Review: Ozoni and Onsens by SJ Pajonas

Posted February 22, 2017 by Lola in Contemporary, Review, Romance / 12 Comments

LolaReview

Ozoni and OnsensOzoni and Onsens: A Daydreamer Detective Novella (Miso Cozy Mysteries #2.5)
by S.J. Pajonas

Rating: 4 stars

Blurb:
Perfect to read after The Daydreamer Detective Braves The Winter! Mei and Yasahiro attempt to spend New Year’s Eve on vacation, but the universe has other plans for them. Follow them to Hakone where they learn there’s nothing more important than family. This novella is for newsletter subscribers only.

My Review:
Ozoni and Onsens is a novella set in the Daydreamer Detective series by SJ Pajonas. It takes place between book 2 and 3 chronologically. While this series is a cozy mystery, this novella doesn’t contain a mystery, but I think it’s a fun addition to the series. Mei and Yasahiro have planned a vacation for just the two of them around new year, but Mei is known for her bad luck and their vacation doesn’t go as planned.

This novella really shows the personalities of both Mei and Yasahiro. How they deal with difficulties and what they do next and also what’s important for them. I felt so bad for Mei for what she had to go through, but it was nice to see her get some happy moments as well. And there are some hints of what she is planning next work wise. It’s not as relaxing as the cover suggest, but there are some happy scenes mixed in with the trouble they go through. And I liked seeing more of both characters. You also see some of their flaws and things they struggle with back in this novella. Some personal struggles, but also some of the struggles as a couple.

The timing around new year was interesting and we hear a little bit about Japanese new year traditions like the ozoni soup, packed lunches and going to the temple. We get a glimpse of onsens and of a guest house where they stay. The whole novella takes place on only one day and a bit of the next day, which was well done. It was nice to get to see a whole day in their life, although at the end I felt tired from how much they had done on one day. I like the hopeful note this story ended with and I am looking forward to book 3.

This isn’t an essential novella as it doesn’t progress the main story, mostly we get a bit of extra character information and depth. It also could be read as a standalone, but I think it works best in the middle of this series where it takes place chronologically. It’s a nice little extra for fans of the series.

To summarize: I had fun reading this novella and it made me look forward even more to the next book. This novella tells a day in the life of Mei and Yasahiro. They have a vacation planned on new year’s eve, but things don’t go as planned. there are some difficult moments for these tow, but also some happy and uplifting ones. I felt this story really shows both their personalities. I felt bad for them for what they had to go through, but I did like how the story ended with a happy and unfitting scene. All in all this novella is a nice little extra for fans of the series. You get it for free when subscribing to the author her newsletter.

4 Stars

Links:
Goodreads
Author newsletter

You can also read my review on Goodreads.

You can get this novella and three other stories for free when you sign-up for SJ Pajonas her newsletter.

What’s the last novella as part of a series that you read?

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12 responses to “Review: Ozoni and Onsens by SJ Pajonas

    • I really enjoy novella’s and I read a bunch of them in January, so all of those reviews are getting published now. It’s nice to read a shorter read now and then and there are so many good novella length stories out there.

  1. I have come to really enjoy the in between novellas that might not even advance the plot, but they stop and give more character or world building insight. Neat how you got all the details of the Japanese New Year and a little side adventure for the detectives.

    I’ve been enjoying all the in between stories for the Psy-Changling series by Nalini Singh that I’ve been reading.
    Sophia Rose recently posted…Murder, Madness & Love by Yolanda Renee #TGPUL #GiveawayMy Profile

    • Yes this one didn’t really advance the plot, but it did give more in sight in the characters and their relationship. And it’s fun as I am now reading book three and they refer to the events form this novella a few times :). And it was fun to read about the Japanese new year!

    • Yes this story was such a nice little extra between full length books. And it made me even more curious for book three, which I am currently reading 🙂

    • Some authors do novella’s really well. A few years ago I hated novella’s, but nowadays I love them. I’ve found more and more authors who really made them work and they changed my mind about them.

    • I like how Pajonas always sprinkles a bit of Japanese traditions in her books. It’s fun and interesting to read about. And while there was no mystery to solve here, there was still enough to keep my attention and the extra insight in the characters was really neat.

  2. I imagine that would be interesting to learn about Japanese new year traditions. And I’m glad you enjoyed this! I like any extra things I can get when I like a series. Sometimes it’s nice just to learn more about the characters, even if the novella doesn’t add anything essential that moves the story forward.
    Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Book Review: Black-Winged Tuesday (The Tuesday Series Book 1) by A.B. RaynMy Profile

    • Same here, I always like extra novella’s like these when it’s a series I really like. And this one added some fun extra bits about the characters. I am now reading book 3 and it’s fun how they refer to this novella a few times.

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