Virgin Love 1

Virgin Love #1

by Tina Yamashina

“Looking for love, but afraid you’ll never find it?” Come Live at the Love House!

Six strangers, one house, one shared love. What could go wrong?

Successful, well-liked, and beautiful, twenty-six-year-old working woman Shoko Shoji seems to have it all. But behind her picture-perfect exterior is a secret that haunts to her chagrin, Shoko is still a virgin. Tired of making excuses for her total lack of dating experience, she signs up to live in the Love House, an experimental program seeking to test if six young singles can find romance under one shared roof. But will this change of pace be enough to help Shoko ditch her v-card for good, or will the trauma of her first broken heart jinx her forever to a life without love?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Josei, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics

194 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 2020

Reviews

[marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, I picked this up primarily because the covers look cool. The interior art is less consistent but still serviceable. The actual story is fine. Other than her obsession with losing her virginity, the main character is endearing and relatable. While I have no strong preferences for either of the love interests, I'm excited to see how the story will progress.

[Izzy's Isle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Virgin Love, volume 1 by Tina Yamashina centers around Shoko Shoji, a 26-year-old workaholic who feels self-conscious about her lack of dating and intimacy experience. Her worries lead her to apply to a program called the Love House, a social experiment where six singles live together for a year with free rent and a chance to find romance. She drags Tanaka, a bookstore employee, as her plus one into the mix, and they meet the other four attractive residents of the house.

The cover art of the manga is visually stunning, and if you enjoyed the TV show Terrace House, you’ll likely appreciate this story, as it maintains a similar concept of strangers sharing a roof under the watchful eye of cameras. This volume serves as an introduction to both the storyline and the characters, primarily focusing on Shoko and her two love interests, Tanaka and Kei, setting the stage for an immediate love triangle.

Among the other residents are Riopi, a fashion student; Momo, a hairstylist; and Akira, a tech CEO. I hope these characters will contribute more to the story than what they've been giving so far. As of now, Riopi and Momo are mostly acting as cheerleaders, encouraging Shoko to stand out and pursue her romantic endeavors while nudging Tanaka to admit his growing feelings for her. While their support is appreciated on the surface, it raises questions about their true purpose on the show.

I’m conflicted about Shoko's fast-growing connection with Kei, especially given their significant age gap. He's 19 and a freshman pursuing architecture, while Shoko already has an established career lying in her hands at 26. Their relationship’s rapid development feels rushed, especially when you factor in how their understanding of one another appears superficial, limited to age, occupation, and aspirations. While we have insight into Shoko’s motivations, Kei remains somewhat of a mystery, and I sense there’s more to him than he reveals. From what has happened so far, his actions and his way with words make him come off as very mature despite his age.

All in all, the story is interesting and fun at the moment. I think that we will learn more about the other residents and delve into their stories in the next volume, especially when considering what got revealed and the way how things ended in the last chapter. I also like how the author included fun facts about the characters at the end of the manga because it humanizes them.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure how I feel about this…? I’m not really into any of the characters BUT this is the first volume… I might stick it out for one more before I drop it.
I don’t care for the “virginity” aspect to the series. I just don’t believe in virginity. It’s a stupid concept and it just puts too much pressure on people. But I am into the idea of someone experiencing love for the first time at an older age! I just wasn’t wanting Shoko to go for the 19 year old…UGH.

[Ayan Mohamed · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am sure it's a cute story and all, but I just couldn't get past the age gap

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so, I picked this book up for two reasons:

1. I secretly love watching my little trashy reality tv shows and drama, so the idea of a manga about six strangers sharing a house for the purpose of a dating show really intrigued me.

2. I do judge books by their covers… and this cover/art style is so pretty!

This was such an interesting and quick read, and I’m really curious to get to know the characters more, and see how the relationships progress especially with the forced proximity aspect. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent start to the series. I like some of the characters so far and the art style. Really pretty. I personally don’t care about Shoko’s obsession with losing her virginity and wish she stopped seeing that aspect of herself as a negative thing. I do like what Kei said about her focusing too much on her age. I’m disappointed in who she went for (mainly due to the age gap) 😑 let’s hope it doesn’t last long.

[lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

lo empecé por la portada NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER FR. la protagonista tiene una obsesión rara con perder la virginidad (?? más allá de eso, es bastante relatable y me deja con ganas de saber más de los personajes.

la roomie emo me dio nana osaki 💋💋

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute. Really liked the characters and am interested in how the story progresses.

[miranda nikole 🧮 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2024 Goodreads Challenge - Manga #5/25

[Risa (Clazzi) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be cute and interesting, but after finding out it was only 4 volumes and Kei is shoehorned as the love interest so quick makes me feel wary. I am not a fan of characters like Kei and the age gap moe it just comes off as weird in manga.

Tanaka is my choice but that's not saying much as he's the typical nice guy waits for right time to confess trope. And the third guy is just an ass. I feel like the Main Leas is going to get annoying and atm not one character is my favorite...so meh.

[V ❣️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Won’t somebody - anybody - please just take my virginity?!”

What a cute and quirky first installment! I really enjoyed this. We follow our main character, Shoko, as she navigates being unsuccessful in the love department. She is 26, career obsessed, and seeking all the help she can get when it comes to relationships. Although she is driven and successful in terms of her job/work, her lack of sexual experience makes her come off as naive and immature. But, as the story progresses, there’s growth in her outlook.
Shoko and her new friend, Tanaka, embark on a journey for love by joining The Love House - a sort of reality style experiment where a group of people are all living amongst each other in the same house. We meet our side characters and shenanigans ensue. Everyone is different, all of them are real people with real strengths and flaws.
Really enjoyed this and can’t wait for book 2.

[kells · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was definitely sucked in by the nice cover art~ I like the art in general and the story has potential, but they had to go and ruin it by pitting a 19 year old as a possible love interest for a 26 year old😭 I'm sorry, can we not normalize this? Why did you have to make him 19? He's not even the one I'm rooting for, but like they even had to specify he was a FRESHMAN in college. They are in two different points of life. She has a big girl job and everything... this isn't a case of me being weirded out because the girl is the one that's older. If the roles were reversed, I would still be weirded out. Age gap relationships are okay when they are both full grown adults.

Not to mention, things were just progressing way too fast here 😭

[Nicole Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 overall. Actually pretty cute. I hope she get with Tanaka and not the young boy, but knowing tropes he won't be it. I do appreciate that although he's the clear best choice he isn't a childhood friend who already has her on a pedestal. At the very least I hope he gets with the fashion girl. Justice for my boy.

[Lezzles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good first volume to start off the series. All the main characters were introduced and we just started learning a little about each of them. The volume ends with the main female character seemingly hooking up with one of the housemates already but it all seems too rushed for anything good to come out of it. Looking forward to the next volume!

[Lelani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books is cute and I enjoyed it. Sorta odd how like….virginity crazy the MC is but I digress. It’s cute and a quick read. I am not team KEI sorry. But also I’m over the whole Tanaka wanting to be the good friend like omg shut up and love each other. But also why was she able to convince him so easily if they hardly knew each other?

[Lav ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"She was so down...I just couldn't bring myself...to put my own feelings first...and try to get her to notice me..."

sigh. I have a feeling this series is going to annoy my soul lol. I'm going to scream if we go 5 volumes of the run around only for her to realize in the last volume that he'd be the best pick for her -_-

♡

[Abram Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing in the first 2 chapters is a bit clunky and unbelievable as it tries to get us to the actual story. I thought it was a fun first volume with some great character designs. Nothing game changing but it’s fun to see the manga rom com tropes with an adult cast.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute and funny. A little relatable lol.

Kei is so cute!!! I hope it works out with him but I feel so bad for Tanaka :(
Rio looks like a really cool chick and I hope her and Tanaka end up together.

Definitely want to keep reading this series!

[Jerrica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not in love, don’t know if I’ll continue the series, but I see the vision. I think the character designs look amazing, and I hope they really dive into each characters backstories. I don’t personally like the premise but I think that’s just my taste

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s okay, I just don’t know if I’m interested in these characters or setting enough to make it through 4 volumes of this. And a 27yo character angsting about her virginity all the time is a little hard to take.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will never understand being shamed for or ashamed of whether or not you're sexually active.

[Sikna Bazzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cutest 🥹

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/4 stars. I thought this was so cute. It moved pretty quickly, but I'm intrigued .

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this is so fun! Reality show meets shoujo manga. Everyone is a cutie and I'm so curious to see who ends up with who.

[Librarian Jessie (BibliophileRoses) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t care what anyone else says… I love the MC, thank you and have a great day.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so charming, and I can't wait to see how these characters relationships grow over time

[BeckyisBookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is embarrassing and corny AF

I love it

[Dani Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the concept/idea of the story. The artwork is cute and beautiful. I'm definitely going to keep reading this series. I'm excited to see how all the characters end up finding over 🧡

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd have given it a higher rating if she wasn't trying to seduce a 19 year old college student as a 27 year old career woman.
I'll see how this goes but I'm side-eyeing her.

[Dolefully · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sue me.