I have posted my review to the X platform, I attached the link below.

First off, I'm giving this book 4 stars! Now, diving into the details—⁠

Starting with the minus points:

Firstly, the characters. I felt there weren't many standout side characters; most seemed like passersby, except for ML's bro and mom, then MC's grandpa. I expected something more.

Next up, is the plot, especially the climax. It didn't feel quite as intense as I anticipated.

You see, I was building an emotional connection with the story and the characters, but before that feeling reached the peak, the plot's climax occurred.

I kinda felt: what is really happening? Why it suddenly—⁠

Now, third: how they resolved things. If I were in the MC's shoes, I wouldn't have given in to ML so easily. While the book aimed for character understanding and warm feelings, something is lacking there. Perhaps the MC was too understanding, so it feels like not natural? Like ... it is unreal?!

Now, onto the positive aspects – there are so many! I'll go with what I love the most.

Firstly, I adore the MC's personality.

His emotional range, can be escalated from -100 to 100. 😂😂 That, is both amusing and endearing, for me. His witty comments add a nice touch too. Overall, I appreciate the diversity in the characters here.

Secondly, the depth and meaning behind this book are easily graspable.

Delving deeper, there are numerous unspoken quotes conveyed through actions rather than words. A brilliant way to address sensitive moments.

Thirdly, I may not fully buy into the ML's cuteness (pah I really hv a bitter spot for someone like him, based on personal experience), but the whole "come-back-as-boyfriend" thing? Absolutely adorable! Plus, that extra? Cutest!

Fourth, the character development can be seen clearly. I love it when they talk and decide to be better together. It's a pivotal moment in this book to show us how much they've grown.

Despite the richness of the plot, they did grow.

Book Review for: "The White and Blue Between Us" by Kiyuhiko
Source: ARC from NetGalley
Score: 3/5 stars

The book "The White and Blue Between Us" follows Hozumi and Mishima from the moment they breakup to seven years later when they meet again.

Plot:
The book starts with Hozumi and Mishima breaking up and then the book fast forwards to seven years later when Hozumi comes back to look for Mishima.

The two meet again at the lighthouse that Mishima operates and they try to talk things out. There isn't much said but things do get intimate quickly.

The challenge with the one-shot style manga is that each dialogue and moment must be met with intention and help build the emotional connection from the reader. It felt this book missed a lot of opportunities to build the story and stakes of meeting again.

Writing:
Although this graphic novel has expressive illustrations, the writing and dialogue felt flat and limited in it's range of emotional poise. The characters are interesting and their history together has potential. Unfortunately, the book does not capitalize on meaningful flashbacks to support character development. Graphic novels are short and it felt as though this book moved too quickly for it's own benefit.

Characters:
The characters have some personality but this book moves too quickly to develop any emotional connection with them.

Finale:
Overall, "The White and Blue Between Us" offered expressive illustrations to build the story between our two lovers.

solid tree stars for this book. i loved the art, and i thought it matched the story really well. overall, it way okay and a good read but i felt that there was no plot and that the characters were too plain with no personality. something that felt out of place were the two spicy scenes, especially the first one. i think they are unnecessary and they didn't add anything to the story.

˗ˋˏ ୨୧ thank you to NetGalley and Kiyuhiko for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review! ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

˗ˋˏ ♡Thank you Kiyuhiko and NetGalley♡ ˎˊ˗

˗ˋˏ୨୧Introduction୨୧ ˎˊ˗
This book is “The White and Blue Between US” by Kiyuhiko. This is a graphic novel that is mostly romance. This is a Boy LOve story and does include two spicy scenes, however there is not much of it. We have two characters, Hozumi and Mishima. They used to have a relationship back into their highschool days, but something happened. It has been 7 years since Hozumi left and now he is back, however Mishima has blocked everyone out and lives in the lighthouse.

˗ˋˏ୨୧Plot Summary୨୧ ˎˊ˗
It starts off with use meeting Hozumi as he comes back to the island he left 7 years ago, he is excited to be back and just wants to see one person. Mishima, they used to be in love during highschool, however due to something Hozumi said that was all ruined. Mishima is now very closed off from everyone else and lives in the lighthouse and does the job his grandfather used to do. Hozumi is trying to talk to Mishima again, but Mishima does not want anything to do with him. Hozumi does not stop and keeps trying until one day it rains and Mishima finally lets him in, this does not last long as the moment it stops raining Mishima makes Hozumi leave. This point is the driving point of their relationships, they end up communicating through their problems and we get to see their beautiful love. We also get a bonus chapter where we see how their relationship was formed.

˗ˋˏ୨୧Writing style/Art style୨୧ ˎˊ˗
You can not really assess the writing style as it is a graphic novel. The art style though is very good, it is simple and I do not know how to explain it but it is a style that matches the story.

˗ˋˏ୨୧Characters୨୧ ˎˊ˗
Both of the boys are cute characters. I like that they are kinda the opposite of eachother. M is more shy and closed off as well as is an introvert, while H is more open and an extrovert. They complete each other extremely well.

˗ˋˏ୨୧Originality୨୧ ˎˊ˗
This type of story is nothing new, there have been multiple books about someone leaving and coming back to fix their mistake with a person. Even if it was not that original I will eat it up all the time and will always love it.

˗ˋˏ୨୧Enjoyment and impact୨୧ ˎˊ˗
I loved reading this, especially after reading a thriller. I do not care what people think if it was not original or you could guess what would happen. It was just cute and lighthearted.

˗ˋˏ୨୧Target audience୨୧ ˎˊ˗
People who want a fast, cute, lighthearted, slight spicy, romance, yaoi, boy love, and graphic novel read/book.

˗ˋˏ୨୧Overall assessment୨୧ ˎˊ˗
Overall I really enjoyed this book, the art style was really good. I loved the story, it was really easy to read. I would recommend this book. A good 4 star book!.

I don’t ever like the ‘break up for the other person’s own good’ trope, but this time it happens as a sort of prologue to the real story so at least it is over and done with quickly. When Ishizaki and Mishima are reunited 7 years after their high school graduation they are able to heal the wounds from their past and restart their relationship.

While the story wasn’t anything groundbreaking, the setting was lovely. The lighthouse in a small community was an excellent backdrop to this love story.

Recommended for: yaoi readers

Content warning: explicit sex scenes

I received a digital ARC of this manga from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars. It was okay and you can definitely tell it was more of a one shot than a full story. It just didn't do much for me.

This manga felt a bit underwhelming. There’s not much of a story beyond two people finding their way back to each other (which in itself can be great but in this book it felt rushed). It also felt like the characters didn’t have much personality and this made me uninvested in the story itself. There were some jumps between past and present that confused me a bit as well.

The two stars are for the absolutely beautiful illustrations. The art in this book is immaculate, so it’s a shame the story didn’t work for me. I’m sure there will be people who will absolutely adore this story though, so do give it a try if you find the premise interesting.

Thanks Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for letting me read an ARC of this book. The White and Blue Between us is out on February 13th.

This was cute, but too short. I wonder ir this was a short movie or something because it didn't build up anything. Like it was a quick BL read.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I liked the artwork the story not as much. The book definitely needed more story. Everything was so rushed that after I read parts I had to go back and reread because it felt like I missed something.

I found this book by chance on netgalley, fell in love with the synopsis and decided to give it a chance. And I was totally surprised. The manga has completely deep and beautiful writing, in addition to the drawings being very well done. As I read the book I felt a mix of emotions. If this is what you are looking for you should definitely read this manga.

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This could have been a cute and nice read - despite feeling very rushed - , but there were some narrative choices that made it impossible for me to fully enjoy this story.

The characters are poorly written - one is barely there and the other is a toxic walking red flag - and although the art is lovely it wasn't quite enough to compensate for the lack in terms of plot development and pacing.

Unfortunately the whole experience felt like reading an incomplete draft.

This volume was quite a treat. The art was lovely, and the story very realistic in lots of ways. I really would have loved a longer look at this couple, but I really enjoyed my time with this couple on this small island.

This was a solid read. Standalone manga can be very difficult to pull off as you just don't have the time to really teach the reader about the main character. That being said this manga was very food for a standalone. I really enjoyed the romance between the main characters and I found them both to be pretty like able. I do wish there had been a content warning as this manga did have a pretty heavy scene in it. Because of that I am only giving this manga 3 stars.

I don't love BL Manga although I'm intrigued by them, but this isn't a t fault for this rating. It would be more of a 3 out of 5 since the story is cute albeit basic, but the author thought wise to include a random sex scene which was non consensual (I think? I was very confused about what was going on there) which is a big red flag.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC

I think this is a pretty classic book. This is a second chance romance where they were together in high school, but unfortunately one of them broke up with the other and lied about their intention so they go back together a couple years later without getting back together, this is the story of them falling back in love and sorting things out. I think this is really cute although I think this type of book is very much over done

This isn’t love, the way he just blurt out that he isn’t in-love with his boyfriend anymore then left him and now he came back after 7 years spouting things like “i missed you” to him did not sit right with me. There isn’t enough relationship build up, the conflict could’ve been resolved with him communicating his concerns to his partner, not giving him false lies. I hate how he just forgave him after everything :( like he didn’t just break his heart and the way the guy forced himself on him? nope.

A good manga to start with as it was all wrapped up in one volume and it wasn't a heavy read as most of the conflict and angst is resolved in the first half of the volume. When a manga has an angsty premise I go in expecting to be saddened and I came out of this wishing it had made me more emotional. It was trying to show many different scenes both past and present but it didn’t feel developed enough leaving me wondering things such as why Ishizaki, who left Mishima to go to college, wanted to go there in the first place, what he wanted to study and his dreams. I did like the bonus at the end that showed how they met in highschool and how their relationship grew. I do understand that it can be hard to fit a lot into a single volume story without sacrificing some things. The NSFW scenes surprised me, they felt kind of shoehorned in. Overall it was fine.

Maybe I've been spoiled with other LGBTQ+ manga in the past, but this wasn't it.

This gave us no romantic build-up as all of that happened before the book started. The writing and dialogue were very perfunctory and blunt. I did not care about any of the characters.

And there was a very uncomfortable dubious consent scene that didn't need to be there. I know some BL mangaka love to include this, but I hate it, and as I said above, I have been spoiled by LGBTQ+ manga with teens as the main characters that do not include this.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I so wanted to like this, but unfortunately, while the art was nice, the story was severely lacking and nonsensical. The timeline was all over the place, we barely got to know anything about either of the male leads beyond the surface level, and the plot was so jumpy I was getting mental whiplash. I really wish I could have enjoyed this more as it had such a huge potential. Unfortunately the potential vanished when we went from "I barely know you anymore" to them in the throes of sex seconds later, and it didn't recover from there. It was not one for me.

The idea is good, but the execution was a bit of a letdown. This one shot shows two former boyfriends meeting again after years. During high school, Hozumi lied to Mishima that he didn't love him, but that was a lie. We find out his reason for that as the story progresses. For me, it was a bit of a cliché, but fine. What I really didn't like was that the story felt rushed and confusing at times. I also didn't connect very well with neither of the protagonists. My favorite part was the bonus story at the end, which shows the very begging of their relationship during high school. That was sweet and cute. Overall, an average boys' love that might be a nice read for fans of the genre, but not very memorable.