Ultimate Venus, Volume 1

The basic plot is that Yuzu, an orphan, is suddenly swept up by the handsome-but-distant bodyguard Kagami to a castle, where she begins her life as a candidate for the Shirayuki fortune. The heroine herself isn't your typical well-behaved, kind-hearted pushover. She wants things her way, and she's not afraid to be stand up for herself and others. On a sidenote, I found the way she quoted her mother's "rules" hilarious! Yuzu's grandmother is also an interesting character; I'm curious about what happened with her daughter and how exactly she amassed her army of bishounen butlers. In the two volumes I've read, this story is shaping up to be a love triangle with some high-school drama. My favorite character so far is Iyo--I won't spoil his story, but it was touching to me. I like the cover and the artwork a lot--it's beautiful to look at. So why'd I rate it at 4 stars? Well, I like the story and the artwork, but what I did not appreciate was how the main love interest slaps Yuzu in the face in the first volume. He seems to have a good reason, and she feels like the one at fault, but I just can't find a character who hits the heroine appealing; it lessened my enjoyment of the book. Despite this, I am still anxious to read the third volume. If you like Hot Gimmick and Peach Girl, I think you'll like this. (Plus, Haruka reminds me of Sae! Haha.)