Luke's Anime Reviews #1: Soul Eater NOT!

Prequels are an interesting case in any medium. Usually, they're released after an original series has had success. Sometimes they're focused on the same characters before the events of the main story, or the leads are completely different characters. Things like The Kill Order by James Dashner, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, or The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare (with more stuff from her on the way, much to everyone's joy and anger) are examples in the book world, and Fate/Zero sticks out as a primary example in anime. They seem to only attract people who have read the stuff that came before it, which seems strange to me. Wouldn't some people prefer to go into the work that takes place before the main book or series starts?

Soul Eater NOT! is another one of those special cases. First published as a spin-off to Soul Eater in January 2011, the series took place prior to the events in the first series and with different characters as the leads. The minute I saw the manga at Barnes & Noble, I knew it would eventually be adapted into an anime series, and when the announcement arrived, I wasn't surprised in the slightest. I managed to watch a couple of episodes as it was airing in the spring of 2014, but I wasn't able to finish the series until as of recently, when I got the chipboard box set for my birthday.

For some reason, people love to hate on this series, mostly because of its animation and because it's the complete opposite of Soul Eater in pretty much every aspect. I've only been able to watch 25 episodes of the original series in the past 3 years, which is really unfortunate (I mean, I got the series for Christmas 2 years ago, you would think that I would be caught up now). Alas, I still wanted to experience Soul Eater NOT!, and I knew I would be in for a fun ride.

So what happened? Did Soul Eater NOT! turn out to be fun? Or was it disappointing?

Luke's Music Reviews #3: Delirium by Ellie Goulding

Sometimes, people stumble upon a new artist that they immediately like randomly. It could be through a song that plays on the radio, a scroll through iTunes to look at the New Artists section (or Single of the Week, back in the day), or an ad that pops up on YouTube or on TV. No matter the case, anything can happen, and it allows people to acquire a new favorite singer or group.

My brother first stumbled upon Ellie Goulding on a random trip through the UK Amazon to see new Rainbow Magic books (we were very weird children). I immediately found her pretty (I had a blonde obsession as a child; again, I was weird) and I was interested in listening to her. I took the first step in searching up her music, found "Lights" in April 2011, and was immediately hooked. That song stuck in my memory for a while, and when it began to grace mainstream radio airwaves in early 2012, I was surprised. At the time, Goulding gaining success here in the US boggled my mind, but now, three years later, we have her third album, Delirium, and the successes of "Lights", "Anything Could Happen", "Burn", and the surprise hit in "Love Me Like You Do."

When this new album was announced, I became really excited, and the first single "On My Mind" was great. However, I felt it lacked some of Goulding's identity on the first couple of listens. Since those first listens, the song has grown on me massively, and with every pre-order single that came out, my hopes grew and grew.

Plus, Goulding herself stated that she wanted to take this record in a grandiose pop direction, and judging from all of the songs that came out before hand, she had succeeded that goal. But would a full length album deliver? And would I enjoy it as much as I had enjoyed Lights, Halcyon, and Halcyon Days?

Luke's Book Reviews #7: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Complex or high fantasies are always polarizing for readers like me. On the one hand, they could have great characters and an interesting world with hidden cracks for people to discover. On the other hand, they can be incredibly slow in terms of their pacing and not have the right elements in order to really make them pop. Series like Throne of Glass or A Song of Ice and Fire are great examples of this kind of genre, and while they can draw readers in, they can also turn them away due to their lengths.

Leigh Bardugo's debut novel, Shadow and Bone, was a shorter high fantasy novel that proved to be a disappointment. While the Grisha and the setting provided some interesting imagery and characters, most of the book felt cliche and incredibly underwhelming. The writing was all right but average, the main character was annoying, and the romance/love triangle was even more frustrating (don't get me started on AlinaxMal). For me, it felt like a stereotypical YA fantasy that was perfect for a crowd who wanted the same old tropes but repackaged.

Meanwhile, Bardugo's newest book did not seem to have the same problems. Six of Crows looked exciting and thrilling based on its synopsis, but it also looked much more complex, and based on the incredibly positive reviews coming in, people were enjoying it. I had my doubts, but mostly I was excited to see if Leigh Bardugo had improved from her first work.

So, was Six of Crows a disappointment? Or was it everything I was hoping for, and maybe even a little bit more than that?

Luke's Book Reviews #6: This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki

When I was growing up, I stumbled upon a graphic novel series called Babymouse in Barnes & Noble. This sparked a genuine interest in picking up the third book called Beach Babe, and I immediately became hooked. To this day, some of my funniest memories come from reading that pink, black, and white series, and because of Babymouse, I've picked up graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier and read manga ranging in genres from shonen to shojo.

My occasional thirst for graphic novels and manga still remains today, and sometimes I need a break from the occasional YA fantasy or realistic fiction book. That's why I decided to pick up This One Summer. I hadn't heard much about it going in, but I did see the Printz Honor and Caldecott Honor stamps, which meant that this book had been met with critical acclaim. Would that mean that I would like it? I decided to read and find out.;

So how was This One Summer? Was it a nice break from all of those novels? Or was it an ultimately forgettable experience?

The Story Behind Duet

Duet started with my own personal need to write a realistic fiction novel. Despite writing two trilogies with fantastical features (one more science fiction and the other fantasy), I wanted to take a break from inventing new worlds and having people possess special powers. I wanted to write a novel that wouldn't be surprising to find in Sarah Dessen's collection, a novel where the setting was realistic (albeit with some minor changes) with a teenager going through a coming of age experience with a developing romance on the side (because you know I love my romance).

But there was going to be something different: the romance I had in mind was a gay one.

Gay romance isn't anything new in the YA market (I've stressed this before in my Boy Meets Boy review, where I also went into a brief rant about the unequal representation in mainstream New Adult and Adult fiction), and I have actually written three Bleach Hollow Ichigo (Hichigo) and Ichigo fanfictions featuring that explicitly (one was a one-shot called Beating Heart, and the other was a multi-chapter AU that I'm still incredibly proud of to this day, Claws of a Dragon; the third one is forthcoming). But I had never invented male characters who had feelings for other male characters, and this was a great opportunity to try this out. Plus, I wanted this to be a full-length novel of at least 50,000 words (much like the average length of a NaNiWriMo novel), not under 25,000.

But you may be wondering: why a gay romance, Luke? What was so bad about writing heterosexual romances? My answer to those questions is absolutely nothing, but it has to do with one of the key phrases I've kept in mind while writing this novel.

I've always said several times before that Duet is my most personal novel to date. Every single time I've typed in those words, I have meant it. Duet was partly inspired by my own questioning sexuality, and although it's played rather simply in the novel (Cam doesn't question his sexuality for one minute anywhere in Duet, only what his parents might think), it's been a lot more complicated in real life.

Luke's Music Reviews #2: Honeymoon by Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey's career has been quite the interesting topic to discuss. Literally coming out of nowhere with her debut major label album, Born to Die, and met with polarizing reviews from music critics for the two years afterwards, she became an elusive part of the indie scene until the Cedric Gervais remix of her song "Summertime Sadness" got her some mainstream coverage. I first heard about her in 2012 through VH1, and three years later, I can state that I've become a real fan of hers. It's something about her ethereal persona and the lush atmospheres that she has for her songs that has me coming back.

With her second album, Ultraviolence, things took a turn for the better. Music critics started to fall in love with her music, and the album received collectively positive reviews (meanwhile, some YouTube critics just wanted Ultraviolence to jump off the face of the earth). That album was definitely one of my favorites of last year, as Lana's lyrics and singing blended perfectly with the 70's surf rock instrumentals and the subdued darkness the album had. Even if some of the songs went on for a little too long, I still found myself drawn to the complicated character that is Lana Del Rey.

Fast forward a year later, and we already have a new album from Del Rey. This record, Honeymoon, focuses on the same themes that she has touched upon time and time again, but this time, she worked and co-produced with only two main producers: Rick Nowels and Kieron Menzies. With her new content being worked on by one of the people she's worked with in the past, and with an album solely produced by herself and two other people, did Lana deliver another winner? Or was this album a disappointment?

Luke's Book Reviews #5: Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa

Realistic fiction has always been one of my biggest staples when it comes to reading. Sure, I like fantasy worlds and futuristic societies, but books about real life experiences set in the modern day will always stay close to my heart, especially now that I'm growing up. That's why most of the books I read are in this genre, this book included.

I was immediately sucked into reading this book via the tagline: "This is a story of a girl, her gay best friend, and the boy in love with both of them." The possibility of a bisexual love triangle was calling out to me, and the actual plot itself sounded interesting. Books about characters breaking out of their shells are always fun to read, and when I got this book from the library, I was ready to become a fan of Fans of the Impossible Life.

What exactly happened in Fans of the Impossible Life? Was it a rewarding, satisfying read that followed interesting characters and a heartfelt character arc? Or was it an average, run-of-the-mill realistic fiction novel that did nothing to stand out?

Luke's Book Reviews #4: Cut Both Ways by Carrie Mesrobian

Out of all the LGBT fiction books out there, bisexuality really hasn't made much of an appearance. From my perspective, half of the LGBT books have been focused on gay couples, 1/4 on lesbians, and 1/4 on the others, bisexual and transgender characters included. Don't get me right, I will be all over gay romance YA books in a heartbeat (and yes, I'm not ashamed to admit that), but there's always more room for diversity, you know?

When I first read the synopsis for Cut Both Ways, I immediately hit the TBR button on Goodreads. I mean, I rarely see bisexuality in any of the books I read, and from the way the synopsis sounded, this sounded like a perfect self-discovery book for someone my age to read.

I've had my own confusions about my sexuality, and sometimes I turn to books to see how authors write their own characters in situations like my imagination. So, without much further thought, I put Cut Both Ways on hold at my library and waited patiently for it to come in. Once I got it, I was already flipping through the pages.

Now comes the difficult part. How was Cut Both Ways? Was it a moving book that was written well and had a character that I could like? Or was it the exact opposite of what I wanted?

Luke's Music Reviews #1: E•MO•TION by Carly Rae Jepsen

Who has heard of "Call Me Maybe"? Pretty much everybody? Alright, I was predicting that outcome.

The song that I just mentioned threw Carly Rae Jepsen into the spotlight in 2012 after her debut off Canadian Idol and a debut album, giving the Canadian singer-songwriter a 9x platinum designation here in the US (which is crazy). The album that the single appeared on, Kiss, was nice, but I never really found it to be remarkable. The songs are cute and sweet (not to mention most are undeniably catchy), but I found it kind of odd for a woman in her late 20's to sing about love like she was still a teenager. Some of the instrumentals were also very sugary, and none of the songs really clicked together to make a strong album statement,

Sadly (and unfortunately), the only really successful single off Kiss was "Call Me Maybe", and although more singles were released (including the sneaking-behind-the-lovers'-backs song "This Kiss" or the accurately named "Tonight I'm Getting Over You", not to mention the collaboration with Owl City on "Good Time"), none of them made the splash that "Call Me Maybe" ever did. As a result, Carly Rae Jepsen mostly faded out of the spotlight, and most of the American public was left to assume she'd be left as a one hit wonder.

And then along came March 2015, when "I Really Like You" first dropped, the lead single to a new album from Jepsen. I was surprised when I found it on Spotify the first Tuesday of March, and I immediately attached onto it. Sure, the naivete of "Call Me Maybe" was still present, but the beat was much more lush and extravagant, perfectly fitting that person teetering on the precipice of falling in love but not being quite there yet.

After listening to "I Really Like You" several times, I knew that Carly deserved another chance. Maybe I needed some more of that cuteness that had felt at times lackluster during Kiss; maybe I would find some of that simpler Carly that had been on songs from her debut album, Tug of War (which I haven't listened to all of yet, but all of the tracks I've heard have been great). At the same time, I was thinking that it would be similar to Kiss in that it would be juvenile in some aspects, so I went in with mixed expectations.

So how was E•MO•TION? Was it as I expected? Or did it succeed my expectations and turn out to be a surprisingly great album?

Luke's Book Reviews #3: Burying Water by K.A. Tucker

New Adult is one of those genres that has popped up a lot in the past couple of years. The term was coined to signify novels in the age group of about 18 to 22 year olds (and a little above that) to provide a middle ground between young adult and adult fiction. The genre includes mostly college aged people finding love, and romantic scenes are a lot more explicit than in YA (they're probably close to the level of some erotic adult romances).

Although there are some that are light and fluffy, others have a bit of an edge to them. Examples that immediately pop into my head are After by Anna Todd (which I gave up on around the halfway point because the book wasn't that great) and Confess by Colleen Hoover (which I read and thoroughly enjoyed). The former focused on an on-and-off relationship that was abusive at some parts, while the latter was more attentive to a budding relationship with an artist and hairdresser (both with their own secrets). But there are definitely other ones than the two I mentioned, and I definitely believe this would fall onto that list.

I first found Burying Water at Barnes & Noble on a Realistic Romance endcap. Reading the synopsis made me very intrigued, as I realized that it was more of a romantic suspense novel than just a plain romance. I later discovered that this book is actually the first in a (so far) four book series (the books are unrelated and could be read out of order or randomly, but are read best in order because characters from previous books are mentioned, show up, or are explained) which has different forms of water in the titles (hence why I will name this series the Water series). Knowing that, I was further convinced that I would start here in the lines of books in K.A. Tucker's collection, instead of beginning with Ten Tiny Breaths (an originally self-published book that managed to be picked up by a major publishing company and made her a household name).

So, how was Burying Water? Did it keep me on the edge of my toes, but did it also have me swooning? Or was most of it boring and dull, with the romance having no real drive to make it interesting?

How Not to Do Romance (and How to Do It Right)

Romance is in practically every single book I pick up these days. It may not even be a romance book in particular; most science fiction trilogies, mysteries, and even coming-of-age stories usually have a romance alongside them. Some people absolutely despise romance, but I really enjoy it. When done well, the development of a relationship between two individuals can be fascinating and beautiful. When they finally reach the highest point, I love the exhilaration that comes knowing those people deserve it.

However, there's a right way and a wrong way to do romance. As an aspiring writer, I constantly pay attention to the methods authors use so I can figure out what to do in my own work. Some authors make relationships work for me, while others turn them into confusing contradictions or laughingstocks. You never want to make me cackle up a storm when a couple shares their first kiss, and you never want to make me roll my eyes when the couple has sex. Here are some of my pet peeves involving romance and how to improve them.

Luke's Book Reviews #2: Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

I really like gay romance in fiction. I just find a relationship between two people of the same gender (mostly two boys) absolutely fascinating, and I really love that some people in real life have chosen to stay true to who they are and not live up to the straight status quo and pretend to be someone they're not. However, I don't feel as if these kinds of books have ever really been part of the mainstream reading world outside of young adult. Sure, you have titles like Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, More Happy Than Not, Lies My Girlfriend Told Me, and others from the past five years or so in young adult, but I almost never really see it in the adult romance or fiction sections at the bookstore (maybe that's because I mainly focus on young adult and hardly spend my time elsewhere, but no matter how many times I've looked, I've never found a new adult or adult gay romance published from major companies (they're published a lot more independently)).

I don't know if this is because gay romance is a harder thing to sell in a different market (like adult or children's), or if publishers think teenagers relate to sexuality the most and don't think other people experience it too. I think that's not true, because I'm pretty sure there are kindergartners right now who may have different kinds of feelings (feelings for same sex, want to be different gender), but don't feel as if they can read anything that supports that.

Young adult fiction had that phase too, and this was one of the books that changed it. Boy Meets Boy was first published in 2003 (another well-known YA book with LGBT characters, Geography Club, was also released in that year) and was very blunt about what it was. When you see the title of the book and relate that to the candy hearts, you immediately know "This is a gay romance". Some people would turn away at this point, but I was very much intrigued. Like I said before, I love reading about guys kissing (the fanfictions have affected my brain), but I also knew that this book was going to be a light and fluffy read filled with fun times (my brother also absolutely adored it).

So how was this book? Were the 185 pages (yes, that's how long it is) cute and fun, filled with a cute romance, real teen issues, and things I could relate to? Or was it a disappointment?

Luke's Book Reviews #1: The Revenge Playbook by Rachael Allen

I'm going to admit something that will make football players want to aim their throws directly at me. I'm not a big fan of football.

It might have something to do with the actual game (I do not want a concussion to be the highlight of my high school career), the players (some of the people who play the sport at my school are a bunch of jerks I'd rather not associate with), or a combination of other factors (picking up the morning after a college football game is a little disgusting, to be honest). To sum up my feelings, I find it boring, irritating, and it's just not in my field of interests.

Let me wait a second until all the pitchforks are gone. Are we good? Great. Let's continue.

When I saw that this book was about a group of girls getting revenge on their high school football team, I was immediately excited. I occasionally see a book every now and then about revenge, but against the football team? That's a whole new level of awesome. 

But I was still a little nervous about starting this story. Rachael Allen's first novel, 17 First Kisses, had received polarizing reviews from Goodreads reviewers, and some had deemed the book the kind that put a romance with the "OMG HE'S SO CUTE" new guy over a previously established friendship (to be honest, that sounds like a bunch of other love triangle romance ridden contemporary novels). When the positive ratings came in for this book (most notably from a famous Goodreads reviewer by the name of Khanh, who has written some of the harshest reviews I've ever seen), I let out a sigh of relief. Because of those, I went into this book ready to like it.

How did The Revenge Playbook play out (no pun intended)? Was it shallow and focused more on romance or criticizing other girls' choices (this is also known as *gulp* slut-shaming)? Or was it an empowering novel that focused on a group of positive girls that wanted a difference to be made and their points about females proven?

Indecision

Ah, indecisiveness. That stubborn personality trait that makes you unable to make a decision. Sometimes, even after you make a decision, you have regrets, doubts that linger in your head and scream out that you've made the wrong choice. To be blunt, indecisiveness may be my worst trait besides my impatience and my lack of confidence in some situations, because there are some decisions I have to make that I'm not so sure about when they're all said and done.

I've finished writing a story called Duet, which is about a boy discovering who he really is and falling in love with another boy (yes, a gay romance). Some of the scenes in the book might not be appropriate for the young adult genre (those scenes involve sex), and while writing them, I've constantly had to go back and forth to decide what to put down, what not to put down, what's okay to talk about, and what I should keep on the down-low so readers can imagine what's going on for themselves.

A lot of the conversations in my head went like this:

All right, so in this scene, Cam and Kyle are going to do...stuff. Let's try this word.

Yes, Luke. That's perfect! By not being specific in some scenes, you're taking away from what you want to talk about. That's why this works!

No, that doesn't work AT ALL. You're not an erotica author, so you can't make the sex as smutty as possible. CHANGE IT!!!!!

Um...what if  what I just said is too much? Maybe I should edit it.

Luke, it's perfectly fine! You have nothing to worry about. You're writing this the way you want to, so you shouldn't doubt yourself.

Yes, please edit it! What if people see this and question you for it? That would be awful! Make it as ambiguous as possible.

No, it's fine!

It's anything but fine. Change it!

No!

Yes!

NO!

YES!

NO!

YES x1000!

*grits teeth*