Lenni Reviews: “Pink Heart Jam” by Shikke

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Haiga moves from the country to the big city for college and joins the rock club to meet new people. After a night out with them, he learns about the red light district and figures it’s a great chance to explore his sexuality. What he didn’t expect was to see a senior in his club, Kanae, working there.

Of course Haiga makes visiting Kanae a regular thing and things are developing between them. While this is a classic stoic/cinnamon roll pairing, Kanae isn’t cold, he’s just professional at the brothel and a bit more open with Haiga when they’re at the rock club in school or just jamming out to music. Haiga is exploring his sexuality while Kanae is exploring his feelings. This also handles sex work without being exploitative and sensationalized. The smutty scenes are only with our main couple, not any of the clients Kanae takes. I like it so far, its just a journey with these characters coming together. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “MADK” Vol. 3, by Ryo Suzuri

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

It’s been a long time since Makoto summoned a demon to indulge in his fetish for eating demon guts. Now, Makoto is a demon himself residing in hell trying to discover the true name of the demon he granted his wish and destroy him.

J, the demon, always seems a step ahead of Makoto’s plans but allows whatever schemes he concocts to play out so we learn more about J’s past. I did not expect this to end the way it did but it’s really interesting. There isn’t much smut, it’s more about Makoto trying to overcome J. It was intriguing to see Makoto go from this mousy weak little freak to a powerful demon on par with J, the most powerful of his kind. This is not one of those fluffy stories were the love of a human touches the demon’s heart and they ride off into Hell’s happily ever after. This is dark and conniving. It’s not super graphic but it is not for romantics. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Old-Fashioned Cupcake” by Sagan Sagan

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Nozue is feeling like he’s in a rut. He may be the oldest and most popular person in his office job but all he does is go to work and come home. When speaking with his coworker, Togawa, the younger man decides to help with what he calls “andropause” by helping Nozue experience more of life. Togawa’s intentions are kind but it is clear he has a crush on the older man.

This is a fun May/December romance. There are some intimate scenes but they’re not super graphic. Togawa is the stern type, doing a poor job at hiding his feelings, and Nozue is the oblivious one who needs a roadmap to see he’s the target of a crush. As they come together, we get some nice slice of life moments. It’s nice to see older characters – even though 40 is hardly “old” – and it’s a quick read that makes you smile. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “I Want to Be a Wall” Vol. 2, by Honami Shirono

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

Yuriko and Gakurouta are still figuring out their fake marriage and in this volume we finally see how they met.

Their relationship is wholesome as they become better friends and learn more about each other. The how we met story is hilarious and a little bittersweet as Gakurouta’s love is still unrequited. The story also has space to teach us more about how Yuriko’s asexuality. I’m sure every person who identifies as such is different but it was still cool to know about. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Old-Fashioned Cupcake with Cappuccino” by Sagan Sagan

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

After Nozue allowed Togawa to open his experiences to fun as well as romance, their relationship is running into issues with intimacy and the fear of someone at work finding out about their relationship.

This volume handles a lot of emotional work on their relationship so if you’re looking for just smut after the first volume, you’ll have to wade through a bit of angst to get to the sweet and spicy parts. The smutty bits aren’t super detailed but they get the point across enough to make this for mature readers. They’re an odd couple but they work together and if you’re looking for yaoi with an older character (not that 39 is old) this isn’t half bad. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl” Vol. 3, by Azusa Banjo

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While Mido already realizes how cute Hiura is, Hiura is only now realizing his feelings for Mido and is hiding them.

This series is keeping its cute tone and teasing us with Mido and Hiura getting together; which this is clearly heading towards. I’m enjoying a lot of this but watching Hiura just be happy exploring how he wants to express himself is the best part. Real life sucks so, I like this world where everyone is accepting so Hiura has this chance to enjoy his euphoria. Fingers crossed the real world can be this way, too. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Catch These Hands!” Vol. 4, by Murata

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

Soramori is enjoying spending time with Takebe but is hoping for more intimacy, unsure of how to bring up the subject. Meanwhile, Takebe isn’t sure if her feelings and Soramori’s are the same.

This is a great last installment for the series. It addresses the issues they’ve been having and in a natural way that’s really sweet. In the end, you feel happy for them and it’s looking like they will have a happy future. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Catch These Hands!” Vol. 3, by Murata

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

While Takebe is determined to leave her past self behind, Soramori doesn’t want her to change, frustrating Takebe who feels she is not getting the support she needs to accomplish her goal of becoming a “normal” adult.

I can see Takebe getting frustrated because a big part of her character is that she wants to be a functioning adult instead of an angry teenager who brawls all the time. It was a reach for me for it to cause such a falling out. It was funny to see it all come full circle as they have a fistfight about it rather than talking it out but this volume was just okay. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Megumi & Tsugumi” Vol. 3, by Mitsuru Si

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

When once they were ‘friends’ with benefits, Megumi and Tsugumi are an official couple. But a possible rival, Inami, takes an interest in Tsugumi’s strength and is a clear threat to Megumi. There’s also the problem of Megumi’s father and his negative opinion of omegas.

I figured a rival alpha would be the next step this manga took since our main couple is established. Unless some other contrivance comes along but Tsugumi is so derpily earnest that I don’t think a lot of the miscommunication romantic tropes will be believable. Also, Tsugumi’s dads are hilarious and adorable; both in the main story and in their little side stories. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Boy Named Rose” by Gaëlle Geniller

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

Set in 1920’s Paris, twenty year old Rose has always dreamed of dancing on stage at Le Jardin; a cabaret his mother manages. When he gets the chance, Rose acquires an ardent fan, Aime, who attends all his shows and is persistent in seeing Rose one on one.

This graphic novel is beautiful and actually calming. It’s not overly dramatic, light hearted, and takes it’s time as Rose explores his identity and enjoys expressing him or herself by doing what s/he loves with the people s/he loves. It’s romantic and character driven, very worth checking out. I kept waiting for something awful to happen but, nope! It’s just so sweet. 4 out of 5.

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