✨Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher: Four-Leaf Clovers (2019-2022) by Tama Mizuki✨
4 volumes | Joseimuke | BL, Childcare

Completely adorable right to the end! I loved how it ended with a little bit of a time skip to see their life when Hinata was a teenager.

✨Okaeri Alice (2020-2023) by Shuuzo Oshimi✨
7 vols | Shounen | Drama, Gender/Sexuality Exploration, Love Polygon
5/10

That was... certainly something. I appreciate him for laying his own gender dysphoria bare with this work. Some writing choices were a bit dangerous, though...

✨Dark Corners (2023) by Megan Goldin✨
Audiobook | Thriller, Mystery
7.8/10

This was pretty good for the most part! My only gripe is that it had a lot of build-up, but when shit hit the fan, that part of the story went by way too fast.

✨Mobsters in Love (2020-2022) by Chiyoko Origami✨
3 volumes | Joseimuke | BL, yakuza
7/10

Super cute and pure fluff!

✨Banana Fish (1985-1994) by Akimi Yoshida✨
19 volumes | Shoujo | Action, Adventure, Drama, Crime
9/10

This series sat on my shelf for 8 years because I was scared to read it. 😅 Yes, it was painful and I cried, but OMG was it beautiful! Ash x Eiji are soul partner goals.

✨Mimi's Tales of Terror (2002-2003) by Junji Ito✨
1 volume | Seinen | Supernatural, Horror
5.7/10

I don't really vibe with Ito stuff, but I needed something to read at work. lol. Decent collection of stories, though.

✨The Poe Clan (1972-1976) by Moto Hagio✨
5 volumes | Shoujo | Supernatural, Drama, BL
9.5/10

As an avid shoujo and BL reader, it was truly an incredible experience to read one of the early works from that demo/genre. This was also my first year 24 read. Highly recommend it!

It only took me over a decade to get a TBR cart for my library, but here we are!! 🎉

My physical TBR is out of control, so the cart is more of a queue of what’s next to be read this month rather than my full TBR.

✨The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden (2024)✨
Audiobook | Thriller, Mystery
5/10

This one has a couple of good moments, but as a whole, it's definitely the one that was the most frustrating to get through. Somehow, they decided to make everyone less likable and annoying.

✨Delinquent Daddy & Tender Teacher: Basking in Sunlight by Tama Mizuki (2017-2018)✨
1 volume | Joseimuke | BL, childcare
8/10

Quite a slow burn with relationship progress, but that’s okay! It makes sense given their circumstances and is continuing to be adorable.

✨The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden (2023)✨
Audiobook | Thriller, Mystery
8/10

I can’t say much because THE TWISTS, but I was glad we got to continue with Millie as the protagonist. With the way book 1 ended, I wasn’t sure if her story was done.

✨Motoyan Papa to Hitsuji-sensei /Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher (2016)✨
1 volume | Joseimuke | BL, childcare
8/10

So sweet and so glad this got continued despite this starting out as a 1 volume series!

✨Wanna Be My Dress Up Lover? by Mamita✨
1 volume | Joseimuke | Romance (BL)
6.8/10

This one had some aspects I usually don't like (blackmail), but somehow I didn't mind it here??? It never felt like excessively malicious and the 2 leads were cute together. ALSO MINT-CHAN💖

✨The Housemaid by Freida McFadden✨
Audiobook | Thriller, Mystery
7/10

Once I started listening to this, it was hard to put it down. Uneasiness leading to plot twist after plot twist kept me on my toes, but it was also a little predictable once some key points were revealed.

✨All or Nothing by Shikke✨
1 volume | Joseimuke | Romance (BL)
6.5/10

This was a cute and short friends to lovers series. It didn't touch on anything too deep, but the sexuality curiosity and exploration had some unique moments. Loved the character designs, too!

✨ Emma by Kaoru Mori ✨
Volumes: 10
Demographic: Seinen
Genre(s): Drama, Romance, Historical
Rating: 9/10

I love a good forbidden romance that defies what's deemed acceptable by society's standards. Well crafted and I loved how the side stories expanded on the world of Emma.💖

✨📚My 5x5 manga TBR visuals for 2025!📚✨
Decided to make a separate one for BL since those series tend to be on the shorter side.

This will be a very ambitious reading year, but let's see how many of these (and others not on here lol) I get to!

Okay, Hananoi’s sunshine dad tho 😍✨