Aisuru by Anma Natsu

Aisuru is the first book of the Hakodate Series and is a beautiful and fantastical love story written by Anma Natsu.

It is about Sakura, a young girl who is about to die soon. A terrible event that happened eight years ago left her alone and ill. To spare another person the pain of losing someone, Sakura decided to stay away from everybody and gave the impression that she wants everybody to stay away from her.

A meeting gone awry sends mythical Prince Kazuki of Troklana straight to Sakura’s house. In no time, Sakura’s self-imposed isolation comes to an abrupt end as she finds herself sharing her house with the hadsome yokai and his young tengu.

The story is set in Japan and features the Japanese culture including mythical creatures. The plot is great, not the typical romantic novels with characters of contradicting personalities. This book shows what love is and how it should be, selfless and unconditional.

I love the characters especially Sakura. She is smart, sweet and very kind as is evident in her treatment of Karasu who antagonizes her from the moment they met. Prince Kazuki is the ultimate prince charming, handsome, caring and selfless.

In addition to the great plot and lovable characters is the easy-to-read writing style that makes this book one great reading material. Moreover, I appreciate the author’s inclusion of the end notes. It makes the story easier to understand thus more enjoyable.

Congratulations to Anma Natsu on such a lovely book!