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Thursday, July 18, 2019

Manga Review: A Foreign Love Affair by Ayano Yamane

Rating (Out of 5): ~3
Publisher: 801 Media
Release Date: 2008
Volumes: 1.
Spoilers?: No.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Japanese yakuza clan heir Ranmaru just got married on a lavish cruise ship, but things aren't as they seem. The marriage is just for the appearances, and he ends up getting drunk and spending the night... not with his bride, but with the sexy ship captain! When the two men meet again in Italy, it is the start of a spectacular love story.

Review:

I figured I would give this a try, since I really enjoy Yamane's current series. This one, not so much...
Ranmaru, a yakuza son, is on his honeymoon in Europe, when he meets Al, the ship captain. Al is instantly attracted, and Ranmaru has a hard time refusing his advances. Thus starts an intense romance, as Al saves Ranmaru a few more times in Europe, as Ranmaru gets separated from his new wife, who equally doesn't seem to care much about him.
The second story in this book features a matchmaker and his client, who in the midst of finding one of them a wife, end up falling in bed together instead.
I was not all that impressed with this book. The first story was just not very interesting. I didn't care for Ranmaru at all, and I didn't care for having him be newly married and then falling in love with a man he just meets instead, even if he and his new wife didn't choose each other or want this. The second story didn't seem to have any chemistry or connection, up until the second half when they confess their feelings, even though they showed no signs of attraction before that. The second story was worse in this way, but I think both stories were pretty lackluster when it came to chemistry and actual development of feelings. They were both very one-dimensional.
There was quite a bit of sex in this book, too, but even that was just meh to me.
I had hoped to enjoy this story a lot more. Instead, I'm a bit disappointed, as it was very underdeveloped and lacking.

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