My phone seems to have messed something up when I copied it… will fix. Here’s what the part should be: と母は亡くなる少し前からはなしたの
I updated the whole quote in my previous comment now
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AAAAAAAAH, okay, it makes sense now.
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Well, it took me nearly 3 days, so it’s hardly a speedrun, but I enjoyed it a lot!
Aaaah, now that I see your spoilers, I get what you meant. Yes, I guess we do have different hopes and dreams 
It seems extremely unlikely at this point. From the scenes following the view point of the guy, he is clearly falling in love with her and is just not realizing it because of his past trauma. On her end, she has intrusive thoughts, but that doesn’t mean she is interested… yet. But again, there’s pressure from the environment, so I feel like it would eventually happen (once enough time has passed after the previous breakup)
I mean, he is incredibly cute, so I don’t mind 
Edit: I think that the thing I enjoy about them is that they are genuinely interacting as friends. Sure, there may be attraction, but those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. It’s pretty rare to have that kind of depiction in a light novel, especially a 男性向け one.
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If you’re up for manga, 赤髪の白雪姫 | L27 (a shoujo series) also has this.
That sounds like I should bump this up on my list then
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It’s already on my TBR. I don’t remember why it is there, but it is
I also own the first volume, apparently. So, money well spent I guess 
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Surely you bought it for the prince. 
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Excellent, thank you for the update! I’ll have to give this one a closer look, then.
Question for those who might know: I believe ダリア is in the same universe as 服飾師ルチアはあきらめない ~今日から始める幸服計画~ | L30??, no? There’s no requirement to read it before ダリア, right?
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If the Amazon sale dates are any indication, the series you linked is newer than ダリア (2018 vs 2021), so doesn’t seem like it
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Yes, that‘s written in the blurb of the latter. And Darya appears in that series, too, though not as MC. It‘s a Darya spin off series.
Seems to be about a girl who runs a clothes shop, and may be no romance in sight 
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ルチア appeared as a side character in volume 2, but she doesn’t have her own shop at this point. So that series happens later than that.
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That would be consistent with my typical behavioral pattern.
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I finished 海がきこえる | L27 and have to say that it exceeded my expectations! I’ve seen the ghibli movie, so I was expecting a pleasant high school slice of life type story with a bit of romance, but but but! Reading it in book form was just so much better - there was more insight into how the everyone was feeling but minimal drama and angst, just a relaxing mood with a hint of nostalgia. Towards the end there were some scenes where I was totally having a ときめき moment together with the characters. 
This sat unread on my kindle for over a year and I thought I’d read this volume and be done with it, but I’m going to pick up the second volume 海がきこえるII アイがあるから (徳間文庫 トクマの特選!) | L27 sometime this week because I need to know what comes next!
I think it would be a nice read for anyone who reads modern SoL or high school type romance books in the level 20’s who wants to mix things up and read something from a different time period. The only mild challenge would be the dialect - most of the characters are from 高知 and speak 土佐弁.
Alongside that I’ve also been reading 死者の奢り・飼育 | L30?? by 大江健三郎 for my “character with a disability” because it was listed on the wikipedia page for 障害を扱った作品 and I’ve never read one of his books before. He has come up before in other books I’ve read about Japanese literature and is also one of the only two Nobel winners from Japan, so I expected it would be “good”, but oh my! Every sentence has my full attention. That’s partially because he writes extremely long and meandering sentences, so I get lost if I’m not paying attention, but also partially because the writing is so beautiful. I’ve been amazed by some of his word choice so far.
I’ve finished the first two stories 死者の奢り and 他人の足 and am on the titular story 飼育 now. They’re all dark and uncomfortable, but compelling - I thought a lot about what the stories mean during my freetime the past week. Can’t wait to finish 飼育!
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You have my attention. Bought it on the spot. Hopefully I’ll remember it when March comes around 
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You make it sound like historical fiction… I feel old 
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Oh nice! I started reading the titular story after he died (kind of as a commemoration) and I love his writing - the pictures he paints are really amazing. Like for example „sticky like the juice from a beetle that you crushed in your hand“ I think? 
I am taking this book very slowly, I think I am about halfway through now? Just sprinkling his stories into my reading here and there. If you want to discuss we could set up a thread for it? I’m curious to hear what you think of the ending of the titular story…
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She also appears in volume 4. Of note, there’s a conversation between ルチア and ダリヤ (and a 3rd person) about the kind of guy the former likes and the answer is basically “the girl type” 
Literal conversation:
「ルチアさん、失礼なことを伺いますけど、今、恋人はいらっしゃいますか？」
「いないわよ。デートはしたいけど」
「どんな人が好みです？」
「やっぱりデートするなら女の子よね。かわいいお洋服をいっぱい着せるの。あ、細めの男の子もいいかな。一人で男装女装できたら最高よね」
The other characters take it as “ah, she is just thinking about making the other person wear cute clothes, there’s no other meaning behind it” BUT the conversation was about 恋人, so hmmmmm. Anyway, I really like the main series so I will probably read the spin off as well, but I really hope the author delivers on that… although, now that I think about it, the guy who could possibly be the love interest in her case fits the second category, so it could end up being just that (that would be mildly disappointing, but I’ll take it).
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Thanks to the release of the 悪役令嬢転生おじさん anime, I was inspired to start what will hopefully end up being a standout in the 悪役令嬢 genre: 悪役令嬢は織田信長に憑依される. A friend recommended it to me and I am hyped. I mean, that title? I will report back later with actual thoughts.
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Is it a single volume and done? 250 ish pages seem super short…
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Yes, but 1) my physical copy is 300 pages, so it’s a bit longer than that and 2) it looks like there might be a continuation at some point, according to my friend. I’m not sure on the details since I haven’t finished this yet and I don’t want spoilers, haha.
I read the prologue and it seems quite fun so far!
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I did not know how to word it, but I know right? 
How best to describe the early 90s?!
It is a key concern for the characters that they don’t know the phone number or address of their high school friends after going to uni unless they ask someone else who may have it, This is not typically a plot element in novels nowadays where everyone has smartphones and LINE in their modern life, so it’s good fun!
Oh yes I’d certainly like that! 飼育 is brutal so far to be honest, I’m wondering what the ending is going to be.
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