insaneneko

Hakushaku wa yoru no hanayome by Asuma Risai and illustrated by Asato Eiri is in a "xx is the bride of the night" series, this one with "Earl" as the "xx." The other two were priest and butler. There had been a group translating the priest one, I'm not sure if that's still going on. In any case, this series is pretty damn bad. I read them all because I like Asato Eiri's art and am a sucker for vampires. I have to admit, though, that I enjoyed this one the most because it was the worst. I expect logical inconsistencies in these kinds of stories because the author never seems to bother making the characters act in some semblance of consistency. They always jerk the characters from one action to another, one motivation to another, so that some moe point can be hit. This one just decided that consistency is for sillies and ran long and hard in random directions. I still don't quite understand the story because both guys in the pairing were acting out parts in three or four different conventions, but I will try to condense the story down to something approaching logical.

The Earl is a vampire. He's gorgeous. He has a butler, who is also gorgeous. The Earl has an uncle (his mother's brother) who hates his guts because a) uncle thinks Earl's father killed Earl's mother by forcing her to marry him (which he did), b) uncle hate vampires and Earl is a vampire, and c) uncle is jealous of Earl's wealth. Earl has to marry to inherit a lot of money that otherwise would go to the uncle. As he can't have that, he decides to marry his loyal and obedient butler. They have a secret rite in a secret underground chamber with the Earl's friend as witness, which apparently is enough to fulfill the requirements of the will (I don't understand how that could be legally allowable, but who am I to question such things?). Nothing much changes between the Earl and butler besides one kiss in the middle of the street to "prove" to the uncle that their marriage isn't a sham, after which the Earl slaps the butler for his insolence.

Then we have the big betrayal. The butler is working for the uncle! Butler's brother had been killed by a vampire, thus he hates vampires! He will get his revenge on Earl by helping the uncle steal the Earl's fortune! And use Earl sexually! Earl is drugged out and fucked for quite a while. He angsts, naturally, and we learn lots of contradictory "facts" from the past as well as some of his "true" feelings. This includes the fact that the Earl had been whored out by his mother as a child because she hated him so much, including to the servants. He'd never been loved by anyone! He had become attached to butler because the butler never knew about his dirty secret and didn't treat him like dirt. But he could never show his attachment a) because his mother would use it against him and b) he has no people skills. So the betrayal was that much worse for him! The butler even reveals that he knew about the Earl's prostitution! The Earl is aloooone!!

In the end, the Earl manages to lessen his drugged food and water intake enough to be able to move. He staggers around to try to find the butler and kill him (or die trying). He gets into an altercation with the uncle instead, with the uncle falling out a window or something and dying. He's saved by butler, and we learn butler's "true" feelings. He initially hated the Earl for being a vampire, but then became attached to the Earl over time. He also resented the fact that the Earl treated him like a piece of furniture. Thus he had jumped at the chance to make the Earl his. He had rejoiced at the fact that the Earl saw him clearly enough to hate his guts and want to kill him. But now they had no reason to act like jerks to each other! True love prevails!

Turns out, btw, that the Earl had awakened to his vampiric nature while entertaining a customer and had killed him. Earl's mother, frightened by him, had fallen down the stairs and had died. Earl had been traumatized, so when he was found by butler (naturally) he was made to forget it all by butler (magical repeat the "it never happened" mantra to a shocked little child and they actually do forget!).

I think I made the story sound much more logical than it actually was. I guess cutting out all the extraneous description that only serve to muddy the picture really helps. ^^;

I love butler betrayal. And kids being pimped by their parents. And "I love you so much I hate you and need to drug you and fuck you into the mattress!" done with such single-minded retardedness. There's just something so delightfully over-the-top about these kinds of situations. XD The only big disappointment was how unimportant the vampire thing was except as a reason for people to hate the Earl.

( pretty pics! )

I was flipping through a novel I randomly picked up the other day when I was struck by how much I like the color insert (see left, click for bigger pic). I love how it's off-center and cut off. I never thought of writing about this particular novel because...it's irritating. I don't even particularly like the novel because of my personal problems with it, but despite everything I am oddly compelled to go back and skim through it every so often.

Sentimental Sexualis (I can't believe how silly the title is) is by Sunahara Touko and illustrated by Yamada Sakurako. I bought it when I first fell in love with Sunahara Touko (I've summarized two of her books already, here and here). This is definitely one that made me realize I wasn't going to like every book she writes. ^^;


Aihara Harumi is a third-rate model with almost no redeeming qualities (at least, in my opinion he doesn't...). He's been living with his boyfriend Manabe Sousuke whom he doesn't think of as his boyfriend for a number of years. Sousuke had been a student at Harumi's father's dojo and they had attended the same high school. At the end of high school Sousuke had confessed to Harumi, showing him his savings account balance and telling him he'll make him happy. Harumi, for a reason that escapes him for most of the book, says yes. But he despises gays and treats Sousuke like a servant even as they engage in what can only be described as gay sex (no penetration, though). Harumi is vain, not very bright, selfish, and silly. Sousuke is quiet and patient and very smart (he's in graduate school studying either engineering or science, I can't remember right now). Things start to change, their relationship falls apart, Harumi (and we the readers) realize (learn about) some very important things. It...all makes sense. Harumi's really annoying behavior of pushing Sousuke away (regularly cheating on him) even as he demands Sousuke to indulge his every whim, his inability to accept the reality of their relationship. Most of it is due to Harumi's personality, but some of it is due to external factors. I guess the hardest part to understand is Sousuke's attachment to Harumi (because Harumi is pretty worthless), but his affection (and frustration) feels genuine enough that I can (reluctantly) chalk it up to the "love is blind/crazy/totally illogical" concept.

What else makes me view this book in a positive light is that the sex isn't typical BL stuff. Harumi comes very fast and many times, and is very conscious of it. But because he can't accept that he doesn't measure up to what makes a man good in bed, he makes excuses. He decides that he's normal and that Sousuke is just incredibly slow. They don't have anal sex for years and years and it's kind of an issue but not. The sex is kind of dirty (not a good dirty) and not really erotic, unlike too many BL sex scenes where the sex is elevated way too high. It helps that the art is very nice and very appropriate.

Yamada Sakurako does men very well. The older the men the better they look. She has lots of lovely illustrations on her blog. I love the cover illustration she did for Suite Room ni ai no mitsu (bigger pic here on her blog), which is about the "gorgeous love" of a hotel doorman and the owner of a rival hotel. Unfortunately I really don't like the author, otherwise I'd have so bought the book. Yeah, I'm shallow. I can buy a book almost solely on the cover. He's wearing a partially undone uniform! If only it was written by almost any other author (I only have three authors I refuse to ever buy books from)...


I picked out Kuchiduke wa arashi no yokan by Kuibara Harumo and illustrated by Asato Eiri to stick in this post because the art is pretty and because I thought Asato Eiri did a very nice job drawing an older man (and I was writing about how Yamada Sakurako does older men well). All she did was draw some lines on the face to give an impression of age, but it worked! This is linked to two books Kuibara-sensei had written previously. In one of them the uke in this book is sort of the bad guy who interferes with his younger brother's gay romance. I didn't realize until I got to the afterward that this book was a linked book. I should've realized it when the uke's brother was gay and he and his lover played a decently prominent (if minor) role. In any case, the uke is an uptight doctor. He meets up with a random guy much older than him while sopping drunk and sleeps with him. He's horrified the next morning and decides to forget about the whole incident. Unfortunately, seme isn't going to let him off so easily. He sets up an omiai with his younger sister to lure the uke out and proceeds to seduce him. He carefully but relentlessly pursues the uke, never forcing him but not letting up either. Uke resists him fiercely but never manages to succeed.

This isn't a very original book, but it's a rather pleasant read. I personally really like an uptight uke whose initial resistance is slowly, patiently worn down by a loving seme. The seme's maturity and life experience totally makes him so attractive. I love that he'd loved his wife dearly and that he'd lost her to illness. I love when we see a bit of weakness and insecurity in him as well. I love that he can admit his weakness and insecurity. And above all I love his bit of "meanness" towards the uke at the end (which, of course, is totally not). Okay, I admit it. I really like the seme. I don't dislike the uke, it's just that the seme is really great. ^^;

( more pretty pics )

The beautiful music I was listening to while typing this post up:
Run by Leona Lewis (cover of Snow Patrol)
Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg
Iris ~Shiawase no Hako~ by Salyu
I Hate You, Cause I Love You by Dorothy

Aisareru kizoku no hanayome written by Tono Haruhi and illustrated by Asato Eiri is the other book in the "Kizoku" series I referred to in my summary of the S&M-fest of prettiness. As the title indicates (tr. Beloved Bride of the Nobility), this features cross-dressing person-switching arranged marriage (okay, the title doesn't quite indicate all that, but you know what I mean...). I eat this trope up, as long as it's not done in a completely crappy way. And this is not done in a crappy way (well, depends on one's definition of "crap"...), it's just completely conventional. The uke is such a female heroine stand-in it's mind-boggling, but I found him rather endearing. It was hard to be irritated at his more wimpy aspects because the author was just so intent on making him behave exactly like a heroine-with-secret/issues-except-with-dick. Also, I'm a sucker for the polite language used by the servants and Kazuha and how it contrasts with the more blunt commanding language used by Sou. The other "Kazoku" series book was mostly full of conversation between equals, so they didn't use the more formal language. :P

In any case, the basic premise of the story: Takayanagi Kazuha's life is turned upside down when his twin sister dies in an accident right before her marriage to Shigenoi Sou, heir of Count Shigenoi. The Takayanagi family, honorable and ancient and titled, was on its way to bankruptcy. The only way to save it was the marriage to the wealthy Shigenoi family. But even as they contemplate loss of everything, Sou proposes that Kazuha take the place of his dead sister and marry him....And things proceed in the most cliched manner possible. No, really. I don't think there is a single original or surprising thing in this...


( pics and summary )

I had to fight the urge to mock the story more as I wrote the summary...It's just too easy. ^_~

Does anyone have the drama CD of this book? I'm interested in listening to it (polite language!) but haven't been able to find it so far...