The Young Master Makes His Secretary Work Overtime
Title: Mastering the Secretary
Smaller Top/Seme x Bigger Bottom/Uke
A relationship with a significant size difference, specifically in the BL genre, where the “top” is smaller and the “bottom” is larger.
Novel Review | Ang Ang : Hard-Boiled Love by Gwendolyn
Title: Ang Ang : Hard-Boiled Love
Kim Gyuwon has seen all manner of horrors, having worked as a mercenary for most of his adult life. He’s big and buff and has a cool and calm demeanor. Add on the scars on his face, and he’s feared by most people who come into contact with him. What people don’t know, though, is that contrary to his external appearance, Gyuwon is soft and submissive inside. He also longs to be in a gay, dominant/submissive relationship with someone. Specifically, he wants to be a sub. But Gyuwon knows that the odds of finding a man who wants to dominate someone who looks like him are slim. So, as a last-ditch effort to find happiness in his personal life, he quits his job and takes a job as a bodyguard for the infamous Yoon family in hopes that he will be able to save up money, get plastic surgery, and finally seek out a dom for himself.
Gyuwon’s charge is the youngest son of the Yoon family, Yoon Hwayoung. Hwayoung, as his name suggests, is gorgeous, and he is beyond beloved by his family. Though Gyuwon knows he’d be underserving of having such a partner, romantic or otherwise, he can’t help finding himself attracted to him. The two get along just fine for a time until Hwayoung makes Gyuwon swear to him that Hwayoung’s personal life is private and shouldn’t be reported to his family. Gyuwon was only hired to protect him, so he agrees. What Gyuwon doesn’t realize is that they are about to take a trip to a place called Dungeon, and it is none other than an underground gay BDSM club.
Gyuwon is simultaneously stunned and excited. Never has he seen something like this, much less from someone like Hwayoung. He once again hopes to find a dom like Hwayoung, but little does Gyuwon know that Hwayoung is acutely aware of Gyuwon’s preferences. Furthermore, just as Hwayoung is Gyuwon’s type, Gyuwon is exactly the kind of person Hwayoung wants to dominate. Hwayoung fully intends to make Gyuwon’s dreams a painful and pleasurable reality.
Manga Review | Amaregulus: Soldier & Soother by Aion Kiu
Title: Amaregulus: Soldier & Soother
Anton was once one of the most powerful and skilled warriors in the kingdom’s army. However, after an injury, Anton could not continue fighting within the military. Thankfully, as a praised warrior, Anton is put into a coveted and high-ranking position: Soother. Soothers are retired warriors who, thanks to their immense stamina and unquenchable libido, train their bodies to help sexually satisfy and train the nobility and royalty in the bedroom. It’s an honorable role that Anton happily accepts, and after intense training, Anton is finally ready for his first partner. Anton doesn’t expect to be posted to the 4th prince, Julius, who just had his coming-of-age ceremony.
Anton’s task is to teach Julius about sex and take his virginity, something Anton considers an immense honor. Julius also seems ready and willing, but when Anton tries to do his job, Julius refuses to let him. Julius believes Anton still wants to be a warrior and is determined to get Julius back on the field. He has no intention of using Anton as a Soother, leaving Anton at a loss. While he appreciates how much Julius cares about him, he longs to fulfill his role. Is Julius just not attracted to him? Or is there something deeper that Anton isn’t even aware of?
Manhwa Review | Your Eyes, My Words by Morphish
Title: Your Eyes, My Words
Hwane has lived his whole life quietly, following what was expected of him. In high school, he was exceedingly studious and a thorough monitor for rule breakers. He never spoke out or shared much about himself, even to those he considered his closest friends. That is until he met Jinha. Jinha, a troublemaker and Hwane’s underclassman did everything he could to evade Hwane, but Hwane, the ever-diligent monitor, did everything he could to catch him. One of Jinha’s best methods was suddenly kissing Hwane, leaving him stunned just long enough for Jinha to get away.
This game of cat and mouse goes on for days. Hwane catches up to Jinha, only for Jinha to kiss him. Then, the day comes when Hwane corners Jinha in the stairwell. Jinha goes in to kiss him, and Hwane closes his eyes, only for the kiss to never come. When Hwane opens his eyes, he finds Jinha staring at him. It’s then they both realize that they enjoy the kissing more than the chase, and so begins a ritual of meeting before class, kissing, and then going their separate ways. This went on and on all the way until Jinha found a girlfriend, and Hwane graduated.
It was a time of fleeting moments, but Hwane never forgot Jinha. No matter how many partners he had after, none of them could compare to his first tenuous romance. All of these memories and feelings come rushing back up to the surface as, while getting fitted for a custom suit, he runs into Jinha once again. They’re both adults. They never really had a relationship. Yet, the moment they meet again, they are drawn to one another, both seeking to relive that youthful attraction from their pasts.
Manga Review | My Sweet, Husky Daddy by Lyla Katagiri
Title: My Sweet, Husky Daddy
Seichi is looking for a life partner. He’s pretty popular at the matchmaking events he’s signed up for, but when he starts talking about his favorite thing in the world, he loses all momentum and ends up alone. What is this favorite thing? None other than his son. Seichi’s entire life revolves around his sixteen-year-old son Ayato, a bright and talented kid whom Seichi raised entirely on his own at the age of eighteen before his son was one.
Seichi is perfectly content spending his life parenting Ayato, but as Ayato gets older, he pushes his loving father to find someone to keep him company when Ayato inevitably leaves the house. Seichi can’t imagine life without his son in his house, but it’s a reality he has to face, so he’s willing to try and find a partner with the intention of eventually marrying them. Unlike Seichi, at his latest matchmaking mixer, there’s another young man there who seems perfectly capable of working the room. But to his surprise, they both walk away with no matches at the end of it all.
Not wanting to waste the night, Seichi decides to go out to drink with the young man, Inukai, and bemoan their bad luck at these events. What he doesn’t anticipate is getting drunk and winding up in a hotel bed with Inukai that same night. Maybe he shouldn’t have been looking for a wife but a husband instead.
Manga Review | Charming Scarface by Io Kaziwara
Title: Charming Scarface
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.
Manga Review | Married to the Dragon God by Shogo Ikegami
Title: Married to the Dragon God
Tsuwabuki, the illegitimate child of the head of the wolf family to a lion-dog mistress mother, is a lion-dog. His life as a young child starts out well enough with the protection of his mother, but when she dies, his worth to the family severely declines. Though he’s related to the legitimate children of the family head, he is treated just like any other servant, except by his half-sister, who bullies him incessantly just because she can. Tsuwabuki does his best to ignore her taunts, serving the wolf family as best he can while honoring the god of the mountain they live on, just as his mother taught him when he was a small child. He’s perfectly content with his life, though he secretly longs for a bit more freedom and the affection he lost when his mother passed.
The members of the wolf family are considered the divine messengers of god, so it only makes sense that they are called upon to offer a bride to the god in order to heal him of his impurities. The god specifically requests the youngest child, who happens to be Tsuwabuki’s cruel older sister. She doesn’t want to marry the god and is disgusted by the idea of having to cleanse the impure god, as it requires having sex. Instead, she demands that they offer Tsuwabuki, as he is also a child of the wolf family. Without a word, Tsuwabuki accepts his new role.
After being taken underwater, a gateway to where the mountain god Shuro resides, Tsuwabuki is married and bedded. Though Tsuwabuki doesn’t feel worthy of being Shuro’s bride, Shuro assures him that no one else could be worthy enough to be by his side. Still, Tsuwabuki is sure that there is a better bride for Shuro. As it happens, his elder sister is sacrificed to marry Shuro after the wolf family is destroyed. Tsuwabuki is sure his sister would be better for Shuro, but deep inside, Tsuwabuki loves Shuro and wants him all to himself.
Does Shuro really need Tsuwabuki? And even if he doesn’t, can Tsuwabuki let Shuro go?