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The Red Devil of Tokyo
I lost my innocence to a bloodied man...
I told everyone I came to Japan to finish my education and to teach English. But I really came to escape my abusive father. Playing soccer one day with friends, I didn't expect to run across a yakuza boss murdering someone. And I surely didn't expect him to come after me. But here I am, being stalked and worse by The Red Devil of Tokyo.
Yamamoto Kota is a nefarious criminal and a fierce lover. At 37, he's fourteen years older than me. I'm not really ready for this kind of life that may one day get me killed, for women are nothing to the yakuza. But how can I resist when The Red Devil owns every part of me and refuses to let me go? And then there's the mysterious shibari room he says I'm not ready for...
I told everyone I came to Japan to finish my education and to teach English. But I really came to escape my abusive father. Playing soccer one day with friends, I didn't expect to run across a yakuza boss murdering someone. And I surely didn't expect him to come after me. But here I am, being stalked and worse by The Red Devil of Tokyo.
Yamamoto Kota is a nefarious criminal and a fierce lover. At 37, he's fourteen years older than me. I'm not really ready for this kind of life that may one day get me killed, for women are nothing to the yakuza. But how can I resist when The Red Devil owns every part of me and refuses to let me go? And then there's the mysterious shibari room he says I'm not ready for...
344 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2025
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162 people want to read
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April 23, 2025
I got an ad for this on Instagram and it contained the phrase "he tilted his head to the side and slightly back, lifting his chin in a classic yazuka stance common in manga and anime."
That was the dead giveaway. Only a sincere weeb, unaware of or fully embracing their cringe, unironically describes things "like in manga and anime." I already knew enough about the author and what kind of story this would be and I just had to know. I had to witness this union of yazuka-romantacizing smut manga plot and an western self-published erotica fantasy.
I went through my own dark, shameful weeb past and did a lot of unlearning in regards to how I consume and enjoy Japanese media/culture/etc., so I come to this review with a particular perspective.
First thing's first. The writing misses the mark on the matter of how to handle the fact that it's written in English for an American audience about characters who speak Japanese.
There are numerous times when something is said and the author goes "he/she said in Japanese" after it. Considering this is taking place in Japan with mostly Japanese characters, this wasn't needed. The only time language needed to be pointed out after establishing the setting would be when characters swapped to English in the story.
Then there's the inconsistencies in when the author chooses to use Japanese words themselves or tries to mimic Japanese speech patterns. I've said it before, but if a foreign word has a very clear, non-cultural definition, don't randomly include the word in the sentence.
It's fine to use words like shibari, sushi, yazuka, ikebana, wakizashi, rather than localizations/translations because they're unique to the language/culture, but the author randomly inserted words like "baka" or "iie" (and spelled it wrong as "iye") or "sou ka" or "nani" into sentences, which translate very smoothly into English (idiot, no, I see, what). Like... it feels awkward to try to flex that there's some comprehension of Japanese or add to the immersion by tossing in some of the most simple, well-understood Japanese words. It would have been more impactful to have found words/phrases that don't cleanly translate and need an explanation or to include full sentences much more frequently.
At one point the author does write a full sentence, just the one time, and it's to write Kota's introduction in romanized Japanese with a typo ("Hajimem[a]shite. Yamamoto Kota toiimasu." ) and then doesn't offer the translation (which is literally just "Pleased to make your aquaintance, I'm called Yamamoto Kota), relying on the reader using context clues for this instance, which isn't done elsewhere in the book, making it stand out for... no real reason.
This also overall makes the inclusion of honorifics and the way names are used inconsistent and strange; like, in general it's best to address people by their surname + san, and then use of a surname is the next most common, so all the times when their full names are used or just their given name without an honorific didn't hit. I won't burden the review with an in-depth look into the nuances of Japanese address conventions, but suffice to say, the honorifics here felt more like an attempt at flavoring the universe rather than being naturally executed.
Honestly, using mr./mrs./ms./miss/etc. wouldn't have been a bad choice, but I digress.
Finally, there are several times when the author tries to mimic the way Japanese speech patterns sound but in English. For example, at one point a sentence randomly ends in "neh" ("ne" ね) which is something thrown onto the end of the sentence to seek agreement or confirmation; it's basically like saying "right?" or "isn't that so?" at the end of a sentence, so, adding it on to an English sentence like that feels weird. The same thing with "oy" (oi おい). It's just a ruder way of saying "hey" to get someone's attention. I can more excuse this one because it sounds more natural in the context, and is more universally understood, but it's still a weird inconsistency that's attempting to flavor the story but only succeeds in making it feel kind of awkward.
As for the writing/plot itself... this is a "yazuka" story done as window dressing for an erotic romance, so there's not really any pains taken by the story or plot to really demonstrate the culture or lifestyle beyond what was deemed necessary for setting the scene.
Much like how a lot of "historic" romances are really just a flavoring for the romance without much regard to depth or realism of the history aspect, this story very much is a typical "dark, dangerous man" and "angelic virgin girl" getting romantically and sexually involved with all other factors just serving to decorate the erotica of their relationship. He's yazuka more so because it's shorthand to evoke a particular atmosphere of darkness/danger/control/etc. than because it truly matters to the plot or character.
And I get it, sometimes you just want to play dress up and be casual, not commit to an intense LARP session, but I do think that it was a missed opportunity to not dig in deeper for more plot, history, and character development within a world that's not common for readers in the English speaking world.
Plus, the fact that things were often forced to fit the story without due consideration took me out of the immersion a lot by making me go "wait, that doesn't make sense/that's not how that would play out."
We cold open on Sophie running into a "forest" at a park in Tokyo to grab a soccer ball and this "forest" is so deep/dense that she's able to stumble upon a group of yazuka executing a guy far enough in that no one can see or hear anything. Tokyo being so over developed and populated means that there's not a lot of places where dense, empty forests perfect for murder can grow, so already losing points.
Besides, Kota does this murder near a park in broad daylight with a sword, absolutely coating himself in blood. Obviously if this a park, the car is probably parked nearby on a street (or worse, he walked/biked/took public transport), is he not at all worried someone, like the people in the park or in all the high-rise buildings that loom over every inch of Tokyo, will notice him emerge from the forest covered in blood with a sword in hand?
Yazuka have guns and cars and the Japanese countryside is in fact kind of a scary place with isolated little communities with low tech and lots of woods/fields/etc. so it would have made much more sense for him to drive his victim out to some small, backwards village where he could intimidate the locals and dispose of people in the forest nearby for wild boars to rip apart.
Then Sophie could have still been a university student of some variety (like maybe she does online school while being an au paire or she commutes to Tokyo or goes to a different school altogether), and then have the misfortune of stumbling upon yazuka activity, which would later facilitate Kota returning to drag her to Tokyo to keep an eye on her/insert himself in her life, furthering that sense of him trying to cage and isolate her because now she's being watched by the yazuka and is living deep in a city she's unfamiliar with with no life-lines, giving a deeper emotional punch to her situation by making her choice to later break things off more harrowing and risky.
Even then, if it has to all take place within Tokyo and has to be a bloody affair with stabbing, he could have still killed guy in a warehouse or club at night with some explanation for Sophie being there (like getting lost at night because the city is confusing to her or taking a wrong turn at a club and ending up in a restricted area; that's how it happened in 恋と弾丸 1 Koi to Dangan 1 ). Then it wouldn't present such a serious risk of Kota basically announcing to everyone in the surrounding area he just killed a man by walking around covered in blood by a public park.
Kota is supposed to be a powerful, dangerous yazuka boss responsible for a large syndicate of men who operate a bunch of businesses, so one would assume he's meant to be smart enough to elude drawing attention to himself and his crimes (since it's not established that owns the city and police--in fact it's show the opposite is true) so this introduction set up really detracts from that image and makes him seem too reckless to be a successful boss.
Honestly, making him a high-ranked yazuka but not the boss would helped reconcile the matter, since then he isn't responsible for a whole syndicate and it would allow his actions to have fewer ramifications. It also would have later make him leaving the yazuka feel more realistic; a boss leaving the organization doesn't seem as easy as it'd be for a lower level member who could pay the price to leave or fake their own death or something, especially because the explanation of"oh, I just gave all my boss responsibilities over to my pal and left" wouldn't be a seamless transition of power. It's just... too idealized.
Setting all that aside, the romance also has a really abrupt start that felt rushed and out of nowhere. I kept stopping while reading the first like 100 pages because it didn't flow organically.
Sophie witnesses Kota murder someone, he grabs her, chokes her out, and immediately has a cute nickname for her: "little bird." Then he shows up in her hospital room and the narrative goes full speed ahead by having Sophie think he is super handsome and sexy and get aggressively aroused when he says "good girl." Also, the author says "made my virgin pussy tingle" and "traitorous pussy" which made me die a little. This is then followed by him, unprompted, just being like:
Like... what? She's terrified in her hospital bed, bruised and begging for him not to kill her, and he just is like, "I know you need me and want my cum inside you." It felt jarring. It should have been more subtle and build up with time, like, when she shivers at hearing "good girl" he could have been like, "Oh, are you into that? Kinky girl. Maybe if you behave I'll fulfill your desires." Just going straight for this dramatic monologue this early on felt forced and corny.
That is a bit of a running theme; a lot of things were executed in really fast, contrived ways to push the plot along, making some of the writing feel juvenile.
Like, Sophie's situation with her dad felt cartoonish and unresolved; I think it would have been better for Sophie to have already cut ties and for him to just be the source of some trauma she has in regards to trust and whatever.
The way she meets Kota and breaks down and spills her guts to a stranger felt like something a teenager would write. Plus, it's a very western thing to share deep trauma and it be a positive for a relationship. In Japanese society, it's seen as burdensome and often drives away friends because it's uncomfortable.
The best friend felt very empty and her having a story about a sister killed by the yazuka was treated so mildly. Like, realistically in Japan, your family might straight up disown you and scream at you and call the police for getting involved with the yazuka and jeopardizing them. Ari and her family probably would have gone nuclear after learning Sophie was involved with a boss given their own history with them, but are just... mildly concerned over it.
Sophie was also kind of a bratty character. She fell into that trope of like... pouting and whining because her boyfriend doesn't make enough time for her or let her do things, even though the explanation for these things makes sense and is serious.
I'm not a fan of heroines who don't really comprehend the situations they're in and insist that they need to sneak out to go do something because their boyfriends is dumb for not spending more time with them and dumb for telling her not to leave the house because she might get kidnapped/raped/killed, but they just can't stand how bored they are or how upset they feel that they can't do what they want, so they do what they're not supposed to and create a problem.
For example, Sophie is aware that the yazuka are dangerous, that the lifestyle is dangerous, and that Kota is currently dealing with a rival syndicate causing trouble. He's asked Sophie to stay put in the house because obviously she's a liability and a target, but she starts whining about how bored she is and rather than like, get stuff delivered to the house, insists on being taken to the bookstore and is put in danger over it and then she blubbers about being sorry and not realizing the risk. Which is just mind boggling. Perhaps this was just a segue for Kota to then use some BDSM stuff to punish Sophie for her disobedience and establish that she likes that kind of stuff, but she could have disobeyed and caused trouble in a less childish, thoughtless way.
She also sometimes like, huffs and has dramatic lines where she's bascially like fine, I'll go be a good girl in the den bored out of my mind while you go do dumb yazuka shit because you hate spending time with me all because he used the phrase "wasted time" and she's deciding to interpret him being busy with his criminal syndicate as pushing her away and not caring about her and finding being with her in any way but sexual is pointless.
It's just a very childish reaction. It would of course be fine for her to be lonely and want more time with him or to hope he could put off more of his responsibilities to prioritize her, but getting legitimately mad and having hissy fits, especially when the span of time she's been together with him is weeks at most, is just aggravating.
She also accompanies him to like, a confrontation between syndicates, and he tells her to stay in the locked car to hide from the cops, but when she sees him getting frisked she's like they're arresting my man, I gotta stop it! which is just... like you think the Japanese police would allow a random foreigner to stop an arrest? Which wasn't even happening, she panicked and jumped the gun. And right after this she disobeys an order to stay hidden again because she forgot her phone and ends up captured with a blade against her neck and causes Kota to get a knife to the gut. Honestly, was waiting a while before venturing out really that hard? I imagine if you didn't pick up Kota would have gone to find you in the room where he told you to stay hidden.
I get that she's young at 23, but one would think there'd still be more critical thinking skills present than this. Why is there this idea that if a guy tells you to go hide and stay out the way in a situation you aren't familiar with/prepared for, it's automatically an insulting, bad thing and you need to show him he's not the boss of you and charge straight into danger? It's boggling.
The author also didn't really sell me on Sophie's alleged naivete and innocence. Outside of mentioning she's never masturbated and that her dad made her think sexual desire was bad, Sophie seldom acts the part, so Kota's insistence she's so delicate and innocent was odd.
As for the matter of the erotica, it was fine. I think it's probably the strongest aspect of the novel, as it's clear the sex was the main crux of why the book exists, and appreciated the diversity and fluidity of the sex here.
It wasn't always my thing, and I think the he entered me too roughly and it hurt but then it felt amazing aspect happened a few times too many (though at least the author didn't like, describe her vaginal walls being torn apart and bleeding on everything, which I have seen before). There's a bit of an air of dubious consent in that like, Kota will basically go, "I have to fuck you" and Sophie is like "omg what's happening, wait a moment" and then they have rough sex that's described as mind blowing for them both, but I'd say overall that Sophie was consenting and enthusiastic, and Kota did have some good philosophies like understanding that restraining one's partner is a matter of trust and must be respected for it to be a good, okay experience.
Also, I don't have much to say about the matter of the story romanticizing the yazuka besides that it could have been worse.
We all know already it's a kind of dicey, grey area to play with, but it's not doing much different than the millions of mafia romance novels, and even Japanese authors are pretty infamous for some insane romantizations of the yazuka. There's so many examples in manga if I started listing them, we'd be here for days.
Ultimately, Sophie is like, I don't want to be with you if you stay with the yazuka, I don't like the risk and danger, I'm walking away unless you leave them to start a new life with me, so I can appreciate that the message wasn't like it's good and brave of me to give up everything to be a yazuka bride for Kota's sake. There was some attempt to condemn the existence and actions of the yazuka.
Like most attempts to soften the yazuka, we're told that Kota respected the women who worked for him and has some semblance of morals (despite like... killing a child before) because he cared about his parents in order to elevate him over those other yazuka who are much more evil and bad so it makes the less evil yazuka look good and okay by comparison, but, again, even though it's no great I understand the point was to try to ride that line of dark dangerous man who isn't a nice guy... but is good enough that you can understand why someone would fall for him/forgive him for his sins.
Final thoughts: it's a serviceable romantic/erotica fantasy in written form if what you're after is some fresh, new window dressing for the setting and premise, but is held back by several different writing choices. I was honestly expecting worse, but there's some adamant sincerity in the author's attempt here that softened me a little. It still is very much the product of an American author who consumed manga and J-dramas and then had a fantasy in mind that merged their western perspective with the little bits and pieces they'd procured sew and glued on, but it's not that bad (I have seen some things. Oh boy, have I seen some things.)
I will give it a 2.5/3 for what it is and let it be. Also, someone needs to update the cover. I think the new one is a little more aesthetically pleasing.
That was the dead giveaway. Only a sincere weeb, unaware of or fully embracing their cringe, unironically describes things "like in manga and anime." I already knew enough about the author and what kind of story this would be and I just had to know. I had to witness this union of yazuka-romantacizing smut manga plot and an western self-published erotica fantasy.
I went through my own dark, shameful weeb past and did a lot of unlearning in regards to how I consume and enjoy Japanese media/culture/etc., so I come to this review with a particular perspective.
First thing's first. The writing misses the mark on the matter of how to handle the fact that it's written in English for an American audience about characters who speak Japanese.
There are numerous times when something is said and the author goes "he/she said in Japanese" after it. Considering this is taking place in Japan with mostly Japanese characters, this wasn't needed. The only time language needed to be pointed out after establishing the setting would be when characters swapped to English in the story.
Then there's the inconsistencies in when the author chooses to use Japanese words themselves or tries to mimic Japanese speech patterns. I've said it before, but if a foreign word has a very clear, non-cultural definition, don't randomly include the word in the sentence.
It's fine to use words like shibari, sushi, yazuka, ikebana, wakizashi, rather than localizations/translations because they're unique to the language/culture, but the author randomly inserted words like "baka" or "iie" (and spelled it wrong as "iye") or "sou ka" or "nani" into sentences, which translate very smoothly into English (idiot, no, I see, what). Like... it feels awkward to try to flex that there's some comprehension of Japanese or add to the immersion by tossing in some of the most simple, well-understood Japanese words. It would have been more impactful to have found words/phrases that don't cleanly translate and need an explanation or to include full sentences much more frequently.
At one point the author does write a full sentence, just the one time, and it's to write Kota's introduction in romanized Japanese with a typo ("Hajimem[a]shite. Yamamoto Kota toiimasu." ) and then doesn't offer the translation (which is literally just "Pleased to make your aquaintance, I'm called Yamamoto Kota), relying on the reader using context clues for this instance, which isn't done elsewhere in the book, making it stand out for... no real reason.
This also overall makes the inclusion of honorifics and the way names are used inconsistent and strange; like, in general it's best to address people by their surname + san, and then use of a surname is the next most common, so all the times when their full names are used or just their given name without an honorific didn't hit. I won't burden the review with an in-depth look into the nuances of Japanese address conventions, but suffice to say, the honorifics here felt more like an attempt at flavoring the universe rather than being naturally executed.
Honestly, using mr./mrs./ms./miss/etc. wouldn't have been a bad choice, but I digress.
Finally, there are several times when the author tries to mimic the way Japanese speech patterns sound but in English. For example, at one point a sentence randomly ends in "neh" ("ne" ね) which is something thrown onto the end of the sentence to seek agreement or confirmation; it's basically like saying "right?" or "isn't that so?" at the end of a sentence, so, adding it on to an English sentence like that feels weird. The same thing with "oy" (oi おい). It's just a ruder way of saying "hey" to get someone's attention. I can more excuse this one because it sounds more natural in the context, and is more universally understood, but it's still a weird inconsistency that's attempting to flavor the story but only succeeds in making it feel kind of awkward.
As for the writing/plot itself... this is a "yazuka" story done as window dressing for an erotic romance, so there's not really any pains taken by the story or plot to really demonstrate the culture or lifestyle beyond what was deemed necessary for setting the scene.
Much like how a lot of "historic" romances are really just a flavoring for the romance without much regard to depth or realism of the history aspect, this story very much is a typical "dark, dangerous man" and "angelic virgin girl" getting romantically and sexually involved with all other factors just serving to decorate the erotica of their relationship. He's yazuka more so because it's shorthand to evoke a particular atmosphere of darkness/danger/control/etc. than because it truly matters to the plot or character.
And I get it, sometimes you just want to play dress up and be casual, not commit to an intense LARP session, but I do think that it was a missed opportunity to not dig in deeper for more plot, history, and character development within a world that's not common for readers in the English speaking world.
Plus, the fact that things were often forced to fit the story without due consideration took me out of the immersion a lot by making me go "wait, that doesn't make sense/that's not how that would play out."
We cold open on Sophie running into a "forest" at a park in Tokyo to grab a soccer ball and this "forest" is so deep/dense that she's able to stumble upon a group of yazuka executing a guy far enough in that no one can see or hear anything. Tokyo being so over developed and populated means that there's not a lot of places where dense, empty forests perfect for murder can grow, so already losing points.
Besides, Kota does this murder near a park in broad daylight with a sword, absolutely coating himself in blood. Obviously if this a park, the car is probably parked nearby on a street (or worse, he walked/biked/took public transport), is he not at all worried someone, like the people in the park or in all the high-rise buildings that loom over every inch of Tokyo, will notice him emerge from the forest covered in blood with a sword in hand?
Yazuka have guns and cars and the Japanese countryside is in fact kind of a scary place with isolated little communities with low tech and lots of woods/fields/etc. so it would have made much more sense for him to drive his victim out to some small, backwards village where he could intimidate the locals and dispose of people in the forest nearby for wild boars to rip apart.
Then Sophie could have still been a university student of some variety (like maybe she does online school while being an au paire or she commutes to Tokyo or goes to a different school altogether), and then have the misfortune of stumbling upon yazuka activity, which would later facilitate Kota returning to drag her to Tokyo to keep an eye on her/insert himself in her life, furthering that sense of him trying to cage and isolate her because now she's being watched by the yazuka and is living deep in a city she's unfamiliar with with no life-lines, giving a deeper emotional punch to her situation by making her choice to later break things off more harrowing and risky.
Even then, if it has to all take place within Tokyo and has to be a bloody affair with stabbing, he could have still killed guy in a warehouse or club at night with some explanation for Sophie being there (like getting lost at night because the city is confusing to her or taking a wrong turn at a club and ending up in a restricted area; that's how it happened in 恋と弾丸 1 Koi to Dangan 1 ). Then it wouldn't present such a serious risk of Kota basically announcing to everyone in the surrounding area he just killed a man by walking around covered in blood by a public park.
Kota is supposed to be a powerful, dangerous yazuka boss responsible for a large syndicate of men who operate a bunch of businesses, so one would assume he's meant to be smart enough to elude drawing attention to himself and his crimes (since it's not established that owns the city and police--in fact it's show the opposite is true) so this introduction set up really detracts from that image and makes him seem too reckless to be a successful boss.
Honestly, making him a high-ranked yazuka but not the boss would helped reconcile the matter, since then he isn't responsible for a whole syndicate and it would allow his actions to have fewer ramifications. It also would have later make him leaving the yazuka feel more realistic; a boss leaving the organization doesn't seem as easy as it'd be for a lower level member who could pay the price to leave or fake their own death or something, especially because the explanation of"oh, I just gave all my boss responsibilities over to my pal and left" wouldn't be a seamless transition of power. It's just... too idealized.
Setting all that aside, the romance also has a really abrupt start that felt rushed and out of nowhere. I kept stopping while reading the first like 100 pages because it didn't flow organically.
Sophie witnesses Kota murder someone, he grabs her, chokes her out, and immediately has a cute nickname for her: "little bird." Then he shows up in her hospital room and the narrative goes full speed ahead by having Sophie think he is super handsome and sexy and get aggressively aroused when he says "good girl." Also, the author says "made my virgin pussy tingle" and "traitorous pussy" which made me die a little. This is then followed by him, unprompted, just being like:
He leaned in close again, his breath once more tickling my cheek and turning the blood in my veins to ice. “You’re drawn to me like a moth to a flame. From now on, you won’t stop thinking about me. You’ll want to see me… to touch me. You’ll want my scent to fill your lungs as I fill you with my seed.”
Like... what? She's terrified in her hospital bed, bruised and begging for him not to kill her, and he just is like, "I know you need me and want my cum inside you." It felt jarring. It should have been more subtle and build up with time, like, when she shivers at hearing "good girl" he could have been like, "Oh, are you into that? Kinky girl. Maybe if you behave I'll fulfill your desires." Just going straight for this dramatic monologue this early on felt forced and corny.
That is a bit of a running theme; a lot of things were executed in really fast, contrived ways to push the plot along, making some of the writing feel juvenile.
Like, Sophie's situation with her dad felt cartoonish and unresolved; I think it would have been better for Sophie to have already cut ties and for him to just be the source of some trauma she has in regards to trust and whatever.
The way she meets Kota and breaks down and spills her guts to a stranger felt like something a teenager would write. Plus, it's a very western thing to share deep trauma and it be a positive for a relationship. In Japanese society, it's seen as burdensome and often drives away friends because it's uncomfortable.
The best friend felt very empty and her having a story about a sister killed by the yazuka was treated so mildly. Like, realistically in Japan, your family might straight up disown you and scream at you and call the police for getting involved with the yazuka and jeopardizing them. Ari and her family probably would have gone nuclear after learning Sophie was involved with a boss given their own history with them, but are just... mildly concerned over it.
Sophie was also kind of a bratty character. She fell into that trope of like... pouting and whining because her boyfriend doesn't make enough time for her or let her do things, even though the explanation for these things makes sense and is serious.
I'm not a fan of heroines who don't really comprehend the situations they're in and insist that they need to sneak out to go do something because their boyfriends is dumb for not spending more time with them and dumb for telling her not to leave the house because she might get kidnapped/raped/killed, but they just can't stand how bored they are or how upset they feel that they can't do what they want, so they do what they're not supposed to and create a problem.
For example, Sophie is aware that the yazuka are dangerous, that the lifestyle is dangerous, and that Kota is currently dealing with a rival syndicate causing trouble. He's asked Sophie to stay put in the house because obviously she's a liability and a target, but she starts whining about how bored she is and rather than like, get stuff delivered to the house, insists on being taken to the bookstore and is put in danger over it and then she blubbers about being sorry and not realizing the risk. Which is just mind boggling. Perhaps this was just a segue for Kota to then use some BDSM stuff to punish Sophie for her disobedience and establish that she likes that kind of stuff, but she could have disobeyed and caused trouble in a less childish, thoughtless way.
She also sometimes like, huffs and has dramatic lines where she's bascially like fine, I'll go be a good girl in the den bored out of my mind while you go do dumb yazuka shit because you hate spending time with me all because he used the phrase "wasted time" and she's deciding to interpret him being busy with his criminal syndicate as pushing her away and not caring about her and finding being with her in any way but sexual is pointless.
It's just a very childish reaction. It would of course be fine for her to be lonely and want more time with him or to hope he could put off more of his responsibilities to prioritize her, but getting legitimately mad and having hissy fits, especially when the span of time she's been together with him is weeks at most, is just aggravating.
She also accompanies him to like, a confrontation between syndicates, and he tells her to stay in the locked car to hide from the cops, but when she sees him getting frisked she's like they're arresting my man, I gotta stop it! which is just... like you think the Japanese police would allow a random foreigner to stop an arrest? Which wasn't even happening, she panicked and jumped the gun. And right after this she disobeys an order to stay hidden again because she forgot her phone and ends up captured with a blade against her neck and causes Kota to get a knife to the gut. Honestly, was waiting a while before venturing out really that hard? I imagine if you didn't pick up Kota would have gone to find you in the room where he told you to stay hidden.
I get that she's young at 23, but one would think there'd still be more critical thinking skills present than this. Why is there this idea that if a guy tells you to go hide and stay out the way in a situation you aren't familiar with/prepared for, it's automatically an insulting, bad thing and you need to show him he's not the boss of you and charge straight into danger? It's boggling.
The author also didn't really sell me on Sophie's alleged naivete and innocence. Outside of mentioning she's never masturbated and that her dad made her think sexual desire was bad, Sophie seldom acts the part, so Kota's insistence she's so delicate and innocent was odd.
As for the matter of the erotica, it was fine. I think it's probably the strongest aspect of the novel, as it's clear the sex was the main crux of why the book exists, and appreciated the diversity and fluidity of the sex here.
It wasn't always my thing, and I think the he entered me too roughly and it hurt but then it felt amazing aspect happened a few times too many (though at least the author didn't like, describe her vaginal walls being torn apart and bleeding on everything, which I have seen before). There's a bit of an air of dubious consent in that like, Kota will basically go, "I have to fuck you" and Sophie is like "omg what's happening, wait a moment" and then they have rough sex that's described as mind blowing for them both, but I'd say overall that Sophie was consenting and enthusiastic, and Kota did have some good philosophies like understanding that restraining one's partner is a matter of trust and must be respected for it to be a good, okay experience.
Also, I don't have much to say about the matter of the story romanticizing the yazuka besides that it could have been worse.
We all know already it's a kind of dicey, grey area to play with, but it's not doing much different than the millions of mafia romance novels, and even Japanese authors are pretty infamous for some insane romantizations of the yazuka. There's so many examples in manga if I started listing them, we'd be here for days.
Ultimately, Sophie is like, I don't want to be with you if you stay with the yazuka, I don't like the risk and danger, I'm walking away unless you leave them to start a new life with me, so I can appreciate that the message wasn't like it's good and brave of me to give up everything to be a yazuka bride for Kota's sake. There was some attempt to condemn the existence and actions of the yazuka.
Like most attempts to soften the yazuka, we're told that Kota respected the women who worked for him and has some semblance of morals (despite like... killing a child before) because he cared about his parents in order to elevate him over those other yazuka who are much more evil and bad so it makes the less evil yazuka look good and okay by comparison, but, again, even though it's no great I understand the point was to try to ride that line of dark dangerous man who isn't a nice guy... but is good enough that you can understand why someone would fall for him/forgive him for his sins.
Final thoughts: it's a serviceable romantic/erotica fantasy in written form if what you're after is some fresh, new window dressing for the setting and premise, but is held back by several different writing choices. I was honestly expecting worse, but there's some adamant sincerity in the author's attempt here that softened me a little. It still is very much the product of an American author who consumed manga and J-dramas and then had a fantasy in mind that merged their western perspective with the little bits and pieces they'd procured sew and glued on, but it's not that bad (I have seen some things. Oh boy, have I seen some things.)
I will give it a 2.5/3 for what it is and let it be. Also, someone needs to update the cover. I think the new one is a little more aesthetically pleasing.
January 20, 2025
WHAT A RIDE
What I loved about this book is it really ✨goes✨
This is a dark yakuza fantasy romance and it’s got everything dreamy—psycho criminal H, OTT controlling behavior, tattoos, gang wars, shibari (the sexy art of tying your lover up with ropes), stabbings, very hot sex, explosions, assassins, double crosses, and tea.
And the pacing. My GOD, the pacing is so good!
I went back and forth on the h, sometimes I quite liked her. The only thing I didn’t like was early on we hear that Kota our yakuza boss killed a whole family, including someone’s child. You never hear the age, so I’m hoping this was an adult 🥶
Will definitely read more from the author!✨❤️
What I loved about this book is it really ✨goes✨
This is a dark yakuza fantasy romance and it’s got everything dreamy—psycho criminal H, OTT controlling behavior, tattoos, gang wars, shibari (the sexy art of tying your lover up with ropes), stabbings, very hot sex, explosions, assassins, double crosses, and tea.
And the pacing. My GOD, the pacing is so good!
I went back and forth on the h, sometimes I quite liked her. The only thing I didn’t like was early on we hear that Kota our yakuza boss killed a whole family, including someone’s child. You never hear the age, so I’m hoping this was an adult 🥶
Will definitely read more from the author!✨❤️
August 20, 2024
The beginning was amazing, but I just grew to hate Sophie, reading literally became painful 😣
June 6, 2023
my first dark Yakuza romance
Heat: 3/5
And I need more! I loved the atmosphere and scenery of being Japan and amongst a different kind of gang group: these men are dark, depraved, and ruthless but they all still need someone to love and to really take to pound town.
Kota is no exception. As the obayun or boss of his yakuza, he’s a target and a merciless killer with a heart of gold. He takes of the men and women in his employ, and then falls head over heels for an almost-forbidden treat of a girl - young, innocent Sophie from Iowa.
Sophie’s innocence and naïveté gets in the way (a lot?), but she’s so eager to learn and please Kota, and I love how she embraces the dirty side of hersel when she’s with him. I love seeing an experienced man teaching the innocent Virginia FMC all the good tricks. The scenes where Kota is covered in blôöd and just goes after Sophie are my favorite ones. There were a few shibari scenes that were detailed and explained well, since I felt like I could comfortably follow along and picture the scene perfectly.
This was a very entertaining and spicy romance, and I wish there were more stories involving different kinds of gangs! (You know, outside of the usual mafia, bratva and Irish mob!) highly recommend!
Heat: 3/5
And I need more! I loved the atmosphere and scenery of being Japan and amongst a different kind of gang group: these men are dark, depraved, and ruthless but they all still need someone to love and to really take to pound town.
Kota is no exception. As the obayun or boss of his yakuza, he’s a target and a merciless killer with a heart of gold. He takes of the men and women in his employ, and then falls head over heels for an almost-forbidden treat of a girl - young, innocent Sophie from Iowa.
Sophie’s innocence and naïveté gets in the way (a lot?), but she’s so eager to learn and please Kota, and I love how she embraces the dirty side of hersel when she’s with him. I love seeing an experienced man teaching the innocent Virginia FMC all the good tricks. The scenes where Kota is covered in blôöd and just goes after Sophie are my favorite ones. There were a few shibari scenes that were detailed and explained well, since I felt like I could comfortably follow along and picture the scene perfectly.
This was a very entertaining and spicy romance, and I wish there were more stories involving different kinds of gangs! (You know, outside of the usual mafia, bratva and Irish mob!) highly recommend!
June 8, 2024
I really wanted to like this one. The cover and add blurb I saw sold me on this book. It started off great but very quickly got to where I was so annoyed with many of the things Sophie would say or do. I really wonder why she had to say several things 3-4 times to get them. I also felt a bit cringy when it came to some of the use of Japanese words/terms in the writing. It felt very odd to read and sometimes had me rolling my eyes. It came off as that Anime kid in the 2000s who was such a Japanfile it felt like a fettish.
Side note: I have always been a big fan of the Yakuza games and this felt like a self insert fanfic for Majima at times.
Also… how does Sophie sort of know what shibari is but not 69??? There’s also questions about how a poor midwestern could even get in and afford Tokyo College that feels glossed over even with the minor explanations. Again this book gives the 2000 weeb with the Japan fettish at times… it’s cringy.
Side note: I have always been a big fan of the Yakuza games and this felt like a self insert fanfic for Majima at times.
Also… how does Sophie sort of know what shibari is but not 69??? There’s also questions about how a poor midwestern could even get in and afford Tokyo College that feels glossed over even with the minor explanations. Again this book gives the 2000 weeb with the Japan fettish at times… it’s cringy.
May 7, 2023
This book caught my attention, providing an interesting perspective, along the same lines as a typical Mafia genre, but with a difference, rather than being Bravata or Cosa Nostra, it is Yakuza. The Shibari elements were well described, and the ending also wasn't what I would call typical, I really enjoyed this book and I hope the author writes some more.
April 29, 2024
So the title and blurb intrigued me. I love the cover with the mask and bird.
The story flowed well and kept me interested. There were moments with Sophie that I wished she stayed mad. It's okay to love someone and be mad. She had genuine reason to be mad but forgave Kato in minutes. There were also times I wished she listened, but I did appreciate those moments that helped with plot points because it helped Kato's character development like facing his fear.
However, I loved her protective side. She tried to protect Natsuo and protected Kato with the police and against the guy in the office. That was great character development!
Natsuo and Ari were my favourites because I completely understood Ari trying to protect Sophie and why Sophie annoyed Natsuo.
Kato was brilliant. He was exactly what the author described him as. He was dark and dangerous.
His character development was interesting as you could tell how much Sophie started to mean to him but.
Shibari was something different for me as i didn't even realise that was a thing, so that was different.
The mention at the start about how the names worked was really helpful as I didn't know that.
The Kato chapter was excellent, I am so glad he didn't give it all up.
Overall, great book and I would read more!
The story flowed well and kept me interested. There were moments with Sophie that I wished she stayed mad. It's okay to love someone and be mad. She had genuine reason to be mad but forgave Kato in minutes. There were also times I wished she listened, but I did appreciate those moments that helped with plot points because it helped Kato's character development like facing his fear.
However, I loved her protective side. She tried to protect Natsuo and protected Kato with the police and against the guy in the office. That was great character development!
Natsuo and Ari were my favourites because I completely understood Ari trying to protect Sophie and why Sophie annoyed Natsuo.
Kato was brilliant. He was exactly what the author described him as. He was dark and dangerous.
His character development was interesting as you could tell how much Sophie started to mean to him but.
Shibari was something different for me as i didn't even realise that was a thing, so that was different.
The mention at the start about how the names worked was really helpful as I didn't know that.
The Kato chapter was excellent, I am so glad he didn't give it all up.
Overall, great book and I would read more!
October 27, 2025
⭐️ 2.5/5
A Yakuza romance with a strong premise but chaotic follow-through. Interesting setting, but the story gets lost under too much heat and too little sense.
I enjoyed the cultural elements and setting, and the premise hooked me right away. But once the story settled into the romance, the plot took a back seat to repetitive spicy scenes. By the end, I was more confused than satisfied. The writing had flashes of promise, but it never quite delivered the emotional depth or logic the setup deserved. It had potential, but the execution felt uneven and occasionally frustrating.
A Yakuza romance with a strong premise but chaotic follow-through. Interesting setting, but the story gets lost under too much heat and too little sense.
I enjoyed the cultural elements and setting, and the premise hooked me right away. But once the story settled into the romance, the plot took a back seat to repetitive spicy scenes. By the end, I was more confused than satisfied. The writing had flashes of promise, but it never quite delivered the emotional depth or logic the setup deserved. It had potential, but the execution felt uneven and occasionally frustrating.
September 4, 2024
Saw an add for this on Facebook one night and figured I would give it a shot since I have been catching up on Tokyo Vice on Max, figuring it would hopefully give the same vibes.
Ultimately, it kinda did but didn't at the same time. The FMC honestly was just not doing it for me. She frustrated me with the way she was described and with some of the stuff she did. The FMC nearly made me DNF this book.
Ultimately, it kinda did but didn't at the same time. The FMC honestly was just not doing it for me. She frustrated me with the way she was described and with some of the stuff she did. The FMC nearly made me DNF this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2024
Ok
I loved the idea of the this dark romance novel. This novel had too much spice and needed more of a storyline, which made it hard to finish. Kota and Sophie are total opposite characters and were portrayed perfectly. Sophie had to accept Kota’s ways or nothing. Kota came and went as he pleased and offered no apologies. Sophie questioned Kota’s intentions and herself at every turn.
I loved the idea of the this dark romance novel. This novel had too much spice and needed more of a storyline, which made it hard to finish. Kota and Sophie are total opposite characters and were portrayed perfectly. Sophie had to accept Kota’s ways or nothing. Kota came and went as he pleased and offered no apologies. Sophie questioned Kota’s intentions and herself at every turn.
July 6, 2024
I really wanted to like this book, I am fascinated by Japanese culture and the yakuza. Unfortunately the writing is incredibly clunky and the character and plot development nonexistent. The FMC was wildly unlikeable and unbelievable. I dnf’d this book-it was so hard to read. My time is too valuable to waste on poorly written books when there are so many better writers and stories out there.
March 4, 2025
favorite yakuza read so far
I feel like this was well researched and specially with how little information you can get on the yakuza
There were lots of Japanese themes throughout
The MMC was so unapologetically himself and I loved it never once denying who he was or hiding it from the FMC
I feel like this was well researched and specially with how little information you can get on the yakuza
There were lots of Japanese themes throughout
The MMC was so unapologetically himself and I loved it never once denying who he was or hiding it from the FMC
July 19, 2023
Great story but poor ending
I really enjoyed this book right up until the end. I don’t like bad guys who change and give up their bad ways just to please a woman. So it would have been a 4 or 5 star read with a better ending.
I really enjoyed this book right up until the end. I don’t like bad guys who change and give up their bad ways just to please a woman. So it would have been a 4 or 5 star read with a better ending.
July 23, 2024
Omg!
This story was spellbounding! I couldn't put it down until I was full. It was all that and more. The characters were so believe able I felt every single thing that happened. Totally Recommended!!!!!
This story was spellbounding! I couldn't put it down until I was full. It was all that and more. The characters were so believe able I felt every single thing that happened. Totally Recommended!!!!!
October 30, 2025
It wasn’t the best book ever and Sophie KINDAAA cringed me out. But icl the epilogue and bonus scene was FUCKING POWERFUL. I loved it. And the elements in this book could’ve been portrayed better, BUT STILL I LOVE IT OKAYYY
January 7, 2026
This is the first dark yakuza book I have owned and read. Honestly, it felt rushed at times and didn’t seem to flow well together but over all I liked it. I don’t think I’d reread it but things could change.
September 1, 2024
I really wanted to like this book. Started strong but fell so flat.
Also Sophie is annoying and I have no idea how anyone would put up with her.
Also Sophie is annoying and I have no idea how anyone would put up with her.
December 18, 2024
DNF at 31% in like I just can't.
January 11, 2026
I'm a masochist when it comes to books so I finished this one with zero hesitation. 8/10 if you're a hate reader.
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