Manga: Familia Chronicle Episode Lyu 3

Familia Chronicle: Episode Lyu Vol 3
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

After Syr pulls off a winning hand in the V.I.P. room's high-stakes poker game, Lyu demands the release of all the women Terry has collected. However, it seems Terry isn't so keen to honor the rules of his own establishment...Will Lyu and Syr make it out of the Grand Casino alive, let alone with the girls they hope to rescue!?

I know we're only volume three with this spin off series, but I'm just going to say it...I genuinely feel like this is the best out of all of the spin offs this series has offered us so far!? I'm loving it so much, and each volume has been consistently strong, with no weak moments. 

To no-ones surprise, Cervantes doesn't plan to honour the terms he agreed to and rather than freeing the girls he's supposed to, he sets two of his men 'The Black Cat' and 'The Black Fist' on Lyu. Psssh as if that would work. Especially when they aren't the fearsome people she knew back in the day...they're merely imposters. 

In a move of sheer brilliance that had me wanting to applaud, Syr nudges the other captive women in to fighting back while Bell causes chaos as a distraction with the help of poor old Mord. It has to be said...Lyu is such a badass, and she gets a seriously epic showdown in this volume that showcases that fact! 

What I enjoyed about this volume is that it kept up the same pace as the previous two, moving the story along at a fantastic pace without sacrificing the plot or any information we need, and the story arc we've had going on for these three volumes is wrapped up nice and neatly in this volume with no overspill in to the next! Plus we get some little tidbits from the past thrown in once again. It really is a beautifully paced series so far, with a nice mix of action and intrigue! 

Manga: Familia Chronicle Episode Lyu 2

Familia Chronicle Episode Lyu Volume 2 
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

In an attempt to rescue Anna, a patron's daughter, Lyu has made the dangerous mistake of falling into the Grand Casino's V.I.P. room trap. The girl is in her sights, but outnumbered and facing dwindling funds, Lyu can feel the situation heading for an all-out brawl-that is, until Syr comes forward to try her own hand at the game...!

I'm going to say it....but I am loving this spin off a wee bit more than the main series or Sword Oratoria, it has to be said. This series has a slightly different vibe to the other two series, there's not as much of a focus on the Gods and Goddesses and the dungeon and so on, or at least not yet and I do find that interesting, but it provides some different situations so far. 

Things are exciting right from the start, Lyu doesn't hold back at all and she tosses the gauntlet right down from the start. I'm not going to lie, we get a little bit Compulsive Gambler in this volume with all the dirty gambling tactics and I was living for it. Syr also gets the chance to step up as she makes a play of her own and I was so curious to see what she had up her sleeve, especially as she requested a brief meeting with Bell. 

I was honestly on the edge of my seat and then clapping and cheering for Syr so many times, what a badass. Cervantes is such a disgusting creep it's unreal, but holy wow do we get an intense reveal about his past and about Lyu's right before it all kicks off in time for the volume to end because of course. 

Smoothly paced, volume 2 keeps you hanging on with tension and an edge of the seat card game with super high stakes, and then an epic reveal that has you going "OMG" before leaving you wanting more! I can't get enough of Lyu, quite frankly! 

Manga: Is It Wrong 10

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon Vol 10
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

A monster has spawned on the (supposedly) safe eighteenth floor!Black Goliath falls upon the Under Resort and its unprepared inhabitants. Has it awoken because the gods have dared to trespass in the Dungeon? Bell, Hestia, and their mismatched team of gods and adventurers prepare to fight this unexpected floor boss...! 

We open the volume with out adventurers facing down a Goliath, but of course...it's no ordinary Goliath! Bell soon joins the fight and he gets a heroic moment or two, while Hestia is with Chigusa trying to get more weapons for them all. 

The battle's quite large scale, we have all the adventurers that are there in on it, and it's badass. There's a moment of panic for Bell but you can see how far he's come when he gets back up to his feet and tries again and he doesn't back down at all throughout this volume. He keeps pushing himself and pushing forward...and he gets the ultimate heroic moment! Even Welf gets his own moment and even levels up! I've never been prouder of our characters so far. 

Hermes, however, gets a bit of a spotlight this volume when he drops a bomb on us. I don't want to spoil it but it's to do with Bell and who Bell is related to, and who his grandfather may be and you know, what he is. Yes you read that right....what. It explains SO MUCH if I read and interpreted it correctly. He also says a new era is coming which is pretty ominous. 

This latest volume is about 75% a giant battle and the last part is setting up to bringing in Apollo and the trouble that's going to cause as well as tossing out a casual bomb drop or two to keep us on our toes! 

Manga: Familia Chronicle Episode Lyu 1

Familia Chronicle: Episode Lyu Vol 1
Rating: 3.5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

In Orario, the only place in the world that hosts the entrance to the massive subterranean Dungeon, there's a certain tavern where the most desperate and vulnerable bring their troubles. There, the ex-adventurer Lyu Lion uses her terrifying strength to wrest what justice she can from the shadows of the Labyrinth City! But when a girl goes missing and all evidence points toward the powerful Grand Casino, she may need more than brute force to help...! 

In case you couldn't tell already, this little series is a spin-off about Lyu! As such we get to see more of the Benevolent Mistress and the waitresses and owner as well as the general goings on there. Plus, obviously, we get to know more about Lyu and her past! 

Honestly, while this is set in the world of the main Is It Wrong series, and has characters like Bell and Syr pop up, it felt kind of like a heist/spy movie as Lyu has to infiltrate a casino and locate Anna. Of course we end the volume before the rescue portion of the mission starts, but Lyu is such a badass and has some solid skills when it comes to the information gathering, and luckily for them...Bell has a lot of luck. 

This initial volume is nicely paced and has a different feel to it than the other volumes and spin-offs in this series, and Lyu is going to prove to be a capable and interesting main character. I'm looking forward to seeing this series continue, as it doesn't as yet focus on the dungeons, and alludes to Lyu's past a lot. As much as I love the adventuring and the dungeons...this is a nice break from that! 

Manga: Odd Days of Goddess

Odd Days of Goddess
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

For the gods and goddesses who give their followers Blessings to dive into the Dungeon, there's nothing they won't do for the sake of their familia. But have you ever wondered how they spend their days while their brave adventurers are busy fighting down below? Get a rare glimpse into the rare and just a tiny bit slapstick daily lives of the deities of Orario, 4-koma style! 

There's a mildly shocking, yet cute start to the volume, before we head in to the hijinks. This volume gives us baby kitties needing new homes, drunken dungeon antics, Hermes messing with everyone (no surprise there), hot springs, a quiz, Christmas, Bell goes missing...and Loki Familia disbanding and having to move in with other Familias which I personally found freaking hilarious, and last but not least....the anime airs and our characters are eager to watch! Especially Loki.

This is such a fun little spin off, and hilarity and chaos ensues throughout the volume along with a little bit of ridiculousness. I love the little stories, they crack me up and we get a lot of focus on the Gods and Goddesses, as well as a few chapters focusing on specific characters. Yes the main characters are in here, but there's some lesser seen characters thrown in too! Either way the stories are hugely entertaining and it's nice to see what goes on when they aren't all in the dungeon and what their everyday lives are like! Yes there's a bit of fan service, but I feel like there's something for everyone in this volume! 

Manga: Is It Wrong 9

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon Vol 9
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

After a close call deep in the Dungeon, Bell and his party are making good progress on recovering and they've even reunited with their goddess after her ill-advised trip into the labyrinth. But as soon as it seems like they can relax, Hestia is goddess-napped and there's no time to lose if her familia wants to save her! While everyone is distracted, even more danger approaches... 

We start the volume off with Bell...fanboying. Which was cute and there was a nice chill vibe until Hestia and Hermes rocked up, causing a commotion. Hermes is so totally up to something, I think we all know that, and meanwhile Bell is caught between Hestia, Lilly and Aiz. Hermes isn't really helping as he's such a bad influence on poor, innocent Bell. 

We finally get the tea on Lyu, this volume, and I was so here for it. Plus. Hestia went full goddess and was mildly scary for about ten seconds there, actually! I know she's a goddess but I kind of forget that a little bit, and this reminded me! 

There's a lot of action and fight scenes this volume, and the pace has definitely picked up again with this volume. We've got sprinkles of mystery throughout, like I said, we know Hermes is up to something...but what? He is a bit of a creep though, I'm not going to lie. 

The dungeon isn't happy having Hestia and Hermes there, and Bell, Lyu, Hestia, Lilly, Welf and Mikoto and co are left preparing to fight a floor boss because Bell is Bell and has to help the butt hurt dude who tried to beat the crap out of him. Soooo we're left hanging when it comes to the ending. 

Aiz and co are briefly seen as we cross over with Oratoria again, but this is definitely a wild volume with a lot of action and a lot going on throughout! 

Manga: Days of Goddess

Days of Goddess 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

While adventurers crawl the Dungeon, the gods and goddesses of Orario are always working hard behind the scenes for their beloved children! The deities who remain on the surface might not brave the labyrinth's depths, but they're just as busy--all of them occupied with duties like managing their familia's business, striking deals, gathering information, or going shopping, stuffing their faces, lounging about not doing much of anythi--adventures! So many adventures! Who can really say what happens in the sometimes precious, occasionally chaotic day-to-day lives of this charming pantheon?

I've been waiting for this volume with baited breath because I completely love Hestia, so I've been excited to see her in the spotlight and see some more of her finally! 

The art is so freaking cute, I'm not going to lie! I seriously love it! The intro to Orario did get a wee bit repetitive but they cut it out after a couple of the shorts. The little shorts themselves where hilarious, and we got to see more of Hestia's everyday life and what she gets up to! Her interactions and relationships with the other gods and goddesses where shown more too which I love! Some of them are like a bickering family. Plenty of familiar faces pop up throughout the volume, not just gods and goddesses! I think Miachi might be one of my favourites now too! I can't quite decide on Loki, but we do get to see a lot of her! We also see Bete like we've never seen him before...it genuinely can't be unseen and will haunt me whenever I read the main series! 

Some of the lines they used cracked me up so much, "Is it wrong to try and work in a dungeon" and so on. I fully cackled. We also get treated to drunk Hestia, Miachi, and Eina and it is freaking hilarious. I'm going to be needing more of that! 

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this spin off, but it ended up being hugely entertaining and had me laughing so much! I also wasn't expecting the shorts to be quite so connected, I guess because of how it was described as four panels I assumed it was going to be separate stories for each of the shorts! I really enjoyed seeing more of Hestia and learning more about her and the other gods and goddesses because I've been so curious about them and how they interact! The interactions between Lilly, Welf, Hestia, Bell and Aiz where hilarious too! 

Days of Goddess is genuinely so funny, and it's not afraid to make fun of itself if all the "is it wrong to *insert word here* in a dungeon" gags are anything to go by! I actually really enjoyed this, like I knew I was going to enjoy it anyway, but it was even better than I was expecting! I look forward to more! 

Manga: Is It Wrong 8

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon Vol 8
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Bell and his party left for the Middle Levels and never returned, leaving Hestia to believe something has gone terribly wrong in the Dungeon! Desperate for their safety, Hestia's only option is to issue a rescue quest through the guild. That is, until Hermes offers his help-he'll go into the Dungeon to find Bell! But there's no way Hestia would let him go to rescue her Familia without her! 

Gods in the Dungeon...will they be able to keep their cover and save Bell, or will their presence be revealed and everything fall to ruin...!?

Things are certainly getting interesting now, I'm not going to lie. Hermes shows up all shady like...I mean one moment he's really likeable and funny and the next he's super shady. He's definitely up to something. I want to like him but....he's so shady. Meanwhile Bell and Co find themselves in a sticky situation, trapped in the Dungeon and a panicking Hestia issues a quest. 

It was nice to see the other deities helping Hestia out and trying to get Bell found. Even if some of them where doing it for ulterior motives or whatever. Hestia and Hermes team up to enter the Dungeon in search of Bell with a party of their own and I'm so ready to watch that play out fully. Like I'm genuinely so excited. 

This volume allows you to really see how far Bell has come, as he fearlessly faces down a minotaur and saves his friends. He's not entirely the same Bell from volume 1 and I'm looking forward to seeing him grow and change some more. 

Compared to last volume, the pace really picks up in this one as we have a lot of action and a lot of time in the dungeon. We also get some hints about Bell and his grandfather that provide an interesting mystery. Aiz once again makes an appearance but for once doesn't actually fight and save Bell, she just kind of drags him back to camp to save him. Aaaahhh progress eh? 

This volume ends on a nice ominous comment, I'm actually imagining a million things that could go wrong and happen to our group! I have so many questions that I want answers to, and I'm trying to figure out, but this volume is really picking the plot up again and I'm excited for what comes next! 

Manga: Sword Oratoria

Sword Oratoria Vol 1
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Aiz Wallenstein, the Sword Princess, is known as one of the most powerful warriors from one of the most powerful groups in the city of Orario: Loki Familia. With them, she ventures into the deepest parts of the labyrinthine Dungeon beneath the city, stalking the monstrous denizens that lurk there and vanquishing them with the blazing light of her sword. But when she meets a certain white-haired boy, the encounter will change both of them forever...

So, the light novel version of this is completely brilliant, and I've been super excited to check out the manga and see how well it compares! There's some stunning colour pages as well as a full colour contents page and I really appreciate the art I'm not going to lie! It's incredibly detailed and rich and the battles are gorgeously drawn, as well as the magic circles and attacks and so on. The characters are drawn both gorgeous..but also cute. I really do love how the facial expressions have been drawn. Bells in particular are drawn hilariously! 

Something the manga does well, is Aiz's inner decisions over what to say to Bell and so on, they're presented incredibly interestingly and I really loved how they where presented. This volume is action packed, with fighting and battles from the start as well as the beginnings of a mystery and we have Aiz's first meeting with Bell! Quite a lot happens in this volume, without it being rushed and its a fairly chunky volume! There's a nice pace throughout the volume too. It keeps you reading and keeps you wanting more. There's a nice amount of detail too, we do go over things we already know about the world etc from the other series, but it's actually a good refresher! 

I have to say, I think this is one of the best light novel to manga adaptions, it's managed to keep the mystery and intrigue, and all of the characters are presented perfectly!

Light Novel: Sword Oratoria Vol 4

Sword Oratoria Volume 4
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Aiz finally gets a chance to meet with Bell Cranell. The Sword Princess was hoping to make amends, but she somehow comes away with a secretapprentice...

With Loki Familia's expedition fast approaching, Aiz has little time to teach Bell the basics of fighting--or to sate her own curiosity about the rabbitlike boy. But a jealous Lefiya might have more than a little something to say about Aiz and Bell's hidden rendezvous. And when Freya gets involved, there's no telling where things might end up! 

So, I'm really loving this light novel series, it's one of my favourites, but I have to say....Lefiya may be the one character I'm not sure I like in this series! She strikes me as really childish and I kind of rolled my eyes at her a lot in this book! Aiz starts to train her up in this book after she sees Aiz and Bell so I'm hoping her character will improve! 

I'm not going to lie, I feel like Dionysus is up to something but I'm not entirely sure what, but we see some more of him this volume and I'm hoping for more again! Filvis is back too, and helps out Lefiya, and I'm hoping we'll get to see more of her. I want to like her but I can't help but side eye her a bit. We also get some Hermes who's a bit shady, and Tsubaki who was quite fun! 

The first half or so of this volume involves lots of training for Bell. Like....Eye of the Tiger playing in the background style training. As you can imagine....Hestia was thrilled. There's a mysterious group that pop up in this volume, threatening Aiz and they're working for Freya. Creepy, creepy Freya. Basically no-one's pleased Aiz is training Bell except for Bell! While Aiz is training Bell, the Loki Familia are gearing up for their expedition and I had such a foreboding vibe the entire time, without Ouranos keeping an eye on them because of it, and some creepy little cut scenes to some shady figures. Although Ouranos and the events on floor 59 to finally allow us to see what's causing the hybrid monsters! One piece of the puzzle falls in to place as this first act, as it where, finishes and we gear up for the next! 

Don't hold me to this, because I have a brain like a sieve and it's been a while, but I'm fairly sure this volume crosses over with the main series manga a little bit! Anywaaaaaay the second half or so of this volume focuses on the Loki Familia's expedition to Floor 59 and that's when the pace really picks up. We meet some dragons and wyverns which are always fun, and we finally see what it is that Levis wanted Aiz to see, and what she was alluding to in the earlier volumes! Spoiler alert: It's not good and doesn't bode well. 

This volume hits us with some more background on the world, which I'm always eager to learn! We get some more history and mythology to it, which is really fascinating and I'm intrigued to see how it's going to factor in to the upcoming plot arc. The steady pace gives way to a lot more action and fighting for the second half and I have to say...I was on the edge of my seat more than once. I genuinely thought we'd just lost two characters! 

This volume went from being all "hahahhaaa" to "WAAAAAAAAAAAHH" so fast I practically got whiplash. Things get tense and the stakes are raised as we finally get some answers and see what we're up against as well as getting some more world building and background. Bell levels up and is starting to come in to his own as are a couple of other characters. We end the volume with quite the threat to Orario which promises to make the coming volumes fairly deadly and give them a good dose of tension and dread, I think! 

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Manga: Is It Wrong Vol 7

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon Vol 7
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Bell finally reaches the 11th level of the Dungeon to face his fated opponent--the monster responsible for his humiliation, the Minotaur. The memories of his flight and his failure assault him even as he confronts the deadly beast. Will the heroic drive that Aiz Wallenstein inspired within him be enough to defeat the Minotaur? Maybe, maybe not, but either way he's going to need some help from a new friend... 

I don't know what it is about this manga that has me loving it so much...whether it's all the Gods and Goddesses and the way mythology is woven in to it in little ways, or if it's innocent little Bell, battling his way through the dungeon and trying to become a hero. Either way I find myself completely hooked on this series! 

As we come in to Volume 7, Bell has levelled up and now he gets his own nickname...wahooo! Unfortunately for him it's not the most badass but still...at least he has one! One of the interesting things about this volume is that we got some more of Bell's backstory! I'm so intrigued by him, and his past and where he's from. Perhaps there's more information on this in the light novel, but so far in the manga we've been getting tidbits here and there and he's kind of a mystery. I feel like in this volume he really comes in to his own. He's levelled up, he's got some power and he's hitting further and further in to the dungeons. 

He's also getting his own team which means we get a new character! Welf is a smith and he's one of my favourite characters now, I'm not going to lie! I liked him instantly, and he has an intriguing family history and backstory to him that I'm looking forward to learning more about. I'm really loving how well he's fitted in with Bell and Lili! They work well together, and their teamwork is coming on strong, I'm looking forward to seeing how they progress and seeing them come together more and more and interact more. 

On the Freya front, Loki finally delivers a warning to Hestia about her, and I'm waiting for that whole thing to play out! I'm not sure if Hestia and Loki are on to her just yet or if they just suspect what she might be up to but I'm waiting to see what happens with this particular story arc. I can't decide if I like Loki or not! I do really like her familia though! More Bete please! 

There's a nice balance of action and intrigue in this volume, we get to see what Bells new skill is about as he tests out his skills in a lower dungeon level with his team. The intrigue is courtesy of Freya, and the new God on the block, Hermes. Yep, Hermes shows up at the end of the volume, just in time to no doubt cause some trouble in the next volume. We leave Bell just as he's about to venture further in to the dungeons. I'm not going to lie, I found volume 5 to be a bit lack lustre and boring but with volume 6 and this new volume I feel like things are picking up again and the story's getting back to it's great pace and mix of adventure, action and intrigue! 

Light Novel: Sword Oratoria Vol 3

Sword Oratoria Vol 3
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

After the tumultuous events in the Dungeon, Aiz has finally reached the vaulted Level 6! But in spite of this amazing news, the Sword Princess seems to be completely depressed. There are two reasons.
The first is that she finally managed to meet the white-haired boy again, but once more, he ran away from her with everything he had. The second is that the monster tamer she fought so hard against knew her name--a name that absolutely no one else should know, and yet...
Meanwhile, from the depths of the Dungeon comes a mysterious crystal ball that's about to plunge both underground and surface worlds quietly into chaos! 

Sword Oratoria continues to be one of my favourite light novels, I'm not going to lie to you guys. Not only are there completely gorgeous, fun, pull out full colour pages with some intriguing quotes, and fantastic illustrations...but this light novel series continues to be well written, thorough, vivid and atmospheric. The character development is fantastic, the plot  and it's threads all come together and aaahhh so good! 

Every single time I read this spin off light novel, I'm always like "okay...if this is this good I need to read the original series light novel instead of just the manga!" but I've got so many volumes to catch up for it! I just really love the writing for this light novel series, and I get so lost in the book when I'm reading. 

Volume 3 is a few days on from the end of Volume 2, and the opening is rather ominous...which of course pulls you straight in and has you hooked to find out what happens. There's a little bit of a recap smoothly slotted in without taking too long. Just enough to jog your memory, and it's really well done as it's via the characters looking back over everything that's happened rather than just shoving it in the narrative for a paragraph or two! I like how the plot has continued on, with a few new threads being added in, but the mystery from last volume popping up again and adding some more intrigue to it! I'm so curious to see where it's going to go, I feel like it's being really well done...keeping you intrigued and throwing in other little details and sub plots to draw your attention away before pulling you back! 

We get some new characters in this volume, and some old favourites, Asfi, some members of Hermes familia...I have to say I love meeting new familias and the characters from each! There's Dionysus, Filvis and some insight in to her, and Lulune! I love how we get some new characters that pique our interest and that we hope to see again, and then we get some old faces from previous volumes that I at least, had hoped to see again! I also love that we get more insight in to these semi new faces as well as seeing development in our main group. 

I have to say, Bete is growing on me. I didn't like him much in the first volume....because you know...Bell. But his character is really, really growing on me and I'm hoping we can get more of his background and so on. His bickering with Filvis cracks me up, and I have a feeling he cares a lot more than he lets on! I actually really enjoyed Bete and Lefiya teaming up and seeing them work together and getting to see so much of them. 

I felt like there wasn't as much Aiz as usual in this volume, I mean we had her and her POV, and then we had Bete, Lefiya and Filvis and so on. As much as I love Aiz, it was nice to get to see and know the other characters a little bit. I feel like Lefiya really comes in to her own in this book with some not so gentle help from Bete. (He totally cares). But yes, Aiz is there..but I feel like she takes a backseat a little bit...sort of. 

There's a tonne of action in this volume, plenty of dungeon crawling and fight scenes and I really get sucked in to the dungeon with the characters, I feel like I'm down there with them, I can feel the tension and the danger, I can picture everything really vividly, and I'm always slightly on edge when they're in the dungeon waiting for the monsters to pop out! The pace is very good, and fits so well with all the action, as well as the mystery element. 

Like I said, we get a continuation of one plot thread from the last book. There are some questions answered in this little ongoing mystery, but there's still plenty left unanswered, plus plot threads to carry us to next book. I'm not sure how long this mystery will go on for, but I feel like it's going along at a nice pace, and there's enough going on plot wise to make the mystery and the wait for its conclusion really enjoyable, plus I feel like you can sink your teeth in to it. There's also a nice mystery going around Aiz, and I feel like that really stepped up a bit this book and I have aaalll the theories! 

One of the things I like most about this series, is that after reading (in my case the manga), you see how Aiz interacts with Bell and how Bell interacts with her but you're not really sure how Aiz feels about Bell. This series however, gives you some great viewpoints in to her as a character, and what her feelings for Bell are. We see glimpses of what I'm fairly sure is Volume 4 of the manga, and you know...Bell. Obviously. There's also that meeting between Aiz and Bell....let's just say I was cheering a lot and I'm so excited to see it all in the next volume of this light novel series! I'm so ready. Seriously. I just love reading both of the series and seeing both view points, but I love how this series rather than just being the same but all from Aiz's point of view, we get Aiz off on her own adventures with her own stuff to deal with! 

Sword Oratoria is genuinely such an enjoyable light novel series, and if you've read Is It Wrong then you seriously need to pick this up! It gives such great insight in to Aiz, and her and Bell's relationship and what she thinks and so on...but it also lets you get to know the rest of Loki Familia and see more of the world and the dungeons and gives you another plot to enjoy! I'm thoroughly enjoying this series and forever looking forward to the next volume! This series will also be the reason I end up reading the Is It Wrong light novels...eventually! 

Light Novel: Sword Oratoria Vol 2

Sword Oratoria Vol 2 
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

A room bathed in crimson red blood, the air choked with the smell of iron, and a shattered skull atop a dead adventurers corpse...
Thanks to Aiz and crew, the tumultuous events of Monsterphilia ended without incident, and they were finally able to relax-but only for a moment. Soon, they find themselves embroiled in a suspicious case of murder. As they begin to investigate, the ladies soon realize that they're getting involved with a killer that's more horrifying than they thought. 

"What, is this...?"

In the midst of all this, they find a mysterious jewel that may connect to everything else. These events taking place above and below the surface will rock Orario to its core as the darkness lurking in the city bursts forth!

I don't know about you guys, but I am loving this spin off series! I haven't read the light novels of Is It Wrong, I've only read the manga and now I feel like I'm hugely missing out?! The writing in these novels is some of the best I've seen and I might have to go back and pick up the original series! 

As we all know, I love some Greek and Norse mythology and in this series we have actual  Greek and Norse gods, as well as various others floating around. Doing their thing. I love it. I also love seeing how they all interact with each other! 

In the first volume we got to see the first two volumes of the manga (I'm guessing the first volume and possibly second of the light novel?) from Aiz's point of view and had some gaps filled in. In this volume, it's the morning after Monsterphilia aka vol 1, and as our group ventures in to the dungeons it turns out that a member of the Ganesha Familia has been murdered (I spent most of the book being so sure I knew who'd done it and then you know....I was so wrong) and Aiz along with the Amazonian twins Tione and Tiona, Finn, Lefiya and Riveria are all drawn in to the investigation down in the dungeons. They need to find out who did it and why...and what's going on!? Up on the surface, Loki has enlisted Bete (who's still in the doghouse with everyone) to help her do some investigating of her own. Loki is determined to find out more about the plant monsters that attacked her children during Monsterphilia and who's responsible. Not going to lie, a certain someone looked mighty suspicious at the end of the first volume, but in this one...I'm not so sure. 

Things have definitely gotten more intriguing! In the first volume there was a lot of information we already knew about the world and various different things but in this volume we get all the action, tension and drama! I love the contrast we have in narratives between Bell in his story and Aiz in hers. Bell is quite anxious, and isn't all that confident, he's trying to claw his way up as we all know. But Aiz is already powerful, and she has an entirely different personality to Bells, although at times she can be a little uncertain. I love getting to know Aiz better, to get a good look in to her character and how she thinks, and what motivates her. Looking back at the manga for Is It Wrong, and knowing what I do now about Aiz...it puts a different light on things. The same could be said for Bete who I had pegged as one thing, and who I spent most of this volume feeling marginally sorry for. 

But there is soooo much intrigue about Aiz and her past and I have questions and I need answers. Now. Please. I'm also really enjoying getting to see her in action, and see her abilities more! Speaking of, I love how the battle scenes are written, you're right there with the characters getting lost in the action! I have a pretty good mental image of what's going on when I'm reading too. 

That's what for me, makes this light novel series so enjoyable and so above the rest. The writing. I love the writing, I feel like it's so detailed and has depth to it that some of the others lack. The writing creates an atmosphere. Like the prologue for example, it draws you in and gives you the chills! 

There's a lot less Bell in this than there was in vol 1, but there was one little scene that I really liked at the end. Just saying! It made me smile and kind of roll my eyes because c'mon Beeeelllll! 

Sword Oratoria gets better with each volume, and along with Aiz, there are plenty of other interesting characters that we get to meet and know better through her. It's fast paced, there's humour, there's heart warming moments and you're right there with Aiz as she struggles with what to do, with how to get stronger. There are some brilliant fold out, colour pages at the beginning, not to mention the other illustrations throughout to bring life to the words, and I don't know what else I can say! I feel like this is a really great extension to the world and the main story, it adds more to it, fills bits in and lets you get to know characters better, if you've been debating read this....well...you really need to get started! It's necessary reading!