Husband on Trust
Burk another showcase of "falling in love at first sight" yet it was kinda of cute. The overall worked out fine even though it makes fuckin sense to not trust someone you've known for 6 weeks.
Sissy
FUCKIN POWER DYNAMIC That what this novels is about Niang Niang Qiang/Sissy is a thrilling story that brings its readers through the minds of our two main characters, Li Chengxiu (MC) and Shao Qun (ML). Shao Qun, our typical CEO gong, is one of the worst ML I have ever seen, never failing to surprise me with his new, petty antics. The only thing he hasn't done is murder. Our MC, on the other hand, is a pitiful chef with a speech impairment. He is poor as dirt but got by comfortably in the city until the ML rolled along and scooped him up for a ride. Yes, Sissy has a stereotypical setup. Where it differs from other novels is its ability to develop the main characters' personalities with a deep dive into their minds and emotions. By the end of the novel, we see great changes in their psychological state, influenced by their experiences with love and hate. Our MC challenges the idea of what it means to be a strong person, one of the best personifications of a weak, nice and naive MC. He cries a lot for almost 30 years old, has no money to his name, and is always pushed around by others. Yet his mind is firm, and no matter what others do to him, he knows where to draw his bottom line to protect himself as well as his pride. The ML is not supposed to be lovable. I don't believe anyone thinks his actions are forgivable, including the MC himself. Such is the complexity of the human experience, filled with contradictions and great internal struggles. There are two ways you can interpret the ending: happy or horrific. Happy endings are usually classified by whether the main characters get together in the end. By this metric, you can argue that Sissy has a happy ending. I see it a bit differently: By the end of the novel, our main character finally has a sense of "family, " a lifelong commitment he can be secure with. Although he acknowledges that he was forced into these circumstances, he feels satisfied regardless. The horrific side is that this ending represents class conflict, in which such a huge power dynamic between a couple inevitably means that one person may not be in a position to consent to anything. Any decisions made by the weaker person is just an illusion of choice created by their more powerful partner. Li Chengxiu's decision to give in to Shao Qun's persistence to settle for a "comfortable" life draws parallels to our own capitalist reality, in which the rich have the final say. The poor can scream, shout, and struggle all they want, but in the end, they are just goods to be bartered around among the rich. Here, Shao Qun's gaslighting has succeeded--and he has bound Li Chengxiu with him for life. Li Chengxiu himself has completely given in to the idea that he has no personal autonomy and is satisfied with letting others decide his path. The novel goes over other complex issues such as internalized h*mophobia, discrimination, and sexual assault. I respect the author for having a lot of self-awareness of these issues and exploring them in-depth, especially with regard to the traumatic aftermath of the assault. (In contrast, most other BL novels pay no heed to this). Sissy is akin to a PSA of what a toxic boyfriend looks like, showcasing classic tactics such as intoxication, dubious consent, gaslighting, and mental abuse. Even more impressive is the author's ability to weave together different themes for a fun and cruel novel. Our main character reflects the intersection of sexuality, gender, disabilities, and socioeconomic class clashing together in a capitalist, classist hell. Once you really think about it, Sissy actually feels more like a modern day horror story about discrimination against vulnerable people thinly veiled as a danmei. The only nitpick I have is that the author chooses a rather fatalistic approach to these problems without offering solutions. But maybe that's the author's message--that as long as these class structures exist, there is no way out.
Nineteen Over
Raising Beta
The chill it send down my spine, it could have been a fun manipulation to uncontrollable love trope but no this is irl fear manifesting from this type of toxic person. Mr. Rare dominant alpha went from boredom to violant tendances and deviant sex to obsession at first sight. Dude didn't stop at social isolation, he killed Uke parents to make him dependent on him emotionally and financially plus monitoring his every action, he turned him into an omega to baby traps him, and now old author know what misfortune is good to be upon his son for having his affection.
Color Recipe
Coming back to Color Recipe nearly a decade later, I found my experience very different from the first time. On my initial read, the story felt overwhelmingly intense—dark, gripping, and almost unbearable at points. On reread, however, I realized I’ve grown somewhat desensitized. The raw shock is gone, but I can still see why this manga had such a strong impact on me the first time. Much of that power lies in Harada’s distinctive art style: her paneling and expressions convey psychological states in a way few mangaka can. The trauma in volume 2, after the kidnapping, is still vividly, almost viscerally rendered. What makes Color Recipe fascinating is how it handles the “stalker romance” trope. Volume 1 builds suspense masterfully: the story teases two possible stalkers—the seme or the uke’s regular male client—keeping the reader uncertain until the end. On my first read, this tension was edge-of-your-seat gripping, and the final revelation—that the seme orchestrated everything while subtly shifting suspicion onto the customer—was explosive. On reread, though, this dynamic feels even more unsettling: knowing that the seme not only framed the client but also used the opportunity to grow closer to the uke and slowly push the boundaries of physical intimacy adds a disturbing layer of calculation to his actions. Volume 2 escalates the conflict but also destabilizes it. The seme reuses his old manipulative tactics to isolate the uke, but this time he is discovered. Cornered, he makes his most desperate move: kidnapping the uke and attempting to force intimacy. Yet Harada subverts the scene—his body refuses to respond to a broken, unresponsive uke, making it clear that what he truly desires is not domination but the uke’s willing choice. His so-called guilt afterwards reads more like performance than remorse, as he continues to center his obsession rather than the uke’s autonomy. Reading now, I notice how my interpretation differs from many others. Most reviewers stress how disturbing, triggering, or unbearable the story is, and they’re not wrong—it deals with stalking, manipulation, abuse, and sexual assault in deeply uncomfortable ways. For me, on reread, the initial shock was gone, replaced by an analytical appreciation of Harada’s craft: how she weaponizes romance tropes and then twists them into something both intimate and terrifying. The open ending remains one of my favorite aspects—ambiguous, unsettling, and quintessentially Harada. Instead of offering closure, it forces readers to sit with contradictions: desire versus control, intimacy versus violence, obsession versus love. Ultimately, Color Recipe is not a romance in the traditional sense. It is a psychological study of possession masquerading as affection, made unforgettable through Harada’s ability to blur boundaries and provoke unease long after the final page.
My Secret Stalker
What the actual hack did I end up reading !?!? I was in for a serious dark stalker story but this was laughable like the Junior accidentally became a stalker. _______ Dude was seriously like "aren't you my stalker why are you leaving me alone?"
Who Cares (Shui Ba Shui Dang Zhen)