Yuu Minaduki

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Lenni Reviews: “The Little Bird Sleeps by the Sea” by Yuu Minaduki

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

Yuuichi Tachibaba has adopted his nephew, Ayumu, after his parents and sister died a year ago. When they move to a new town, Yuuichi becomes friends with Ryou Kurebayashi, the owner of a store in the small town. As they grow closer, it’s clear they have deeper feelings than friendship and may be the key to them both healing from their pasts.

The two main leads are great characters, and their journey is touching, but the traditional third-act breakup felt way too forced. There could have been so many other less contrived reasons for this event. This leans more into emotional drama, so it’s relatively light on the smut. It’s not detailed, but you know what’s happening. And you know what? I’m totally fine with that. The story about them healing from their pain is beautiful. It’s one of those rare instances where I think hardcore smut would take away from the emotional impact. Not to mention the art is lovely. 4 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: “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: “Sayonara Game” by Yuu Minaduki

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

Yosuke and Arimura were in the basketball club as teens but grew apart as they came into adulthood. While Yosuke has had an enduring crush on Arimura, Arimura doesn’t remember him until he asks Yosuke to tutor his little sister; who develops a crush of her own.

This story has some great moments with Yosuke being the quiet type and Arimura being more outgoing and overly honest. They have a nice dynamic and it factors into the conflict in the story. It does get explicit and spicy. I liked it but it didn’t stick with me after I was done but I could see myself reading it more than once. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Change World” Vol. 2, by Yuu Minaduki

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

Yosuke and Arimura’s relationship is almost dreamlike until Arimura gets a job offer overseas and his former classmate, Masato, comes in to start trouble.

It may be spoilers to say so but Yosuke and Arimura are clearly an unshakeable couple. They may have some hesitation but there was never a point in this volume where I thought the conflicts presented would pose the slightest threat to their relationship. If you’re looking for a low angst yaoi, this fits the bill perfectly. The main couple are sweet and fun to read and there’s some sexy times that are graphic so be aware of that. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Change World” 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+.

In this sequel to Sayonara Game, Ito and Arimura are growing closer but Arimura wants Ito to move in with him.

This was cute but fleeting. I like the contrast between the stoic Ito and outgoing Arimura but having a third character, Hozumi, appear as an antagonist to interfere with them is really cliche. I am aware this is cliche for a reason but this seems particularly generic. It’s obvious the main couple is too devoted to be fooled by this person, if they even bother to deal with him at all. Fun but we’ve seen all this before. 3.7 out of 5.

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