Kaoru Mori

Why did I finish this volume? Now I have to wait for the next one!

Oh, the artwork, the artwork. I could go on about it forever. Nobody does it the way you do, Mori-sensei, I am all admiration. The details. The beauty. The richness.

The plotting and character development in this volume felt perfect to me. Talas and Henry Smith travel to England together. (Yes, we are changing locations radically!) I was happy that this volume was mostly about them. I loved the sea voyage and how Chunbar, show more Talas’ horse, became friends with the ship cat. I think that Kaoru Mori just wanted an excuse to draw a glorious sailing ship as well as a beautiful horse and a cute cat walking on deck together.

The Smith family is not happy with Talas, oh no. Bringing home a fiancée from “Turkistan”? It just won’t do. What a scandal! Talas and Henry do find a home. What are they going to live on? Henry: Oh, I’ll organise the notes from my journeys, some publisher will probably want them. Talas: We’ll raise sheep! Go, Talas, go, that’s all I can say.

I enjoyed watching them being domestic so much! (They do get some sheep, he he.) It touched me deeply. Don’t tell me that being useful to each other isn’t romantic, I will have a thing or two to tell you right back.

”The things that go into making a life… are the same no matter where you go.”

That’s it, this is all that happens. But this is also a manga version of coming home on a rainy day and getting yourself a cup of tea and a warm blanket. show less

A cute, wholesome look at different class relationships, i.e rich dude fancies a maid. It's really adorable how William is so absolutely aware of Emma. He was smitten at first glance, and the illustrations of their first date were so movie-like with the framing, the angles, and the building romantic tension. That was my favorite part. However, nitpick: William and Emma fell in love way too fast. When the other characters started referencing how they were in love, I was like whatttt?

But, of show more course, things aren't that easy despite how quickly they began to fall for each other. For that reason, I'm very interested to see where the next volume goes. show less

Honestly, I do not know of any other manga series that is more beautifully, lavishly, lovingly drawn. This is a feast for the eyes and for the heart.

I really like the way Kaoru Mori tells women's stories - women carving out place and space for themselves in a world and a society where they are not supposed to have either.

Let's not forget the meticulous historical research and all the nerdy details - in this volume, we went through collodion process photography in detail, and why not?
Highly show more recommended, and please keep them coming... show less

Twin sisters Leily and Laila burst back into the series with their infectious joie de vivre as they throw a dinner party and reveal that they are mermaids. (One of those things is less true than the other, but not by much.)

It'd be a five-star book if they had stuck around for the second half just chatting or doing chores or whatever, but instead we follow Henry Smith and Talas as they attempt a treacherous transit through a war zone to visit the main couple of the series, Amir and Karluk, as show more the final part of Smith's Central Asian sojourn. There is some actual action and adventure for anyone who worries that the series spends too much time on embroidery and meaningful glances.

And, oops, I just realized that my library has received the books out of order, so I have accidentally skipped Vol. 12. Given the episodic nature of the series with different volumes focusing on different members of the ensemble cast, I don't think it will matter much. show less