Mobsters in Love 01

Mobsters in Love #1

by Chiyoko Origami

A wholesome Boys Love rom-com between a handsome but oblivious mob boss and his young, simplehearted but moody second-in-command!

Akihiro Kashima is the right-hand man of the Sawatari mob, and he has a secret. He’s been hopelessly in love for years—with his boss! As a trusted subordinate, he’s subject to the head honcho’s unintended acts of seduction. But with Akihiro’s position in the group at stake, he couldn’t possibly reveal the infatuation that plagues him. Stuck between duty and his feelings, something’s gotta give!

Genres: Manga, Romance, LGBT, Boys Love, Contemporary, Queer, Yaoi

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2021

Reviews

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mobsters in Love was so funny and adorable °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ I'm so ready to read more and I'm awaiting now the next volumes because that ending??? Oh, the boss is finally feeling something, I dare say? YESSSSS

This is a cute unrequited love romance where the right-hand man of a mob boss falls in love with his boss and has been pining after him for years. The boss obviously doesn't realize, he's very flirty tho and always puts Kashima in a situation where he's blushing for his boss and daydreams about what could happen if he does certain things lmao

[Gaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Aki, he really has no clue what to do.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun. The head of a Yakuza family rescues a troublemaking teenager and takes him in. 16 years later, that teenager, Aki, has grown into the boss's right hand man and fallen head over heels for him. Said boss is completely oblivious to Aki's affections, and it results in many hilarious moments, as the boss, while trusting Aki completely, still sees him as a a little puppy following him around. And it's kind of accurate to be honest. I have mixed feelings on the little twist at the end, but I'm still eager to see how it all plays out.

[Curious Madra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This BL is honestly so cute, basically Aki has a crush on his ol mafia boss since he saved him and it’s also so hilarious too, you have to check this out yall ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Dora · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise is a fun idea but the realisation of it just isn't playing how I thought it would be..? Hopefully the second volume is better 🤞

[Pash⁷ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[sunnoah · Rating 4 out of 5]

i didn’t like the twist at the end 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[Elena Rodríguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lo siento me esperaba algo más.

[ji · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was such a cute and funny read. my only dislikes is that 1) there’s not as much action (it’s called *mobsters* in love, after all) as i’d like and 2) knowing that the mmc was basically kinda adopted by his boss (who’s also his pseudo father figure) when he was a teen is kinda uncomfortable. like i wish that they met more recently or something.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.00 stars

I was chasing the taste of Twittering Birds Never Fly (yakuza boss x underling/bodyguard) and this delivered a quick, sweet version.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute concept!

Aki is an adorable character. It side steps the usual dub-con/non-con tropes you see in BL. The art is cute, too.

It’s not super deep with every chapter basically consisting of light little moments where Aki struggles with his crush on his boss. The added intro of Ritsu was unexpected, but interesting. I’m curious how long this will be.

[sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

silly but also charming but also boring

[Andria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and funny second hand embarrassment. Aki is definitely a riot!

[Francis Dominic · Rating 5 out of 5]

WAIT THIS IS SO CUTE! I love Quirkiness. I love the Gangster Cute love. And the love triangle! Oh I’m sat! The anticipation and yearning is insane.

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Loved the art style and the pace of the storyline. There's a little bit of a love triangle towards the end, but I think this might be fun

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh they're so silly and cute. I want them to kiss :)

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is fluff heaven🥰. I love them - but most especially Akihiro Kashima

[Nyx Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

olf man yaoi …… oughhhhh

[Sanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Yakuza BL? Count me in.

[Blue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highlighting the highly embarrassing side of being in love, quite funny

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fun cute read....not really excited about the possible love triangle tho😔

[Isaac Badger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brain off

[Shan( Shans_Shelves) 💜 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen, if Aki doesn’t end up with the boss we are rioting at dawn!!

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I squealed the whole way through!

[Heather D-G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly adorable and as wholesome as anything could possibly be that has an organized crime setting.
Making these tough guys cute is some kind of weird manga magic that I don’t understand.

[taylor clonce · Rating 4 out of 5]

why choose?

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely addictive. This is a new favorite BL romcom!

[Stoker · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sweet and wholesome... The longing is off the charts, the characters are incredibly loveable, and the dynamic is peak. Kinda like if Way of the Househusband was old man yaoi, and I'm super into it. Love to see a big scary man turning into a blushing mess because of his crush.

[Bela Carvalho · Rating 4 out of 5]

chaotic but super cute otherwise

[rowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why I read it: In my last review I said I liked romanticised yakuza/mafia stories, and this is basically that + jokes.

Thoughts: This occasionally veered into absolute tropey, gag-filled silliness, but it also has serious moments. I really liked it. Aki is a goofball half the time, and the other half he's dedicated and sober. His boss plays the light-hearted airhead but he sees and understands more than he lets on -- I don't think you get to be a mob boss without that. So the romantic leads, if we can call them that, each have more depth than is initially obvious, and that's nice. Complications happen halfway through the volume when another one of the boss's captains returns from Hokkaido and at first seems to interfere with Aki's relationship with his boss because he also wants the boss, but then it turns out he actually wants Aki, which is just such a classic BL twist.

The art style is nice, the characters are easily differentiated (I didn't realise that was my basic criterion before I read Deadlock [review linked at the top there] and all the important characters looked alike), and the plot, such as it is, is fast-moving and engaging.

I also like that there's something of an age gap between Aki and his boss; Aki was a teenager(?) when his boss picked him up off the street and gave him a job and a purpose, and his boss was a grown man at the head of his yakuza family then, so at the time of this story, when Aki himself is...at a mysterious age somewhere between 25 and 35, his boss must be in his early 50s at the least, surely? So the relationship dynamic (age gap, unrequited secret love, a potential third wheel) is veeeeeeeeeery intriguing.

Would I read more: Yes! I really want to know if Aki's feelings are really unrequited, or whether Aki and Ritsu might end up together instead -- that would be a really mature way of dealing with the romantic triangle!

Would I reread it: Yes.