*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+
Childhood friends Shunta and Tamaki are testing the waters by being in a relationship for a year. But due to trauma, Tamaki cannot abide being intimate and is struggling with his feelings.
I didn’t like how pushy Shunta was being but thankfully, he meets Takumi, who at least gets Shunta to have an actual conversation with Tamaki. But here’s where I think the need for more smut undercuts the characters. Tamaki does level with Shunta about his feeling about sex but instead of letting that information sit between them and with the audience, Shunta uses it as a way to test being intimate with Tamaki, undoing the tiny bit of growth he had about being pushy; disrespecting Tamaki’s boundaries. It made him a lot less likeable in my eyes. 3 out of 5.
