Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Volume 1 by Dr. Pepperco is is out now in English from Seven Seas and in honor of this series coming out in English, I thought I’d finish it up in Japanese. ^_^

In Volume 1, we meet Hanako, who has traveled all the way to England from Japan to meet her favorite author, Victor Franks. In Volume 2, the secret of who Victor Franks is, is uncovered. Now, in Sayonara Rose Garden, Volume 3 (さよならローズガーデン) Hanako has time to deal with her feelings about Alice’s impending marriage to Edward. All of this is played out in a mostly-predctable way, with a small twist that is not just unpredictable but also wholly unrealistic–but that’s fine.

Relatedly (it is related to this and another “historical” thing I’m reading right now…and I mean those scare quotes…) in 1861 when England rewrote the penal code of homosexuality to remove the death penalty, homosexuality between women was left unmentioned. The apocryphal story goes that Queen Victoria didn’t believe that such a thing existed, but she was no dummy, so I doubt that. Not that it was legal or accepted. Just unmentioned.)

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 3
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

In any case, this book has the ending it deserved and not the one I expected, so yay! You’ll be able to read it for yourself as Volume 2 is headed your way this summer on Amazon in print. No digital link yet, on Amazon or Global Bookwalker for the English volume.)