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ムシシリーズ #4
愛の罠にはまれ！
ハイクラス種オオスズメバチ出身の篤郎は、過去に深く傷つけた義理の兄・郁への罪悪感から立ち直れず、幸せになってはいけないと自分を責め続けて生きていた。そんなある日、以前の篤郎を知り尽くしたヘラクレスオオカブト出身の兜と再会する。今は有名政治家の秘書をしているという博愛主義の兜。こちらを軽蔑しているはずなのに、なぜかつきまとわれ優しくされて、篤郎の頑なな心は次第にほどけていく。そんな時、篤郎の体に重大な変化があらわれ!?
愛と許しの擬人化チックファンタジー登場!!
愛と許しの擬人化チックファンタジー登場!!
- GenresJapanese LiteratureYaoi
370 pages, Paperback
First published September 19, 2014
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 12, 2017
so i dunno if you remembered my review from the last volume, but i gave an honorable mention to atsurou and wrote how i HOPED like omg HOOOOOPED misao would bring this guy back in her later volumes. i already knew kabuto (from books 1 and 3) would show up again in this volume and play the main seme role, BUT I HAD NO EFFIN' IDEA THAT MISAO WOULD BLESS ME BY NOT JUST BRINGING ATSUROU BACK, BUT WRITE IT IN HIS POV. THIS VOLUME IS ESSENTIALLY ATSUROU'S STORY. man, was i excited when i read the frickin' summary at the back of the book. i was eating a burger from burger king in spain (bc i'm such an awesome tourist, eating frickin' american fast food ABROAD) and i legit forgot about my burger. fuck the burger, THIS IS IN ATSUROU'S POV!!!!
i actually don't even know where to begin since, as much as i looooooooooved the beginning, this left me with a lot of mixed feelings. but let's do a quick summary:
atsurou's bug origin is a top class, asian giant hornet. his mother died when he was too young to remember. since his father was constantly working outside, he grew up alone with the maid being the only presence in the house. just like any kid, he wanted to see his father more and to feel like someone was paying attention to him. but typical of a top-class family, he was taught to suck it up, and be strong, because that is expected of the people of the top class. when he was 7 years old, his father remarried to a low-class woman, and the woman brang along iku, his sick, older step-brother (iku's story is in book 3). atsurou is grateful for the now, lively atmosphere that the two people brought into his life. unlike his father and even his wet-nurse - who treats him as an adult despite being a kid - his step-mother treats him like the kid he is. she loves him unconditionally and spoils him with attention and affection. she shows him HOW to love. with that very love, he cherishes his new brother, and tries everything in his limited power to make iku happy.
iku's immune system is incredibly weak and he gets sick very easily. the doctor tells the family that iku won't be able to live past 30 years old, if he even make it to adulthood. despite his father's stern warning to leave iku alone so his health won't deteriorate, atsurou continues to do what he can to fulfill iku's wishes to be a normal, happy kid - play in the snow during the winter, see the rapeseed blossoms under the evening's sky, etc. but every time iku got sick in consequence, his father would beat atsurou and punish him (for example, locking atsurou up in the storage room during the winter to essentially freeze). atsurou loves iku and he's scared that there's nothing that he can do to protect iku from death. with his father beatings (even though atsurou claims that the beatings wasn't the main issue), not being recognized or treated with (or shown) love by his father, his mother not protecting him any further from his father's punishment and the fear that her actual love for him is limited, as well as the constant reminder that iku will face death soon and there's nothing he can do about it, atsurou eventually wasn't able to handle the stress and increasing fear anymore.
when he was younger, he was confident that he would be able to protect iku. but as he got older, reality started to settled in, and when he turned 15 years old, he ran away from his home, his guilt and fears, and immersed himself with drugs. after being BITCH SLAPPED by his stupid af decisions years later (hello?!??? duh??? remembered how he fucked up iku in book 3??? like, bruh???!!) he got himself into rehab, and 3 years later, he now works as a part-timer in a daycare center.
that's essentially a summary of atsurou's past. THE BEGINNING OF THIS BOOK IS DARK. VEEEERY DARK. atsurou doesn't have drugs anymore to hide from his own emotions, and so he suffers from an extraordinary guilt, depression, and suicidal thoughts. it was... almost kind of hard to read at times, and i desperately wanted him to find happiness because i couldn't stand reading about his pain anymore.
so this book started out pretty amazing and i had HIGH HOPES for this. when kabuto came into the picture, i was like YES, THANK YOU. kabuto was shady as shit to me in book 1 (until that bicycle scene with tsubasa lol), and he was a chill, cool ass guy in book 3. so i thought he would be the perfect guy to help ease away atsurou's pain. UH... I THOUGHT????? i don't know what misao was thinking with her "asshole seme logic" in this one, because...
// SPOILER //
kabuto was a fucking, yandere, shitty asshole through and through. he rapes atsurou (more than once), purposely says things to crush and hurt atsurou's feelings (who is fragile when it comes to having his feelings hurt, like c'mon!!!!), slaps him, kidnaps him and locks him up in his 2nd home so he wouldn't be able to escape, etc. i don't care if he was jealous, kabuto = asshole, duh?!?!? i mean, this did NOT go in the direction that i had hoped. what i wanted was a knightly seme in shiny armor to soothe atsurou's broken heart and soul. instead, he does the complete opposite!!!!! again!! and again!! and again!!!!!
// END OF SPOILER //
it wasn't until atsurou became pregnant (oh yeah, did i mention this has mpreg? atsurou fucked up his immune system with all those drugs and acquired a rare virus that is determined to have its gene spread to a new host, i.e. an offspring. if the current human host does not get pregnant in the next year, the virus will die and bring the human host along with him. what's interesting is that all you need to do to avoid death is to get pregnant - not necessarily give birth to it. so even if you abort it, you will still live. if you choose to give birth, there are vaccines to stop the parasite from getting into the offspring, and birth is done via c-section.) and was physically separated from kabuto by kabuto's old classmates, sumiya (who is a cool af, sweet, amazing doctor that specializes in male pregnancy and rare low-class diseases) and maya (MAYA!!!!! he is now the director of their alma matar: seihoku academy) in fear that kabuto would end up harming atsurou (and the fetus).
quick summary about kabuto: his bug origin is a hercules giant beetle, and he comes from a family of top-class politicians. he works as the secretary for a well-known politician, and is expected to run for office and get elected within the parliament, get married to a top-class woman, and have a family. kabuto values duty to his family and to society.
// SPOILER //
BUT EVEN AFTER FALLING IN LOVE WITH ATSUROU (his love is so warped, if i do swear - which i don't - but if i did, ISTG), he tells atsurou that he plans on marrying a woman via arranged marriage and use atsurou as a male mistress on the side. kabuto didn't OPEN HIS EYES and realize the kind of love that atsurou wanted until....... he was forced too.
did i manage to like kabuto in the end? granted, misao wrote him as a better person with a conscious to not hurt the very person that he loves, both physically and verbally. and so... i guess (???) my heart kind of warmed up to him (???).... somewhat??? i honestly just wanted atsurou to be happy, and so if kabuto's presence in his and his child's life = happiness, then go ahead bruh. you do you.
but srsly though, reading about how much kabuto was trying so hard to be a better person for atsurou, and how MUCH he really loved him, made me enjoy the last bits of the story. SEE, WHY COULDN'T KABUTO BE LIKE THIS FROM THE BEGINNING?!????
// END OF SPOILER //
i just wished the transition of atsurou falling in love with kabuto was more detailed. i get that atsurou had feelings for the guy from way in the past, but why? is it because kabuto protects and continues to protect the weak, like how atsurou had always thought and strived to do but failed to deliver when he ended up hurting the very people he wanted to protect? is it also because kabuto noticed atsurou when he needed it the most, and is able to alleviate his painful loneliness? and help him realize things about himself that he didn't know? huh.
additionally, the ending left me wanting more... misao could have ended it a bit cleaner. another scene with a more complete conclusion would have made a huge difference imho, especially with this not including an epilogue like with her other books. the way she concluded it had me hanging on that cliff like, "...really, that's it?"
unlike the previous volumes, book 4 is ONLY in atsurou's pov. there's no part 1 and 2. there's no extra story. no epilogue. the ebook version doesn't even include the author's atogaki (after thoughts) in the end and i had to hunt down a copy of the physical book to read misao's thoughts.
previous characters from books 1 and 3 come back to play here with important roles: sumiya, maya, kabuto (with tsubasa being mentioned but not actually shown) from book 1; iku, kabuto, and atsurou (with touya being mentioned but not shown) from book 3. SO DEFINITELY READ BOOK 1 AND 3 BEFORE READING THIS VOLUME!!!
// SPOILER //
AND THE REUNIONS IN THE END WITH IKU AND HIS STEPMOM??? OMFG. FEELS. FEEEELS!!!!! (i almost whimpered like a lil' baby when atsurou was cying out for his mother while he was sick in pain...)
// END OF SPOILER //
atsurou is absolutely beautiful in this, and is my favorite "misao uke" so far. kabuto... ugh. but this gets a 4/5 from me because i really enjoyed reading this, and i definitely plan on re-reading this again. i bought my own physical copy with the tokuten booklet from comicomi, so i am hoping (!!!) that misao includes a baby, or atsurou giving birth, or even the two discussing what to name the baby.... SOMETHING WITH A BABY, HELLO, in this. i'll review the extra story from the tokuten booklet here once i get my copy and read it.
oh, i forgot to mention: I REALLY LIKE THE FACT THAT THIS IS TOP CLASS x TOP CLASS. it reminds me of alpha x alpha stories in abo... lol ok, i need to end this. until book 5!
i actually don't even know where to begin since, as much as i looooooooooved the beginning, this left me with a lot of mixed feelings. but let's do a quick summary:
atsurou's bug origin is a top class, asian giant hornet. his mother died when he was too young to remember. since his father was constantly working outside, he grew up alone with the maid being the only presence in the house. just like any kid, he wanted to see his father more and to feel like someone was paying attention to him. but typical of a top-class family, he was taught to suck it up, and be strong, because that is expected of the people of the top class. when he was 7 years old, his father remarried to a low-class woman, and the woman brang along iku, his sick, older step-brother (iku's story is in book 3). atsurou is grateful for the now, lively atmosphere that the two people brought into his life. unlike his father and even his wet-nurse - who treats him as an adult despite being a kid - his step-mother treats him like the kid he is. she loves him unconditionally and spoils him with attention and affection. she shows him HOW to love. with that very love, he cherishes his new brother, and tries everything in his limited power to make iku happy.
iku's immune system is incredibly weak and he gets sick very easily. the doctor tells the family that iku won't be able to live past 30 years old, if he even make it to adulthood. despite his father's stern warning to leave iku alone so his health won't deteriorate, atsurou continues to do what he can to fulfill iku's wishes to be a normal, happy kid - play in the snow during the winter, see the rapeseed blossoms under the evening's sky, etc. but every time iku got sick in consequence, his father would beat atsurou and punish him (for example, locking atsurou up in the storage room during the winter to essentially freeze). atsurou loves iku and he's scared that there's nothing that he can do to protect iku from death. with his father beatings (even though atsurou claims that the beatings wasn't the main issue), not being recognized or treated with (or shown) love by his father, his mother not protecting him any further from his father's punishment and the fear that her actual love for him is limited, as well as the constant reminder that iku will face death soon and there's nothing he can do about it, atsurou eventually wasn't able to handle the stress and increasing fear anymore.
when he was younger, he was confident that he would be able to protect iku. but as he got older, reality started to settled in, and when he turned 15 years old, he ran away from his home, his guilt and fears, and immersed himself with drugs. after being BITCH SLAPPED by his stupid af decisions years later (hello?!??? duh??? remembered how he fucked up iku in book 3??? like, bruh???!!) he got himself into rehab, and 3 years later, he now works as a part-timer in a daycare center.
that's essentially a summary of atsurou's past. THE BEGINNING OF THIS BOOK IS DARK. VEEEERY DARK. atsurou doesn't have drugs anymore to hide from his own emotions, and so he suffers from an extraordinary guilt, depression, and suicidal thoughts. it was... almost kind of hard to read at times, and i desperately wanted him to find happiness because i couldn't stand reading about his pain anymore.
so this book started out pretty amazing and i had HIGH HOPES for this. when kabuto came into the picture, i was like YES, THANK YOU. kabuto was shady as shit to me in book 1 (until that bicycle scene with tsubasa lol), and he was a chill, cool ass guy in book 3. so i thought he would be the perfect guy to help ease away atsurou's pain. UH... I THOUGHT????? i don't know what misao was thinking with her "asshole seme logic" in this one, because...
// SPOILER //
kabuto was a fucking, yandere, shitty asshole through and through. he rapes atsurou (more than once), purposely says things to crush and hurt atsurou's feelings (who is fragile when it comes to having his feelings hurt, like c'mon!!!!), slaps him, kidnaps him and locks him up in his 2nd home so he wouldn't be able to escape, etc. i don't care if he was jealous, kabuto = asshole, duh?!?!? i mean, this did NOT go in the direction that i had hoped. what i wanted was a knightly seme in shiny armor to soothe atsurou's broken heart and soul. instead, he does the complete opposite!!!!! again!! and again!! and again!!!!!
// END OF SPOILER //
it wasn't until atsurou became pregnant (oh yeah, did i mention this has mpreg? atsurou fucked up his immune system with all those drugs and acquired a rare virus that is determined to have its gene spread to a new host, i.e. an offspring. if the current human host does not get pregnant in the next year, the virus will die and bring the human host along with him. what's interesting is that all you need to do to avoid death is to get pregnant - not necessarily give birth to it. so even if you abort it, you will still live. if you choose to give birth, there are vaccines to stop the parasite from getting into the offspring, and birth is done via c-section.) and was physically separated from kabuto by kabuto's old classmates, sumiya (who is a cool af, sweet, amazing doctor that specializes in male pregnancy and rare low-class diseases) and maya (MAYA!!!!! he is now the director of their alma matar: seihoku academy) in fear that kabuto would end up harming atsurou (and the fetus).
quick summary about kabuto: his bug origin is a hercules giant beetle, and he comes from a family of top-class politicians. he works as the secretary for a well-known politician, and is expected to run for office and get elected within the parliament, get married to a top-class woman, and have a family. kabuto values duty to his family and to society.
// SPOILER //
BUT EVEN AFTER FALLING IN LOVE WITH ATSUROU (his love is so warped, if i do swear - which i don't - but if i did, ISTG), he tells atsurou that he plans on marrying a woman via arranged marriage and use atsurou as a male mistress on the side. kabuto didn't OPEN HIS EYES and realize the kind of love that atsurou wanted until....... he was forced too.
did i manage to like kabuto in the end? granted, misao wrote him as a better person with a conscious to not hurt the very person that he loves, both physically and verbally. and so... i guess (???) my heart kind of warmed up to him (???).... somewhat??? i honestly just wanted atsurou to be happy, and so if kabuto's presence in his and his child's life = happiness, then go ahead bruh. you do you.
but srsly though, reading about how much kabuto was trying so hard to be a better person for atsurou, and how MUCH he really loved him, made me enjoy the last bits of the story. SEE, WHY COULDN'T KABUTO BE LIKE THIS FROM THE BEGINNING?!????
// END OF SPOILER //
i just wished the transition of atsurou falling in love with kabuto was more detailed. i get that atsurou had feelings for the guy from way in the past, but why? is it because kabuto protects and continues to protect the weak, like how atsurou had always thought and strived to do but failed to deliver when he ended up hurting the very people he wanted to protect? is it also because kabuto noticed atsurou when he needed it the most, and is able to alleviate his painful loneliness? and help him realize things about himself that he didn't know? huh.
additionally, the ending left me wanting more... misao could have ended it a bit cleaner. another scene with a more complete conclusion would have made a huge difference imho, especially with this not including an epilogue like with her other books. the way she concluded it had me hanging on that cliff like, "...really, that's it?"
unlike the previous volumes, book 4 is ONLY in atsurou's pov. there's no part 1 and 2. there's no extra story. no epilogue. the ebook version doesn't even include the author's atogaki (after thoughts) in the end and i had to hunt down a copy of the physical book to read misao's thoughts.
previous characters from books 1 and 3 come back to play here with important roles: sumiya, maya, kabuto (with tsubasa being mentioned but not actually shown) from book 1; iku, kabuto, and atsurou (with touya being mentioned but not shown) from book 3. SO DEFINITELY READ BOOK 1 AND 3 BEFORE READING THIS VOLUME!!!
// SPOILER //
AND THE REUNIONS IN THE END WITH IKU AND HIS STEPMOM??? OMFG. FEELS. FEEEELS!!!!! (i almost whimpered like a lil' baby when atsurou was cying out for his mother while he was sick in pain...)
// END OF SPOILER //
atsurou is absolutely beautiful in this, and is my favorite "misao uke" so far. kabuto... ugh. but this gets a 4/5 from me because i really enjoyed reading this, and i definitely plan on re-reading this again. i bought my own physical copy with the tokuten booklet from comicomi, so i am hoping (!!!) that misao includes a baby, or atsurou giving birth, or even the two discussing what to name the baby.... SOMETHING WITH A BABY, HELLO, in this. i'll review the extra story from the tokuten booklet here once i get my copy and read it.
oh, i forgot to mention: I REALLY LIKE THE FACT THAT THIS IS TOP CLASS x TOP CLASS. it reminds me of alpha x alpha stories in abo... lol ok, i need to end this. until book 5!
September 25, 2024
Fourth book in the Bug series. It features the stepbrother of the uke from the last volume after he got out of drug rehab. The first third of the book focusing on the MC’s regrets is pretty decent. Just when I thought this is the first volume in the series not being tropey 1/3 of the way in, seme becomes a possessive psycho, non-con starts to happen, and keeps happening, and sprinkles in some domestic violence and lock-up. Voilà, back to trope 🙄 The story also drags on waaaaay too long. So glad that it was borrowed from kindle unlimited.
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