Hi! Welcome back to my site. More importantly, welcome to my BL library. I am your BL librarian.
Today, we'll go through all the mail I received in May and check out all the BL manga, manhwa, manhua, merch, and more.
Manga Review | Dangerous Drugs of Sex Re:Life by Yuki Mizuta
Title: Dangerous Drugs of Sex Re:Life
Ryuji's and Makoto's relationship didn't start like your average one; even now, they aren't a regular couple. Though Makoto has come to accept their irregular beginnings, Ryuji can't seem to shake his guilt, shame, and insecurities from that time and even long before. Still, Makoto does his best to shower Ryuji with love, and Ryuji, in turn, does his best to keep Makoto thoroughly satisfied in the bedroom. But once Makoto starts working more heavily at his new job, the tenuous happiness they've crafted for themselves begins to fray.
Ryuji fears losing the one thing that means anything in his life: Makoto. When they met, Makoto was confined and totally reliant on Ryuji for pleasure, sustenance, and happiness. But now, Makoto has a job that he loves, friends that Ryuji doesn't know, and doesn't need Ryuji to feel fulfilled. And though Ryuji has his own career and life outside of Makoto, he doesn't feel he deserves to love, be loved, or experience pleasure in any form or fashion, instead devoting all of his efforts to pleasing and keeping Makoto happy. But if Makoto doesn't need him anymore, what does Ryuji have left?
Meanwhile, Makoto only wants to know more about Ryuji, but Ryuji has an insurmountable wall around him. However, one of Makoto's new coworkers happens to have known Ryuji when they were children. What will Makoto learn about his distant lover?
Manhwa Review | Heat of the Moment by Yensha
Title: Heat of the Moment
Yeo-heun is a goblin. He's a half-goblin, a creature that lives beyond the average human lifespan, can carry a pregnancy regardless of gender, and is known to seduce and trick humans. They're feared and hated, so when Yeo-heun was small, his mother scrounged every penny she had to have a seal cast on him. Unfortunately, as a poor, single mother, she couldn't afford a complete seal, and though it sealed away the goblin part of Yeo-heun, it, unfortunately, sealed away his voice and parts of his memories, too. And, despite her best efforts, his identity as a half-goblin is still clearly visible. It can be seen by the color of his eyes: one gold and one violet. And by the color of his hair, streaked with gold. As a result, he and his mother have lived as outcasts on the outskirts of their village, avoiding everyone who wishes to bully and harm Yeo-heun.
All of that changes, however, when the new, young emperor, Ju Hee-yeon, is on the hunt for a goblin. Hee-yeon has been sickly, chronically so, to the point it is impeding his ability to lead. It's all due to his bloodline, which carries the blood of dragons. It has manifested in Hee-yeon with fevers and painful scales along his back. It's said that only by lying with a goblin that he will be healed. So, Hee-yeon sends out a small group of soldiers who successfully hunt down Yeo-heun and bring him back to the palace, leaving his sickly mother alone. The two lie together, and, as expected, Hee-yeon's fever and pain subsides.
But beyond the newfound freedom Hee-yeon has gained thanks to Yeo-heun, Hee-yeon finds himself entranced by the half-goblin. He wants to know more about this beauty and is determined to find a way to remove Yeo-heun's seal. All the while, however, Yeo-heun longs to see his mother again. But when Hee-yeon sends out a party to find his bedmate's mother, there's no sign of her anywhere. Just what secrets lie in Yeo-heun's locked memory? And how will Hee-yeon keep the wily goblin by his side?
Manga Review | Dangerous Drugs of Sex by Yuki Mizuta
Title: Dangerous Drugs of Sex
Katsuragi was your usual upstanding salaryman. He was praised in his position at work, had a loving girlfriend, and even made enough money to send his supportive parents on a vacation. Unfortunately, this act of generosity from a filial son ends in tragedy. His parents end up dying in an accident during their trip, leaving Katsuragi to mourn them. This starts a domino effect. While mourning his parents, issues start at work due to Katsuragi's absence. He resigns out of guilt. Then, his girlfriend leaves him with barely a world. Suddenly, the life Katsuragi worked so hard for and loved is unrecognizable.
Katsuragi is a walking corpse, unable to go on after losing everything that made his life worth living. He's prepared to end it all when, while standing on the ledge of a building, a stranger grabs Katsuragi, stopping him. The man tells Katsuragi that if he's going to throw his life away, he might as well give it to him. The stranger is sure he can make Katsuragi want to live again. Scared off the ledge, Katsuragi gives himself over to the man. What he doesn't realize is that the plans the stranger has for him involve unimaginable pleasure and humiliation, unlike anything Katsuragi has experienced before.
But why Katsuragi? Why him? And what does this man plan on doing with him when it's all over?
Manhwa Review | OmegaComplex by Oneulbom
Title: OmegaComplex
Yoonwoo Lee is your average, run-of-the-mill, beta college student… or so he's made everyone believe. Yoonwoo is actually an omega, and though there's nothing wrong with being an omega, Yoonwoo's first love and childhood friend, Taegyeom, was once assaulted by an omega during their time in grade school. As such, he ended up with an intense hatred for omegas. Thankfully, in their youth, Yoonwoo hadn't manifested yet, and he could be there for Taegyeom. But it wasn't long after that he ultimately manifested as an omega, and Yoonwoo made the painful decision to leave Taegyeom behind, pretending to be a beta so he never had to see Taegyeom hate him for something he couldn't control.
It's been years since they ran into one another, though not without great effort on Yoonwoo's side. Though they go to the same university, they've never met, as Yoonwoo even decided on a different major to ensure they never encountered one another. Unfortunately, despite Yoonwoo's careful planning, Taegyeom's department also shows up during a department meetup. Thankfully, Yoonwoo has done some additional planning. To hide his pheromones, he smokes pheromone cigarettes, which are made for betas who want to put out pheromones like alphas and omegas. This does seem to fool Taegyeom, but for how long? It seems Taegyeom has no intention of letting Yoonwoo escape him again.
However, while Yoonwoo's cigarettes might fool Taegyeom, they haven't fooled Yoonwoo's hoobae Dohyun, another alpha. Thankfully, Dohyun is willing to keep Yoonwoo's secret, but he wants Yoonwoo just as much as Taegyeom. Pitted between two alphas, can Yoonwoo keep his identity a secret? Or will he succumb to all the alpha pheromones surrounding him?
Manga Review | The Man Who Shattered My World by Osamu Moriya
Title: The Man Who Shattered My World
Tachibana is a player, and he's exclusively a top. He has no intention of falling in love or maintaining a romantic relationship, and to ensure his partners are aware of the status quo, he has them agree to a relationship contract. It has several requirements, but the most important one is simple: no falling in love. This serves Tachibana well for the most part. However, while he's on the hunt for a new partner, he finds himself having to reject potential candidates, as they admit that they might end up falling for him. Tachibana is about to call it a night after hunting for a sex partner when a new guy approaches him.
The man is very handsome but very tall and much more masculine than Tachibana usually goes for. Tachibana immediately assumes he's a top and clarifies that he is exclusively a top. But to Tachibana's surprise, the man says he's a bottom. Again, the man is not Tachibana's usual type. However, Tachibana loves to dominate, and what would be more satisfying than dominating this big guy? So, after explaining his contract with the stranger, the two agree to the terms and head to a hotel room together. Everything is going well with his new bedmate, Kuzumi until Kuzumi decides to turn the tables.
The exclusive top Tachibana suddenly finds himself on the bottom and is thoroughly dominated instead. Tachibana is ready to break the contract and forget the whole thing, but Kuzumi has no intention of letting Tachibana go. And as much as Tachibana doesn't want to admit it, he finds himself craving to be taken by Kuzumi again.
Manhwa Review | Lover Boy by ZEC
Title: Lover Boy
Eunho has loved Jaeha since he was a child. They've known each other for the majority of Eunho's life, but Jaeha, being so much older, moves forward in life, leaving Eunho behind. Yet, no matter how far Jaeha goes, he always seems to find his way back to Eunho. Unfortunately, that changes when Jaeha announces he's getting married. As much as Eunho loves Jaeha, he accepts that they will never be together in the way he wants. So, he swallows his love and sadness and congratulates Jaeha.
Years later, Eunho is now in college, and though he's dated someone else, he still longs for the love that could never be with his childhood friend, Jaeha. By seemingly fate, they happen to run into each other. Jaeha is now running his own art studio, providing classes open to the public. But more importantly, he's now divorced. Eunho had to let Jaeha go before, but with this new opportunity before him, he has no intention of letting Jaeha pass him by. Jaeha, however, has had a turbulent past, and though he cares for Eunho, that care and love he has makes him afraid.
He's afraid of hurting the one most precious to him. Will Jaeha be able to find happiness? And can Eunho break through the cold walls Jaeha has built around himself?
OEL Comic Review | Pain Killer (PainKiller) by HamletMachine
Title: Pain Killer (sometimes stylized as PainKiller)
The world is overrun with monsters and there is a group of warriors designated to clear the surface. Juan is one of these warriors. He travels to the surface to fight these creatures, and while many of the monsters do exclusively want to kill and eat these warriors, many also want to dominate them. These monsters crave more than the taste of human flesh, and though Juan tries his best to fight them off, he finds himself in the throes of passion with these creatures.
Of course, he shouldn't want it. He shouldn't enjoy it. But after he's rescued and integrated back into human society, can he ever forget the pleasure he experienced?
1st Volume 1st Impression | Electric Bones by Hazel + Bell – Act 1
Title: Electric Bones
This is a series in which I read the first volume of an ongoing series and give my first impressions. This isn't going to be as long as a standard review (I hope); it is meant to provide a quick snapshot of how a story starts and how I feel about it at the very beginning.
Manga Review | Smoky Nectar by Akira Minazuki
Title: Smoky Nectar
Mitsuru has been friends with Annaka (nicknamed Anna) since they were in preschool, and though their lives have gone in entirely different directions, they remain close. Anna has become a successful real estate agent, while Mitsuru is often in the trenches as a field journalist, reporting on various local news. Mitsuru is currently on a story that leans toward the supernatural. Still, he's determined to find the truth, whether based on reality or something harkening back to human imagination. A local woman was recently found dead, her blood completely clotted, and with two suspicious bite marks on her neck. The killer is called “The Biter,” a rumored vampire.
Mitsuru is actively seeking the killer, and as usual, he reaches out to Anna, who has a multitude of connections, looking for some information. Anna doesn't have much and spends most of the time insisting that Mitsuru stop inserting himself into such a dangerous scenario. What Mitsuru keeps to himself is that Anna is suspected of being “The Biter,” and while he is looking for additional information from Anna, he's also hoping that he'll be able to prove Anna's innocence. Anna is his closest friend, and Mitsuru wants nothing more than to protect him the only way he can. But if Anna is “The Biter,” what would that mean for their relationship?
More importantly, is Mitsuru safe?