Form of Sympathy
this was quite the read. i really enjoyed the overall message of this one, and the title being form of sympathy was very fitting. we ultimately got to see that the reason why it was titled that was because the love they were experiencing between the two of them blossomed in the form of sympathy. the two characters both experienced different variations of how they defined the word love, went through trials and tribulations, and ultimately found love—initially in the form of sympathy for one another. i just think that was really well done. i like that the characters are both insanely flawed and at times very difficult to enjoy. i remember reading this and feeling so frustrated, like screaming at my phone because i wanted a different outcome and the choices they were making were frustrating me. but ultimately that’s what makes it feel very human. both of them are very flawed, maybe some more than others, but they come together in the end and the story blossoms into something so beautiful. i also love that yuri is a bit crazy. i always love them a bit crazy, so that was enjoyable. ultimately, this was a really good read.
Dead or alive
what I really enjoyed about this one was that the stories plot was said in the Midwest during like the Cowboys era which I thought was super interesting and not something you see all the time I initially didn’t read a different story because it was in black-and-white so for me to have read this entire thing, even though it is in black-and-white goes to show how good this one is I love how in the end the plot twist was that he actually was the man the entire time which I think just made the story just that much better the romance between the two main characters is really well done and ultimately I really enjoyed this read. I just wish there was color since I always prefer colors with these stories, but it was really good.
Love for Sale
what i really enjoyed about the story was that the character was very flawed. the male love interest was a very flawed person, and we got to see how his relationship with himself and with his partners was able to change because of the main character. at first, it’s really hard to empathize with him because we see him in a very negative light—someone who’s always telling his partners that he cannot love them. he can give them everything, but he cannot give them love. over time we learn this is because he had a very rough childhood and feels unlovable because of it. he believes that if the person he’s with isn’t happy, it’s better to let them go rather than force them to stay with him. so it’s like a coping mechanism for him to never love them. then comes the main character, who shows him that he is worthy of love. the two of them have a very big age gap, but they handle it really well, and ultimately they are very cute. i’m also a sucker for when the top is shorter than the bottom, because you don’t get to see that a lot, so it was a really cute dynamic. the top was older—which is rare—and also shorter—which is rare too—so i had a lot of fun with that. i really enjoyed the author’s points. it was funny at times, it was serious at times, and i just really enjoyed this one. it was really good.
Stranger
when i first started this, i was honestly kind of put off by how the story began. the fact that the main character was still a minor at the start and the male lead just pulled up, decided this kid should live with him, and expected trust right away felt so strange. for like the first 40 chapters i really couldn’t figure out the direction of the plot or what was actually going on. but honestly… the story turned out to be really fucking good. the art at the beginning felt amateur, you could tell the artist was uncomfortable with certain poses and the lighting wasn’t very advanced. but then halfway through season two i was like wow—the art started to improve so much. by season three and the epilogue it was gorgeous. the growth in both the art and the storytelling was phenomenal. what i really appreciated about this story is how it handled the age gap dynamic. the younger person was actually treated like someone younger, instead of being written as if they were the same age. usually in these stories the older character ends up acting immature or dismissing the younger one, but here the older partner actually acted mature, acknowledged the weirdness of their situation, and treated the dynamic with care. another thing i loved was the rare inclusion of adoption in korea to signify marriage. since gay marriage isn’t legal, a lot of same-sex couples have gone the adoption route so they could be considered family. i think it’s such an important and realistic detail that should show up more in stories, because it highlights the genuine struggles of being in a same-sex relationship and navigating the legal side of it. overall, i fucking loved this story. you really get to watch a damaged person grow into someone completely different, and the execution was amazing. is it one of my all-time favorites? probably not. but would i recommend it? absolutely. early on i would’ve rated it like 4/5 because i felt so lost, but by the end it was a solid 5/5. i adored it and i definitely think it’s worth reading.
Cherry Cake
ok, so everyone gives the male lead a lot of shit—fair enough, because he did have unconsensual sex with the main character. but the thing is, he was very heavily drugged at the time and doesn’t remember it at all. he even goes out of his way to figure out who the main character slept with because he has no memory of it being himself. that’s why it’s hard to fully hate him: yes, it was unconsensual, but he genuinely didn’t know it was happening. a lot of people also dislike the main character because he comes off aloof. it’s not exactly that he’s dumb—he’s actually really smart—it’s more that he’s absent-minded, socially unaware, and a bit naïve. there are plenty of decisions he makes where i was like, “yeah, he’s smart.” after the unconsensual incident, he even researched what he should do, recognized that it was wrong, and acknowledged it as such. but he didn’t hate the male lead for it, since he knew he was drugged. i’ve only read up to season one (since season two isn’t out yet), but i really enjoyed it. i kind of love the trope where one of them is “evil” or a bad person, but has a soft spot for the aloof one who trusts them completely. i especially like the dynamic where the main character calls up the male lead whenever he needs something, and the male lead just does it, even though he’s this big bad wolf type. honestly, i enjoyed this way more than i expected to. i didn’t think i’d like it that much, which is why i didn’t let it sit before reading, but it turned out great. i’ll probably reread the whole thing once it’s finished.
Please Pay Attention To Me
freak 4 freak!! i love when they both crazy. genuinely my favorite subgenre of any romance is this trope. the stalker obsessive type x the needs insane amounts of attention type. so good!
A First of Summers
I left off on special episode two I really enjoyed this one. The art was really good. I really like the vibe and I really liked that. One of the characters was very openly gay so there were lots of references to things. It felt very authentic and ultimately this entire read was very good. I can’t wait to see where the plot takes us
Just Twilight
honestly, this was enjoyable but nothing too unique. it really felt kind of like a corporate story — very systematic and almost emotionless at times. the start was very basic, and i feel like the entire premise was too. we have a female lead who’s broke and abused, and the only thing that really makes her stand out is that she’s hardheaded and strong. i don’t mind clichés, but i like them better when there’s a twist. almost everything in this story felt predictable, not because it was written particularly well, but because it’s a plot we’ve all seen before. the art was pretty, but nothing special. i liked both characters’ designs, but i’ve read so many stories with more impressive art that this didn’t stand out as unique in that sense either. surprisingly, i found myself really enjoying the main villain. he felt like the only truly three-dimensional character in the whole story. we get to understand why he is the way he is and how he thinks, which made him really compelling. even when he makes horrible decisions and interferes with the love between the leads, it’s hard to hate him because he’s written with such depth. i love characters with angst, so reading about him was definitely my favorite part. this is a very “feel-good” story overall — even when there’s abuse or bad situations, you can tell it’s heading down a straight path from happiness to happiness. you’re never really questioning what’s going to happen next. that’s why the villain stood out so much to me; he felt different and gave the story a little more life. overall, the story was fine. nothing special, nothing terrible. i put off reading it because i thought it would be really good, but in the end, it’s not show-stopping — just… fine.
The Ex-tra Hot Neighbor
I really like this one. It was very easy to read and it also was a very comfortable enjoyable storyline I love the ending. It felt very normal and stereotypical. Honestly, this was just a very nice comfort read. It was really good. I really enjoyed it and it was super fluffy, so yeah felt very much like a good read from when I was 14.
Between the Stars