First the bad, then the good:
I'll be blunt - I read it because the genre was listed as shounen-ai and romance, and I'm guessing that's why you're considering reading it too. Unfortunately in those two genre aspects it just disappointed me - the two main characters, Robert and Georges, don't really end up together until the very last chapter and even before then - 7 volumes worth of content created over 7 years - I'm just not convinced they're particularly well suited for eachother whatsoever. For one, they barely ever interact on-screen in a purely positive manner - they're never really shown to have anything in common nor do their personalities even seem to really balance eachother well beyond a forced a psychological drama narrative. Despite the fact that I actually find this comic to have a well thought out and realistically written setting (at least in comparison to nearly every other shoujo romance comic I've read), Robert kissing Georges out of nowhere during an incredibly negative situation - not once but twice - is not met with a realistic reaction. You could argue Georges is an incredibly forgiving and open-minded individual - and that is true! But even Robert doesn't comment on his own very odd and uncomfortable past action realistically. It's kind of just brushed off and it honestly feels like the author wrote something like 'here, Robert says something weird' or 'here, Robert physically pushes Georges' but decided against it at last moment and changed it to 'here, Robert kisses Georges' so they could retain the spicy 'shounen-ai' advertising ability. What's even more odd is that at some point Robert literally claims he 'doesn't swing that way' (and not in your traditional tsundere sense, he seems completely serious) mayhap it's because he's going to a religious school and doesn't want suspicion - But if so, why does the author not address that point through narrative or monologue? It really just feels like the author wrote in these romantic things at last second to attract an audience this comic wasn't even really for to begin with.
Oh, and if you're as tired as I am of the overused shounen-ai trope of 'male protagonist resembles female character that the male love interest cared for in the past' then you're gonna be bored to tears of this comic too, I'm dreadfully sorry to say.
Back on the point of the characters interacting - Many side-characters will mention that 'they are together a lot' or 'Georges smiles more with Robert around' but this is a textbook example of failing the "show, don't tell" story writing rule. It's 101, why did you mess that up so badly?
The failing of the "show, don't tell" rule goes beyond just the central relationship - an unbelievably large amount of both important and unimportant information is given to the reader this way that would have been far more interesting if shown. Because of this, I often feel characters are not well-rounded in personality because I rarely see them actually taking action in the things they - or others - claim they do or be. I just feel really frustrated on this aspect!
Also - I feel the foreshadowing was weak. I could predict most of the backstory by the 1st volume and it's dragged out way too much. Actually, 'dragging on' could be my central complaint to this entire story - I like slow-burn romances, but since the attraction of this comic shouldn't be the romantic relationship to begin with since it's almost nonexistent, my problem is actually that the author just gets way too caught up on things that could be wrapped up a lot quicker. They use so many words and panels - even whole chapters - to get a point across when they could have cut it down to 1/3 the amount or even less. Am I really the only one who feels this frustrated by it?
Nitpicking beyond; the art suffers badly from same face syndrome. Robert and Henry look almost identical beyond a subtle hair parting, and the fact they wear the same uniform sure doesn't help. Luckily the artist gets around it by giving characters unique hair colors and hair styles or clothing/accessories, but it's still a minor bit confusing sometimes.
I also sometimes find it frustrating how the inner monologue is often written right besides dialogue and when reading them side-by-side of eachother instead of one at a time, it can be confusing. If read one at a time, it ruins the anticipation and pacing of a scene. It also can sometimes be difficult to pick up who is talking or monologing.
HOWEVER!!!
Like I said - first the bad, then the good. I wouldn't still give this a rating of 5 if I didn't genuinely believe it's an amazing and high quality comic. In comparison to most shoujo manga I've read, it's a masterpiece in quality. The comic panels are mostly very easy to read, understand & follow - the translation is excellent, adding English translation to every sound effect subtly and gracefully. Because of this, the storyline and characters are easy to follow despite it's problems. The artwork is gorgeous and detailed, especially the in-between chapter art pieces (sooo aesthetic!). The use of draft art as a background to the author notes page is an incredibly beautiful idea, and the extra profiles and author comments themselves are fantastic bonuses.
For the setting - I cannot applaud it enough for seemingly to actually try very hard to be what it is. Though in early chapters the author sometimes peeks out their lack of realization that not all countries have the same subtle social customs as Japan, I find it overall pretty realistic (at least in a sense of effort in showing you the theme of the setting, if not actual realism). I enjoy that the fact that a prince coming to their school is actually considered a huge political deal that's brought up multiple times throughout the story despite him being a side character - I enjoy that the comment of 'there's bound to be gay couples in an all-boy's school' is existent, though it's not a point heavily focused on for the sake of forced and unrealistic fan service. I appreciate that the main character is actually somewhat shown to have frustration in dealing with his confusion at his own sexuality near the end (though I still take away points considering it's thrown in with all his other dozen problems and isn't bluntly focused on; as a gay person, I'd really love to see more of that! Especially in a suppressive religious western setting! Though I appreciate it's subtly positively addressed at the end by a priest, though again - not bluntly.), I love that there's lots of backstory, I love that physically destructive instances have realistic consequences and if there isn't consequences, there's a thorough explanation as to why. I love how it's really difficult for me to think of plot holes - thorough explanations for why something has or hasn't happened is plentiful and incredibly reasonable every time.
And of course - for the story, the psychology... It's breathtaking. So many times has the emotions in this story, especially Georges', touched me on a deeply personal level - especially feelings of depression and worry. Georges' selfless feelings pair well with a religious setting which makes this comic's overall theming all the more strong. His struggle with being selfless ultimately making him selfish despite his desperate struggle to be the opposite is something I absolutely don't see in stories enough, especially delved into to this extent. The ultimate 'moral' is that no matter what he does, bad things will occur - and this story really does it's best to flesh out a world where that is it's reality. It's a story I needed. It's a story a lot of people need.
The side story with Joshua was excellent. I really love the resolution and the character, and his friends.
Unlike many shoujo and shounen-ai manga, La Esperanca does not glorify unhealthy relationships like pedophilia, abusive lovers or so on. La Esperanca glorifies positive feelings and I adore it.
So long story short, if you like a good psychological drama and you have a lot of time on your hands for something relaxing and beautiful, this is a fantastic read that shouldn't be passed up. If you're looking for another lovey-dovey romance story, I'm pretty sure you should be looking elsewhere.
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