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  • manga,  Uncategorized

    MANGA: Bakashoujiki ga Taosenai

    November 11, 2022 / No Comments

    Bakashoujiki ga Taosenai – Nukui Yuna

    Three words sealed his fate…

    People pleaser Kakeru Senma’s spent his whole life putting on a smile, and it’s made his life easy.
    Everybody likes him.

    That is, until a total stranger, Makoto Takafuji, comes up to him and says, “I hate you.”

    Swallowing his shock and anger, Kakeru vows to avoid the guy at all costs, but for some reason he keeps popping up everywhere!!

    Just when he’s wracking his brains for some solution to his predicament, Kakeru is captivated by the sight of Makoto sternly practicing Japanese archery.

    Maybe he’s not such a bad guy after all…

    Then again, he’s always stealing kisses and feeling him up without warning!

    Can’t Beat Stupid Honesty has pretty-looking characters and that’s about it. 

    The plot is the standard asshole seme hates the uke because the jerk is in love with him. Proceeds to harass him to submission.

    From the blurb, you can suss out there’s going to be dub-con, and this one has multiple dub-con scenes. I wasn’t pleased with how it depicted a gay high schooler. The manga had the gay character forcing himself on the straight MC. While I love a confident, openly gay MC, sekuhara isn’t the way to a man’s heart.

    The theme is being true to oneself delivered a bit too heavy-handedly. It would have been a little more interesting with the archery part, but it was mostly hot/cold treatments and boring dialogues. I’d say skip this one.


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  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: They Call Him Levity by Davidson King

    November 11, 2022 / 2 Comments

    Welcome Boulevard: They Call Him Levity Davidson King

    Levity works the streets of Welcome Boulevard, begging people for money. It keeps food in his belly, a leaky roof over his head, and he gets to do it with his best friend, Clove. No, it’s not the ideal life, but he does what he must to survive.

    Salvatore Grillo is a man who is used to getting what he wants. He’s a loyal brother to his autistic sister, runs numerous business empires, and knows how to make people to bend to his will. It’s not often someone comes along and shakes things up. And then Levity smiles at him.

    Levity’s idea to pull in more money draws Salvatore’s attention, and while being the focus of a crime boss should be terrifying, Levity is intrigued by the man. Not to mention, Sal is as gorgeous as he is powerful. The two gravitate toward one another and soon are wrapped up tightly in each other’s worlds. When enemies try to break through their doors and their lives, Salvatore has to do everything in his power to save not just himself but Levity too.

    Not knowing who is behind all the chaos or when they will strike makes their happily ever after almost impossible. Time’s running out for Sal and Levity. Will they survive, or will their story end before it’s even begun?


    They Call Him Levity and our boy is indeed a ray of sunshine!

    The book opens Davidson King‘s latest series, Welcome Boulevard. It’s written in the same vein as the fantastic Haven Hart series, mafia-lite, fluff-heavy, with a huge dollop of family drama thrown in for good measure.

    The story stars Levity, practically homeless and begging for money on the streets with his best friend, Clove. The money they earn goes to mob boss Salvatore Grillo via a disreputable middleman. Levity is quick of mind and a font of trivia. He and Clove use that as their schtick to catch people’s attention. It was so effective Sal’s curiosity was piqued, and he had to go and see for himself…

    Levity’s personality just pops off the page! He was so bright, brave, smart, and tenacious, I found myself smiling and utterly charmed. Of course Sal stood no chance and found himself housing an injured Levity and his friends, Clove and 17-year old Maze, after a violent encounter with the pervy middleman who tried to grab Maze.

    There’s a slight niggle regarding the panhandling scheme Sal had going. It reminded me of how we were always warned not to give money to beggars because a crime syndicate is behind them collecting the proceeds. It’s a really shitting thing to do, so I wasn’t impressed with Sal about that at first. Later on, he had his realization after meeting Levity and his friends and vowed to change things into something that would make his sister proud.

    Also, I wished the story delved deeper into Sal’s and Levity’s backstory. We had a bit more info on Sal but we only get the here and now version of Levity. The boy is mostly a mystery. Not even his real name was revealed. The romance was gentle and sweet but overall felt underdeveloped since it happened too quickly.

    Sal’s relationship with his autistic teen sister, Jacqueline, is one of the most endearing parts of the book. He’s super protective of Jac since her mother, his stepmom, treats her as if she is defective. The scenes with the stepmom were the ugliest parts, the woman is a pure narcissist. I can’t believe she doesn’t appreciate how awesome and talented Jac is.

    Plot-wise, it’s pretty predictable. Still, I had a great time because I love the characters. They made all the difference. The author did a spectacular job making me care about them so much that I’m already super hype for the next book. It’s probably about Clove and Marcel, Sal’s best friend and right-hand man. I’m amused at how these two pretend they’re not into each other although it was so obvious they are, people started a pool.

    They Call Him Levity might have some niggles and ugly drama, but it’s very aptly named. I’m usually emotionally distant and poker-faced when reading, and this book actually made me smile!

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

    Soundtrack: Levity
    Artist: 9Tomorrows
    Album: Gravity in Love


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    THEY CALL HIM LEVITY

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  • song,  Uncategorized

    SOUNDTRACK: Levity by 9Tomorrows

    November 11, 2022 / 1 Comment

    Soundtrack to Welcome Boulevard: They Call Him Levity by Davidson King

    Levity by 9Tomorrows for a book about a young man who was completely happy in the here and now despite his poverty.

    I feel rich without any money
    cause a billionaire couldn’t pay for the love of my hunny
    all i need is you
    and a little fresh air and maybe two lawn chairs when it’s sunny
    i can see that life’s a little funny

    …

    cause your levity is like gravity in love
    my heart rises above and it’s ok
    and since galaxies and nebulas are dust
    in you my love i’ll trust that it’s ok

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  • quote,  Uncategorized
    November 11, 2022 / No Comments

    i feel rich without any money
    cause a billionaire couldn’t pay for the love of my hunny
    all i need is you
    and a little fresh air and maybe two lawn chairs when it’s sunny
    i can see that life’s a little funny
    watching people in the news and the love that they lose over money
    when things come down on me
    a billion dollars or two can’t compare to the things that you do

    *cause your levity is like gravity in love
    my heart rises above and it’s ok
    and since galaxies and nebulas are dust
    in you my love i’ll trust that it’s ok*

    they say the universe is made of one thing
    so that’s a little bit of she and a little bit of he in you and me
    some people call it god and some people call it life
    if we just just call it love then isn’t that enough to agree
    to be here right now and keep your mind from running
    stop looking around, you can’t buy it in town, cause it’s free
    it’s in the love of all your friends, your mom, your dad, your kids, your sister, your brother, your lover, it’s all between one another

    *cause their levity is like gravity in love
    your heart rises above and it’s ok
    and since galaxies and nebulas are dust
    with all the love you’ll trust that it’s ok*

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  • trailer,  Uncategorized

    MOVIE FEATURE: Knock at the Cabin

    November 11, 2022 / No Comments
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🌈boy's love manga | MM romance | music | giveaways and more 🐾

neverhollowed
neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
10 Jun

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲—𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.

COVER REVEAL: Shaken and Stirred by Lilly Atlas



https://neverhollowed.com/2025/06/10/cover-reveal-shaken-and-stirred-by-lilly-atlas/

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
10 Jun

NEW RELEASE BLITZ: The Spy by Mell Eight (Excerpt & #Giveaway)


https://books2read.com/the-spy

https://neverhollowed.com/2025/06/10/new-release-blitz-the-spy-by-mell-eight-excerpt-giveaway/

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
9 Jun

Unrequited love can make you blind.

COVER REVEAL: Doink by Crea Reitan



https://neverhollowed.com/2025/06/09/cover-reveal-doink-by-crea-reitan/

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
9 Jun

Sometimes growing up means growing apart in this queer take on As You Like It featuring first loves and friend breakups, from award-winning author Julia Drake.

BOOK TOUR: Lovesick Falls by Julia Drake



https://neverhollowed.com/2025/06/09/book-tour-lovesick-falls-by-julia-drake/

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