teen romance

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Lenni Reviews: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 2, by Kazune Kawahara

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

Sae decides to get over her crush on Koki since she knows he has feelings for someone. It sounds easy, but they still have to spend time together.

Sae may have decided to temper her feelings and support Koki with his crush, but they’re in the same class. As such, this volume is just that: various situations in which they are forced to work together. It happens over and over for all of it. It feels like no progress is made for either of them. It’s meandering through each encounter they have, and while Sae may say things are going to be different, that doesn’t happen. A little disappointing. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Komi Can’t Communicate” Vol. 31, by Tomohito Oda

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

It’s Summer Festival time again; an ideal time for Komi and Tadamo to have a nice date but through a series of mishaps, it’s hard for them to have time together.

The stories around our couple are amusing but things feel disconnected. It’s best when we’re focused on our main couple, especially when they’re fretting about their first kiss or thinking about their futures. It totally made up for the scattershot feeling of the rest of the volume with the other characters. Kawai’s family dynamic really is… Something. Why are so many of the side characters so ridiculous? 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Sakura, Saku” Vol. 5, by Io Sakisaka

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

Saku is working with Iryu at the cafe for the summer and since Haruki is also working, they have a hard time getting together. We check in with Kotono’s nasty ex and there is some evidence that Iryu may have been the one to save Saku.

The side story bumped this volume up to a 4 for me because it was sweet. Other than that, Saku and Haruki are still just friends while it’s so damn obvious at least Haruki has some feelings brewing. I would love if the ending of this is we never find out whoever Saku’s guardian angel is and she just moves on with her life as yeah, she was rude as hell to Iryu and is missing out on who is currently in her life in favor of this other mysterious hero. Again, 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Wolf Girl and Black Prince” Vol. 10, by Ayuko Hatta

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

Erika and Kyoya are on their first trip to a hot spring together and as usual, Erika is much more excited than her boyfriend. Both of them are nervous due to how much their friends talk about what could potentially happen when they’re alone overnight. After this, Erika struggles with what she wants to do after she graduates.

They’re in their senior year now which is why Erika is freaking out. All her friends seem to know what they want and when paired with the couple’s first overnight together, I like how in both cases it’s okay to progress exactly as comfortably as you want. Just because it’s your first night together doesn’t mean you have to have sex and just because you’re graduating, you don’t have to have your whole life mapped out in front of you. Since I’m not fully on board with green flag Kyoya, I am glad the story decided to take the route of being okay with not being ready. These are decent messages for teenagers who may be reading this and it’s not overly preachy about it. 3.4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Like a Butterfly” Vol. 9, by Suu Morishita

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

Suiren and Kawasumi decide they need space from each other but Suiren still considers their relationship intact. When summer rolls around again, they plan to keep their promise to attend the Summer Festival together.

While the time spent apart seemed to have done the couple some good, what I was most interested in – and have been for a few volumes now – is Suiren becoming stronger and more confident; especially when dealing with the popularity she clearly does not enjoy. I’ll say it again: Suiren needs more to her than “I love Kawasumi” and “prettiest girl in school.” We have side characters we know more about or at lease I feel like I know more about them and understand them better than Suiren. If we’re gonna spend so much time with her, she should have more depth. 3.5 out of 5

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Lenni Reviews: “Like a Butterfly” Vol. 5, by Suu Morishita

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

After a confession, Kawasumi’s crush on Suiren becomes common knowledge and while she reciprocates, Kawasumi’s next obstacle is not only his complete lack of knowledge of how dating works but meeting Suiren’s parents.

Man, as cute as our main couple is, this volume makes me so damn happy I’m not in high school anymore. Since this isn’t one of those super depressing manga, I doubt this will lean hard into any real bullying from the other students like in a lot of other stories where what you’re looking at isn’t so much bullying as several violations of the Geneva Convention… Legit torture… But, there are plenty of other ways they can make Suiren and Kawasumi’s lives harder as the couple figure this whole romance thing out. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love” Vol. 9, by Ayuko Hatta

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

On the School trip to Nagasaki, Satomi and Yagyu & Mira and Noda ponder what the future holds for them as they go into their final year of high school.

The ending is really sweet for these kids and makes for a low angst romantic series for those who like their teen romances fairly light and happy; complete with a happily ever after. It doesn’t go too far into their future but what we see is just enough to provide a satisfying ending as it is. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Insomniacs After School” Vol. 5, by Makoto Ojiro

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

Despite the disappointment of the viewing party, Nakami and Isaki pivot to finding the perfect shot for the photo contest and head out with Isaki’s sister, Haya, to get some good pictures of the sky. All is going fairly well until Haya goes off with her boyfriend leaving the two of them alone.

Along with our couple just being fucking adorable, we learn more about Magari’s childhood and how Isaki’s insomnia started. They’re sadly relatable and make you hope they can find peace in the future. Other than that, it’s a relaxing read; not too much drama when Haya’s involved, which I’m glad about. I like the tone of this series and I hope it doesn’t change into something either too angsty, too overblown with drama, or too dark. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Love’s in Sight!” Vol. 6, by Uoyama

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

One of Morio’s ex’s runs in to him and Yukiko on a date and while Yukiko wonders about Morio’s past as this is her first relationship, but he’s hesitant to tell his new love about his past.

It was sweet to see Yukiko and Morio get closer and understanding each other in new ways, especially since Yukiko has never felt this way about anyone before. The addition of Morio and Aono bonding about how Morio feels about his friend, Hachiko, dating now was fun; especially considering she’s still in love with Morio but trying to move on. It’s all very insightful and touching. 4.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rainbow Days” Vol. 8, by Minami Mizuno

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

After being rejected by Keiichi, Nozomi thinks about what she should do next. Meanwhile, the boys reminisce about how they first met.

The story about how all the boys met is entertaining and much less frustrating Nozomi’s side of things. I like how she reflects on her past and wants to be different and improve herself but Keiichi is not the best guy. If that works out, I hope he’s not a jerk to her. This volume leans more towards the less interesting parts of slice of life. It’s okay but had trouble grabbing my attention. 3 out of 5.

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