Mami Ishikawa

This is one of the downtrodden heroine romances from the later Neels era, but it works well as a manga. Ishikawa has done a number of Neels books and she captures the heroines well. The story itself: Kate works for the domineering and thoughtless Lady Cowder, trying to save up enough money to start her own catering business. She is attracted to her employer's doctor nephew, but Lady Cowder's relative Claudia has her eye on him. Kate is overworked and bullied, but eventually she's rescued by her handsome doctor and is able to take care of her own mother as well. The doctor is a bit of a cipher, but that's not that different from the original novel. Fun timepass.… (mere)

This is one of my favorite Neels books, so when I saw that it had been added to Harlequin's Manga line I was intrigued. I'd read a couple of Harlequin Pink mangas years ago and wasn't impressed, but I think they did a better job with this one. Of course the heroes don't look anything like Neels describes them, but the character of Sadie is well suited to this form. It was very sweet and mostly kept the feel and storyline of the original. The artwork is still underwhelming, but I thought the overall presentation worked pretty well.… (mere)