The Guilty, Volume 01: Verdict

The Guilty #1

by Katsura Izumi, Hinako Takanaga (Illustrator), Karen McGillicuddy (Translator)

Toya Sakurai only went into the publishing business to work with his favorite author, Kai Hodaka, one of the top-selling mystery writers of all time. And now he's getting the chance to do exactly that But the demands of the job are more than he ever expected. When his company wants Hodaka to publish ahead of schedule, Toya has to find some way to persuade the author to cooperate. His idol takes cruel advantage of the situation, demanding Toya's body in exchange for his next book. But the love of a fan is not so easily conquered. Let's just hope his fiancee understands

Genres: Yaoi, Manga, Light Novel, M M Romance, Shounen Ai, Fiction, Contemporary

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Known in the native language as 和泉桂

Reviews

[Aredhel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a very appropriate title - The Guilty - because, while not actually being that good, it makes you obsessed with the story and makes it really hard for you to put the book aside. In the process of reading you can squirm at the stupidness or stubbornness of the main character and think that there are so many better books out there that can't wait till the moment when you finally grab them! But this particular story just can't let you go making you desperate to finish the whole series just to know what will become of those two stubborn and dumbheaded fools, or, to put it mildly, of the two main characters. This book became one of my "guilty pleasures" in an instant and I have nothing against it :)

The thing that makes this book really juicy is the sex scenes. Shifting from non-con to dub-con and back again, they always bring something new with them! The most interesting thing is that the author tells that it's her first experience writing sex scenes. And, I must admit, she succeeded brilliantly in making them diverse, steamy and fascinating!

Really, the story is nothing special, but it has that kind of power that I value very much.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mmkay so imagine a protagonist that's half QAF's Justin (because he's ridiculously naive, persistent,hopelessly devoted and a glutton for punishment) and half Jeff Erno's Petey (because his major kink is humiliation and he's a $%^# whore); that's Izumi's Toya-san. Okay so continue imagining that Toya, the self-deprecating masochist, is in lust/love with a Domlike Brian Kinney in the form of Kai Hodaka-sama; that's Izumi-sensei's Guilty manga in a nutshell. It's an interesting mashup.

It's full of ridiculous yaoi cliches (rape, questionable representations of queer men, etc...) and is repetitive, BUT it's written well and the smexin is undie melting HOT!

I hate it and like it at the same time and I can't freckin stop reading it. There is no explicit BDSM but there's quite a bit of dubious consent, sexual humiliation, among other kinks. :P

[Michalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is not at all what I expected. I wouldn't call this a romance so much as a tale of obsession. Even for a yaoi novel where abuse and love have a tendency to mingle this one is pretty dark. There is raw sexual attraction and lots of mind games but nothing that comes close to love. That said, while The Guilty is not enjoyable in a romantic sense I thought it was well written and Toya's internal turmoil and self-loathing are realistic. The ending was not quite convincing but I think I will continue reading this series if only in the hope that Hodaka develops more humanity than we've seen from him.

[Bouvardia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit drawn out and the main character is constantly saying certain things over and over to the point that it gets annoying. However, the discriptions Izumi-san wrote where quite invigorating especially when compaired to other yaoi novels I've read and the ending was rather cute. I'd like to continue the series if I can ever get my hands on the next volume.

[Keita Ito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explosive and passionate.... If you are into non-con you'll want the whole series.

[Natalia Clow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realmente un lemon bien escrito, concreto y sin tanto sentimentalismo. De vez en cunado está bien leer algo así, sin que se meta de cabeza con temas morales o ambivalencias.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off well till I got to that scene. Thought things would change somewhat as I read but .. not of a fan of relationships of abuse and Stolckhome Syndrome. Will not be continuing the series.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toya is an editor for a publishing company and gets to be the editor for his idol, mystery writer Hodaka. His company is in financial trouble so they want him to pressure Hodaka to write another book sooner. Hodaka refuses until he comes up with a proposal, if Toya can beat him at pool, he’ll write a chapter, if he loses he gets his body. (Has anyone told new editor JenB is this how it works?) Of course, engaged “straight” Toya is clueless until Hodaka … ummm, has his way with him. He continues in this vein claiming it’s for work so doesn’t count although eventually he starts to go to Hodaka for sex voluntarily. He’s treated like crap and after nearly having a breakdown withdraws as the editor. Eventually he determines the reason Hodaka treats him like crap is because he’s socially retarded so he confesses his love and Hodaka confesses his … like? There is a book 2 and 3. Did I like it? It was alright but Hodaka was a giant dick, but then Toya was your typical clueless straight guy. What did you think “use your body” meant? To do laundry? And the whole Japanese mindset of “must perform at work no matter what” gets a bit annoying. I would have told my boss what Hodaka was pulling and sued him or sexual harassment. LOL But I suppose then I would have missed out on twu wuv. It shall begin it’s world tour with vol. 2 and 3 to follow.

[Roclaf Alter -Ego · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Looking forward to volume 2

[Syarifah Nabila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perlu waktu lama buat namatin satu seri, kemaren2 kehilangan mood sih baca tipe2 cerita kayak begini.
Kelebihannya art bagus dan scene enaenanya hot*plakk
Kurangnya plot klise,alur klise, kisah cinta antara seme sempurna yg cool dan berkesan friendly dengan uke yang polos.
Untuk karakter aku paling ga suka karakter Toya disini,kesannya murahan dan sedikit brengsek. Karena penyelesaian masalah dia dengan pacarnya disini ga enak dan terlalu buru-buru ._.

[Miranda]

Mini Review: An intense read, laden with guilt and sexual angst. Slightly disturbing and outside of my cultural reference. A good read, no hearts and flowers here.

Visit me at Sweet Vernal Zephyr for my LONG review and some eye candy too.

[Paola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worst sex scenes ever and unnecessary raping, despise those things everything else was awesome, I really liked it, the plot it is interesting and the way Toya and Hodaka met was hilarious, I really liked it!

[Felicia (Ferishia)]

The Guilty Volume 1: Verdict (Yaoi Novel) (v. 1) by Katsura Izumi (2008)

[Miriki · Rating 4 out of 5]

My guilty pleasure. :">