This second-chances romance is all anyone who adores the trope of missed love can want. This heartwarming yet angst filled manga has just the right combination of light-heartedness and deep emotional connection. Lovers of romance manga will adore this cute romance between two high school best friends who turn into something more ten years down the line.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to read the ARC, but I have to be honest and say this one was a bit of miss for me.
For some reason I just could not connect with the characters and the art didn't catch my attention either so it really just got very hard to read just to keep my attention on it.

Really enjoyed this one.

Loved the art work.

I also love the front cover to this.

Hope to get a physical copy one day.

I'm normally not really into manga, but this was a sweet story. I think this is perfect for teens who might not read a lot of manga, but enjoy comics and romantic stories.

This was a really sweet manga following two boys that dated in high school and broke up. We're now revisiting them seven years later as they try to rekindle their romance. Overall, I really enjoyed this and the artwork was nicely done too.

The White and Blue Between Us is a fast-paced and enjoyable queer romance. Hozumi and Mishima were in love during high school, but seven years have gone by. With the backdrop of the lighthouse, Hozumi and Mishima must decide if they can ever find their way back to each other. This was a sweet and angsty romance that it was easy to become invested in. I liked the lighthouse imagery! I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy a second chance romance.

Thank you to Kiyuhiko, Kodansha Comics, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I have mixed feelings about this story. There are scenes where the characters are adults and flashbacks to when they are in high school, but it is hard to distinguish between the past and present in some parts. The first sex scene was sudden and gave off an uncomfortable vibe. It is unclear to me why the one MC even forgave the other so quickly for what happened in high school. I think this story could’ve benefitted from more relationship building for that to make sense.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Look, you'll get a backstory for this one like an internet recipe.

I have been trying to get into more manga on and off for half of my life now, mostly very unsuccefully because the kind of stories I like, I couldn't get my hand on with a few notable exceptions.

I requested "The White and Blue Between Us" by Kiyuhico mostly because it was free and I was going through graphic novels like a thief swiping money off the counter after a bank heist (true story, you can ask NetGalley). I had no idea of what kind of story I was about to get but I'm so glad I took the risk.

This was the loveliest, realest, ordinary love story, perfect for when you want to start and finish something light in the space of a few hours

I loved the characters, their normal jobs and lives and how they went through several stages of their relationship with conversations about their thoughts and reservations. The way the story ended with the book title being mentioned, was so beautiful and poetic, that it made sure that this story will always stay in my head.

If you are feeling a bit down, need something fast and uplifting or just like beautiful romance and manga, I absolutely recommend this to everyone. It was something truly special.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this DRC.

I liked the environment in which the story takes place. A small island, where time seems to pass more slowly. It is quite a simple love story, but it has unique elements, like a light house, or the coming out scene.

I liked the drawing style, although at times I had the impression that it wasn't quite consistent. But I liked the texture and the use of gradients.

It was relaxing reading it, and made me want to live there, with apparently less things to worry about.

I went into this knowing my girlfriend gave it a low rating but knowing our bookish tastes are often different I was curious to see what I would think of this. Unfortunately I agreed with my girlfriend on all counts.
This manga had severe pacing issues. The story did not flow at all and there was no sense of time throughout the story.
There was absolutely no chemistry between the two men, but it's hard to make chemistry believable when the characters themselves have no personality.
The sex scenes were really uncomfortable to the point that it felt like assault.
Overall this manga was just a huge miss.

I really had enjoyed this book when I read it thinking that there'd be more books to follow. I was very upset to find that this was it. Knowing that there will not be any more I can only give this book a two star. It felt incomplete and too short. You almost don't get enough information and interaction as them as adults aside from the sex. You don't get to see the relationship truly grow and flourish. Really you end up with my questions than you do answers

Do you like the miscommunication trope? If so, look no further. When Hozumi left the island for school, he turned down his friend Mishima, claiming he had never really been interested in him romantically. Now he's back, and Mishima - instead of going out and living the life Hozumi hoped for him - has become a recluse and shut-in. Is it too late to help his one-time love?

The timeline in this manga wasn't always super clear: flashbacks to high school are interspersed with the present, and we skip around through the months, as manga is wont to do. I'm not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope (any more) but 15 your old me would have been absolutely delighted by this.

Well, I have mixed feelings… The art was really cute and pleasant and the story was the same. Cute would be the perfect word to describe it. I really liked the characters and how the book flowed, except half way through it started getting rushed and I just wanted more.
I unfortunately didn’t notice I was picking a book with smut… and well, they are not my fav. It’s not too much of the book, but it was enough for me to feel awkward and out of place. I just think it was absolutely not needed and for me it just made it less special.

Muchas gracias a NetGalley por permitirme leer este manga! Me ha parecido super tierno, y los protagonistas son absolutamente adorables. Me habría gustado conocerles más. Quizá en siguientes tomos (?)

1 star

The blurb was intriguing but the story was horrendous and Hozumi was just terrible. Hozumi broke his boyfriend’s heart, came back 7 years later and immediately begins to stalk and harass his ex who does not want to see him and escalates to what looked very much like SA which never gets properly addressed and is hand waved away, turns out Hozumi broke up with Mishima because he thought he knew what was best for Mishima and then they get back together. That isn’t love.

This story reminded me of all the BL Manga I read during high school in a good way. This one shot was sweet with a just a little spice. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a quick romance.

It was a second chance romance about a guy who regretted giving up his first love. He finds his first love and chooses to own up to his mistake and win him back.

I enjoyed this little one-shot and the story about second chances. The art is really pretty and fits the vibe of the story very well. Loved some of the background art as well and just the general vibe of life by the sea. I love the ocean and would love to live there so the vibe was very cozy and sweet.

I did enjoy the idea and the plot. However, given it's a one-shot I wished it would have been more in-dept. By that I mean, if the plot would have gotten a few Manga as a mini series you could have fleshed out the characters a bit more and give more about their background. It felt a bit rushed because of the fact it was a one-shot but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I got this book for free via NetGalley for a review.

This book sees the reunion of two young men seven years after their relationship ended with Hozumi lying to Mishima about never really loving him.

Content Warning: this book contains a small amount of sexual scenes, however the consent is dubious.

The characters are well written in that they feel very realistic. I liked Mishima, he seems very sweet if somewhat lonely. I found it harder to like Hozumi, solely because of the way he treats Mishima. Beyond the initial lying, I'm just not convinced that their relationship is the best for Mishima.

The plot has a nice gentle slice-of-life style story, with the hook of how their relationship is going to unfold to pull you along. It didn't have me desperate to keep picking it up, but it did have me wanting to read more to find out what happened next.

I enjoyed the world building; you get a really nice impression of life in this island town. I always enjoy a sea setting, so having this based around the lighthouse with a couple of scenes on the boats was appealing.

The art style is good. Not one of my favourite styles, but the illustrations are clean and there are some beautiful panels. The style suits the type of story being told here.

Overall this was a nice little one-shot story which I enjoyed. But I just cannot get behind their relationship which made things feel a little awkward while reading.

Thankyou to Netgalley and publisher for an ARC of The White and Blue between Us.

Hozumi and Mishima dated in High school and right before graduation Hozumi broke up with Mishima with a lie. Seven years later Hozumi comes back home to help out his family in their store as well as to heal their past.

This is a nice one shot BL manga. It is only a few chapters. The artwork is very beautiful to look at. It is very calming and relaxing. Hozumi feels bad about what he did to Mishima and still has feelings for him. He wants to tell him the truth and hopefully rekindle their relationship. Mishima also still has feelings for Hozumi even after he was hurt. Mishima took Hozumi back way to quickly for my liking. There was no real communication for why Mishima forgave and got back with Hozumi so quickly. I would have liked to have seen this happen over a few more chapters and more discussion between the characters. The ending was sweet and it does show the awkwardness of them getting to know each other again.

I do recommend this if you like sweet second chance romances.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy.

I feel like there is a portion of this manga missing - the story felt rushed and also just not very good.

There’s some serious issues in one area with consent and just feels like the ‘relationship’ was forced.