Cruel To Be Kind

by Kichiku Neko, TogaQ (Illustrator)

Kagura's a newly acquired young secretary who had become a personal throphy of one of the most powerful CEOs in Tokyo. However, the secretary came with poisonous secrets. Sakiyama Sho, the company's Security Chief, would come to discover the deadly web Kagura had weaved... but was he already entangled in it himself the moment they met?

Genres: M M Romance, Manga, Yaoi, BDSM, Dark, Contemporary, Abuse

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Name: 鬼畜猫: Kichiku Neko (ナルキッソス)

Name (in native language): 猫鬼畜

Associated Names:
Guilt | Pleasure
G|P
KichikuNeko
narcissus
Sadistic Cat

Birth Place: Taiwan

Doujinshi Circle: Guilty Pleasure (G|P) with CHEN Jo

In Real life she is a cop. She is also a Taiwanese.

Horoscope: Scorpio

Favorite Places: Rome, Italy; Normandy, France.

Favorite Movies: Tampopo and Shall We Dance? (Japanese Version)

Hobbies: Travel; BL Manga/Novels/Drama CDs

Secret Lust: Men in sharp, expensive suits or uniforms

Genres: Drama / Mature / Psychological / Smut / Yaoi

Email: kichiku_neko@guiltpleasure.com

Social Networking:
http://kichiku-neko.livejournal.com/
https://twitter.com/Kichiku_Neko

Reviews

[Kynthos-the-Archer (Kyn) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.6 dazzling stars for the steamy sexual tension and well played mind games. Of course that's shared by its nosebleed worthy illustrations.

What a tangled web it was. The plot is sure thick in this one - the twists and turns would leave you spinning. So, rest assured that this story would keep you on your toes and anxiously guessing away.

The MC, Kaguya is such an enigma and he is definitely not just a pretty face. Sakiyama has certainly misjudged his own capability of owning such an exotic pet. Let's just say, he is a victim of his own vanity and lust.

“He was never harmless,” Sakiyama said. “And that is why I like playing with him.”

“I am not certain if you’re cruel or foolish to do that.”

Sakiyama laughed. “Don’t spoil my fun, Shohei. I’ve not had a pet since I was a boy

“This pet destroyed a multi-billion dollar corporation. Hardly a chewed slipper.”

“Makes him even more exciting to own, no?”

Just deserts can never be better than served cold.


If you are looking for romance, this isn't really for you. Also, most of the sex scenes are raw and rough but fiery hot and sensual even-though pain is ever-present. If you are a romantic and only into fluffy sweet gentle lovemaking, please do not pick this up and ruin the rating. LOL :P

What I love most is the sexual tension vibrating from both the main characters, it was almost tangible. It makes me shudder at times and I like that feeling.

I would highly recommend this to those who likes mind-games or some good mindfucking with high sexual tension wrapped in dangerous conspiracy. I have a feeling that those who love Mind Fuck by Manna Francis would enjoy this one just as much.

I am so adding this to my 'dark-fics' and 'mind-games/mindfuck' shelves.


FRIENDLY ADVICE :
Just wanna drop a piece of friendly advice to would-be-readers of this novel.

Please try to read this story undisturbed in one sitting. It's relatively short and easy for you to manage that.

I am saying this because, I have spread my reading into several days with a long interval in between due to real life bitching on me and all that. When I continued the reading, I got confused by some of the events in the book and that had affected my overall reading experience.

It is wise that you just let the steam builds and maintain it till it reaches its peak for best effect.


WHERE TO PURCHASE :
I got an ebook of it from Kobobooks.com at a 30% discount during their promo at the time of purchase: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Cruel-...

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the actual fuck?

After Father Figure I had butterflies in my belly when starting this book.

But...

One: either Kobo or the publisher screwed this up big time. I couldn't see any of the illustrations. I got Father Figure in the exact same format, read it on the exact same ereader and I didn't have this problem. With Cruel To Be Kind, I only see a blown up corner of each illustration. I know that these illustrations are spectacular and so wrongly right/rightly wrong and I WANT to devour them with my eyes! Now I have to figure shit out to do so and that's just..&%#@$*&%...

Two: the story. Started out in its usual Kichiku Neko-ish awesome way. I love how with her stories, you are like; "Ahh, I've read this before..I know how this is going to go.." and then Wham Double Whopper Bam...gruesome things happen and fuck you right up. Love it. But.... the story got lost in a swamp of godknowswhat and godknowswhere. I could hardly follow it, the kink wasn't my kind of kink (blue pill orgies with wrinkled grandpas is not something I happily pay for to read) and, since I didn't care for the MCs, the ending left me asbolutely cold. This would've worked so much better in the form of yaoi, so much better..

Meh! Maybe I'll up my rating after I've figured out a way to see the illustrations. :'(

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Da fuck did I just read?
3.75 stars.
Spoilers.

Wasn't expecting this.
Definitely best part is that it's written very well, but definitely in the yaoi style. It reads just like a translated yaoi manga, which is awesome. Even the dialogue is perfect for the genre.

Rape/abusive scene in the office? Classic for this style. Also admittedly fairly hot.
I think the sexy factor slowly went down after that.
Lots of mind games, everyone wanting to fuck everyone, everyone wanting to fuck over everyone, and everything is crazy, basically.
Didn't expect the plot twists, really. I'm not sure who to root for in this book.

There are so many triggers in this book for so many people because of the rape, abuse, cruelty, incest..
Not for the faint of heart, but definitely right up my alley.
Gorgeous illustrations.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mind is so fucked that I'm going to need some assistance figuring out exactly what happened. I thought I had an explanation, but if I'm right, then one thing that was mentioned doesn't make sense. Someone please break this down for me in a spoiler!

[Xing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Definitely not for the faint of heart. There's rape and violence. No romance at all. Definite mind fuckery. And also some disturbing "relationships" and a plot twist in the end that I didn't see coming until the last chapter. My only complaint was how stiff the writing felt. Almost like everyone spoke very clinically and didn't feel like real people (despite the fact that this is a work of fiction).

But at least the drawings were gorgeous!

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great illustrations, they were really amazing, but I got confused with the story and what was happening. A bit disappointed.

[Jason Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confusing in parts. Could have been a much better read.

[Imanewreader ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

tw/cw - rape, sex scenes, blood (again, very common themes with Guilt Pleasure)

okay.. i hate it here.
i didn't understand much. the scenes made me nauseous (also the chara design is on point).

[Heather C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm. I bit confusing to follow at times and I didn't like the POV changes. Started in 1st from one character POV then changed to 3rd from other characters' and also with the original character.

I did love the big twist at the end...although I suspected it for a bit.

3.5 stars

ETA: I read the ebook version first, then got home and realized the paperback is an expanded version!! Looks like it has an extra chapter in the middle and book 2 prologue at the end. Those additions definitely cleared up some of my questions to the point I'm rounding my rating up instead of down.

Dammit...now I want to know what happens next!

[Yblees · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew there was a plot twist coming, but damn, that surprised me!

Slightly expensive for the length, but the illustrations were gorgeous.

[P r e s e a · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story felt incomplete to me and confusing at the end...confusing in the sense the story was not letting me enjoy when I got to the end. No real clarity just dissatisfaction. I then learned after my epurchase the print copy offers more content, probably purpose to give proper expansion that should have been included in the first place. I don't like having print...so I'd have to scan in my book to keep on my reader then.

Petsonally I am just disappointed I have to put forth more money to figure out this story better. I'm all for paying for 'bonus content' for extra unnecessary enjoyment (like vido game DLC), but this just well, sucks? I'd rather put my money towards In These Words.

I am going to be careful of my future epurchases. I bet this sounds more like a brand rant review. But it really impacted my enjoyment for this story.

[eduarda · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5

[Shadowsword · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very hard, but a good ending, great cover

[Aparna Nayak · Rating 3 out of 5]

So violent but kinda enjoyed it.

[khai · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5☆ confused.com because of that ending

[Elizabeth Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

**WARNING: (for those unfamiliar with Guilt Pleasure's works) this book contains graphic sexual content, including rape.

I made a promise to myself, upon discovering this amazing cadre of writers and artists, that as soon as I could I was going to start buying these books...and within a span of the last few months (mid-October) I did just that. Though amongst their works there are moments of sweetness (NY Minute, First Do No Harm, One of These Nights-In These Words Prequels), the stories GP creates deal with the dark side...the REAL dark side of human nature as well as themes of even darker sexuality....and aren't for the faint of heart. For me, I bought the ebooks first before I picked up the print versions (which I highly recommend since I discovered that the print versions have considerably more art work (which is stunningly beautiful, btw) than the ebook presentations. I simply couldn't just read their stories....I devoured them.... from page one, I just couldn't stop reading. This was a deftly crafted story of revenge that literally had me on the edge of my seat...with a nice twist ending that I never saw coming! The print version of the book includes a bonus prologue for the second part and I absolutely can't wait to get that so I can find out what happens.

I'm very reluctant to give too much of the story away but I'll more than likely come back here to edit this quick review (I felt I needed to jot down something), at the very least include a spoiler-free plot synopsis. :)

[Shadow Jubilee · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

A short story told in "spurts" with a confusing plot. I didn't care for any of the characters, and the graphics, while well-drawn, did not add much to the story for me except one. I did like the scenes of debasement in the "second half" of the story which accounts for the half star and rating upward.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was all over the place. Kind of hard to follow, and wasn't as captivating or powerful as Father Figure. The only thing saving this was the gorgeous illustrations, but even then, my ebook edition had the pictures zoomed and cut off. Really angry about that, especially because I paid for it. 3 stars for mild enjoyment.

[Gore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say, on the second read, it seems better, but still don't think it's Neko's best work. It does seem like there is a hint (or attempt) of a promising sequel, but this edition has been published in 2013, so I'm not holding my breath. It's a shame, because there are still some questions unanswered.

[V · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice illustrations and a cast of horrible people. Unhealthy relationships and sexual assault. Writing was nothing special but it was fun for an afternoon.

I did not read it for it's sexual content so I can't rate that very well.

[Islam Nashrif]

So violent x( Ending was fine though. :D

[Jo * Smut-Dickted * · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and well done story/manga. Illustrated - not sure it's "manga" but to me the pic's were amazing. A little disturbing - but very good read!

[Ran ♠ · Rating 4 out of 5]

unexpected plot twist!!

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind-fuck :|

[Indo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lumayan suka sama ceritanya... tapi kurang berasa gregetnya. Yang bikin seru itu plotnya yang bener2 njelimet. Nggak tahu ceritanya bakal dibawa ke mana. Tapi endingnya ngegantung.

[Hpstrangelove · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art, as always, is beautiful. The story was pretty hot although the ending was totally not what I was expecting.

[Fenriz Angelo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Illustration's good, story a mess as always.

[Chloe K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark as usual. Expect nothing less from kichiko. Loved the ending