By Corina De Armas for Aber Stoat Books
Rating: 10 out of 10
Spice Level: 1 out of 5
Ages 13 And Up, Grades 7 And Up
Cover: A
Minami has been childhood best friends with Shusuke; when they are in middle school, they both play on the same baseball team. Shusuke plays purely for the love of the game, while Minami joins so he can spend more time with his best friend/secret crush.
Shusuke moves away and fails to contact Minami for all those years. So when they are reunited in high school, and Shusuke confesses he quit baseball, Minami is upset.
Adding to the drama is Shiratori, who has feelings for Minami even as Minami continues to pine for Shusuke. Rather than keeping them apart, Shiratori surprisingly invites Shusuke to become the baseball team’s new manager, cue in a complicated love triangle.
As much as I enjoy the history between Minami and Shusuke, I’m rooting for Shiratori! He’s absolutely gorgeous, refreshingly straightforward, and unafraid to show how he feels about Minami. I can’t wait to see where this story goes next.
From the gorgeous panel art to the pacing of the story, Volume 1 completely won me over. I really love how their eyes are drawn so expressive.
None.
Verdict
This is the perfect summer read for fans of BL sports romances with beautiful artwork, lovable characters, and just the right amount of angst and longing. Volume 1 left me eager for more! (10/10)
Tropes
Friends to Lovers
Grumpy/Sunshine
One-Sided Love / Unrequited → Mutual
Sports Romance
Love Triangle
MM / LGBTQ+ Romance (e.g., friends to lovers in queer contexts)
Trigger Warnings
None
Thank you to Dondon, Kodansha Comics, and NetGalley. I received advance review copies for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Bookshop.org (Print)
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More Titles by Dondon
Blue Summer Haze 2 (print)
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
ISBN: 9798888778333
208 pages
Categories:
Comics & Graphic Novels / East Asian Style / Manga / Yaoi (Boys’ Love)
Comics & Graphic Novels / Sports
Comics & Graphic Novels / Romance
A baseball diamond, a love triangle, and two catchers with their eyes on the same pitcher bring the heat in this baseball BL perfect for fans of Nagisa Furuya's My Summer of You.
Makoto’s favorite childhood memories are of playing baseball with his best friend and former teammate Shusuke, the catcher of his baseball team. When Shusuke suddenly moved away, Makoto was left devastated, but he clung to the promise of the two of them someday reuniting for the championship game at Koshien Stadium.
Now in high school, Makoto is the ace pitcher of the baseball team, and he and Hokuto, the team’s catcher, are an all-star duo. But then Shusuke suddenly transfers back to Makoto’s school, and it gets harder and harder for the boys to keep their heads in the game under the scorching heat of the baseball diamond...
Author Bio:
Dondon is a Japanese BL (boys' love) manga creator. Blue Summer Haze is their first series to be published in English.
Author Residence: Japan
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