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  • manga,  Uncategorized

    MANGA: Kachou, Kekkon Shimashou!!

    June 2, 2023 / No Comments

    Kachou, Kekkon Shimashou!! – Seika

    Aoki, who lives with his only daughter after his wife died, has a special hobby of making sweets! One day while handing out his baked goods at work, Mizuno, an unfriendly subordinate, unexpectedly enjoyed the desserts. As a result, Aoki invited Mizuno to his house to deepen his friendship, but as soon as Aoki gave Mizuno a colorful handmade sweet, he proposed saying, “Chief, please marry me!”


    Chief, Please Marry Me is an age gap, workplace romance, and a perfect example of the adage, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

    Single dad and mid-level manager Aoki loves baking sweets and bakes so many treats, he takes them to his office to share with his co-workers. Mizuno is his bitch-faced subordinate, known to be as unfriendly as his face. Secretly, he LOVES sweets. So much so that upon tasting the best dessert he had ever eaten, baked by Aoki, he was so overwhelmed he proposed right then and there!

    The best parts of this wonderful story are the character and romantic developments of Aoki and Mizuno. Aoki is a mild-mannered man whose temperament is as sweet as his baked goods. He found someone who could appreciate his baking, promised to take care of him and his daughter, and held true to that promise through the years. Through Mizuno, he learns how to better handle the moment when his young daughter, Chie, finally leaves the nest.

    Mizuno found someone who loves his love for sweets. As a scary-looking man, he was outright rejected by a chocolate company because no one believed someone like him could like such delicate girly things. He was even mocked for it. This is why Mizuno is fiercely protective of the little family who brought him happiness.

    This is a dual bi-awakening romance which lead to hilarious couple moments. As salarymen, they researched gay sex and presented them to each other as if about to conduct a meeting. Mizuno’s formal marriage proposal was in PowerPoint and presented in the most convincing sales pitch ever. I had a good laugh!

    The ending was an endearing scene of Chie’s wedding, which Mizuno, probably a CEO now, took time to attend. I loved that he and Aoki were together throughout the decades.


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  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: The Rycke by Lily Mayne

    June 2, 2023 / 3 Comments

    Monstrous: The Rycke – Lily Mayne

    Life as a raider in the Wastes, where monsters roam and the military lurks, is as easy as it sounds.

    I’ve been out here for a long time, and the fear that courses through my blood every time I have to step outside our camp walls to scavenge never fades. No matter how many monsters you face—and have to run for your life from—it doesn’t ever get easier.

    But when I come across a bound and injured monster in an abandoned military base, I can’t leave him behind. His presence in our camp is causing tension, but I can’t bring myself to care when I get to see a different side to him—when he starts to show me who he is, beneath the pain and lingering trauma.

    But despite his gentle nature, I soon discover why others are so desperate to own him. Why the military, and now this stranger lurking outside our camp, want to put him back in chains and take him away from me.

    There’s something hiding under his skin. Something that threatens to upend my entire life, the one I’ve spent my years carefully protecting out here.

    There’s a reason why all other monsters fear him.

    The Rycke is Book Three of the Monstrous series, a post-apocalyptic m/m fantasy series that features monsters and human men falling in love. It is best to read the series in order. Warning: This m/m love story contains explicit sexual content and is not suitable for young readers. It also contains graphic depictions of torture and violence, and deals with PTSD.


    I wish I read this series sooner because three book in, it’s pretty obvious Monstrous is one of the best MM fantasy series out there! The books should be read in order because each monster/human couple has been a delight so far.

    The series is set in post-apocalyptic America, where twenty years ago, a rift allowed monsters to come to earth. The only safe places for humans were the coastlines. The military controlled everything, and those who disobeyed were left to die in the Wastes. However, some chose to live there. Raiders built isolated camps, wore masks and used code names so the military couldn’t identify them.

    The third book, The Rycke, is told from the POV of Gage, raider name: Ghost. He and his best friend, Rig, were scavenging through the wrecked army base from Book 1, Soul Eater. They found a chained, injured monster, Aury, who they quickly set free and took their raider camp to heal. To their surprise, Aury is the rycke, a monster so fearsome that even his fellow monsters avoid him.

    It was hard to believe because Aury has such a gentle, shy nature. How this kind-hearted, soft-spoken individual turned into a maelstrom of death and destruction was one of the most jaw-dropping scenes in the entire series!

    The writing brilliantly lulled me with its fluffy, angst-tinged romantic development akin to the swooniest YA romance. We learned more about the other denizens of the Wastes, the raiders, a mysterious woman with monsters for pets, a rare monster-human hybrid and asshole extraordinaire named Moth who has his own book, and another enigmatic but deadly character named Lilac whose book I’m super excited to read.

    Gage is the camp scout, always tasked to make forays to many dangerous places to scavenge or find clues to the whereabout of the camp’s other leader, Cat, who is missing. He hates doing this but feels it’s the only way to make himself useful. It led to antagonistic encounters with the camp’s other leader Anchor, and another nay-saying raider, Cutter.

    In one of these missions, Aury snapped! And holy shit, it was beast-mode gone nuclear!

    This forced Gage to make life-altering decisions. These were also some of the most heartbreaking scenes where Gage learned how much of a martyr ryckes actually are. Aury and Gage’s story was intensely emotional, and narrator Michael Lesley wrung every emotion out of those scenes. I found myself holding my breath through these pivotal moments. Nearly cried at the part where beast Aury was trying to say Gage’s name.

    This book would have been a 5, but the separation scene in the last parts didn’t make much sense to me given that they quickly reunited just because Moth took it upon himself to fetch Aury. The ending was also bittersweet and not as satisfying as, say, Wyn, the Soul Eater making it his mission to have his human, Danny, be with him forever (from Wyn the novella).

    The Rycke is another brilliant monster romance. A story of self-sacrifice, friendship, and survival sweeping me away in a whirlwind of tears and feels!

    Rating:
    4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away

    Soundtrack: Black Moon
    Artist: Greg Dully
    Album: Random Desire

    P.S.

    Meet the other monster+human couples in Soul Eater and Edin.


    If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Monstrous. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.

    SOUL EATER: Kindle | Audiobook
    EDIN: Kindle | Audiobook
    THE RYCKE: Kindle | Audiobook

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  • song,  Uncategorized

    SOUNDTRACK: Black Moon by Greg Dulli

    June 2, 2023 / 1 Comment

    Soundtrack to Monstrous: The Rycke by Lily Mayne

    Black Moon by Greg Dulli for a book about a young raider and the gentle monster hiding the beast of destruction.

    Black is the night
    No one else around
    Release me
    Release me

    High in the trees
    Speed turns into sound
    Believe me
    I’m falling

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  • quote,  Uncategorized
    June 2, 2023 / No Comments

    Black is the night
    No one else around
    Release me
    Release me

    High in the trees
    Speed turns into sound
    Believe me
    I’m falling

    Run down the feeling
    While we ride around
    You will remember when
    You will remember how

    Black is the room
    Nowhere to be found
    Come on now
    We’re waiting

    Run down the feeling
    While we ride around
    You will remember when
    You will remember how

    As you enter the ceiling
    Fly, oh
    I see a black moon rising, rising
    Take me

    You wait on me
    You’re high and dry
    The bane won’t bleed
    You don’t know why

    The rain on me
    It’s coming night
    You stay with me
    A way to dive
    A way to die
    A way to now

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  • trailer,  Uncategorized

    MOVIE FEATURE: Big Boys

    June 2, 2023 / No Comments
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Book images and promotional materials are from Goodreads or media kits provided for blog tours, cover reveals and release blitzes. Manga covers and other images are sourced through Google image search. The two dorks in the header image is from a manga by TogaQ & Kikuchi Neko. The cat logo is my own design. Reviews and other writings found in the blog are mine unless otherwise stated. All Buy Links to Amazon and Bookshop in my posts contain affiliate links.

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
15 Jul

How to Date a Prince by Hayden Stone is finally here! Sneak a peek and enter to win!

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
15 Jul

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
15 Jul

RELEASE TOUR: Nine-Tenths by J.M. Frey (Excerpt)



https://neverhollowed.com/2025/07/14/release-tour-nine-tenths-by-j-m-frey-excerpt/

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neverhollowed Never Hollowed By The Stare @neverhollowed ·
15 Jul

NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Locke & Co by E.J. Tett (Excerpt & #Giveaway)


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https://neverhollowed.com/2025/07/13/new-release-blitz-locke-co-by-e-j-tett-excerpt-giveaway/

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