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: 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! 

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!