Hello, Limerence

by Momo Yamaguchi

For anyone who has ever had a crush, welcome to your new personal obsession.

Mika is about to turn twenty-five, and all she has to show for it is a soul-sucking office job and a terminal case of virginity. Between the pervy salarymen she works with and the pretty boys she pines after, Mika is ready to explode.

But it's summer in Tokyo, AKA peacock season. Time to strut her stuff. So when her certified Hot Girl bestie sends her the invite for an upcoming beach party, Mika clicks 'attending'. Just when she thinks real life is never going to live up to the wild fantasies her imagination cooks up, someone new catches her eye. It could be limerence, or the beginning of something much less one-sided . . .

Genres: Fiction, Japanese Literature, Literary Fiction

Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 2, 2026

About the author

Momo Yamaguchi was born in Tokyo, educated in the U.S., and lives and works in London. Hello, Limerence is her first novel.

Reviews

[Mai H.]

Japanuary TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books

[Vmndetta (V) ᛑᛗᛛ · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a reader, I personally don't mind having an unhinged female main character. In this case, Mika. Especially since the blurb promised something more frontal or even vulgar. To be honest, the blurb itself was the reason I picked up this book. I was expecting obsession and delusion from her.

But unfortunately, the more I read, the more I felt like this book didn't really have a clear plot or direction, so it didn't match the blurb. I don't mind book that aren't very plot-driven, but here it felt like Mika spent most of the time just talking and yapping about herself and her own thoughts, ignoring what really happens around her. Everything was too focused on her opinions and her inner monologues. Until that became too much and felt unnecessary. The story didn't really go anywhere. I wan't even sure what actually happened in that chapters. This made the book feel boring to read.

I also felt like the time skips or shifts were'nt clear. Sometimes I got confused about when things were happening or how much time had passed. The same goes for the setting. At the beginning, I thought the story was set in Japan, Tokyo, but later I wasn't really sure anymore because of the unclear time jumps and transitions. And unfortunately, this leads to my next point;

The characters, especially Mika. Isn't she supposed to be Japanese? She works in Tokyo, but while reading, I never really felt like she was Japanese at all. I don't know if this is because of the writing style or her behavior, but she has absolutely no 'Japanese' characteristics at all (like how they speak or the culture etc. ykwim). I noticed this a lot because I'm quite familiar with Japan. And, well, then I realized that this book isn't a translation from a Japanese book, which is fine. But if the story is set in Japan, shouldn't it feel like Japan? Because this one really dosen't. And that bothered me a lot.

The frontal and unhinged elements I was hoping for ended up just making me feel bored and lost instead. It felt like too much yapping that never failed to make me sigh and roll my eyes. In the end, I couldn't really get into the story. I wouldn't recommend this book if you're hoping for more.

[Natalia Ammons · Rating 3 out of 5]

A girl who is desperate to lose her virginity mistakes the intentions of two different men. She fantazises about her desires to be in relationships with both, but things don't pan out how she hopes. Interesting choice for Momo Yamaguchi's debut and looking forward to more books from her :)

For more details and spoilers, please visit my blog: https://natzreadsbook.wordpress.com/2...

3.9/5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[J R · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty fun book though at points it isn't particularly directed. the plotting is really good and it worked really well. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.