romance

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Lenni Reviews: “Pink Candy Kiss” Vol. 5 by Ami Uozumi

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

Ema is trying to reconcile her feelings for Takora because her husband, Hario, loves her so much. Takora considers the consequences of confessing her feelings.

This volume isn’t bittersweet; it’s just sad. There’s no way for them to be together without ruining Ema’s marriage, and I really wonder what the last two volumes are going to bring. I will spoil that Ema finally did stand up to her shitty mom, which was so damn satisfying. I don’t want yet another tragic lesbian story, but it’s clear this is not their time. Maybe this will end up like Bingo Love and end up together without hurting Hario. I guess we’ll see. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “May I Have a Taste?” Vol. 2, by Amidamuku

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

Minoru is gravely injured trying to save Yamadera after he risks his life trying to become a vampire. An older vampire, Mire, comes to assist Minoru.

I like that the world is expanding. I don’t like Yamadera, so spending time with any other character is a net positive. We do get some backstory for Mine, another new vampire, Itachi, and introduce Mei, who reminds me of Kiku from Call of the Night. I’m glad what seemed to be a predatory version of Ko annoying Minoru, who just wants to live his life, is shaping into something more. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Bride of the Shark Clan” Vol. 1 Satomichi

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

Rival clans Tangata and Miyaru have a tentative peace held together by a yearly offering of a bride from the Tangata to the Miyaru. This sacrifice is usually the weakest. Avel, the son of the Tangata Chief, is assumed to be next in line to head the clan, but an encounter with Tukuri from the Tangata clan results in him being the offered bride instead.

As part of the lore of this world, the Tangata are all born male and only become female the first time they bottom for someone, which sure is a way to have mpreg happen instead of just using the fated mates trope as is. That’s still a thing, though. And by the gods, they sure did try to have some plot in this smut, didn’t they? I’m kinda kidding. This isn’t bad. Our main couple is the aforementioned fated mates with “we met as children” thrown in there. The smut is filthy and it’s just a fairly uncomplicated, low angst story. Arel and Tukiru are cute together, but since the art style is fairly standard, their personalities make them unique. If you’re in the market for some romantic filth, this ain’t bad. 3.7 out of 5.

 

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Lenni Reviews: “Forest of the Rabbits” Vol. 1, by ENJO

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

Shunta and Tamaki were childhood friends who reconnect in high school. While Shunta realized his attraction to his friend early on, Tamaki’s tumultuous upbringing has him clinging to traditional expectations. But Shunta doesn’t want to waste any more time before fulfilling his dream of dating Tamaki.

This is rough since it starts with them as young kids, and Tamaki is clearly not only neglected by his mother, but he’s also exposed to things a child shouldn’t because his mother is a sex worker. We are pro-sex work in this house, but not with your child in the next room or watching your clients as they go in and out of the home. That’s a dark cloud lurking behind this budding romance, making it hard to enjoy Shunta being a goofy simp for his crush. I almost don’t want them to get together until Tamaki has had a few months of intense therapy to deal with his clear trauma. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Not Your Idol” Vol. 1 by Aoi Makino

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

Former member of the idol group Pure Club, Nina Kamiyama, now dresses as a boy after being assaulted at a fan event. She now lives as a normal student, having retired from the group until one of her classmates, Hikaru, finds out who she is.

If you’re triggered by victim blaming, maybe skip this one. While this isn’t exactly subtle when talking about harassment or assault, it works fine. This is also critiquing idol culture, but I get the feeling that this will be more about Nina dealing with her trauma and eventually finding out who attacked her. Because not only is he still at large, but he is still stalking her. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Firefly Wedding” Vol. 7, by Oreco Tachibana

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

Shinpei teams up with the other swordsmen on the island to get rid of Yanagida but despite this, the true mastermind behind Satoko’s abduction arrives to tear them apart.

While the fight scenes are fun, Shinpei and Satoko are just sweet to watch. Through them, we learn more about Shinpei’s childhood but it’s told with the same straightforward way as everything he talks about. Nothing matters to him but Satoko. As for her, she just needs to throw the whole family out. I know it’s not that simple and Shinpei has a litany of red flags but geez… She may be better off on Sex Worker Island with less awful people. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Hima-Ten!” Vol. 1 by Genki Ono

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

Tenichi Imori is a high schooler who loves his side work cleaning houses. Cleaning is his passion. Things get interesting when a new student, Himari Yoshino turns out to be his newest client.

I love me a good low-stakes romantic comedy. I also enjoy that Himari isn’t an oppressive tsundere. She just doesn’t want the fact that her place is a mess to tarnish her professional image. She’s not mean or malicious, but we’ll see how long that lasts with a possible love triangle on the horizon. It’s also completely reasonable that someone who goes to school full-time, models, and runs a company would let chores fall by the wayside, bringing them together. I like this, it’s a decent start. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite” Vol. 8, by Julietta Suzuki

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

Amanatsu rushes to find Rinya’s show, where Rinya is trying to convince Hina to finally bite Amanatsu, but to practice on him first.

Now that all the feelings are out there, Hina does need to decide if she will have Victor break his contract with Amanatsu and replace it with her own to protect him and cement their relationship. This is such a big deal that her father decides to get involved. This would have been super interesting if some other person hadn’t shown up instead. Kinda took the wind out of that reveal for me. Its like when a joke is funny but not in the right place and sucks the energy out of a scene. Not terrible, but very meh. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Steel of the Celestial Shadows” Vol. 10, by Daruma Matsuura

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

Aki and Tsuki travel to the bowels of the village where those who have harmed others when their powers manifested are sealed away. They want to enlist their help to finally defeat Toki.

Oh, this volume has so many twists and turns. It feels like it’s over way too soon. While it may not be battle heavy, there’s plenty of plot to chew on. We get some interesting intrigue around what Aki has seen in her visions, as well as Toki’s backstory. She’s a classic twisted child villain and unapologetically evil. This series continues to explore all these angles I’d never considered and I’m really enjoying it. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 6, by Kazune Kawahara

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

Sae and Koki are officially dating and the whole school has opinions about it.

We also dip into Koki’s backstory about his feelings for Sae. We’re at the stage of a YA romance where they’re figuring out what dating actually means for them. Sae is overthinking things and most of this is Koki remembering how long he’s wanted to be with Sae. Since they’re fumbling a bit, there isn’t much progress. Not a bad volume, especially if you’re looking forward to finally seeing these two together. 3.5 out of 5.

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