Review: GERARD AND JACQUES

Whenever I review BL, I always have to promise myself that I cannot front-load it with all of my favorites.  I only get one slot for the likes of est em or Fumi Yoshinaga, and I'm using it this year to talk about one of Yoshinaga's most unique yet flawed works.

GERARD AND JACQUES (Gerard to Jacques), by Fumi Yoshinaga.  First published in 2000, and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

Jacques was the teen son of minor nobility, sold into prostitution to cover his father's debts.  Gerard is a wealthy commoner, a novelist with a tragic past and a distaste for the aristocracy.  The two meet in a high-class brothel, and soon after their encounter Gerard buys Jacques's freedom.  Jacques works his way up from houseboy to personal secretary with speed, skill, and intelligence, and in the process the two start to become not just master and servant, but friends.  Then Jacques learns the details of Gerard's past and he starts to question just what the nature of his feelings for Gerard may be.

Review: FALSE MEMORIES

Once again, it's time for another month of cleaning out my giant box of BL books BL reviews!  I want to start things on a good note, so let's take a look at one of the better offerings from SuBLime.

FALSE MEMORIES (Ikasama Memory), by Isaku Natsume.  First published in 2012, and first published in North America in 2013.

PLOT:

Nakano is a representative for Bandai Randai's toy line, and while he's known for being surly and distance he gets good results.  His life is disrupted when a meeting with some new contractors includes his former high-school friend Tsuda.  The two were once closer than close, but their friendship fell apart after a failed attempt at sex.  Tsuda is ready to reconnect, but Nakano is still hurting from what he sees as a betrayal.  Can these two sort out their feelings without ruining their professional relationship?