LGBTQ

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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: “She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat: Vol. 2, by Sakaomi Yuzaki

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

As they make plans to spend Christmas and New Year’s together, Nomato starts to realize her feelings for Kasuga are blossoming into more than just friendship.

Much like volume one, most of this is Kasuga enjoying what Nomato cooks. It’s soothing and it’s adorable to see them interacting. But seeing Nomato really think about her feelings and research what it all could mean was great representation. I also got one of me my wishes; more back story for Kasuga. But still no recipes for all the delicious food featured in the book. But, I like both characters and look forward to the next one. 4.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reivews: “Hello, Melancholic!” Vol. 3, by Yayoi Ohsawa

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Minato admits her feelings for Hibiki and things go back to normal until Misato gets a change to play with a professional band, putting a strain on their relationship.

I’m a little sad this series is over but it ends in a natural place, Minato and Hibiki have great chemistry and if you like lower dramatics, this story fits the bill. There’s conflict but it’s not high angst, it stays chill and jovial. It’s also pretty clean so there’s no issue with smut if you’re looking to avoid that. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Love Mix-Up!” Vol. 6, by Wataru Hinekure &Aruko

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

Aoki is working hard at his part time job in order to buy his boyfriend, Ida, a present. They are spending more time together but Aoki is curious about being more intimate as for as long as they’ve been dating, they’ve only held hands.

Even though the super-deformed drawings can still get creepy, the story and the characters are so charming and adorable that this is still a warm, comfortable read. Aoki and Ida are slowly growing in a natural way that is nice to experience as we go through this journey with them. 4.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Coyote” Vol. 4, by Ranmaru Zaria

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

Now that Coyote knows who Marleen really is, Marleen is put on house arrest to keep him away from Coyote while the wolves and wolf hunters conspire with their respective groups behind the scenes. Coyote takes a huge risk to try and rescue the man he loves.

While Coyote and Marleen are sweet and they have their spicy scenes, I am all about what is going on with the wolves gearing up to take on the mafia family that’s hunting them down. I am super excited to see all this come to a head (no dirty pun intended) in the next volume. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “As the Crow Flies” by Melanie Gillman

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

Collected from a webcomic. Charlie Lamonte is 13, queer, and the only Black girl at an all-girls Christian camp. Feeling like a complete outcast, she struggles to find a place among her group but finds a kindred spirit in her fellow camper, Sydney.

This is pretty good. I have to say all the build-up for this super important ceremony the campers have to do is really disappointing because (spoilers I guess??) the volume ends before we even get there. The webcomic continues but the physical book feels incomplete. If it makes any sense, it feels cut off, not like a cliffhanger.

Other than that, I love the art. I’m a sucker for the colored pencil look since I’ve always wanted to learn to do this. There are some thoughtful considerations on religion and feminism, with some coming-of-age self-reflection. Overall, it makes me want to read the webcomic now. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Love Mix-Up!” Vol. 4, by Wataru Hinekure & Aruko

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

 Prepared for rejection, Aoki confesses to Ida but Ida accepts his feelings and they start dating. Aoki wants to keep it a secret but Ida doesn’t think they should and has no issues being honest with their friends and classmates. However, Ida isn’t very good at expressing how he feels to Aoki.

This is relentlessly cute. I’m enjoying watching the story just play out and it’s written well enough that I’m rooting for them. This is a fun little romance that’s clean, fun, and has low angst (so far). 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Hello, Melancholic!” Vol. 2, by Yayoi Ohsawa

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It’s time for the community festival but Hibiki’s hand injury won’t heal in time. So, Minato comes up with a solution so they can still perform. After the show, Minato discovers Chika and Sakiko have a deeper relationship than she’d assumed.

A good chunk of this volume is dedicated to how Chika and Sakiko got together and the nature of their relationship but we also get Minato and Hibiki on a date. Hibiki wants to find out if Minato has any feelings for her or not. There’s a little forward momentum but I’m guessing the big plot points will happen in the next volume. The date is cute and the other couple’s story has some interesting elements to is. This one is spicy but not overly explicit. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Our Colors” by Gengoroh Tagame & Anne Ishii (Translator)

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Sora, an aspiring artists, is in the closet with a crush on one of his classmates and his childhood friend, Nao, has an obvious crush on him. The pressure of hiding who he is from everyone he knows sends him to a strange little cafe where Amamiya, an older man who is not in the closet, gives him a safe haven where he can be himself.

This is really touching and I won’t even lie that this feels like Tagame wrote this as something very personal and important to him. An out gay artist born in 1960’s Japan, it feels like he reaching out to gay youths to say the things he needed to hear when he was younger and the LGBT kids need to hear today. It’s overall positive but bittersweet. Highly recommended if you’re looking for good gay comics. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl” Vol. 1, by Azusa Banjo

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Midou is one of the most popular boys in his school and his close childhood friend Hiura is considered quiet and glum in comparison. Hiura is also the only one who knows Midou’s secret passion for makeup and allows Midou to practice his skills on him. Midou completely changes Hiura from a plain quiet boy into a beautiful young girl. So beautiful in fact, Midou’s feelings towards Hiura change when Hiura feels more comfortable in the female clothing.

This is absolutely adorable. I like how progressive and understanding everyone is around Midou and Hiura. Not very realistic but in this case, it gives space in the story for the main two to workout their relationship and figure things out.

Since this is about make up mostly (and a bit of fashion) I wish more of this was in color so we get the full effect as readers. But I understand that’s expensive to print and a lot of work. I’ll take the color pages we get. 4 out of 5.

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