Specs
Reviews
(3.20/5)Not a great book but a pleasant enough listen
Note: I listened to the audiobook of this book and didn’t read the text. I always note this but I think for this one it particularly made a big difference. I don’t think I would have made it through this book reading it because the plot isn’t great at all but as it’s a pretty easy audiobook so it was an okay chill low energy listen.
The book itself: was a bit meh all around to be honest. At least half of the novel is taken up with rehashing things that happened in the previous book. As a result the storylines and characters that are a introduced in this novel are really underdeveloped and hard to care much about. I’d say only read the book if it’s been a while since you read the first one and you’ve forgotten what happened or if you just want an easy listen you don’t have to think much about.
In case someone found their way here before reading the first book, I'll hide spoilers for the first book. To begin with, two things I was wondering about before having read these books:
First, you don't need to read the second volume. The first book is a complete story.
Second, I don't think this book negatively impacts the first book. This sometimes happens to me, where I wish I'd rather not have read the continuation. (Random example: Characters that should have stayed dead coming back to life.) Nothing like that happened here.
This love story was not for me
The main characters this time are Wataya and Naruse, a boy that has fallen in love with Wataya. The timeline of this book overlaps with the first book. It starts after Kamiya died but before Maori found out he was erased from her notebook. There is also some flashbacks to events before Kamiya died, but this time from Watayas perspective. It basically fleshes out the parts that were time skipped in the first book.
Because of the timeline of the book, nothing much new happens at first. Personally I didn't mind that. While we know where things are headed, the portrayed events were either there to tell us something we didn't yet know or to serve as character building for Wataya, so they didn't feel pointless. If you liked the first book, I'm sure you won't mind the reiteration of past events. I took a couple weeks break between the books, but personally I wish I had started it earlier. I feel like I would have felt more strongly during these scenes if the pain of the first book was still a bit fresher in my mind.
What I didn't like were the new parts. The new male lead, the entire way love was portrayed through him. It just rubbed me the wrong way. Going into detail here would involve spoilers, but that part is why this book is only getting 2☆ from me.