yaoi manga

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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: “Birds of Shangri-La” Vol. 3, by Ranmaru Zaria

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

After being with Phi for so long, it’s time for Apollo to be with other birds to prepare them for clients. But Phi is far from comfortable sharing Apollo with anyone else, breaking the rules about getting attached. Meanwhile, there are still unknown people following the birds around and digging into their pasts.

As much as I wanna be rooting for our main couple, I am concerned about the implications of what’s going on around them. All the men at Shangri-La are a risk of who knows what and could lose their jobs and home. The relationship drama is interesting but we also don’t know Phi’s full back story and – maybe it’s just me – Apollo has some work to do on himself before Phi throws away everything to be with him. The divorce and unpacking being attracted to men for the first time is something that Apollo needs to reckon with before that can move forward. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni reviews: “Pink Heart Jam” Vol. 2, by Shikke

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

After a camp trip, Haiga realizes his feelings for Kanae but since his finances took a hit, Haiga has to take as many work hours as he can get to try and see Kanae at the brothel. But Kanae doesn’t want Haiga at his brothel anymore and he is also grappling with his developing feelings.

While the official summary implies a lot of drama, this is actually pretty wholesome and honest, even with the smut. I like when stories have some suspense for the couple but don’t lean on repeated misunderstandings or other contrived conflicts. Those can be entertaining but can also grow tiresome so it’s interesting to see characters talk things through. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Love Nest 2nd” Vol. 2, by Yuu Minaduki

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

While still keeping their relationship a secret, Masato and Asahi take a trip during the holidays to see Masato’s mother; who introduces Asahi as his friend. While he believes that one day his mother will take the news well, Asahi’s past comes back to haunt him.

It’s understandable for Masato not to come out right away but yeah, his mom doesn’t seem the type to want anything more than for her son to be happy. There are a few bumps in the relationship; like Asahi’s concerns about having too many feels but it’s not heavy on the angst. It’s all things that are worked out with earnest conversations and a healthy sprinkling of smut to make a sweet story about two people slowly opening up more to each other. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Daisy Jealousy” by Ogeretsu Tanaka

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

Misaki’s dream is to become a game designer and is working his hardest to learn and perfect his craft. However, Kaname seems to outclass him in every way effortlessly. When Kaname’s project gets erased and Misaki offers his help in restoring it, it gives them a chance to get closer but Misaki’s jealousy causes him to overwork himself and push Kaname away. Four years later, they meet again working together on what promises to be a very successful game.

This has some spice in it but it was sweet to see Misaki overcome his jealousy and essentially get out of his own to be happy not only romantically but professionally. The time skips were a bit much. They felt choppy and could have been smoother but it gets us to the happy ending we’re all hoping for. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Megumi & Tsugumi” Vol. 4, by Mitsuru Si

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

After Tsugumi is nearly bitten on the nape by Inami, who lied about being a beta, Megumi is determined to keep his mate safe by getting formally married and claiming Tsugumi’s nape for himself. The biggest hurdle is Megumi’s father who does not want his son messing with omegas. There is also a side story with Tsugumi’s dads as newlyweds.

I love how Megumi just melts when Tsugumi is honest with his feelings. It’s really adorable. There are some spicy scenes but the best parts of this are the main couple and Inami hashing thigs out but Megumi’s father issue is still a thing. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Pink Heart Jam” by Shikke

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

Haiga moves from the country to the big city for college and joins the rock club to meet new people. After a night out with them, he learns about the red light district and figures it’s a great chance to explore his sexuality. What he didn’t expect was to see a senior in his club, Kanae, working there.

Of course Haiga makes visiting Kanae a regular thing and things are developing between them. While this is a classic stoic/cinnamon roll pairing, Kanae isn’t cold, he’s just professional at the brothel and a bit more open with Haiga when they’re at the rock club in school or just jamming out to music. Haiga is exploring his sexuality while Kanae is exploring his feelings. This also handles sex work without being exploitative and sensationalized. The smutty scenes are only with our main couple, not any of the clients Kanae takes. I like it so far, its just a journey with these characters coming together. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “MADK” Vol. 3, by Ryo Suzuri

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

It’s been a long time since Makoto summoned a demon to indulge in his fetish for eating demon guts. Now, Makoto is a demon himself residing in hell trying to discover the true name of the demon he granted his wish and destroy him.

J, the demon, always seems a step ahead of Makoto’s plans but allows whatever schemes he concocts to play out so we learn more about J’s past. I did not expect this to end the way it did but it’s really interesting. There isn’t much smut, it’s more about Makoto trying to overcome J. It was intriguing to see Makoto go from this mousy weak little freak to a powerful demon on par with J, the most powerful of his kind. This is not one of those fluffy stories were the love of a human touches the demon’s heart and they ride off into Hell’s happily ever after. This is dark and conniving. It’s not super graphic but it is not for romantics. 4 out of 5.

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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: “Old-Fashioned Cupcake with Cappuccino” by Sagan Sagan

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

After Nozue allowed Togawa to open his experiences to fun as well as romance, their relationship is running into issues with intimacy and the fear of someone at work finding out about their relationship.

This volume handles a lot of emotional work on their relationship so if you’re looking for just smut after the first volume, you’ll have to wade through a bit of angst to get to the sweet and spicy parts. The smutty bits aren’t super detailed but they get the point across enough to make this for mature readers. They’re an odd couple but they work together and if you’re looking for yaoi with an older character (not that 39 is old) this isn’t half bad. 3 out of 5.

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