Tag: romance

Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga), vol 2

Posted July 19, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga), vol 2

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga)

by Kazuki Irodori, Yatsuki Wakutsu

Genres: Fantasy, Manga, Romance
Pages: 178
Series: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga) #2
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Not long ago, in a fantasy world in a different dimension, a business guy was dragged through a portal. Stranded in a new land, Kondou has only one request—to spend his days peacefully working himself into the ground. But when he collapses from downing potion after potion day after day, it’s the handsome knight captain Aresh who rescues the bean counter in distress... However, ‘twas just the beginning of the tale for these star-crossed lovers. After all, not even a near-death experience and his first time can stop Kondou from working the very next day! And so, jilted by the man he saved after a night of many firsts, Aresh starts a personal crusade to teach Kondou how to work to live instead of living to work. Meanwhile, Kondou for the life of him just can’t figure out why he’s not allowed to take any overtime...

The second volume of Kazuki Irodori’s adaptation of The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter into manga form is fun! It mostly focuses on Aresh’s attempts to get Seiichirou to take care of himself better, with Aresh quickly becoming fascinated by as much as exasperated by him, along with some world building.

I do wish Aresh would talk to Seiichirou about how he feels a bit more, and tell him that he likes him and wants to spend the time with him — and that he’d maybe be a bit less controlling, even if Seiichirou has no sense of self-preservation. The scene where Seiichirou says he’s not interested in younger people is really pretty funny in a sad sort of way — poor Aresh!

I’m not sure entirely where it’s going to go, as far as weighting between plot, pining and actual relationship stands. We’ll see, I guess; I’m interested enough that I’m thinking about reading the light novels.

Since this review was posted quite a while after being written, I have of course now read all three light novels. The review of the first is up!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Baby Dragon Café

Posted July 16, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – The Baby Dragon Café

The Baby Dragon Café

by A.T. Qureshi

Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 312
Series: The Baby Dragon
Rating: two-stars
Synopsis:

When Saphira opened up her café for baby dragons and their humans, she wasn’t expecting it to be so difficult to keep the fires burning. It turns out, young dragons are not the best magical animals to keep in a café, and replacing all that burnt furniture is costing Saphira more than she can afford from selling dragon-roasted coffee.

Aiden is a local gardener, and local heart-throb, more interested in his plants than actually spending time with his disobedient baby dragon. When Aiden walks into Saphira’s café, he has a genius idea – he'll ask Saphira to train his baby dragon, and he'll pay her enough to keep the café afloat.

Saphira’s happy-go-lucky attitude doesn’t seem to do anything but irritate the grumpy-but-gorgeous Aiden, except that everywhere she goes, she finds him there. But can this dragon café owner turn her fortunes around, and maybe find love along the way?

A.T. Qureshi’s The Baby Dragon Café is frothy and light, more sugar than substance, a cosy read without major conflict and a romance without huge miscommunications or a mid-act breakup. There are a couple of dramatic scenes, but mostly it’s about a shy guy bonding with his dragon and a bubbly café owner who misses her family and loves dragons.

It’s exactly what people complain about when talking about cosy fantasy and romance, and I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who is looking for rich worldbuilding. It plops dragons into everyday life, and otherwise it could be any romance book — not much would change if you made it The Baby Horse Café, in some ways.

This all sounds critical, but it was a fun read for me in the moment, I’m just saying not to pick it up with greater expectations than that. It’s tropey and sugary and I’m pretty certain it’s meant to be. The romantic leads communicate and solve their problems fairly swiftly, are relatively in touch with their emotions, and the big drama with Aiden’s family fizzles into absolutely nothing. There are some dramatic scenes with the dragons that sit a bit oddly with the rest (Saphira pushes Aiden out of the way of a burst of dragon fire, and then later there are some dragon-related rituals with a certain amount of peril), but for the most part it’s just… cosy.

There’s maybe something a bit “young” feeling about it, with the squealing between Saphira and her best friend Lavinia — it feels quite teenage. The main characters are supposed to be in their twenties, and not their early twenties, but… it’s fine. It’s not meant to be that deep, I think! Avoid it if that’s not what you want.

Rating: 2/5 (“it was okay”)

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Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, vol 1 (LN)

Posted July 11, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, vol 1 (LN)

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter: Holy Maiden Summoning Improvement Plan

by Yatsuki Wakutsu

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novels, Romance
Pages: 288
Series: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (light novel) #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Seiichirou Kondou is a 29-year-old accountant and major workaholic. When he's accidentally transported to another world, not only does he demand a job, he starts whipping the lackadaisical Royal Accounting Department into shape! But when he gets in over his head and nearly dies from overwork, the handsome Commander Aresh steps in to save him, and the two develop a unique, physical relationship... as a form of medical treatment?!

I’ve been reading the manga adaptation of The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, so now I’ve turned to the original light novel, by Yatsuki Wakutsu. Like most light novels I’ve come across, it has some illustrations, which are very similar in character design to the manga, but I might like them just a touch more.

I always think when reading a light novel that it’ll add a bit more to what I learned/experienced in the light novel, but then get amazed reading the light novel how faithful and complete the manga actually was. The same was true here: there are some extra snippets of characters’ thoughts and feelings, but really, I knew everything I needed to from reading the manga.

It’s still fun though to experience it in this format. Seiichirou is such an idiot, and Aresh’s overprotectiveness feels pretty justified when it’s so clearly laid out what an idiot he’s being with his own health.

That said, there’s already more than a hint of Aresh being a bit too controlling, which drives me mad in the manga versions. Seiichirou can make his own decisions, even if they’re objectively terrible ones. I really hope that they do eventually have a reckoning about this, but we’ll see!

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Mortal Follies

Posted June 29, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Mortal Follies

Mortal Follies

by Alexis Hall

Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 402
Series: Mortal Follies #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

It is the year 1814 and Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into the highest society of Bath hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough, with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at the ball of the season, a scandal she only narrowly manages to escape.

However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, she realises she must seek out urgent assistance, even if that means mixing with the most undesirable company-and there are few less desirable allies than the brooding Lady Georgiana Landrake-who may or may not have murdered her own father and brothers to inherit their fortune.

If one is to believe the gossip, she might be some kind of malign enchantress.

Then again, a malign enchantress might be exactly what Miss Mitchelmore needs.

Alexis Hall’s Mortal Follies is a lot of fun: I love the conceit that it’s narrated by Puck (as in, Oberon’s servant). I thought that might become tiresome, but actually it’s well done. Hall knows how to let the narrative voice get out of the story’s way at the right moment, so it doesn’t create a weird distance, despite the fact that technically we’re being told everything at second-hand by an invisible fairy turned narrator.

I love Maelys and Georgiana, too: yes, at times I felt like yelling at Georgiana to open her eyes and see the woman in front of her not her own fears, but at the same time, she has a lot of good reasons for her fears. And Maelys can at times be a bit inclined to sit back and see what happens, but she does learn through the story to take things into her own hands when she needs to, and that works well.

And let’s face it, Miss Bickle’s adorable and deserves her very own amazing romance.

At times it felt like this was dragging just a touch, because there’s a lot of back and forth, a certain amount of will-they-won’t-they, and some repetitive elements — but once I was into the book, that seemed a very minor quibble. I ended it reluctant to let the characters go, and eager to read Confounding Oaths (although it doesn’t follow Maelys and Georgiana, it should still have the fun narrative voice).

Rating: 4/5 

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Review – A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 14

Posted June 23, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 14

A Side Character's Love Story

by Akane Tamura

Genres: Manga, Romance
Series: A Side Character's Love Story #14
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

With the arrival of a new season, a new chapter of Nobuko's life begins as well. Now employed at the city hall in her hometown, Nobuko faces all sorts of challenges as a working adult. Even when things are tough or she feels down, staying in touch with Hiroki helps her get through the toughest days. But being in a long-distance relationship comes with its own share of difficulties for them both...

Volume 14 of A Side Character’s Love Story follows Nobuko’s first steps post-graduation, with her new civil service job in Ehime — “long distance” from Hiroki (but it’s not actually that big of a deal, speaking as someone who has been in a long distance relationship that required a full day of travelling — the ability to pop over for the day, as Nobuko does in this volume, would have been amazing to me!).

Speaking of which, Nobuko showing up to see Hiroki’s dad is too cute, and a bold move for her that makes sense with how far she’s got in their relationship. That’s something Hiroki would’ve done for her at first!

It’s also nice to see Nobuko settling in, meeting new people, etc. She’s much more confident than she was at the start of the series, even if she doesn’t see it herself! She’s worked hard.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Chef’s Kiss

Posted June 17, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Chef’s Kiss

Chef's Kiss

by Jarrett Melendez, Danica Brine, Hank Jones, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Genres: Graphic Novels, Romance
Pages: 153
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Now that college is over, English graduate Ben Cook is on the job hunt looking for something...anything...related to his passion for reading and writing. According to the hiring committees, he doesn't have enough experience. But when he stumbles upon a "Now Hiring—No Experience Necessary" sign outside a restaurant, Ben jumps at the chance to land his first job. He's actually not so bad in the kitchen, plus, he can keep looking for a writing job in the meantime. But when he begins developing a crush on Liam, one of the super dreamy chefs at the restaurant, he'll start to feel torn between wanting to stay and cook and following his original post-college plan to be a writer. Watch things start to really heat up in the kitchen in this queer YA debut graphic novel!

Somehow, this review never got posted when I read the book in 2022, so here’s one from the backlog I guess!

Chef’s Kiss is really, really cute. I like the art style, and found it very easy to follow what was going on, both due to the clarity of the art and a good layout. That’s not always something you can take for granted (and depends strongly on your taste and visual comprehension skills), though it might sound like faint praise! I enjoy graphic novels, but being strongly non-visual, I’m not always the best at following them.

The cast of characters is fun: the main character is Ben, of course, who starts out looking for a writing job and then finally finds himself at the end of his tether, right in front of a restaurant that’s hiring. He meets one of the chefs, Liam, who happens to be really cute, and then… then the weirdness starts. The owner of the restaurant seems reluctant to handle hiring, and to almost want to deter Ben, insisting he pass a series of challenges in order to work for them, judged by the restaurant’s official taste tester.

The taste tester is a pig, Watson.

There are lots of silly bits surrounding Watson, but there’s a serious core to the story. Ben has to struggle with what he really wants to do, with what he wants to be, and with what his parents want for him. Fresh out of college, he and the friends he lives with have their whole lives to figure out, including interpersonal issues. And, of course, he has a massive crush on Liam.

The whole thing is pretty light, all the same, with lots of cute moments between Liam and Ben, and between Ben and his friends. There’s even a great scene with the owner of the restaurant that hits a strong emotional note — though that’s all I’ll say about that. I found the story a bit ridiculous, at times, but fun.

If you’ve worked in or adjacent to the industry, I can almost guarantee it will annoy you, though. Even I can tell it’s a whimsical and inaccurate imagining of it.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 13

Posted June 10, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 13

A Side Character's Love Story

by Akane Tamura

Genres: Manga, Romance
Pages: 161
Series: A Side Character's Love Story #13
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Nobuko and Hiroki venture to Kanazawa to celebrate their graduation, and are enjoying every minute of their trip. But as night draws closer, Nobuko struggles with nerves over the possibility that they may do more than just kiss. On top of that, it seems as though Hiroki has something he wants to tell her...

In volume 13 of Akane Tamura’s A Side Character’s Love Story, Hiroki and Nobuko finally go on their graduation trip! That’s the bulk of the volume, and it’s a delight: they spend their usual amount of effort on clear communication and sharing their feelings, and they also follow up on the previous volume’s dilemma by finally deciding that they feel comfortable enough to do more than kissing.

(It’s not explicit, by the way — we see them holding hands and kissing, and we’re told that Hiroki was very gentle, but that’s as much as we know.)

Hiroki does also tell Nobuko that he wants to marry her, and that feels surprisingly-for-them undercommunicated: he kind of springs the idea on her, and later affirms he will propose to her properly when he graduates. I guess they do swing back to it, and it’s clear it makes Nobuko happy, but she was so surprised… I don’t think they talk about it again, either.

Strange to think they’re at least two years into their relationship — the volumes have flown by!

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, manga vol 1

Posted June 5, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, manga vol 1

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga)

by Kazuki Irodori, Yatsuki Wakutsu

Genres: Fantasy, Manga, Romance
Pages: 180
Series: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga) #1
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

Once upon a time, in the not too distant past, a holy maiden was summoned. Not just any holy maiden-one hailing from modern Japan. But this story is not her story. This is the tale of the humble accountant, Kondou, who accompanied her and his trials and woes as he accounts in a new world... But no tale is complete without a love interest. And who better to play that role than the handsome knight captain Aresh? Will he begin a personal quest to save said bean counter-who toils around the clock-or is Kondou doomed to be married to his work evermore...?!

The first volume of Kazuki Irodori’s manga adaptation of Yatsuki Wakatsu’s light novel The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter is pretty fun. I like the character designs, I find it interesting that I trust almost no one other than Seiichirou and Aresh, and I’m curious where both the relationship and the story of the Holy Maiden are going.

I will say that there’s basically dubious consent sex to save someone’s life here, which is worth knowing about: Aresh cures Seiichirou from an accidental overdose using magic, which he can’t tolerate either, and then has to “familiarise Seiichirou with his magic” (with close contact) in order to save his life from that. He does try to obtain consent, but it’s not clear that Seiichirou understands. I wonder how this bit comes across in the light novel; it’s fairly skated over in the manga, beyond a few scenes. It doesn’t seem like Seiichirou hates it or anything, and he still has some room to protest, but still, if you don’t like that kind of scenario or find it triggering, it’s useful to know.

It’s hard to evaluate exactly what I think of this series yet, but I’m looking forward to reading more and wondering about the light novel (which may contain some more detail and context), so it’s a good start for me!

Rating: 3/5

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Review – A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 12

Posted May 18, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 12

A Side Character's Love Story

by Akane Tamura

Genres: Manga, Romance
Pages: 161
Series: A Side Character's Love Story #12
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

"The long summer is finally at an end, and I've just realized that I don't have much time left as a college student."

With her job hunt concluded at last, Nobuko accepts a position in Ehime after graduation. Though she enjoys what little time remains of her college life with Hiroki and Fumi, she is constantly plagued with anxiety for the future. And as her graduation trip with Hiroki draws near, thoughts of doing "more than kissing" are on her mind, as well...

In volume 12 of A Side Character’s Love Story, Hiroki and Nobuko are thinking about “going further” than kissing. It feels surprisingly “immature” from my point of view, given how long they’ve been dating, but it’s a different culture and also, people just develop at different paces — I felt cross at myself for being kind of judgy. Hiroki is lovely about it, of course.

One thing about this volume is that we do hear a bit of detail about Shirosaki-san, which is new: she tried dating, but found that she had no real interest in kissing or going further. The way it’s described in the scene, I wonder if Shirosaki-san is meant to be asexual.

As ever, Hiroki and Nobuko are really cute, all the same.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Marble Queen

Posted May 8, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Marble Queen

The Marble Queen

by Anna Kopp, Gabrielle Kari

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Romance
Pages: 336
Rating: two-stars
Synopsis:

The Marble Queen is a YA fantasy graphic novel that’s the political drama of Nimona meets the heartfelt romance of The Princess and the Dressmaker, but this time in a sapphic romance surrounded by a mist of magic.

Princess Amelia’s kingdom, Marion, is in shambles after months of their trade routes being ravaged by pirates, and now the only seemingly option left is for her to save it through a marriage alliance. When she gets an exorbitant offer from the royalty of Iliad—a country shrouded in mystery—Amelia accepts without question and leaves her home to begin a new life. But she lands on Iliad’s shores to find that her betrothed isn't the country’s prince, but the recently coronated Queen Salira.

Shocked, Amelia tries to make sense of her situation and her confused heart: Salira has awakened strange new feelings inside her, but something dark hides behind the Queen's sorrowful eyes. Amelia must fight the demons of her own anxiety disorder before she can tackle her wife's, all while war looms on the horizon.

Anna Kopp and Gabrielle Kari’s The Marble Queen has some lovely art and character design (though it didn’t always look consistently great — there are some panels that really lack polish).

Story-wise, the pace is a bit meh, since we’re meant to believe that Amelia and Salira are in love really quickly, enough to overrule Salira’s love for the woman she meant to marry instead. (This is kind of “handled” in that Salira says that she no longer loves that woman because of the circumstances, but it comes across as pretty thin.)

It’s a fun concept: Amelia is the princess of a kingdom practically besieged by pirates, married off in order to cement an alliance. To her surprise, she’s married to Queen Salira… and unable to ever leave the country again because of magical reasons. She accepts all this remarkably quickly, manages to notice plots that Salira was completely oblivious to, etc, etc, saves the day, etc, etc, happy ending.

It all just goes too fast, probably not helped by the format (it’s harder to do lots of quiet pining scenes in a graphic novel). Even when something goes wrong and Amelia is imprisoned, it’s literally just for a night and suddenly everything is fine again in the morning.

There are upsides — Salira and Amelia are adorable. There’s also some discussion of Amelia’s anxiety, which is represented throughout the story by briars grabbing hold of her, and a little bit of Salira’s. Ultimately, though, the book just doesn’t linger with any of its themes, and the more I think about it, the more it crumbles.

Rating: 2/5

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