Manga: Sleeping on Paper Boats, Vol. 1

Hello hello. New week, new review, and this is one of those dark, complicated, bittersweet stories that I really enjoy. Not only is it well-done, but the art is gorgeous, with a strong script and a main idea that got me interested right away. Let's talk about Sleeping on Paper Boats, Vol. 1, by Teki Yatsuda, with a translation of Adrienne Beck. As always, many thanks to the publisher for the review copy!

• Print Length: 250 pages.
  
• Publisher: SuBLime Manga (VIZ Media).
• Publication Date: October 14, 2025.
• Genres: Drama, Gay, Horror, Manga, Romance.
• Rating: 4/5 stars.

A cursed screen-writing prodigy with a poisoned pen is pulled out of his drunken stupor by a fresh-faced amateur photographer who gives his life new meaning.

A young screenwriter who has skyrocketed to success on the back of his groundbreaking writing abilities discovers his pen is poisoned when all the people he has based his characters on meet untimely deaths. When a new love interest sparks his creativity, will he risk further misfortune or retire his pen forever?

Kei Kitahara, a visionary screenwriter who has taken postwar Japan by storm, has made the difficult decision to lay down his pen for good after he realizes the people he’s been basing his characters on have all met unfortunate ends. He spends his days in misery, waiting to die, until a reason to live finds him in the gutter, too drunk and beaten to move. Kei can’t help but be attracted to his savior’s bewitching innocence, and the urge to write about him grows stronger by the day. Knowing he can’t take the risk, he vows never to use his pen against him, but will temptation prove too great?

This was heavy, let me tell you. As a writer, the idea of killing people with my pen, people I appreciate and that I wanted to immortalize somehow, is horrifying to me. I sympathized with Kei right away because of that. The trauma that he was facing was too much, something I'm not sure many would have endured as strongly as he did; was it perfect? Absolutely no. But was it human? Completely.

That's what I liked the most about Sleeping on Paper Boats, Vol. 1. However, it's because it was human that Kei and Yoichi has tender moments, no matter how dark, imperfect, scary, and visceral it was at times. Teki Yatsuda did a great job giving the characters their highlight when they needed it

There were some dialogues that didn't convince me that much, I must say. Even though this is a work of fiction, the realism was so strong that some "artistic" dialogues took me out of it. Instead of having the dramatic effect it was meant to have, and even with Adrienne Beck's mastery keeping everything fluent and natural, they fell... comical. As a narration, they would have worked great, but not like this.

I'm  still eager to read the next volume to see how things end. Sleeping on Paper Boats, Vol. 1 leaves you with an open, promising ending, so I'm intrigued for sure. Teki Yatsuda has good ideas, good character development, and a good way of working with many things happening at the same time, so I'll definitely recommend this if you enjoy darker readings like this.

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Review: Fated NOT to Meet, Volume 2

Hello hello. I come with more manga, more boys' love, more romance and drama in a volume that surprised me in all the right ways. After I read the first one, I gave Fated NOT to Meet, Volume 2, by Ei Eijo, a chance, and I'm so glad for doing it because this one was so much better! I mean it when I say that this was a more mature approach that's easier to enjoy. As always, many thanks to the publisher for the review copy!

• Print Length: 232 pages.
  
• Publisher: TokyoPop.
• Publication Date: March 31, 2026.
• Genres: Contemporary, Drama, Gay, Manga, Romance.
• Rating: 4/5 stars.

Izumi, the sales ace with excellent grades, good looks and great communication skills, has someone he absolutely cannot lose to.

His name is Sendo, the most unlikable man who took the top spot from Izumi.

After a fateful app encounter, Izumi and Sendo fell hard for each other—now they’re next-door neighbors, savoring the honeymoon phase from opposite sides of a shared wall!

But when Izumi is tasked with mentoring an ambitious new hire, the newcomer’s rapid rise triggers his competitive streak—and his anxiety. As Izumi pushes himself harder and harder to reclaim the #1 spot, he starts to buckle under the pressure… just as his enigmatic older brother, Hayato, unexpectedly returns to Japan.

So why isn’t Izumi happy to see him? And how did he wind up working himself to the point of collapse? Determined to help, Sendo seeks out Hayato in hopes of understanding the "baggage" Izumi has been carrying. Whatever the weight of his burden, Izumi doesn’t have to bear it alone—if he’ll let Sendo in.

The story picks up pretty much where things were left at the end of vol. 1. We're not missing anything essential. However, this volume comes with two new characters, shows us that there's more to Izumi's competitiveness, his self-worth, how Sendo perceives everything from the outside... Boy oh boy did I like this! There's so much drama in this one that I had to force myself to take it slowly.

Something that I also liked was the character development. Fated NOT to Meet, Volume 2 was much more mature, as I mentioned, and not only because Ei Eijo touches on heavy subjects such as family trauma, work, social expectations, but also because the narration is generally more balanced. There's also more tension between Sendo and Izumi, which the art reflects with a precision that surprised me. Hayato was a great addition as well, leading the characters into important scenes that shaped them.

While there were moments much more balanced, I felt the pace slowed more than necessary at some points. This, along with the heavier topics I mentioned earlier, made me want to take my time with this volume, so I'd suggest you do the same when you get a copy. That's my only real complaint, so big improvement by comparison with the previous volume.

In general lines, a much, much better result, so I feel confident when I tell you to give this series a chance. Fated NOT to Meet, Volume 2 is a significant improvement in tone, style, and script. Even though the reading might take you longer, you will enjoy it much more, especially if you like genuinely troubled characters and family dynamics. Here goes to hoping Ei Eijo decides to do a third volume!

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Review: A Witch Is

Hello hello, and happy Monday. How about a book about witchcraft? This is a different type of introductory book, however. Based on values and characteristics rather than on rituals and spells, A Witch Is: 13 Keys to Witchcraft, by Raechel Henderson, shares many ideas on how to build a path that is yours and only yours. As always, many thanks to the publisher for the review copy!

• Print Length: 256 pages.
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications.
• Publication Date: January 8, 2026.
• Genres: Non-Fiction, Paganism, Shadow Work, Spellcasting, Witchcraft.
• Rating: 5/5 stars.

A Witch Is...

Resourceful. Resilient. Creative. Confident.

A witch is all these and so much more.

This innovative book presents a new perspective on witchcraft, one that will help you make richer and more meaningful magic. Sharing thirteen hallmark traits, Raechel Henderson guides you in creating your personal vision of what it means to be a witch.

A witch is kind, patient, and intuitive. A witch is self-aware, knowledgeable, and purposeful. A witch is honest, respectful, and curious. Each of these traits is explored in its own chapter, complete with practical exercises, engaging stories from Raechel's life, and inspiring advice on building skills that embody that trait.

Create your own correspondences, build an astral residence, and establish an ancestor altar. Discover if it's okay to hex, what to do when obstacles make you want to give up, and how to vet your resources. With these profound lessons that were hard-won over decades of practice, you will better understand not only witchcraft but also yourself.

After some time, many introductory books feel the same to you. You start wondering what's changing other than maybe some updated language and some personal stories. As needed as they are, reading can even become tedious, repetitive. But sometimes you find one that is different, that takes the risk of innovating by presenting a different perspective. Raechel Henderson did just that with A Witch Is.

Instead of telling the reader what to do and what to belief, what's wrong and what's right, it's a book that encourages you to develop a completely new practice from the beginning, question what you know already, and get out of your comfort zone. You start with what you have in your pantry, quite literally, and some notes. It all builds up from there so you can as critical as you are mindful about it.

Now, this comes with the fact that there are just a handful of spells and meditations. A lot of the exercises are journaling-based, which I highly recommend, but I want you to know beforehand because it was a surprise for me to see so many after each section. When it comes to that, I always recommend to do them by hand instead of digitally. I've had much better results that way.

Regardless of how much or how little experience you could have, A Witch Is will help you gain a lot of insight. Raechel Henderson has a beautifully simple style that guides you like a friendly had from beginning to end. She knows what worries and concerns one might have while reading, so she's quick to address them. Make sure you grab a copy next time you visit your favorite bookstore.

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Review: Aradia A Modern Guide (Expanded Edition)

How about a new review to end the week? How about we talk about Aradia, Diana, and the Italian witches that threaten deities? If this sounds interesting to you, then you might want to give this book a try. It's Aradia: A Modern Guide to Charles Godfrey Leland's Gospel of the Witches (Expanded Edition), by Craig Spencer. As always, many thanks to the publisher for the review copy!

• Print Length: 200 pages.
• Publisher: Crossed Crow Books.
• Publication Date: November 18, 2025.
• Genres: History, Italian, Folklore, Non-Fiction, Paganism.
• Rating: 5/5 stars.

A fresh approach to the classic text.

Craig Spencer presents vital cultural context and updated translations of Charles Godfrey Leland’s classic book in Aradia: A Modern Guide to Charles Godfrey Leland’s Gospel of the Witches (Expanded Edition). Passed to Charles Godfrey Leland through supposedly hereditary witches from Italy in the late 1890s, Aradia was one of the building blocks for British Witchcraft as we know it today. Through Spencer’s in-depth commentary and analysis of the original work, contemporary value and rich historical narratives are revealed to anyone with a penchant for British Witchcraft’s most formative texts.

Spencer presents Leland’s original English manuscript with new interpretations, translations, and the restoration of forty lines of text that were left out of the original publication. This exploration of one of the world’s most fascinating and enduring pieces of magical literature is sure to inspire and enrich your own journey along the spiritually profound path of witchcraft.

I previously read the first edition of this book, which I enjoyed a lot. This edition presents additional spells at the end, while maintaining the in-depth analysis that I liked a lot from the beginning. Revisiting the Gospel once again, now as a more experienced practitioner, however, made me understand many more things than before.

Although I still disagree with some of the ideas, I can see the reasoning behind them much better now and understand where they come from. As I said in the first review, that's what I look for in a discussion: maybe not agree on everything, but have a clear understanding of where those arguments come from. Craig did a wonderful job at that in Aradia: A Modern Guide to Charles Godfrey Leland's Gospel of the Witches (Expanded Edition), so this is something I respect a lot.

I do wish there had been some updates in the material, however. The original book was published six years ago, so I feel there were opportunities to expand on the arguments, include new ideas, to enrich an already good book. While I respect the decision to present it as it has been, I still feel there could have been more to it.

All in all, I loved it. It felt like a discussion from the beginning, a nice class with a professor that knows what questions you will have ahead of time and has done his research. The original Gospel has been a source of much controversy through the years, so it shall come to no surprise that Craig addresses that as well as we progress with the reading. A book that enriches your practice and understanding, Aradia: A Modern Guide to Charles Godfrey Leland's Gospel of the Witches (Expanded Edition) is a must have for everyone!

PS: While we're at it, make sure to also read Craig Spencer's Witchcraft Unchained as well. You won't be disappointed!

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