More mystery than romance, this BL series features some unremarkable "cases" but a pair of interesting leads who are already an established couple when the story begins! Shocking! You can find my review for Manga Bookshelf here. In the Walnut is published in English by Digital Manga Publishing. The series is still ongoing in Japan; the third volume was just released there on … [Read more...] about In the Walnut 1-2 by Toko Kawai: B+
Toko Kawai
Café Latte Rhapsody by Toko Kawai: A-
I reviewed this cute yet complicated love story for this month's BL Bookrack column at Manga Bookshelf. I really, really enjoyed the romance between a somewhat relationship-scarred bookstore employee and his huge younger lover, and it made me realize I haven't read anything by Toko Kawai that I didn't like! You can find that review here. Review copy provided by the … [Read more...] about Café Latte Rhapsody by Toko Kawai: A-
CUT by Toko Kawai: A
“Life is kind of a pain,” thinks Chiaki Sakaguchi at the outset of this exceptional one-shot. Chiaki is bored with school; it seems so trivial compared to the painful secret guilt he carries over his father’s death. In an attempt to dull that pain, Chiaki seeks out new pain, getting involved in an abusive incestuous relationship with his stepfather and resorting to cutting … [Read more...] about CUT by Toko Kawai: A
Our Everlasting 2 by Toko Kawai: B+
From the back cover: Surfer dude Horyu and shy intellectual Shouin are very much in love. Their days together are filled with happiness, but when Shouin's French tutor, a handsome and openly gay man named Nanami, makes his affection for Shouin known, doubts begin to surface between the couple. Horyu begins to suspect the relationship between Shouin and Nanami, while Shouin … [Read more...] about Our Everlasting 2 by Toko Kawai: B+