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Little Japan
Japan. Land of honor and beauty, crowded streets with neon signs, and exotic markets where ancient traditions still hold fast in modern-day society. As Japanese business people rush about their busy lives, there exists a place in Osaka, Japan where a modern take on the ancient tradition of the geisha thrives.
Kuri and Daichi work at Kingyo Club, a popular host club in the Dōtonbori district of Osaka. After sleeping their days away, the boys' nights are owned by the host club lifestyle and anyone willing to pay the steep price for a few hours of hard drinking and flirtatious companionship. Kuri and Daichi are lovers and best friends, and along with their roommates Sora and Takumi, they look out for one another in an occupation fraught with both physical and emotional danger.
In addition to the endless bottles of fizzy champagne, expensive gifts, and confessions of false love courtesy of regular clients, every now and then comes a customer with even deeper pockets and much darker demands. Gabriel Hartley is one of these men. After a chance meeting, Gabriel targets the stunning Kuri to feed his obsession with seducing and dominating young Japanese men.
The relationship between Kuri and Gabriel dramatically changes when a traumatic event plunges them from the Land of the Rising Sun into the land of powerful sheikhs and servant boys in the dark underworld of exotic Dubai. As Kuri struggles with the heartache of having what's most precious to him ripped away, he helps Gabriel learn important lessons about love, honor, and the power of self-forgiveness.
SPECIAL CONTENT ALERT: M/M, Dubious Consent, Age Play, Group Sex (males only)
Kuri and Daichi work at Kingyo Club, a popular host club in the Dōtonbori district of Osaka. After sleeping their days away, the boys' nights are owned by the host club lifestyle and anyone willing to pay the steep price for a few hours of hard drinking and flirtatious companionship. Kuri and Daichi are lovers and best friends, and along with their roommates Sora and Takumi, they look out for one another in an occupation fraught with both physical and emotional danger.
In addition to the endless bottles of fizzy champagne, expensive gifts, and confessions of false love courtesy of regular clients, every now and then comes a customer with even deeper pockets and much darker demands. Gabriel Hartley is one of these men. After a chance meeting, Gabriel targets the stunning Kuri to feed his obsession with seducing and dominating young Japanese men.
The relationship between Kuri and Gabriel dramatically changes when a traumatic event plunges them from the Land of the Rising Sun into the land of powerful sheikhs and servant boys in the dark underworld of exotic Dubai. As Kuri struggles with the heartache of having what's most precious to him ripped away, he helps Gabriel learn important lessons about love, honor, and the power of self-forgiveness.
SPECIAL CONTENT ALERT: M/M, Dubious Consent, Age Play, Group Sex (males only)
229 pages, ebook
First published March 1, 2010
119 people want to read
About the author
Reno MacLeod
23 books47 followersNot For The Faint Of Heart---That sums up my work with Jaye Valentine. I've always spent a good deal of time with the darker side of my imagination. I was never afraid of the dark. In fact, some of my fondest memories are of Saturday afternoons with my dad watching Creature Double Feature with a big bowl of popcorn. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Werewolves, angels, demons and vampires were my childhood passions. I guess I never grew up.
I live in a little town famous for its historical ax-murderess, where the Ghost Hunters TAPS has a home office. Salem—famous for witches, Newport—famous for pirates, and Providence—famous for H.P.Lovecraft are all under an hour's drive. I guess I really didn't have a chance of not turning out the way I did."
Reno has also designed and created cover art for many of Reno and Jaye's books as well as the logo for StarCrossed and their website's banner art.
I live in a little town famous for its historical ax-murderess, where the Ghost Hunters TAPS has a home office. Salem—famous for witches, Newport—famous for pirates, and Providence—famous for H.P.Lovecraft are all under an hour's drive. I guess I really didn't have a chance of not turning out the way I did."
Reno has also designed and created cover art for many of Reno and Jaye's books as well as the logo for StarCrossed and their website's banner art.
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March 17, 2010Have you in mind those stories where the heroine, not matter what happens, manages always to come out “unarmed” from trouble? The hero always arrives at the right time to save her. Well, in Little Japan, the heroes are not so lucky, in the end the cavalry arrives also for them, only a little later.
First of all I’d like to spend some words on what also the publisher considered an element to warn the reader, the age playing. One of the main characters, Gabriel, not only is a gay in the closet, but he is also a man who likes him lover really young. Now don’t get me wrong, the younger man in this novel I believe is 21 years old, so, Gabriel likes men who “look” young, and after all, this is not a big crime. I believe that Gabriel was traumatized when he was still a teenager, he first fell in love for a boy his same age, but that love abruptly ended, leaving Gabriel with an unfulfilled dream; later one Gabriel tried to kill that dream with anonymous sex, with older men that were at the exact opposite of his dream lover, and instead of kill the dream, I believe that Gabriel helped his mind to forever imprint the image of his lost unrequited love. Now Gabriel is forever searching for that young boy, but it’s an impossible search.
Kuri is a half American half Japanese young man working as host boys in an Osaka private club. His partner Daichi and him are also high paid male escorts, and they are the sort who like their job. As Kuri tells to Gabriel, maybe he started this job out of necessity, but now he is like a nymphomaniac, he needs sex like he needs food. Kuri is really in love with Daichi, and Daichi back to him, and they enjoy sex between them; what they do out of their relationship is work, and they are able to split the two things. The important thing is that they are willing partner in the sex trade; the only time one of them feels like he is betraying his lover, Daichi, is when he is forced to have sex. And so we arrive probably to the second point that needs warning for the reader: there is quite a lot of non consensual sex, meaning that one of the partner is not willing, and even if there is no actual violence, it’s the same a some sort of violence.
If you are wondering how Gabriel fit between Kuri and Daichi, well, he doesn’t; this is not a ménages a trois, when Kuri realizes that what he is feeling for Gabriel is something more of what he usually feels for his other customers, he decides to break with Gabriel, since that would be, indeed, a betrayal to Daichi. Kuri, Daichi, Gabriel, and all the other boys in this novel, know how to split sex from love, and as always, sex with love is better, sweeter and long lasting.
Where Gabriel is a complex character, who is also aware of his own trouble and for this reason, he is also self-accusing himself of the worst sins, Kuri and Daichi, albeit cute and almost sweet in their mutual love, come out a bit like naïve, and in this case naïveté has nothing to do with “innocence”; they are like little pet, easy to please, and, more or less happy if letting alone to play together; alone they need the presence of an adult to watch over them, but together they can provide for each other.
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/98...
First of all I’d like to spend some words on what also the publisher considered an element to warn the reader, the age playing. One of the main characters, Gabriel, not only is a gay in the closet, but he is also a man who likes him lover really young. Now don’t get me wrong, the younger man in this novel I believe is 21 years old, so, Gabriel likes men who “look” young, and after all, this is not a big crime. I believe that Gabriel was traumatized when he was still a teenager, he first fell in love for a boy his same age, but that love abruptly ended, leaving Gabriel with an unfulfilled dream; later one Gabriel tried to kill that dream with anonymous sex, with older men that were at the exact opposite of his dream lover, and instead of kill the dream, I believe that Gabriel helped his mind to forever imprint the image of his lost unrequited love. Now Gabriel is forever searching for that young boy, but it’s an impossible search.
Kuri is a half American half Japanese young man working as host boys in an Osaka private club. His partner Daichi and him are also high paid male escorts, and they are the sort who like their job. As Kuri tells to Gabriel, maybe he started this job out of necessity, but now he is like a nymphomaniac, he needs sex like he needs food. Kuri is really in love with Daichi, and Daichi back to him, and they enjoy sex between them; what they do out of their relationship is work, and they are able to split the two things. The important thing is that they are willing partner in the sex trade; the only time one of them feels like he is betraying his lover, Daichi, is when he is forced to have sex. And so we arrive probably to the second point that needs warning for the reader: there is quite a lot of non consensual sex, meaning that one of the partner is not willing, and even if there is no actual violence, it’s the same a some sort of violence.
If you are wondering how Gabriel fit between Kuri and Daichi, well, he doesn’t; this is not a ménages a trois, when Kuri realizes that what he is feeling for Gabriel is something more of what he usually feels for his other customers, he decides to break with Gabriel, since that would be, indeed, a betrayal to Daichi. Kuri, Daichi, Gabriel, and all the other boys in this novel, know how to split sex from love, and as always, sex with love is better, sweeter and long lasting.
Where Gabriel is a complex character, who is also aware of his own trouble and for this reason, he is also self-accusing himself of the worst sins, Kuri and Daichi, albeit cute and almost sweet in their mutual love, come out a bit like naïve, and in this case naïveté has nothing to do with “innocence”; they are like little pet, easy to please, and, more or less happy if letting alone to play together; alone they need the presence of an adult to watch over them, but together they can provide for each other.
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/98...
March 17, 2010
Valentine and Macleod like to push boundaries and Little Japan is no exception. This has to be the first in a series considering such a large cast and one that I’m curious to see where it will go. For this offering, it’s good but went areas I didn’t particularly like for part of the book. Here the story pushes some sexual boundaries, nothing especially horrifying or out there, but the concept of non-consensual slavery and sexual cruelty is very present. The story blurs the lines of consent in both an uncomfortable and incredibly skillful way. Very well written but not always fun to read, Little Japan is an interesting book.
The story is about four roommates and best friends – Kuri, Daichi, Sora, and Takumi – that live, work, and play together. They work as host boys in Osaka, a job where young, beautiful boys stay up all night until dawn, drinking and partying with customers. They are paid exorbitant sums to simply talk and drink and some may pay even more money to have sex with the stunning young men. The four close friends are balancing a life of money, excess, and hard work when Kuri is bought for a night by an extremely rich and haunted American named Gabriel. When Gabriel’s intensity scares Kuri, he runs back to the safety of Daichi’s arms. But when Daichi is kidnapped and sold to a Dubai Sheik’s harem, Kuri needs both Gabriel and Sora’s help to get his friend and lover back.
The opening introduces the four young men and Gabriel. Set in the heat and humidity of Osaka, the beginning delves into the nighttime world of host boys in Japan. This beginning is fascinating and definitely my favorite part of the book. The four young men are best friends and casual lovers although deeper connections are shown with Kuri and Daichi and Sora and Takumi. Even so, their work often has them having sex with customers so casual sex is a common and accepted quality. The four boys have sex with each other too for comfort, companionship, and simple horniness. When Gabriel purchases Kuri’s time, sex included, the two form an uneasy bond – one that scares both men. Unfortunately there is no time to dwell on this aspect as the story takes a turn when Daichi is kidnapped and sold to a sheik’s harem. The richness of the Osaka landscape comes alive with vivid detail and a very interesting culture. The vampire-ish world of pale boys who drink massive amounts of champagne and sell companionship in all forms is told in rich description with edgy nuances. The complicated relationships and friendships leap off the page just as the young men show complexity in their youthfulness, horniness, and a glimpse behind the façade.
The story then moves to the heat of Dubai and focuses on the sexual cruelty perpetuated on Daichi and several other young men within the confines of the sheik’s private harem. Kuri, Gabriel, and Sora race to rescue Daichi but this takes time. This part of the story is very well crafted with a lot of subtly and detail. Unfortunately it is also filled with a lot of erotica. In fact the story as a whole is incredibly erotic with more sex scenes than I think I’ve seen from the authors. With the plot shift to Dubai, the entire world is made up of sexual desire, need, acts, and repercussions. So while the scenes are not necessarily gratuitous, there are a lot and several push the boundaries of consent. The acts within the harem are not violent physical rape but they walk a very fine line that may make several readers uncomfortable. The boys don’t want to be where they are but soon learn to make the best of it and disassociate mentally from what’s happening. Unfortunately since this makes up a little over half of the book, I soon tired of all the sexual cruelty. It’s not over the top and in fact fits well with the themes but I simply became uncomfortable with the mental and emotional toll this captivity was having on the various young men.
Additionally there are several, almost too many, storylines going on. Due to the vast cast, including two young men from the harem that become very important, the story struggles to give them all the space and time they deserve. While the pace is quick and the narrative absorbing and interesting on many levels, the space provided simply can’t give all of the men equal depth. Kuri is the best well characterized as the third person narrator with his almost nymphomaniac need for sex but clearly devoted to Daichi. Kuri is also very young and immature in some ways, often equating sex with safety and security. He’s a complicated character with surprising hints of jealousy and strength. He kept me wondering what he’d do next and how he’d act. His relationship to Daichi is the main romance of the book but almost the least important storyline. They are an established, in love couple and actually spend the majority of the book apart and yearning for each other. It’s really the relationships these two have with others that shine much more than their understated romance.
Gabriel is an another complicated, flawed character and the story reinforces his sexual addiction heavily. He is wealthier than God but works due to a fascination and love of his job. His sexual fetish for young, Asian men of a certain type is played up quite a bit, to the point of Gabriel’s severe self hatred. I struggled with this aspect since his sexual addiction didn’t come across as all consuming. In the heady world of sex and sensuality where everyone is having sex, it seemed normal to me that Gabriel would desire so as well. He clearly struggles to keep a tight reign of control over his addiction which adds a layer of much needed complexity to the man, but Gabriel’s shame feels exaggerated sometimes. However his relationship to Kuri is intense and complicated while his pseudo happy ending is nice to see.
Overall the book is well written with a lot of complex characters and situations. The high level of erotica and sexuality depicted is surprising and edges into uncomfortable areas for me; although this is a highly subjective reaction. Of all the young men introduced, I adored Sora the most and hope this innocent, cute young man with a core of strength gets his own book while the broken sex slave in Zahriah also deserves a happy ending. With a solid plot and incredibly fast pace to the writing, this quick read will make you think. Hopefully future books in the series will get back to what I personally loved the most – the host club atmosphere of Osaka. There is still a wealth of possibility in that fascinating world and I hope the authors revisit that rather than the non-consensual sex slave trade. Check this out, it’ll leave you thinking.
The story is about four roommates and best friends – Kuri, Daichi, Sora, and Takumi – that live, work, and play together. They work as host boys in Osaka, a job where young, beautiful boys stay up all night until dawn, drinking and partying with customers. They are paid exorbitant sums to simply talk and drink and some may pay even more money to have sex with the stunning young men. The four close friends are balancing a life of money, excess, and hard work when Kuri is bought for a night by an extremely rich and haunted American named Gabriel. When Gabriel’s intensity scares Kuri, he runs back to the safety of Daichi’s arms. But when Daichi is kidnapped and sold to a Dubai Sheik’s harem, Kuri needs both Gabriel and Sora’s help to get his friend and lover back.
The opening introduces the four young men and Gabriel. Set in the heat and humidity of Osaka, the beginning delves into the nighttime world of host boys in Japan. This beginning is fascinating and definitely my favorite part of the book. The four young men are best friends and casual lovers although deeper connections are shown with Kuri and Daichi and Sora and Takumi. Even so, their work often has them having sex with customers so casual sex is a common and accepted quality. The four boys have sex with each other too for comfort, companionship, and simple horniness. When Gabriel purchases Kuri’s time, sex included, the two form an uneasy bond – one that scares both men. Unfortunately there is no time to dwell on this aspect as the story takes a turn when Daichi is kidnapped and sold to a sheik’s harem. The richness of the Osaka landscape comes alive with vivid detail and a very interesting culture. The vampire-ish world of pale boys who drink massive amounts of champagne and sell companionship in all forms is told in rich description with edgy nuances. The complicated relationships and friendships leap off the page just as the young men show complexity in their youthfulness, horniness, and a glimpse behind the façade.
The story then moves to the heat of Dubai and focuses on the sexual cruelty perpetuated on Daichi and several other young men within the confines of the sheik’s private harem. Kuri, Gabriel, and Sora race to rescue Daichi but this takes time. This part of the story is very well crafted with a lot of subtly and detail. Unfortunately it is also filled with a lot of erotica. In fact the story as a whole is incredibly erotic with more sex scenes than I think I’ve seen from the authors. With the plot shift to Dubai, the entire world is made up of sexual desire, need, acts, and repercussions. So while the scenes are not necessarily gratuitous, there are a lot and several push the boundaries of consent. The acts within the harem are not violent physical rape but they walk a very fine line that may make several readers uncomfortable. The boys don’t want to be where they are but soon learn to make the best of it and disassociate mentally from what’s happening. Unfortunately since this makes up a little over half of the book, I soon tired of all the sexual cruelty. It’s not over the top and in fact fits well with the themes but I simply became uncomfortable with the mental and emotional toll this captivity was having on the various young men.
Additionally there are several, almost too many, storylines going on. Due to the vast cast, including two young men from the harem that become very important, the story struggles to give them all the space and time they deserve. While the pace is quick and the narrative absorbing and interesting on many levels, the space provided simply can’t give all of the men equal depth. Kuri is the best well characterized as the third person narrator with his almost nymphomaniac need for sex but clearly devoted to Daichi. Kuri is also very young and immature in some ways, often equating sex with safety and security. He’s a complicated character with surprising hints of jealousy and strength. He kept me wondering what he’d do next and how he’d act. His relationship to Daichi is the main romance of the book but almost the least important storyline. They are an established, in love couple and actually spend the majority of the book apart and yearning for each other. It’s really the relationships these two have with others that shine much more than their understated romance.
Gabriel is an another complicated, flawed character and the story reinforces his sexual addiction heavily. He is wealthier than God but works due to a fascination and love of his job. His sexual fetish for young, Asian men of a certain type is played up quite a bit, to the point of Gabriel’s severe self hatred. I struggled with this aspect since his sexual addiction didn’t come across as all consuming. In the heady world of sex and sensuality where everyone is having sex, it seemed normal to me that Gabriel would desire so as well. He clearly struggles to keep a tight reign of control over his addiction which adds a layer of much needed complexity to the man, but Gabriel’s shame feels exaggerated sometimes. However his relationship to Kuri is intense and complicated while his pseudo happy ending is nice to see.
Overall the book is well written with a lot of complex characters and situations. The high level of erotica and sexuality depicted is surprising and edges into uncomfortable areas for me; although this is a highly subjective reaction. Of all the young men introduced, I adored Sora the most and hope this innocent, cute young man with a core of strength gets his own book while the broken sex slave in Zahriah also deserves a happy ending. With a solid plot and incredibly fast pace to the writing, this quick read will make you think. Hopefully future books in the series will get back to what I personally loved the most – the host club atmosphere of Osaka. There is still a wealth of possibility in that fascinating world and I hope the authors revisit that rather than the non-consensual sex slave trade. Check this out, it’ll leave you thinking.
June 19, 2011
I'd wanted to read this book for a long time when I finally picked it up, and in the end it was exactly as the reviews had billed it: very good, and yet a little darker in places than I'd wanted. Except I think this was actually a very good thing.
I want to say the story got away from itself, but honestly? It didn't. I have no idea how plausible any of the events in the story are, as in the life of the prostitutes and the kinds of men who buy their time (or kidnap them), but that isn't the point at all. For me this book became a sort of window into my voyeuristic self, taking me down the rabbit hole into the examination of my own desire for titillation and possibly even my desire for punishment thereof. I admit I loved the idea of reading about young men submitting for money and even young men getting kidnapped. I wanted it in a way my husband wants a good slasher movie or gore flick: I didn't want substance, and I didn't want morality. I just wanted the show.
Of course, had I gotten that, it wouldn't have resonated the way the story did; I would have simply digested more pulp. And to be honest, I didn't get the titillation detail that I wanted. This wasn't sexual porn but emotional porn. Yes, sex is described, but what lingers in my mind is what happens to the boys' minds. And yet it isn't a grim or heavy psychological book. Somehow it rides the line between indulgence and illumination. And what it leaves me with is not a heavy moralistic lesson but an echo of what the characters themselves experience. No longer is this game of sex simply a game. I leave the story aware of the costs and the toll--and yet, somehow, also the gift.
This is not my favorite book in the world. I'm not sure I'll reread it. And yet though I rarely bestow stars anymore with reviews (and don't review everything), I feel compelled to give this one full marks. It's worth a read in my opinion, and it will stick with you for a long time. Pulp it isn't. Dark, intriguing and unexpectedly complex it is. If you want to explore the inside of your darker desires, this is a safe and effective way to do so.
I want to say the story got away from itself, but honestly? It didn't. I have no idea how plausible any of the events in the story are, as in the life of the prostitutes and the kinds of men who buy their time (or kidnap them), but that isn't the point at all. For me this book became a sort of window into my voyeuristic self, taking me down the rabbit hole into the examination of my own desire for titillation and possibly even my desire for punishment thereof. I admit I loved the idea of reading about young men submitting for money and even young men getting kidnapped. I wanted it in a way my husband wants a good slasher movie or gore flick: I didn't want substance, and I didn't want morality. I just wanted the show.
Of course, had I gotten that, it wouldn't have resonated the way the story did; I would have simply digested more pulp. And to be honest, I didn't get the titillation detail that I wanted. This wasn't sexual porn but emotional porn. Yes, sex is described, but what lingers in my mind is what happens to the boys' minds. And yet it isn't a grim or heavy psychological book. Somehow it rides the line between indulgence and illumination. And what it leaves me with is not a heavy moralistic lesson but an echo of what the characters themselves experience. No longer is this game of sex simply a game. I leave the story aware of the costs and the toll--and yet, somehow, also the gift.
This is not my favorite book in the world. I'm not sure I'll reread it. And yet though I rarely bestow stars anymore with reviews (and don't review everything), I feel compelled to give this one full marks. It's worth a read in my opinion, and it will stick with you for a long time. Pulp it isn't. Dark, intriguing and unexpectedly complex it is. If you want to explore the inside of your darker desires, this is a safe and effective way to do so.
March 16, 2011
I liked the idea and the characters even when the plot danced around. Their lives just pull the reader in and by the middle of the book you can't help it but be interested in the finial development.
My problem with it was the love story. If a book has a solid love story I can look over a lot of things. In this one, the love story was very undefined for me. First of all, I didn't like the initial possibility of 'something' that was pushed at me at the beginning, only to be taken away by the end. And the resolution that came out of it all didn't sit right with me at all. The main couple just didn't fit together in my opinion and still they were pushed toward each other almost by force. There were at least 3 other possibilities that would have worked better than the ending that is actually in the book.
Still, it is a good story with a lot of raw sides of reality and as such it is a very good read.
My problem with it was the love story. If a book has a solid love story I can look over a lot of things. In this one, the love story was very undefined for me. First of all, I didn't like the initial possibility of 'something' that was pushed at me at the beginning, only to be taken away by the end. And the resolution that came out of it all didn't sit right with me at all. The main couple just didn't fit together in my opinion and still they were pushed toward each other almost by force. There were at least 3 other possibilities that would have worked better than the ending that is actually in the book.
Still, it is a good story with a lot of raw sides of reality and as such it is a very good read.
December 10, 2012
Although this is an M/M romance, with heavy yaoi influences, this is not a light-hearted book. We have prostitution, kindapping and sexual slavery and some scenes that are so heart-wrenching, you wonder if you can bear to read any more, fearing that a happy ending may never arrive. It's a testament to the writers that I just had to read on, even not knowing what was going to happen.
But it is a great book and the writing just draws you in from the very first page. The love scenes, while graphically described, aren't just about the bodies, they're about the emotions between the characters, making them seem that bit more sensual than if it was just about bodies. All the characters are well-rounded and with lots of depth, there are no cardboard cut-outs here.
Kuri seeks out Gabriel after Daichi is kidnapped for a sexual slave in Dubai, as Gabriel is the only person he knows he might be rich enough or have some sort of influence, for who was going to help a host boy? The modernity of Japan is contrasted well with the old-world feel of the male harem where Daichi and others are kept prisoner as sex slaves; the descriptions of both are so vivid that you feel you are there, not just reading about it.
Kuri's hearbreak after Daichi's kidnapping is so well done that you feel it yourself and wonder how things are ever going to be resolved. I was a bit unsure of Gabriel's character at first, but he redeems himself and by the end you were rooting for all the main characters to get their happily ever after. The book packs an emotional punch and I was thinking about it long after I'd finished it. It's a book that makes you feel and connect with the characters. A great read if you enjoy something a bit different.
But it is a great book and the writing just draws you in from the very first page. The love scenes, while graphically described, aren't just about the bodies, they're about the emotions between the characters, making them seem that bit more sensual than if it was just about bodies. All the characters are well-rounded and with lots of depth, there are no cardboard cut-outs here.
Kuri seeks out Gabriel after Daichi is kidnapped for a sexual slave in Dubai, as Gabriel is the only person he knows he might be rich enough or have some sort of influence, for who was going to help a host boy? The modernity of Japan is contrasted well with the old-world feel of the male harem where Daichi and others are kept prisoner as sex slaves; the descriptions of both are so vivid that you feel you are there, not just reading about it.
Kuri's hearbreak after Daichi's kidnapping is so well done that you feel it yourself and wonder how things are ever going to be resolved. I was a bit unsure of Gabriel's character at first, but he redeems himself and by the end you were rooting for all the main characters to get their happily ever after. The book packs an emotional punch and I was thinking about it long after I'd finished it. It's a book that makes you feel and connect with the characters. A great read if you enjoy something a bit different.
February 16, 2011
Interesting premise and solid writing but it lacked passion, mainly due to a large cast of characters. I love Gabriel and badly wanted a resolution for him with Kuri, but their relationship was swept under the carpet during the second half of the story. Sure, things were addressed, but not in any depth and it felt very superficial, especially as Gabriel's HEA/HFN felt tacked on and was with someone else. Just a personal preference but I didn't feel the love between Kuri and Daichi when it was contrasted with the emotions between Gabriel and Kuri.
Loved the Osaka half of the story. While I enjoyed the Dubai half, it did read much more like a fantasy. Fine if you like harem stories (and I do), but the juxtaposition with the realism of the Osaka scenes made the Dubai section seem unrealistic. I guess that's what the authors were intending, but it didn't quite work for me and my interest dropped and it took me a few days to read through the second half of the book.
However there's plenty of action, in bed and out. I wasn't bothered by the dub con scenes, possibly because I didn't care that deeply for the characters involved, and most of the sex scenes, though numerous, are quite short and functional rather than erotic or sensual. I was a bit nervous about the 'age play' warned for on the blurb, but it's actually not an issue at all and IMO that warning wasn't necessary.
Overall a decent story and I'm glad I read it, but it's left me with mixed emotions. It does feel like it started out as one story and then it turned into a different story, and while I was invested in the first part, I wasn't in the second. I would read more from these authors.
Loved the Osaka half of the story. While I enjoyed the Dubai half, it did read much more like a fantasy. Fine if you like harem stories (and I do), but the juxtaposition with the realism of the Osaka scenes made the Dubai section seem unrealistic. I guess that's what the authors were intending, but it didn't quite work for me and my interest dropped and it took me a few days to read through the second half of the book.
However there's plenty of action, in bed and out. I wasn't bothered by the dub con scenes, possibly because I didn't care that deeply for the characters involved, and most of the sex scenes, though numerous, are quite short and functional rather than erotic or sensual. I was a bit nervous about the 'age play' warned for on the blurb, but it's actually not an issue at all and IMO that warning wasn't necessary.
Overall a decent story and I'm glad I read it, but it's left me with mixed emotions. It does feel like it started out as one story and then it turned into a different story, and while I was invested in the first part, I wasn't in the second. I would read more from these authors.
June 30, 2010
This was a wonderful book. All the characters were very good. Once I started reading it I just did not want to stop. I stayed up all night reading. I will recommned this to all. I even went back and purchased two more books by these two authors. I think I will enjoy them. I do not see that the other books are as long as this one. That was one reason I truely enjoyed the book. It had time to develop all the characters.
July 15, 2010
I like books, that have an unexpected end. I also like it, when you are in the middle of a book and you are still not really sure what will be in the end. This book is one of those books, that leave you in the dark till the end. Of course, you can predict some plot twists but some of them will be like a nice surprise.
October 12, 2012
It was a very nice surprised. I was expecting much, just feeling like reading a story with Japanese characters and I ended up with a book full of adventures, nice characters and sexy moments. The story is well done and I couldn't stop reading.
I am looking forward to reading more about this 2 authors.
Seren
I am looking forward to reading more about this 2 authors.
Seren
November 23, 2011
This is a really excellent yaoi-type read. I find myself wondering why others didn't like it - but for me, oh, my, everything worked. The MCs were good, the supporting characters were good, the plot was good, and other yelpie goodness.
Read this. It is a diamond among lumps of coal.
Read this. It is a diamond among lumps of coal.
June 4, 2011
There's a lot going on in this story and despite the fact that some of it I didn't like overall I enjoyed reading this.
January 2, 2012
Really enjoyed this book, though it's really not romance. Couldn't put it down.
February 14, 2013
3.5 stars
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