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Caged Slave
When Tsukasa meets a mysterious man in a hotel lobby, and ends up spending a maddening night of pleasure with him. Afterwards, he accepts to meet him again in the same room the following week, despite the fact he doesn't even know his name. As their secret encounters continue, he finds himself falling in love and is worried that it may not last. Simultaneously, he's scouted by a business-talent head-hunter and receives an interesting work offer. But when he goes to meet them... his new boss is none other than his secret lover!
200 pages, Paperback
First published May 20, 2008
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April 27, 2009Tsukasa is a "cold beauty" (I think this should be a typical Japanese stereotype, since it's the second time I found it in an yaoi novel...). He is so beautiful that people around him think that he doesn't need to be properly loved but only admired, and when someone dares to reach for him, he finds a totally different guy, a guy who is not so selfish and selfcontrolled as he seems, and also a guy who needs to be cherished and protected, and above all romantically loved. Yes since Tsukasa dreams of the perfect lover and the perfect life they could have together. And instead, he is just dumped by his last lover who wants to marry a rich girl to have an advancement in career.
Tsukasa is mourning in the bar of a posh hotel when he is cruised by an handsome, and apparently, wealthy business man. He is so sad and lonely that, even if he is not is usual behavior, he accepts to follow the man in his room and they spend a night of sex. Another surprise for Tsukas, who, in his previous relationships, has never really appreciated the sexual part of the relationship, always suffered it as a duty to please his partner. And instead this handsome stranger takes care of Tsukasa, and of his body, and brings him to high sexual level he has never reached before.
The morning after Tsukasa is surprised, but pleased, when the man asks him a repeat performance the next week. They start a long relationship, meeting every week at the same hotel and in the same room. Tsukasa is addicted to this man, a man he even doesn't know for name.
The story is pretty simple and there is a twist in the middle that turns it in a classical of the romance genre, the boss and secretary's relationship. It's pretty clear that for Tsukasa is love, since for the first time he has found a not selfish partner, who not only see his beauty exterior, but also sees the man, and his needs. The story obviously is pretty erotic, but not so graphic details of other in the same genre. There is a lot of sex, but I think Tsukasa's character has a right development. Maybe the "handsome stranger" could be a bit more explained, his reasons, his feelings, above all in the second part, when he is also given a real role.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1569707359/?...
Tsukasa is mourning in the bar of a posh hotel when he is cruised by an handsome, and apparently, wealthy business man. He is so sad and lonely that, even if he is not is usual behavior, he accepts to follow the man in his room and they spend a night of sex. Another surprise for Tsukas, who, in his previous relationships, has never really appreciated the sexual part of the relationship, always suffered it as a duty to please his partner. And instead this handsome stranger takes care of Tsukasa, and of his body, and brings him to high sexual level he has never reached before.
The morning after Tsukasa is surprised, but pleased, when the man asks him a repeat performance the next week. They start a long relationship, meeting every week at the same hotel and in the same room. Tsukasa is addicted to this man, a man he even doesn't know for name.
The story is pretty simple and there is a twist in the middle that turns it in a classical of the romance genre, the boss and secretary's relationship. It's pretty clear that for Tsukasa is love, since for the first time he has found a not selfish partner, who not only see his beauty exterior, but also sees the man, and his needs. The story obviously is pretty erotic, but not so graphic details of other in the same genre. There is a lot of sex, but I think Tsukasa's character has a right development. Maybe the "handsome stranger" could be a bit more explained, his reasons, his feelings, above all in the second part, when he is also given a real role.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1569707359/?...
September 27, 2022
My Review: After being dumped by his lover and boss in favour of the company president's daughter, Tsukasa Shinozaki is convinced he has no taste or discretion when it comes to men. When a beautiful stranger hits on him in a hotel bar, Tsukasa can't help but take the invitation, only to find his new mystery man refuses to reveal his identity. Despite this, he decides to continue the illicit relationship, and tries to make himself believe he isn't falling for his secretive lover. It isn't until the man makes a surprise appearance at Tsukasa's job that he finally has to admit he's fallen and accept that now the mystery is over, so the relationship is doomed to end as well. The game is over, Tsukasa resigns himself to another broken heart.
I found this story hit a personal chord for me. I can sympathise with the main character's conviction that he attracts all the wrong kind of attention from men. Full of self doubt and insecurity, even though he knows he's a very good looking guy, Tsukasa just can't believe in good fortune and spends much of the story convincing himself the relationship he so desires, and his own heart, are doomed. It doesn't stop him working hard, though, doing his best to serve his boss and put his own feelings aside. His self doubts might have become tiresome if not for his sincerity in all other things. He truly loves his man, he truly wants to do his best in his job, and in the end, he finds his own strength, rejecting the man who dumped him, and standing up to those who would disrespect him.
As for the mystery man himself, his devotion to Tsukasa even through the younger man's turmoil, made him instantly likeable. The pairing was a typical one, with the older, more powerful seme teaching the younger, more naive uke how very pleasurable love can be. The author showed not just the physical act, but delved into each character's feelings, adding an emotional element that made the love scenes a lot more intimate and enjoyable.
The cover art is a lovely representation of the characters, and the line art inside revealed just enough to fire the imagination! Kanae's focus on facial expressions brings the characters to life perfectly.
All in all, the book was a pretty quick, very satisfying read for me. I was invested in the characters enough that the improbable amount of office sex didn't even faze me! The book embodied all those characteristics of the genre that you might expect, while keeping the characters real. For me, that was the biggest enjoyment; being able to really like the guys I was reading about.
I did notice a few typos, and one mis-used word, which I would have to hunt through the book for, but those are pretty minor details, especially since I've read translations with much more glaring mistakes. And the book fit in my pocket. How cool is that?
My Recomendation: Any fan of Yoai and boys love will appreciate this story, angsty uke notwithstanding (or maybe, like me, because of him!). All in all, Caged Slave was a pretty quick, very satisfying read. I was invested in the characters enough that the improbable amount of office sex didn’t even faze me. The book embodied all the characteristics of the genre that you might expect while still keeping the characters real. For me, that was the biggest enjoyment; being able to really like the guys I was reading about.
I found this story hit a personal chord for me. I can sympathise with the main character's conviction that he attracts all the wrong kind of attention from men. Full of self doubt and insecurity, even though he knows he's a very good looking guy, Tsukasa just can't believe in good fortune and spends much of the story convincing himself the relationship he so desires, and his own heart, are doomed. It doesn't stop him working hard, though, doing his best to serve his boss and put his own feelings aside. His self doubts might have become tiresome if not for his sincerity in all other things. He truly loves his man, he truly wants to do his best in his job, and in the end, he finds his own strength, rejecting the man who dumped him, and standing up to those who would disrespect him.
As for the mystery man himself, his devotion to Tsukasa even through the younger man's turmoil, made him instantly likeable. The pairing was a typical one, with the older, more powerful seme teaching the younger, more naive uke how very pleasurable love can be. The author showed not just the physical act, but delved into each character's feelings, adding an emotional element that made the love scenes a lot more intimate and enjoyable.
The cover art is a lovely representation of the characters, and the line art inside revealed just enough to fire the imagination! Kanae's focus on facial expressions brings the characters to life perfectly.
All in all, the book was a pretty quick, very satisfying read for me. I was invested in the characters enough that the improbable amount of office sex didn't even faze me! The book embodied all those characteristics of the genre that you might expect, while keeping the characters real. For me, that was the biggest enjoyment; being able to really like the guys I was reading about.
I did notice a few typos, and one mis-used word, which I would have to hunt through the book for, but those are pretty minor details, especially since I've read translations with much more glaring mistakes. And the book fit in my pocket. How cool is that?
My Recomendation: Any fan of Yoai and boys love will appreciate this story, angsty uke notwithstanding (or maybe, like me, because of him!). All in all, Caged Slave was a pretty quick, very satisfying read. I was invested in the characters enough that the improbable amount of office sex didn’t even faze me. The book embodied all the characteristics of the genre that you might expect while still keeping the characters real. For me, that was the biggest enjoyment; being able to really like the guys I was reading about.
July 8, 2011
3.5 stars
So, it would appear it's not yaoi I like reading sex in but yaoi manga only because I found myself doing the same thing I do in my m/m ebooks and started skimming the sex... Huh, who would have thunk it?! I like pictures better than words! *gasp* Does that make me a perv? *scratches head*
So, it would appear it's not yaoi I like reading sex in but yaoi manga only because I found myself doing the same thing I do in my m/m ebooks and started skimming the sex... Huh, who would have thunk it?! I like pictures better than words! *gasp* Does that make me a perv? *scratches head*
September 14, 2008
"Caged Slave" is one of the few books that pull off lots of sex. This is because there is a pretty good plot. It can almost be called the perfect Salaryman yaoi manga.
Despite the ever common, not asking questions resulting in misunderstandings, the combinations of plot and passion are fun to read and provide a good story.
The classic yaoi related flaws can be overlooked making this a good book.
Despite the ever common, not asking questions resulting in misunderstandings, the combinations of plot and passion are fun to read and provide a good story.
The classic yaoi related flaws can be overlooked making this a good book.
June 21, 2020
Caged Slave is a light novel that, unlike the title would lead you to believe, has absolutely nothing to do with cages or slaves. Despite that initial disappointment, it is a thoroughly entertaining book nonetheless. It’s about an anonymous hook up relationship that turns into something more serious when the two men, who didn’t even know each other’s names, end up suddenly secretary and boss!
Read the full review on my blog: https://rosesbooks.home.blog/2019/10/...
Read the full review on my blog: https://rosesbooks.home.blog/2019/10/...
June 26, 2009
Cool Beauty Tsukasa is heartbroken and feeling desolate. With little to inspire him, he resorts to a night of drowning his sorrow in a bottle, if for no other reason than to forget what a fool he was, to have been so taken in by his boss and them dumped when something more lucrative came onto the horizon.
Never in his wildest dream would he believe that he would be picked up at the bar by a man who looks like he could have have anyone he wants, and apparently he wanted Tsukasa and Tsukasa was just in the mood to take him up on his offer.
One thing leads to almost four months of one nighters with the same unnamed man and he was getting antsy. Things came to a head – when he gets a promotion at work to be secretary to the new Sales Director of his company.
He is nervous on his first day and sets out to make a good first impression – He’s floored when his new boos turns out to be his unnamed lover and he is not sure how is life is about to change.
There is so much I love about yaoi novels that makes reading them a treat. Firstly there is the stereotypical younger man and older man scenario that never fails to be predictable, but I am unable to resist and it is no different with CAGED SLAVE.
Tsukasa meets a man at a bar and after a few months of seeing each other without any names being exchanged, he finds out his reluctant name giving lover is non other than his new boss.
With a bad experience under his belt from a past lover – Tsukasa is gun shy about what to do as they have obviously made a transition pass the anonymous sex to a superior and inferior working relationship.
With culture, work propriety and Tsukasa low esteem – the relationship goes better and worst than he could have imagined and hearing some unexpected news only has him making rash decisions that just might cost him the man who has come to mean so much to him.
There is just something about these books, you either love them or you hate them – I don’t think I could explain the voice of the author or the language without – saying that alot of yaoi writing is to some extent feel very emotionless – as the language is such.
The premise behind the story is solid and the fact that their is HEA is definitely assured – a yaoi is an experience, and one I am enjoying very much.
Never in his wildest dream would he believe that he would be picked up at the bar by a man who looks like he could have have anyone he wants, and apparently he wanted Tsukasa and Tsukasa was just in the mood to take him up on his offer.
One thing leads to almost four months of one nighters with the same unnamed man and he was getting antsy. Things came to a head – when he gets a promotion at work to be secretary to the new Sales Director of his company.
He is nervous on his first day and sets out to make a good first impression – He’s floored when his new boos turns out to be his unnamed lover and he is not sure how is life is about to change.
There is so much I love about yaoi novels that makes reading them a treat. Firstly there is the stereotypical younger man and older man scenario that never fails to be predictable, but I am unable to resist and it is no different with CAGED SLAVE.
Tsukasa meets a man at a bar and after a few months of seeing each other without any names being exchanged, he finds out his reluctant name giving lover is non other than his new boss.
With a bad experience under his belt from a past lover – Tsukasa is gun shy about what to do as they have obviously made a transition pass the anonymous sex to a superior and inferior working relationship.
With culture, work propriety and Tsukasa low esteem – the relationship goes better and worst than he could have imagined and hearing some unexpected news only has him making rash decisions that just might cost him the man who has come to mean so much to him.
There is just something about these books, you either love them or you hate them – I don’t think I could explain the voice of the author or the language without – saying that alot of yaoi writing is to some extent feel very emotionless – as the language is such.
The premise behind the story is solid and the fact that their is HEA is definitely assured – a yaoi is an experience, and one I am enjoying very much.
April 12, 2011
This book seems to hit all my right kinks (Focus on my). There is the boss-employee relationship. There is Tsukasa who is a needy submissive. And yet he does not turn me off. Especially not when the very alpha male Director takes control of Tsukasa. Certain parts make me cringe slightly, but not enough to stop me from revisiting this story again. The smut is definitely a contributing factor to that, together with two characters that grows on a person.
November 17, 2016
Tsukasa is sitting at a bar feeling sorry for himself when he is propositioned. Despite not knowing the man's name, he accepts. This continues for almost two months before he finds out who his lover is. Takeshima turns his hotel lover into his office lover. Before long despite some upsets and misunderstandings, Takeshima and Tsukasa admit their lover for each other and start planning their life together.
September 6, 2016
kindle edition.
Random stranger sex turns more complex as the two people involved ed up having to work together.
Random stranger sex turns more complex as the two people involved ed up having to work together.
July 4, 2012
I am going to read more of these kind of stories.. I totally loved it!!
July 21, 2020
i like the fact that the bigshot man did not throw away his lover to marry some bankers daughter.
Though it also be very nice if there was a sequel to this book.
Though it also be very nice if there was a sequel to this book.
June 23, 2020
So sexy. It's a great read for yaoi lovers. Both of them are really into each other, gave me the tingles. I thought that the ending was sweet.
March 28, 2022
Pretty bad. Artwork was nice, though, and the concept was good. Translation wasn't bad.
April 19, 2013
2012 Review:
I am amused! And this book is not even remotely what the title suggests. (Thank god.)
It was, uh, different. Maybe it’s just a matter of the translation but the meandering thoughts and awkward phrasing definitely did remind me of the fan-translated manga I’ve read. How appropriate!
So yeah, it was completely unreal and silly, yet amusing nevertheless. Even though I don’t usually like yaoi due to the common roles and conditions, and we had a lot of that here, too. It’s funny how Tsukasa feels ashamed of what he wants and needs to be tied up and or otherwise made to accept the treatment he desires most, so that he can retain his sense of non-choice. Oh, it’s choice all the way. At least that staple of yaoi, rape, is not employed, or at least not fully. Even Takashima refers to the scene in the office as basically rape, and it was kinda-sorta like that, but knowing how Tsukasa felt about it at the time, not really. A little iffy, that bit.
Seriously, reading this was nothing short of hallucinogenic. I am sure this made sense in a Japanese/manga type of logic, but the writing and story structure and reasoning were a complete mess. XD And damn it, but I had tons of fun with that.
The sex was hilarious. Yeah, the usual roughness and non-safety associated with yaoi. I am not even going there. But what really made me laugh was the odd mixture of medical terms and purple prose for the descriptions of those scenes. I just… Heh.
In the end, this is of course nothing like actual gay romance and the people in it are about as far removed from reality as it gets. But I liked how devoted Takashima was to Tsukasa. Ultimately, isn’t that what we truly want from our forceful tops in those kinds of stories? … I can’t believe I just wrote that. *snickers* It goes so much against my tastes. It’s true, however, that genuine dedication and devotion make up for a lot. Thus I am feeling actually quite content with the way things wrapped up.
Cute, if silly, the whole of it. Tsukasa was a complete and utter manga heroine in disguise, complete with the repetitive, pointless and illogical mental ramblings.
Ah god, fun times. XD
I am amused! And this book is not even remotely what the title suggests. (Thank god.)
It was, uh, different. Maybe it’s just a matter of the translation but the meandering thoughts and awkward phrasing definitely did remind me of the fan-translated manga I’ve read. How appropriate!
So yeah, it was completely unreal and silly, yet amusing nevertheless. Even though I don’t usually like yaoi due to the common roles and conditions, and we had a lot of that here, too. It’s funny how Tsukasa feels ashamed of what he wants and needs to be tied up and or otherwise made to accept the treatment he desires most, so that he can retain his sense of non-choice. Oh, it’s choice all the way. At least that staple of yaoi, rape, is not employed, or at least not fully. Even Takashima refers to the scene in the office as basically rape, and it was kinda-sorta like that, but knowing how Tsukasa felt about it at the time, not really. A little iffy, that bit.
Seriously, reading this was nothing short of hallucinogenic. I am sure this made sense in a Japanese/manga type of logic, but the writing and story structure and reasoning were a complete mess. XD And damn it, but I had tons of fun with that.
The sex was hilarious. Yeah, the usual roughness and non-safety associated with yaoi. I am not even going there. But what really made me laugh was the odd mixture of medical terms and purple prose for the descriptions of those scenes. I just… Heh.
In the end, this is of course nothing like actual gay romance and the people in it are about as far removed from reality as it gets. But I liked how devoted Takashima was to Tsukasa. Ultimately, isn’t that what we truly want from our forceful tops in those kinds of stories? … I can’t believe I just wrote that. *snickers* It goes so much against my tastes. It’s true, however, that genuine dedication and devotion make up for a lot. Thus I am feeling actually quite content with the way things wrapped up.
Cute, if silly, the whole of it. Tsukasa was a complete and utter manga heroine in disguise, complete with the repetitive, pointless and illogical mental ramblings.
Ah god, fun times. XD
June 29, 2009
Tsukasa Shinozaki is lonely and trying to drown his sorrows in a hotel bar when he's approached by a mysterious stranger. After being dumped by his lover and former boss for a woman he's shocked and flattered by the attentions of the handsome stranger and decides to indulge in a night of sexual release with the sexy man.
This first night leads to months of weekly meetings with the mystery man. Tsukasa is caught between his need to continue the affair with the unknown man and his growing feelings for a man who won't even tell him his name. Things will only get more complicated for Tsukasa when he's promoted to work for the new Director and he comes to face to face with his mystery lover.
This is the first real Yaoi book I've read and while I didn't love it I did enjoy reading it. The book follows the traditional Yaoi format of the older handsome experienced man and the younger delicate beautiful man. The storyline reminded me almost of a Harlequin novel but with a bit of light BDSM thrown in. Tsukasa is definitely the submissive in this story and while he sometimes protests he loves being taken by his Alpha man.
The book is 152 pages long and includes beautiful illustrations of Tsukasa and his lover done by An Kanae. I recommend this book to all lovers of Yaoi and if you like M/M and haven't read a Yaoi book you may also enjoy this book.
This first night leads to months of weekly meetings with the mystery man. Tsukasa is caught between his need to continue the affair with the unknown man and his growing feelings for a man who won't even tell him his name. Things will only get more complicated for Tsukasa when he's promoted to work for the new Director and he comes to face to face with his mystery lover.
This is the first real Yaoi book I've read and while I didn't love it I did enjoy reading it. The book follows the traditional Yaoi format of the older handsome experienced man and the younger delicate beautiful man. The storyline reminded me almost of a Harlequin novel but with a bit of light BDSM thrown in. Tsukasa is definitely the submissive in this story and while he sometimes protests he loves being taken by his Alpha man.
The book is 152 pages long and includes beautiful illustrations of Tsukasa and his lover done by An Kanae. I recommend this book to all lovers of Yaoi and if you like M/M and haven't read a Yaoi book you may also enjoy this book.
December 24, 2008
Tsukasa Shinozaki is not a good judgement of men. He has not had great experiances and ends up feeling down.
One night at a hotel bar a stranger tells him to meet him in his room. That night Tsukasa experiances pleasure unlike any before.
He doesn't find out the stranger's name. But the man tells him to meet him there again, Same time next week.
This was my first yaoi novel. Even after reading the explaination I still don't know if I really understand it. =). I liked
this author and the characters. It was an easy read and the pictures were gorgeous. For those looking for tradition m/m romance, this is not it. This is in a class of it's own.
One night at a hotel bar a stranger tells him to meet him in his room. That night Tsukasa experiances pleasure unlike any before.
He doesn't find out the stranger's name. But the man tells him to meet him there again, Same time next week.
This was my first yaoi novel. Even after reading the explaination I still don't know if I really understand it. =). I liked
this author and the characters. It was an easy read and the pictures were gorgeous. For those looking for tradition m/m romance, this is not it. This is in a class of it's own.
July 10, 2021
I read this book because I'm a book blogger who is highly critical of the romance genre and the way rape is often fetishized and excused in the romance genre. Seriously, if you want to talk about "rape culture" the romance genre is a good place to start. Considering the vast amount of women who have rape fantasies, and the very weird way feminists like to play up their physical vulnerability to men constantly, I actually think crying about rape culture is literally a way for women to titillate themselves. I believe women are aroused by their own vulnerability to rape, and that is why women like to scream and cry that if a man approaches them to flirt in broad daylight and is perfectly polite, this is somehow super duper scary.
Anyway, this is my thing I carry on about constantly. I believe women are mostly to blame for rape culture, because it makes women wet, and I know that sounds awful, but if it's true it's true. I sure as hell wish it wasn't, yet here we are.
I was asked by a reader of my blog to talk about consent in gay romance too.
I agreed and happened to stumble upon this yaoi novel in a used bookstore.
This book has all the same weird, rapey problems that hetero romance does.
There is a clear lack of consent, yet the guy saying "no" secretly likes it in his head. So...guess everything is fine then???
How is something like that not supposed to confuse people on what is and isn't consent. If a guy is saying "no" or "stop" (as Tsukasa does in EVERY fucking sex scene with Takeshima) then you stop fucking him. That's pretty simple, right? Person says no, you stop doing whatever in the hell you're doing to them.
But this book, like a TON of hetero romance, makes the "no" an element of the erotic. Not only that but Tsukasa's small size is emphasized constantly. Since yaoi is known to appeal to women, this brings me back to the theory I expressed earlier: women are aroused by their own vulnerability to rape. They probably don't want to actually be raped. But knowing they are small and vulnerable to it turns them on. That's why feminists talk about it constantly. I believe since this genre is known to appeal to women, the author emphasized the small size of Tsukasa, and in many other ways, infused the feminine psyche onto him. This is a gay romance, but there's little here to distinguish it from a hetero romance. Tsukasa plays the role of the emotionally-damaged-but-trying-to-play-it-cool main character that we see in most MF romance.
The absolute most disgusting part of this book for me, was the scene where Tsukasa is nearly raped by his ex-boyfriend. Takeshima happens upon them and saves Tsukasa, which, okay I don't love how sexual assault and being saved by sexual assault are eroticized so often in the romance genre, but whatever, we love a knight in shining honor. Is Takeshima knight in shining armor though?
Well he does save Tsukasa from being raped and threaten his potential rapist. But then he after the attacker leaves, he says to Tsukasa, "Why didn't you fight him off?" and "If I hadn't come along, would you have just let him have his way with you?" but it gets better, he also screams "Damn you! Who else are you sleeping with? How many people at Dai Tech are you fucking?"
So...I have a lot of feelings about this.
Look I have my own experience with the r-word, which I think I've trauma dumped all over the internet enough these past few months, so probably I won't get into it. I'll just say my own experience is the reason I get so pissy over the way rape is eroticized by women, both blatantly in the romance genre and insidiously in fainting couch feminist discourse. It's also why this scene, where a man is almost raped and then the man he loves yells at him and blames him and acts like he wanted it because he didn't fight harder, it made me absolutely sick to my stomach. The main character did not react realistically or appropriately at all to being so abused by Takeshima.
I can't imagine how that would feel, this event that I lived through when I was 18, if on top of that, someone I admired and cared about walked in on it, yelled at me for not fighting him off, implied I wanted it for not fighting harder, demanded to know my body count, and expressed a general anger and disgust at me.
How could anyone write something like this and call it romance?
And the scene isn't even over there.
"Answer me, you slut."
Takeshima screams this at a man who was nearly raped only moments earlier.
This is love? This is romance?
No, this is sick.
And this author should be entirely, absolutely ashamed.
And I don't want to hear fuck all about "respectability politics." It's a nonsense phrase used to sheild LGBT+ people from criticism.
If I would criticize a hetero person for doing something (and I have many times) then I will do the same for LGBT+ people. And that applies to works of fiction too. I will criticize LGBT+ works using the same criteria I use for hetero fiction.
That being said, from everything my LGBT+ friends have told me about MM romance, there's a good chance this was written by a cis hetero woman. Idk anything about this author. I just know that's a massive phenomena in MM romance, according to many of my LGBT+ pals. So even if a gay dude wrote this, he was still likely influenced by the sexuality of cis hetero women, as they create many of the tropes and standards for MM romance.
That being said, influence or not, this was a fucked up thing to write, and the author should be ashamed of themselves.
Anyway, this is my thing I carry on about constantly. I believe women are mostly to blame for rape culture, because it makes women wet, and I know that sounds awful, but if it's true it's true. I sure as hell wish it wasn't, yet here we are.
I was asked by a reader of my blog to talk about consent in gay romance too.
I agreed and happened to stumble upon this yaoi novel in a used bookstore.
This book has all the same weird, rapey problems that hetero romance does.
There is a clear lack of consent, yet the guy saying "no" secretly likes it in his head. So...guess everything is fine then???
How is something like that not supposed to confuse people on what is and isn't consent. If a guy is saying "no" or "stop" (as Tsukasa does in EVERY fucking sex scene with Takeshima) then you stop fucking him. That's pretty simple, right? Person says no, you stop doing whatever in the hell you're doing to them.
But this book, like a TON of hetero romance, makes the "no" an element of the erotic. Not only that but Tsukasa's small size is emphasized constantly. Since yaoi is known to appeal to women, this brings me back to the theory I expressed earlier: women are aroused by their own vulnerability to rape. They probably don't want to actually be raped. But knowing they are small and vulnerable to it turns them on. That's why feminists talk about it constantly. I believe since this genre is known to appeal to women, the author emphasized the small size of Tsukasa, and in many other ways, infused the feminine psyche onto him. This is a gay romance, but there's little here to distinguish it from a hetero romance. Tsukasa plays the role of the emotionally-damaged-but-trying-to-play-it-cool main character that we see in most MF romance.
The absolute most disgusting part of this book for me, was the scene where Tsukasa is nearly raped by his ex-boyfriend. Takeshima happens upon them and saves Tsukasa, which, okay I don't love how sexual assault and being saved by sexual assault are eroticized so often in the romance genre, but whatever, we love a knight in shining honor. Is Takeshima knight in shining armor though?
Well he does save Tsukasa from being raped and threaten his potential rapist. But then he after the attacker leaves, he says to Tsukasa, "Why didn't you fight him off?" and "If I hadn't come along, would you have just let him have his way with you?" but it gets better, he also screams "Damn you! Who else are you sleeping with? How many people at Dai Tech are you fucking?"
So...I have a lot of feelings about this.
Look I have my own experience with the r-word, which I think I've trauma dumped all over the internet enough these past few months, so probably I won't get into it. I'll just say my own experience is the reason I get so pissy over the way rape is eroticized by women, both blatantly in the romance genre and insidiously in fainting couch feminist discourse. It's also why this scene, where a man is almost raped and then the man he loves yells at him and blames him and acts like he wanted it because he didn't fight harder, it made me absolutely sick to my stomach. The main character did not react realistically or appropriately at all to being so abused by Takeshima.
I can't imagine how that would feel, this event that I lived through when I was 18, if on top of that, someone I admired and cared about walked in on it, yelled at me for not fighting him off, implied I wanted it for not fighting harder, demanded to know my body count, and expressed a general anger and disgust at me.
How could anyone write something like this and call it romance?
And the scene isn't even over there.
"Answer me, you slut."
Takeshima screams this at a man who was nearly raped only moments earlier.
This is love? This is romance?
No, this is sick.
And this author should be entirely, absolutely ashamed.
And I don't want to hear fuck all about "respectability politics." It's a nonsense phrase used to sheild LGBT+ people from criticism.
If I would criticize a hetero person for doing something (and I have many times) then I will do the same for LGBT+ people. And that applies to works of fiction too. I will criticize LGBT+ works using the same criteria I use for hetero fiction.
That being said, from everything my LGBT+ friends have told me about MM romance, there's a good chance this was written by a cis hetero woman. Idk anything about this author. I just know that's a massive phenomena in MM romance, according to many of my LGBT+ pals. So even if a gay dude wrote this, he was still likely influenced by the sexuality of cis hetero women, as they create many of the tropes and standards for MM romance.
That being said, influence or not, this was a fucked up thing to write, and the author should be ashamed of themselves.
December 27, 2008
This was a cute guilty-pleasure read. I would have given it more stars if the ending hadn't been so abrupt and left so much unresolved but overall I enjoyed this. Of course, the roles and plot are pretty stereotypical but I liked that the main characters cared about each other and it was nice to have a strong yet romantic and caring seme instead of the brutes we tend to see so much of in yaoi. 3.5 stars
August 13, 2016
1st read - July 3, 2011
2nd read - Aug 10, 2011
July 14, 2019
Reseña completa: https://entrelibrosc.blogspot.com/201...
En cuanto a los personajes tenemos a Tsukasa un joven de aproximadamente veintiséis años que trabaja como secretario, es muy apuesto y se le puede tomar como una “belleza fría”, muchos consideran que es una persona que no necesita que lo amen sino que debe ser admirado además de que luce como alguien caprichoso y vanidoso, sin embargo, es todo lo contrario ya que lo único que Tsukasa desea es encontrar una persona que lo ame por lo que él es realmente y no por lo que aparenta, ya que es precisamente esa apariencia lo que ha ocasionado que sus relaciones terminan fracasando cuando revela su verdadero carácter.
Por su parte vemos como Takemisha demuestra constantemente con pequeños actos lo importante que es Tsukasa para él, así como su devoción absoluta, sin embargo, los miedos de Tsukasa salen a relucir y este tendrá que hacerles frente por el bien de su relación. Tengo que reconocer que ame Takemisha por su personalidad y por la forma en que lo cuida y procura a Tsukasa, a la vez que le demuestra lo mucho que lo ama y trata de ser mejor para él.
Pero volviendo al Tsukasa hay algunos momentos en que el personaje tiene actitudes que me parecieron infantiles para un hombre de su edad, lo cual me llego a irritar un poco aunque mucho de ello era resultado de sus inseguridades y lo entiendo pero llega un punto en que resulta inverosímil, ya que sí tu pareja te está demostrando que te ama y te da la confianza para platicar de todo, porque no hablar y aclarar las cosas en vez de correr y esconderse como un niño mimado que han regañado, pero bueno así son las cosas y pese a esto no puedo negar lo mucho que disfrute del libro.
El libro se lee rápido y he disfrutado leyéndolo, nos encontraremos con una gran cantidad de escenas sexuales en el libro, pero hay que reconocer que se invierto el tiempo suficiente en la construcción los personajes para que esto no desconcierte. Así mismo conforme iba leyendo me percate que había bastantes características del género que se mantienen pese a ello se mantuvo un buen perfil de los personajes lo que hace que la historia resulta más agradable.
En cuanto a los personajes tenemos a Tsukasa un joven de aproximadamente veintiséis años que trabaja como secretario, es muy apuesto y se le puede tomar como una “belleza fría”, muchos consideran que es una persona que no necesita que lo amen sino que debe ser admirado además de que luce como alguien caprichoso y vanidoso, sin embargo, es todo lo contrario ya que lo único que Tsukasa desea es encontrar una persona que lo ame por lo que él es realmente y no por lo que aparenta, ya que es precisamente esa apariencia lo que ha ocasionado que sus relaciones terminan fracasando cuando revela su verdadero carácter.
Por su parte vemos como Takemisha demuestra constantemente con pequeños actos lo importante que es Tsukasa para él, así como su devoción absoluta, sin embargo, los miedos de Tsukasa salen a relucir y este tendrá que hacerles frente por el bien de su relación. Tengo que reconocer que ame Takemisha por su personalidad y por la forma en que lo cuida y procura a Tsukasa, a la vez que le demuestra lo mucho que lo ama y trata de ser mejor para él.
Pero volviendo al Tsukasa hay algunos momentos en que el personaje tiene actitudes que me parecieron infantiles para un hombre de su edad, lo cual me llego a irritar un poco aunque mucho de ello era resultado de sus inseguridades y lo entiendo pero llega un punto en que resulta inverosímil, ya que sí tu pareja te está demostrando que te ama y te da la confianza para platicar de todo, porque no hablar y aclarar las cosas en vez de correr y esconderse como un niño mimado que han regañado, pero bueno así son las cosas y pese a esto no puedo negar lo mucho que disfrute del libro.
El libro se lee rápido y he disfrutado leyéndolo, nos encontraremos con una gran cantidad de escenas sexuales en el libro, pero hay que reconocer que se invierto el tiempo suficiente en la construcción los personajes para que esto no desconcierte. Así mismo conforme iba leyendo me percate que había bastantes características del género que se mantienen pese a ello se mantuvo un buen perfil de los personajes lo que hace que la historia resulta más agradable.
June 18, 2022
Una novela de fácil lectura.
El protagonista tsukasa, ha sido usado por sus amantes y le cuesta confiar en que la gente sea sincero con él. Su anterior amangte Koishi le dejo para casarse. Decidio ir a un bar y ahogar sus penas y a alli conocio un hombre con el que pasaria la noche en la habitación 2703.
En este momento se deja llevar y el hombre del qual no sabe su nombre le dice que vuelva a esta habitación la semana siguiente. Y así empieza su historia.
Pero quien es el misterioso hombre no es más ni menos que su futuro jefe Kouki Takeshima. El dia en que se ven por primera vez en la oficina no se lo puede creer y el dia en que se tendrian que encontrar de nuevo en la habitacion 2703 no se atreve a ir, tiene miedo de que todo termine ahora que se han conocido y es su jefe. No quiere volver a pasar por lo mismo.
Pero no sabe que los sentimientos que el alberga hacia Kouki son los mismos que Kouki hacia él.
Es una tierna historia con mucho XXX a veces, demasiado.
Sobre como un hombre del que se han aprovechado en repetidas ocasiones consigue conocer un hombre que lo trate bien y le respete, quiera por como es. Es un personaje con muchas inseguridades y le cuesta demasiado confiar en la gente. Aunque no le culpo porque no es facil confiar despues de ser usado y traicionado más de una vez. Y cuando parece que la historia se repite no puede hablar con Kouki por miedo de que sea verdad. Aunque no tenga porque repetirse siempre la misma historia.
El protagonista tsukasa, ha sido usado por sus amantes y le cuesta confiar en que la gente sea sincero con él. Su anterior amangte Koishi le dejo para casarse. Decidio ir a un bar y ahogar sus penas y a alli conocio un hombre con el que pasaria la noche en la habitación 2703.
En este momento se deja llevar y el hombre del qual no sabe su nombre le dice que vuelva a esta habitación la semana siguiente. Y así empieza su historia.
Pero quien es el misterioso hombre no es más ni menos que su futuro jefe Kouki Takeshima. El dia en que se ven por primera vez en la oficina no se lo puede creer y el dia en que se tendrian que encontrar de nuevo en la habitacion 2703 no se atreve a ir, tiene miedo de que todo termine ahora que se han conocido y es su jefe. No quiere volver a pasar por lo mismo.
Pero no sabe que los sentimientos que el alberga hacia Kouki son los mismos que Kouki hacia él.
Es una tierna historia con mucho XXX a veces, demasiado.
Sobre como un hombre del que se han aprovechado en repetidas ocasiones consigue conocer un hombre que lo trate bien y le respete, quiera por como es. Es un personaje con muchas inseguridades y le cuesta demasiado confiar en la gente. Aunque no le culpo porque no es facil confiar despues de ser usado y traicionado más de una vez. Y cuando parece que la historia se repite no puede hablar con Kouki por miedo de que sea verdad. Aunque no tenga porque repetirse siempre la misma historia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2021
BL novels are so dramatic and I love them.
February 1, 2022
BL novels are so dramatic and I love them.
July 21, 2022
Una cita con un misterioso hombre todas las semanas a la misma hora y en el mismo hotel lo único es que no sabes el nombre de la persona de la que poco a poco te has ido enamorando .
Tiene ilustraciones y eso me hizo muy feliz a pesar de que la historia ya es muy old para mi gusto.
Tiene ilustraciones y eso me hizo muy feliz a pesar de que la historia ya es muy old para mi gusto.
July 18, 2011
This is basically a romance with an office setting, or if you need to get specific, a secretary and boss affair, only with guys. Not saying that lightly. For all the controversy a title like this can have (and I am speaking for a moment as a librarian), this is basically a romance novel, fairly heavy on the sex that involves two guys instead of a heterosexual couple. What I am trying to say is that is that is is not a big deal as some people would make it out to be. Now, leaving that aside, let's look at the book itself.
If you like yaoi romances, you may or not like this one. Yes, you have the two handsome boys. First, we have Tsukasa, the male secretary just dumped by his boss who is marrying the company president's daughter in order to further his career. Then we have the new "hired gun" for Dai Tech. Takemisha, who is brought in by the venerable (but apparently starting to slip) father of the company's president to save a very important account. The reason I say many readers of this genre may not like this book is that Tsukasa, the secretary, is an extremely insecure guy. His constant worrying and other insecurities do get irritating for the reader after a while. Mind you, Tsukasa is not some hack without skills; he is very good at his job, very skilled, so on, a great worker. However, he is also seen by others as a "cold beauty," where others see him as an object of admiration, but not necessarily affection.
The story starts when Tsukasa meets a mysterious stranger at a bar. They have a one night stand, which over time becomes a regular affair. Only problem is the stranger never reveals his name. However, Tsukasa comes to look forward to his encounters with the stranger.
Like any other romance, there are some twists, revelations, so on. The kind of thing fans of the genre will likely enjoy. It is a very light read, but as I mentioned, Tsukasa's insecurity can get a little irritating, even for fans. And no, I do not say that because this is a yaoi novel; if this was a "garden variety" romance, and the heroine was a constant worry wart, I'd probably be irritated too. I think it is a flaw in this novel, not of the genre. And if you like your romances steamy, this is certainly up your alley. The book does feature illustrations, which is why I tagged it for the manga, etc. tag (that, and it is published by a DMP imprint). And who says romances do not offer insights. Look for the small remark Takemisha makes about large family owned companies; he may have a point.
In the end, I gave it two stars mostly because it was ok. I can see where it falls within the formulas of the genre, and readers who really like this may enjoy it. However, the character of Tsukasa, especially his high level of insecurity, did make the reading a little irritating. That may be more a reflection of me as a reader (romance is not one of my favorite genres, though I will read a good yaoi or yuri novel or manga now and then). Anyhow, amusing, but just ok.
If you like yaoi romances, you may or not like this one. Yes, you have the two handsome boys. First, we have Tsukasa, the male secretary just dumped by his boss who is marrying the company president's daughter in order to further his career. Then we have the new "hired gun" for Dai Tech. Takemisha, who is brought in by the venerable (but apparently starting to slip) father of the company's president to save a very important account. The reason I say many readers of this genre may not like this book is that Tsukasa, the secretary, is an extremely insecure guy. His constant worrying and other insecurities do get irritating for the reader after a while. Mind you, Tsukasa is not some hack without skills; he is very good at his job, very skilled, so on, a great worker. However, he is also seen by others as a "cold beauty," where others see him as an object of admiration, but not necessarily affection.
The story starts when Tsukasa meets a mysterious stranger at a bar. They have a one night stand, which over time becomes a regular affair. Only problem is the stranger never reveals his name. However, Tsukasa comes to look forward to his encounters with the stranger.
Like any other romance, there are some twists, revelations, so on. The kind of thing fans of the genre will likely enjoy. It is a very light read, but as I mentioned, Tsukasa's insecurity can get a little irritating, even for fans. And no, I do not say that because this is a yaoi novel; if this was a "garden variety" romance, and the heroine was a constant worry wart, I'd probably be irritated too. I think it is a flaw in this novel, not of the genre. And if you like your romances steamy, this is certainly up your alley. The book does feature illustrations, which is why I tagged it for the manga, etc. tag (that, and it is published by a DMP imprint). And who says romances do not offer insights. Look for the small remark Takemisha makes about large family owned companies; he may have a point.
In the end, I gave it two stars mostly because it was ok. I can see where it falls within the formulas of the genre, and readers who really like this may enjoy it. However, the character of Tsukasa, especially his high level of insecurity, did make the reading a little irritating. That may be more a reflection of me as a reader (romance is not one of my favorite genres, though I will read a good yaoi or yuri novel or manga now and then). Anyhow, amusing, but just ok.
January 2, 2014
Is it too much to ask to want an uke who doesn’t cry when he thinks he’s made his seme the wrong meal? Especially when said uke is an adult? This novel started out pretty hot in the beginning, and I actually thought it was interesting to have a character in a boy’s love novel who didn’t like to have anal sex because it was too painful. But as Tsukasa and Takeshima’s relationship started to develop into something more than sex they brought along a truckload of insecurities and unnecessary angst. Granted, starting a relationship that grew from sex is bound to have some insecurities, but to have a grown man near tears because he’s scared that his seme isn’t going to like the dinner he’s prepared for him?
I know what my problem is with this book: Tsukasa. I made it through some pretty bad descriptions (honey/pee for an orgasm), but I desperately wanted to slap Tsukasa around a few times with a blunt object. It got very annoying to read about his constant bad luck with men and his insecurities because of it. I guess I'm just tired of men who assume the worse and who don't confront their lovers about a situation. Instead, they run off in tears. Case in point: Tsukasa finding out that Takeshima is engaged through office gossip. Instead of talking to him and finding out the truth, he runs away.
There are parts of the novel that I liked. The sex. The sex. And… the sex. Businessmen in boy’s love are my Kryptonite, especially businessmen who have hot pictures together that involve chair sex, grabbing the tie kisses, and ties being used as handcuffs. I also, for the most part, liked the plot. I liked how it was organized in the beginning, how sex came first then we started to learn a bit more about the characters and their situation. I especially liked how nothing important was said about Takeshima until we learned his name. But when Tsukasa and Takeshima became a real couple the book started to lose all of its good points. It’s not that I didn’t like them together, I just hated the way Tsukasa reacted to everything. Sadly, because of his reactions, I liked them better when they were just having sex in room 2703. The novel is worth the read in the beginning, but in the end it falls flat.
Original, longer review here: http://www.mania.com/caged-slave-vol-...
I know what my problem is with this book: Tsukasa. I made it through some pretty bad descriptions (honey/pee for an orgasm), but I desperately wanted to slap Tsukasa around a few times with a blunt object. It got very annoying to read about his constant bad luck with men and his insecurities because of it. I guess I'm just tired of men who assume the worse and who don't confront their lovers about a situation. Instead, they run off in tears. Case in point: Tsukasa finding out that Takeshima is engaged through office gossip. Instead of talking to him and finding out the truth, he runs away.
There are parts of the novel that I liked. The sex. The sex. And… the sex. Businessmen in boy’s love are my Kryptonite, especially businessmen who have hot pictures together that involve chair sex, grabbing the tie kisses, and ties being used as handcuffs. I also, for the most part, liked the plot. I liked how it was organized in the beginning, how sex came first then we started to learn a bit more about the characters and their situation. I especially liked how nothing important was said about Takeshima until we learned his name. But when Tsukasa and Takeshima became a real couple the book started to lose all of its good points. It’s not that I didn’t like them together, I just hated the way Tsukasa reacted to everything. Sadly, because of his reactions, I liked them better when they were just having sex in room 2703. The novel is worth the read in the beginning, but in the end it falls flat.
Original, longer review here: http://www.mania.com/caged-slave-vol-...
February 7, 2011
How should I start my review? My first encounter with yaoi novel was little bit off. I was dragged by the description the back of the book. The first mistake of the beginner or victim of yaoi craving sealed my destiny and let my purse bleed a bit. The salerymen are my passion and having the steamy secretary and boss affair book in my hands promised at least a fetishist delight. Nope there was none of it. Tsukasa Shinozaki did not like it up to his ass, he sleeps with his boss but his boss had feeling like he was fucking mouth of frozen fish. They broke up mainly because boss dreamed about marriage, which would boost his career and having stereotypical cold uke was not his idea of possible lover. Tsukasa was dumped and sent to the basement version of hell for fallen from grace secretaries. However he moaned about his cold ass lack of luck and shitty former boss when he met Mr. Right who stuck it in and melted ice from the ass and our Tsukasa became anal addict. Mr. Right showed to be his new boss and our secretary is elevated to the corporate heaven connected with anal delights. Obligatory scene of jealousy and several predictable twists like former lover wanting revenge and such are not making good to whole thing.
I finished it and it is sent to the purgatory for the bad porn books.
I finished it and it is sent to the purgatory for the bad porn books.
August 30, 2015
This was probably the dullest, most anemic story I've read in a long while. All conflict felt really superficial, like it only existed so that the story would have something akin to a plot, and I had to go through pages and pages of trivial company politics that had no relevance to anything. Of course I didn't start reading a BL novel expecting a very complex story, but I also didn't expect to literally fall asleep while reading. The characters and descriptions were weak even on light novel standards, and so were the sex scenes. I thought they were promising at first, but after a while they became pretty scarce, and many times they ended as soon as they'd begun. I'd probably recommend this to someone who has a kink for boringness, or someone who has insomnia. Like a friend of mine once put it: "I want to know what's happening in your pants, not what's happening in your company!"
August 1, 2014
***Български***
Това е първата книга в жанр yaoi, която изчетох, така че оставам със специални чувства към нея. Тя е причината, поради която почнах и продължих да чета такива книги. Главните герои са много симпатични, сексуалните сцени са горещи, а самата история чудесна.
***English***
This was the first yaoi novel that I've ever read so I have special connection with it. It's the reason I started to search for more and more yaoi novels to read (I find yaoi novels better than yaoi mangas). Both characters are likeable. Sex scenes - hot. Story line - great.
Това е първата книга в жанр yaoi, която изчетох, така че оставам със специални чувства към нея. Тя е причината, поради която почнах и продължих да чета такива книги. Главните герои са много симпатични, сексуалните сцени са горещи, а самата история чудесна.
***English***
This was the first yaoi novel that I've ever read so I have special connection with it. It's the reason I started to search for more and more yaoi novels to read (I find yaoi novels better than yaoi mangas). Both characters are likeable. Sex scenes - hot. Story line - great.
June 24, 2011
This is your typical yaoi novel - graphic, beautifully illustrated, encompassing all the themes that make Yaoi what it is; a weak and beautiful uke, a strong yet cold seme, sex without attachment, blossoming love, antagonists, and angst, angst, and did i mention angst? And it's wonderful and a fun little read and worth the illustrations alone.
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