Boys Next Door Reviews

Rating: ♦♦♦♦

I know you’ve all heard me bitch about how tired I am of schoolboy romances. Every single time I get cranky about it, I find something that turns my preconceptions on their ass and leave me wanting more.

We have Asahina, a teacher who isn’t a very good role model. He drinks, shows up to class hung over, he has sex with random women and behaves like an all-around pig. Yuasa, one of Asahina’s students, finds a video tape of Asahina having sex at a love hotel with a stranger. Now Yuasa, having his own agenda, sees this as the perfect opportunity to get Asahina in bed. Never underestimate the power of horny schoolboys; they can and will move mountains to get what they want!

What made this release interesting to me was Yuasa’s group of friends. It seems that these guys figured out that they all liked boys at an early age and bonded together through that. They support each other and do their best to make sure that their activities go unnoticed by the majority of the faculty.

Once Asahina comes into contact with this group, he wonders how different his life would have been if he had a group of friends like this in high school when he was questioning his sexuality. See, sex with Yuasa made Asahina realize that he was just using the women he was screwing to find satisfaction that could only be found with another male.

I really like how multi-layered this series is. You’ve got so many things and so many emotions all leaking out over the pages. At times you’re not even sure who you want to root for. I’m already looking forward to the next book in this series. I can’t wait to see where they’re going with this.

Rating: ♦♦♦♦

You know, I can’t be as sick of schoolboy romances as I claim to be if I keep finding myself enjoying them. We’re back to the tangled web of Asahina-sensei, Yuasa, Nagai and Kagami.

Even though Yuasa is living with Asahina-sensei, and is teaching him all kinds of new bedroom tricks, Asahina-sensei is still fighting. Not only is he fighting, but it seems that sensei wants to see if sex with another male is as good as sex with Yuasa. Oh, he still wants Yuasa along for the ride. Can we all say threesome?

This would be all fine and good, but Yuasa’s not ready to share. Nagai then throws another wrench into the gears by declaring his love for Yuasa. Then throw in Kagami doing his damnedest to get into sensei’s pants, and you’ve got a mixed up vat of hormones and sexual tension.

At this point, I don’t even know which pairing I want to root for. It’s all just a mess and I’m enjoying every second of it. I’m really looking forward to the next, and last book, in this series just so I can see who ends up with whom.

Rating: ♦♦♦

While I really like this series, and am kinda sad that it’s over, this last volume left me feeling vaguely pissed off.

So, if you remember, Asahina-sensei had been flirting and messing with Kagami. Finally in this volume, Yuasa grows a pair of balls and makes Kagami move out. All’s well and good, but that doesn’t stop Kagami from working his wiles on Asahina at school. Poor Yuasa, he ends up walking in on his boyfriend/teacher getting screwed five ways to Sunday in the school library.

Now, Yuasa does get pissed, but his forgiveness came too quickly for me. I think both Kagami and Asahina had a hell of a lot more groveling to do before they were to be let back into Yuasa’s good graces. But, that’s just me and I’m a vindictive bitch. Maybe Yuasa’s a better person than I am.

On the other hand, I really liked the fact that Yuasa and Asahina did eventually get caught by the school administration. It just didn’t make sense that a taboo, clandestine relationship could last for so long that other students knew about it, but have the administration in the dark.

Even though this series left me feeling slightly cranky, I really enjoyed it. I want more teacher/student stories to be of the same quality as this one. I know I’m not going to get it, but damn if I can’t hope!