young adult romance

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Lenni Reviews: “Wolf Girl and Black Prince” Vol. 11, by Ayuko Hatta

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

This time Erika falls ill and Kyoya takes care of her. After this, it’s time to plan for the senior trip and since Kyoya is on the committee, Erika gets a job to save up some money for it. But with Kyoya and Erika busy, it’s hard for them to have time for each other.

We also have the trope Erika getting jealous of a girl Kyoya is working with on the school trip which may be a standard YA type of deal and she’s a teenager, Kyoya is a lot of things but a cheater isn’t one of them. I’ve clocked a bunch of red flag behavior with him but not this so, I wasn’t that invested in that side of things. It was nice to see Kyoya continue to be a better person/boyfriend but we’ll see if Kyoya can keep that up since we’ve got some rivals: Kyoya has that girl helping with the class trip and Erika has a childhood friend who has confessed his feelings before. 4 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: “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: “Let’s Do It Already!” Vol. 2, by Aki Kusaka

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

Yuri and Keiichiro still find ways to be together under the weight of Keiichiro’s family’s oppressive rules. Their latest threat is Shinobu Kasuga, a spy for the family who is trying to break them up.

Kasuga’s plans to break up our main couple are funny but also creepy. I want to lean more towards funny but nah, he gives me the ick and I hope we don’t see much more of him. Other than that, Yuri and Keiichiro are just trying to find ways to get to know each other and spend time together. They do seem to really care for each other so it’s easy to root for them. I do wonder how long we can ride this gimmick or if it will feel tired in the future. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Sakura, Saku” Vol. 4, by Io Sakisaka

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

Saku worries that Kotono may also have feelings for Haruki as they are still pretending to be dating to throw off her ex.

This was really sweet and I appreciate Saku and Kotono talking things out instead of letting all these doubts and questions fester but honestly, I am really worried about Kotono’s ex. He is a walking talking red flag that I could see getting violent and I don’t believe he’ll completely back off. He needs to be dealt with before I feel I can enjoy Saku and Haruki getting closer. It’s this mental axe hanging over the plot for me. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rainbow Days” Vol. 11, by Minami Mizuno

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

After the senior trip, the boys are beset by midterms and planning for their lives post graduation. Part of this is Sports Day, where the boys take the chance to show off to the girls. Anna is still upset after what went down over the trip but despite this, Mari gets the courage to confess her feelings to Anna.

Man, I was upset we didn’t get the conclusion to Mari’s confession in this volume. Instead of that, we switch to another couple who are cute but, holy crap what a cliffhanger! And they’re putting Anna’s brain through the fucking ringer. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Special One” Vol. 7, by Momoko Koda

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

While Emika is in love with her costar, Kanato, he also has feelings for her and they just can’t seem to make their feelings known.

Yeah, this series of miscommunications is kinda silly but it’s fun and more interesting than the previous volume. They’re just two silly, fumbling kids who can’t get it together. I thought it’d be all wrapped up by the end of the volume because how long can you keep this joke up before it’s tiresome or beyond the ability to stretch my suspension of disbelief. Eventually, something is gonna have to give so they can inevitably get together. 3.8 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Komi Can’t Communicate” Vol. 30, by Tomohito Oda

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

While the “competition” for Tadano’s affections ends in Komi’s favor, she still tries to make amends with Kawai in order to convert her into another one of her friends.

As I’d said, I am a little bummed that Kawai didn’t end up a non-friend but not a rival but there is an aspect of this series that tends to take something earnest and make it weird.  It was funny that Tadano was just unaware of all of this going on. But after that’s done, it goes back to Komi being her adorable and earnest self and the side characters have some interesting “screen” time as well. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Like a Butterfly” Vol. 7, by Suu Morishita

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

Kawasumi’s struggling to balance his budding relationship with Suiren and his devotion to karate – even with an injury to his arm/

Aside for the general back cover summary, we have Valentine’s Day/White Day, and Suiren’s birthday. But, part of me wishes that Suiren had something she loves and has ambitions for like Kawasumi. Suiren is a sweetheart, however there must be more to her than being the unattainable pretty girl in school and Kawasumi’s girlfriend. She has such emotional depth that’s explored through her thoughts but right now, I’d like to see her develop more. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Insomniacs After School” Vol. 6, by Makoto Ojiro

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

Magari and Nakami are still on their trip and despite their friends showing up to assist, they are able to spend some time learning about each other.

While they’re adorable – spoiler?? – I am SHOCKED Magari’s parents weren’t more pissed off. A cute trip for a couple of teenagers may make younger readers feel just the sweet budding romance, I’d be freaked out too if my kid was in the middle of nowhere refusing to come home. I hope the pictures are worth whatever punishment gets handed down and I’m not being catty. I really hope it’s all worth it in the end. Other than that, I enjoyed watching them all hang out and work so hard to get the perfect shot. 4.5 out of 5.

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