Bookish Wednesday: Cherry Blossom Girls by Harmon Cooper

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m back with another LitRPG, sort of. It’s Cherry Blossom Girls by Harmon Cooper!

Plot Synopsis: I was a just normal guy until the night the cherry blossoms bloomed, the night that Grace appeared on my doorstep. A failed sci-fi writer, a gamer, but a normal guy nonetheless. Grace was everything I was not, a psychic shifter, beautiful beyond my wildest imagination, a government conspiracy waiting to be unraveled…

Plot: The plot of this is rather bland. Honestly while it takes a ton of influences, and states what those are, it also isn’t turning it into something new or interesting. If you’ve ever read the original Elfen Lied manga you’ll know the story of the book pretty freaking quick. It’s not new, and it’s not that great. Another thing against it is that the book is constantly swamped with our main character’s, Gideon, thoughts. It’s also a plot point, Gideon is constantly thinking about things, and usually in a rather stupid way. There are some clever tricks, but honestly the guy is like a giant walking self-insert for the author and it’s not even attempting to be subtle.

Characters: Our leads are okay characters, with our two female leads being much more interesting than Gideon. Honestly I’d almost rather have her be our main Point of View except that we’d still get to hear all of Gideon’s thoughts anyways.

Overall: A mediocre LitRPGish story that has heavy influences by a ton of things, including Elfen Lied, but doesn’t really innovate at all. The fact that our lead is a self insert of the author doesn’t help at all.

For those who like: Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi, LitRPGs, Action, Drama.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Sensate Saturday: Elfen Lied by Okamoto Lynn

This week I’m back with a series I read a few years ago, and kept meaning to cover, for this week’s Sensate Saturday! It’s Elfen Lied, or Elf Song in German, by Okamoto Lynn!

Plot Synopsis: Elfen Lied takes place in Kamakura, Japan, and focuses on the “Diclonius”, a newly mutated species.

Plot: This series is incredibly screwed up and I honestly think that reading this didn’t help me with the depression I was feeling at the time. I won’t spoil anything, but it’s violent and has nudity. So forewarning there.  It is however quite good and is easily one of the better series I’ve ever read.

Characters: Kohta and Yuka are my two favorite characters, but the entire cast is great character wise. I don’t necessarily like them, as some of them are psychotic assholes who get off on committing atrocities, but character development wise they are excellent.

Art: The art is incredibly detailed, almost to the point where it can make you physically sick if you don’t have an iron-clad stomach. But hey that’s part of the lure of this series.

Overall: If you can deal with the massive amounts of violence, and less amounts of nudity, and enjoy a great Sci-Fi Thriller this is your series.

For those who like: Thrillers, Sci-Fi, Excellent Plot, Fantastic Characters, Amazing Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, or lots of Violence and Nudity.