Fuyuki Kanda is a widowed music teacher who decides to buy a homely one-year-old cat at a pet store. The cat, who he names Fukumaru, is worried that his new owner will take him back or abandon him, but luckily for him, Mr. Kanda adores him.

This series is sweet, gentle, and warm, and I absolutely love it. I found out about it via a review on The Manga Critic, and then I kept coming across it via other sources until I finally broke down and bought it. I'm so glad I did.

This had some of the usual things you'll find in cat manga: a newbie cat owner who has to learn some of the basics, shopping for supplies at the pet store, and kitty antics, like scratching on things they're not supposed to, being goofy, and inadvertently making a mess. However, this first volume was as much about Kanda as it was about Fukumaru, and watching these two lonely characters love each other, become accustomed to each other, and form a little family together was a treat.

There were flashbacks for both Fukumaru and Kanda. Fukumaru's showed him as a kitten - remembering his mother and gradually realizing that no one wanted him. Kanda's showed him and his wife, and what their lives had been like over the years. They'd intended to get a cat together but never got around to it. They had children, and readers haven't yet been given enough information to know whether they just live too far away to regularly visit or whether Kanda's estranged from them. At any rate, he lived alone, and it was apparent that both the cat and the man had become a little depressed before they came into each other's lives.

A few other character POVs popped up here and there: Kobayashi, Kanda's dog-loving childhood friend, Yoshiharu Moriyama, one of Kanda's energetic young coworkers, and Miss Sato, the pet store employee who assisted Kanda. They all provided different views of Kanda and/or Fukumaru, which I appreciated. For example, Moriyama saw Kanda as the epitome of cool elegance and idolized him, while Kobayashi knew the loneliness his friend had been going through and appreciated the joy that Fukumaru added to Kanda's life, even if he didn't personally understand what Kanda saw in Fukumaru.

I loved the artwork. Fukumaru's cartoonish looks were initially a bit odd, but I got used to it. And oof, Kanda. It was easy to believe that his younger male coworker would idolize him and younger female coworkers would crush on him a bit.

I absolutely plan on preordering the next volume. I'm looking forward to seeing Fukumaru and Kanda make each other happy, and I'm interested to see what Sakurai plans on doing with this series.

Extras:

A couple pages of full-color artwork and a full-color four-panel comic, as well as a one-page comic-style afterword by the author.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Thanks to the publisher for introducing Brighton Walsh to me, I now must look into the other books Brighton Walsh has written. Caged in Winter was my first to read from her and definitely not my last. In fact, immediately after reading this book I dived into the second book in the series…but let me first review Caged in Winter.

New Adult has been a genre I've loved for a while, but I'm starting to stray away from it. Too many New Adult novels have the same storyline and same kind of characters. Fortunately, Caged in Winter doesn't follow the same kind of story like all others. In fact the characters in Caged in Winter is what kept me clicking my Kindle to keep me reading.  I loved every bit of the chemistry of Winter Jacobson and Cade Maxwell. The moment they met to the very end of the book for their HEA.  They definitely kept me intrigued for their story.

You have the most independent female character, Winter Jacobson (which I just adore her name) who can handle anything that is thrown at her. She's had a crappy life from the beginning, but that is about to change once she graduates and leaves the job that just pays the bills. Although, Cade Maxwell is going to change her life and at first she's not liking it at all. She doesn't need a knight in shining armor. She even lets him know it.

Cade Maxwell has had a rough life as well, but his life has been amazing since the moment he decided to follow his dream. He's having a hard time grasping what the future holds, especially when it means leaving his sister and niece behind, but life is going to be even more complicated once he meets Winter.

The two characters clash at first and when I mean clash…I mean full on Winter is about had it with him. Cade though is determined to win Winter over.  The poor guy had to deal with Winter's attitude for a bit, but he doesn't really realize what Winter has gone through in the past until she finally comes out and tells him.

The only thing that bothered me was how Winter kept pushing off Cade in the story. She's not open to trust people and she doesn't want to need someone, especially when she's proving she can do it all by herself.  She's one hard-headed girl, but I have to give it to her.  She's one determined girl who is trying to prove she's strong. Once you find out what has happened to her, you will realize why she's the way she is.

Cade was lovable from the beginning due to his love for his family and how he wanted to take care of Winter.  Brighton Walsh definitely combined the two characters perfectly.  The story flowed well and kept my interest.  I enjoyed the ending tremendously.  Like I said, this is not your typical New Adult.

I give this book 4 full moons and definitely look forward to reading the next book(s) in the series.  Although, I did already read the next one in the series because of finding out who gets their story next.  =)

Day 15: Favorite male character 

Harold Lauder from THE STAND. No doubt.