This week I only made it through two books: Trapped in a Dating Sim Volumes 10 & 11. I'm currently smack dab in the middle of Volume 12 and Volume 13 comes out this week. It feels like we're approaching the end of the series.

Previously I had said how I thought there had been a minor retcon for the third story arc in book 9. I was incorrect. I went back to Book 1 and saw that there was a brief mention that I had forgotten. Honestly that revelation was kinda cool, seeing something near forgettable from Book 1 become relevant in Books 9+.

When reading the earlier volumes, I had mentioned how lackluster the character development has been in the series. I'm happy to say that it's gotten better in volumes 10 and 11. In fact, one of the side characters was the prominent focus for Volume 11. It was actually fun for the narrative to move off the MC. However it's still not great, especially for Mr. MC. I feel like he still makes the same mistakes. He's too quick to dismiss things in the world as "game logic" or "because those game devs made it that way" even though every time there has always been some underlying reason or hidden meaning. Time and time again things were never as they seemed but he still dismisses deeper theories because he's just in a "game world." Even if it is just a "game world," it should be clear by now that it's well thought out with everything behaving a certain way for a reason.

The series also suffers from the typical trope of "I can't tell anyone I'm a reincarnation!" That of course leads to all sorts of misunderstandings and is, IMHO, lazy writing. Initially the logic was, "they'll never believe me," and "they'll think I'm lying to get out of telling them the truth," and that might have been true at first but 12 books in and he STILL can't tell his closest companions? His companions have proven themselves capable numerous times and he still continues to keep them uninformed and try to do everything himself. It's frustrating to see the same mistakes play out repeatedly.

Anyway, in Volume 12 we're finally getting into the overarching world plot that's been hinted as since volume 1. It feels like a lot of things are coming together for a final payoff. I would be surprised if Volume 13 isn't the final book.

Management of a Novice Alchemist: Volume 3 - Another inoffensive volume. Nothing that really stood out and nothing to complain about either. Perfectly mid. I wish I could say more about each volume but "eh, not bad..." is really all I can come up with. And again, I don't think that's a bad thing. Sometimes "reading fast food" is exactly what I'm looking for.

The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects: Volume 6 - The new addition to the settlement in the form of 4 falconkin fell a bit flat. It's not like I don't like them it's just that they didn't add or change much of the established formula. Let's see how they develop going forward. Then there is a flashback to Dias' war days as a good chunk of the volume. I disliked that part very much. When choosing to read a comfy series I'm obviously not in the mood for war stories. It's like going into the cinema to watch some heartwarming Pixar movie but they made a third of the movie Apocalypse Now. It's an exaggerated example and it's that that bad in the volume but I still feel that that flashback was out of place.

And a bit of META:

The nominations are now closed and are being sorted and tallied. The voting round will start next Monday.