jurnee_reads's reviews
311 reviews

Nobuko is a very relatable lead, with her social anxiety and all that comes with it. She’s so sweet and shy that she makes you want to see good things happen for her. Every small victory she gets is appreciated by her and the reader, no matter how seemingly insignificant it is. This was just a personal thought, but she seems to be on the spectrum perhaps? Her crush, Irie-kun, might also be as well. I don’t think that will be officially stated or anything, but it was just a feeling I had.

I’m just so surprised at how much I enjoyed this! I don’t really enjoy contemporary romance, it’s just boring for me as I’m usually a sci-fi and fantasy gal, but this one really surprised me. Most likely I enjoyed it so much because of the stalking aspect and all the danger around that, it kept my interest a lot, but I also really enjoyed Briar as a character and seeing how she’s handled herself as a celebrity. This also touched on a lot of issue which are important to me, PTSD, anxiety, para social relationships, and how young girls and grown women are treated in the media. Most of those issues were handled well, Briar being such a perfect heroine to touch in those subjects with.

All of the men were lovely in their own way. Matt reminded me of my own husband a little, so I have a soft spot for him, plus we really delved into a deep part of his mind when dealing with his PTSD. I don’t think the PTSD was handled perfectly, however, as it’s such a serious thing that Kenta and Glen should have stepped up and stood up to Matt when he was behaving erratically and making poor choices. I know he’s kind of framed as like the “leader” of the group of men, but it was still irritating that the others didn’t take charge when he wasn’t doing the right thing.

Kenta and Glen were perfect, both adorable and sweet and filling the roles in the relationship which best suited them. I enjoyed Kenta’s calming presence, he really seemed in tune with everyone, not just Briar. Glen is like a big squishy marshmallow that I want to shower with love and affection, he deserves the world.

One of my favorite aspects of the book was getting a few chapters from the POV of the stalker, dubbed “X”. The minds of clinically insane people interest me a ton. It kept the book from getting too mushy and reminded the audience that there really was a serious threat out there to be concerned about. And he was an actual threat! He wasn’t just some hack, he was dangerous and it was shown which I personally really appreciate as I’ve read books where the bad guy is easily overcome by the hero and it makes it feel like all the talk about how bad they are was completely worthless.

Great read overall! I might actually look at the other books by this author, though I’m still hesitant to read more contemporary.

I really enjoyed that we were able to see both leads’ view of their little movie/cafe date

Things are really moving forward in small steps but I enjoy seeing the characters really work through their feelings. Also, the real background characters know more than they let on I bet… they seem able to read people well so I think they’re stepping back to let Irie and Nobuko work things out at their own pace.

“My heart had already decided… before the words had caught up.”

Best line in this manga so far ⭐️

The most interesting part of this is being able to see things through Oli’s bond’s point of view. She/it is an interesting character/entity with motivations that I want to understand and know more about. It just feels like there is so much information in that particular bond…

Great story! I’m excited to read more! My only complaint is that things get a bit boring and slow in the middle.