Mark of the Succubus, Volume 1

Maeve, a succubus-in-training, is sent to the human world by her mentor, Veril, to learn how to blend in and hone her skills of seduction. However, things get a little complicated after she meets Aiden, a smart but unmotivated student at her new high school. Unfortunately for her, Sylne, the head succubus of the Demon World, has set a spy on her former protege to catch any missteps.

Grade 9 Up–In this OEL manga, readers meet sweet and stunning Maeve, a succubus-in-training. (A succubus is a demon who seduces men and then kills them.) Hailing from the Demon World, she is sent to the human world to fine-tune her skills. She enters high school and meets Aiden, a handsome young slacker with a demanding father and a shrew for a girlfriend. The two become friends, and there is an underlying attraction between them. Their awkward romance builds to a crescendo until Maeve completes her training and is instructed to kill her first human, which happens to be Aiden. Though the sexual innuendo is kept to a minimum, and the relationship ventures no further than flirting, there is some fairly strong language. The characters are well crafted and likable. The plot is fresh and will appeal to most teens with its elements of high school drama combined with fantasy. These facets of the writing blended with Floress gothic manga-inspired art will make this book fly off the shelves.–Jennifer Feigelman, Plattekill Public Library, Modena, NY
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Unmotivated high school student Aiden meets Maeve, a succubus-in-training sent from the demon homeland to learn about humans in this OEL manga. Just when the situation is getting interesting, with Maeve being told to target Aiden, the book ends with a promise of more to come next volume. Aiden's got a neglectful father who wants him to ignore his music and go to law school. Aiden's best friend, Devin, hates his pushy girlfriend (who's more demonic than Maeve and jealous of her). Maeve's being spied on by a former teacher, convinced she'll break the rules by becoming attached to a human. Too many elements like these are raised but not sufficiently dealt with. The character design varies from panel to panel—classical fantasy, cartoony exaggeration, thick-outlined oversimplification, old-fashioned big-eyed manga—but somehow it all hangs together, even though the artist hasn't yet synthesized all of her many visible influences into her own style. She also can't pull off sexy well enough for the subject matter; instead of looking seductive, her scantily dressed Maeve resembles an overstuffed sausage bursting from her clothes. (It doesn't help that she looks about 12.) The boy's very cute, though, and very realistic in his attitudes and poses. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.