Tag: romance

Review – All Of Us Murderers

Posted November 18, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 5 Comments

Review – All Of Us Murderers

All of Us Murderers

by KJ Charles

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 343
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

A genre-bending Gothic mystery with a strong LGBTQIA+ romance from beloved, award-winning author KJ Charles.

When Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative’s remote Gothic house on Dartmoor, he finds all the people he least wants to see in the world—his estranged brother, his loathsome cousins, and his bitter ex-lover, Gideon Grey. Nothing, he is certain, could possibly be worse.

Then the grizzled old patriarch announces the true purpose of the gathering: He intends to leave the vast family fortune to whichever of the men marries Cousin Jessamine, setting off a violent scramble for her hand and his wealth. Disinterested in being tied further to a family he can barely stand, Zeb tries to leave…only to realize that he’s been trapped. The walls are high, the gates are locked, and when the mists roll in, there’s no way out.

And there may be something trapped within the dark monstrosity of a house with them.

Fear and paranoia ramping ever-higher, Zeb has nowhere to turn but to the man who once held his whole heart. As the mists descend, the gaslight flickers, and terror takes its hold, two warring lovers must reconcile in time to uncover the murderous mysteries of Lackaday House—and live to tell the tale.

It took me a bit to get into KJ Charles’ All of Us Murderers: I was pretty sure I would enjoy it, because I’ve really enjoyed almost all of her books, but the opening has almost the whole cast being really unpleasant to each other. Which I should’ve perhaps expected, given that it’s heavily gothic in inspiration, but I guess it felt like a bit of added nastiness than the main character plainly has ADHD, and that’s used as a weapon against him.

That said, once Gideon and Zeb actually start talking to each other and not just sniping, and especially as they work through what happened and start working together, it becomes a lot more fun. It isn’t just Zeb with a massive target on his back, but the two of them against the united forces of Zeb’s horrible family, and you can be pretty sure they’ll win out in the end.

It didn’t take me long to figure out basically what was happening, but it was still interesting to be along for the ride and watch Zeb steadfastly refusing to believe in supernatural occurrences… and it was still fun to have the dramatic and very gothic reveals of what exactly is going on, and what the plan is.

Gideon and Zeb — once they’re talking to each other — make a good team, and I love that (despite his self-recriminations) it’s really plain that their break-up wasn’t all Zeb’s fault. There’s a bit of sharpness round the edges with how they’ve handled Zeb’s ADHD together in the past: Gideon covering for him and taking care of him, but also sometimes getting exasperated and seeming to treat him like a child, or sniping at him because of it. The relationship feels so vivid and realistic, even (or especially?) against the ridiculous gothic background.

To clarify: when I call it a ridiculous gothic background, I say this with affection. Charles was clearly having fun with the setting and genre, and I enjoyed it very much. But it’s ridiculous all the same, if you try to explain the plot outside of the story itself and all the atmospheric trappings it builds up.

I was a bit surprised by how it ended for Zeb and Gideon, because that felt pretty un-gothic — but then, they could hardly have had a happy ending if they’d let the gothic story decide their fate, and this was the best way for them to be happy. I was very pleased by that part!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Honey Witch

Posted November 18, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – The Honey Witch

The Honey Witch

by Sydney J. Shields

Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 348
Rating: one-star
Synopsis:

Marigold Claude is entering another season without any intentions of accepting a proposal. When her eccentric grandmother Althea visits and finally provides an explanation for Marigold's strange magical abilities, they return to the Lake Isle of Innisfree where she begins training as a Honey Witch-an apothecary and alchemist who uses her magical connection with the bees to create enchanted honey for her spells.

While this lovely power leaves her especially adept at helping others find love, it also comes with an ancient curse that none have been able to break: no one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.

When Lottie Burke, a notorious grumpy skeptic who doesn't believe in magic, accompanies her best friend to the cottage for a love spell, Marigold can't resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. She invites Lottie and her best friend, August Owens, to stay with her for the summer to prove her abilities, but Marigold begins to care for Lottie in a way she never expected.

She longs to break the curse and escape her lonely fate, but when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her freedom-at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.

I was kinda prepared for Sydney J. Shields’ The Honey Witch to be mediocre, based on a few reviews I’d read beforehand — I ended up getting it in a sale, just to give it a shot. It’s a semi-cosy fantasy romance which ends up involving rather a lot of dramatic bleeding, burning, death during a sex scene, enslavement, poisoning, etc. It tries for a sort of cottagecore aesthetic over the top, but the dramatic story that provides the set-up makes that pretty impossible.

It’s also just… not very good, with more plot holes than Proud Immortal Demon Way, and I absolutely refuse to die and become one of the characters to fix it (shoutout to the two danmei fans in my audience; sorry to the rest of you, I just couldn’t resist — this was a reference to The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System). For example, the main character’s grandmother is a Honey Witch. She has an enemy, an Ash Witch, who cursed her so that she can never be loved, with the stated intention of ending her bloodline.

However…

1. I don’t know if the author needs this explained or something, but you don’t have to be in love to have sex and conceive a child.
2. The main character’s grandmother can (and did) have a child parthenogenically.
3. Even though the main character’s mother chose her true love over being a Honey Witch and gave up her power, her child inherited the power and could become a Honey Witch.

So… there is no sense in which the curse works for the stated purpose, even if you assume you have to be in love to have a baby in this world (which is never stated).

The world-building is also incredibly clunky. It’s a Regency-ish world, and we’re given to understand in the opening that there are distinctive gender roles for men and women, which the main character wants to flout by becoming a witch. Except… it becomes apparent that same-sex relationships are totally fine and celebrated, including by the main character’s family. Yet no thought is given to the effect that might have on gender roles.

I don’t even want to get into the enemies-to-lovers thing going on with Lottie and Marigold, or the sex scene which literally kills Lottie (and is kind of horrifying to just come across without being aware that it’s not a steamy scene, a character is literally going to die mid-scene, even if she gets better because magic).

It’s… it’s just really not good, folks, and I didn’t even like the style. It felt like we’re just expected as readers to instantly get invested in things like Marigold’s relationship with her grandmother (who she hasn’t seen since she was a child) or friendship with August (likewise), or her interest in Lottie, a girl who can barely even be polite to her for the first half of the book.

Rating: 1/5 (“didn’t like it”)

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Review – The Duke at Hazard

Posted November 9, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – The Duke at Hazard

The Duke at Hazard

by KJ Charles

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance
Pages: 336
Series: The Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune #3
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

The Duke of Severn is one of the greatest men in Britain.

He's also short, quiet, and unimpressive. And now he's been robbed, after indulging in one rash night with a strange man who stole the heirloom Severn ring from his finger. The Duke has to get it back, and he can't let anyone know how he lost it. So when his cousin bets that he couldn't survive without his privilege and title, the Duke grasps the opportunity to hunt down his ring-incognito.

Life as an ordinary person is terrifying... until the anonymous Duke meets Daizell Charnage, a disgraced gentleman, and hires him to help. Racing across the country in search of the thief, the Duke and Daizell fall into scrapes, into trouble-and in love.

I don’t why it took me so long to get round to reading The Duke at Hazard, because I pretty much always love KJ Charles’ work — I think it’s mostly that my expectations are always so high now, I get a little nervous that it won’t stand up… and/or I try to save it for “the right moment”. Anyway, I’m glad I stopped hesitating about/saving The Duke at Hazard, though I wish I’d read The Gentle Art of Fortune-Hunting again first, since there are cameo appearances it’d have been nice to fully appreciate. It’s not necessary, though, and I enjoyed this very much.

Cassian’s a sweetheart. He needs a backbone (which he develops) and the strength to speak up about his own preferences, and fit himself inside the role of the Duke of Severn (or fit the role inside of him), but he genuinely adores Daizell and always means to do well by him. And Daizell… has been dealt a bad hand, isn’t entirely a gentleman, but deserves so much more than he’s had so far. Together, they both get chances to prove themselves, and it’s lovely — even if the inevitable misunderstanding part was unavoidably awful, and Daizell’s absolutely right that Cassian owed him more of the truth.

My favourite part was probably Cassian’s enthusiasm about churches etc, and Daizell finding them interesting because of Cassian’s joy in it all. Now that’s a love language I know well!

The supporting characters are quite fun too, like Miss Beaumont and Leo, and Cassian’s character shines through there as well. I especially love the affection between him and his family, though: it would be easy to villainise them for the ways they messed the poor guy up, but it’s clear they did it with the best of intentions, and with true affection for him.

I love the way it all works out as the people Cassian cares for — and has stuck his neck out for — each bring a piece of the puzzle to get the truth out there. It’s all very satisfying.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga), vol 5

Posted November 7, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga), vol 5

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter

by Kazuki Irodori, Yatsuki Wakutsu

Genres: Fantasy, Manga, Romance
Pages: 176
Series: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga) #5
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Tasked with investigating the church, this intrepid bean counter must somehow survive not just the potential political intrigue going on behind the scenes, but also the very air around him! Since magic itself is toxic to Kondou, stepping into a place so inundated could be considered a death sentence...! What's worse, his dashing knight captain, Aresh, gets called away to deal with a dangerous magical beast...

The fifth volume of Kazuki Irodori’s manga adaptation of The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (originally a light novel by Yatsuki Wakutsu) is quite fun. Aresh is actually absent for most of the story, though we do see some glimpses of him and what he’s up to (slightly more than in the original light novel, though it doesn’t add new information as such), but we get a very extremely adorable scene where Seiichirou reads his letters… and hugs one tight.

It doesn’t quite get up to the end of volume two of the light novels, so the story has some ways to go, but for those only following via the manga, it does take a step forward, with Seiichirou beginning to accept his feelings for Aresh and understand his position properly.

Aresh’s controlling behaviour is also less of an issue in this volume than some of the others, since they’re apart. Still, that is a potential issue with this series, even if I found it seemed a bit less obtrusive in the light novels. It’s a pretty intrinsic part of the story.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Forgotten Dead

Posted November 6, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Forgotten Dead

The Forgotten Dead

by Jordan L. Hawk

Genres: Horror, Romance
Pages: 178
Series: OutFoxing the Paranormal #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Parapsychologist Dr. Nigel Taylor doesn’t work with psychic mediums. Until, that is, a round of budget cuts threatens his job and an eccentric old woman offers him a great deal of grant money. The only catch: he must investigate a haunted house with a man she believes to have a true gift.

Oscar Fox, founder of the ghost-hunting team OutFoxing the Paranormal, has spent his life ignoring the same sort of hallucinations that sent his grandmother to an insane asylum. When he agrees to work with the prestigious—and sexy—Dr. Taylor, he knows he’ll have to keep his visions under wraps, so his team can get a desperately needed pay day.

Soon after Nigel, Oscar, and the OtP team arrive at the house, the questions begin to pile up. Why is there a blood stain in the upstairs hallway? What tragedy took place in the basement? And who is the spirit lurking in the closet of a child’s bedroom?

One thing is certain: if Oscar can’t accept the truth about his psychic abilities, and Nigel can’t face the demons of his past, they’ll join the forgotten souls of the house…forever.

On re-reading this, I found I’d never posted my original review here! So here it is now.

I found The Forgotten Dead genuinely a bit creepy — not necessarily the ghost story, in fact, but the backstory, the way the ghosts of the story became ghosts. The human motivations, however twisted they were, which led to the haunting and created the whole situation in the first place.

The group set up here is cool. It doesn’t go much beyond it: this is clearly the setup for a series, so the characters are a bit sketched in, no doubt to develop further later. Likewise, the beginnings of the romance are just that: beginnings. Nigel and Oscar forge a connection, and there’s obvious potential for them to be a couple (and given the books Hawk normally writes, it’s obvious that’s where it’s going), but we’re by no means at our destination. I’m a little nonplussed at reviews complaining about insta-love, because I don’t see that there. Oscar’s clearly a kind guy who feels drawn to Nigel and — in a highly charged emotional situation where they’re in physical danger — forms a bit of an infatuation. The same happens for Nigel, who is also lonely and badly in need of the affection and closeness. I don’t think Hawk tries to make out that they are instantly soulmates, or anything like that.

I’m looking forward to more of this group, and especially to knowing more about the group’s sponsor. Obviously she has motivations of her own, and there’ll be more information about that to come. Likewise, I hope we learn more about each member of the group: this book showed us Nigel’s past, and some of Oscar’s, and I’m sure there’s more to see there — but I hope for more of the supporting characters, too.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – You Should Be So Lucky

Posted October 31, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – You Should Be So Lucky

You Should Be So Lucky

by Cat Sebastian

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance
Pages: 395
Rating: five-stars
Synopsis:

The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. He can barely manage to behave himself for the length of a game, let alone an entire season. But he’s already on thin ice, so he has no choice but to agree.

Mark Bailey is not a sports reporter. He writes for the arts page, and these days he’s barely even managing to do that much. He’s had a rough year and just wants to be left alone in his too-empty apartment, mourning a partner he’d never been able to be public about. The last thing he needs is to spend a season writing about New York’s obnoxious new shortstop in a stunt to get the struggling newspaper more readers.

Isolated together within the crush of an anonymous city, these two lonely souls orbit each other as they slowly give in to the inevitable gravity of their attraction. But Mark has vowed that he’ll never be someone’s secret ever again, and Eddie can’t be out as a professional athlete. It’s just them against the world, and they’ll both have to decide if that’s enough.

I’ve enjoyed a lot of Cat Sebastian’s books, but We Could Be So Good and You Should Be So Lucky are probably my favourites, and I think the best written. This one features Eddie, a baseball player, and Mark, a reporter who usually writes book reviews (and really has no need to work at all thanks to having quite a lot of money) who ends up covering his career and the slump he’s in.

Eddie’s an absolute disaster-sweetheart: he has very little filter, he says what he thinks even what he thinks isn’t something that should be voiced to reporters, and he hasn’t yet had to really work at being a baseball player. Mark’s… grumpier, and guarding a hurt he can’t really talk about, after the unexpected loss of his boyfriend, but he can’t help but respond to Eddie’s sunniness and find himself slowly wanting to participate in the world again. Also, he has a dog, who of course gets loved on by Eddie.

We do also see a few glimpses of characters from We Could Be So Good — having read it isn’t necessary to enjoy this one, but if you have, then it’s lovely to see the cameo appearances.

I loved the way this patiently worked through Mark’s fears and inability to say that this is what he wants for sure. Eddie doesn’t push it too far or rush, he’s far too decent, and so there’s a slow burn effect even though their attraction is obvious fairly early on. There’s also a fair bit of growth for Eddie though, not just in his relationship with Mark — though he does have to be sure about his feelings and find ways to make that relationship work — but as a baseball player and a part of his team too, giving the whole thing a satisfying story other than the relationship. His relationship with his mother is adorable.

Also, this will seem like a non-sequitur if you haven’t read the book, but it made me want to reread The Haunting of Hill House.

Overall, just lovely and warm and kind. It does reckon constantly with the homophobia of the period, but it finds ways for Eddie and Mark to live as honestly as they can despite it, and their relationship is adorable.

Rating: 5/5 (“loved it”)

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Review – The Troublesome Guest of Sotomura Detective Agency

Posted October 28, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Troublesome Guest of Sotomura Detective Agency

The Troublesome Guest of Sotomura Detective Agency

by Kusama Sakae

Genres: Manga, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 265
Rating: two-stars
Synopsis:

Matsuda Kei is a private investigator who specializes in quirky cases centered on his local neighborhood around the shopping arcade. He's recently taken on a new roommate (and lover) named Kamiko who is unemployed, ruthlessly horny, and was actually a classmate from his past.

While the two work together to solve cases, they carry on in what starts as a strictly physical relationship... until Matsuda finds that this temporary situation he has entered with Kamiko might be turning into something more.

Sakae Kusama’s The Troublesome Guest of Sotomura Detective Agency is a one-shot manga which features a private investigator (Matsuda Kei) and a former classmate (Kamiko) who ends up running into him as part of a case. Kamiko starts freeloading on Matsuda, and it becomes obvious that they were both intrigued by each other back in school, but Matsuda judged Kamiko for his dating habits and Kamiko felt unfairly judged.

They start off in a super casual sexual relationship and have lots and lots of sex, which I think comes somewhat at the expense of developing a relationship between them. There are glimpses of it, for example when Matsuda decides to figure out what happened to Kamiko’s childhood dog in order to set his mind at rest about it, but mostly it’s just a lot of sex.

Still, when I think about it, both definitely had redeeming characteristics: Matsuda might be grumpy all the time, but he helps people out, and Kamiko begins to care about Matsuda and apply himself to doing the same work (and really throws his heart into it when Matsuda’s in trouble).

I wasn’t a huge fan of the art, but the story (the detective stuff but also Kamiko’s horndog ways) kinda reminded me a bit of Dee and Ryo in FAKE — it’s not the same story by any means, far from it, and doesn’t go as deep into either character’s background or thoughts, but that did give me a nostalgic smile.

Not for me, ultimately, but that’s mostly a personal taste thing.

Rating: 2/5 (“it was okay”)

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Review – Fence, vol 6

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

Review – Fence, vol 6

Fence: Redemption

by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad, Joanna LaFuente

Genres: Graphic Novels, Romance
Pages: 112
Series: Fence #6
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

A mysterious new fencer arrives at Halverton in the newest chapter of the GLAAD Media Award-nominated sports comic, perfect for fans of Heartstopper.

THE COMPETITION HAS BEEN RESET… EN GARDE!

Return to the thrilling world of high-stakes, competitive fencing, with a brand new story featuring the beloved cast of characters from the original hit series. Are Seiji and Jesse really through? The rumors around Halverton, the prestigious fencing training camp, have spread like wildfire, but it’s not long before a mystery fencer arrives–one who may finally pose a threat to the #1 spot. Will Seiji’s unquenchable quest for rivalry take Nicholas’ place? Where will his loyalty lie? And, when Seiji gets an up close and personal look into Nicholas’ past and determination against adversity while preparing for the difficult road ahead and the State Championships, he’ll have to confront a tempting thought… are they on… a date? New York Times and USA Today best-selling author C. S. Pacat (Dark Rise, Nightwing) and acclaimed cartoonist Johanna the Mad (Wynd) continue their winning streak with this on-point entry in the GLAAD Media Award-nominated series! Collects Fence: Redemption #1-4.

The sixth volume of C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad’s Fence is a self-contained arc in which they visit another fencing school to practice intensively, and several people have dates (but Aiden doesn’t). There’s a lot of great stuff, like Bobby and Dante (though Dante’s absent for most of the book), Harvard learning to assert himself a bit more, and Seiji and Nicholas getting closer.

It does however emphasise that Nicholas has got this good at fencing in little over three months, which… I take back what I said about the fact that he doesn’t magically improve overnight. This is nuts. Fencing isn’t heritable.

Anyway, it’s a cute volume, and I would really like a lot more of it, please and thank you.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Paladin’s Strength

Posted October 13, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – Paladin’s Strength

Paladin's Strength

by T. Kingfisher

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 426
Series: The Saint of Steel #2
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

From two-time Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Paladin's Strength, the perfect blend of cosy fantasy romance and classic fantasy adventure featuring an order of secretive nuns, a swashbuckling paladin and a strange hive of rabbits.

He's a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She's a nun from a secretive order on the trail of the raiders who burned her convent and kidnapped her sisters.

When their paths cross at the point of a sword, Istvhan and Clara will be pitched headlong into each other's quests, facing off against enemies both living and dead. But Clara has a secret that could jeopardise the growing trust between them, a secret that will lead them to the gladiatorial pits of a corrupt city, and beyond...

I really enjoyed T. Kingfisher’s Paladin’s Strength, even though at times I think it could’ve used being a bit shorter — a few pages less here and there. I think I had the same thought about The Wonder Engine, so I suspect it’s partly a matter of style, and I do enjoy T. Kingfisher’s writing quite a bit. She has a thing about paladins, and Istvhan is a fun example of the breed: a little less absolutely subsumed by being a paladin than Stephen, a bit less haunted than Galen, but still profoundly bound by requiring himself to be decent.

So decent that he can’t see that Clara’s a perfectly capable, willing women who would like to go to bed with him. The will they/won’t they is pretty frustrating given we see both sides of the potential relationship and thus know that they’re just totally failing to communicate, and I think it’s here that some pages could’ve been cut profitably. It all feels like it drags out a bit too long, though on the other hand, they’re both so stubborn that I guess it’s not super surprising that they have to be dragged slowly to a conclusion.

The discovery of the origins of the smooth men is fascinating — and definitely surprised me, since I figured it was going to be a bigger plot running through all four books, and it seems kinda… wrapped up? And it was fascinating to explore more of the world too, learning about St Ursa, the Aral, Morstone…

Looking forward to the next book, which looks quite short compared to this one!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga), vol 4

Posted October 12, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga), vol 4

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter

Pages: 178
Series: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga) #4
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

So it’s been a bit, but an accountant guy somehow went down a portalhole and into a fantasy world. Once he got there, the first thing he asked for was a job. That’s how Kondou’s career in the Romany Kingdom’s Accounting Department began and part of the reason a stunning knight captain stumbled upon a bean counter in distress. Venturing to the depths of a dangerous forest on a quest to clear the miasma is the exact opposite of what Kondou’s knight in shining armor wants him to do. However, our intrepid bean counter is a man with a plan, so venture forth he does—much to the captain’s dismay. But turnabout is fair play, which is why Captain Aresh makes his own declaration on their way back…

I’m enjoying The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter in many ways, especially as in this volume we’re getting to see more of the world (and the Holy Maiden realises her situation a bit better, and thankfully seems to be a bit less of a brat/less inclined to angle for Aresh). Seiichirou is ridiculously competent, but that’s always fun — I can’t help but compare him a bit to Lizel, of A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation.

That said… this series has some problems, and they eclipse the good stuff so much I need to talk about them at more length right now.

I am still giving it three stars, but I want to heavily caveat that: there’s a lot of dubious consent and potential coercion here. I think we’re perhaps supposed to understand that Seiichirou has powerful allies and could get out of the situation if he really wanted to, and that in a way he’s using Aresh — but this isn’t always explicit enough. It seems like Aresh is perhaps taking advantage of Seiichirou’s need for protection to be intimate with him, and that’s a bit of a red flag, even if Aresh wasn’t being so controlling “for Seiichirou’s own good”.

I’m wondering if this is better or worse in the light novel, and will be finding out since I’ve ordered all three! But it’s worth knowing going in about the coercive control (however well-intentioned) and dubious consent, which is not really examined. There’s an extent to which I can roll with that (The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System is calling) but I think one still has to look at it and admit that it’s problematic.

N.B. Since writing this review I read the light novels, and actually ended up posting those reviews first! You can read those reviews here. Tl;dr summary: I preferred the light novels and felt that the relationship was more explicitly mutual there.

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)

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