Black Bird continues to pull me in and remind me of the nostalgia of binging this series in high school. Amusingly enough, this book has the receipt from when I pre-ordered this book from my local book shop. I couldn't believe it was still legible! But there it was, showing my adoration from my high school years. What a trip down memory lane!

This series goes up and down for me. One volume I'm super into it, and one volume I'm not. This one had me superglued the entire time. There's a new dude coming in to try to break Misao and Kyo up. Who, where, why, how?! I need all of the answers. I'm pumped to continue reading this series to see where it takes me. You finally think you're over a hurdle like Sho or the kitsune, and suddenly another terror comes our way!

This book was way more fast paced and brought a bit more romance into this fantasy/romance series. It's a great read, as long as you realize there are some tones of sexual harassment in this series. So, trigger warning to those who are sensitive to these topics.

Overall, this book was a great jump away from chapter books and into the world of art and manga.

Four out of five stars. ( )

Quite frankly, this volume was a bit of a letdown for me. And no, the artwork is top-notch just like the prior ones. It's more to due with the two opposing stories that seemed rushed and/or fanservicey.

The first story involves the sudden visit of a very powerful dragon beast who asks for Kyou's help to save his infirm sister. Nothing is explained about her illness, except that the Tengu bodyguards are deeply afraid of angering the demigod because they know they would be crushed like ants. Misao initially thought her blood could help, but Kyou quickly states that the demigoddess would be unable to drink her blood for some reason.

The demigod offers a different solution: Kyou has obtained a lot of life energy by both kissing and drinking Misao's blood. If he agreed to have sex with his infirm sister, then not only would they gain a very powerful ally, they might locate a part of the stolen sacred fruit logbooks they have been looking for in prior novels whose ultimate importance have never been clearly explained.

Misao is of course furious and goes all jealous and insecure brat-mode. Sure, I have to view her as a clingy and heavily inexperienced teenager, but the way the plot seems to drag on half of the volume, only for the plot to never really go anywhere was a letdown.

The final chapter is better in some ways, but still felt like a desperate attempt to find some sort of tension in the plot as plot filler. Misao's dad ends up spending the night in a temple. Misao's mom asks Kyou to spend the night in their home (whoa!), and despite the fun scenes where Kyou eats human home cooked food, they still don't get past second base. Darn! Misao's parents return the next day accompanied by a sort of priest named Raiko. He instantly growls at Kyou and threatens him to leave Misao alone. After being left seriously maimed by a youkai a long time ago, he harbors a huge degree of hatred for all youkai and threatens to harm Misao in order to split them apart.

Now, this plot twist seems rather interesting, and it offers a lot of potential for the plot. The thing that annoyed me were tidbits of the execution. He threatens Misao in front of her parents, and yet they still let him rent a room in her house while he goes to college. Huh?

A troubled volume, I hope things pick up in the next one.
( )

Misao tries to break her relationship with Kyo when Raikoh a demon hunter shows up in her house and threatens to slay Kyo if she doesn't end her relationship with him. But Misao had to admit to herself and to Kyo that she rather dies than stay away from him. ( )

Misao tries to break her relationship with Kyo when Raikoh a demon hunter shows up in her house and threatens to slay Kyo if she doesn't end her relationship with him. But Misao had to admit to herself and to Kyo that she rather dies than stay away from him. ( )

A stranger now living at Misao's house tries to interfere with Misao and Kyo's relationship, which endangers Misao's life when demons attack the unprotected Senka Maiden.

I liked the introduction of a character who is human, can interact with the demonic world and yet has a the exact opposite view of demons and their world. However, if he doesn't grow and remains a fanatic he has the potential to become very irritating. The two little short stories after the main feature were really cute, giving more background information on 2 of the Eight Daitengu. Can't wait for the next volume! ( )