Novel Review | Salad Days by Jing Shuibian

Title: Salad Days


Jiang Shen is a poor boy in a rural village. He spends his days playing with friends out in the rice paddy fields, helping his father work the fields, chasing wild chickens, and fishing. The most time he ever spends in the city is when his mother takes the vegetable harvest to sell. While his mother is busy in the city, Jiang Shen usually spends his time exploring the Children’s Center, where he stumbles upon a ballet class. The teacher catches him looking and invites him in, where she discovers he may have an innate talent for ballet. It isn’t long before Jiang Shen’s focus goes from his idyllic village days to something much larger and grander.

On the other end of the spectrum is Bai Jinyi. He comes from a filthy rich family and wants for nothing. He spends his days training at the Children’s Center in boxing, with his goal being to go international and win the gold belt. However, while attending training one day, an unusual sight catches his eye: a little boy among a gaggle of girls in a ballet class. Inexplicably, Bai Jinyi becomes drawn to this little boy, and for once in his life, Jiang Shen is the one thing he wants, even more than boxing.

They say the rich never box and the poor never dance. Yet, Jiang Shen and Bai Jinyi are set to defy those odds. As the two grow and change and their dreams grow more and more focused, the one thing that keeps them tethered together is their growing feelings for each other. So, can these happy days continue for two boys whose paths would never have crossed otherwise? And can they grasp their dreams while holding onto each other?

Read About This

Manhwa Review | The Devil’s Temptation by Youn

Title: The Devil's Temptation



All Hyun of the owl tribe wants out of life is yummy food, comfy furniture, and never having to leave the house. But unfortunately, he has to work to survive. To keep up with his corporate job, he has to attend the holiday party at the end of the year. What makes it worse is his archnemesis from the snake tribe, Ivan, is there and makes it a point to tease Hyun as much as he can. To survive the night, Hyun drinks himself into a tizzy, only to embarrass himself in front of the director of the company and his crush from the snake tribe, Alek. Thankfully, Hyun doesn’t have to suffer the party for too long as he passes out.

When he wakes up, not only is he in bed with Ivan, but he has a weird mark on his neck. This is an imprint specific to the snake tribe that binds the marker to the marked so that the marked craves physical intimacy with their marker. It’s okay, though, because there is a cure, but it could take months to develop, and in the meantime, Hyun could experience flu-like symptoms… or possibly go blind if he doesn’t get enough pheromones from Ivan. The worst part, though, is that the mark also attracts other members of the snake tribe and him to them, so he has to juggle intimacy with his enemy Ivan and try to keep from pouncing on his crush and boss Alek, too.

Can an owl like Hyun survive in the snake pit? And even if Hyun does survive, what does this new level of intimacy mean for his relationship with Ivan and Alek? Do they only like him for the mark, or is there something more?

Read About This

Manhwa Review | Oh! My Assistant by MILA

Title: Oh! My Assistant



Seonho is a talented adult webtoon artist. Unfortunately, though, he cannot get it up because he spends all of his time drawing naked people. If this isn’t distressing enough, he finds himself overwhelmed by all the deadlines and work associated with the life of a webtoon artist. To alleviate at least one of his problems, he hires an assistant named Muyeong. Not only is this guy astute, talented, and makes work more manageable, but he unexpectedly fixes another of Seonho’s problems. Muyeong turns Seonho on!

Unfortunately, it seems Muyeong is the only thing that turns on Seonho. Still, Seonho can’t approach him because Muyeong made it clear in his interview that he is not interested in forging any personal or intimate relationships at work. That boundary doesn’t seem to hold up, though, when one evening, after drinking together, Muyeong and Seonho end up kissing. Naturally, Seonho counts this as a win, but it’s a big surprise when Muyeong brushes it off as if nothing happened. What’s worse, though, is that Muyeong already has a boyfriend! So what did their kiss mean?

Seonho wants Muyeong, but he also doesn’t want to lose his amazing assistant. So, can the two find the balance and become more than just coworkers? Or will Seonho’s pushing ultimately push Muyeong away as both his assistant and potential partner?

Read About This

Manga Review | Yagi the Bookshop Goat by Fumi Furukawa

Title: Yagi the Bookshop Goat



In this world, herbivores and carnivores live amicably, though this is primarily because they live in separate zones – one catering to herbivores, the other to carnivores. However, even if you are an herbivore, it doesn’t mean you’ll be treated fairly in the section for herbivores. This is the unfortunate case for Yagi, a goat who wants nothing more than to work at a bookshop. However, like most goats, Yagi has the habit of eating paper, which doesn’t work out too well for his employers.

Unable to get a job at any herbivore bookshop, Yagi goes where he shouldn’t: a carnivore bookshop managed by a wolf named Ookami. Ookami gives Yagi a job, and while Yagi does eat a book on occasion, Ookami scolds him but lets him work there all the same. Yagi thinks it is simply because Ookami is kind, but there is something more behind the wolf’s good deeds. Not only does he have a complicated past, but he might see Yagi as more than just an employee.

Read About This

Manhwa Review | Sweet Caress by Keimjae

Title: Sweet Caress



Woojin is a shy man. He has a gloomy look, with dark black hair covering his eyes and dark, deep bags under his eyes. As a result, people often avoid him. However, what he lacks in social skills with humans, he has in spades with animals. All creatures are inexplicably drawn to him, and he is drawn to them, but in a world full of humans, Woojin is forced to interact. He wears a wig and sunglasses out and about to make it a bit easier.

On the flip side, Sangyoon, with the looks of an angel, is incapable of forming relationships with any animal, though he desperately wants to. What is worse is that he owns and operates his own dog cafe and even has a cat room in the upstairs apartment for the cat he longs to own one day.

During a misunderstanding, Woojin and Sangyoon end up meeting each other. When Sangyoon realizes Woojin can draw in animals of all kinds, he hires him to work at the cafe. There, he helps Woojin overcome his inability to communicate with others; all the while, Woojin falls head over heels for Sangyoon.

Read About This

Manhwa Review | If You Give Me Flowers, I’ll Give You Myself by JO YuJin

Title: If You Give Me Flowers, I'll Give You Myself



Haewon has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and with a prognosis of only six months, the possibilities for her future are severely limited. While she is working at a museum in Mongolia, a job she truly loves, her dream is out in the field. She longs to find a flower that no one has discovered and name it herself so she will always be remembered even after she has passed. As a final push to achieve her dream before she dies, she quits her job and sets out for the rural parts of Mongolia, donating all her funds after she purchases a Jeep to get across the rough terrain.

However, not long after leaving, she receives a letter from the hospital where she was first diagnosed. Her former coworker, Dr. Lee, intercepts the letter and discovers that she was misdiagnosed. He has no clue where she has gone, though. Even so, spurred by his love for her, he takes off after her, letter in hand.

Meanwhile, Haewon ends up with her Jeep and all her belongings stolen. Thankfully, she is rescued by the mysterious Eunseong, who has settled out in the deep fields of Mongolia for reasons unknown. Since she cannot continue on her quest without his help and feels sorry for her predicament, Eunseong hesitantly agrees to allow her to stay under the agreement that if she does locate the undiscovered flower, she will let him name it. While he isn’t interested in this prize, it isn’t long before he quickly takes an interest in her, and that interest soon blooms into love.

Read About This

Manhwa Review | Beware the Villainess! by Berry

Title: Beware the Villainess!



Melissa Foddebrat is the villainess of the novel All the Men That Loved Her, but the Melissa we are following is not the actual Melissa from the story. Instead, she is a Korean woman who has somehow reincarnated into this novel. Having read the story herself and knowing that her fate is to suffer and die, Melissa is determined to defy the world she has been thrust into and forge her own path.

In doing so, she rescues the female lead from her own fate at the hands of the men who vie for her attention, earns the trust of her family and employees, and even befriends and gains the admiration of an abandoned werewolf. All the while, though, the main plot of the novel continues. Will Melissa actually be able to defeat fate? Or is she destined to fall?

Read About This