Bitchie's Books

*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

I am writing this as more of a review for the whole series, because I truly feel like you can't read any of these as stand alone, and I think that they would have been better served edited down into just one, maybe two books.

This series is set in the Japanese world of J-pop stars, and I truly think the reader would get the most out of this series if they were more familiar with that world. The series is filled with honorifics and sociatal norms that are quite unfamiliar to someone like me. I kept getting pulled out of the story trying to figure out what something meant, or how things were done. There was also reference to several different bands (at least two, Hiro's group and Ryuu's group), tv series, movies, game shows, and interviews, which I think dragged the story down at times. I found myself skimming the bits that didn't further Hiro and Ryuu's relationship in any way.

I did really enjoy the characters, although Ryuu did have his frustrating moments. Hiro, though, was an absolute, quirky, happy go lucky dream.

The series is told from Ryuu's POV solely, and I would have LOVED to get at least some of Hiro's POV. His thoughts and feels were a bit of a mystery, I just wanted to know more of what he was thinking throughout the story.


In book three, Ryuu realizes how badly he messed up, and finally comes to realize that he doesn't have to totally hide his relationship with Hiro. While they might not be totally out in the open, due to their career, Ryuu is no longer afraid of his friends finding out how much time he's spending with Hiro. I was happy that they didn't spend too much time apart, and I really enjoyed seeing them happy together, but this is another part that I think maybe could have been edited down a bit. It went on for a long time after they were back together, more hanging out, tv interviews, and the like.

All in all, I really enjoyed this series, I just wish it had been a bit easier for me to understand the world that the series was set in.