Captive Hearts, Vol. 2

This time around we get to see a bit more of Megumi, the boy cursed to be a servant, and Suzuka, the girl cursed in turn to be his mistress. Unlike the first volume this is only the "Captive Hearts" story though it is still a bit disjointed at parts and characters can suddenly appear without warning. Here were are introduced to three new characters that may return -- a young wealthy hire who wants Suzuka's hand in marriage, his own servant who is also a descendant of the Kogami clan and thus able to command Megumi, and Megumi's mother who since she is not a blood relative is free from the servile curse. It gets unnecessarily complicated by the introduction of some plots involving kidnappings and slave dealings years ago but I'm still a sucker for the mistress-slave genre in this series.

I like the series, but its a bit confusing. I was flipping back and forth, thinking, "Did I skip a page?" The characters are sweet, but there isn't a lot of development of Megumi and Suzuka's relationship in the first book. The second book is a bit better. The series seems rushed at parts. Although slightly confusing and a bit fast in the flow of the romance, its a cute romance story that I'd recommend.