Whether it be reading 400 chapters of One Piece or not being able to put down those first 2 books in a series. Binge reading is something I'm very fond of and is most likely my favourite form of reading. As lets be honest who wants to wait a week for a chapter or over a year for the next book. As such I love when I stumble across a new series I find really enticing which also has a couple books out or the first part is already complete (Tokyo Ghoul for example).



As for me this isn't just a joy but also a huge problem when it comes to other commitments in my life, such as work and uni but lets be real how often have you just said one more episode to a Tv show you're marathoning on Netflix. For many of us escaping into this other world of fantasy and mystery has such a lure why wouldn't we leave beside our real lives to enjoy something so new and fresh.
Moving away from the world of visuals and working with words on a page making them come to life in my own mind is something so rewarding and freeing to me. Instead of being glued to my seat watching events transpire in front of me on a screen, reading from a page I feel like I'm apart of the story itself. I find this alot more true with books with amazing world building and less so from all the manga I've been reading as of late but this is most likely due to the visuals still being present in manga.

With the amount I've been reading over the past few years I've noticed a change in how I chose books which has heavily contributed to this love of binge reading. That is I am no longer looking for what would be the perfect book for me. Worrying about whether I'll enjoy the story fully or if its what I really want to read, because lets be real there is so much out there it is hard to chose what to read next or at least it is for me. Letting go of this heavily selective style of picking a series I now just go of more simple things such as does the synopsis sounds interesting is the genre linked to something I've previously enjoyed? If so I give it ago.
I find this has really helped when picking what manga to read next, as a lot of the time I'll watch an anime and then want more so I read the manga. Perfectly acceptable until I notice I've finished that series, the prequel novels and the second series. Now I'm half way through the number 1 recommend series on MAL and/or GoodReads from that series and I've lost 1, 2 maybe even 3 weeks.
This and the fact it is so easy to get your hands on books of different series now. Buying them in store front shops, loaning them from a library, eBooks or buying almost anything you want online the opinions are almost limitless. Its no wonder Binge reading has become such a trend.

Now the main pros to binge reading in my eyes is that references and foreshadowing are much easier to see when  reading everything close together. Waiting a year for the first book to come out may result in forgetting points made in the previous. This also results in me re reading the previous volumes of the series before reading the new book which can get a bit annoying for longer running series but is definitely worth it for longer series. As long as you know how to pace yourself and not get into a mind set where you skim content due to reading to fast I see no downside. Until you catch up to the latest book/chapter and now have to wait like everyone else.

With that being said I'm going to stop typing and pick that book back up and jump right in, ignoring the world around me and joining something new and exciting.

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It's another wonderful day in cat heaven with this newest edition to the Neko Para franchise, and boy oh boy was I happy to see it finally.

Now if you haven't already I'd highly recommend you read Vol. 1 first then Vol. 0 as it opens up a bit more back story to each of the other characters and then come back for Vol. 2 I feel without this I wouldn't have enjoyed the story as much as I did. 


First off I've been a rather big fan of this series, due to the easy to get into story and honestly rather surprising characters and see how they grow throughout the story. (Neko Para Vol. 0 Review) 

Vol. 2 doesn't disappoint, picking up roughly at the end of Vol. 1 which I wont spoil for none readers of the visual novel. Unlike the first volume which was heavily centred around Chocola and Vanilla (best girl). Vol. 2 happened to give us the chance, through a rather obvious plot device (read Vol. 1) to read a story around Azuki (Could very well be new best girl) and Coconuts. 
Azuki whom I didn't expect to fall for as much as I did, which is weird with my love for tsunderes and all. She is the oldest of all the cat girls sisters and as such hides behind a façade of toughness which was really nice to slowly see chipped away throughout this read. 
Coconuts on the other hand is the youngest sister (excluding Choc & Vanilla) whom is always trying her best even though she has a trait for being extremely clumsy.
Despite their bound of sister-ship they always end up bickering and fighting which was a really nice comedic touch to say really helped keep me interested in reading however and with any good story something happens between them which was really nicely handled the pacing of the story in tone with previous version and overall helped finish the story up nicely. As such leaving me very satisfied and wanting more of the cute interactions in the future.
As for my read time it took me just under 4 hours (3.7 hours on steam) which for £6.92 plus a $9.99 patch is expectable in my eyes due to the enjoyment I got out of it.

Overall I'd say this is a great little read if you enjoyed the previous volumes. If you're looking for a light hearted read then Id recommend it for the comedic aspects and character interactions alone. As for my ratings I gave:

Nekopara Vol. 1 - 6 / 10

As for Nekopara Vol. 2 I gave it:

8 / 10

VNDB

This was heavily due to the build up previous volumes and knowing what I was going to get out of this volumes. As such I set a certain expectation on what I'd get out of this read which I had blown out the water with the interesting dynamic of  Coconuts and Azuki's relationship and the troubles they faced. I wasn't expecting this and even teared up in a few sections of this read. This was also coupled with some amazing voice acting which honestly really did solidify that whole section of writing.
As for the H-Scenes since I had been conditioned to know they were coming I thought they would feel out of place still however the way the story progressed I felt that had much more impact and reason to be where they were and how they go there, then in Vol. 1 which was very much a solution to a problem so to say.

Ending note:
If you enjoyed the first volumes you'll probably enjoy this one as well, its pretty much more of the same but in my opinion with an extra little something in the ways of story.

Near the end there is a nice little comment by one of the supporting cast (cat sister) Cinnamon about it being their turn next, as such I put this little image together of the main focuses in each volume so far and how I see it playing out in the future. 


Hope you guys are all doing well and enjoyed the review and the game. Let me know what you thought of this novel down below.