Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #yaoi(1525)

Supernatural short stories with beautiful art. Should be a winning formula but some of the stories were ‘bleh’. I really liked both snake stories, especially the last one. They had some humour and in the case of the last one, some power in the relationship for the uke. The goat and carnivore story was my least favourite (which was so sad because the seme was such a good looking character). There was zero affection, pure sex and not even much in the way of the caring you would hope to see from the seme in a S&M dynamic. Felt entirely non consensual even if the airhead uke had enough masochist tendencies to be sexually satisfied, when all he asked for was to be held gently the seme found his request boring and ignored it. That’s an abuse of power dynamic, not a good S&M relationship. Sucked.

Two interconnected stories with an office setting. Straight x gay relationships and the attraction between opposites, these were sweetly angsty. “No Touching at All” is a steamy manga that explores the relationship between two unlikely colleagues. Imagine that you’re: Toshiaki Shima, on your first day at your new job, trapped in an elevator with a guy, Yosuke Togawa who’s experiencing extreme hang-over (having a very unlucky day huh?), and the good news is that guy is your boss! Shima Is annoyed at their first encounter with his boss, but as time goes by… from mixed signals, and to steamy moments (in both and out of the office- if ya know what I mean). Will these two lads give their true feelings a chance to grow more? No Touching at All is a manga that will leave you on the edge of your seat. It’s a must-read for anyone who loves a good romance story with a bit of drama and a lot of BL of course!

Really good short stories, all of them. The yakuza and delivery guy had a good level of intrigue and strong characters that created some great chemistry and sexual tension. The school setting was the sweetest story of the bunch with the one sided crush. And I really liked the mechanic and stoic salesman. Their unexpected friendship between straight guys that progressed to romance was well paced and I liked the honesty of expression of feelings.

A beautiful story of a true and deep love. Dojin and Yellow Dragon had such faith in each other but around them was intrigue, jealousy, and a real threat to any chance of being together. I found their ending to be a bit of a tear jerker but still sweet and heartwarming. Not everything seemed to have real closure, it would be nice to have a few side stories to answer some lingering questions, but the main resolution was still satisfying.

How rare to have someone who’s type includes that they be kind and gentle. This heartwarming story about salaryman Hagiwara Tatsumi, and single father, Maki Yuuto. Hagiwara is not one to get involved with anyone who has a “home” as he doesn’t want to be the one responsible for someone feeling neglected when a new love enters the life of a child with a single parent. But for all Maki looks gentle and sweet, he has his eyes firmly set on the normally unflappable Hagiwara. Sweet mayhem ensues on Hagiwara’s heart as father and son fill his days with unexpected joy.

A follow up story to Ookami Papa wa Hitsuji Tsura shite Yatte kuru, this beautiful fluff fest follows salaryman Yuta and the stoic seeming kindergarten teacher, Kaji. It’s just completely wholesome and yet romantic with this unlikely pair being absolutely perfect for each other.

An enjoyable old style manga about 2 highly competitive chefs and their respective careers. I didn’t really feel any good connection for them to fall in love at first but as the story progressed spanning years you could see that they were a good fit. The oneshot in the middle was a serious flop for me.

This was surprisingly romantic and sweet for something set in the entertainment industry and full of smexy scenes. Intern at a talent agency, Sangyi spots Kang Insoo busking on a busy street and is instantly captivated by the singers looks, voice and songs. Insoo is striving to break into the competitive world of music from the ground up and after Sangyi bumbles his way through meeting him, the two find that there is more than good looks and singing drawing them together. It’s not all smooth sailing but the determined pair face each challenge even though it seems that someone out there is determined to see Insoo fail. I liked this story. Would love to see a story following some key side characters next.

Off to an interesting start, not completed so probably dropped.

Prickly tempered and difficult to get to know, Han Jae-hwa is a thriller writer who is attracts attention due to his delicate looks and excellent writings. But right now he has his own thriller in the form of a stalker who has targeted him. Enter the very much his type bodyguard, Seong Tae-kyung. Now the confident uke is really off balance emotionally as he finds himself the object of teasing humour and sexual interest from Taekyung. I liked this story. It was entertaining with lovely art and just enough potential bad guy stalkers to keep you guessing. It lacked intensity for me, but it’s still a good read.