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Whoever Steals This Book #1
Whoever Steals This Book (Manga), Vol. 1
In a town where people live surrounded by books, there is a library overflowing with endless tomes―the Mikurakan. Its founder was Mifuyu’s great-grandfather, and her father is its manager…but Mifuyu herself hates books. One day, a collection of books is stolen, and a mysterious message is left behind. “Whoever steals this book shall be pursued by the flag of magical realism.” Thus, the town begins to shift into something out of a tale…and Mifuyu realizes she must venture into the worlds of stories to save her home!
184 pages, Paperback
First published June 3, 2022
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314 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
March 13, 2024
The town of Yomunaga is renowned for its books and most especially the books of the Mikura family. Mifuyu is heir to this legacy and could not care less about books. Then a wolf girl shows up, curses get involved, and it all gets complicated. But does it get better?
Young girl learns to love reading with adorable sidekick/partner, magic books are involved, the city as a whole keeps getting reimagined by said curses. You would think that this is a concept the couldn’t possibly miss. And yet.
This feels, ultimately, like the bones of a very good story, covered with a patchwork of disparate ideas that don’t have enough connective tissue to quite pull it together. It’s fine at what it does, to a point, but what it’s doing isn’t much.
Oh, it seems like it has it all together, but, in its entirely reasonable effort to get to the good stuff, that big dump of information at the start both betrays and is betrayed by its novel origins. In short, it forgets to make the reader give a damn.
Oh no, that one guy and the girl he’s interested in have totally changed! If we’d spent more than a single page with them by this point, I might have cared. The story is at odds with itself - it needs to set the groundwork to make the later parts more resonant, but it can’t make that groundwork particularly interesting.
Mifuyu’s thing is that she hates books. Beyond that? She’s grumpy because she hates books and everybody else in town loves them. There’s just nothing to ground the more fantastical circumstances she finds herself in.
She gets paired with the seemingly normal Mashiro, who quickly turns out to be a literal furry. At least she isn’t a cat-girl for a change, but if you asked me to tell you a single character trait about her beyond ‘expository’? Could not do it.
Another part of the problem? Near as I can tell, these books don’t exist. I was trying to suss out if that first story was an actual folktale, but it sure doesn’t look like it. Given the number of stories that have fallen into the public domain over the years, well, throw that on the heap of missed opportunities.
I will allow that the second book segment seems infinitely more interesting because it shifts to another genre entirely. I’m not saying that the first doesn’t capture the vibe of magical realism, but there’s got to be something they could have bounced off that was already written.
It’s not entirely that they’re made-up, but more that the weak writing keeps compounding itself. At least a swerve to something real could have made up for some of its other deficiencies.
Few things are as much of a bummer as a story that looks set to give you everything you want and then falls monstrously short of that goal. There’s a note in the afterward that makes me think the source material wasn’t exactly solid to begin with and that might be part of the problem.
You’ve got two underwritten characters in an overwritten world that doesn’t write about what it needs to make you care about either. You can’t just pull weird stuff from nowhere as an excuse for not doing the work. Compared this the first volume of the utterly bizarre Coffee Moon, which did so much weirdness but never forgot to remind the reader why they should care.
2.5 stars - there’s a good pairing in the making with Mifuyu and Mashiro, but I genuinely don’t know if I feel like slogging through a second volume of this to find out. Laborious; the reward is not commensurate with the effort.
Young girl learns to love reading with adorable sidekick/partner, magic books are involved, the city as a whole keeps getting reimagined by said curses. You would think that this is a concept the couldn’t possibly miss. And yet.
This feels, ultimately, like the bones of a very good story, covered with a patchwork of disparate ideas that don’t have enough connective tissue to quite pull it together. It’s fine at what it does, to a point, but what it’s doing isn’t much.
Oh, it seems like it has it all together, but, in its entirely reasonable effort to get to the good stuff, that big dump of information at the start both betrays and is betrayed by its novel origins. In short, it forgets to make the reader give a damn.
Oh no, that one guy and the girl he’s interested in have totally changed! If we’d spent more than a single page with them by this point, I might have cared. The story is at odds with itself - it needs to set the groundwork to make the later parts more resonant, but it can’t make that groundwork particularly interesting.
Mifuyu’s thing is that she hates books. Beyond that? She’s grumpy because she hates books and everybody else in town loves them. There’s just nothing to ground the more fantastical circumstances she finds herself in.
She gets paired with the seemingly normal Mashiro, who quickly turns out to be a literal furry. At least she isn’t a cat-girl for a change, but if you asked me to tell you a single character trait about her beyond ‘expository’? Could not do it.
Another part of the problem? Near as I can tell, these books don’t exist. I was trying to suss out if that first story was an actual folktale, but it sure doesn’t look like it. Given the number of stories that have fallen into the public domain over the years, well, throw that on the heap of missed opportunities.
I will allow that the second book segment seems infinitely more interesting because it shifts to another genre entirely. I’m not saying that the first doesn’t capture the vibe of magical realism, but there’s got to be something they could have bounced off that was already written.
It’s not entirely that they’re made-up, but more that the weak writing keeps compounding itself. At least a swerve to something real could have made up for some of its other deficiencies.
Few things are as much of a bummer as a story that looks set to give you everything you want and then falls monstrously short of that goal. There’s a note in the afterward that makes me think the source material wasn’t exactly solid to begin with and that might be part of the problem.
You’ve got two underwritten characters in an overwritten world that doesn’t write about what it needs to make you care about either. You can’t just pull weird stuff from nowhere as an excuse for not doing the work. Compared this the first volume of the utterly bizarre Coffee Moon, which did so much weirdness but never forgot to remind the reader why they should care.
2.5 stars - there’s a good pairing in the making with Mifuyu and Mashiro, but I genuinely don’t know if I feel like slogging through a second volume of this to find out. Laborious; the reward is not commensurate with the effort.
January 17, 2025
Super cute manga. The plot isn’t super organized but the vibes were there and that’s all that matters 😌
March 29, 2024
A promising start, curious where the series will go with this.
March 16, 2024
Whoever Steals This Book Volume One started off on such a promising start a town dedicated to books something only I can dream of in a magical world. Only I could not connect with the two main characters Mifuyu is so discount from her family's legacy she has blocked her family and friends out of her life so she never have to read a book again.
Only after this mysterious wolf girl has appeared does she slowly start to read again to break her family's curse and save the town who keeps stealing her great grandfather's books. It all feels a little bit flat especially with story developing from a online webtoon I feel like more of the story could be explained before the series starts.
One of the highlights is the beautiful front cover which attracted me to the manga on the bookshelf. I am a avid book reader I have to see where this series is going before buying Volume Two.
Only after this mysterious wolf girl has appeared does she slowly start to read again to break her family's curse and save the town who keeps stealing her great grandfather's books. It all feels a little bit flat especially with story developing from a online webtoon I feel like more of the story could be explained before the series starts.
One of the highlights is the beautiful front cover which attracted me to the manga on the bookshelf. I am a avid book reader I have to see where this series is going before buying Volume Two.
April 21, 2025
The world building is fantastic from the first page. It totally immerses you and plunges you into the icy depths of the world, sucking you in deeper.
I read a scholarly theory one time that there are realms created when a reader consumes the written work of an author. That fresh realm lives inside the mind of the reader, birthed by their combined minds and is now given endless opportunity as an alternate reality housed inside one person’s mind. The theory isn’t talking about engrossment and imagination; it’s a real theory about alternate realities.
Whoever Steals This Book reminds me of this theory. It doesn’t paint the picture exactly the same nor do I even think it’s trying to suggest anything along the lines of that theory, but I do wonder if one of those endless realities would look something like this; a curse over a town and the family who is exempt from the curse is able to run amok inside it, chosen to solve the crime. It’s such an intriguing narrative and I’m here to read more. I want to explore this world further.
I read a scholarly theory one time that there are realms created when a reader consumes the written work of an author. That fresh realm lives inside the mind of the reader, birthed by their combined minds and is now given endless opportunity as an alternate reality housed inside one person’s mind. The theory isn’t talking about engrossment and imagination; it’s a real theory about alternate realities.
Whoever Steals This Book reminds me of this theory. It doesn’t paint the picture exactly the same nor do I even think it’s trying to suggest anything along the lines of that theory, but I do wonder if one of those endless realities would look something like this; a curse over a town and the family who is exempt from the curse is able to run amok inside it, chosen to solve the crime. It’s such an intriguing narrative and I’m here to read more. I want to explore this world further.
June 8, 2025
A cute little story that has some fun character to it, though its lure is mostly in how weird it is (as admitted by the author of the original novel). I got this from the local library and will definitely get the next one if I see it, but I won't go out hunting for it
December 24, 2025
This book was good. It was just like kind of hard to like catch up on it because there was a lot of things going on at the same time, but I will go onto the next series because it was still good.
February 21, 2026
Interesting premise that I wish had a better execution.
July 20, 2025
It was a tough start. Very vague concept to grasp.
But it got better. It ends on a clifhanger, and I plan to read part 2, to see how it continues.
But it got better. It ends on a clifhanger, and I plan to read part 2, to see how it continues.
August 16, 2024
Decent plot, but empty in execution. There's virtually no characterization, not even of the main character. Her sole defining characteristic is that she hates books, but that just isn't enough to hang an entire book on. The execution of the book hopping plot ends up feeling haphazard, and honestly the writing just doesn't elevate any of the stories that the main character gets stuck in.
April 6, 2024
Yomunaga is a town of books. This began with Mifuyu Mikura’s great-grandfather, a bibliophile and collector who founded Mikura Hall, a splendid private library. This drew other book-lovers to the vicinity and bookstores to serve them. His daughter kept up the tradition, initially, but grew discouraged and paranoid because of thefts from the hall. So, shortly before Mifuyu was born, Mikura Hall was closed to the public.
Due to some bad experiences with adults critiquing her reading habits as a child, and people trying to exploit her to gain access to Mikura Hall, plus resentment at her family’s financial circumstances, Mifuyu has grown up hating books. She doesn’t read for pleasure, and outside school, not for information. And now is a particularly bad time in her life. Her widowed martial artist father has been hospitalized, so the dojo isn’t bringing in any money, and her neurodivergent aunt Hirune basically lives in Mikura Hall and can’t handle things like shopping for food or clothes by herself, living only for the books.
Mifuyu brings a meal to her aunt, only to find her asleep and un-awakeable, with an odd piece of paper in her hand. It’s a talisman reading “whoever steals this book shall be chased by the flags of magical realism.” There’s a breeze in the sealed room, and a girl in Mifuyu’s school uniform but with pure white hair appears.
This girl is Mashiro, and she says that a book has been stolen from the library, which has triggered a transformation of the town to trap the thief. She insists that the only way to undo the transformation and catch the thief is to read another book, “The Brothers of the Lush Village.” And as she reads, Mifuyu finds herself inside the world of the story….
This manga is based on a serialized web novel. The basic notion of “child enters the stories of books to rekindle a love of reading” is one I’ve seen multiple times before, but usually with public domain literature. This one uses “original” stories, perhaps the author’s less successful drafts.
The first book has a tragic ending with the village destroyed and everyone dead, so there’s a time element that makes catching the thief and getting out of the story a priority. Mashiro, who may be a “reflection” of Mifuyu and/or a magical spirit that protects the books of Mikura Hall, can turn into a dog whenever that’s convenient. Mifuyu uses logic to solve the riddle as she grasps the rules of the world of the story.
A week or so later, Mifuyu sees her aunt outside for once, talking to a stranger to the village and seemingly happy to do so, but is too shy to find out what’s going on. The next day when she arrives, Aunt Hirune is asleep again, with another talisman. (Mifuyu had started to think that was just a dream.) Mashiro appears again, and urges her to read “Black Book”, a noirish detective story set in a dystopian city where the printed word is outlawed.
Despite my own bibliophilia, I find Mifuyu a sympathetic character. She’s had too much responsibility thrust on her for her age, the adults in her family are unreliable, and she’s been taught by experience not to trust outside adults. She doesn’t share interests with most of her peers, so doesn’t have friends, and has no one reliable to ask for advice or support. It’s clear from context that the other villagers would be willing to help out, if she’d only ask, but that requires a level of trust she just doesn’t have and understanding what exactly to ask for.
Book theft is apparently a real problem in Yomunaga even aside from Mikura Hall, as we see a bookstore owner fretting about shoplifting making it difficult to meet payroll.
The art is nice but feels a bit generic.
I’m hoping that the next volume will allow Mifuyu to actually have a conversation with her aunt, as a lot of answers and characterization are obviously locked up there.
So far, it looks like there’s not going to be a romantic subplot–Mashiro reads much more like a long-lost sister than a romantic interest, and Mifuyu’s got other issues that are more important to her. One of the minor characters is interested in a woman, but this is so he can be slotted into a role in the book’s story.
This young adult fantasy series will, I think, appeal most to teens who already enjoy reading. If it manages to stick the landing, I could easily see this being turned into an anime.
Due to some bad experiences with adults critiquing her reading habits as a child, and people trying to exploit her to gain access to Mikura Hall, plus resentment at her family’s financial circumstances, Mifuyu has grown up hating books. She doesn’t read for pleasure, and outside school, not for information. And now is a particularly bad time in her life. Her widowed martial artist father has been hospitalized, so the dojo isn’t bringing in any money, and her neurodivergent aunt Hirune basically lives in Mikura Hall and can’t handle things like shopping for food or clothes by herself, living only for the books.
Mifuyu brings a meal to her aunt, only to find her asleep and un-awakeable, with an odd piece of paper in her hand. It’s a talisman reading “whoever steals this book shall be chased by the flags of magical realism.” There’s a breeze in the sealed room, and a girl in Mifuyu’s school uniform but with pure white hair appears.
This girl is Mashiro, and she says that a book has been stolen from the library, which has triggered a transformation of the town to trap the thief. She insists that the only way to undo the transformation and catch the thief is to read another book, “The Brothers of the Lush Village.” And as she reads, Mifuyu finds herself inside the world of the story….
This manga is based on a serialized web novel. The basic notion of “child enters the stories of books to rekindle a love of reading” is one I’ve seen multiple times before, but usually with public domain literature. This one uses “original” stories, perhaps the author’s less successful drafts.
The first book has a tragic ending with the village destroyed and everyone dead, so there’s a time element that makes catching the thief and getting out of the story a priority. Mashiro, who may be a “reflection” of Mifuyu and/or a magical spirit that protects the books of Mikura Hall, can turn into a dog whenever that’s convenient. Mifuyu uses logic to solve the riddle as she grasps the rules of the world of the story.
A week or so later, Mifuyu sees her aunt outside for once, talking to a stranger to the village and seemingly happy to do so, but is too shy to find out what’s going on. The next day when she arrives, Aunt Hirune is asleep again, with another talisman. (Mifuyu had started to think that was just a dream.) Mashiro appears again, and urges her to read “Black Book”, a noirish detective story set in a dystopian city where the printed word is outlawed.
Despite my own bibliophilia, I find Mifuyu a sympathetic character. She’s had too much responsibility thrust on her for her age, the adults in her family are unreliable, and she’s been taught by experience not to trust outside adults. She doesn’t share interests with most of her peers, so doesn’t have friends, and has no one reliable to ask for advice or support. It’s clear from context that the other villagers would be willing to help out, if she’d only ask, but that requires a level of trust she just doesn’t have and understanding what exactly to ask for.
Book theft is apparently a real problem in Yomunaga even aside from Mikura Hall, as we see a bookstore owner fretting about shoplifting making it difficult to meet payroll.
The art is nice but feels a bit generic.
I’m hoping that the next volume will allow Mifuyu to actually have a conversation with her aunt, as a lot of answers and characterization are obviously locked up there.
So far, it looks like there’s not going to be a romantic subplot–Mashiro reads much more like a long-lost sister than a romantic interest, and Mifuyu’s got other issues that are more important to her. One of the minor characters is interested in a woman, but this is so he can be slotted into a role in the book’s story.
This young adult fantasy series will, I think, appeal most to teens who already enjoy reading. If it manages to stick the landing, I could easily see this being turned into an anime.
May 2, 2025
When I first saw this title, I thought of that book market in Baghdad, Iraq where the internet claims they leave all the books out overnight because “The reader does not steal and the thief does not read.” Well, this book would like a word with that belief because in volume one alone, at least two entire shelves of books were stolen from the Mikura's famous library.
The premise is that after a book is stolen, a curse activates. Rather than leave that thief to his or her well-deserved punishment, Mifuyu Mikura and the mysterious Mashiro go into the story and rescue that ne'er-do-well. (Ostensibly, it's because the curse will supposedly affect the entire town, but I digress...) While Mifuyu hates books, she has a lot of other good qualities, like single-handedly taking care of her aunt and father. She also clearly cares about the townsfolk, her classmates, and animals. Mashiro is interesting and adorable.
While nothing about volume one particularly gripped me, I'm interested enough to continue into the next volume. I hope we learn more about Mashiro as we progress. 3/5
EDIT: Completed the series and it's a solid 3/5 overall. Kind of a strange ending, but all the questions do get answered and Mifuyu has a nice character arc.
The premise is that after a book is stolen, a curse activates. Rather than leave that thief to his or her well-deserved punishment, Mifuyu Mikura and the mysterious Mashiro go into the story and rescue that ne'er-do-well. (Ostensibly, it's because the curse will supposedly affect the entire town, but I digress...) While Mifuyu hates books, she has a lot of other good qualities, like single-handedly taking care of her aunt and father. She also clearly cares about the townsfolk, her classmates, and animals. Mashiro is interesting and adorable.
While nothing about volume one particularly gripped me, I'm interested enough to continue into the next volume. I hope we learn more about Mashiro as we progress. 3/5
EDIT: Completed the series and it's a solid 3/5 overall. Kind of a strange ending, but all the questions do get answered and Mifuyu has a nice character arc.
August 31, 2025
31/08/2025
3 ⭐
Unfortunately, this just wasn't the manga for me. I can see myself enjoying an anime much more because I felt pretty bored reading the story.
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3 ⭐
Unfortunately, this just wasn't the manga for me. I can see myself enjoying an anime much more because I felt pretty bored reading the story.
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July 22, 2024
This series takes inspiration from the 'book curses' inscribed in many medieval texts to prevent theft - what if book curses really worked? A high school girl who comes from a family famous for its book-collecting (but who hates reading, herself) is stuck looking after her aunt (who basically lives in the book collection) after her dad breaks his leg. She soon finds a strange white-haired girl who seems at home in the building, discovers that some books are missing, and weird things start happening. The weirdness starts spilling into the surrounding town, and she has to catch the thief to stop the curse from taking over the whole town.
It started off okay, but it started feeling weird the way the curse was manifesting (it made no sense to affect the town to such a degree when the curse is on the thief, not the town!). Plus I found the one character's half-fox form annoying (looking no different, just tacking on ears and what is supposed to be a fox nose but just looks like a teeny-tiny dot on the tip of the human nose). I lost interest as the second story-arc started.
It started off okay, but it started feeling weird the way the curse was manifesting (it made no sense to affect the town to such a degree when the curse is on the thief, not the town!). Plus I found the one character's half-fox form annoying (looking no different, just tacking on ears and what is supposed to be a fox nose but just looks like a teeny-tiny dot on the tip of the human nose). I lost interest as the second story-arc started.
February 12, 2025
The sysnopsis and the cover of the book got me, and I thought it would be a terrific new manga series for me. It's not.
In a town filled with book lovers, there's a massive library called the Mikurakan. Founded by Mifuyu's great-grandfather, it's now managed by her father. Surprisingly, Mifuyu hates books. What?? And she hasn't even read any since elementary school!
One day, some books are stolen, and a mysterious note is left behind: "The thief will be chased by the flag of magical realism." Suddenly, the town starts transforming into a magical story, and Mifuyu must enter the stories to save her home!
The plot does sound interesting, and at the end of the series she actually probably loves books, at least I hope so. But anyway, I'll stop with book 1, as I found it all over the place, confusing, and weird. Too bad.
In a town filled with book lovers, there's a massive library called the Mikurakan. Founded by Mifuyu's great-grandfather, it's now managed by her father. Surprisingly, Mifuyu hates books. What?? And she hasn't even read any since elementary school!
One day, some books are stolen, and a mysterious note is left behind: "The thief will be chased by the flag of magical realism." Suddenly, the town starts transforming into a magical story, and Mifuyu must enter the stories to save her home!
The plot does sound interesting, and at the end of the series she actually probably loves books, at least I hope so. But anyway, I'll stop with book 1, as I found it all over the place, confusing, and weird. Too bad.
March 10, 2024
This manga was weird in the best ways. The main character doesn’t care for reading, but is born into a high ranking bookish family in a town that translates to Long Read in Japanese. The town centers around her family’s famous book collection/closed library. When books go missing, a curse is fulfilled and Mifuyu has to enter stories to catch a thief.
What I loved most: the magical realism aspect, the grumpy and reluctant heroine, the idea of a bookish town, how the author at the end admits her book is weird.
What I loved most: the magical realism aspect, the grumpy and reluctant heroine, the idea of a bookish town, how the author at the end admits her book is weird.
June 9, 2025
A generous 3.5 because I enjoyed the concept and artwork.
Interesting concept and idea when it comes to finding the bookthief. However the plot/story feels rather jumpy/all over the place because it turns into story-ception and you have to keep track of 3 storylines at the time. The outside world/real life plotline, the story of the book the MC is dragged into and then the mashed reality of the book and the town. It's not too confusing but it does feel messy. Since there are just 3 volumes I'll give them all a read.
Interesting concept and idea when it comes to finding the bookthief. However the plot/story feels rather jumpy/all over the place because it turns into story-ception and you have to keep track of 3 storylines at the time. The outside world/real life plotline, the story of the book the MC is dragged into and then the mashed reality of the book and the town. It's not too confusing but it does feel messy. Since there are just 3 volumes I'll give them all a read.
October 30, 2025
Review for all three volumes!
Enjoyable and I like the premise, but I wasn't blown away by the delivery and characters. It all felt too rushed and while we did have some reveals and a happy ending, maybe it should have either been a longer series, or just stuck to one book adventure after a longer slice-of-life depiction of what a regular day is like for our protagonist, before the fantasy shenanigans start.
Also, despite the blushing throughout and the handholding on volume 3, there wasn't really any romance, which disappointed me a bit!
Enjoyable and I like the premise, but I wasn't blown away by the delivery and characters. It all felt too rushed and while we did have some reveals and a happy ending, maybe it should have either been a longer series, or just stuck to one book adventure after a longer slice-of-life depiction of what a regular day is like for our protagonist, before the fantasy shenanigans start.
Also, despite the blushing throughout and the handholding on volume 3, there wasn't really any romance, which disappointed me a bit!
December 2, 2025
A fantastical tale about an unrelatable character to bookworms. A stoty about family curses, family expectations, familial spirits, greed and isolation.
Mifuyu shpuld be a bookworm imn a family thay has the largest library in town. Her family doesn't let anyone access it and they are broke.... All connected seamlessly.
Slowburn adventure.
My favourite character had to be Haruta and Mashiro.
I feel bad for Mifuyu her problems stem from her grandma's greed and an vile spirit taking advantage of them.
Well, all's well that ends well👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🦊🦊🦊📚📙📕📖📔📓📃🖌️🖋️🖍️📝
Mifuyu shpuld be a bookworm imn a family thay has the largest library in town. Her family doesn't let anyone access it and they are broke.... All connected seamlessly.
Slowburn adventure.
My favourite character had to be Haruta and Mashiro.
I feel bad for Mifuyu her problems stem from her grandma's greed and an vile spirit taking advantage of them.
Well, all's well that ends well👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🦊🦊🦊📚📙📕📖📔📓📃🖌️🖋️🖍️📝
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2025
This didn't always make total sense, but I had a really good time reading it!
The pacing is very strange, and I think the attempts at magical realism are in vain. They come off more like underdeveloped fantasy elements rather than magical realism. However, I found the story quite charming and will be reading the next volume.
The pacing is very strange, and I think the attempts at magical realism are in vain. They come off more like underdeveloped fantasy elements rather than magical realism. However, I found the story quite charming and will be reading the next volume.
May 15, 2025
Not really into this one. The characters don't have much of a personality, the story doesn't really make sense (the curse only starts when you see the books were stolen? and it affects the town more than the thief itself?) the worlds aren't fleshed out before or during the actual curse changes. I don't know anything about the original story but this doesn't make me anymore intrigued unfortunately
May 20, 2025
⭐3.75⭐
This book was interesting and a bit strange. While the concept is very interesting, I don't think I'll be continuing with the series. I kept reading because it was intriguing and not because the story itself really drew me in but to be perfectly honest, I'm okay not moving on to the next volume. Perfect for readers that enjoy confusing and magical moments.
This book was interesting and a bit strange. While the concept is very interesting, I don't think I'll be continuing with the series. I kept reading because it was intriguing and not because the story itself really drew me in but to be perfectly honest, I'm okay not moving on to the next volume. Perfect for readers that enjoy confusing and magical moments.
September 6, 2025
(3.5/5)
I really wanted to love this one as I adore books and the thought of living in a town that is a book haven sounded like a dream. The beginning had a strong start, however it got a little confusing in the middle and I was unsure of what was happening. I’m intrigued to see how the series continues and perhaps another volume might increase my standing for this series.
I really wanted to love this one as I adore books and the thought of living in a town that is a book haven sounded like a dream. The beginning had a strong start, however it got a little confusing in the middle and I was unsure of what was happening. I’m intrigued to see how the series continues and perhaps another volume might increase my standing for this series.
March 29, 2024
I thought it looked interesting, but turns out I don’t like it when a bunch of nonsense things happen one after the other and the reader is expected to just go with it. Didn’t find the protagonist interesting either. I’ll gonna drop this series.
July 2, 2024
The meta side of pursuing the books and becoming a part of them works, however I think the drawn-out first volume could have saved a little for the second volume without front-loading so much. I would have preferred to get to know a bit of the setting and more of the characters.
September 3, 2024
2.5 rounding up because I see potential and I'm trying to be hopeful?
An interesting premise but the execution lacks any real heart. I'll give volume 2 a shot because the idea is great and the art is solid.
An interesting premise but the execution lacks any real heart. I'll give volume 2 a shot because the idea is great and the art is solid.
October 17, 2024
Really amazing concept with a pretty disappointing execution. A lot of things didn’t make sense to me, but I didn’t care about the story or characters enough to probe further and figure out what was really happening.
November 13, 2024
This first volume sets up an intriguing premise and has some very pretty art, but I'm left feeling like a lot of this story may have worked better in prose form. I might check out the original novels after this.
December 19, 2024
Eh. I feel like this could be a very cute story, but I found it to be a bit too random for me. Also, the MC is very much just being dragged around and not really taking action while the character taking action doesn't seem to have much personality. Don't plan on reading anymore of this series.
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