This was so good. When I saw that it was from the creators of Sweat and Soap, I was expecting it to be similar to that series because it’s one of my favorites. But it’s actually pretty different from Sweat and Soap in a good way. I liked that it felt slice of life and cozy and that it was a slow-burn even though it’s a single volume story.

I'm not typically a graphic novel person, especially with digital media. Combine that with the fact that I typically avoid pandemic-centred media, and I was absolutely expecting to want to DNF this story. Instead, I found myself deeply invested in the relationship building between the two characters, and in the trials and tribulations they were going through in their daily lives during the quarantine. The storyline is simple but well-executed and the characters' personalities are just charming enough to have me giggling and kicking my feet.

The art is well done, the pacing as well! I love that it gave such a hopeful look back on COVID times and that it matters most what we do from now on.

I love their dynamic and the male character's growth all throughout. I'm so impressed that such a packed story is in one volume. Truly amazed!

A one-shot romance set in the real world and about adults? Sign me up! I don't know if that particular genre just doesn't get translated all that often, but I hope there is more to come.

The home office next door neighbors to lovers story was cute and engaging, without inducing COVID flashbacks. I just wish we spent more time with them as a couple. The ending comes together just a little too quickly.

As soon as I finished my eARC of this, I contacted my boss and ordered a copy of this for myself, let alone our store.

This was SO. SWEET. It had a natural build up, the characters were great and other than the MC H's eyes looking like he was perpetually tired/angry, the artwork was quite good. The MC H was SUCH a sweetie, despite his looks, so I guess he was gap moe?

Whatever it is called, he was an absolute delight (and a gentleman) and this was so sweet and romantic I CAN'T EVEN. Even though you know how it's going to end, I was holding my breath in certain spots and wondering HOW the MCs were going to get to that ending.

5, this was so sweet I 100% recommend this book (standalone too, WOOT!), stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an eARC of this book to read and review.

It’s really interesting to me to read a manga that’s explicitly about the Covid pandemic, although this is a very fluffy story where nobody dies or even gets sick and the main impact is lockdown restrictions. Aside from the Covid hook, the romance was a pretty standard “weird guy and weird girl discover that their weirdnesses are compatible” and honestly even that could have leaned into the weirdness harder, but it was sweet and wrapped up satisfyingly in just one volume.

I loved Sweat and Soap, so I was really looking forward to Home Office Romance by Kintetsu Yamada. It did not disappoint at all! Home Office Romance is the story of how an IT guy sent to work from home at the beginning of lockdown and his adventurous next door neighbor ended up together. It was so adorable, relatable, and surprisingly wholesome! There was absolutely zero outside drama and really brought a sense of nostalgia of what life was like at that time. The interactions between our main characters were cute as heck and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, sweet, standalone read that leaves you with warm fuzzies!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Kintetsu Yamada for the opportunity to read and review with my honest thoughts and opinions.

"You said I was your type, but looks are hereditary. You remembered my name, but that came from my parents too. So far, I've been coasting on what my parents gave me. If I want my stock to keep rising, I'll have to do it myself."

look, it's the end of the year, we're all on the lookout for something short and sweet and cosy (maybe you're not, i am), and this was the perfect match. it's super cute and heart warming. i only pick up romance on rare occasions and this had me absolutely giddy.

covid fiction is a touchy subject and a lot of it still feels off-putting to me, but this felt pretty well-balanced. you never really forget the setting and the life changes under quarantine, but that's not at the forefront of the story—the bonds people made and kept during that time were. the pace was pretty quick as it's a one-shot, but i felt it got the main beats down pretty well.

i loved loved loved the details of nokoru and natsu's living space and the overall character design. a lot of love and care was put into fleshing them out through their environment. i loved the awkwardness of talking to someone you didn't know even lived next to you, and how nokoru approached feelings from a systems engineer's perspective.

if you want a couple cosy hours by the fireplace to keep your soul warm, "Home office romance" is a pretty solid choice.

I love love the idea of graphic novels and find them such peaceful reads that I can get through quickly. I read the entire series of Heart Stopper in 90 minutes. I read this book in an hour. and a bit. I downloaded this from NetGalley as it was an ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it's premise. I wish I had this in lockdown. I wanted this book whilst in lockdown as it would have given me some comfort as I was going through a bad relationship at the time which I thankfully ended. I found my eternal romance afterwards much like the characters in the book. This book would have been the perfect pick me up. But I'm glad I have read it now. The illustrations are so beautifully drawn and takes me back to. my manga days where I wouldn't read anything else. Is it bad to not have favourites? I liked the main characters equally and their facial expressions made me laugh so much my fiance kept looking at me concerned. If you're a lover of Graphic Novels, you need to read this book. This is a standalone book, and there's nothing wrong with me, it did the job amazingly well, but would love a continued series to see what the characters are getting up to. Or is that up to our imagination & personal interpretation? I would recommend this to others.

5/5

Home Office Romance follows the lives of 2 neighbours just as the lockdowns begin. They go from strangers, to friends, to lovers, to married. It’s as simple and cute and wholesome as that.

We love a standalone. Straight and to the point. Absolutely wonderful. Perfect length for a perfect story.

It was such a cute look into the bonds that some people made during the lockdowns. And also the lengths some would go to despite the lockdowns to see their loved ones. It just reminded me that human connection is truly the most important and we are nothing without it. Covid was such an interesting time, and this novel does a really good job at highlighting some aspects that we gained, while also crafting just a really sweet love story.

This is a slice of life manga about a pair of neighbours communicating over the pandemic. Nokoru is a software engineer with a stressful and busy job, Natsu is a grad student in archeology. They bond over the garden that Nokoru has built on his balcony. He’s a little geeky and quiet, she’s cute and talkative (though she is definitely an introvert too!) and they slowly fall for each other through their interactions.

While I normally steer clear of books over the pandemic (too soon), I was drawn to this one because of the description and cover. It did not disappoint!

I loved the story, loved the art style, and most of all - I loved Nokoru and Natsu. My only complaint is that I wish it had been longer, I wanted to spend more time with them. I also learned that slice of life manga may be my thing! A cute and satisfying story, I read it in one sitting and wish I had paced myself to be able to spend more time in their world.

I received an e-arc in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Kintetsu Yamada for the opportunity!

***ARC provided by NetGalley***

Cute one-shot pandemic romance but not my usual style as it runs way more serious in dialogue and character self-reflection than my usual romance.

I really loved this one volume romance manga! It follows two neighbors during the start of the pandemic when many people started to work from home. I loved how the two got to know each other slowly at first, and learned each others quirks! Such a cute story, can’t wait to read more from this author!

Sweet, simple, no-drama domestic bliss? Yes, please. A manga with an absolutely charming art style? Yes, more! A one-shot that will leave you feeling whole? Yes, of course!

If you're looking for a simple, one-shot manga to get you started in the big wide world of manga, manhwa, manhua, and graphic novels, 'Home Office Romance' is the read for you. I didn't know I needed a sweet, nearly saccharine, tale of two neighbors finding each other during the pandemic, but now I also know you need it, too!

No hard feelings, no twisted tales of despair and miscommunications (like is typical in many manga and manhwa romances!). This is a story of two people who meet and develop a simply adorable and wholesome relationship from a chance meeting on their balconies. This is a refreshing, easy read and I would recommend it to anyone who needs a little pick-me-up or just wants to smile for an hour or two straight while they read.

Please see my full review in Booklist for a full analysis of this work. Thank you! I appreciate the opportunity to review this manga professionally.

I was a bit hesitant starting Home office romance as it’s a manga that takes place during the beginning of covid, but seeing as it’s by Kintestu Yamada (creator of Sweat and Soap which I really like) I decided to give it a try. It took a few pages to get into, but I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be a cute manga with a sweet romance, that evolves between two neighbors that connect with each other on their balconies as they work from home. It’s a comforting and calm read with no major drama, which was exactly what I felt like reading. A fun tidbit was also the discrete inclusion of Sweat and Soap, which the main character reads at home. All in all, it was a nice read!


I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Loved this story, this was such a cute story about finding love when you weren’t really thinking about finding it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to read and review this I read this with my friendand this is written differently than the creator's previous series Sweat and Soap but in a good way along with the character dynamics is interesting too. Personally though I wished that there was more plot orientated direction other than a slice of life episodic direction. Otherwise I enjoyed it very much. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4 out of 5 stars

Amazon & Barnes & Noble reviews submitted
Blog link goes live January 7th
Imgur link goes to Instagram graphic scheduled for January 4th
Will be covered in upcoming Youtube wrapup


**TL;DR**: What a fantastic single volume romance - I loved this.
**Source**: Netgalley - Thanks so much to the publisher!

**Plot**: Two neighbors meet during the covid lockdowns and slowly fall in love.
**Characters**: The characters felt very grounded, and considering the length I knew and cared about them a lot.
**Setting**: Most of the story stays within the two apartments and they’re a very important part to the story, but we also get shots and scenes outside the two areas.
**Romance**: I really believed this and especially loved how forward Natsu was, it was a refreshing change of what I have been reading.

**Thoughts**:

Sweat and Soap is one of my favorite completed romance manga so when I spotted a one volume story from the same author and artist I jumped at it! Home Office Romance is the story of two neighbors during the Covid lockdowns who cross paths on their adjoining balcony and strike a friendship then a romance.

This struck an almost perfect balance for me. The story was well and deeply told for a manga, and I loved the pacing and how we it managed to fit the relationship so well into the small amount of time and pages it had. The pandemic wasn’t the ‘main focus’ it was there, but it didn’t detract from the story of these two meeting and becoming friends.

I’ll be buying a physical copy of this - I can see myself rereading this and enjoying it in the future. It’s one of my favorite one shot romance manga I’ve read in recent memory if not ever and I can’t wait to see more from this creator.

5 out 5 stars

I got this book as an advanced copy from NetGalley. The book is a single-volume standalone romance manga.

The premise of the book is a romance that blooms due to the work-from-home situation brought on by Covid. This was the first time I read a book set during lockdowns and the Covid era.

The story is told from the perspective of the male protagonist. We see his daily life working from home and how the romance slowly unfolds.

Overall, it's a really enjoyable read. The artwork is great, and the author pays close attention to small details. The way they connect over shared experiences is presented well.

The downsides are the lack of character development and the one-sided storytelling. We don't see much detail about the romantic interest's life or thoughts.

Even though the way they connect is represented well, this disconnect leads to a feeling of lacking chemistry.

Also, nearing the end, the book picks up pace significantly. This might make some readers feel like it ended too fast.

In conclusion, if you're looking for an easy but fun romance read, this manga is worth checking out.