BL Library - Age Gap

Manga Review | My Sweet, Husky Daddy by Lyla Katagiri

Title: My Sweet, Husky Daddy

Author(s): Lyla Katagiri

Artist(s): Lyla Katagiri

Seichi is looking for a life partner. He's pretty popular at the matchmaking events he's signed up for, but when he starts talking about his favorite thing in the world, he loses all momentum and ends up alone. What is this favorite thing? None other than his son. Seichi's entire life revolves around his sixteen-year-old son Ayato, a bright and talented kid whom Seichi raised entirely on his own at the age of eighteen before his son was one.

Seichi is perfectly content spending his life parenting Ayato, but as Ayato gets older, he pushes his loving father to find someone to keep him company when Ayato inevitably leaves the house. Seichi can't imagine life without his son in his house, but it's a reality he has to face, so he's willing to try and find a partner with the intention of eventually marrying them. Unlike Seichi, at his latest matchmaking mixer, there's another young man there who seems perfectly capable of working the room. But to his surprise, they both walk away with no matches at the end of it all.

Not wanting to waste the night, Seichi decides to go out to drink with the young man, Inukai, and bemoan their bad luck at these events. What he doesn't anticipate is getting drunk and winding up in a hotel bed with Inukai that same night. Maybe he shouldn't have been looking for a wife but a husband instead.

Title: Tenth Time's the Charm

Author(s): gom

Artist(s): orang

Hyunwoo is doing everything he can to get by. As a poor college student with chronic health issues, including amnesia and fainting spells, it's hard to make ends meet, much less to keep a job. Unfortunately, his situation comes to a head when he returns home to find his door locked, his stuff sitting outside, and a note from the landlord kicking him out. With nowhere else to go, Hyunwoo heads out to the street with his few belongings, trying to determine his next course of action.

While out on the street, Hyunwoo comes upon a flyer looking to hire someone with room and board provided at a garden-themed cafe named The Flower Garden of Memory. As a lover of flowers and plants and needing a home, Hyunwoo has no intention of letting the opportunity pass him by. He heads straight to the cafe, only to discover the owner is someone he already knows. The night before, while at a bar, Hyunwoo saw the owner, Hansung, kissing another man in the alleyway. They both are stunned to see each other again. As if his chances of getting the job aren't already bad enough, he passes out after smelling what Hyunwoo can only assume is Hansung.

Needless to say, when he wakes up, he's pretty sure he's lost the job. But after Hyunwoo begs, and coincidentally after he mentions his love of hydrangeas, Hansung gives him a chance. So begins Hyunwoo's new job at the cafe. But it's not all flowers and coffee; the longer he works there, the more he learns about his past and how Hansung might have been part of it. His memory seems to be intrinsically tied to this garden of memory.

Title: Sweet Blood

Author(s): Nene Shakeda

Artist(s): Nene Shakeda

In a world dominated by vampires, human rights and freedoms have been severely limited. Humans and vampires are segregated, with very few select humans given passes to travel through and in vampire areas without being accompanied by a vampire. Jinosuke is one of those few humans. He's a potter whose work is impeded by the deteriorating relationship between humans and vampires. Unfortunately, his most recent job has just been canceled due to his sponsor pulling out.

Frustrated and unemployed, Jinosuke travels through a vampire district, aimless and trying to determine his next course of action. Even with a pass, it's not easy going through the streets of vampire districts, as all vampires have silver hair, and humans don't. So, Jinosuke is constantly being watched and talked about. He's hardly bothered by the attention until he ends up in a sparsely populated area. There, he is ambushed, confined, and then sold in a human auction for vampires. This is very illegal, but as the product being sold, Jinosuke has no choice but to go along with the process.

In the end, Jinosuke is purchased by a youthful-looking vampire named Noi, a human anthropologist. Thankfully, Noi doesn't want to force Jinosuke into being food but would like to make a trade. In exchange for his blood and knowledge of humans, Jinosuke can continue to work and live under Noi's protection. It's not ideal, but it's better than the alternative, so Jinosuke accepts. What Jinosuke doesn't expect is for the feeding to feel so good. As they share more time (and fluids) with one another, Jinosuke begins to suspect it wasn't a coincidence that Noi was the one to purchase him.

Title: Love is an Illusion! - The Queen

Author(s): Fargo

Artist(s): Fargo

Seung-ah has been tied to alpha Do-gyeom, one of his best friends and first love, for twenty years, all by choice, initially as her friend but ultimately as her secretary. Unfortunately, this has given Seung-ah a front-row seat to all of Do-gyeom's sexual conquests and escapades. Seung-ah does his best to keep his longing for Do-gyeom under wraps. His only comfort is that Do-gyeom has no intention of getting into a relationship or marrying, meaning he can always be the closest one to Do-gyeom, even when he feels he has no right to be.

He's pretty content with this arrangement until Do-gyeom, after seeing her brothers getting married and starting families, decides that she wants to start her own family, too. Suddenly, it's not enough that Seung-ah has to chase away one-night stands; now, he has to chase away the one-night stands and try to find her a worthy spouse. To his surprise, that person manifests in an unrelenting female omega, an employee of Do-gyeom, and a one-night stand. Seung-ah was willing to give Do-gyeom over to a worthy omega of the same class and power, but this was just too much for him to bear.

Unable to see his long unrequited love get married to someone beneath her, who isn't Seung-ah himself, he runs to their longtime friend Mujin, who is happy to comfort Seung-ah in any way he can.

Title: Charming Scarface

Author(s): Io Kaziwara

Artist(s): Io Kaziwara

Yuma is a big, bulky bear of a man, but inside, he's a soft sweetheart. This gentle personality manifests in the motherly way he dotes on his younger childhood friend Shizuya, in his love for kid's picture books, and at work when helping kids find books they'll love at the bookstore. But nothing gives him more pride than Shizuya. Much of who he is as an adult was carefully crafted for Yuma to be the best big brother and guardian figure for Shizuya. Yuma's happiness is intrinsically tied to Shizuya's, and Yuma wouldn't have it any other way.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Yuma tries, it seems like Shizuya just isn't all that happy. Undeterred, Yuma does everything he can to dote on Shizuya in hopes that he will become the upstanding man Yuma knows he can be. One evening, while in town, Yuma's devotion to Shizuya reaches a dangerous level. As much as Yuma likes to think Shizuya is still the small, sweet, and gentle little boy, Shizuya has played the role of a delinquent through his teen years and, consequently, has gained a violent reputation and many enemies. He's challenged by some other delinquents, itching for a fight, but what was going to be a fight with fists turns deadly as one of the guys pulls out a knife.

When Yuma sees his beloved Shizuya threatened with a blade, he has no hesitation and jumps in the way, permanently scarring his face and making his life much harder, as children are afraid of the scar. Shizuya is beyond guilty, but Yuma is all too happy to sacrifice himself and his livelihood for Shizuya's happiness.

Title: One Night Only

Author(s): seowoo

Artist(s): seowoo

Cha Sia is an alpha heiress. With so much prestige and power to her name comes high expectations from her mother. As the face of her company, she's expected to find and marry a highly compatible omega, bond with them, and then eventually produce heirs of her own. All of this is easier said than done, as Sia has a unique disposition. She was once engaged and bonded to an omega she was raised with since childhood. Unfortunately, they broke up, though under amicable circumstances. While that meant her childhood friend could marry the alpha of his dreams, Sia was left instead with a chronic aversion to any and all omegas.

As a result, Sia has been forced into near solitude, having to go to work hours before she has to be there, leaving hours after she should, and holing herself up at home just to avoid encountering the sickening scent of omega pheromones. This numbing but safe routine can't go on forever, especially when she is expected to attend various public events as the face of her company. At one such public event, after escaping the crowd to hide in her hotel room, someone knocks on her door. Assuming it's her personal doctor or secretary, she answers the door, only to find a young man she doesn't know.

He is Ju Heeyoun, a famous actor and an omega, but for some reason, she isn't repulsed by his pheromones. Things only get more confusing when he propositions her for one night together so he can have a child. Entranced by this odd omega, Sia has no intention of letting him go after just one night. He could just be her cure.

Title: Royal Servant

Author(s): MasterGin

Artist(s): Chungnyun

Kyon is looking for a job. One of the most lucrative positions out there is the position of a “servant,” which means working under someone with royal blood. While the royals look like regular humans, they are much more than that. Royals are almost invincible. They have superhuman strength and speed, are nearly immortal, and can even manifest supernatural powers. They are Gods among men, and with vast estates from their prestigious and long-lived lineages, they need as many servants as possible.

One such royal is Selvior Lucaon. Lucaon is looking to hire a servant, and Kyon happens to be that lucky one. Lucaon puts his mark around Kyon's neck, allowing Lucaon to control and monitor Kyon at his leisure. Lucaon is a cold and particular master, meticulous in how he expects his household to be managed, and he seems to despise the servants working for him. Despite this, Kyon is desperate to tear down the walls Lucaon has built around himself, even when it leads to punishment.

While Lucaon and Kyon struggle with their relationship as master and servant, a group of creatures known as Zeros are popping up everywhere, threatening the lives of everyone around them. As Kyon's devotion to his master grows, so too does the threat of the Zeros.

Title: Kuroe and the Garden of Feminine Pleasures

Author(s): Chifuyu

Artist(s): Chifuyu

Sonogi Eda woke up after a night out drinking in a shocking predicament. He has a vagina. Thankfully, he still has all his other parts, too, but that is a small comfort during this horrifying discovery. What's worse is that Sonogi doesn't have insurance, so he can't even afford to go to the doctor to get it checked out. Desperate for an outlet and anyone to confide in who can help, Sonogi goes in to work at the host club and asks his boss if he knows anyone with medical knowledge he could talk to.

As it turns out, the boss recommends the number one host of the club: Kuroe. While Sonogi's not convinced Kuroe can actually help, he has nowhere else to go and asks Kuroe to meet him in private. After disclosing his current predicament, Kuroe talks Sonogi into showing him his new body part. While all Kuroe does is humiliate and tease Sonogi, as well as blackmail him with this new secret, Kuroe does have some information about what is going on with Sonogi's body. There is an illegal drug going around that gives the person who takes it the opposite sex's genitals. Thankfully, it isn't permanent, but it won't go away in less than a month.

Relieved that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, Sonogi is comforted… except that now he's forced into Kuroe's servitude in exchange for keeping his secret. Can Sonogi withstand Kuroe's sadistic, womanizing tendencies?

Title: Wails of the Bound ;β

Author(s): Keri Kusabi

Artist(s): Keri Kusabi

This is the sequel to Wails of the Bound.

No longer feeling compelled to protect his chief anymore, Miyabi, having finally met his alpha partner and being marked, Shingo Utou decides to take a promotion, putting him into the chief position of division two. Utou hopes his time of pining after and protecting omegas, who could never love him in return because he's a beta, is finally over for the foreseeable future, but then he meets the new hire: Sumito Sasabe.

Sasabe is an omega, and though he's not planning on disclosing his secondary gender at work, he has to disclose it to his bosses. Sasabe hates being an omega, as any success he has is always attributed to his ability to seduce and pleasure. But he hates betas even more as they can do nothing for him, unable to mark him and protect him from other alphas, so he'd rather hate them so he doesn't mistakenly fall in love with one.

Utou is having flashbacks of working with Miyabi, and after talking to his boss, it's clear that the intent of hiring Sasabe is to replace Miyabi and what he offered the company: his body. Utou has no intention of seeing another omega be used by clients again. But every time Utou tries to help, Sasabe sees him as just another predator trying to take advantage of him. Still, as time goes on and the two grow closer and closer, they find themselves falling for each other. But Sasabe's role in the company is already becoming that of a sex worker, and he's desperate to take that opportunity away. A beta can't mark an omega, so there is only so much Utou can do for Sasabe. Thankfully, there is an alpha from another company lingering around that Sasabe could use.

Title: In My Closet

Author(s): RISA LISA

Artist(s): RISA LISA

Sua knew he was gay from the moment he saw his first love: Jung, an idol at the same agency Sua was training in. It's enough of an intense moment that Sua nearly quits his training, afraid of what these feelings might mean for him in the future, only to be convinced to stick with it. Thankfully, he does and ends up being part of the successful idol group L. Boys. All is well in the world until the group's new manager is introduced.

As it turns out, it is Jung who had quit being an idol some time ago for unknown reasons. Suddenly, all of those quietly kept feelings come bubbling back up. Unlike in his youth, Sua is no longer terrified of these feelings. If anything, he sees this as an opportunity. It has to be fate that has brought them back together, and Sua isn't going to let the moment pass him by. Sua is determined to seduce Jung and make his first love his forever. But will Jung take the bait?

Age Gap

Manga Review | My Sweet, Husky Daddy by Lyla Katagiri

Manga Review | Charming Scarface by Io Kaziwara

Manhwa Review | One Night Only by seowoo

Manga Review | Kuroe and the Garden of Feminine Pleasures by Chifuyu

Manga Review | Wails of the Bound ;β by Keri Kusabi

Manhwa Review | In My Closet by RISA LISA

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