegas and alphas have to be together. Even more distressing is that Dojin follows up their encounter by writing a song that his peers say is his best work yet. Believing it is just a coincidence, he runs into Hye-sung again, and they have another steamy encounter that not only results in another great song but something neither of them expects: a baby.

Hye-sung wants to get rid of the baby while Dojin intends to keep it, but more importantly, he now desperately wants to hang on to Hye-sung. They make a deal together where Dojin will pay Hye-sung to carry the baby to term, and Dojin will assume full parental responsibilities. Hye-sung will finally be financially comfortable, and he won’t have to be a mother. Still, Dojin plans on doing anything he can to talk Hye-sung into raising their baby together. The problem is he only has the span of Hye-sung’s pregnancy to do it.

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Novel Review | The Missing Piece by Kun Yi Wei Lou

Title: The Missing Piece

Author(s): Kun Yi Wei Lou

Shen Mo is an art school graduate. Unfortunately, by the time he graduated and earned a job in his field, he was abducted, and as a result of the trauma from that incident, he was unable to use his right hand to paint. However, he thankfully escaped the incident with his life thanks to Ji Mingxuan. To pay back Mingxuan’s help, Shen Mo is in a contracted relationship with him. All so that Mingxuan’s younger sister can marry Zhou Yang, her childhood friend, and Shen Mo’s ex, without worrying about Shen Mo and Zhou Yang getting back together. Three years passed as Shen Mo and Ji An’an, Mingxuan’s sister, left to study abroad together.

Though it is a fake relationship, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, especially when Zhou Yang and Mingxuan’s sister come back from studying abroad together. Now, with Shen Mo right in front of him, Zhou Yang doesn’t try to hide the fact that he is still attracted to Shen Mo, even as his engagement with An’an is publicly announced. While Shen Mo is still attracted to Zhou Yang, even if only due to the memories before his traumatic experience, he grows closer to An’an, and Mingxuan’s affections become more and more real. Who and what Shen Mo wants for himself becomes more and more unclear. Will Shen Mo forsake Mingxuan and An’an to return to the familiar love he had with Zhou Yang, or will Shen Mo take the plunge and trade in his contractual relationship with Mingxuan for something real?

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Manhwa Review | A Tender Heart: The Story of How I Became a Duke’s Maid by Aloha

Title: A Tender Heart: The Story of How I Became a Duke's Maid

Author(s): Aloha

Artist(s): Aloha

Liandro is a young boy in a novel, fated to live his life with a painful curse that has destined him to a life of misery, loneliness, and pain. However, the novel’s entire plot is turned upside down when an avid reader, Liandro-stan, ends up waking up as a character in the story. Unfortunately, though, her role is relatively insignificant as one of the many maids caring for Liandro’s household. This particular maid, Evelina, knows something everyone else in her world doesn’t: she knows how the novel plays out and is determined to fight against fate.

Easier said than done, though, as she must break through the cold exterior young Liandro has been forced to put up with as his parents abandoned him, the maids in the house fear him, and he is in unending pain from a curse no one understands. Evelina is up for the challenge, though. Even if she can’t save Liandro from his fate, she is determined to give him all the love he has missed out on and make his life as happy as possible. However, as the years go by and Liandro grows closer to Evelina, what would make him happier than anything is to keep her by his side. Is such a thing possible for a lowly maid when Liandro could be destined for bigger and better things?

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Manga Review | No. 6 by Atsuko Asano

Title: No. 6

Author(s): Atsuko Asano

Artist(s): Hinoki Kino

Shion is an elite student in the perfect city of No. 6. Because he excels, his family is afforded luxury and benefits provided by the city through a caste-based system. However, one evening, when Shion feels the urge to throw open his bedroom balcony doors and scream out into the typhoon outside, he inadvertently calls over a mysterious and disheveled young boy named Rat. It turns out Rat is a fugitive and has just escaped from prison.

Despite Rat admitting to being a criminal, Shion takes the time to take care of Rat’s wounds and encourages him to stay. Though Rat warns Shion that this could hurt Shion and his family, Rat acquiesces and stays the night with Shion. The following day, Rat is gone. The police of No. 6 drop in to question Shion and his family over the missing fugitive, and when Shion admits to aiding Rat, his family is punished by dropping in the caste system. As a result, Shion and his mother are forced to move out to the poor parts of No. 6, and Shion is unable to move up in academics and is forced to take a more labor-based position.

Even though years have passed since their first encounter and Shion has suffered greatly. As a result, Rat isn’t far from Shion’s mind. It isn’t long before they are reunited, though, as Shion is faced with what could only be described as the impending destruction of No. 6 as society knows it. While at work, Shion and his coworker discover the body of a seemingly elderly man. However, while in their office, Shion’s coworker suddenly begins to age rapidly and dies in front of him, leaving behind a corpse and what appears to be a bee or wasp. Police immediately swoop in to arrest Shion for murder, only for Rat to rush in and whisk Shion away outside of No. 6, where people suffer to survive, all hoping to one day be granted entrance to No. 6.

There, Shion must face the fact that No. 6 is nothing more than a beautiful facade hiding conspiracy and corruption. Shion also must face the fact that while Rat is his savior, Rat has his own painful past – a past that pushes him to seek revenge against No. 6, even if that means mowing down everyone living behind its safe walls. Shion wants to uncover the corruption of No. 6, protect Rat, and protect the innocent citizens of No. 6, but can he when Rat plans to crush it all, no matter the cost?

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