Length: 287 pages
Blurb
Sato doesn’t get out much. The anime company accountant spends his days at a desk and his nights working on his own small-scale robots. His geeky life is like a dream, but it has just one piece missing…
The world only knows outgoing playboy Aoi for his moans. The budding voice actor has sworn off relationships since they’ll only distract him from his budding voice acting career. That was until he met Sato.
As Aoi’s popularity rises and secrets about his past begin to reveal themselves, can the accountant and the voice actor rise above their problems to create something real?
Review
I have a confession to make. Like SO many of us, I one-click books
ALL the time but then never read them. I mean, who hasn't done that and
who doesn't have a Kindle full of books that grabbed our attention for
one reason or the other and then something else shiny makes us change
direction? All of this to say, I've had Amy Tasukada's Would it be Okay to Love You on
my TBR for quite some time. When the opportunity came up to read the
entire box set at one go, I jumped on the chance ... and I'm so glad I
did. Aoi and Sato were completely delightful and I found myself smiling
so often my face hurt.
I am such a fan of
reading something I know very little about. I don't know much about the
Japanese culture--just enough to fascinated though. And, I don't know
much about anime or manga, only enough to know what it is and that it's
hugely popular, so learning while I read this collection of stories was a
treat. Sato is a quiet guy who loves Gundam anime (I DO know what this
is, thanks to my son!) He's a salary-man, meaning he's an accountant, so
he's got a steady, if not exciting job. He's a nerd and shy and awkward.
He crosses paths with his total opposite, Aoi, at an anime bookstore.
Aoi is vibrant and bold--with his blond hair and green eyes he's
certainly hard to miss!--and he flirts with Sato unashamedly. This is
definitely an opposites attract kind of story. Aoi is short, less than
five feet tall, while Sato is close to six feet. Sato has dark hair,
Aoi's is dyed bright blond. Sato is quiet and unassuming, and quiet
naive in a lot of things, Aoi is brash and confident. Aoi's career as an
erotic voice actor is nothing like Sato's respectable job as an
accountant. So these two should not work, but they do. It takes a little
bit for Sato to come into his own as it were while at the same time Aoi
needs to look beneath the surface of Sato to see there's more to him
that just his geeky fanboy love of anime.
I
liked the journey these two take from harmless flirting to friendship to
boyfriends. As they learn more about one another and grow, you can see
them becoming closer and closer. The box set takes us from their
introduction and establishes the relationship, the next two novellas
shows us how Sato and Aoi navigate things once they are committed and
established. The slices of life Tasukada shows in the Year One novella
were so adorable. Everything from Sato getting hiccups during a
business meeting to worrying about what to buy one another for Christmas
to Aoi wanting a pet and the two of them catsitting for Sato's sister,
these brief glimpses show us just how far Aoi and Sato have come since
they first meet. I really enjoyed the Happy Merry Christmas
novella mostly because I was fascinated with how the holiday is
celebrated in Japan. Who knew having Kentucky Fried Chicken for
Christmas was such a big deal in Japan? I know I sure didn't!
All
in all, these stories are light hearted and sweet and will leave you
with a big smile on your face. There are few things missing, a depth of
connection between Aoi and Sato mostly, but all in all I thoroughly
enjoyed reading the entire set. If there's a Year Two coming, I know
I'll read that one too because I'd love to see how Aoi and Sato are
getting along and navigating their careers and relationship. Be sure to
check out this box set, you won't be sorry if you do!
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thank you for the review! Year Two actually comes out Sept 1st!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review!
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