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Tag Archives: m/m erotica

Lenni Reviews: “Jackass” vol 1 by Scarlet Beriko

11 Friday Aug 2017

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

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Keisuke lives with his sister boisterous sister, Akiko, and walks to school with his best friend Katsumi. Katsumi is openly gay and scandalously dating the school nurse and Keisuke finds this out when he accidentally stumbles upon them kissing in the nurses’ office. Akiko’s pantyhose had gotten tangled up in Keisuke’s school uniform so Shinoda, Keisuke’s best friend, offers to cover for him by taking him to the nurses’ office but when Shinoda sees Keisuke’s runner’s legs in the pantyhose, he can’t help but touch them. But what starts off as simple touching turns to more for Keisuke.

This is a very sexy friends to lovers story with asides to some other relationships; including a boy who bullies Katsumi for being gay who of course is doing so because he has a crush. All the conflicts are handled logically and nothing ever blows up into horrid dramatics; like the whole school turning on Katsumi because he’s in a relationship with a staff member. And for an uke, Katsumi is a strong, assertive character. He may be young and sweet but when backed into a corner, Katsumi doesn’t wait for a savior. Things play out in ways where you can see real people making these decisions.

The art is well done and all the sex scenes are so detailed you will blush while reading. And all the encounters are CONSENSUAL! So, you actually can connect with these pairings and want to see them happy. Great manga, despite being a little confusing when it starts out. 3.7 out of 5 and keep em coming!

This title is scheduled for release on October 10th, 2017 from SuBLime.

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Lenni Reviews: “Conflict Management” by Rachel White

31 Monday Jul 2017

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

*This review is cross-posted at Otakus and Geeks.

When Morgan’s boss, Lawrence, makes a pass at him one too many time, Morgan tells him he will sue Law if he doesn’t knock it off. Law obliges and Morgan can finally have normal workdays. That is until Law’s brother ends up in the hospital after a suicide attempt, Morgan learns his boss is more than just a former creeper. As they get more friendly, Law’s pet project – a merger with another company – has major problems and Morgan may have to be the whistle blower that costs Law his job.

Morgan and Law are so delightfully awkward, I found myself identifying with them right away. White doesn’t make her characters overly perfect or overly evil; as evidenced my Morgan’s ill-fated relationship with Harvey and the way Law’s brother Christopher’s schizophrenia is handled. Racism and mental illness can be tricky to include without being preachy or over-exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness. The realistic way the characters are presented made reading through this book enjoyable.

Since the romance takes its time, this is not a book peppered with sex scenes. The focus is more on Morgan and Law’s feelings for each other and how the mess going on in the company impacts their professional and private relationships. The smut IS there so this book earns its 18+ status.

My only real gripe would be with Morgan’s roommate, Anita. She’s the only character who came off cartoonish to me. Luckily she isn’t as distracting as a character like that can get. She says her spiel then the plot resumes.

Without blithering on further, I enjoyed the premise and the slow burn romance. I give it a solid 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Don’t Be Cruel” vol 5 by Yonezou Nekota

24 Monday Jul 2017

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

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Maya and Nemugasa have grown since the first volume and now are at the point in their relationship where they even wear couples rings. But Maya is getting some interesting networking contacts and Nemugasa finds himself getting jealous. At the same time, Shimakawa, who knew Maya as a child, sees an opportunity to make a move on Nemugasa behind Maya’s back.

Our main pair is a cute couple trying to figure out how their relationship is going now that they’re in college and if you forget how they started out, they are a couple you root for and want to see happy. The art is soft and flowy and I have to admit they toned down the sex scenes as compared to the first volume. It’s still explicit but more time is spent about their thoughts and search for jobs than boning. It’s still an ok series, though! 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame: Master of Gay Erotic Manga” by Gengoroh Tagame and Chip Kidd

11 Tuesday Jul 2017

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After reading My Brother’s Husband, I decided to give a look into Tagame’s other works. I thought I would find more things as sweet and ‘dawww‘ worthy as that book. What I found was decidedly different. And by ‘different’ I mean hardcore porn. There’s just wang and butts everywhere.

This book is a collection Tagame’s short comics from various publications. It includes:

  • Hairy Oracle
  • Arena
  • Exorcism
  • Country Doctor
  • Standing Ovations
  • Missing
  • Class Act

These stories range from sweet but xxx rated to flat out S&M bondage and rape. Each story does come with some commentary from the creator about the story; which was very interesting to read. It puts each one in some context. I did notice that the one story closest to what I would call a romance (Hairy Oracle) was the one written specifically for a women’s publication as opposed to the more graphic stories containing non-con.

As shocked as I was, I liked seeing different body types and a unique art style. Most yaoi features whispy pretty bois but the men here are bulky and hairy (similar to a bear). I refuse to judge this by my own tastes concerning smut like this because everyone has their kink and these comics are targeted to a very specific audience. While I personally have some issues with rape fetishes (gay, straight, or otherwise), and I don’t care if its’ a spoiler but there’s some deification in this and I feel the need to warn potential readers; I can’t bash the book for that. It wouldn’t be fair to the work as a whole. I have to give this a solid 3.7 as a collection but I was MUCH more entranced by My Brother’s Husband.

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Lenni Reviews: “Finder Deluxe Edition: Target in Sight” Vol. 1 by Ayano Yamane

12 Monday Jun 2017

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*I received this book in exchange for an honest review and is rated for 18+

*This review is cross-posted at Otakus and Geeks

This manga is a series of yaoi short stories:

Finder: Asami catches photographer, Akihito Takaba, taking photos of him and corners Akihito for smexy times as punishment.

Fixer: Akihito gets caught up in the Chinese mafia and Asami has to save him.

Love Lesson: Class President, Takato Ichijo rescues Yusuke Sakurai from a groper on the train and when Ichijo finds Yusuke smoking on the roof of the school, smexy times ensue.

Plants in Love: Mizuno has a crush on his classmate, Hiyama. When Hiyama sees his father and Mizuno’s father together, he thinks they’re lovers and the boys decide to stay at the same hotel as they do and see what they’re up to.

Risky Society: Rei Yukimura is training new recruit Akira Todo for inclusion in the Risky Society but Akira gets injured on his first mission.

This collection was a very quick read and is a nice sampler of yaoi if you’re not looking to dive into a really long series. The art is whispy but sensual and the characters are very easy to tell apart; their looks are very stylized. The amount of non-con or dubious-con is a tedious trope but it’s there (what is WITH that?!). Thankfully, it’s not in all the stories. I’d rate it a pretty solid 3.5 out of 5 since some of the stories left me wanting more since the plot was so interesting.

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Lenni Reviews: “Leo Loves Aries” by Anyta Sunday

10 Saturday Jun 2017

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

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks

Twins Theo and Leone have both lost their significant others to each other. Theo’s girlfriend and Leone’s boyfriend paired off and the twins decide to lick their wounds with school work and junk food; until their wedding invitation arrives in the mail. They both agree to show they’ve moved on by not only attending the wedding but choosing dates for each other. When Jamie Cooper applies to be their roommate, Theo thinks he’s perfect for his sister but finds Jamie so infuriatingly amusing that their friendship deepens to something more.

As far as “gay for you” romances go, this one does it right. I’ve read too many of these where the straight guy has all these icky feelings about another man’s naughty bits and has to get over that because he’s attracted to a specific man. Here, Theo had dated only women in the past and considered himself hetero but Jamie as a person, sparks his interest. Theo doesn’t stress about his orientation or how he can’t understand being sexually attracted to another male; all he knows is he adores Jamie. This makes their pairing all the more genuine and it was easy to get invested in what’s happening to them.

As for the rest of our cast of characters, they are all written very well so they feel real; flaws and all. The steamier scenes are placed perfectly within the narrative, despite the short courtship. You don’t get the sense Theo and Jamie tumble around randomly just because there hasn’t been a sex scene in a while. They make an adorable couple to follow on their journey and the ending is sweet and satisfying.

If I had a gripe, it would be some unexplored bits like Theo’s fear of water and you don’t get to know the ex’s very well. I thought the water would come into play in the climax of the story and other than Theo’s ex – Sam – being thoughtless, they don’t get much back story. Those are VERY minor criticisms and didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this book.

If “gay for you” is your thing and you want a fairly lighthearted M/M romance, I recommend this. Theo and Jamie are just all around fun to read. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Bonfire” (Hours of the Night #1.5) by Irene Preston and Liv Rancourt

19 Friday May 2017

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

Thaddeus – a vampire – and his assistant/boyfriend, Sarasija live together in the bayou. While Thaddeus begrudgingly indulges Sarasija’s enthusiasm for Chirstmas decorations, strange lights are seen in the darkness which lure people away. To avoid being scapegoated as the cause Thaddeus goes to investigate while trying to keep Sarasija safe.

I found it very difficult to get into this and the blame can be squarely put on the fact I haven’t read any other books in this series. Bonfire is one of those in-between books that’s more of a side story for fans. You get the most from it if you are already familiar with the characters and the world they live in. As a result, how Thaddeus and Sarasija spend their holidays means nothing to me.

That being said, the mystery of the swamp lights did keep me reading to the end. The POV shifts from time to time, Thaddeus can be overly guilt-ridden to the point of being tiresome, and without the books I had trouble feeling the connection to the couple of the towns people around them. Still an interesting enough diversion. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “City of Dreams” by Sydney Blackburn

02 Tuesday May 2017

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

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Marcus Allegro travels to the City of Dreams to study art under Sebastian Moreaux; a master painter and well known to bed any willing student he comes across, shunning any sort of commitment. When he sets his sights on Marcus, Sebastian is baffled when the young man absolutely refuses to add his name to Sebastian’s long list of forgotten conquests. This makes Sebastian want him even more but Marcus is looking for true love, which Sebastian takes great pains to avoid.

I feel if given more space to grow, this story would have more of an impact. I would have had a better understanding of how magic fits in this world, how artists have The Eye, how Sebastian came to be so guarded, how Marcus came to be such a romantic, and gotten to know them both more; I would be more invested in their romance and in their world. Coming in at a scant 59 pages as it is, this story is more like a sweet breeze; enjoyable but gone too fast. 3 out of 5.

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