• manga,  Uncategorized

    MANGA: Oh My Hero!

    Oh My Hero! – Cocomi

    This Boys Love story is about Inui, a guy who works part-time dressing up as a tokusatsu hero (think Power Ranger) in shows for children. He meets the Mugita family, a father and his son who have a lot of love for one particular ranger. As the Mugita family is always watching his shows with great passion, he got interested in them and is happy when they invite him to their house. But while he enjoys spending time in their warm company, Inui is troubled because some desires in him awake when he thinks about Daddy-Mugita. Another story included is Aogeba Koishi, where a senpai and kohai from the middle school basketball club meet again as adults.

    Adorbs!

    Oh My Hero! is a wonderfully wholesome romance between a divorced single dad and a younger man who works as a tokusatsu hero.

    Inui, the man behind the mask, frequently sees the Mugita father and son very enthusiastically cheering him on in the audience during his performances. He has a long-standing, long distance crush with the father until the son brought them together. From then on, Inui spends his time playing with the young child while secretly longing for Mugita.

    One day, the boy accidentally spilt his drink over Inui’s clothes. This led to Mugita taking him to the bathroom to change, and that led to some unexpected release of pent up tension…

    I loved the the vibe of this manga! The artwork is as mellow and calming as the story. The romance is soft and gentle and oh so wholesome, even with the couple of handjob scenes. I had a bit of apprehension that the younger Mugita might have a crush on Inui as is sometimes the case with single dad stories. Happily, the plot avoided that dreaded love triangle.

    There was a single chapter story about a kohai and his admired senpai who suddenly kissed him when they were high schoolers. They accidentally met again and went on to relive youthful regrets and…that kiss? Ooh, this has so much potential! I wished there were more chapters.

  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Sweet As Honey by Lucy Lennox

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    Aster Valley: Sweet As Honey – Lucy Lennox

    When I rode my bike into Aster Valley, it was supposed to be temporary. A quick, relaxing visit with friends. No entanglements. Zero drama.

    But then I saw the bumblebee being harassed on the side of the highway.

    More specifically, I saw Truman Sweet, Aster Valley’s resident botanist, spice merchant, and bee-costume enthusiast, being harassed. And the second I got involved, all my plans for a quick departure scattered like pollen on the breeze.

    It turns out that Trumanβ€”adorkably shy, relentlessly sunshiny, hot as all heck, reluctantly-still-a-virgin Trumanβ€”has secrets. Secrets someone in this charming small town doesn’t want brought to light. Secrets that rouse every one of my protective instincts just as surely as his kisses rouse… other parts of me.

    And before I know it, I’m thinking being entangled might not be so bad… if it’s Truman I’m tangled up with.

    I’ll do whatever it takes to protect Truman from the dangers in his past, but after a lifetime of loneliness and disappointment, how can I possibly convince him to trust me with his future?


    Time for another much anticipated visit to Aster Valley, a small town in the Colorado Mountains that’s big on charm and personality.

    The second full-length novel, Sweet As Honey, delivers a delightful love story between an adorkable plant geek and his adoring bad boy biker.

    It all started with a bumblebee.

    So Sam Rigby was cruising down the highway, minding his own business, when he spotted a bumblebee being harassed. He comes to its rescue and discovers it’s the friend of his bestfriend Mikey, the spice shop owner Truman Sweet. Then a truck comes barreling down the road and crushes his bike. They go to the town to report the incident, only for cops to surround them. Truman faints and Sam ends up looking like the bad guy.

    As Sam and Truman got to know each other better and become progressively closer, Sam learns that that incident was one of the many, many harassments Truman had endured under the hands of a pair of brothers. Their uncle is the town sheriff so good luck reporting that. All because of a shared past that Truman kept secret throughout most his life.

    This series has some of the worst villains out there. Give me blood and gore chaotic evils and I could take them on any time. It’s the lawful evil that really, really gets under my skin. In Book 1, it was Mikey’s dad, the coach. A guy who pretends he’s okay with queers but works underhandedly to undermine his gay son. Here, it’s Truman’s friend, Barney, and Sam’s mother and his sisters.

    Without giving too much away, these people pretend to look out for one’s own good then proceeds to gaslight, manipulate, spout biblical references even fake a medical emergency just to get their way. I hated them. They almost made me quit. I felt they belong to darker books. They are effective emotion-wise and plot-wise but they don’t encourage re-reads simply because I don’t want to meet them again.

    Happily, the good guys were awesome and they are most definitely worth the stay. I really enjoyed going through each MC’s thoughts. Truman is strong and brave, brilliant and funny. He had me chuckling in a couple of scenes. At times, very awkward but when you hit upon something relevant to his interests, off he goes talking non-stop about one trivia after another. I loved it when he’s on a roll. And Sam adored it too.

    We first knew Sam as Mikey’s bestfriend from Right As Raine. He owns a construction business. He doesn’t consider himself a relationship kind of guy. But the thing about Sam is that he’s very protective about the people he cares about. And his family is also shit. That’s why he and Mikey always looked out for each other. Then he found Truman, realized this was his person and grabbed on tightly.

    This book is one of the most wonderful and fluffily sweet romances out there. I lived for those heart-melting scenes! Sam and Truman were just perfect together. I loved the way they instinctively knew what the other needs without trampling all over the other person’s self-worth and autonomy. This was especially relevant because of the way Truman was treated by other people. I also loved how they used their brains, trusted one another and held on even as bad guys attempted to tear them apart again and again.

    I know I said the antagonists almost pulled me out of the story but this book is really more fluff than drama. It’s made up of a cast that I loved seeing again and again (except the bullies, of course). Tiller and Mikey played prominent roles throughout the story and Gentry and Winter also made appearances. So I recommend reading all the books in order, including the prequel.

    Sweet As Honey is a story about small towns secrets, family drama, building friendships, knowing who to trust and finding that person who feels like home. Overall, I had a great time with Sam and Truman. Aster Valley proved, yet again, it’s the place to be.

    P.S.

    Yes, the first two books are not to be missed. Witness a magical rockstar moment between folk rock superstar Gentry Kane and the titular Winter Waites in the prequel novella. Squee every time multi-million-dollar football receiver Tiller Raine calls his chef/coach’s son, Michael Vinning, my Mikey in Right As Raine.

    Reviews of Winter Waites and Right As Raine here.

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Honey
    Artist: Boy Pablo
    Album: Wachito Rico!


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    RIGHT AS RAINE | SWEET AS HONEY

  • song,  Uncategorized

    SOUNDTRACK: Honey by Boy Pablo

    Soundtrack to Aster Valley: Sweet as Honey by Lucy Lennox

    There are several songs entitled Honey but what made me pick this song by Boy Pablo were the plant-themed lines “The flowers wither / And the clouds grow bigger / Up in the garden alone, I’m freezing but it’s fine/ β€˜Cause I’m thinking of you / And all the things we could do / Running as fast as I can, glad I forgot to tie my shoes” . It reminds me so much of Truman. Tying his shoelaces is something he would definitely forget to do if his head is in the clouds a.k.a. thinking of Sam. Come to think of it, there WAS a scene where his shoes was untied.

  • quote,  Uncategorized

    The flowers wither
    And the clouds grow bigger
    Up in the garden alone, I’m freezing but it’s fine
    ‘Cause I’m thinking of you
    And all the things we could do
    Running as fast as I can, glad I forgot to tie my shoes

    Falling isn’t really that bad
    If it’s for you
    Your lips, your blush, your eyes, your touch

    Baby, you are really something else
    ‘Cause I don’t think I have smiled like this before
    When I spend my time with you it tends to stop
    Honey, being around you is all I need
    Baby

    Don’t worry ’bout me
    It’s not as cold as it seems
    So good to be the one who keeps you warm
    These days, we’re all good though we’re walking under clouds, honey
    Most of the time
    I can’t believe my own eyes

    Lookin’ out, it feels like a dream
    Please, stay right here
    Your lips, your blush, your eyes, your touch

    Baby, you are really something else
    ‘Cause I don’t think I have smiled like this before
    When I spend my time with you it tends to stop
    Honey, being around you is all I need
    Baby