GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ I Smell Sheep: romcom
Showing posts with label romcom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label romcom. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Excerpt: The Immortal Tailor by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff + giveaway

The Immortal Tailor
Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
August 30th 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Paranormal
From New York Times bestselling author Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes a new immortal series filled with dark humor, angst, and a brooding hero who loves a good tweed: The Immortal Tailor.

THE IMMORTAL WORLD IS IN TROUBLE, AND THE GODS DEMAND . . . THEIR TAILOR COME TO THE RESCUE?

Long ago, Damien Greystone hung up his guns, knives, and rope for the quiet life of a tailor. Sure, his clients now include the likes of bloodthirsty vampires, a hair-obsessed Bigfoot, and fourteen insane deities, but at least Damien doesn’t have to kill anymore. And, sure, he’s been cursed to live alone for all eternity, but nobody’s life is perfect. Right?

Unfortunately, his monk-like existence is about to come to a screeching halt. The gods’ powers are on the fritz, and they’re demanding his help.

But when Damien starts investigating, he meets Sky Morales, a beautiful journalist who’s up to her ears in danger (and one very aggressive fairy). He has no choice but to dust off his weapons.

Can he protect her without getting too close? Because his “curse of solitude” doesn’t negotiate, and bad things will happen to Sky if he so much as feels a flutter of affection.

And as if that pressure weren’t enough, his precious store is being looked after by a love-sucking demon and a punk chick who has a knack for insulting everyone. Bigfoot isn’t pleased.

The sooner Damien can get this job done, the faster he can get back to his peaceful life. If only he weren’t enjoying getting his hands dirty again. Just like the good old days that got him in trouble.


EXCERPT:
All the creatures in the story are constantly getting up in Damien’s grill! No boundaries! It drives him nuts. Here’s the best, and funniest example.

Pet crinkled her nose. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You were touching me while I slept!”

“Nope. I was in your closet playing with your underwear. They needed more holes.” She popped something in her mouth and chewed.

She was eating his boxers? “If it was not you, then who?” he growled.
Pet swiveled toward the foot of the bed. Her little eyes went wide, and then she spit out whatever she’d been eating. “Oh, Sky. That’s pretty dirty.” She snickered. “You’ll have to teach me that.”

Damien looked in the same direction. Nothing there. “Are you…are you speaking to Sky?” he asked Pet.

Pet nodded. “She said she just watched you jerk yourself off in your sleep. She thought it was hot.”

“Get. The. Fuck. Out. Both of you!” he yelled.
Pet shrugged. “Want me to leave Gorgonzolina?”

“Gorgon-what?”

“The demon you rescued.” Pet pointed to a lump under the covers at the bottom of his bed.
What the hell? Rule number one about love-sucking demons: don’t ever let them sleep in your bed. 
 


About the Author:
MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a New York Times bestselling author who’s sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dreams. Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona. She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.
Sign up for Mimi’s mailing list for giveaways and new release news! 

GIVEAWAY
Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)

$20 Amazon gift card


Sunday, February 26, 2023

Movie Reviews: Shotgun Wedding (Prime Video)

Shotgun Wedding (2023)
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 27, 2023
Director: Jason Moore
Writer: Mark Hammer
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel, Jennifer Coolidge, Sonia Braga, Cheech Marin, Selena Tan, D'Arcy Carden
Rating: R (Language|Some Violence/Bloody Images)
Genre: Action, Romance, Comedy
Runtime: 1h 40m
Prime Video
In Shotgun Wedding, Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) gather their lovable but very opinionated families for the ultimate destination wedding, just as the couple begin to get cold feet. And if that wasn't enough of a threat to the celebration, suddenly everyone's lives are in danger when the entire party is taken hostage. "'Til Death Do Us Part" takes on a whole new meaning in this hilarious, adrenaline-fueled adventure as Darcy and Tom must save their loved ones--if they don't kill each other first.

I love ensemble casts. And Shotgun Wedding had a fun one!
I don't understand why Shotgun Wedding got dissed by the critics. It was exactly what you expect from a romantic comedy. The trailer is true to the movie. I'm not a big fan of romcoms but this one had a lot of action. What does every action movie have? You guessed it...a helicopter explosion. So technically Shotgun Wedding is an action movie.

My husband and I had a great time watching it. It is kind of predictable, but most movies are. But it made up for it with some funny moments and leaning heavily toward the action element. Not many romcoms have people getting blown up (only the bad guys get blown up). 

If you aren't really into romcoms but you know someone who is, this is a movie both of you can enjoy. Light-hearted and silly, just sit back and enjoy this popcorn entertainment and don't think to hard about it.

My husband and I give it 4 "" Sheep





SharonS


Monday, April 25, 2022

Live Book Release Party on Facebook: Magic Takes Manhattan (Manhattan Magic #1) by Jade Greenberg + giveaway

Magic Takes Manhattan (Manhattan Magic Book One)
by Jade Greenberg
04/26/2022
Genre: Paranormal Women’s Fiction / Romantic Comedy
ISBN: 9781957615004
ASIN: B09WQGRP43
Number of pages: 186
Word Count: 30k
Cover Artist: Jennifer Schatten
She always knew New York was a magical city. She had no idea how magical.

A hilarious, quirky, and enchanting, “riotously funny night of magical mayhem” from USA Today bestselling author, Jade Greenberg.

She always knew New York was a magical city. She had no idea how magical.

What do you do if you tend to attract unfortunate incidents? Make it work for you, that’s what. Take me, Mandi Muscovitz, independent insurance claims adjuster and master of disaster. I’ve made a career out of bad luck. But no matter how good I get, every year on April 30th, my birthday, mayhem always ensues. This year’s no different, and I expected that. What I did not expect was to find myself at the center of a magical apocalypse.

Lucky for the fate of the universe, I ain’t new to this type of stuff. And it don’t hurt I got a hot wizard to stare at while I save the planet from an eternal winter.

Yeah, alright, I may have caused the problem, but it wasn’t intentional. And I’m going to be the one to fix it, so it’s like it cancels itself out in a way.

But whatever. Don’t worry. I got this… Probably.

Join Mandi on her May Day adventure as she saves the world in Magic Takes Manhattan, a not-to-be-missed, humorous Paranormal Women’s Fiction novella.


Join Us Today at 4PM EST for a Live
Book Release Party on Facebook

About the Author:
Jade Greenberg is a USA Today bestselling author of Paranormal Women's Fiction with a Rom-Com twist. She lives in New York City with her family and loves finding magic in unexpected places.

GIVEAWAY
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, December 13, 2021

Deck the Halls with Books Holiday Extravaganza: Santa’s Destiny by Tami Lund + giveaway

Santa’s Destiny
by Tami Lund
December 1, 2021
Genre: Paranormal Romcom/Chick Lit
Publisher: Tami Lund
ISBN:9781005702335
ASIN: B09HQ2XDFZ
Number of pages: 68
Word Count: 17,851
Cover Artist: Kathryn R. Biel
This elf is in for the sleigh ride of her life.

Des (don’t call her Destiny—she hates that name) is an elf with a problem. A jolly, red-suit wearing, gift-bearing, reindeer-loving problem.

Turns out, someone has stolen Santa Claus’s magic. And it’s three days before Christmas. What’s an elf to do?

Help him out, of course. That’s her specialty, after all.

Except that creates a whole new problem: Des has to work closely with the Man in Red while keeping her presents under wraps, because there is definitely one thing she will not do.

Ride in Santa’s sleigh tonight.

 
So I’m a romance author. That means a lot of things, but mostly, it means I crave a happily ever after so much that I feel inclined to write about it, over and over again.

Is there a reason I feel compelled to figure out a happy ending for every heroine in every book I ever have – and ever will – write? Is it because reality is so terrible that I just need to escape from it, through the written word?

Let me tell you how my husband and I met…

I was 25. He was 31. I was at a point in my life where I was finally happy; secure, comfortable being single and living on my own. Throughout college I dreamed of finding Prince Charming and settling down and birthing adorable little babies. Unfortunately, the boys I dated in college, and shortly thereafter, were anything but Prince Charming. Eventually I realized I was having far too much fun simply hanging out with my girlfriends and I figured if Prince Charming existed, he’d come along... Someday.

I should mention that, at the time, I lived in Louisiana and the hubs-to-be lived in Michigan.

Before you think, how in the world...? Let me add that I am originally from Michigan and the vast majority of my family still lives there.

We met in May.

A dear friend was graduating from broadcasting school (in Michigan) and asked me to go to the ceremony and after-party. I had some vacation time, and I hadn’t been home in a while, so I decided to burn two weeks and spend it up north.

Turns out, the hubs-to-be was graduating from broadcasting school, too. At the same time. In the same class. Notable event from the graduation ceremony: My girlfriend’s brother and I sat in one row, while her parents sat two rows behind us. I asked my future in-laws to please move for a moment so I could take a picture of my friend’s parents.

My future husband and I didn’t officially meet at the ceremony. Nope, not yet.

It was at the party, afterward. My friend’s brother and I sat at a table in a corner, indulging in alcoholic beverages and pretending we were commentators on The Talk(or whatever version of that show existed back in 1998), while my social butterfly friend flitted about the room, celebrating with her classmates. At one point, she was out on the dance floor with my hubs-to-be and a few minutes later, she came bee-bopping over to our table.

“Hey, Tami. See that guy out there?” she asked, motioning toward the dance floor.

I nodded.

“He wants to know if you’d be interested in a one-night stand.”

What?!

(The joke I like to tell now a-days is, “He sure ended up with a hell of a long one-night stand.”)

I was naturally affronted and maybe a little intrigued (oh yes, this is reality; you are not reading a novel right now), so I downed the rest of my drink and headed out to the dance floor. To this day, I have no earthly idea what I intended to do or say. All I know is that we immediately began dancing, then we eventually took a break so that I could go to the restroom, and when I returned, he had a plate in his hand with a piece of cheesecake perched on it, and he fed me the cheesecake.

Let me be clear: He fed me cheesecake. Swoon.

I probably would have gone home with him then and there, except the biggest joke of all is that he absolutely was not that kind of guy. He had been trying to be funny. Instead of a laugh, he ended up with a wife. Joke’s on him...?

We spent quite literally every single day of the rest of my vacation together. I met his parents (officially). We discussed bridesmaids and groomsmen (nope, not kidding). I met his best friend, who had to give his stamp of approval before the hubs-to-be could officially date me. (Apparently he had a history of picking up the wrong kind of woman. Maybe he should have changed his pickup line. Or maybe not.)

The day I left to fly back home to Louisiana, I had his demo tape tucked into my luggage. At the time, I worked in PR, and was friendly with the general manager of one of the local television stations located in the city in which I lived. The hubs to be was trying to break into the industry, and wasn’t particular about whether that would occur in his home state of Michigan or somewhere else.

We met on May 1st. The week of Memorial Day, he flew down to visit me and interview for a job at the local television station. They offered him the job that same day. My BFF had to meet him and give her stamp of approval (hey, fair’s fair, right?).

At the end of the week, he flew home and gave his two weeks’ notice at the current job. He moved into my apartment six weeks after we met. And proposed at Christmas. We were married six months later. And still are, 22 years later.

Mostly happily.

So why do I write romance? I guess the answer is: because it happened to me.


Excerpt
“Get up. It’s time to go.”

“I’m already up,” Santos, aka Santa Claus, replied while rolling his hips, which earned him a scowl from me and a giggle from his companion.

I turned to the blond bimbo. Okay, to be fair, I had no idea if she was a bimbo. Santos had the ability to pull pretty much all women from rocket scientists to, er, candy cane lickers under his seductive spell. Truth be told, they all became candy cane lickers once he set his sights on them.

“Listen, honey, he’s a one-and-done kind of guy. He’ll use you to get his rocks off”—Christmas euphemisms were Santos’s thing, not mine—“and walk away and never talk to you again. Is that what you really want?”

She eyed the still-impressive bulge in his shorts. “If I get an orgasm out of it, I’m game.”
Mentally, I slapped my palm against my forehand. In actuality, I ground my teeth. “You’ll be out of luck. Giving, at least in that respect, is not how he rolls.”

“Hey—” Santos started.

“How do you know?” Blondie interrupted.

“Yeah, do tell,” Santos added. “Did I miss something along the way? Did I stuff your stocking and neglect to eat your milk and cookies? Maybe we need a do-over.” He eyed me like I’d seriously ever give him a first time let alone a do-over.

“Never have I ever, and never will I ever,” I proclaimed. “I know of him. His reputation. We’ve run in the same circles for a long time.” A few centuries too long, but who was counting?
Blondie’s focus shifted to my outfit. “Why are you wearing so many clothes?”

“Yeah,” Santos said, “you should take them off. Unwrap that present for me.”

Blondie giggled. I glared at her. “Do you even realize that he’s flirting with me?”

She shrugged. “He flirts with everyone. And everything he says makes Christmas sound so dirty.” There she went, staring at his candy cane again.

I bent and grabbed a sheer wrap and tossed it at her before slapping Santos’s leg. “Time to go, Father Christmas. You’re under my protection now.”

He groaned. “You aren’t seriously still doing that whole saving souls gig, are you, Des?”

“As you well know,” I retorted, “since you’ve been dodging me for days now.”

“Sugar plum, if I’d known you were chasing me, I would have slowed my sleigh so you could have a ride.”

“Don’t fucking call me that.”

He waggled his eyebrows. “Should I call you Mrs. Claus instead?”

“Don’t ever fucking call me that.”

The jerk had the gall to laugh at my obvious indignation.

“Do you ever stop?” I demanded.

He rolled his hips again. “Wanna climb my North Pole and find out?”

About the Author:
Website-FB-Instagram 
Newsletter -Bookbub
Tami Lund—author, wine drinker, award winner. Lover of romance. Writing happily ever afters, one book at a time.

Those happy endings come in contemporary and paranormal, so pick your poison. Or try them all. You’re bound to find something that curls your toes and makes you smile.

Tour Giveaway
1 lucky winner will receive a silver bracelet with a paw print charm



Friday, June 29, 2018

Selah's Manga Mania: Skip Beat!, Vol. 1 (Skip Beat! Graphic Novel) by Yoshiki Nakamura

by Yoshiki Nakamura
August 27, 2013
184 pages
Genre: Comedy, romance Manga
Publisher: VIZ Media: Shojo Bea
Demographic: Shōjo
Volumes: 42
Kyoko knows she's not plain and uninteresting, no matter what Sho says. With the help of a little makeover, Kyoko's ready to exact her revenge. But first she needs to land an audition, and she sets her sights on the agency where Sho's lead rival works. Her persistence pays off, but her broken heart turns out to be a disadvantage. Kyoko has lost the will to love anybody, let alone fans she's never met. Can the agency see past this problem to Kyoko's true star potential?

Sometimes the right title just finds you and it is everything you ever wanted and needed but never realized. Skip Beat is one of my favorite titles, and it’s a unique blend of story, romance, character growth, and wackiness. There’s equal emotions and comedy here, and it all blends into something really special.
Kyoko Mogami is a sixteen-year-old girl who runs away the dude she’s in love with, Sho, to Tokyo where he tries to make it as a musician. She’s worked for his family for a while and they have a lot of history together. So, when he becomes famous, it becomes a massive betrayal when he dismisses and humiliates her, pretty much leaving her on her own far away from home after she left school and took multiple jobs to support him while he was trying to get started.
Any other title, this would be played as a sad, tragic thing and it would focus on getting them back together and reaching understanding.
In this series, Kyoko’s inner ‘pandora bos’ opens and all her inner rage is unleashed. She determines that the obvious course of action is to take revenge and become more famous than Sho. She walks into a talent agency with no experience to audition, catching the attention of the eccentric president when she claims she doesn’t believe in love. The president is all about love. What follows is a long-running series of events where Kyoko slowly trains and develops as an actress, makes multiple friends and enemies in the industry, and slowly develops feelings for her friend/mentor Ren Tsuruga, though they both fight it and he has secrets of his own.

Part rom-con, part I don’t even know what, what really makes this thing work are the characters. Kyoko starts off so spikey and angry, and slowly develops a sense of self through acting and begins to regain her empathy, it’s really a character arc to behold. She’s also fairly naïve and oblivious, which makes a lot of interactions (especially with Ren) super amazing. Ren also is something of a dark horse, and as more of his past is revealed other than just his acting ability, you really get two fantastic characters learning to deal with their emotions before they hopefully get together.  
There are great side characters along the way, and a lot of this series is just so funny. Not even in an unintended sense – there’s some great, great comedy here. There are a lot of fantastic mini-arcs that are just absorbing and you truly grow to feel for everyone in the cast. The pacing is pretty smooth, and it’s always fun to suddenly revisit certain people from volumes upon volumes ago. I also have no idea how accurate any of the entertainment industry stuff is in Japan, but it feels legit, and Kyoko learning her craft is given a really nice amount of time throughout the whole thing.

I started this one on a lark because of the subject matter, but it’s become one of my very favorite series.

The good: everything I just mentioned.

The bad: For me, nothing. Because it is long-running (we’re up to volume 40), it is a time investment, but one that’s well worth it. A lot of the subplots also take their time, so for some people, some bits may feel a bit draggy if you’re not into the subject matter covered.
The ick: I can’t really think of anything. Anything that might raise eyebrows is usually put there because it might (the Cain Siblings arc comes to mind), but it’s fully addressed and the characters’ feelings often mirror what presumably are the reader’s. There’s nothing over the top graphic or violent, though. 
Rating: 5 superstar sheep.





About the Author:
Selah Janel is a writer who is trying to start doing that again instead of reading manga all the time.



Saturday, April 21, 2018

Spotlight: Skinny Pants (The Happy Pants Cafe Series Book 3) by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff + giveaway

Skinny Pants (The Happy Pants Cafe Series Book 3)
by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
April 202018
Genre: Romantic Comedy (Standalone)

ebook, 192 pages

From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff Comes a New, Standalone, Romantic Comedy, SKINNY PANTS.(Book Three, The Happy Pants Café Series.)

SHE ACCIDENTALLY CATFISHED THE PERFECT GUY.

BUT WILL HE EVER LOVE THE REAL HER?

DR. JACK REED has been through hell. His wife cheated on him, broke his heart, and lied for years. But moving on isn't easy, and it's impossible to trust women again. Until he meets Macie, a nurse at his new hospital. There's something about her honest heart that makes him want to fight to get his life back.

NURSE MACIE FRANKLIN was always known as "the fat girl." After decades of failed diets, she doesn't dream of ever being anything but invisible to the opposite sex. One moment of weakness and two glasses of bubbly later, she's in a steamy online chat with "Dr. J-Love" as the fake, size 8, bubbly Catrina.

Their passionate conversation convinces her it's time to make big life changes. But when she goes to see Dr. Reed, the new amazing surgeon everyone's talking about, it's Dr. J-Love! And he's way hotter in person.

They hit it off a second time as friends, but now Macie's heart is at risk of falling hopelessly in love. Will he ever love the real her back?

Happy Pants Café (Prequel)
Free until 6/30

Tailored for Trouble (Book #1)

Leather Pants (Book #2)
On SALE for $0.99 until 6/30



About the Author:
MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling romance author. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dream. Mimi lives with her Latin Lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and the rat terrier duo, Snowflake, and Mini-Me, in Arizona. She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.

GIVEAWAY 


Friday, January 12, 2018

Selah's Manga Mania Reviews: Boys Over Flowers, Vol. 1 (Hana Yori Dango) by Yoko Kamio

Boys Over Flowers, Vol. 1
(Hana Yori Dango)
by Yoko Kamio
October 29, 2013
36 total volumes
208 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media, shōjo 
Genre: Romantic comedy, teen, YA
Tsukushi Makino is accepted into the prestigious, Eitoku Academy. Life changes dramatically for Tsukushi when her friend falls on Tsukasa Domyoji. Tsukasa is the explosive leader of the "F4," a group of the most powerful, rich and handsome boys. Domyoji refuses to accept Makiko's apology and Tsukushi steps in to protect her friend. A red tag appears in the Tsukushi's locker the next morning which is a sign from the F4 that she is to be bullied by the school. Tskushi continues to stand up to her oppressors.

So, obviously, I’ve developed a thing for sparkly, dramatic, over-the-top shojo manga through the years. Partially, it’s what I’ve been exposed to, partially it’s because some series do some really interesting things and tangent into unique areas before coming back to the main plot. Admittedly, it’s also because even if it’s not something I’m a million percent down with story-wise, I’ll absolutely get behind it if it’s completely cracked out and over-the-top.

This does not mean it is bad. It just means it’s different and I’m likely reading shojo for reasons that differ from the rest of humanity.

With that in mind, I’ll likely be going through some shojo (or shoujo) titles in the next few weeks, because we’re ramping up toward Valentine’s Day, winter is an opportune time for cuddly romance, and honestly some of these titles are just so balls-out ridiculous it’s amazing.

With that in mind, we’ll start with one of the classics.

Boys over Flowers (or Hana Yori Dango), might seem familiar to some because it’s been interpreted as an anime, a J-drama (Japanese drama), a K-drama (Korean drama), and all sorts of other dramas. Seriously, if you want a long-term romance series, this is the big daddy out there. This is the best-selling shojo manga of all time. And it is amazing.

Tsukushi is a poor student whose family has managed to get her into Eitoku Academy, school to the rich. The other students consider her beneath them, a weed (which is emphasized by her name, one of the little things English readers might not always pick up on). The school is socially ruled by the F4, a clique of 4 of the most elite, richest, hottest dudes in the school which is led by Tsukasa Domyouji. After a confrontation with the group, he takes an interest in her. They start off as massive adversaries and eventually, there is mutual interest and the rest of the series is more or less them trying to stay together/be given a chance together.

This is the severe cliff notes version because this thing is like 36 volumes long. And it’s worth every bit of it. This ain’t your typical CW angst show material, yo (Though it should absolutely be a CW show. Why we don’t have a version of this makes me want to scream into the void).

Highlights include:

A love triangle between Tsukushi, Tsukasa, and Rui (another F4 that is partially attempted to be solved by basketball at one point.

Various times the school goes after Tsukushi at Tuskasa’s whim, but then he changes his mind – this includes a moment where he gathers the thugs who went after Tsukushi, strings them up by their ankles from the roof of the school, then encourages Tsukushi to cut them down and let them fall.

Rui’s model friend that he was in love with but never confessed to because of how he relates to people shows up so the love triangle becomes a weird square until she decides to become a lawyer.

Tsukasa has an arranged fiancé he doesn’t know about because half this series is his mother trying to prevent him from marrying down.

There are lookalikes of various characters.


Various characters are framed in certain situations that they then have to figure out

Tsukasa has amnesia at one point and by then the rest of the F4 is helping him get together with Tsukushi so they have to un-amnesia him

Various moments when Tsukasa and Tsukushi go on random field trips (where like the whole school is apparently shoved on a big boat and goes to an island or goes skiing or whatnot) and they get lost or thrown into situations that almost lead to intimacy but not quite.

So typical high school stuff, amirite?

I mean you could use this series as a list of shojo tropes and I’m sure some of you are wondering what I’m on at the moment.

Joy. I’m on joy, my dudes. And chocolate.


Here’s the thing: through it all, it works because of the characters. To start, neither Tsukasa or Tsukushi is terribly likable. We root for Tsukushi because we’re more like her (well most of us probably are), but she’s not a typical nicey-nice heroine. She’s prickly. She’s defiant. She’s stubborn, and not in accessible ways. She’s awesome. Tsukasa may start off somewhat borderline psychotic (and I get this only works because fiction), but his experiences with Tsukushi cultivate his empathy (and really that of all the F4).

There are some fantastic moments with side characters and it’s really interesting that this series choose to develop some rival characters into friends for the protagonist. Because it’s so long, it can do things that movies/series/books we’re used to can’t really do and venture into territory they don’t. A lot of the cast ends up sticking around or popping back up, and have their own moments with other side characters that lead to them slowly changing their views.

It’s a decent look at the economic strains of Japan and something that I think we really don’t always try to understand. You get a look at how Tsukushi’s father is handling the recession and what that means for her and others – and because her rich classmates just don’t get it because they don’t have to deal with that sort of thing, it’s a contradiction and setting that brings about some really interesting and funny moments.



Yeah, you’re going to get frustrated with the characters, but you also grow to develop a love for them. You want things to work out, even if in the real world they probably wouldn’t. You end up not minding all the bizarre twists and turns and drama because it’s different drama than what we see in our entertainment every day. Granted, I prefer the mid to end of the series because I do think it’s a little bumpy to start (especially if you’re not used to reading these kinds of plots), and I like some moments more than others, but I will always love Boys Over Flowers. It was my first long series that I read and remains one of the best.

And seriously, let’s have our own drama version already because I maintain this is one of the few things that could be adapted somewhat easily and still work.

F5 sheep






***
About Selah Janel:
Selah Janel is a writer who is trying to start doing that again instead of reading manga all the time.