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Verdict: Hardskip on this one.

You probably are an Attack on Titan fan and are going through the franchise's spin-offs to find out more about the world surrounding the story. The Harsh Mistress of the City takes place right after Wall Maria was breached and the population is rushing to get behind Rose.
In this frenzy, a lot of people get left stranded outside the walls and the Quinta district becomes entirely cut off from the (now new) inside.
Rita, a young soldier, finds herself in the position of having the highest rank inside Quinta and the need to keep the population from devolving into an unruly mob.

The ... problem with this story is that on one hand, it adds absolutely nothing of interest to the world of Attack on Titan, and on the other hand, it skips all the parts that would have made a story like this interesting. Obviously from the title and synopsis, you can gauge that Rita becomes a strict, cruel leader but the story just glosses over her transformation. At the end of Volume 1 Rita still has a childish personality but at the start of Volume 2 there has been a 6 months time skip and she has become this harsh mistress. Not only is Rita, not the main protagonist of her own story but we also don't see her transformation which might have been the only thing that would have made this story interesting in the first place.

There's more mind-numbingly terrible stuff in this novel but the point above alone is enough to not ever read this novel.

Review based on volume 1 (will update in the future):

This is fluff.
Even pretty good fluff, with a tinge of underdeveloped themes.

This story is not meant to depicture the varying facets of human empathy or the lack of it, nor is it about how a human is shaped by their domestic environment and it also isn't about the life of the people dealing with the post-war situation.
This story is simply about cute Irina and "the ol' reliable" Lev who found themselves in a tragic situation, destined to share the same road to make their dreams come true.

Romanticizing the stars, cosmos, and especially the moon is common ... practice, but what's special about this novel, is them being the driving force for Lev and Irina, often forcing them to disregard basic human (and vampire) decency.

...
I don't effin' know what I want to say, so basically:
If you came to read something interesting about the space race or how life was in 60s-70s, you'll be disappointed.
If you came to read a romance novel, then yes, this is your cue to go get the book, but be mindful of this: Lev and Irina are simple, he is the reliable loving kind, and she the zealous and passionate tsundere. There's a beautiful scene on a frozen lake and both of them bonding is also, if i dare use the word, wholesome. However, the earlier chapters feel like skipping, because the chapters don't flow into each other, in addition (at least in the English translation) the word choice is lacking and the sentences read like concrete (does concrete sound romantic? No).

Also comparing the novel to the anime, i think the anime wins:
- The soundtrack was excellent.
- The animations brought everything to life. (That frozen lake scene my man).
- And the scenes flowed better into each other

-> If you want fluff, this is the stuff!

While it is extremely short, only 19 Pages, it entertains some very intriguing trivia about the Silicon life and how their society might be structured.
It is an indirect sequel to the Blame! Movie, but doesn't fulfill the role of an epilogue, there's no closure nor hinting at another sequel, it's more like an Interlude.
But I'd like to think that it is an expansion to Ex-LOG. 3.5 where Killy destroys a Silicon Life incubation chamber. (Although apparently it has been stated that the original Manga and this Booklet are not related, ergo not Manga canon).
The art looks good, it's a mish-mash of black & white ... and some coloured elements to emphasize them. It is highly detailed but not gritty.

It's really just that short, so go read it.

Otherside Picnic is an easily captivating adventure of two socially unadept women who plunge into a world willingly and unwillingly to set a new frontier whilst their consciousness is constantly tampered with.

The genre tags don't have it included but this is a horror-thriller having strong influence from Roadside Picnic (if it wasn't obvious enough), S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and a bunch of true Ghost stories (especially and prominently those). It does indeed also feature Girl's Love but that to a (yet) moderately and slow (but welcome) degree.

The first volume can be read in a binge, because of how grabbing it is. All the mysterious encounters and the little ... pieces spread throughout the chapters hinting at a bigger picture, make for an amazing experience. I just love the start of this novel, as we listen to Sorawo's flow of consciousness while she is drowning, confused jumping from thought to thought, and the journey starts there.

Sorawo is a very interesting person because of how morally gray she is and the way she thinks of her surroundings. I found the cast to be extremely well done even though some might be a bit painfully plain. They come across as more mature than your average anime cast, partially because they are mostly university students and most of them already stand on their own feet.
The story is split into chapters and a big problem I have with it is at how self-contained they often are, it makes it a bit too linear and it doesn't help that every chapter needs to include some kind of encounter with the Otherside and two chapters which perfectly represent that issue are File 14: The Inviting Hot Springs and File 16: Pontianak Hotel. Both of them would be completely fine on their own and if anything, having some breathers are very welcome, however, this takes away from those moments of being grounded. Another issue I have is the overall tone shift: Whilst the first two volumes are focused on survival horror and masters of mystery the last three start to focus more and more on interpersonal relationships, which normally isn't anything bad, in this situation though, it turns the original suspenseful atmosphere into more of a weekly run of the show encounter with the supernatural. Especially volume 5 was low on the mark, no dread, no stakes and to top it off, Sorawo and Toriko start to get out-of-character careless on some occasions.
I also think Iori Miyazawa is being held back by too often relying on pre-existing material to be inspired by.

Nonetheless, I absolutely love this story. Sorawo is a fantastic character and I adore how slow yet steady the interactions and progressions between all the people are. The way Sorawo and Toriko must get to know each other first, earn the trust of the other, and learn deceit and love of the other alike. And to top it off the Otherside is a paradise for a mystery lover like me and the overarching plot will keep you puzzling all the time.

(I suggest you read this whilst listening to music from Lorn, Ital Tek, or Dolor to set the mood :). The anime soundtrack is also great.)

(P.S. I.M. sure loves writing about food.)