Liquor & Cigarettes

by Ranmaru Zaria, Ranmaru Zariya, Ilaria Melvi (Traduzione)

I negozi di Teo e Camilo sono uno di fronte all'altro. Teo vende alcolici, Camilo tabacchi, e i due sono amici d'infanzia. Teo, però, sa bene che Camilo prova per lui qualcosa di più profondo dell'amicizia, e si accorge di essere sempre più sensibile alla sua presenza... ma ciò che prova sarà davvero amore? Un giorno, Camilo gli propone di stare insieme per un periodo di prova e Teo accetta, seppure con esitazione...

Genres: Manga, Yaoi, Romance, Boys Love, LGBT, Queer, Graphic Novels

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 24, 2018

About the author

ZARIYA Ranmaru: 座裏屋蘭丸

Please also see other profile Ranmaru Zariya.

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly]

Too hot. No comments.

[Caitlin Snyder]

Yikes. Lemme start by saying I love smut. I love gay smut. I love manga smut. I'm here for it.

But WHOA this is bad. Like, this entire relationship they have is sexual assault. Getting someone drunk enough to lower their decision-making skills so they'll let you do stuff to them is rape. Having sex with someone so drunk they're passing out, about to pass out, or cannot remember is RAPE.

Not to mention the fact that they show anal play without any lube mentioned? Ridiculous.

To top it all off, it's like a bad fanfiction trope of a main character who is canonically straight suddenly discovering their *~true feelings~* for someone they've known forever and just now thinking 'my, maybe I'm not straight'. Ugh.

That being said, the art was dope and it flowed really well.

[MaDoReader]

Aprovecho que por fin he leído mi copia en papel para volver a recomendar este BL, no recordaba lo erótico que era este manga y me ha vuelto a conquistar Zariya, que en esta obra nos da su cara amable.

Camilo y Teo son amorrrrrrrrrrr 😍😍😍😍😍😍

[L Ann]

After reading Birds of Shangri-La I decided to give this manga a try. I still can't get over how talented this mangaka is. Her art style is so distinctive and alluring. I love the expressions that she gives her characters. One look says more than any amount of words could ever express. I was also impressed with the amount of detail added to the background of each panel. I often found myself stopping to admire how beautiful and laid back the scenery was. The town in which the story took place was perfect. Everything felt simultaneously live and full of energy as well as easy going and relaxed. It's a weird dichotomy that lasted up until the festival started.

As for the story itself, I'm not a huge fan of the (best) friends to lovers trope but this story definitely makes it onto my top 5 oneshots. The main characters really elevate it from feeling played out. Camilo's demeanor and personality were so attractive to me and I really appreciated how he gave Theo enough time to decide if he wanted to be with him or not. You could clearly see how badly he wanted Theo, going so far as to start preparing Theo's body to receive him should he eventually decide to sleep with him, but he never pressures him into doing anything he doesn't want to do. Yes, Theo may have needed liquid courage, but he definitely enjoyed everything that was happening to him. I'm glad they ended up together... they make such an adorable couple. I know there's no second volume planned, but I'd sure enjoy one. It'd be nice to see where their relationship goes from here. 4.5 stars, rounded up

[Daesy]

The art was incredible. I really liked this couple.

[Rebecca]

This was much sweeter than I anticipated, although it does have some consent issues.

[daph pink ♡]

Several faults with the content led me to give it two stars, but aside from those issues, the art is excellent. The plot was a little hurried, and there were unnecessary sex scenes when the plot could have been adequately explored.

[rory (jess' version)]

sometimes i give in to the urge to pick a book which has a friends-to-lovers trope and all is well again in my life

[Luke Reynolds]

Although Liquor & Cigarettes had slightly better art than my last foray into BL, the story made me uncomfortable. Although the sex became consensual by the end, Camilo taking advantage of a drunk Theo to claim an award he thought was his? No. The set-up around the town's wine festival was also barely explored and felt out of place given the sexual content.

[bee]

Oh my god. Holymolipepperoni—
THE ARTWORK—
I WILL NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT THE ARTWORK, like ever—
ESPECIALLY THE BACKGROUND ART HOLYSHIT I'M LOSING MY MIND—

[breathe deeply]
Okay. I calmed down.

So, first of all, for people who loves childhood-friends-to-lovers and only-gay-for-you trope ((mmmh. yesh. the. flavors.)), this manga right here is for you, my dude. I really love Camilo and Theo's relationship. It extends, expands, and flowing naturally. Their bond (and other supporting characters too) is strong.

I love how the plot is simple yet realistic: Theo's confusion about his feeling towards Camilo, and the placement of his love slash desire for his childhood friend, since he was previously only interested in women. The pace was good. The characters' balance was super good. AND the most important part: THIS IS A TOTAL SLOWBURN YEAH!

Now, let's talk about my man Camilo. This man really is drippin' with attractiveness. His sex appeal is overflown. I'm actually scared ((first time I felt like this with a BL character LMAO)). The way he was gazing so lovingly. His tenderness and expressions. All of that felt so real that it seemed to jump off the book. I JUST CAN'T SGHDHGHJKHL NO HELP ME I'M DOOMED—

The only thing, for me, that makes this story feel a little lacking on sweetness-side, is the rather blurred lines of consent (because most sexual scenes happen when Theo was drunk). Eliminated that, and this story would be PERFECT ((for my preference of course)).

Let's move on to the most impressive part of this manga: artwork. I really love Ranmaru Zariya's artstyle and artwork. The lineart is super pretty. The background art— I could talk about it all day HAHA! This manga really had the most wholesome background art ever. The vibes is just feels right, natural, and not forced at all. The way those facial expressions are drawn are out of this world. The details of each characters are very captivating. The background art, whether it's a person or a place, are drawn with great appeal. One word to explain all of my rambling: it's gorgeous.

LASTLY, I HONOR THIS MANGA AS RANMARU ZARIA'S BESTEST WORK.
PERIODT.

Ah, such a fun and enjoyable read.

[ ★★★★,5 / 5]

Cheers~
and VIVA SLOWBURN! \(owo)/

[Audrey]

Just for the artwork itself, I would give this five stars. It is just so beautiful! I loved the characterization of both the characters, they were both very entertaining and balanced each other well. I adored this setting! Italy is one of my favorite city's to visit of all time and the artwork brought me back to those fond memories. It was also great that this story has a solid plot and not only an abundance of sex scenes. Sex scenes are just not my thing but, there is enough plot for you to skip them and enjoy the story. Overall I enjoyed myself but I wished this story was less sexual.

[小さな N (.❛ ᴗ ❛.)⊃ [_|_] ♡]

12.2019:

Teo always thought of himself as straight but when it comes to Camilo he isn't so sure about his feelings and sexuality. So it's understandable, that he struggles with the things a relationship with a guy could imply, from holding hands to sex. As one can guess from the title alcohol is involved and Teo uses it as liquid courage and to kind of hide behind it when Camilo puts the moves on him, and Camilo takes advantage of a drunk Teo. While this might be a realistic representation of how things sometimes develop when alcohol is involved, it doesn't sit right with me.

[Sarah]

I love how this book is hot pink on my bookshelf. Also Ranmaru Zariya is in my top 3 of mangaka.

[Sparkling Lemonade]

Chinese title: 酒與菸

This one has 神率 of 68.4% on Chil-Chil.
5⭐️

This book won Best Manga in the 2019 BL Award, カミロ was #4 for Best Seme and テオ was #15 for Best Uke. Being the most easily likable/acceptable work from Zariya Ranmaru sensei, this story’s sweetness level is off the charts! I love the interactions between this couple, childhood friends turned lovers without much drama.

I’ve actually got two copies of this book, the first one is 2nd hand because it was sold out in all bookstores, later on I bought a brand new one when it was reprinted… Can’t really count how many times I’ve read this story because it always brings a smile to my face~

The seme カミロ is the cigarette shop keeper and the uke テオ is the liquor shop keeper, their homes/shops are right opposite each other, located along the winding stairs in this small town. They have known each other since they were babies and went to the same schools, their parents finally retired and moved to neighbor town, leaving the boys in charge of the family shops.

The uke has two big secrets, first is that he has low tolerance level for alcohol and gets drunk easily, so he asked the seme to conduct special training and drink with him every night in hope that he can eventually improve. The uke had dreamy eyes when the seme came close to look at their old photo album, so the seme confessed and asked to be the uke’s boyfriend, although he’s bisexual but he will be the top and uke will be the bottom. He told the uke to have a careful think about it and hope to hear some good news, then kissed uke goodnight…

The second secret is that uks had subtle feelings for the seme since the last year of high school, the seme became popular with the girls after he grew taller and changed voice. Before the graduation ceremony, the uke fell from the 2nd floor and injured his leg, so seme rode bicycle to/from school carrying him. One day a teacher carried uke in his arms, the seme then took over and told the uke to never let other people hug him again. The uke’s always dated girls and seme is the only man that he likes so he’s not sure about his sexuality…

The annual wine tasting competition will be held in a month during the grape harvest festival. The uke got challenged by Dia to enter the competition, who’s the owner of the newly opened wine shop down the street, his shop is much more popular than the uke’s shop because he’s very knowledgeable and won the competition last year. Dia told the uke the earlier he shows his true self (weakness) to others the easier it will be for his future.

The uke stumbled back home in a tipsy state after he drank a bottle of beer and hugged onto the seme, asking if he’d treat guys and girls differently, also if he’s been single lately because of him… The uke confessed that his sexuality is so conservative it makes himself sad, so he cannot be honest about his feelings like the seme does… The seme suggested for uke to give him a trial period to see if he can accept man and like the seme, he then kissed the uke and told him to blame it on the alcohol later~ The next morning uke woke up in seme’s bed naked wearing the seme’s undie as the seme helped him change.

The seme’s gentle attitude and expression, soft curly hair with grapefruit scent all give out a clean and soft feeling and make the uke forget that he’s always hanging with the guys. The uke’s heart would beat fast and start blushing whenever he’s conscious about the seme, especially when he smells the cigarette scent.

The bunch of guys are having lunch at the seme’s backyard and they are teasing him why he’s single even though so many girls from out of town come to his shop just to see him. The seme told them that he has someone he likes but they haven’t been able to fall for him. The seme looked at the uke and said he’s worried that his true color will scare that person away, he wanted to take them to bed and teach them about sex between men, but he’s controlled his urge… The uke fell asleep half way through drinking, then woke up in seme’s bed that night and got aroused by seme’s deep kisses.

Uke woke up next morning wearing seme’s undie again and he’s super embarrassed by his reactions last night. He then went on website to search gay sex videos in order to understand a bit more about seme’s world. The seme came home after shopping and the uke saw him from the window, just outta shower with wet hair and only got a towel wrapped around…

The uke went to wake up seme to go to morning market together at the central district, the seme pulled him in bed and gave him a good morning kiss. They traveled together on seme’s motorbike to the area where people don’t know them, seme held the uke’s hand while they walked on the streets and the uke noticed the stare from other people. The seme wanted the uke to understand what to expect if they were to date and to gain the uke’s trust. The uke doesn’t want to force seme to keep their relationship a secret in the future… The uke got jealous when he saw girls clinging onto the seme.

As the competition is fast approaching, the uke decided to switch from drinking beer to drinking wine. He made a bet with the seme that if he fails to reach the three glass target then the seme can get rewarded for taking care of the uke, allowed to touch him with mouth and hands… Uke woke up at night from seme’s kisses and caresses and came in his hand. The seme wanted to make sure uke’s awake and conscious and asks for his permission to go further. The uke pushed seme away but he couldn’t answer the question if he cannot make love with man or because he cannot love seme. The seme stopped, said goodnight and left.

The shops are closed as it’s public holiday but it’s pouring rain. A friend Eland came to deliver sweet corns to uke and said that he’s always with seme it looks like they’ve became family like brothers. Whereas the seme went to the bar and vented to the bartender Mario (bottom) who hugged Dia (straight) because he likes his physique. The uke invited the seme to take a walk by the riverside with fireflies, he said although he cannot accept further body contact at the moment but he would like to extend the trial period. The uke dare not to tell seme his true thoughts as he secretly doesn’t want to go back to being just brotherly friends…

Only 8 days until the competition, the organizer gave uke a list of 20 wines and told him to study so he can have a good competition with Dia. The uke doesn’t get nervous about seme’s special training anymore so he’s been getting drunk easily. The uke’s shocked to hear that Dia is quitting the competition because he has to attend banquet when the neighbor town’s mayor is visiting. The uke also decided to quit the competition but he couldn’t bring himself to tell seme because he wants to continue the nightly training... He now even allows the seme to use finger.

The organizing officer told the seme and Mario that two people quite the competition a week ago and asked if they’d want to join. Uke appeared and got awkward as he doesn’t know how to explain that he lied to the seme. The next day the seme went off on a sourcing trip. The uke’s feeling depressed and rejected Dia and guys invitation to go drinking. He flipped through old photo album and saw seme with ex-gfs, he suddenly realized if he rejected seme then the seme will move on and go find someone new… The issue all along is that uke cannot accept his true self that he likes seme as a man.

The seme came back to town after the competition finished and uke got fourth place. He’s proud of the outcome and won’t be afraid to drink in public anymore. The uke gave seme the answer that he likes the seme too, he’s decided yesterday that he will confess today. The guys all had fun at the festival with wine fountain and pouring wine on each other. The seme and uke went back home to shower and finally achieved home run. The next morning uke said he doesn’t have to hide their relationship anymore, and their friends walked pass downstairs and heard their discussion.

The extra chapter #Love is about their three friends supporting their relationship, and the two boys expressing their love for each other.

[grayi ♡]

I have the hugest crush on Teo, he's so cute.

[Julie]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Theo is SO CUTE.

This was a really short read, but I didn't find it lacking. There could be things that could've been delved into deeper if it was longer obviously, but nothing felt rushed or left unanswered. I liked the relationship between Theo and Camilo. I liked the little bit of self conflict that Theo and Camilo had within themselves. Overall adorable and spicyy. AND the art is so good. I lingered on every page to admire the shading and linework. It's amazing.

[Gem (The Creepy Geek)]

This was cute! I personally could have done with a bit more of a build up between the two characters at the start, but I ended up really loving them!

We follow Theo and Camilo, childhood friends who run stores opposite each other, one selling liquor, the other cigarettes. Camilo begins to make his feelings for Theo clear but Theo is reluctant because he's always thought of himself as purely straight.

Theo runs the liquor store but he's a total lightweight! So when he gets roped into a big festival wine tasting contest, he's going to need some help in building up a tolerance! Enter Camilo!! He'll happily drink with Theo every night!

There is a warning for dubious consent in this because most of what happens between them happens when Theo is drunk. BUT it does come across that Theo is up for it he just needs a bit of Dutch courage! But it's worth knowing that in case that's something you're not comfortable with!

As with Coyote, Ranmaru Zariya's art is just gorgeous. I really loved the setting too! It was all so laid back and summery. It made me think about lazy summer holidays and trips to see my family in Greece.

Really enjoyed and can't wait for Coyote Vol 3 to be in my hands!

[dragon]

OMGGGGGGGG THIS WAS SO SOFT!!! Ah, this was a really cute read, which was a nice change of pace to this author's more intense stories. Camilo was just so patient and caring and willing to put himself out there and Teo, so glad he got things worked out. I'm never a fan of using alcohol to move things along but I did like the backdrop of the wine tasting festival. This is set in like Italy or something right?? Also i kind of want more of Diego like he didn't even register at first panel but then when he blushed when he realized "how it was" i was like *grabby grabby* 😭😭 I WANT HIM

[M]

The art is superb with this one - the colored pages by Ranmaru Zaria of the idyllic town, the spreads with joyful crowds, the boys looking at each other from afar - all of it. The story lacks a little depth and there’s Zaria’s repeating theme of a straight guy who’s not straight I guess? And consent is quite dubious, although maybe that’s the point of these sexual explorations. The pacing is a bit rushed towards the end.

[sofia]

the art may slay but sa does not :/

[Noii]

pretty good

[Sofi ♥︎]

Omg... Too cute. And hot.

Rating: 3.6 ☆ Criteria: Story (3), argument (2.5), characters (3), conflict (2.5), climax (2.5), conclusion (5), entertainment (5), drawings/style (5), romance (2.5), smut (5).

[Patrycja]

Bardzo mi się podobało <3

[Em]

Why yes i AM posting BL on main, if you have a problem with that 🤷‍♀️

[G]

Great art, good story, good spice! I see why it wouldn’t be for everyone tho. I personally liked it

[Gladis]

המנגה הזאת הייתה פשוט מעולה למרות שהיא יחסית קצרה היה בה הכל , חברי ילדות לאוהבים, הומור, ספייס, סגנון אמנות מושלם והרבה קבלה ואהבה

המנגה מספרת על שני חברי ילדות תיאו וקמילו, הם חברי מהרגע שהם זוכרים את עצמם וכל אחד מנהל חנות באזור שבו הם גרים, לקמילו יש חנות טבק ותיאו מנהל את חנות המשקאות המשפחתית אבל כשזה מגיע למצב של שתייה אין לתיאו סיבולת לאלכוהול, מצב שהוא מסתיר מכולם כדי לא להביך את עצמו

בעיירה שבה הם מתגוררים מתקיים מדי שנה פסטיבל ובו תחרות שתייה ותיאו מוצא את עצמו רשום אליה כדי להוכיח שהוא יכול לשתות ובינתיים הוא מתכנן להתאמן ולשתות כל ערב עם קמילו

קמילו מאוהב שנים בחבר הכי טוב שלו ופתאום הוא לא מסתיר את זה מתיאו ומנסה לשנות את המצב בניהם ותיאו מתחיל לראות אותו באור חדש הם ההימור שקמילו לקח ישתלם והוא סוף סוף יזכה למימוש האהבה החד צדדית שהוא הסתיר כל השנים?

אהבתי את מערכת היחסים ביניהם קמילו היה כל כך רגיש וישיר הוא כיבד את תיאו ורואים את האהבה שלו אליו ותיאו היה מקסים הוא עובר תהליך של גילוי עצמן לאורך הסיפור וחווה דברים שאף פעם לא העלה בדעתו

מנגה מעולה

רמת הספייס 🌶🌶🌶🌶

[Litwithlove]

I'm just going to jump right into it.
Buttholes do not produce lubrication. Where is all of the wet drippiness coming from when there is not a bottle of lube in sight ? Camilo doesn't even hawk tuah spit on Theos thang.
The consent here is DUBIOUS. In the real world this would absolutely be assault. Using alcohol to remove someone's inhibitions and rational thinking is assault. Having sex with someone who is clearly black out drunk as they fade in and out of consciousness is assault. If the consent is scared and hesitant then it doesn't count.
But this is a book where there are no actual peoples rights being blatantly violated, so I am able to put those concerns aside for the sake of enjoying this work of fiction. And I did enjoy it. The romance and lusting was cute. The sex scenes were well drawn and spicy. And there is just enough plot regarding the drinking training and upcoming wine festival to keep me interested. I would absolutely read other books by this author.

[Ray Flores]

I’m not really into the whole thing about having sex while being drunk ‘cause that could be misleading and end up as a not-so-convincing consent between the MCs, so story-wise it wasn’t quite my favorite thing in the world. But I really like this mangaka’s art and character design.

They’re childhood friends and you know how this goes: one of them develops a crush on the straight friend and kinda convinces him to give their romantic relationship a chance.

There’s nothing you haven’t seen in other works, but I’m giving this a 3/5 for the art and the details when it comes to sex scenes. Other than that, well, you can say there are far entertaining stories in the BL manga.

[Jillian -always aspiring-]

2020 Read #527

I was all for this pairing, especially seeing how tenderly Camilo gazed at Theo, but...the blurred consent lines kinda bugged me when Theo drank and Camilo sexed him up. I mean, yeah, the art and character dynamics are great, but most of the sexy scenes just felt off to me because of Theo being intoxicated during most of them. Otherwise, though, I really thought this was a stellar BL manga (not that I read many, but hey).

[Rain Rosario]

2.7
Anime is a new genre for me, and safe to say I did not know what I was getting into…I’m not sure if the trope in this book is deemed normal but I hope not😭

I cannot with the “I can’t control myself” shit, like pls that is so gross. I did have fun, but yeah couldn’t get past that