BL Library - Reviews

Manga Review | My Demon Cry Baby, Maria by Yukihiko Sano

Title: My Demon Cry Baby, Maria

Author(s): Yukihiko Sano

Artist(s): Yukihiko Sano

Satoru is in mourning. His unrequited love, Jun Mariya, has passed away before Satoru ever got the chance to talk to him, much less confess to him. In the throes of sorrow, Satoru crumples up and marks all over the love letter he had intended to give to Jun someday before throwing it aside. Then, he lies there, expressing his want to die. Out of nowhere, a voice calls out to him, offering to take his life. It is a fluffy little black smoke cloud, claiming to be a demon, having been summoned from Satoru’s inadvertent scribbling of a summoning circle.

Satoru is surprised, of course, but intrigued, as the demon offers him a wish in exchange for his life span, which the demon will steadily feed on for the remainder of Satoru’s life. Satoru can only think of one wish: to see Jun. The demon takes this opportunity to lure Satoru even further, suddenly shifting into Jun’s exact likeness. Satoru is shocked but is more than happy to make this deal so he can be with Jun. Similarly, the demon is delighted to make such an easy deal.

What the innocent demon doesn’t realize is that Satoru has some depraved plans for this demonic lookalike, and he has every intention of acting on them until his dying breath.

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BL Library | 2023 Favorites

Hi! Welcome back to my site. More importantly, welcome to my BL library. I am your BL librarian.

Today, to ring in the new year, we will be going through my library’s archives and finding all of my favorite BL reads over the past year, 2023. These are what I have read and reviewed over the year, not what came out that year. I’ve split it between the various forms of BL, such as manhwa, manga, novels, and others when applicable, and I’ve linked them below so you can navigate to your preferred format:

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Manhwa Review | Tenth Time’s the Charm by gom

Title: Tenth Time's the Charm

Author(s): gom

Artist(s): orang

Hyunwoo is doing everything he can to get by. As a poor college student with chronic health issues, including amnesia and fainting spells, it’s hard to make ends meet, much less to keep a job. Unfortunately, his situation comes to a head when he returns home to find his door locked, his stuff sitting outside, and a note from the landlord kicking him out. With nowhere else to go, Hyunwoo heads out to the street with his few belongings, trying to determine his next course of action.

While out on the street, Hyunwoo comes upon a flyer looking to hire someone with room and board provided at a garden-themed cafe named The Flower Garden of Memory. As a lover of flowers and plants and needing a home, Hyunwoo has no intention of letting the opportunity pass him by. He heads straight to the cafe, only to discover the owner is someone he already knows. The night before, while at a bar, Hyunwoo saw the owner, Hansung, kissing another man in the alleyway. They both are stunned to see each other again. As if his chances of getting the job aren’t already bad enough, he passes out after smelling what Hyunwoo can only assume is Hansung.

Needless to say, when he wakes up, he’s pretty sure he’s lost the job. But after Hyunwoo begs, and coincidentally after he mentions his love of hydrangeas, Hansung gives him a chance. So begins Hyunwoo’s new job at the cafe. But it’s not all flowers and coffee; the longer he works there, the more he learns about his past and how Hansung might have been part of it. His memory seems to be intrinsically tied to this garden of memory.

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Manga Review | Sweet Blood by Nene Shakeda

Title: Sweet Blood

Author(s): Nene Shakeda

Artist(s): Nene Shakeda

In a world dominated by vampires, human rights and freedoms have been severely limited. Humans and vampires are segregated, with very few select humans given passes to travel through and in vampire areas without being accompanied by a vampire. Jinosuke is one of those few humans. He’s a potter whose work is impeded by the deteriorating relationship between humans and vampires. Unfortunately, his most recent job has just been canceled due to his sponsor pulling out.

Frustrated and unemployed, Jinosuke travels through a vampire district, aimless and trying to determine his next course of action. Even with a pass, it’s not easy going through the streets of vampire districts, as all vampires have silver hair, and humans don’t. So, Jinosuke is constantly being watched and talked about. He’s hardly bothered by the attention until he ends up in a sparsely populated area. There, he is ambushed, confined, and then sold in a human auction for vampires. This is very illegal, but as the product being sold, Jinosuke has no choice but to go along with the process.

In the end, Jinosuke is purchased by a youthful-looking vampire named Noi, a human anthropologist. Thankfully, Noi doesn’t want to force Jinosuke into being food but would like to make a trade. In exchange for his blood and knowledge of humans, Jinosuke can continue to work and live under Noi’s protection. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than the alternative, so Jinosuke accepts. What Jinosuke doesn’t expect is for the feeding to feel so good. As they share more time (and fluids) with one another, Jinosuke begins to suspect it wasn’t a coincidence that Noi was the one to purchase him.

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Manga Review | You Dirty, Sweaty Boy by Mumumu Momo

Title: You Dirty, Sweaty Boy

Author(s): Mumumu Momo

Artist(s): Mumumu Momo

Ochi is doing fine at his office job on the development team, but then he’s transferred to the sales team. Ochi is generally not cut out for sales, preferring to be less client-facing. Add on his issue with overactive sweat glands, and this new position feels like torture for Ochi. His only saving grace is being paired with one of the top salespeople, Kitami. Kitami is everything Ochi wishes he could be: confident, extroverted, and charming. Ochi admires Kitami, especially as he patiently trains and encourages Ochi.

That admiration quickly dissipates, though, when Ochi learns of Kitami’s odd fetish, one that he fulfills through Ochi every chance he can get.

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Manhwa Review | Love is an Illusion! – The Queen by Fargo

Title: Love is an Illusion! - The Queen

Author(s): Fargo

Artist(s): Fargo

Seung-ah has been tied to alpha Do-gyeom, one of his best friends and first love, for twenty years, all by choice, initially as her friend but ultimately as her secretary. Unfortunately, this has given Seung-ah a front-row seat to all of Do-gyeom’s sexual conquests and escapades. Seung-ah does his best to keep his longing for Do-gyeom under wraps. His only comfort is that Do-gyeom has no intention of getting into a relationship or marrying, meaning he can always be the closest one to Do-gyeom, even when he feels he has no right to be.

He’s pretty content with this arrangement until Do-gyeom, after seeing her brothers getting married and starting families, decides that she wants to start her own family, too. Suddenly, it’s not enough that Seung-ah has to chase away one-night stands; now, he has to chase away the one-night stands and try to find her a worthy spouse. To his surprise, that person manifests in an unrelenting female omega, an employee of Do-gyeom, and a one-night stand. Seung-ah was willing to give Do-gyeom over to a worthy omega of the same class and power, but this was just too much for him to bear.

Unable to see his long unrequited love get married to someone beneath her, who isn’t Seung-ah himself, he runs to their longtime friend Mujin, who is happy to comfort Seung-ah in any way he can.

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Manhwa Review | A Painter Behind the Curtain by MUNAMU

Title: A Painter Behind the Curtain

Author(s): MUNAMU

Artist(s): MUNAMU

Ian is a prolific artist, but no one knows it. His artwork is sold for high prices, prized in exhibitions, and hanging on the walls of some of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom. Yet, Ian lives in squalor, starved and frail. He is a prolific artist, but he doesn’t even know it. Ian has had a talent for art since childhood but was forbidden from pursuing his passion due to his family’s low standing and poverty. Unfortunately, his work is noticed by a noble, the head of the Bardi family, a family of prolific artists. Bardi wants Ian and is willing to pay a premium for the child.

Unable to decline his offer, Ian’s family sells him off to the Bardi family; all the while, Ian is being lured with promises of being able to paint to his heart’s content. Ian sees this as a dream come true until the reality of his situation comes crashing down on top of him. Ian has been enslaved. He’s kept in a closet where he is broken and beaten, trained relentlessly in the techniques of painting until he can do so without any reference. Once he’s completed a painting, the second son of the Bardi family, without any talent for the arts, signs his name to the piece, passing it off as one of his own.

Ian can’t even dream of anything beyond this torturous horror he’s trapped in, the only comfort being that he can still paint. That is until a mysterious and eager merchant named Raymond comes by, requesting a portrait from the Bardi family. Raymond’s coin is all the Bardi family cares about, but once Raymond sees Ian, Ian is all Raymond seems to care about.

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Manga Review | Charming Scarface by Io Kaziwara

Title: Charming Scarface

Author(s): Io Kaziwara

Artist(s): Io Kaziwara

Yuma is a big, bulky bear of a man, but inside, he’s a soft sweetheart. This gentle personality manifests in the motherly way he dotes on his younger childhood friend Shizuya, in his love for kid’s picture books, and at work when helping kids find books they’ll love at the bookstore. But nothing gives him more pride than Shizuya. Much of who he is as an adult was carefully crafted for Yuma to be the best big brother and guardian figure for Shizuya. Yuma’s happiness is intrinsically tied to Shizuya’s, and Yuma wouldn’t have it any other way.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Yuma tries, it seems like Shizuya just isn’t all that happy. Undeterred, Yuma does everything he can to dote on Shizuya in hopes that he will become the upstanding man Yuma knows he can be. One evening, while in town, Yuma’s devotion to Shizuya reaches a dangerous level. As much as Yuma likes to think Shizuya is still the small, sweet, and gentle little boy, Shizuya has played the role of a delinquent through his teen years and, consequently, has gained a violent reputation and many enemies. He’s challenged by some other delinquents, itching for a fight, but what was going to be a fight with fists turns deadly as one of the guys pulls out a knife.

When Yuma sees his beloved Shizuya threatened with a blade, he has no hesitation and jumps in the way, permanently scarring his face and making his life much harder, as children are afraid of the scar. Shizuya is beyond guilty, but Yuma is all too happy to sacrifice himself and his livelihood for Shizuya’s happiness.

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Manga Review | Reward Me with Your Body, Sir by Reo Ohno

Title: Reward Me with Your Body, Sir

Author(s): Reo Ohno

Artist(s): Reo Ohno

Ookami is doing his best to please his clients, but his secretaries are making it difficult. They are often incompetent at best and unreliable at worst, making Ookami’s working life impossible. He is desperate for a solution and willing to hire anyone just so long as they don’t get in his way. As a result, Ookami looks to… an unconventional source. He checks out an app to rent a boyfriend.

There is a seemingly neverending supply of potential boyfriends, which means an unending supply of potential secretaries. At a cursory glance, Ookami lands on Mao. He’s beautiful, and, for no reason in particular, he is Ookami’s first choice. When they meet in person, it starts out more awkward than he would like. Mao immediately tries to jump Ookami’s bones, which almost puts Ookami off this plan altogether. But once Ookami sees Mao all cleaned up and in action, he knows he made the right choice.

That is until Mao asks for a reward afterward.

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Manhwa Review | Vargoth’s Magical Toys by sodapie

Title: Vargoth's Magical Toys

Author(s): sodapie

Artist(s): sodapie

Eunwoo only has one goal: to become a viral vlogger. Unfortunately, there’s not much to see or do to go viral in his small, rural town. To add insult to injury, with the appearance of portals to other worlds, numerous magic shops and magic items are making their way into Eunwoo’s world. But out in the country, Eunwoo can only long for them as he watches other vloggers review them on the very platform he’s trying to gain fame on. He would love nothing more than to leave his small town, but with no job and, in turn, no money, that is an impossibility. It’s a painful reality that Eunwoo is currently stuck in.

Desperate to make a change, Eunwoo looks for a job that won’t jeopardize the time he spends on his videos but pays well enough so he can start saving for the future he longs for. To his surprise, while on the hunt, he discovers a new magic shop has opened in his small town! Seeing this as a sign and an amazing opportunity, Eunwoo jumps at the chance. But when he turns up to the shop, expecting magic and intrigue, he finds the magic… but it’s in the form of sex toys. This wasn’t at all what he expected.

But the pay is right; the job is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and his boss, Arte Vargoth, is a charmer in more ways than one. While it isn’t what Eunwoo expected, this is the first step to his ideal future.

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Reviews

Manga Review | My Demon Cry Baby, Maria by Yukihiko Sano

BL Library | 2023 Favorites

Manga Review | You Dirty, Sweaty Boy by Mumumu Momo

Manga Review | Charming Scarface by Io Kaziwara

Manga Review | Reward Me with Your Body, Sir by Reo Ohno

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