So, to sum up how I feel about these books: Yoshino makes me shout out "You fucking suck" to my empty living room twice per chapter, while Hatori's relentless sexual violence and possessiveness to the point of pathology makes me put down the book to write angry reviews.
I'm halfway through the second book figuring that
the infamous rape scene in the first book was a one-off with Hatori becoming more gentle as time went by
, yet I keep getting disappointed over and over again. While I'm okay with some level of dub-con and even non-con if the story justifies it (e.g. Ai no Kusabi) or if it's actual smut (e.g. Ochiru Seija no Seppun), the pathological behavior of Hatori in these books not only warrants an actual judicial sentence, but is even painted as romantic. Yoshino, on the other hand, is so oblivious one can't help but wonder whether he's doing it for the lulz or is just that insensitive to the feelings of the people around him. The only reason I keep reading this series is that, ironically, I kind of started to enjoy seeing the characters having to put up with each other's suckiness - a kind of sadistic pleasure, if you will.
The writing itself is terrible with a conviction, although for my language learning purposes - I'm reading the Japanese version - the constant recycling of the same words and expressions works to my advantage (I've learned all the ways to say "Yoshino was bewildered", " Hatori furrowed his brow" and "Yanase smiled bitterly" in Japanese - 超便利!); hopefully they were able to make some improvements in the translation though. Furthermore, for some reason terrible writing makes for delicious sex, of which there is quite a bit, so if that floats your boat dig right in! Another plus point are the drawings, which - I believe - are supplied by Shungiku Nakamura herself. Part of my disappointment with this series is that I absolutely adore Nakamura-san's manga, which in my opinion play around with dub-con without overstepping (for the most part). The drawings, while not at the level of Nakamura-san's more recent work, come pretty close at points.
I'll keep reading this series, because I've had it for six years and haven't been able to read until now, and I've been looking so much forward to it, so I'm goddamn finishing what I started! I think, if this type if story is what you're into (really violent semes, really oblivious ukes and really cheesy writing), my review isn't going to dissuade you, and if that's the case jump right in. For my other fujoshis out there, however, I think your time is best spent on other BL novels - or just on Nakamura-san's manga, which still stand as classics in my mind!