This book was pretty much all telling and no showing, which coloured my enjoyment of it. I don't know if this is just how light novels are written or the fault of translation-- in any case, I could have done without the narrator repeatedly telling us how perfect Youko and would rather have just seen more evidence of her flawless persona. The premise is interesting, I was intrigued by the murder recipe and I think the concept of this book is great but I wasn't into the execution. The problem is that I just didn't find Youko to be a compelling enough character to carry the story and she's basically the focal point of the whole book. ( )