3.5 stars. This was really sweet. Taiki is among my favourite of the gentle, caring type of seme. Yukiya is among my favourite uke - strong-willed and independent, without falling into the tsundere uke cliché. (Probably because the independence is not just an act - he really can and does take care of himself and even of his baby cousin.) This is why Taiki & Yukiya are able to have such a strong, healthy relationship - because the uke is independent, and the seme respects that independence, but brings additional strength to the uke. It saddened me somewhat, that in 'Bittersweet Café', which was written first, but which takes place 20 or so years later, we see that Taiki and Yukiya are not living together, although they are a couple, or maybe exes who have remained good friends, (it's not clear which). I'm just going to chalk that up to the fact that B.C. was written first, and tell myself that the mangaka hadn't yet fully realised that they were indeed a couple and living together happily (ever after), lol. I'll just add that I feel that 'Love or Pride' was less well written than its sequel 'Blind Love'. The scene in which Kunie sequesters and rapes Yukiya, was clumsily resolved, and there was an insufficient build-up of tension prior to it. It somehow felt flat, and almost brought me out of the story. The rest was a nice enough read - very sweet - but with perhaps not enough spice for my taste. I'll probably reread it at some point though - just before I reread 'Blind Love'.
Love or Pride