Manga Review: The Devil's Secret by Hinako Takanaga

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: 801 Media/DMP

Release Date: 2008

Volumes: 1.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. RightStuf.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Father Mauro lived a peaceful life in a small town ministering to his community. That is, until he found a wounded demon (?) in the bushes of the church garden. While Raoul looks like a demon, complete with horns and a tail, he doesn’t act like the typical demon. Playful? Yes! Mischievous? Yes! Outright evil? Well… that depends on the definition. Does seducing men of the cloth count as evil – especially if they like it?

Review:

This is more middle-road Takanaga. Not as good as her current stuff, but better than her early-early stuff. The artwork is getting better, the characters are better written; more steamy scenes, which is always a plus.

The first two chapters feature a priest and a devil. Pretty light-hearted and cute. Next we have a student romance, then a winter romance, all one-shots. A couple of pretty cute boy characters, and a few with some pretty good smut featured.

All in all, not a bad yaoi one-shot volume. I'll keep it.

Manga Review: A Foreign Love Affair by Ayano Yamane

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: 801 Media

Release Date: 2008

Volumes: 1.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. RightStuf.

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.

Manga Review: Don't Rush Love by Mio Tennohji

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: 801 Media

Release Date: 2009

Volumes: 1.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. RightStuf.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The boys from Meeting You are back in this new boys' school love story. Overwhelmed by passion for his unquenched love, Kusama finally confesses to his roommate Morino. But Kusama isn't content with a simple confession and his demands on Morino increase at a fast rate!

Review:

The artwork in this was rather nice to look at, with nice, proportionate faces and bodies. The smut was nicely done, hot, and even a little uncensored.

There was a long-going story between the main couple, as they admit to their feelings and get together. Then an entwining story about the love interest brothers’ own love story. The story was well done for the most part, sweet, the humor nice.

Overall this was a pretty enjoyable story, and I liked it.