What do you think?
Rate this book
Aisuru
Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780996161237
A dying teenage girl. A reluctant prince in hiding. Can their love cause a miracle?
Sakura knows adulthood is not part of her future. In her final year of high school, her body is getting weaker and her eventual death closer. She’s accepted her fate, planned for it, cut off the world to leave no mourners behind. Until the charming yokai of her late guardian’s fairy tales turns up wounded in her garden.
She thought she knew how her life would end, but Kazuki’s arrival is throwing all her planning out the window. But is it too late for her to remember how to love, much less be loved again?
If you like modern fairy tales, strong female leads, swoon-worthy heroes, and adorable young tengu, you’ll love Anma’s tale of loss, love, friendship, and family.
A dying teenage girl. A reluctant prince in hiding. Can their love cause a miracle?
Sakura knows adulthood is not part of her future. In her final year of high school, her body is getting weaker and her eventual death closer. She’s accepted her fate, planned for it, cut off the world to leave no mourners behind. Until the charming yokai of her late guardian’s fairy tales turns up wounded in her garden.
She thought she knew how her life would end, but Kazuki’s arrival is throwing all her planning out the window. But is it too late for her to remember how to love, much less be loved again?
If you like modern fairy tales, strong female leads, swoon-worthy heroes, and adorable young tengu, you’ll love Anma’s tale of loss, love, friendship, and family.
366 pages, ebook
First published March 27, 2015
About the author
Anma Natsu
5 books28 followersAnma is a Texas-based writer who loves weaving stories that explore the complexities of love, human relationships. Her daytime hours are spent pounding away at code as a web developer and happily sharing her life in Texas with her furkids.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 11, 2018
Check out more reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...
Sakura is dying. A soft hearted girl but extremely strong she does not want to burden others with her friendship when she will be dead by the end of the year. She stays true to this philosophy until a yokai drops in her garden with several stab wounds. By befriending Kasuki it opens her up to other overtures in the form of two of her classmates. These friends won't change her fate but as she falls in love and learns to rely on them Sakura finds she isn't so accepting of her death after all.
I'm a total fan of Japanese culture and folklore, in fact I love most Asian based stories or at least am willing to try them. I knew what a yokai was and yet haven't read many books about them, mostly they are featured in manga (which is cool because it comes with drawings...) I loved the explanation of the honorifics and any Japanese terms she used through the story. So I was super excited for this book! And in the end I was not disappointed. My review may sound as if it is a troupe hell and you may agree but I cried several times through the book and that NEVER happens! It was quite inexplicable but also wonderful how these characters struck me so...
Sakura and Kasuki are perhaps exactly what you expect from a girl dying and a yokai who falls in love. It wasn't the extreme specialness of these two characters that wowed me so much as their quiet, regular lives and how they chose to go about living. Some might call this book slow but I really was totally into the story every page. Sakura really sucked me in with her hardships and how she was making the life she had left so much harder on herself than she needed to. I wanted to see her loosen up and get a chance at life. Kasuki was not the sharpest tool in the shed but he had people he cared about and even though he didn't want the kingdom he was willing to do what was needed until the situation could be resolved. You might call these two special snowflakes or Mary Sues and while they might rightly fit in either of those categories I wanted to see them be happy. There was a rough transition between the setup and when other events start happening (i.e. the plot starts) that smacks of insta-love. Really there needed another couple weeks to pass before their thoughts go from friends to lovers. (This is minor but it is my major problem with the book!)
Here is what I said when they first met: "There is something delightful about their first interactions. Simple but peaceful and understanding. I like that she dragged him inside thought it could kill her... I thought it very cute how he teased her about the bed. Loved how important she thought it was to tell him of Hiro's death before they eat. He's so excited at the books and tv she left for him."
Here is what I said at 25%: "I'm loving this book though it's slower than some might like. I had the feeling at 22% of the story just now starting. I think most writers would not have such a slow beginning but I like that the status quo was setup well. They shop for his clothes and he's so cute looking around and fearing cars. I like he got her to buy herself a dress..."
My thoughts once the setup was complete: "We get the whole story of why her body is failing her...it is terribly sad and all due to a mental illness. Her poor mother! Kazuki doesn't want to leave her now but also wants to find a cure for her in his world. It smacks a bit of insta-love the way he is acting... I like it anyway. This author has thought out everything so far..."
Akari, Hina, her two friends and Karasu, Kasuki's young servant were such a great addition to this relationship. I loved Karasu's problem with Sakura. I loved Akari's reservations. I loved Hina's curiosity. For a relatively small group of characters they were used well to add dimension to Sakura's plight without feeling like accessory characters. Karasu's transformation from a hater to a little brother particularly touched my heart!
The plot once we hit 40% really hits its stride. It's a long buildup to this point but if you hang in there you are so invested in them all. I loved the bucket list, the dohame and Kasuki's problems with Yuji his little brother. The villain is a silent threat that I enjoyed as I wondered about the little details dropped through the whole book. The stories within the stories really worked for me too, they really added the yokai kingdom aspect to this human world story.
This at its heart is a romance novel set in Japan. It's a touch supernatural and quite heartbreaking at times. The end was super exciting and while the twist is quite obvious it was also unexpected! You'll have to read it to see what I mean...
BOTTOM LINE: An incredible glimpse of Japanese Folklore.
On a side note, my only other problem is the next book in the Hakodate Hearts series is not about yokai! Why spend all that time setting up that world and not explore it more? (I was hoping for a book about Yuji or Reito or even the father's romance with Kasuki's mother!) I have zero interest in this very modern turn, which is so disappointing!!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my special perspective at the bottom of my reviews under the typewriter...
May 14, 2015
*free copy from author*
MY REVIEW
Sakura has had a rough life. Her father had been mentally ill and had killed her mother and after stabbing Sakura in the heart and lungs, killed himself. Sakura managed to survive and went to live with her father's friend. But she's lived with the fact that her organs would fail soon because of the punctures caused by the stabbing. When her guardian dies, Sakura is left more alone then she already was. She doesn't have any friends at school because she doesn't want people to hurt when she passes away, and so she lives a lonely life.
Kazuki is the heir to the throne of his kingdom. He however does not want to be king and promises to give the throne to his younger brother. But one day, his brother tells him he will never forgive him and disappears. Kazuki has no idea what he did to his brother and with his father missing, the kingdom is left in his care. But then one night, Kazuki receives a letter from his brother to meet him. But instead of reconciliation, Kazuki is attacked by his brother and escapes, beaten and bruised into the human world where his old friend, Sakura's late guardian, had once lived.
Upon learning of his friend's death, Kazuki is curious about Sakura and hides in her house while his brother is still out there. Slowly, the two discover each other and the love they could share.
Sakura has got to be one of the sweetest characters i've ever read about! Kazuki's innocence about the human world and child-like behavior was amusing and then he would just be completely mature!! *sigh* Loved the characters and world build up. I would say the story focuses more on the love story than Kazuki's kingdom and all but i think it balanced out perfectly! There was a steady amount of suspense maintained throughout the book so that the reader doesn't get too lost in the love story and stray from the mystery regarding the attack.
I am a BIG FAN of manga! and throughout this novel i was envisioning it like i was watching a manga and wow i can just see this becoming one!! The setting was gorgeous, i loved learning about the culture in Japan and how they live. The writing was beautiful and gave you the impression you were listening to a faerie tale!
This was definitely a unique and heart felt romance story that every manga/YA reader should try! It has a 'the fault in our stars feel' but much sweeter and the book is not actually focused on the dying part. It's more focused on love and sacrifice. The ending was bittersweet for me and yet just perfect. It leaves the ending to the reader's imagination but it is a happy one with endless possibilities!!
MY REVIEW
Sakura has had a rough life. Her father had been mentally ill and had killed her mother and after stabbing Sakura in the heart and lungs, killed himself. Sakura managed to survive and went to live with her father's friend. But she's lived with the fact that her organs would fail soon because of the punctures caused by the stabbing. When her guardian dies, Sakura is left more alone then she already was. She doesn't have any friends at school because she doesn't want people to hurt when she passes away, and so she lives a lonely life.
Kazuki is the heir to the throne of his kingdom. He however does not want to be king and promises to give the throne to his younger brother. But one day, his brother tells him he will never forgive him and disappears. Kazuki has no idea what he did to his brother and with his father missing, the kingdom is left in his care. But then one night, Kazuki receives a letter from his brother to meet him. But instead of reconciliation, Kazuki is attacked by his brother and escapes, beaten and bruised into the human world where his old friend, Sakura's late guardian, had once lived.
Upon learning of his friend's death, Kazuki is curious about Sakura and hides in her house while his brother is still out there. Slowly, the two discover each other and the love they could share.
Sakura has got to be one of the sweetest characters i've ever read about! Kazuki's innocence about the human world and child-like behavior was amusing and then he would just be completely mature!! *sigh* Loved the characters and world build up. I would say the story focuses more on the love story than Kazuki's kingdom and all but i think it balanced out perfectly! There was a steady amount of suspense maintained throughout the book so that the reader doesn't get too lost in the love story and stray from the mystery regarding the attack.
I am a BIG FAN of manga! and throughout this novel i was envisioning it like i was watching a manga and wow i can just see this becoming one!! The setting was gorgeous, i loved learning about the culture in Japan and how they live. The writing was beautiful and gave you the impression you were listening to a faerie tale!
This was definitely a unique and heart felt romance story that every manga/YA reader should try! It has a 'the fault in our stars feel' but much sweeter and the book is not actually focused on the dying part. It's more focused on love and sacrifice. The ending was bittersweet for me and yet just perfect. It leaves the ending to the reader's imagination but it is a happy one with endless possibilities!!
August 31, 2015
I received a copy of this book directly from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Aisuru by Anma Natsu was a bit of an odd experience for me. I’m a huge anime drama fan, and I’m a huge romance novel fan as well—and it isn’t often that those two things cross as they did in Aisuru. As an anime, this book would have been excellent. It was jammed pack full of the Japanese culture and language, and felt like it had been well researched. The writing style very much fit the Japanese stereotypes of the genre (and I don’t mean that in a bad way). The problem is, that didn’t always work in novel form.
Technically speaking, the book was well written. The narrative was clean and easy to follow. I ran across 3 typos in the whole book, and only one that made me pause and re-read a sentence. That’s pretty fantastic for an Indie book. The world building was interesting, and not so complicated that I felt lost, and I really liked Sakura as a main character.
Unfortunately, not all was puppies and rainbows. Despite my genuine affection for the character of the book, they were pretty 2-dimensional as a rule. For an anime, it worked… for a book? Not so much. There was no real reason for most of the characters to even exist—the love story could have been told with out them (especially Karasu. (Gomen!) Worse yet, they were all pretty stereotypical and familiar. White-haired, handsome Yokai are a dime a dozen in popular Japanese culture (Inuyasha? Kamisama Hajemashita? Anyone? No? Just me? Okay then.), as are fictional female characters that are frail and kind, and on death’s doorstep. The plot and characters of Aisuru have all been done before, and I found the book predictable overall.
Does that mean I didn’t like the book? No, actually I really enjoyed it—but I think I would have enjoyed it more had it had more depth to the characters and plot. Overall, I’m glad I read the story. It was entertaining, and it made a quick read. Would I go out of my way to recommend it to others? Eh… only if you really like Anime maybe. It didn’t blow my mind. On a side note: This book is marketed as YA, but YA readers should be aware that there’s a pretty explicit sex scene contained within the book, and a little bit of murder/suicide/gore. Most of the book is clean though.
Aisuru by Anma Natsu was a bit of an odd experience for me. I’m a huge anime drama fan, and I’m a huge romance novel fan as well—and it isn’t often that those two things cross as they did in Aisuru. As an anime, this book would have been excellent. It was jammed pack full of the Japanese culture and language, and felt like it had been well researched. The writing style very much fit the Japanese stereotypes of the genre (and I don’t mean that in a bad way). The problem is, that didn’t always work in novel form.
Technically speaking, the book was well written. The narrative was clean and easy to follow. I ran across 3 typos in the whole book, and only one that made me pause and re-read a sentence. That’s pretty fantastic for an Indie book. The world building was interesting, and not so complicated that I felt lost, and I really liked Sakura as a main character.
Unfortunately, not all was puppies and rainbows. Despite my genuine affection for the character of the book, they were pretty 2-dimensional as a rule. For an anime, it worked… for a book? Not so much. There was no real reason for most of the characters to even exist—the love story could have been told with out them (especially Karasu. (Gomen!) Worse yet, they were all pretty stereotypical and familiar. White-haired, handsome Yokai are a dime a dozen in popular Japanese culture (Inuyasha? Kamisama Hajemashita? Anyone? No? Just me? Okay then.), as are fictional female characters that are frail and kind, and on death’s doorstep. The plot and characters of Aisuru have all been done before, and I found the book predictable overall.
Does that mean I didn’t like the book? No, actually I really enjoyed it—but I think I would have enjoyed it more had it had more depth to the characters and plot. Overall, I’m glad I read the story. It was entertaining, and it made a quick read. Would I go out of my way to recommend it to others? Eh… only if you really like Anime maybe. It didn’t blow my mind. On a side note: This book is marketed as YA, but YA readers should be aware that there’s a pretty explicit sex scene contained within the book, and a little bit of murder/suicide/gore. Most of the book is clean though.
July 10, 2017
1.5 stars since I only give 1 star to books that I really disliked. This one was just extremely boring. Check out my review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfijz...
August 18, 2015
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review
I love paranormal romance, I love Japanese anime. So when I got a combination of both in one book, I thought it was a dream come true. Except that I was wrong. Let me start off by making a list of what I found to be good and bad about the book before I move on to analyzing the world building, character development and plot.
The Good
Good writing
Set in Japan, complete with Japanese culture and all
No love triangle
Happy ending
The Bad
Poor character development
Romance progress is too fast to feel solid and natural
Plot is virtually non-existent
World building 4/5
When you base your story in a real world setting, there's really not much to talk about in term of world building. Aisuru is set primarily in Hakodate, Japan and I thought that the author did a good job introducing us to the culture of Japan and the city. The footnotes that she added were extremely helpful and I felt like I had a better understanding about Japanese culture after reading the book.
That said, we also explore an alternate universe where yokai (or demons, however you want to put it) lives and this is the place where our male protagonist, Kazuki comes from. Unfortuntely, this world was neglected on the most part, with barely enough information given just to drive the plot along. As a secondary setting, this really shouldn't be a problem, though I can't help but feel a little disappointed that we don't get to know more about Kazuki's homeworld.
Character development 1/5
Chapter One did a splendid job introducing us to the main protagonist, Sakura. Chapter Two introduced Kazuki, our reluctant crown prince who nevertheless did a pretty good job. So far so good. Then, we were introduced to the little family drama going on in Kazuki's household and everything went downhill.
When Kazuki was severely injured, he used his transportation stone to transport himself to the house of his old friend, Ito Hiro, only to find that his friend had died a few years back and his adopted daughter, Sakura is living there alone now. What does he do next? He decided to stay put in Sakura's house and avoid the brewing conflict back home. I mean, I know Kazuki was supposed to be a wimp who doesn't like governing and all, but after demonstrating to us what a good job he was doing despite his obvious dislike for politics, I expected him to be a little more responsible than to just wash his hands of the entire matter and enjoy himself living with a human girl in the human world. It felt a huge inconsistency in his character. In the next three quarters of the book, nothing happens. Kazuki simply lives with Sakura and his adopted younger brother, Karasu and does nothing but go shopping, eat, order takeaway, explore Japan and eat some more.
In comes Sakura, our typical anime-esque character who is dying of a fatal disease and decides that her best option is to push everyone away by acting cold and aloof because "it is better for them". I can't emphasize on how much this plotline annoys me. Anyway, on top of Kazuki's endless (and meaningless) exploration of Japan, we're also fed the story of how Sakura finally made friends with two girls, Hina and Ayuri.
Hina and Ayuri are what I would call the best friends to have in the world? Why? Because they're so damn convenient. They only ask the right questions at the right time and don't even bother to ask questions that would be inconvenient or difficult for Sakura to answer because they "trust" her. Best friends with absolute trust in our main protagonist? They're my favourite people on earth. Unfortunately, there's a huge difference between "absolute trust" and "not doubting because it is convenient for the author". Aisuru obviously falls into the latter. I mean, if your dying friend asks you to plan a trip that involves overexerting herself at every turn, are you sure you're just going to go ahead and do the planning for her and not ask her why and how she's planning to do it because you trust her not to overdo it? The least Sakura's friends could do is to express doubt and concern. Nope. That would be too tedious to write, so why not just make them roll along with this seemingly insane idea?
Anyway, back to Sakura and Kazuki. One of the most annoying things about young adult paranormal romance is how fast the characters fall in love. One day, our characters barely know each other and the next, they're thinking about getting all hot and sexy together. I love it that Sakura isn't the kind of girl who freaks out at the sight of sharp claws and teeth but I also felt like their love story was too rushed and too shallow to be called "love". The feeling I got was that Sakura had been alone for so long that she decided to fall for the first random guy that entered her life.
To cut a long story short, character development was bad. There's not enough conflict to drive our characters along and they're pretty much the same people at the end of it as they were in the beginning. I don't see them growing and I don't feel any connection with them. If any one of the characters died at the end of the story, I wouldn't care.
Plot 1/5
This is where I got really, really annoyed. We're told right from the start that Sakura is dying. We know that it has something to do with her parents from the blurb. We spend the next half of the book dying to know what condition she has that requires an 18-year-old girl to take both an emergency bronchodilator pump (most likely MDI salbutamol) and and sublingual nitroglycerine spray. Yes, you read that right. She needs sublingual GTN. What on earth would a girl her age need GTN for? GTN works by dilating blood vessels, thus increasing blood flow to the heart in people whose coronary arteries (blood vessels of the heart) are blocked due to atherosclerosis. I'm sorry but I can't think of any medical condition where you'll need GTN after receiving injury to the heart. Also, Tenma-sensei, her doctor, doesn't deserve to graduate from med school. A year one medical student would know that you NEVER, EVER give a patient with airway problems beta blocker. Then, after what felt like an excruciatingly long time, we're finally given the big revelation of what her medical condition is. Only that it makes no sense whatsoever. Gosh. Since we're talking about a book with fantasy elements in it, if the author is too lazy to get some research done, why don't she just make up some story on how Sakura contracted a fantasy illness from our fantasy world? Goodness knows she'd cooked up a lot of similarly hard to believe plot just to drive the story along.
Oh, and remember that conflict we're introduced to in Chapter Two? Well, it's not going to get addressed again all the way until the last few chapters of the book. Really, despite my ranting that the romance between Kazuki and Sakura is too rushed to be properly developed, this book is 95% about their budding relationship, with the "fantasy" part added in just to give the story a false sense of conflict to drive the plot along and also present our heroine a Gary-Stu to love. Also, the big revelation during the climax is just so lame, it beggars belief. If I thought that Kazuki was a wimp for running away from his duties before, I now know that he and his brother, Yuji, are both complete idiots. Did they get any the wiser after this fiasco? Well, I'm not really convinced but let's give them the benefit of doubt, okay?
Then, after driving ourselves to a deadend, the author conveniently employs a deus ex machina to give us a happy ending. Hurray! No, seriously. After all the frustration this book gave me, I would burn it in hell if I got a sad ending.
Conclusion
For a self-published book, Aisuru has one of the best writings. That said, I think that this book is 40% entertainment and 60% frustration, which just doesn't seem worth it.
Will I recommend it to a friend? No.
Will I read it again? Maybe, but that's just because I have nothing else to read.
I love paranormal romance, I love Japanese anime. So when I got a combination of both in one book, I thought it was a dream come true. Except that I was wrong. Let me start off by making a list of what I found to be good and bad about the book before I move on to analyzing the world building, character development and plot.
The Good
Good writing
Set in Japan, complete with Japanese culture and all
No love triangle
Happy ending
The Bad
Poor character development
Romance progress is too fast to feel solid and natural
Plot is virtually non-existent
World building 4/5
When you base your story in a real world setting, there's really not much to talk about in term of world building. Aisuru is set primarily in Hakodate, Japan and I thought that the author did a good job introducing us to the culture of Japan and the city. The footnotes that she added were extremely helpful and I felt like I had a better understanding about Japanese culture after reading the book.
That said, we also explore an alternate universe where yokai (or demons, however you want to put it) lives and this is the place where our male protagonist, Kazuki comes from. Unfortuntely, this world was neglected on the most part, with barely enough information given just to drive the plot along. As a secondary setting, this really shouldn't be a problem, though I can't help but feel a little disappointed that we don't get to know more about Kazuki's homeworld.
Character development 1/5
Chapter One did a splendid job introducing us to the main protagonist, Sakura. Chapter Two introduced Kazuki, our reluctant crown prince who nevertheless did a pretty good job. So far so good. Then, we were introduced to the little family drama going on in Kazuki's household and everything went downhill.
When Kazuki was severely injured, he used his transportation stone to transport himself to the house of his old friend, Ito Hiro, only to find that his friend had died a few years back and his adopted daughter, Sakura is living there alone now. What does he do next? He decided to stay put in Sakura's house and avoid the brewing conflict back home. I mean, I know Kazuki was supposed to be a wimp who doesn't like governing and all, but after demonstrating to us what a good job he was doing despite his obvious dislike for politics, I expected him to be a little more responsible than to just wash his hands of the entire matter and enjoy himself living with a human girl in the human world. It felt a huge inconsistency in his character. In the next three quarters of the book, nothing happens. Kazuki simply lives with Sakura and his adopted younger brother, Karasu and does nothing but go shopping, eat, order takeaway, explore Japan and eat some more.
In comes Sakura, our typical anime-esque character who is dying of a fatal disease and decides that her best option is to push everyone away by acting cold and aloof because "it is better for them". I can't emphasize on how much this plotline annoys me. Anyway, on top of Kazuki's endless (and meaningless) exploration of Japan, we're also fed the story of how Sakura finally made friends with two girls, Hina and Ayuri.
Hina and Ayuri are what I would call the best friends to have in the world? Why? Because they're so damn convenient. They only ask the right questions at the right time and don't even bother to ask questions that would be inconvenient or difficult for Sakura to answer because they "trust" her. Best friends with absolute trust in our main protagonist? They're my favourite people on earth. Unfortunately, there's a huge difference between "absolute trust" and "not doubting because it is convenient for the author". Aisuru obviously falls into the latter. I mean, if your dying friend asks you to plan a trip that involves overexerting herself at every turn, are you sure you're just going to go ahead and do the planning for her and not ask her why and how she's planning to do it because you trust her not to overdo it? The least Sakura's friends could do is to express doubt and concern. Nope. That would be too tedious to write, so why not just make them roll along with this seemingly insane idea?
Anyway, back to Sakura and Kazuki. One of the most annoying things about young adult paranormal romance is how fast the characters fall in love. One day, our characters barely know each other and the next, they're thinking about getting all hot and sexy together. I love it that Sakura isn't the kind of girl who freaks out at the sight of sharp claws and teeth but I also felt like their love story was too rushed and too shallow to be called "love". The feeling I got was that Sakura had been alone for so long that she decided to fall for the first random guy that entered her life.
To cut a long story short, character development was bad. There's not enough conflict to drive our characters along and they're pretty much the same people at the end of it as they were in the beginning. I don't see them growing and I don't feel any connection with them. If any one of the characters died at the end of the story, I wouldn't care.
Plot 1/5
This is where I got really, really annoyed. We're told right from the start that Sakura is dying. We know that it has something to do with her parents from the blurb. We spend the next half of the book dying to know what condition she has that requires an 18-year-old girl to take both an emergency bronchodilator pump (most likely MDI salbutamol) and and sublingual nitroglycerine spray. Yes, you read that right. She needs sublingual GTN. What on earth would a girl her age need GTN for? GTN works by dilating blood vessels, thus increasing blood flow to the heart in people whose coronary arteries (blood vessels of the heart) are blocked due to atherosclerosis. I'm sorry but I can't think of any medical condition where you'll need GTN after receiving injury to the heart. Also, Tenma-sensei, her doctor, doesn't deserve to graduate from med school. A year one medical student would know that you NEVER, EVER give a patient with airway problems beta blocker. Then, after what felt like an excruciatingly long time, we're finally given the big revelation of what her medical condition is. Only that it makes no sense whatsoever. Gosh. Since we're talking about a book with fantasy elements in it, if the author is too lazy to get some research done, why don't she just make up some story on how Sakura contracted a fantasy illness from our fantasy world? Goodness knows she'd cooked up a lot of similarly hard to believe plot just to drive the story along.
Oh, and remember that conflict we're introduced to in Chapter Two? Well, it's not going to get addressed again all the way until the last few chapters of the book. Really, despite my ranting that the romance between Kazuki and Sakura is too rushed to be properly developed, this book is 95% about their budding relationship, with the "fantasy" part added in just to give the story a false sense of conflict to drive the plot along and also present our heroine a Gary-Stu to love. Also, the big revelation during the climax is just so lame, it beggars belief. If I thought that Kazuki was a wimp for running away from his duties before, I now know that he and his brother, Yuji, are both complete idiots. Did they get any the wiser after this fiasco? Well, I'm not really convinced but let's give them the benefit of doubt, okay?
Then, after driving ourselves to a deadend, the author conveniently employs a deus ex machina to give us a happy ending. Hurray! No, seriously. After all the frustration this book gave me, I would burn it in hell if I got a sad ending.
Conclusion
For a self-published book, Aisuru has one of the best writings. That said, I think that this book is 40% entertainment and 60% frustration, which just doesn't seem worth it.
Will I recommend it to a friend? No.
Will I read it again? Maybe, but that's just because I have nothing else to read.
August 31, 2017
I received a copy of this book from the author herself, so thank you for letting me read your work!
I would rate this a solid 4.75, leaning towards 5 stars. I LOVED this book. I loved the Japanese culture, which she put into footnotes as you read, so you can easily click and read the references. I loved the imaginative world that she created, and the vivid characters. I ADORED the story line, and its likeness to fairytales without being over the top or sappy.
Honestly, why isn't this book more popular? I want to go buy it in physical form and read it again!
Definitely, definitely recommend this book.
I would rate this a solid 4.75, leaning towards 5 stars. I LOVED this book. I loved the Japanese culture, which she put into footnotes as you read, so you can easily click and read the references. I loved the imaginative world that she created, and the vivid characters. I ADORED the story line, and its likeness to fairytales without being over the top or sappy.
Honestly, why isn't this book more popular? I want to go buy it in physical form and read it again!
Definitely, definitely recommend this book.
November 27, 2016
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review!
When I was approved to read this book I was so excited. I've recently been to Japan and safe to say I LOVE IT and I want to get back there A.S.A.P
I was SO KEEN to read a book set entirely in Japan, featuring an all Japanese cast of characters which heavily incorporates Japanese culture and traditions.
Like ... I was SO READY for this book
which is why
I'm so annoyed
it was really
*clenches fist*
.. disappointing in the end
I REALLY WANTED TO LOVE THIS BOOK
trust me I did
but I had so many issues *cries*
THE PLOT
So what is this book actually about?. Aisuru is the story of a girl named Sakura, who due to an incident in her past is now terminally ill. After the passing of her guardian, she lives alone and friendless in Hakodate Japan.
Kazuki, meanwhile, is a Yokai and crown prince of the kindgom Throklana. Some troubles force him to seek shelter from an old friend, the man who used to be Sakura's guardian. Instead of meeting Ito Hiro, he meets Sakura and his life and hers begin to intertwine
At first the plot began really nicely, chapter one and two set it all up quite nicely. Kazuki is nearly murdered by his brother Yuji and must flee thus meeting Sakura.
I really liked thing but then ..... but then LOOK ALL THIS BAD SHIT IS GOING ON IN THROKLANA AND NOTHING HAPPENS WITH IT UNTIL LIKE THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS ??
Like supposedly the kingdom is in turmoil, the king is missing, the princes are fighting, the people are in uproar and it literally gets mentioned at the start and then not again until the end
like wtf PLEASE don't tell me ur kingdom is on the edge of actual war and/or uprising then leave me hanging ?
Also, I found the plot twists a little bit predictable, and I guessed most of them very early into the book which was a bit ://
PLUSSES on the plot though, I liked the ending! I liked it was not too cliche, was a bit realistic and left everything a bit open ended GOOD SHIT
But basically, this book is boring. NOTHING HAPPENS. And while that would have been fine if the characters could carry the story .. they just weren't interesting enough to do so
thus leading me to
THE CHARACTERS
I just .. I just didn't like them.
No wait, fall back. Let me explain.
I liked them, but I hated they had such little development and were not very complex characters.
Sakura I liked more then Kazuki, but I felt Sakura had
1: Hazel Grace Syndrome
2: Was sterotypical anime'ish
But overrall she was okay. I liked her tone for describing the events, and I liked she was quite no fuss, I didn't even mind how weepy she was. I just found her kind of boring, she wasn't particularly complex or flawed and she was just a little bit too sweet, too perfect
Kazuki was .... he was ... so annoying
he's the kind of character alot of people like
he's very Dorian from Tog
Or Nikolai from Grisha
(I cannot w/ those types)
((Ok I can with Nikolai my bb))
ANYWAY he just annoyed me so much, and I found him a tad bit creepy. He just irritated me like holy shit fam leave Sakura alone AND GO DEAL WITH YOUR BROTHER AND YOUR KINGDOM WHICH IS LITERALLY FALLING TO PIECES !!!
Like sheesh !!!!
I can understand why the people are gettin a bit salty at their rulers tBH
I liked Karasu though !! I wish he had more story and backstory because I liked him as a character much more and I felt he had the most character development
I also liked Akari and Hina as friends to Sakuru, and I loved the friendship between these girls. It was cute and nice and I love to see girl friendships blossoming in books!
ps. did not mean to use the term blossom in this book review full of cherry blossoms but now I see I did it and I'll take it.
THE WORLDBUILDING
wooo hooooo !! Now I get to talk the good stuff.
I LOVED THE WORLD
I loved the development of Sakura's area of Hakodate, and all the explorations of that area. I felt that the images of Japan were really vivid, and even though I was never fortunate enough to go to Hakodate myself, I feel I could easily picture and undertand what it looks like.
I also loved how so much authentic Japanese culture and tradition was involved, and I loved that the book utilised the traditional patterns of Japanese speech. It made it seem much more authentic and I really appreciated that
All throughout there are links to see translations and explanations for the use of the traditional Japanese terms and I loved that. I am really so glad the author kept in so much cultural elements in the story.
I was super disappointed with the worldbuilding of the fantasy Throklana though, but that sort of been covered in plot. I just felt the magic system didn't make sense and the entire situation was ignored. Also, there was a bit where even the character was saying they didn't know how their magic worked like whaaaat !!??
ROMANCE
openly weeps. I hated it
IT CAME OUTTA NOWHERE. Like, ok they were crushing, but the next second they were 100% in love and doing da nasty. It was fuckin too much
esp since
1: Kazuki is like Sakaura's dads bffl
2: Kazuki is hundreds of years old
3: and Sakura is like 17 which is gross
3: IT CAME OUTTA NOWHERE
Also there was a sex scene AND IT WAS GROSS like I just didn't like it sorry ( I think others may) ?? I am not a huge erotica fan so I was like
nope
nope
nope
NOPE
at least there was no love triangle
IN CONCLUSION
Despite everything the cover is still bomb af I LOVE IT
The writing was fine, if not a bit simple at times I don't really have much to say there
THE BOOK IS GORGEOUS ON THE INSIDE. The use of the cherry blossom headers is top notch 10/10 approve
I am just so ...
why couldn't it have been better thoooo
OVERRALL 1.5* FOR AISURU
March 27, 2016
"Aisuru" is an intelligent story about learning to live when your hopes are down. Set in Japan, this is a colorful and intense story. If you are looking for a different story and one that leaves you feeling inspired and light, you should read this one.
Sakura has a deadline, she has been living with the knowledge that her days are counted. She has lived secluded and her social interactions are non-existing. However, everything changes when Kazuki appears in her garden. Kazuki comes from another world and shakes her life forcing her to live.
Sakura is a really nice character. She had to endure some terrible things in the past and she did her best to move on. She is in a position where hope seems a faraway dream. I like her hopelessness because it sounded real, she is a bit dark but she finds another part of herself when Kazuki appears. He is also a great character. He has a curiosity for the human world that makes us appreciate things we take for granted.
This story has some fantasy elements but the focus is on other things, it teaches about humanity and love. The romance is very sweet and mature. We see it grow until it becomes a beautiful relationship that can achieve the impossible.
I have to mention the incredible work and research done by the author. Every detail has been taken care off. The author knows the Japanese culture and we can see this by all the elements used in the story. Her love for this culture transcends the pages and we can feel it.
** I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. **
Sakura has a deadline, she has been living with the knowledge that her days are counted. She has lived secluded and her social interactions are non-existing. However, everything changes when Kazuki appears in her garden. Kazuki comes from another world and shakes her life forcing her to live.
Sakura is a really nice character. She had to endure some terrible things in the past and she did her best to move on. She is in a position where hope seems a faraway dream. I like her hopelessness because it sounded real, she is a bit dark but she finds another part of herself when Kazuki appears. He is also a great character. He has a curiosity for the human world that makes us appreciate things we take for granted.
This story has some fantasy elements but the focus is on other things, it teaches about humanity and love. The romance is very sweet and mature. We see it grow until it becomes a beautiful relationship that can achieve the impossible.
I have to mention the incredible work and research done by the author. Every detail has been taken care off. The author knows the Japanese culture and we can see this by all the elements used in the story. Her love for this culture transcends the pages and we can feel it.
** I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. **
August 22, 2015
This is my first Japanese-themed novel and I loved it soooo muchooo! While I tremendously enjoyed reading this (the romance part), it also gave me extreme sadness, hopelessness, and depression. I hate to include my illness in the review but I have to. I started reading this in May 2015, but couldn't get to finish as I was too busy with lots of doctor visits. When I was diagnosed having lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes) in June, it became hard for me to go back reading this. The main character, Sakura, is dying and I have cancer. So just imagine me reading the story. Suddenly, Sarura became me.
I managed to finish the story, with or without cancer, I found the book sooo good. What I loved most is that how the author provided info about the Japanese culture and tradition. The setting of the story was likewise written well.
I highly recommend this to readers who are into Japan-themed novels.
I managed to finish the story, with or without cancer, I found the book sooo good. What I loved most is that how the author provided info about the Japanese culture and tradition. The setting of the story was likewise written well.
I highly recommend this to readers who are into Japan-themed novels.
October 17, 2018
The footnotes in Aisuru by Anma Natsu are fascinating by themselves. They are a tour of Japanese culture, describing among other things: Japanese expressions, food types, and place descriptions. For example - “Honto no sumimasen” has a footnote which provides the English definition of “An extra apologetic apology, usually translated to truly, I am very sorry.” Another example defines “yakisoba” as “Fried ramen-style noodles, made from wheat flour, with a thick, sweetened sauce, vegetables, and a protein.”
Yet, this is not a tour guide. It’s a fantasy about a young Japanese woman named Sakura. She is a high school student who suffered damage to her internal organs when her father had a violent mental breakdown described as “integration disorder,” the term used in Japan for schizophrenia. Sakura has been told she will die soon and has decided to live out her life as a normal Japanese student. To achieve this goal and to avoid hurting people she knows too well, she has kept to herself and has told none of her friends.
Sakura is visited by a yokai, who was a friend of her adopted father. Yokais are “a class of supernatural monsters and spirits in Japanese folklore.” (from Babylon NG) This one, Kazuki, also has royal blood. The story continues with love and adventure.
Early in the book Sakura says, “Yes, sometimes I wonder if textbook writers actually like history that much. They always write it in such a boring fashion.” I think Anma Natsu had this thought when writing her novel. This is a wonderful picture of Japan mixed in with a fun fantasy.
Steve Lindahl - author of Motherless Soul, White Horse Regressions, Hopatcong Vision Quest, and Under a Warped Cross.
Yet, this is not a tour guide. It’s a fantasy about a young Japanese woman named Sakura. She is a high school student who suffered damage to her internal organs when her father had a violent mental breakdown described as “integration disorder,” the term used in Japan for schizophrenia. Sakura has been told she will die soon and has decided to live out her life as a normal Japanese student. To achieve this goal and to avoid hurting people she knows too well, she has kept to herself and has told none of her friends.
Sakura is visited by a yokai, who was a friend of her adopted father. Yokais are “a class of supernatural monsters and spirits in Japanese folklore.” (from Babylon NG) This one, Kazuki, also has royal blood. The story continues with love and adventure.
Early in the book Sakura says, “Yes, sometimes I wonder if textbook writers actually like history that much. They always write it in such a boring fashion.” I think Anma Natsu had this thought when writing her novel. This is a wonderful picture of Japan mixed in with a fun fantasy.
Steve Lindahl - author of Motherless Soul, White Horse Regressions, Hopatcong Vision Quest, and Under a Warped Cross.
February 7, 2019
It was just so basic!! The fantasy element wasn't necessary, the romance wasn't necessary and it was sloppy, the MC's internal monologue was boring and had no emotion, the friends from school were just plot devices at best, the integration of japanese words/element into the story wasn't smooth, with too many footnotes that could've been in the actual text. Ultimately it felt like the author just wanted to show off how much she knows about Japan, I don't even think she's japanese. The guy who could shapeshift into a crow was literally called Karasu. That means crow in japanese. I just finished haikyuu you can't expect me to not realize you threw the first name you thought of here.
October 21, 2020
I found this book to be enjoyable. It's pretty much a slice-of-life story with some drama and romance. I loved the characters! I thought Sakura was a well rounded character, and I really enjoyed how her relationships with her love interest and friends blossomed. In some ways it sort of reminded me of one of my favorite mangas, Millennium Snow. The ending was satisfying to read. The only thing that seemed odd were a few instances of how Japanese words were used.
Aisuru is a fantastic light read and I would definitely read more of Anma Natsu's works!
Aisuru is a fantastic light read and I would definitely read more of Anma Natsu's works!
December 30, 2016
I received Aisuru on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Crosspost: TheReadingBelle.com
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect of Aisuru. I haven’t seen many reviews on the internet, but I decided to go ahead and read it. What got me to read the book was the synopsis since it sounded like a blend of contemporary and fantasy. I was intrigued by the characters, especially Sakura. Aisuru reminded me a bit of Inuyasha and Kamisama Hajimemashita, just the whole human-yokai romantic relationship, but that’s just it.
What I was expecting was an action-paced book filled with a lot of magical scenarios and political drama. Now what I got was different than what I expected. It was good, but it wasn’t bad. I was a tad disappointed that most of the book focused on Hakodate, Japan rather than the magical kingdom of Throklana.
Alright, basic plot of the book is that Sakura is dying and has less than a year of life left. Sakura tries to be an ice queen to those around her. Most of her classmates have invented rumors about her due to her cold personality. Though Sakura puts on an act, she is actually sweet and caring. She has hidden her illness from everyone; she wants to be treated like a normal girl. She wants to do many things in her life, but knows she can’t achieve those goals. When I was reading Sakura’s pov, I did tear up. Sakura was very accepting of her fate in the beginning of the story. As chapters progressed, it became harder for her to accept her death. Though Sakura has little character growth in the book, she at least tried to live as a normal girl. She got to accomplish some of her goals on her bucket list. One of my favorite moments of the book was the introduction of Sakura’s classmates that eventually became her friends. I have to say that this book did really great when it came to friendship.
I was actually surprised that this book was a bit dark at some times. Sakura's past was extremely sad, especially what happened to her parents. Though she was adopted into a loving home after the traumatizing events of her childhood, she grew up mostly independent. That's one thing that I really liked about Sakura, she always did her best no matter her limitations.
Moving on to Kazuki, I felt okay about him. Kazuki is the yokai prince who is supposed to take over the kingdom while his father is on his pilgrimage. Kazuki never wanted to be king. He is the oldest sibling, but he knows that his younger brother is far more capable of being the next crown king. The author didn’t really give a great description of his features besides his long claws and white hair. So I imagined him like this that whole time:
Though Tomoe is a far more better character than Kazuki, just saying.
Kazuki was a good guy, but a horrible leader. Here’s the thing: his kingdom is in turmoil and his brother turned against him. What does Kazuki do? Reside in the human realm and leaves his kingdom in hands of his advisors. He abandoned the throne, and though his duty is to the kingdom, he never really does anything to contribute anything. I can see why he is fascinated with the human world, but it annoyed me that it wasn’t till 75% of the book that he decided to take action. As I’ve mentioned, he was a good guy...he did have some cute moments especially with Karasu. Now Karasu was one of my favorite characters in the story. He is a yokai as well and very devoted to his master. He initially hates Sakura and doesn't trust her whatsoever. I found Karasu to be an adorable jealous little brother. He had a sad backstory that I wish got expanded more!
Anyways, I thought that Aisuru was going have a lot of action, but I got more of a contemporary vibe. Most of the book was spent on Kazuki and Sakura doing normal errands such as cleaning, or cooking. It seemed that this was going to be a book filled with insta-love, but I am glad that the author tried to build up the romance. There wasn’t much tension between the two characters and the kiss happened out of nowhere.
As for the whole plot, I thought it could have been great if there was no conflict in the yokai realm. Since most of the book took place in the human realm, it felt a bit too much to have two conflicts because Sakura was the main focus throughout the book. The conflict in Kazuki's realm was ignored till the end!! But, despite Aisuru's flaws, I did find myself enjoying the book. The book did have a villain! Surprise, surprise it wasn't the brother. I assumed it was another character...since the villain didn't get introduced till 50% of the book. I won't give much away, but just wow.
What I liked:
- Sakura's pov
-Karasu
- The ending was cute
I feel that Aisuru could have made a good graphic novel since the author is inspired by Japanese culture. I was mostly thinking of anime when reading this book!
Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5)
Crosspost: TheReadingBelle.com
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect of Aisuru. I haven’t seen many reviews on the internet, but I decided to go ahead and read it. What got me to read the book was the synopsis since it sounded like a blend of contemporary and fantasy. I was intrigued by the characters, especially Sakura. Aisuru reminded me a bit of Inuyasha and Kamisama Hajimemashita, just the whole human-yokai romantic relationship, but that’s just it.
What I was expecting was an action-paced book filled with a lot of magical scenarios and political drama. Now what I got was different than what I expected. It was good, but it wasn’t bad. I was a tad disappointed that most of the book focused on Hakodate, Japan rather than the magical kingdom of Throklana.
Alright, basic plot of the book is that Sakura is dying and has less than a year of life left. Sakura tries to be an ice queen to those around her. Most of her classmates have invented rumors about her due to her cold personality. Though Sakura puts on an act, she is actually sweet and caring. She has hidden her illness from everyone; she wants to be treated like a normal girl. She wants to do many things in her life, but knows she can’t achieve those goals. When I was reading Sakura’s pov, I did tear up. Sakura was very accepting of her fate in the beginning of the story. As chapters progressed, it became harder for her to accept her death. Though Sakura has little character growth in the book, she at least tried to live as a normal girl. She got to accomplish some of her goals on her bucket list. One of my favorite moments of the book was the introduction of Sakura’s classmates that eventually became her friends. I have to say that this book did really great when it came to friendship.
I was actually surprised that this book was a bit dark at some times. Sakura's past was extremely sad, especially what happened to her parents. Though she was adopted into a loving home after the traumatizing events of her childhood, she grew up mostly independent. That's one thing that I really liked about Sakura, she always did her best no matter her limitations.
Moving on to Kazuki, I felt okay about him. Kazuki is the yokai prince who is supposed to take over the kingdom while his father is on his pilgrimage. Kazuki never wanted to be king. He is the oldest sibling, but he knows that his younger brother is far more capable of being the next crown king. The author didn’t really give a great description of his features besides his long claws and white hair. So I imagined him like this that whole time:
Though Tomoe is a far more better character than Kazuki, just saying.
Kazuki was a good guy, but a horrible leader. Here’s the thing: his kingdom is in turmoil and his brother turned against him. What does Kazuki do? Reside in the human realm and leaves his kingdom in hands of his advisors. He abandoned the throne, and though his duty is to the kingdom, he never really does anything to contribute anything. I can see why he is fascinated with the human world, but it annoyed me that it wasn’t till 75% of the book that he decided to take action. As I’ve mentioned, he was a good guy...he did have some cute moments especially with Karasu. Now Karasu was one of my favorite characters in the story. He is a yokai as well and very devoted to his master. He initially hates Sakura and doesn't trust her whatsoever. I found Karasu to be an adorable jealous little brother. He had a sad backstory that I wish got expanded more!
Anyways, I thought that Aisuru was going have a lot of action, but I got more of a contemporary vibe. Most of the book was spent on Kazuki and Sakura doing normal errands such as cleaning, or cooking. It seemed that this was going to be a book filled with insta-love, but I am glad that the author tried to build up the romance. There wasn’t much tension between the two characters and the kiss happened out of nowhere.
As for the whole plot, I thought it could have been great if there was no conflict in the yokai realm. Since most of the book took place in the human realm, it felt a bit too much to have two conflicts because Sakura was the main focus throughout the book. The conflict in Kazuki's realm was ignored till the end!! But, despite Aisuru's flaws, I did find myself enjoying the book. The book did have a villain! Surprise, surprise it wasn't the brother. I assumed it was another character...since the villain didn't get introduced till 50% of the book. I won't give much away, but just wow.
What I liked:
- Sakura's pov
-Karasu
- The ending was cute
I feel that Aisuru could have made a good graphic novel since the author is inspired by Japanese culture. I was mostly thinking of anime when reading this book!
Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5)
January 18, 2018
Deviations était un magnifique récit bouleversant et très prenant. Avant de lire Aisuru, je ne pensais pas que l’auteure était capable de me captiver autant que Deviations, et pourtant, même si j’ai une nette préférence pour Deviations, Aisuru est une magnifique ode à la vie.
Sakura fête aujourd’hui ses dix-huit ans, mais elle n’en est pas heureuse pour autant. Dix-huit ans signifie pour elle qu’elle peut enfin faire valider son testament. Car depuis plus de huit ans, Sakura sait qu’elle ne verra jamais son dix-neuvième anniversaire. Son cœur est trop petit et trop fragile pour lui permettre de continuer à vivre. Mais cela ne l’atteint plus, bien au contraire, une fois morte, elle pourra retrouver Hiro Ito, son tuteur qui l’a élevé à la mort de ses parents et qui est mort trois ans plus tôt. La mort semble être omniprésente dans la vie de cette jeune femme, elle n’a donc aucune peur de mourir.
Kazuki est le prince héritier de son royaume, mais ne désire pas accéder au trône. Suite à une terrible confrontation avec son frère, il s’enfuit vers le seul endroit où il se sera en sécurité : dans la maison de son ami humain, Hiro.
Et c’est comme ça que Sakura découvre Kazuki, un Yokai, blessé dans son jardin. Après avoir repris des forces, Kazuki demande de séjourner quelques jours chez Sakura qui accepte. Kazuki pense que Hiro l’a envoyé ici pour prendre soin de la jeune femme. Et au plus ils passent du temps ensemble, au moins Kazuki ne veut partir, et quand il apprend que Sakura n’a que quelques mois à vivre, il décide de rester avec elle jusqu’à la fin.
Le récit est moins addictif que Deviations, pourtant, il y a une touche de poésie et de beauté malgré la tragédie.
Sakura s’est exclue de toute vie sociale depuis qu’elle a frôlé la mort et qu’elle a appris qu’elle ne vivrait pas longtemps. Les seules personnes qu’elle laisse s’approcher ont toujours été Hiro, qui est décédé, et son médecin. Pourtant, l’arrivée de Kazuki va tout faire basculer, il va sans le savoir, lui redonner le gout de vivre et de désirer vivre demain, il va lui redonner le sourire et le plaisir de se faire des amis.
Avec ce récit, l’auteure pose une question aux lecteurs : doit-on arrêter de vivre quand on apprend que notre mort est imminente ? Parce que la mort est bien ici, et réapprendre à vivre ne fait qu’augmenter la peur de mourir.
Le roman est plutôt lent, l’auteure fait entrer petit à petit les personnages, à tel point que le récit pouvait être pénible. Mais la finalité est magnifique et donne une pleine satisfaction aux lecteurs.
Sakura fête aujourd’hui ses dix-huit ans, mais elle n’en est pas heureuse pour autant. Dix-huit ans signifie pour elle qu’elle peut enfin faire valider son testament. Car depuis plus de huit ans, Sakura sait qu’elle ne verra jamais son dix-neuvième anniversaire. Son cœur est trop petit et trop fragile pour lui permettre de continuer à vivre. Mais cela ne l’atteint plus, bien au contraire, une fois morte, elle pourra retrouver Hiro Ito, son tuteur qui l’a élevé à la mort de ses parents et qui est mort trois ans plus tôt. La mort semble être omniprésente dans la vie de cette jeune femme, elle n’a donc aucune peur de mourir.
Kazuki est le prince héritier de son royaume, mais ne désire pas accéder au trône. Suite à une terrible confrontation avec son frère, il s’enfuit vers le seul endroit où il se sera en sécurité : dans la maison de son ami humain, Hiro.
Et c’est comme ça que Sakura découvre Kazuki, un Yokai, blessé dans son jardin. Après avoir repris des forces, Kazuki demande de séjourner quelques jours chez Sakura qui accepte. Kazuki pense que Hiro l’a envoyé ici pour prendre soin de la jeune femme. Et au plus ils passent du temps ensemble, au moins Kazuki ne veut partir, et quand il apprend que Sakura n’a que quelques mois à vivre, il décide de rester avec elle jusqu’à la fin.
Le récit est moins addictif que Deviations, pourtant, il y a une touche de poésie et de beauté malgré la tragédie.
Sakura s’est exclue de toute vie sociale depuis qu’elle a frôlé la mort et qu’elle a appris qu’elle ne vivrait pas longtemps. Les seules personnes qu’elle laisse s’approcher ont toujours été Hiro, qui est décédé, et son médecin. Pourtant, l’arrivée de Kazuki va tout faire basculer, il va sans le savoir, lui redonner le gout de vivre et de désirer vivre demain, il va lui redonner le sourire et le plaisir de se faire des amis.
Avec ce récit, l’auteure pose une question aux lecteurs : doit-on arrêter de vivre quand on apprend que notre mort est imminente ? Parce que la mort est bien ici, et réapprendre à vivre ne fait qu’augmenter la peur de mourir.
Le roman est plutôt lent, l’auteure fait entrer petit à petit les personnages, à tel point que le récit pouvait être pénible. Mais la finalité est magnifique et donne une pleine satisfaction aux lecteurs.
February 23, 2017
I am huge fan of japanese animes, dramas and mangas. So it would be an understatement if I say I didn't like it.
This book was a full to guide towards Japanese culture and customs. I would be damned if it ever have an anime or live action adaptation in future.
I liked the love triangle here though it was not exactly the case.
This book was a full to guide towards Japanese culture and customs. I would be damned if it ever have an anime or live action adaptation in future.
I liked the love triangle here though it was not exactly the case.
November 30, 2016
I received a free copy of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Protagonist/s: 4/5
Love Interest/s: 4/5
World Building: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Overall score 18/20 which is 5 stars.
Generally if I read a book set in Japan then I expect the author to have at least visited the country a lot if they aren't Japanese themselves. That isn't the case with this novel but funnily enough, it actually integrates the style as well as the culture itself well.
Aisuru is about a 3rd year high school student called Sakura who is dying due to organ failure and a yokai prince who wants to look after her until the end. As well as this there's trouble brewing back in his own world and eventually this trouble comes for Sakura.
I liked the characters in this book. I have seen some people say that they're a little 2D and maybe they are a little but they still grab your heart and cling with all their might. I adored Karasu and I want him to be my brother and when Sakura mentioned him in the letter near the end I actually started tearing up. Akari and Hina were amazing friends and I loved them too. I loved most of the characters to be honest, just the side characters more than the mains.
Romance is important in this novel and it was maybe a little rushed. I get that Sakura is a dying teenager who has never experienced this before but I still found myself wanting to say slow down even knowing she didn't really have the time to. Still I supported them and I was glad they understood each other so well. Unlike other YA novels this does feature smut so if you read YA like me partly to avoid it then you're out of luck here. It is only one scene though and you can easily predict when it'll happen.
Predictability is the main issue I had with this. Even things you never get the answer to like who Akari's first kiss was with you just know and when it comes to knowing who the big bad is as soon as they appear, it's a shame as it spoils the reveal a little. That and the few typos were the only problems so I would say pick this up.
I would definitely suggest this novel to my friends who are into manga and light novels. Plot wise and stylistically this is a great fit for them and now I really need to go find out about the second book and those new characters.
Protagonist/s: 4/5
Love Interest/s: 4/5
World Building: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Overall score 18/20 which is 5 stars.
Generally if I read a book set in Japan then I expect the author to have at least visited the country a lot if they aren't Japanese themselves. That isn't the case with this novel but funnily enough, it actually integrates the style as well as the culture itself well.
Aisuru is about a 3rd year high school student called Sakura who is dying due to organ failure and a yokai prince who wants to look after her until the end. As well as this there's trouble brewing back in his own world and eventually this trouble comes for Sakura.
I liked the characters in this book. I have seen some people say that they're a little 2D and maybe they are a little but they still grab your heart and cling with all their might. I adored Karasu and I want him to be my brother and when Sakura mentioned him in the letter near the end I actually started tearing up. Akari and Hina were amazing friends and I loved them too. I loved most of the characters to be honest, just the side characters more than the mains.
Romance is important in this novel and it was maybe a little rushed. I get that Sakura is a dying teenager who has never experienced this before but I still found myself wanting to say slow down even knowing she didn't really have the time to. Still I supported them and I was glad they understood each other so well. Unlike other YA novels this does feature smut so if you read YA like me partly to avoid it then you're out of luck here. It is only one scene though and you can easily predict when it'll happen.
Predictability is the main issue I had with this. Even things you never get the answer to like who Akari's first kiss was with you just know and when it comes to knowing who the big bad is as soon as they appear, it's a shame as it spoils the reveal a little. That and the few typos were the only problems so I would say pick this up.
I would definitely suggest this novel to my friends who are into manga and light novels. Plot wise and stylistically this is a great fit for them and now I really need to go find out about the second book and those new characters.
December 2, 2016
Sakura, a senior in high school in Japan, is hoping to live to graduate. Her health problems are due to being stabbed by her schizophrenic father, after he killed her mother and just prior to killing himself. With her heavy burden, she tries not to make friends, so her death won't be hard on them. She lives a solitary life, wealthy because of inheriting both from her parents and from Hiro Ito, her father's kind friend who adopted her. Set in the Japanese port town of Hakodate in Hokkaido, the imagery the author pens is amazing, as is her gentle way of educating the reader on Japanese culture. One rainy evening, Sakura finds a beautiful but unusual young man lying bleeding from wounds under her sakura or cherry blossom tree. In time, she learns that he is Kazuki, a yokai (demon) and not just any yokai, but a crown prince! She dresses his wounds and once he awakens, learns that he was the friend Hiro met when he was a boy. Kazuki is saddened to learn of his great friend Hiro's death, but is pragmatic since human life spans are thousands of years shorter than a yokai's. He stays in the human realm and quickly grows close to his old friend's daughter. There is trouble in the yokai kingdom, however, for his brother was the one who attacked him.
At times sad, others bittersweet, (have your tissues handy!) but always beautiful, the author's writing & characters quickly draw you in to her world. Kazuki is an unconventional "prince charming" being a yokai, but he is indeed her prince. We do not have yokai--demons who are both good & bad, mischievous & helpful--as do the Japanese, so it is somewhat difficult to explain. Regardless, it was a lovely book with well thought out worlds, events and suprises. As a fan of anime, I had no problem understanding and got sucked in to the author's fantasy. Kazuki is charming, Sakura totally believable, and the premise was great. I highly recommend Aisuru to readers, especially teens and adults who like anime or manga.
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley, for providing this reader with an arc in exchange for my honest opinions and review.
At times sad, others bittersweet, (have your tissues handy!) but always beautiful, the author's writing & characters quickly draw you in to her world. Kazuki is an unconventional "prince charming" being a yokai, but he is indeed her prince. We do not have yokai--demons who are both good & bad, mischievous & helpful--as do the Japanese, so it is somewhat difficult to explain. Regardless, it was a lovely book with well thought out worlds, events and suprises. As a fan of anime, I had no problem understanding and got sucked in to the author's fantasy. Kazuki is charming, Sakura totally believable, and the premise was great. I highly recommend Aisuru to readers, especially teens and adults who like anime or manga.
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley, for providing this reader with an arc in exchange for my honest opinions and review.
September 12, 2017
2.75. This Japanese high school girl and yokai prince romance is in the best of manga and anime tradition. The author has definitely done a boatload of research on Japanese culture and the city of Hakodate and it shows. Good research, used effectively, helps elevate average books into something more.
I really wanted to like Aisuru because it matches my tastes in many things. Romance, fantasy, and a lifelong interest in Japanese culture, history and language. I know little about Hakodate, but I'd like to learn more. The Meiji era, Japan's opening to the rest of the world in general, is incredibly intriguing.
Unfortunately, for me at least, the author's prose is too stark and workman-like. Because of this, I couldn't get into the story for the longest time and almost put it down. Additionally, it took her characters some time to develop their own voices. Even when they did, they were too often along the lines of anime/manga tropes. The energetic girl who likes food. The student council president who is studious and severe but really cares.
And, finally, unless the action was taking place actually out and about in Hakodate, I couldn't get a sense of place. I have little idea what Sakura's house looks like (other than there's a lovely cherry blossom tree in her yard), or Kazuki's palace, or the high school, even though most of the story was set in these locations.
It's easy to see that this author has enthusiasm for her subject and that she cares about her work. Perhaps future pieces will have that extra something I'm looking for.
Netgalley gave me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to like Aisuru because it matches my tastes in many things. Romance, fantasy, and a lifelong interest in Japanese culture, history and language. I know little about Hakodate, but I'd like to learn more. The Meiji era, Japan's opening to the rest of the world in general, is incredibly intriguing.
Unfortunately, for me at least, the author's prose is too stark and workman-like. Because of this, I couldn't get into the story for the longest time and almost put it down. Additionally, it took her characters some time to develop their own voices. Even when they did, they were too often along the lines of anime/manga tropes. The energetic girl who likes food. The student council president who is studious and severe but really cares.
And, finally, unless the action was taking place actually out and about in Hakodate, I couldn't get a sense of place. I have little idea what Sakura's house looks like (other than there's a lovely cherry blossom tree in her yard), or Kazuki's palace, or the high school, even though most of the story was set in these locations.
It's easy to see that this author has enthusiasm for her subject and that she cares about her work. Perhaps future pieces will have that extra something I'm looking for.
Netgalley gave me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
August 9, 2015
This is a wonderful tale of hope, love and magic. Anma Natsu does a wonderful job of creating characters that make you feel sad, love and even made me cry at points. To me that is an accomplishment!
Sakura Takeshi is 18 years old and dying. This is her story. Her doctor informs her that because of injuries she sustained from being stabbed when she was 10 she will not live to see another birthday.
All Sakura wants to do is graduate high school but then everything changes the day she finds Kazuki, a yokai, in her backyard under the cherry tree. Yokai are mythical demons in Japanese folklore but here was a live one, injured in her yard.
Kazuki is Prince in his homeland of Throklana and there is the beginning of turmoil in his land. It 'appears' that his brother Yuji tried to kill him. When Kazuki went to transport home while under attack he ended up in Sakura's backyard.
What follows is a story of hope and love in one hand and hate and deceit in the other. There were some unexpected turns along the way that made the story even more interesting.
This is not the genre I usually read but I am so glad that I read Aisuru!!
This book was provided to me free from the author for review purposes.
Sakura Takeshi is 18 years old and dying. This is her story. Her doctor informs her that because of injuries she sustained from being stabbed when she was 10 she will not live to see another birthday.
All Sakura wants to do is graduate high school but then everything changes the day she finds Kazuki, a yokai, in her backyard under the cherry tree. Yokai are mythical demons in Japanese folklore but here was a live one, injured in her yard.
Kazuki is Prince in his homeland of Throklana and there is the beginning of turmoil in his land. It 'appears' that his brother Yuji tried to kill him. When Kazuki went to transport home while under attack he ended up in Sakura's backyard.
What follows is a story of hope and love in one hand and hate and deceit in the other. There were some unexpected turns along the way that made the story even more interesting.
This is not the genre I usually read but I am so glad that I read Aisuru!!
This book was provided to me free from the author for review purposes.
October 1, 2015
*This book was provided by the publisher/author for an honest review.
Aisuru combined two of my favorite things; young adult genre novels and an anime feel to it.
Probably one of the best novels I've read of any genre, I really couldn't put it down and thought about it for days after. I can't think of a novel that made me cry as much but Aisuru isn't as simple as that. Sakura was so full of love and hope.
I really hope using anime/manga style characters and setting catches on. It was amazing in this book. This debut novel by Anma Natsu was an absolute homerun!
*This review was done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our review process feel free to check out our fanpage www.Facebook.com/NerdGirl.NG
Aisuru combined two of my favorite things; young adult genre novels and an anime feel to it.
Probably one of the best novels I've read of any genre, I really couldn't put it down and thought about it for days after. I can't think of a novel that made me cry as much but Aisuru isn't as simple as that. Sakura was so full of love and hope.
I really hope using anime/manga style characters and setting catches on. It was amazing in this book. This debut novel by Anma Natsu was an absolute homerun!
*This review was done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our review process feel free to check out our fanpage www.Facebook.com/NerdGirl.NG
July 17, 2016
I fell in love with it the moment I laid my hands on the book. I fell in love with the characters, it's one of the greatest love/fanthasy novels i have ever read.
I was always a big fan of Japanese folklore, culture and this book just made me more into it, even made me wanna try all those foods presented in this book ;)
I really enjoyed reading, it is sensitive, heartbreaking and funny.
*spoilers below*
The thing I loved the most about this book was the ending. One of my favourite types, the one that gives you hope, that leaves you to dream what your characters could be doing right now.
Thank you Anma for this amazing journey and for not killing my beloved characters!
I was always a big fan of Japanese folklore, culture and this book just made me more into it, even made me wanna try all those foods presented in this book ;)
I really enjoyed reading, it is sensitive, heartbreaking and funny.
*spoilers below*
The thing I loved the most about this book was the ending. One of my favourite types, the one that gives you hope, that leaves you to dream what your characters could be doing right now.
Thank you Anma for this amazing journey and for not killing my beloved characters!
November 18, 2015
I got this in exchange of an honest review, I love mangas a lot and read and watch them a lot this one was a great one to read I loved Sakura and her situation the sadness the pain the love are all together even the joy that came from this it a great one to see how things are done in other cultures and how they live their dramas pains and love differently everything was well written and the flow was awesome
November 12, 2015
This was the first book I purchased for my Kindle at the special price of $0.99. And it was SO worth it!
I really enjoyed this book. Advertised as a book written with the feel of a manga/light novel, it held true. I felt as if I was reading something from a manga - just without the illustrations. Sweet and simple, this youkai story was a pleasure to read.
I really enjoyed this book. Advertised as a book written with the feel of a manga/light novel, it held true. I felt as if I was reading something from a manga - just without the illustrations. Sweet and simple, this youkai story was a pleasure to read.
June 26, 2015
this was a wonderful book, I would definitely recommend it. as I rad it felt as if I was watching it as an anime. wonderful job!
January 26, 2016
This is a good book if you like manga and/or YA. It is a very well done genre specific book, and a fun read.
November 23, 2016
A beautiful emotional read about love, death and the magic of life! I found this beauty on NetGalley and it was amazing!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews