Boys Next Door Reviews

Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

This was a pretty hot release for something that is supposed to be aimed for young adults. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, but it didn’t read like the books that I was reading when I was a young teenager. Believe me, that’s a good thing. Tomas has managed to catch all of the intensity and emotions of a first love and pack it into words that had me remembering my first teenage fumblings.

When one first meets someone in high school, it’s all fumbling and groping and thwarted meetings. It’s super hyped-up emotions and being so horny that one thinks of screaming and falling in love in under a week. This book took all of that, set it at a Catholic boarding school and came up with something that’s truly special.

Jacob Smithson has a bit of a temper. He’s been kicked out of public school for fighting. As a last resort, his parents enroll him at a Catholic boarding school. Jacob, not being Catholic, doesn’t quite know what to make of going to mass and things of that nature, but he does see something that makes going to mass a bit more interesting. One of the altar boys looks like a fallen angel to Jacob and he’s determined to meet him.

Lucky for Jacob, the angelic altar boy, Avery, shares his fascination. Jacob and Avery are inseparable from the start. The problem lies in trying to find time and secrecy to be alone with each other and, for Jacob, staying out of trouble so he can stay in school with Avery.

When taunts from some of their schoolmates push Jacob too far, it looks like the boys will be separated permanently. The question is, will the intensity of their feelings be enough to get them through some serious struggles?

I’m so happy to have a title that I can recommend to some of our readers who may not be of age to read some of the other novels we’ve recommended. This is a gorgeous work and I’m so happy to have the chance to be able to spread the word about it!

Rating: ♦♦♦♦

I can’t not like this series. Sure, some of the volumes drag a bit, but the series always manages to turn around to show off the crack that it is. Misaki is always endearing–even when he’s playing the protesting uke-boy. Usami is always wonderfully odd and loving without being creepy. It’s really something that I look forward to.

It’s been a year since Usami and Misaki got together and they’ve settled into a comfortable routine. Things seem to be going swimmingly for the couple until Takahiro shows up and causes Misaki to worry that Usami’s feelings are going to go back to his old flame. Then, throw in a female cousin who’s insisting on Usami’s hand in marriage and things get very strange.

Misaki’s caught in the middle and doesn’t know where to go or who to trust. As always, he seems to be the only character in the series who can manage to keep a cool head. And, when Misaki’s calm and collected in comparison to the other characters, you know things are slightly insane. Misaki’s inate charm and sweetness serve him well as he manages to get himself out of some sticky situations, but all the charm and sweetness in the world can’t convince him of Usami’s feelings.

This series is just far too much fun. It doesn’t take too much brain power to read, the art is always good and it’s just fun. I’m not looking for hidden meanings or anything like that. I can just read this series and enjoy it for being random insanity.

With the amount of manga I read, and especially with the amount of crappy manga I read, something like Junjo Romantica is a breath of fresh air. It’s not one of the series that reaffirms my love of the genre, but it is one that reminds me of why I keep reading and reviewing.

Rating: ♦♦♦

More insanity and pretty boys. Really, it’s a winning combination. Ewon and Mookyul have gone through a lot during the course of the series, but the real challenge comes when Mookyul is severely injured in a a botched bid for one of the bad guys to take over his gang. Ewon, being a stereotypically angsty BL character, flips out once Mookyul is on the mend and goes into hiding. He’s got some good reasons, but, in all honesty, it’s just an excuse to draw him all pouty and pretty and to have Mookyul go all uber-seme on him.

Not that we get to see any of the uber-seme action–this is a volume that’s rated 16+. That’s really a shame because with the quality of the art, I’m sure that the smut would be really well done.

Even though I got a little tired with this series part of the way through, it managed to redeem itself in the end. It’s very endearing and something that I will be returning back to when I need to put a smile on my face.

This is not a series that you go to when you’re looking for a great amount of substance; it’s one of those that you go to when you need some pretty boys, pure escapism and just want to laugh at the absurdity of the situations. It’s not great literature, but there’s room for it in my collection. I need a good dose of insanity every once in a while.

Rating: ♦♦♦♦

Oh, God. I am loving the art in this release. It’s all smooth muscle lines and pouty faces. Don’t get me started on the detail in which the hands are rendered nor the way she draws her characters hipbones.

We are hampered by the obligatory invisible penis, but even with that, this release is still hot as hell. Good art can take you a long way–even making up for a few issues I have with the storyline.

So, we have Yoojin and Seyun. They’ve been friends since childhood. Of course, this being a BL manga, once they hit puberty and the hormones start kicking in, those feelings of childhood friendship start to turn into something more. Yet, there’s problems. Neither one of them wants to admit their feelings and Seyun is caught up with some massive family issues. There’s also a case of mistaken identity that sets both boys off on a course that’s either going to force them together or rend them apart.

One of the things that really sets this release apart, aside from the amazing artwork, is the fact that Yoojin’s parents are so accepting of their relationship. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but once they get over the fact that their little boy is in love with another boy, they accept Seyun as another son and worry about him like he was one of their own. It’s a nice change from the usual angst that we see in the genre with the parents throwing up all kinds of obstacles. I’m not sure how realistic it is, but it’s still fun to see.

This is another one of those releases that, for no reason at all, made me very happy. There’s a undercurrent of real emotion coming from the characters that makes the scenes just that much more erotic. Would I like to see them push the boundaries a little bit more and maybe even get rid of the magical glowing cone of light that they’re substituting for a penis? Yes, but when the art’s this good, I’ll take it and enjoy it!

Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

Oh, sweet and gorgeous angst! You’re back! It’s funny because if you ask me who my favorite manga authors are, Yuki Shimizu is never one of the first ones that comes to mind. Yet, whenever I pick up one of her releases, I remember exactly why I adore her. That’s not even getting into the fact that this release plays on some of my all-time favorite themes. Namely, someone who’s not fully human trying to comprehend human emotions and finding out that even as someone who’s not fully human, they have the capacity to love.

So, Raizou and Kon are trying to figure out how their relationship is going to work now that Kon has accepted Raizou being his kotodama. Problem is that Raizou keeps treating Kon as a human and Kon doesn’t quite know how to deal with that. Throw in Kon’s healing ability only being able to work when his mucus membranes touch Raizou’s, the easiest way to do that is with a kiss, and you’ve got Raizou in a state of sexual frustration.

Kon’s ready and willing to let Raizou work off some steam with him, but Raizou wants more than just a quick grind. And, there’s the fact that Raizou’s hung like a horse. Something that freaks Kon out the first time he sees it.

It’s fun, it’s wonderfully silly and angsty and OMG!fantastic. I never get tired of her releases.

Rating: ♦♦♦♦

Clare London’s done it again. She’s sucked me into a story. I should know by now that this happens every time I read something that she’s done. She’s got a knack for taking people on the fringe of society, coming from a place that may be completly alien to the reader, and turning it into something that’s accessible. You feel with these characters and even when the motives behind their actions are obscured, you still understand them. It’s a rare talent.

This release is a bit different from the other work that I know and love from London. The reader doesn’t get to know exactly what the main character’s motives are until the very last chapter in the book. While it’s not my favorite plot device, she makes it work. Normally, I like to know everything about a character, so I can angst with them throughout the story.

There’s our main character, Freeman, whose job is to find things. He runs into a nameless club-goer, who he dubs ‘Kit.’ Kit becomes a fixture in Freeman’s life, even as Freeman starts to burrow into Kit’s employer’s not-so-legal dealings, and people from Freeman’s past come in to make things very confusing for Kit and Freeman both.

At times, you’re not even sure who the good guys are and that’s kind of nice. I like characters to be a bit ambiguous. It makes them all that much more real to me.

I’m not sure if this is going to be everyone’s cup of tea since it’s not happy and fluffy like the majority of BL out there, but it is a fantastic read. If people are going to ignore a good book because it’s not sticking to the conventions that we all got used to reading in BL manga and in fan-fiction, well, then they’re missing out. London is still one of my favorite authors–someone who I can always turn to for an engrossing story–even when she’s playing with new ideas and new ways of delivering gorgeously hot males screwing each other madly.