About

There’s a lot more to the world of romance than the bodice-ripping, busty romance novels you’ll see being churned out by Harlequin. There are quiet stories of self-discovery, drama-filled stories of adolescent romance, fantasy-filled stories in distant lands, and the everyday stories of regular people just trying to find love in an often harsh world. All of these stories are important, yes, even the bodice-rippers. I filled long hours throughout high school and college reading through all kinds of romance stories, switching from prose novels to manga to anime, picking up a love of western comics along the way. Each format has a different way of telling a story, none less than the other just because of the nature of their medium.

Bloom Reviews was founded as a way to show my appreciation for the stories that kept me company during those early school years. The name Bloom Reviews comes from the tendency of shoujo manga and anime to use flowers and flower language to augment their stories and romantic moments. Flowers in and of themselves, especially roses, have been a symbol of love, romance, and passion across cultures and times. It’s an easily recognizable symbol, appropriate for a blog dedicated to discussing the many aspects of the genre.

But you’ll find more than reviews here. I write a variety of content, from a weekly news round-up, to short essays on an aspect of fan culture or anything that interests me at the moment, to longer articles that take an in-depth look at a particular cultural, historical, or political aspect of comics or otaku culture. You can see more of the kinds of things I write below as well as some established series.

What I Write:

  • Reviews: These are your standard reviews that are split up into anime, manga, comic, and light novel sections. I don’t typically do episodic reviews of anime, though I will at times do First Impressions post at the beginning of a season. Some comic and manga reviews, especially if they’re recent or long-running, will get multi-volume reviews.
  • Waxing Philosophical: This series of posts takes a short look at some aspect of writing, fandom, or culture that I either can’t craft into a longer article or just feel the need to talk about at the moment.
  • Long-Form Articles: These are longer looks at a social, political, or cultural aspect of a particular series. I usually go in-depth into analysis for these, but I always cite my sources.
  • Manga or Anime?: This is a series of reviews that compares the anime and manga versions of a particular series, examining how each handled the story and the advantages/disadvantages each version brings to the table.
  • Mythology Specials: These are posts where I dig into the folklore and myths behind certain series, or present myths, creatures, and lore and see how they are represented in different series.

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About Me:

Hi! I’m Allison, the author of this blog. I’m a rabid romance fan, lover of all things nerdy and foxes, and cat mom. I have BA’s in English and Psychology and a Masters in Publishing. If you want to learn more about me, you can check out a few of these posts here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I’ve also been interviewed here.

Check out some of my important links, or see my reading lists on AniList and Goodreads.

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