M/M Romance

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Lenni Reviews: “My Adorable Betrothed” by Dokueki

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

Leo is the son of a wealthy family who also adopted Sui after his parents died. They were raised together and are expected to marry, but Sui is hesitant to make that commitment despite their close relationship.

Okay, so that’s the synopsis, but it’s more like they fuck all the time, and when they’re not fucking, they wanna fuck or talk about how much they wanna fuck. The “pressure” to get married is barely a plot point. While I can get behind a “Plot? What plot?” smutfest, this was boring after a while and uncomfortable in some parts. I feel bad not enjoying this more because the art is great. If you want straight-up smut, this is it. It has the feel of a simple porn flick, breezing by anything that isn’t sex. 2 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Worst Soulmate Ever: Proposal” by Haruta

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

Shishikura went to the matchmaking service to get married and ended up with his rival, Kotani. His relationship is contentious, but on their first trip together, they do their best to get along and get to know each other better. But what Shishikura learns is Kotani has no interest in getting married.

While smutty and sweet, this is a little rushed. Not that I need a ton of angst and drama but this couple went from hate to love so quickly, they still have serious disagreements, then suddenly marriage is on the table; it all felt so fast that one person wanting marriage and one person not seemed like the least of their issues. However, it didn’t kill my enjoyment of the volume. It’s a familiar trope and we only had 2 volumes to get to the happy ending. There’s so much spice and it’s explicit so keep that in mind. It was fun but pretty standard or omegaverse yaoi. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Stigmata: Love Bites, Vol. 1” by Hidebu Takahashi

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is for mature readers only.

Detective Kuroiwa and his subordinate Minami work tough murder cases using Minami’s unusual ability to see and feel the victim’s thoughts and manifest their injuries on his body. When Kuriuwa’s ex wife, Mari, is murdered, they work together to solve the case but Minami is unsure if his feelings for Kuroiwa are his own or the lingering echoes of his dead ex wife.

The implications of Minami’s powers are sad and frightening. His introduction is – trigger warning – reading the memories of a rape/murder victim and him dealing with feeling the violation in parts of his body he doesn’t have. In addition, he could die if he feels this shit too long. I like the art style; it can be ethereal but maudlin. Not what I’d think to use for a police procedural or murder case with how soft it is but it’s pretty. There are some spicy scenes. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Engage” Vol. 1, by Yuu Minaduki

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

Mei works had his family’s business, a taiyaki shop that gets really busy around an event called the Star Festival and has a long standing crush on a repeat customer named Naru. While Mai would love to confess his feelings, Naru may be more connected to Mei than he ever thought.

There’s a lot of intrigue going on here so if you’re looking for some quick smut, this isn’t it. Naru has a bunch of secrets and can’t seem to leave Mei alone; doing that strange thing of ‘I know I’m bad for this person and should leave them alone but I’m going to bring them close to me’ and not actually doing what could possibly be best for Mei. I was just left with this confusion thinking ‘where exactly is this going and do I care enough to keep reading and find out?’ But, we shall see. The first volume isn’t always the strongest start but there’s always the feeling of wanting the resolution. 3 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: “Midnight Rain” by CTK

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

Ethan is working hard to pay down his debt and comes across Mike in the laundromat one night. Intrigued by the man, Ethan tries to talk to him but is rebuffed, only for Mike to show up at Ethan’s door injured from a fight. Ethan offers to let Mike stay with him to recover, giving the pair time to grow closer.

This is the classic dynamic of one super loving and emotive partner and one brusque and stubborn partner. It’s not bad for a quick read. This tells the story well, has some heat, and is pretty low on the angst. The main couple has good chemistry but it’s a little shallow in the way that more pages to tell their stories and get together would have really helped this out. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Young Men in Love” by Joe Glass & Matt Miner

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

This graphic novel is a collection of stories of m/m relationships in a variety of different genres; including pirates, spies, knights and more.

Each story is pretty short but they pack a punch. I didn’t end up feeling as if the stories were incomplete or poorly paced. And you get so many different types of stories; ghosts, heroes, regular guys, all different races are represented; the works. The art styles are also varied and it all comes together in a very enjoyable anthology. If you like gay comics you will enjoy this collection. 4.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Love Nest” Vol. 1, Yuu Minaduki

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

Nursing a broken heart, Masato takes a friend’s offer to move into his second home. What his friend neglected to mention is someone else is living there; an older man, Asahi. As they get used to living together, they become closet; first as friends then possibly more if Masato can work through the pain of the past.

This is a sweet story about two people in need of healing who find each other and manage to find love again. The end is a little abrupt but it’s nice as has just enough smexy times to be believable. A worthy addition to your yaoi library. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Jealousy” Vol. 5, by Scarlet Beriko

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

This volume concludes Uichi and Akitora’s relationship in the flashback and returns to the present day; where they are both much more mature men. The ending is a perfect conclusion to the ride we go on through the series and it really feels earned. There’s plenty of spice for all of us naughty readers but also a great deal of sentiment. And I really like the way the art style adjusts between the younger and older characters. I’ll kinda miss this series but I’d go back and read it again. 4.7 out of 5.

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