Ayuko Hatta

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Lenni Reviews: “Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love” Vol. 9, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

On the School trip to Nagasaki, Satomi and Yagyu & Mira and Noda ponder what the future holds for them as they go into their final year of high school.

The ending is really sweet for these kids and makes for a low angst romantic series for those who like their teen romances fairly light and happy; complete with a happily ever after. It doesn’t go too far into their future but what we see is just enough to provide a satisfying ending as it is. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Wolf Girl and Black Prince” Vol. 6, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Erika is excited to spend summer break with Kyoya and makes a bunch of plans only to end up spending time with Kyoya’s family; his mother and sister, and working at a cafe to help drum up some business.

I wouldn’t call Kyoya a green flag just yet. He’s coming around from the issues he clearly needs to work through but he’s not as mean and aggressive as he has been. I can actually enjoy them interacting, the little misadventures, and their relationship in general without that ick making me want to scream at Erika to run in the opposite direction as fast as she can. She still needs to come down out of the clouds a bit and, in my opinion, the maid cafe thing was dumb and forced. It can be funny but here, it was silly. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Wolf Girl and Black Prince” Vol. 5, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Erika and Kyoya are now second years and to her delight, they are in the same class together. However, Kamiya the playboy is convinced Kyoya should be like him and continues to meddle with their relationship.

Kyoka is churlish and grumpy but not as horrid as previous volumes. It’s clearer now that he’s actually trying to make Erika happy and maybe catching some feelings of his own. I’m relieved because he was getting on my damn nerves. Erika is such a sweet cinnamon roll of a character who deserves the happiness she craves so badly. This feels like the grump/sunshine trope I was hoping for. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Wolf Girl and Black Prince” Vol. 4, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

After Kyoya flips out after learning Erica gave another boy the same gift as she gave him, Erica has had enough and ends their ‘relationship’ to be with Kusakabe; who is much nicer to Erica. Also, another student named Kamiya is a huge player who has sworn to never get involved with emotional relationships and set his sights on getting Kyoya to do the same.

Kyoya is still a dick but he’s slightly less awful in this volume.  I’m hoping he becomes a better boyfriend for Erika, who is so sweet and trying really hard. I can tell Kamiya is gonna be a temporary problem but his motivations are weird to me. Who cares if a guy you barely know isn’t a player like you? But hey, there’s drama to be had. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love” Vol. 8, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Satomi is having trouble dealing with how nice her boyfriend Yagyu is to other girls and feels this affection should be reserved only for her.

Not that this series slips into high angst but it was nice to see Satomi and Yagyu get a little messy. It’s fine for characters to have a happy relationship but these two were almost too perfect and I wondered if any conflict was going to happen. Happy is fine but not always compelling to read about. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Wolf Girl and Black Prince” Vol. 3, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

As they head back to school after Christmas break, Erika’s grades have tanked due to her being distracted with Kyoya so he offers to tutor her. When Valentine’s Day rolls around, their classmate Shinohara develops a crush on Erika, making Kyoya jealous.

Okay, Kyoya is crossing the line between cutting and aloof to flat out abusive asshole. It isn’t healthy or amusing to see him treat Erika like crap, making her cry, and generally making her miserable. Its enough to make you hope she dumps him flat out for someone better. There is also a side story “I Ain’t Your Clown” where a student named Kodama uses humor to avoid being rejected. She is so adorable, it washed the nasty taste Kyoya left in my mouth. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love” Vol. 7, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

While Satomi and Yagyu are usually the stars, this volume spends it’s time with Miria and Noda. Miria has confessed her feelings for Noda, who doesn’t seem to care for relationships until Kenishi, Miria’s cousin who is now a student teacher at their school, enters the picture and Noda becomes jealous.

Miria is the breakout of this volume. Her personality is fun and vibrant, even as she shares some of Satomi’s hesitation when it comes to dating for the first time. We’re hitting the same series of firsts as Satomi and Yagyu but the time taken to watch Miria and Noda grow was enjoyable to me but I can see if some readers would want the series to go back to our main couple instead. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Wolf Girl and Black Prince” Vol. 2, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

As Erica works through er developing feelings for Kyoya, Kyoya sits back and lets it happen without much obvious interest. Kyoya’s friend, Takeru, offers to help Erica win him over so they can be a real couple.

This series is cute but Kyoya is coming off less aloof and disinterested and more of a plain old jerk. He’s heading into red flag territory where even when he does something nice it doesn’t balance out how much of a dick he’s being. I’m starting to hope this all ends with Erica ending up with someone who’s better for her. 3 out of 5 because the side story included was nice.

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Lenni Reviews: “Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love” Vol. 6, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

While Satomi and Yagyu continue to date, Satomi’s friend, Mira, also has a crush she wants to confess and is working up the courage to tell Tenma she likes him.

Most of this is Mira and Tenma, which is fine since their personalities are completely different from Satomi and Yagyu – who are pretty established at this point. They’re energetic and funny, so they’re entertaining while Satomi and Yagyu are doing their slice of life thing. Again, this is a nice series for a chilled out YA romance. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Wolf Girl and Black Prince” Vol. 1, by Ayuko Hatta

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Erica Shinohara is friends with the popular girls in school and to stay in their circle, she made up a boyfriend, even going so far as to show them a random boy’s picture as proof. But those girls recognize the boy and it turns out it’s Kyoya Sata, a student in their school. Erica asks him to help her out by keeping up the lie by pretending to be her boyfriend but he’ll only do it if she becomes his dog.

Kyoya doesn’t blackmail Erica into sex or anything creepy like that. She’s basically his gopher and has to pay for snacks and stuff. It’s clear that being in the pretend relationship could blossom into a real one. There’s a little angst but this is mostly lighthearted shenanigans in a cute young adult romance. 3.5 out of 5.

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