My first 'finish' of the year and my first task completed for Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge! Honestly it feels a bit of a cheat as it was a super easy, one-sitting sort of read, but it was a task I wanted to cross off the list early on as I am not really into Manga. Actually this is probably the first Manga comic I have ever read. I can see why the genre is popular as you do get pulled into the stories and they leave off with cliffhangers.
Emma, volume 1, by Kaoru Mori is the first in a series of ten comics about a Victorian maid who catches the eye of an upperclass, upstairs young man. They fall for each other, but their romance is going to be filled with speedbumps all the way. She was taken in by a lady who was formerly a teacher (or governess), and Emma crosses paths with one of her former charges. The story is cloaked in some secrecy as their backstories are not entirely clear, which of course is part of the draw to keep reading, right?
I thought this must be translated from the Japanese as the author/illustrator is Japanese, but perhaps she writes in English as well (I can't find any information on the book) as she is a self-professed Anglophile and has done much research for this ongoing story. You can tell she has a love of the Victorian era as the illustrations are nicely detailed and you do get drawn into the drama of the story!
I am in the middle of a number of great reads. I think starting fresh in 2019 was just what I needed as I am very absorbed in the books I have on the go and it is always a challenge deciding which book to pick up. I want to read them all. For now, though, one task down and twenty-three to go!