Wild Roses and Pretenders Vol. 2

Wild Roses and Pretenders #2

by Kamoburger

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL…?

After a successful ruse at the ball, Noah is ready to leave his role as Rupert’s pretend lover. But on the day of a long-awaited festival, the two profess their feelings to one another, shedding the word “pretend” once and for all!

While they’ve finally found happiness with each other, a series of bad news soon plagues the lovers. With both at the mercy of their entwined fates, will their love prevail?

FINAL VOLUME

Genres: Manga, Romance, Yaoi, Fantasy, Comics, LGBT, Boys Love

184 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2025

Reviews

[Peppa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, so here’s the thing…the story had potential, I actually enjoyed the overall idea, but the pacing completely threw it off for me. It felt like everything was in fast-forward. Nothing had the time to breathe. The plot itself could’ve easily been stretched into five volumes and honestly, should have been. Instead, it rushed through moments that were supposed to hit emotionally and just… didn’t.

Because of that, the characters ended up feeling kind of flat. Not because they didn’t have anything going on, but because the story didn’t give us the space to sit with them. Especially when something big happened, like the kidnapping in volume two or when the ML suddenly pulled a gun on his dad…i was like, wait, what?? This just came out of nowhere with barely any buildup.
Same thing with the death of the MC’s mom. It should have been a devastating moment, but it just kind of happened and then the story kept going like nothing. There wasn’t enough time to feel anything. And that really killed the emotional weight this story could’ve had.

Also…the romance? They went on one date, had sex, and then suddenly we’re supposed to believe they’re in love. I’m all for love developing fast in stories if the shift is believable but here, we never really get that moment where either of them clearly starts falling. Like, give me something. A shift in how they look at each other, a scene where something clicks. But this just felt like insta-love with no foundation.

So yeah, I liked the story at its core. It had a lot of potential. But the pacing and lack of character development really held it back. I'm not mad I read it, but I’m disappointed because this could have been so much better if the author just slowed down and let the story breathe.

[rory (jess' version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was wondering in the first volume why it felt rushed and i just realized this was supposed to be a short story LOL anw this was just too sweet (i meant it in a good way)

[Melicat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume two was just as cute as the first one! There was a little conflict but it got resolved really quickly which I didn’t mind since this volume was only four chapters, it made sense for the pacing. I liked how everything wrapped up and the finale was really sweet. They both found each other in the end and are finally happy, which gave me the satisfaction I needed. I absolutely adore them and I loved seeing their story come full circle.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, all you need is a cliché with a simple story and gorgeous art. Rupert and Noah are so sweet and devoted it had me smiling throughout. Definitely recommend if you're looking for something fluffy.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not like this as much as the first. A lot of this was just the two characters professing their love to each other and to others and lots of thanking god. It got so chaotic in the center and overall I just felt confused reading this, because it made me question what I liked so much about the first one lol. This wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be. I'm disappointed.

[⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick read. Conflict resolution was super fast. This was a love letter to their mothers that they lost, which was pretty cute. The spice was pretty, lightsabers in my physical copy unfortunately.

Overall, cute art. Love me some size difference

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

there was a gun. like why. use a knife the esthetic would have been better.
cute
emotional .
smutty.

[Hannah Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touches well on grief

I’m glad they have each other through the pain. I still have dreams, too, and sudden bouts of grief. It never hurts less, it just eventually hurts differently, I’ve discovered. Anyway, this book showed it well.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably need to be in the right mood for this series, since I'd absolutely adored the sweetness of the first volume, and found the second a little too...easy, really. Any attempts at gritty topics or serious, difficult scenarios were swiftly wiped away, continuing the theme of everything feeling a little bit too fast-paced.

But it's still a lovely storyline, and it's nice to see both of them finding happiness in each other, and in themselves. Noah especially is working really hard to learn everything he can and to be a true partner to his noble husband, despite his common birth. Rupert is...well, it would've been interesting if he'd actually sacrificed anything by throwing away his dukedom for love, but his father relented pretty much immediately and restored his title, so that was pretty low stakes.

Noah's grief over losing his mother (an unfair plot point, I thought, after how the first volume ended) also went by a little too quickly, but I did appreciate that there were attempts to make the two characters bond over their shared losses and the realization that grief never fully goes away. You just learn to deal with it, and to pursue happiness beyond the sorrow.

I'll revisit whenever I feel like a really sappy series, even though I wish it'd wound up with a bit more of a backbone. I think my favorite part might've been the bonus chapter about their first time together, which had more of the bittersweet, falling-in-love tone of the first volume that I'd loved so much.

[Zian B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a 3.5 star rating;
I really loved all of Noah and Rupert’s relationship progression that happened in this volume, and especially with how things ended. I’m rating this volume lower than the first one because I wish things between Rupert’s stepmother and Noah were shown a bit clearer, instead of just being spoken about.
Another reason I gave this volume 3.5 stars instead of a full-4 stars is because things were spoken about involving Rupert’s father and his birth mother that, while insightful, left me wondering about the specifics of their dynamic early on; I wish this series had gotten a 3rd volume to explore that more and to give Rupert’s stepmother actual consequences for her actions.
Overall though, I did really enjoy this short manga series and it was a nice read.

[J-Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume one: phenomenal. Chapters that flow together and tell a cohesive story. Noah being adorbs!

Volume two: okay. Abrupt chapters that that tell individual snapshots that are all based on the same characters in the same world, but each chapter could be its own standalone short story. Noah still a little cutie.

As a combined unit, the only factor that really stands out is Noah’s cuteness….. otherwise, it’s a forgettable story that feels like nothing really happens in terms of plot. Did anything actually happen to the stepmom? Sure, the one guy got closure with his trauma about his mom, but that’s about it….

[Sarah Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is an improvement to the previous volume as we see these two as a couple, and there's no more wonky pacing of them falling in love. Instead it's the two of them facing off with Rupert's father and dealing with Noah's grief, showing why I should want them to be together in what they do for each other. And the art continues to be stunning!

[Kendra Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was cute, and the art was pretty, but it could have benefitted from more character development and better pace. Also perhaps more external conflict (I am glad the characters didn't have silly misunderstandings that tend to happen in BL).

[Ash Law · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded down. One of the only saving graces for this manga was the art style (most of the time.) However, there were one too many panels where Noah looked like a literal child (he's supposed to be 19???) and while the first volume wasn't any better with that, it still had better pacing. This volume felt rushed. I felt like it could have used more substance, or just been omitted completely. This series was such a let down.

[Ryofire · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story still felt a little rushed in volume 1, and volume 2 was a bit too fluffy at times, but generally the art is nice (even with Rupert's huge hands), even with the over the top costumes, but generally it's a nice little historical fantasy boys love manga.

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was sweet but I enjoyed the angst from the first one a lot more…

[Heather’s Reading Bubble · Rating 3 out of 5]

This being the final volume of the series is disappointing I feel it needed to go on longer and be more fleshed out due to that this is right in the middle, not horrible but not great either.

[Niki.reads.rainbow · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the story isn’t unique, I really like the characters, and the art style is really pretty.

[Mosley · Rating 3 out of 5]

For such a short series this sure was a roller coaster of emotions.

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Siento que le faltaron más volúmenes a la historia. El dibujo es lo que más resalto y ahí está lo único bueno de la historia.