4/5

- Huge thanks to the author and publisher for approving me a copy of this manga through NetGalley -

A very good first volume!
I definitely liked the setting, the plot and especially how the argument was treated.

In V2 there's definitely going to be more of it and I'm very looking forward to see how the author decides to develop the story.

A thing that I really appreciated was how easy it was to recognize the twins despite being ya know, twins lol
There was always a detail, a way of speaking, of dressing that made them alike but completely different.

I'm very interested in knowing more of both of them and, as I said, especially diving deeper into Himari's story.
There's definitely a huge potential here and the ending boost my curiosity to the moon.

PS. The 4 stars instead of 5 rating goes to the drawings, I found them simple, maybe too much sometimes especially in the backgrounds, I found the twins super spot on and something missing from the rest.

Two twins Mio and Himari have always been together until they have entered a different school. There is. TW in the beginning which has caused Himari trauma that she was unable to attend school. Mio wanted Himari to have a great school experience so she wants Himari to attend school in her place. Himari is an introvert while Mio is an extrovert and Himari has to make sure not to get caught in school.

I really enjoyed this manga in terms of how it has a twist in a typical classic shojo manga! I really love the art as well as the captivating story plot. I hope there is no drama between Mio's friend and Himari because Mio's friend likes Tsukiyono and Himari is starting to develop feelings for him. I really like the friend group of Mio's so I hope they work it out! I love the cute and fluff that accompanies the relationship between Himari and Mio's friend and love the effort Mio is putting to help her sister experience the best school life.

One thing I disliked about the manga was the introduction of the manga was the sexual assault that Himari experienced.

TW: sexual assault

Really cute. I was looking for a new cute manga to read and I think I may found the one. I’m excited to see where the rest of the series go. The art style is also extremely cute as well and the type that I enjoy. Reminds me a bit of Ao Haru Ride.

This follows two twin sisters, Mio and Himari. Himari develops trauma from an incident that makes her uncomfortable around boys. Mio, on the other hand, could not bear to see Himari in her current state knowing her sister wants a normal life as a high school student. Then one day, she pretends to have a cold, convincing Himari to take her place at school. Himari goes to school and attepts to act as Mio, who is the opposite of her introverted self. As Himari continues to take Mio's place as per her request, she meets new people and comes across new experiences which makes it more of a light and fun read!

Overall, I enjoyed reading this! The characters are likable and fun, so I am looking forwards to knowing more about them. I hope to see more of the manga exploring Himari's trauma and how she will face too.

Moreover, I am already excited to read the next volume as well.

If you enjoy young adult romance, this would be a nice manga to add to your TBR list!

This book does have a rocky start; it's not explicitly graphic, but as someone who was dithering on reading the story, having the warning ahead of time very much helped me through the surprise of it. This manga reminds me of reading Kimi Ni Todoke for the first time. It's sweet, it's set in a distinctly different school system, there's a romantic will-they-won't-they that isn't high-pressure or alarming, just sweet. The support shown for the main character is kind and gentle. The premise, is, of course, a little silly and weird (it has to be, to be published), but it doesn't detract from the casual slice of life adventures with the main character and her twin. I would recommend this to the teenage range, probably just as they were aging out of Telgemeier and Chmakova and into the teen graphic novels. I don't think it's a smash hit, but that's rare. I think it is a good, compelling read, with a lot of potential for readers who will want to visit the series over and over again.

This was so cute! I think it’s a really promising start to a series. I’m not usually a huge fan of the twin swap trope, but it worked here. Himari and Mio each had their distinct personalities. And I liked that this shojo had some darker elements that the characters had to deal with and overcome—it was moving and I’m curious to see how it will play out as the series moves forward. I really liked the art too—it had your classic shojo feel, which I just love. I’m definitely planning on buying a copy for my shelves when it comes out in April!

Review to come in April on blog/goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review!

In this book, after a terrible assault (yes, it is definitely not a silly little unfortunate incident), Himari doesn't dare to go to school. But there is her twin, who by giving some excuse is able to convince her sister to go to school and pretend to be her. At first I found it a bit pushy and was wondering why, but then I could see why and I really liked it. I actually liked that Mio tried to get Himari out of her shell again, tried making her see that life wasn't always scary but had some fun moments as well. I loved seeing Himari act like Mio and see her try to figure things out again. Try not to swoon over the cute boy next to her (Tsukiyono) and instead pretend to be Mio and thus root for a guy named Asaka. Which just made me laugh as she was just so unconvincing. XD 

But HOW did no one (well except the best friend and I do have a suspicion that Tsukiyono KNOWS) tell that this is someone different who looks like Mio. I mean, Mio is bubbly, over the top, cannot bake for life, giggly, enthusiastic. Himari however is mature, loves to bake, is serious, and thanks to the whole assault part, is also quite shy and fearful at times. I mean, if the twins were the same in everything I would see this go right, but now? I am even sure that the grades will also be different if there are tests. Sorry, Mio. XD I think it would have been fun if, in this first volume, we had the guys notice and others as well, but go with it. 

I do hope that Himari is able to work out her feelings for Tsukiyono, especially since Mio's best friend is also in love with him. I do think that Himari and Tsukiyono would fit together so well and I kind of would like to see them get together. Have him be a listening ear for when things aren't working, help her discover the joy again (just like Mio is doing for Himari). 

I really liked the art of this one, especially the designs of the twins. But also the reaction faces of the characters, some are just gold. 

HOWEVER: "When Himari decides to stay home from school due to an unfortunate incident," when I read that I thought that maybe she embarrassed herself badly, like I don't know, her skirt got stuck and she flashed her panties on incident, or maybe she accidentally had a bad science test and things went a bit messy. Something like that. But instead what we get is NOT an unfortunate incident. IT IS FUCKING FULL ASSAULT. She is beat up by several boys, only saved because someone passed that alley, and ends up in the fucking hospital and throughout the book we see her struggle. She has at least one flashback, but we see panic attacks and anxiety as well. We see that while she looks OK again physically, inside it is messed up.

I am kind of curious how the story will continue and if either boy will notice (again how do they not) and if Himari will be able to be honest and go to school again normally!

Sunbeams in the Sky by Monika Kaname follows twins sisters, Mio and Himari as they go to different schools for the first time. Early in the volume, Himari is assaulted and no longer wants to attend school. She spends her days at home until one day, Mio asks if Himari will pretend to be her and go to her school. From there, we get some classic twin switching antics that are always a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed this first volume. It was light and fluffy for the majority of it and the twins were different enough that it was very easy to keep them separated. I liked how Mio’s friend was in on the switch and tried to help Himari act more like her sister.

I didn’t love the way this volume opened with an assault. That is a harrowing experience and seemed to come out of nowhere and just ended up being there to push the plot forward. It was a crazy tone shift from the rest of the volume with almost no time spend on Himari’s head to see how she was coping with it. I think there were several other ways the author could have gone about making Himari quit going to school that would have kept with the light hearted theme the rest of this volume had.

That being said, I really enjoyed the rest of the volume. It was cute and funny. It felt very classic teen romcom which is exactly what I wanted. I will be continuing this series because I think they will continue to get better with time.

The art of this manga series is pretty. To make it stand out from a standard shoujo manga, the author decided to include interesting tropes to the story. I think that the artwork was done wonderfully and expressed well. Readers can feel connected to the characters and they can feel sympathy for the main character. While this is in the shoujo genre, it does touch on trauma and how one can heal from it.

Himari was assaulted and as a result stopped going to school. One day, her identical twin sister Mio gets Himari to go to Mio's school in her place.

This is a good start to what seems like it'll be a fairly standard shojo manga. There's the typical This Character likes That Character but That Character seems to maybe like That Other Character, but with the added bonus of identical twins switching places on people. I don't think this is one that'll stick with me for long.

I really liked this! The beginning was a bit muddled and it was initially hard to tell who was the main character. Important things happened right at the beginning, but they were glossed over quickly. I'm not sure if that was the best move.

The rest of the manga feels light and fun. I love a good identity swap. Definitely recommend this if you enjoy shoujo manga.

This one just didn’t work for me.

I thought that the setup was interesting but to me it felt rushed and nothing ever really came out of the situations they got themselves into. Mio obviously had plans as to why her sister needed to pretend to be her but it was never talked about. It may be to try and get her back in school but at what cost? They do care for one another but I did expect more from their bond.

I’m sure in the next few volumes there will be more about the romance but I am just not interested in seeing how it will play out.

Overall, this was okay but I just needed it to hook me more.

Mio and Himari are identical twin sisters who separate for the first time to attend different schools. After a traumatic incident, Himari returns home and Mio tries to help her sister in a very unconventional way. Mio requests that Himari attend school for her after she becomes sick (cough cough) in an attempt to get her back out in the world. Not usually a fan of the twin swap trope, this was actually very cute and lighthearted. The illustrations are pleasant and nicely done. There is also baking involved and I am a sucker for baked goods! Overall a very enjoyable fast-paced read and I am looking forward to the next installment!

This manga was full of cuteness! I really really enjoyed the switch that the twins keep doing and how Himari is finding a place where she belongs. I am loving all the characters which we have really met so far through the manga and can’t wait to see what happens with the new character.

This manga is definitely one which I would recommend to someone who is just starting to read shoujo mangas but, in all honesty, anyone can read this.

I would gladly buy this manga! I can not wait for the second volume since I will most definitely be signing up for an arc there.

On the surface this is a classic rom-com setup involving twins swapping places and the shenanigans that ensue when two different boys enter the picture. Underneath, there's a slightly more serious narrative thread involving one of the twins having had a traumatic experience, and how pretending to be her sister may or may not be helping her recover from that.

The first volume ends by hinting at that darker storyline being more present in the next volume, so currently I would want to wait until the second volume comes out so I can see how that is handled, before I make a decision on whether to add this to my library. Overal, soft recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This a sweet start to a manga series. After Himari experiences a terrifying incident, she ends up dropping out of school, since she can no longer stand to go. Her sister, Mio, who goes to a different school, decides the best way to get Himari back to her old self is to swap places! This story's plot is pretty simple, twins swapping places is a trope with a long history. But something about this is so cute, it makes you want to keep reading. Himari and Mio have very different personalities and seeing how they interact is actually pretty fun. All of the characters feel unique, and they all make you want to root for them. I especially want to root for Himari. The incident she went through is actually pretty dark; I was concerned this manga was about to go in a very different direction. I also think Himari has PTSD since she does suffer a short flashback during a scene. It's not really talked about or anything, just sort of implied. I highly doubt they will go into any depth into that, but hopefully will bring it up somehow. Asides from those brief heavy moments, the rest of the manga is full of cliche tropes, but they're cliche in the best way. I'm very excited to read the next volume whenever it comes out!

Thank you to NetGalley, Yen Press, and Monika Kaname for the opportunity to read this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Mio and Himari are identical twins. Himari wants to go to a different high school than her sister, their first time truly being apart. After an attempted assault incident, Himari no longer wants to attend school at all. With a brilliant plan from her twin, Himari pretends to be Mio to get acclimated to returning to school again. Himari gets mixed up with the boys in Mio's life and the fact that they don't know the Mio they are interacting with is actually Himari begins to throw her feelings into a tizzy.

Excellent artwork and a great trope with the twin swap used in a fun way. This manga series has a lot of potential. The difference in Mio and Himari as people will certainly expose their identities...eventually! I can't wait to see where this story goes.

I adored this manga.
The setup is a little dark, and there are some serious undertones to the story (which actually only makes it better).
The art is so cute, and the characters stole my heart. I cannot wait to read more of this story.

Absolutely recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Yen Press for allowing me to read and review Sunbeams in the Sky! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Himari and Mio are twin sisters who go to separate high schools. They look alike but have very different personalities. After a terrible incident Himari doesnt want to go to her school and feels uncomfortable being around people. Months later, Mio overhears Himari say "I want to go to school" and comes up with a "parent trap" plan for Himari to go to Mio's school as Mio. Himari reluctantly agrees and thus begins a series of events where they switch places and Mio's friend is in on the plan.

I am very excited to continue reading more about the twins and the hijinks that will ensue. I love how they get along and support each other. I look forward to seeing how the characters will grow, how Himari being Mio will affect her friendships with a cute boy at school and with Mio's crush.

I think this volume is a great start to an intriguing and entertaining slice-of-life story.

4.5 stars

Thanks NetGalley and Yen Press for access to this e-arc!

I really enjoyed this switching places manga. It was sweet and very cute, and I want to see more and see how Himari heals from her trauma. I believe in you, Himari!