Name: Haru's Curse
ISBN: 9781949980264

Asuka Konishi

"Natsumi's little sister Haru was her whole world--and now she's gone. After the funeral, Natsumi reluctantly agrees to date her sister's fianéc Togo. But as their relationship develops with the passing seasons, Haru's memory lingers over them like a curse. Asuka Konishi's English-language debut is a nuanced and affecting portrait of the conflict between romantic and familial love, and of the hard choices that face us all in making our lives our own. "--Provided by publisher.

Haru's Curse

Linara K.S

OMFGGGG this book!!!! 
quick summery: Natsumi is a bubbly older sister who'd do anything for her younger sister, the only one she's ever cared for and ever loved. But what happens when her sweet younger sister, Haru, dies prematurely leaving her and her boyfriend, Toga, behind. And what will come from Natsumi's and Toga's relationship? 

akjkjkjhk i think asian books are BEST in character narrative (idk if that made sense but), they portray human emotion and conflict so beautifully and it's masterful how affected i am by all of these characters. Even though this is a manga of barely 150 pages, I CRIED !!!! like no novel has ever made me cry and this freaking book had my heart torn and wrenched out of my chest halfway through! 
I blindly started this manga on a whim without KNOWING THAT IT WAS A ONE VOLUME STORY!!!!! 
MY HEART YEARNS FOR MORE! give me moreeeeee!!!!! I WANNA DIE (no jkkkkk) WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF? best random read everrrr

Camila Eduarda Vilela Lobianco

88% ★★★★☆

Plot
After Natsumi's younger sister dies, she starts a relationship with her Haru's ex-fiancee. The problem is that Natsumi is still grieving and she feels that her sister will curse her if she keeps with this relationship, although she really enjoys his company.

Execution
Sad, but in a great way. The grieve is hard, this is not a funny comic. Is intense, the sisterhood relationship is intense, they love each other more then everything else and this hurts a lot. This is also not the only issue that the protagonists are suffering, both have their family and professional issues, they question their life, they change their mind. That is a lot, and is awesome. It could have more pages to develop better the ending I admit, so I'll take of one star because of that.

Characters
They are a lot, and this makes everything more real. The human behavior is really well portrayed and the fear that they fell is also really concrete. Their behaviors are well justified, they don't have a usual Romeu and Juliet relationship, they have a baggage that make their relationship a problem that is way more believable.

Romance
They don't have a usual Romeu and Juliet relationship, they have a baggage that make their relationship a problem that is way more believable. I liked this a lot, and it gets better because they have their own problems and they have to deal with them while are learning how to deal with their feelings and themselves.

Trigger Warnings
Grieve, anxiety and death of a loved one.

Thanks to NetGalley that gave me the chance of reading this book in exchange of an honest review.

Bianca Pereira da Ponte

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This comic is about Natsumi after her younger sister and best friend that was engaged to Togo ideas and they started to date with the condition that Togo will take Natsumi to all the places he had to take her.
This is a really sad comic and I felt like the author was stepping into my heart all the time, both Natsumi and Togo have this guilt about going out after Haru death but at the same time, they have this feeling that always were there for each other. 
Hary and Togo's relationship started as an arranged marriage what in my heat makes the thing more hurtful because Haru started to have a feeling for Togo and at the same time that he was trying to be a good boyfriend he was not in love with her.
I would highly recommend reading this comic if you want to understand the feeling that all the character have and make your own conclusions if they are wrong or not about their actions, in my opinion, they are not.

Alejandra Bran

It’s so hard for me to rate a manga!! Like if with a book I sort of have an idea but somehow with Mangas is completely different! I so annoying 😆

I liked how tender the love story is. Is super short but very realistic on theirs feelings and outcome. 

I wish that Togo showed more emotions, but he was a blank as a newly bought canvas at Michaels. It annoyed me! This story had a lot to built into. Either way I’m happy with the ending for both of the characters.

Ethel

Interesting but not emotional

Key words: josei, manga, romance, grief, family

I have very mixed feelings about this manga. Not sure I liked it but sure I didn’t dislike it. When I got to the last page, I turned it because I really didn’t expect the story to end so soon. It’s not that it feels that much incomplete but I wanted to know what happens next, not be left on an open ending.
Otherwise, it was an interesting manga. It deals with grief, love and family. However, and I know I am repeating myself; it didn’t feel finished. Indeed, though there were some scene that showed it, it didn’t feel like Natsumi and Togo were grieving and/or sad. Natsumi said that it felt like Haru cursed them but I wish we had seen her make her peace with it, go through the whole process. I don’t know, I’m just not convinced. Moreover, the drawings didn’t help. First of all, it’s not my style and second, it didn’t carry that much emotions and feelings; like when Togo said he loved Natsumi, I was like “Wha..What”. It didn’t show at all. Overall, I liked how they stood up to their family and went for their independence.
I would still recommend this manga because it is still nice to read but I would recommend it to young adults/adults. It feels like it is made for an older audience.

2.5/5

Thank you Netgalley for this eArc in exchange of my honest opinion

After the funeral, Natsumi reluctantly agrees to date her sister’s fiancé Togo. But as their relationship develops with the passing seasons, Haru’s memory lingers over them like a curse. Asuka Konishi’s English-language debut is a nuanced and affecting portrait of the conflict between romantic and familial love, and of the hard choices that face us all in making our lives our own.

Haru's Curse

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