Two lil perverts with trauma and a very sweet and strong friendship. The kinda connection where all that matters to one is the other’s happiness. Very cute, very steamy.

This was such a quick and lovely read. I absolutely adored it! Definitely got me out of my reading slump. I loved the story and the art style very much. It was very easy on the eyes

Ahhh so many feels! Light of My Life is this author’s english manga debut and they did not disappoint!!

This story follows the adult lives of childhood friends Aki and Minagi, going into the story you know there’s history between them but you aren’t sure yet what it is. As the story unfolds we get flashbacks to the past with these two and it’s emotional and sweet all at the same time.

The spicy scenes were very fun but there was still a good plot to back them up which is sometimes hard to find! I look forward to more BL from this author soon!

This is a quick read that has a lot of angst and steamy scenes. The two main characters misunderstood each other for so long that they lost time with each other after they graduated high school, but of course they reconnect and still have misunderstanding, but everything works itself out in the end.

I really enjoyed the art style in this. Very confident and expressive but sometimes I kept mixing up Minagi and Sarara. It was kind of a slow burn on the romance side but way too eager and indulgent on the smut side. Somewhat angsty but in a very controlled way. Ultimately I enjoyed that it's a story about the people you fit with when you don't fit into the spaces you're expected to occupy. I also enjoyed that while this is a romance, there is equal importance given to the pre-existing friendship, and finds meaningful spaces for the third wheel in the friendship trio.
Thanks Netgalley and Kodansha for the ARC.

“Light of my Life” by Takiba

5⭐️/5⭐️

Oh. My. Goodness. This was so hot, and so angsty, and overall such a captivating story. Aki and Minagi were close friends in high school, each expressing ambitions and supporting one another with their life goals. One day everything changes, and instead of pursuing football professionally, Aki begins working in his grandfather’s hair salon. Meanwhile, Minagi drops his intention of going to medical school, and instead starts working in a host club.

There’s so much tension between these two characters, so many words unspoken. One day Minagi asks to move in with Aki, and the two are now forced to face some difficult topics: why didn’t Minagi go to medical school? What feelings are Aki hiding from Minagi?

This is quite an explicit story, and the physical and sexual nature of their relationship does complicate the dynamic. However, it ends on a really nice and hopeful note. Overall, I really enjoyed the story!

Oh I loved this one! The art is gorgeous, the two main characters are stunning and the spice 😩
There’s not much in terms of plot but tropes below
-high school best friends to lovers
-i never knew you loved me back then
-the typical japanese / yaoi bath scene in the extras
-low angst
-high spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Also the bar is in hell i know but my guys are healthy, there is no nonconsensual bullshit here thankfully

A wonderful slice of life, second chance story that every BL enjoyer has to read! I devoured within a day for how wonderful it was, how beautiful the artwork was on every page, and how easy this was to read, yet it spoke volumes with each turn of the page

This was a cute, BL romance manga. It's a really sweet story about past regrets and second chances. I liked both the main characters. They complemented each other really well.

The art style is lovely, and there were cute moments in the story. As it's a one shot it's hard to include too many details. I would have liked to see more of this couple, but I don't think it was badly done at all with the length of the book.

There were a couple of things I thought could be better. At the start, the story seemed a bit confusing and disjointed. It was also hard in places to tell who was talking, which isn't a problem I usually have with manga.

There was uncensored spice throughout, though I'd say the romance only came through later in the story.

Overall, it was a pleasant, easy read. I would definitely recommend this to fans of BL manga. I really liked the characters and the story. :)

𓏲࣪◜💌 ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ࿐ྂ

At first I thought this is nothing for me because of the smut scene we got early but still decided to continue reading it and im glad I did because it was beautiful, I loved the message that got told and the characters a lot, but the amount of smut just felt off to me.

Nevertheless, I have to say the art was absolutely stunning, I was in love from the start.

- thank you so much kodansha comics for sending me the e-arc in exchange for an honest review. -

This was my first BL manga, and I’ll admit—I was pretty shocked by how explicit it got right in the very first chapter. I did notice the content warning on the cover, but I wasn’t expecting the story to open with such a graphic scene, and it definitely caught me off guard.

The artwork is expressive, and the plot itself is fine—though for me, it didn’t stand out much beyond the standard tropes. I think part of my mixed feelings come from the fact that, while I’ve watched over 200 BL dramas, I had never read a BL manga before. The reading experience was very different, and I wasn’t fully prepared for the intensity on the page.

That said, if you’re already a fan of BL manga, you’ll probably get more out of this than I did. For me personally, it wasn’t quite the right fit.

First I want to say thanks to NetGalley, the Author, the Illustrator and the Publisher for this digital ARC.

This was absolutely brilliant, heartfelt and just perfect in every way. I loved not just Aki and Minagi but Sarara asl well, and their friendship and history together.
Both Aki and Minagi have so much love for one another, and have felt that love for the other from nearly day one. There is some misunderstanding but it's perfectly acceptable and stems from their deep feelings for eachother.
It's a bittersweet love story about time lost, unspoken desire, lost dreams and past regrets. It was written and illustrated so well that I felt both characters pain, desire and longing, even to the point that made me cry, like actually ugly cry... it also made me laugh and blush.
I liked that the friends-with-benefits aspect felt too convenient at first, only for that to end up being an important part of the final revelation. It genuinely had a purpose.
I'm a giant sucker for BL and it's hard to find them where I'm from, but it's not only that, with this one, it wasn't only the story that had heart, but also the art style and that's something I prefer in reading BL.
Even though I wouldn't mind to travel back to their world for more stories, I enjoy the fact that their story was told in one book.

I'm definitely getting the physical copy!
💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

3/5
Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was an enjoyable BL standalone. I really loved Takiba’s use of half tones, and the art overall was nice. However, I didn’t really connect with the characters very much, so I wasn’t particularly invested in the story. I did like the ending though!

Overall, a nice quick read but not a super memorable one for me.

HUHUHUHU NEVER EXPECTED IT WILL BE VERY HEARTWARMING 😭😭😭 i cried at the half but glad they are happy ending.... thank you kodansha for the auto-approved. so happy to read this book <3

Full transparency, I took the explicit content warning too lightly! HAHA
I think that the majority of this story was simply not for me. And that's ok. Not all books are intended for all readers. The story itself I loved, childhood crushes coming full circle. a deep secret bubbling under the surface. Someone's life going down an unexpected path and things**** Spoiler***** ACTUALLY WORKING OUT. Love it. And ohhh.. The ANGST. The story moved briskly which is normal for this style and the artwork was absolutely beautiful.

I am posting an unstarred rating of this book outside of netgalley, because again, I think I simply wasn't the intended audience, and I am at fault for that. Readers who go into this with a better understanding of the warnings will eat it up!

This was a cute manga about childhood friends, dreams, and what happens when dreams aren't reached. I loved the relationship between the two main characters and the friend group as a whole.

A short and spicy boys love story. I really enjoyed it, it was a good palate cleanser. The drawing style is very pretty.
Thank you Netgalley, the author and the publisher for send me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in October. More smutty than I expected but I'm not complaining. The story was cute, although occasionally I had trouble following it in the beginning, they were lovely and definitely one of them is a bit of a disaster gay (which many of us gay are). Yeah I loved this romance.

Everything about this story was perfection. From the beginning to the end, I was hooked. The love story was full of angst and drama but so tethered in ADORATION and LONGING. The two main characters truly loved each other but, as always, it got jumbled up along the way and made a mess that seemed irreversible. Despite all the odds, I think the author did a spectacular job of resolving the conflict and miscommunication. One of the best resolutions to a BL manga I've ever read!
From the spicy scenes to the art style to the affection between the two main characters and the love they share with their childhood best friend-I loved it all. When this comes out, it will be going on my shelf.

The story was cute, felt a little surface level at times but to be expected from a short story without a sequel.