Elisa Rolle's Blog, page 47

Black Sun by Uki Ogasawara

 

Gerun Fortress, under the command of Officer Leonard de Limbourg, is attacked by the prestigious general Jemaru Jan of the Middle Eastern Empire. With no hope of winning, Leonard offers his head in exchange for the safety of any survivors left in the fortress. But Jemaru isn't into executions, and torturing prisoners of war is much more interesting. Forced to sleep with a man that is his enemy, Leonard's feelings of shame overtake his mind, but lust overtakes his body...

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/4d4R9XF)


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Engage by Yuu Minaduki

 

The greatest love is one that surmounts even the greatest obstacles in this romance featuring Naru from the Love Nest series.

When a young chef confesses his love to a mysterious and attractive older stranger, he’s drawn into a deep web of intrigue and buried family history that could threaten his attraction to the only man he’s ever loved.

The highlight of chef Mei Suzumori’s year is the Tanabata Festival—the one day a year when a pair of mythical lovers reunites. For Mei, it’s the day that a mysterious, handsome stranger visits his adopted family’s restaurant to buy tasty seasonal taiyaki. This year, unable to hold his feelings for the attractive stranger back any longer, Mei professes his love—and finds he’s linked to the enigmatic Naru by a bond much deeper and more complicated than he ever imagined.

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/4b4wwJ9)


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Time Remaining by James McCourt

I'm glad to have helped James McCourt bringing this book to its reprint: amzn.to/49L4Nwa

"Well, it just sings." -Susan Sontag

"'Drugs, dick, disco, and dish-remember?' That's how the drag queen Miss Mae Mae describes the good times in James McCourt's 1993 novel, 

Time Remaining. She is on her deathbed, clutching a stuffed bear, and she marvels at how suddenly those words have been replaced by 'dysentery, dementia, despair, and death.' Miss Mae Mae's final quip is relayed by Odette O'Doyle, a 'polymath drag-queen diva, ' to Daniel Delancey, an orphaned performance artist, as they ride the midnight train to Montauk. Odette and Delancey are the sole survivors of a raucous group of drag queens called the Eleven Against Heaven, which AIDS has decimated. Odette has just returned from depositing the ashes of the Eleven in various European bodies of water: Miss Mae Mae in the Rhine, Miss Faith Healy in the Liffey, Miss Charity Ward 'upon still waters in the fjord at Ålesund." As she recounts the rites for Delancey, she immerses us in stories of the Eleven, and surfaces a singular history of mid-century queer New York." -The New Yorker

"McCourt is that rarest of contemporary American authors-a true iconoclast, a devoted high stylist, and a holder of the unfashionable opinion that prose is a natural extrovert and beauty that deserves the brightest polish, the best accessories, the most extravagant costumes." -Dennis Cooper, author of Closer and Frisk

"What makes Time Remaining an extraordinary animal among so many, varied gay books that came to life in the 1970s, 80s and 90s? It's a celebration of the survival instincts that define gay life. The use of dark humor is the building and defense of our semantic canon which results in an aggressively earned comfort with the world." -Tim Young, from his introduction to the new edition

James McCourt is the author of multiple works of fiction and nonfiction. He is best known for his acclaimed 1971 debut novel Mawrdew Czgowchwz (pronounced Mardu Gorgeous) which is currently available with the New York Review Books Classics imprint. Queer Street: The Rise and Fall of an American Culture, 1947-85, published in 2003, was identified by The New York Times as an "heroically imaginative account of gay metropolitan culture, an elegy and an apologia for a generation."
Tim Young has been thinking and writing about the role of literature and music in the narrative of life for many decades. In addition to a series of essays on popular culture for Design Observer, he has contributed work for The Yale Review.

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Our Sweet One-Room Apartment by Kamoburger

 

A Mature-rated Boys' Love manga about miscommunication, cohabitation, and love between two college students in Hokkaido!

Kaname and Shima have been living together for a year. They have sex almost every day, and things are going well for the couple--at least until Kaname begins to think he's a sex addict and starts avoiding sex with Shima. Shima, on the other hand, mistakenly believes Kaname is bored of him. Will their long-awaited trip to Tokyo resolve this misunderstanding before it snowballs into an avalanche?

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/4d8hrIA)

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Jazz for Two (2024)

 Jazz for Two has a nice story, cute main leads, at least two worthy gay relationships, the music captivating, the cinematography really nice. It would have been probably a full mark for me if not for the lack of intimacy, meaning there are some nice kisses, pretty much innocent like, and that all. Now I'm not saying I want a porn scene, but well, maybe a little bit more teasing? But overall, it kept my interest alive, and, I reapet, all the actors looked like a selection for a boy band. HEA. You can see it on GagaOOLala. Heat Level: 2/6.

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Heat Level:1/6: glances, caress, hugs, no kisses2/6: kisses, closed mouth or camera angles3/6: full kisses, clothes on4/6: full kisses, some clothes off, hands above the waist, pants stay on5/6: most clothes off, they have sex, but it’s masked, no sexy sounds6/6: full nudity mostly hidden by camera angles, they have sex, sexy sounds


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Unknown (2024)

 I know that people is raving about this Taiwanese drama, Unknown, and yes, I can understand that is lyrical, emotional, intense and real, but it was also too much brainy. Most of the drama is filmed during night or inside dark/gloomy rooms, and this gives out the idea of oppression (at least to me). It's significant that one of the last scene (episode 11), sees Wei Qian and Wei Zhi Yuan outise, fishing... it was to me one of the most romantic scene of this drama. Probably I would not recommend it to people in a down period, and for sure not to whom like light comedy. HEA. You can see it on Viki. Heat Level: 6/6.

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Heat Level:1/6: glances, caress, hugs, no kisses2/6: kisses, closed mouth or camera angles3/6: full kisses, clothes on4/6: full kisses, some clothes off, hands above the waist, pants stay on5/6: most clothes off, they have sex, but it’s masked, no sexy sounds6/6: full nudity mostly hidden by camera angles, they have sex, sexy sounds

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Forbidden Love: Therianthropic Omegaverse by Tomochi

 

Future king Baldo the Lycan has fallen in love with a sacrifice to the gods. The forbidden love between the Alpha, who bears the expectations of the whole nation, and an Omega, a slave raised to die, begins!

My Rate: 7 (www.amazon.com/dp/B09VKSBY81)


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Desire by Yukine Honami and Maki Kazumi

 

Toru is a shy and quiet student who has a special crush on his close friend Ryoji, a popular member of the high school swim team. In front of Ryoji, Toru hides his feelings and acts as if he is just one of Ryoji's good friends, but out of the blue Ryoji confesses to Toru that he wants to try experimenting sexually with him. Toru, dazzled, can barely hide his secret desire for Ryoji and accepts his offer. As time passes, Toru's happiness begins to fade knowing that his affair with Ryoji was just a fling based out of sexual curiosity.

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/3Jm4Kw6)


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Kissing by Shouko Takaku and Teiko Sasaki

 

Ever since they were kids, college students Kazushi and Haru have been close. Friends say they act like a couple. Their birthdays are only three days apart so they always celebrate together. But an "innocent" kiss confuses things. When Kazushi reveals his feelings, the fallout threatens to drive them apart. Haru can only see him as a friend - nothing more. Why would the popular Kazushi be interested in guys in the first place? Why is Kazushi such a workaholic? These are questions that Haru must answer before life changes everything!

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/4b28SwU)


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Romantic Illusions by Reiichi Hiiro

 

Yu: shy, part-time florist. Ryo: street-walking playboy. Kaname: cool-headed defense attorney. These three couldn't be more different ― except that they share the same body! After a childhood trauma, Yu created his multiple personalities so someone would love him. But when Yu falls in love with Sugo, Ryo and Kaname's jealousy makes it nigh impossible for them to meet!

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/49NnTS9)


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