As it happens.
YA:
Jones, Diana Wynne: Enchanted Glass
(solid work.
It's really sad to think its probably her last, but she's put out several (good) books in the last few years, so what the fuck could I have to complain about. I have had literally my whole lifetime of Diana Wynne Jones's books; I count my blessings, and find them to be numerous and lovely. This woman has brought so very much joy and wisdom into my life: I reveled in her books alongside my older and younger sisters even when I didn't get along very well with those sisters; we all still love her books today. I have gone back to her stories dozens of times and not found them wanting, not ever. I love her, I love her works, I love everything she brought to my life.
I'm really sad, but I have a lot to be thankful for).
Romance:
Brockman, Suzanne: Over the Edge
(Man, I wanted to like this; I bet I never again run across a military romance author so pleasantly enlightened about feminism and homosexuality. And hey, it didn't suck; she can write a decent sentence, at least. But the sex was never all that sexy, and I only liked the A-plot, not the B, C, or D-plots. Brockman seems like a good person; I wish she was a better writer).
Beverly, Jo: The Devil's Heiress.
Balogh, Mary: A Summer to Remember
(I liked it more as a book than a romance. There are worse complaints, I guess).
Manga:
Azuma Kiyohiko: Yotsuba& vol. 8.
CLAMP: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle vol. 26
(Well, damn).
Nakamura Yoshiki: Skip*Beat vols. 16-20
(Oh, I had so much to say about these volumes! But I didn't write it down, and I kinda forgot most of it. I think it was ranting along the lines of how amazing this manga is for allowing Kyoko to remain the focus of the manga even in a storyline where she'd normally be sidelined--I mean, in what other shoujo manga do you expect a storyline nominally dedicated to mending fences between thedelectable leading man Ren and his estranged dad to end up focused on said dad's budding mentoring of/hilarious feuding with Kyoko? (God, that was cool.) I love Nakamura and her genius for writing Kyoko. I could read this for a hundred more years; given the glacially slow development of plot, it would only generate ten years or so of actual story...).
Urasawa Naoki: Pluto vol. 8
Yoshinaga Fumi: Ooku vol. 3.
YA:
Jones, Diana Wynne: Enchanted Glass
(solid work.
It's really sad to think its probably her last, but she's put out several (good) books in the last few years, so what the fuck could I have to complain about. I have had literally my whole lifetime of Diana Wynne Jones's books; I count my blessings, and find them to be numerous and lovely. This woman has brought so very much joy and wisdom into my life: I reveled in her books alongside my older and younger sisters even when I didn't get along very well with those sisters; we all still love her books today. I have gone back to her stories dozens of times and not found them wanting, not ever. I love her, I love her works, I love everything she brought to my life.
I'm really sad, but I have a lot to be thankful for).
Romance:
Brockman, Suzanne: Over the Edge
(Man, I wanted to like this; I bet I never again run across a military romance author so pleasantly enlightened about feminism and homosexuality. And hey, it didn't suck; she can write a decent sentence, at least. But the sex was never all that sexy, and I only liked the A-plot, not the B, C, or D-plots. Brockman seems like a good person; I wish she was a better writer).
Beverly, Jo: The Devil's Heiress.
Balogh, Mary: A Summer to Remember
(I liked it more as a book than a romance. There are worse complaints, I guess).
Manga:
Azuma Kiyohiko: Yotsuba& vol. 8.
CLAMP: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle vol. 26
(Well, damn).
Nakamura Yoshiki: Skip*Beat vols. 16-20
(Oh, I had so much to say about these volumes! But I didn't write it down, and I kinda forgot most of it. I think it was ranting along the lines of how amazing this manga is for allowing Kyoko to remain the focus of the manga even in a storyline where she'd normally be sidelined--I mean, in what other shoujo manga do you expect a storyline nominally dedicated to mending fences between the
Urasawa Naoki: Pluto vol. 8
Yoshinaga Fumi: Ooku vol. 3.