Book 1 is the second Zaregoto novel that I read, simply because I found Book 2 for sale at a very friendly price and I ended up buying and reading it. Although I initially did not understand some parts in Book 2 because I would have to read Book 1, I pretty much appreciated the story, characters, and the manner everything was revealed.
Kubikiri Cycle had a larger cast than Kubishime Romanticist, and that fact rather made it difficult for me to get absorbed in the beginning of the story that just briefly introduced the characters. The crime setup, the web of character relations, and the blinding alibis had me wrongly speculate on who the villain was. It was as if everyone was intelligent, which is pretty much not debatable since everyone questionable was a genius of some sort. Well, of course, I am just a terrible detective.
To be honest, I did not find this book as exciting as Book 2. Maybe it was because I immediately began reading this after completing Book 2, which left me in awe of the writing prowess of NisiOisiN. Thanks to the interesting interactions between Ii-chan and Kunagisa Tomo, I was not willing to stop reading Book 1. Obviously, I still prefer Book 2 over this one, as the author seemed to have leveled up upon the completion of the former.
Anime Vios 
Was it at Book Sale that you got Book 2 by any chance? 😀
(That’s where I got my copy xD)
I did the same thing as you in that I read Kubishime Romanticist first before Kubikiri Cycle. I definitely agree that the second book is better (Ii-chan going mad was nothing short of awesome), but I do find some charm in the Beheading Cycle as being a British-style murder mystery with a Nisio Isin twist at the end. If anything the take away from the first book was our first glimpse of Kunagisa, which is still pretty alright.
(Couldn’t resist dropping a comment when I saw a Zaregoto post in one of my notifications :D)
You got that right! It was from Book Sale GenSan. Got it when I was on a trip.
Yep. That twist in the end of Book 1 was nothing short of surprising (and amazing), just like how incredible it was in Book 2. I like the relationship between Kunagisa and Ii-chan. 😀 It reminds me of Ichigo and Rukia.
Thanks for dropping a comment!
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Yeah, perhaps the author leveled up after getting some writing experience 🙂 Some franchises do however start slowish and improve after the setup is done.
But I’ve read some comments that Book 2 is still the best out of the 9 books in Zaregoto. I find that quite intriguing. It has led me to thinking that maybe, Nisio couldn’t think of some story that could’ve rivaled Book 2 within Zaregoto universe?
Anyway, I still intend to finish reading the series, though that would mean I’d have to wait for eternity for the rest of the books to get English release