ARC was given by NetGalley & Tokyopop in exchange for an honest review.


Content/Trigger Warnings: Mentions death of a parents (in the past), child neglect, depictions of blood, mentions of plane crash, depictions & mentions of hospitalization, depictions of depression, depictions of a toxic relationships

I was so excited about this manga just based off the cover alone. The color pallet was stunning and the artwork was stunning. However, the art style is pretty much the only thing I really enjoyed about this manga. The majority of it had me so frustrated to the point that I was skimming and I couldn't find an reason to care about any of the characters. The biggest thing any reader will notice about this manga is the toxic relationship between Dan and Christian. Christian's obsession with Dan, threats, stalking, and constantly fighting with Dan about everything, the constant use of physical force and weaponizing sexual tension during arguments, Dan's "prank" at the end, etc... And don't even get me started on the whole love triangle, pissing contest between Dan and Vic that took place. I just wasn't here for any of the things that took place between the two main characters. The plot was okay, but it could have been better. It was really hard to follow at times because there's constant time jumps and there's almost this consistent theme of Christian "waking up," almost like everything was all one bad dream.

Overall, this book had a lot of potential, but the execution just wasn't there. The plot was fine, the character development was lacking, the romance wasn't healthy in anyway, and the pacing just wasn't my personal cup of tea. I'm chalking this up to it's the book, not me. I would still be willing to read more from this author in the future especially because the art is so beautiful!

I enjoyed the story and I really liked the drawings, I want to read more of the author, I'm sure I'll enjoy it a lot too.

This was a little slow for me. I've read extensively in the genre and this one failed to bring something new to the table. The characters read too bland and stereotypical, however I would read the next volume to see where it goes. The art is very nice though, and what drew me to it was the cover.

The art is fascinating, to be perfectly honest, it's one of the best drawn mangas I ever saw. But I couldn't orientate in the plot and the reading was a bit difficult for me, so I take it as an average.

The artwork was great. Kudos to the illustrator.

The story itself wasn't my favourite.

The gist of the romance is simple - Christian and Daniel have feelings for each, but social disparities get in the way.

However, the telling of the story throughout the years was pretty disjointed. I often found myself trying to connect the dots. Especially since a bunch of the important scenes ended with Christian waking up from sleep, making it difficult to know exactly what happened.

I'll admit manga's not my usual thing, so perhaps this is just how it's supposed to read.

Also, both MCs make some very questionable decisions. Although they do eventually learn to communicate their feelings without resorting to arousing petty jealousy. Character growth, I suppose.

Even so, it was a fairly cute romance with a sweet ending. This couple still has to put in some work, but they'll be enthralled with each other while doing it.

Servant & Lord by Lornell Yu is a clean yaoi manga that focuses on age and class gaps. Young Christan finds a friend in the dapper young composer his father hires to teach Christian music. With Daniel, he gets the affection lacking in his parental relationships. A family tragedy puts Daniel in severe debt. The music lessons end. Daniel finds it reminds him of the past too much. Christian's father takes the young man on as an overseer of his estate, working to repay the debt. Christian's feelings for Daniel begin to change, and he becomes increasingly jealous.

I have to say, the age difference made me rather uncomfortable. I know once they are adults, it's not so bad, but through most of the story, Christian is a young boy or teen. And so clingy and jealous in a bad way. I felt for Daniel, having to deal with this. I really did. The art was lovely, but I just didn't grok the story on many levels, and didn't care at all about Christian. Also, the cover didn't match the story. I went in expecting one thing and got something different.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors/ Tokyopop for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Christian grew up with a love of music, as well as a near-obsession with his piano teacher, the dark and brooding, handsome Daniel. When Daniel - a young adult while Christian is still essentially a kid - is forced to confront a family tragedy, the young pianist moves into the home of his student, at Christian's father's insistence, but as Christian's talent and love for playing grows, Daniel's passion for music seems to all but cease entirely. And as Christian reaches adulthood and for his own dream of having a rock band, he realizes his even bigger dream is to have Daniel by his side. This Japanese manga has some nice, simplistic artwork but the writing feels very amateurish, as if this is an early effort from a newer writer, the romance that may or may not bloom between the two male leads just a straight "will they or won't they?" with no real drama or obstacles thrown in to create conflict. The ending was quirky - in a good way, with a slight twist - but overall this is a disappointing manga that feels more like a first-draft attempt than a finished story. 2.5/5 stars

Note: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet story that could have had a better character development. It may seem like an unhealthy romance but it actually has a good nature. I would actually read another story from the authors!

This was a good read. The images were beautiful, but there were a few inconsistencies...Christian met Dan as a young man. Dan was hired to be his music teacher and they developed a friendship. Dan's relationship with Christian was aloof in the beginning, but there was an affinity with them because Dan understood what drove Christian and the lack of affection between him and his father. As Christian grew into adulthood, his feelings for Dan became more than just friendship. When Dan didn't seem to share the same feelings, Christian leaves home to go away to college. Fast-forward a few years later. Christian returns home to find that Daniel no longer works for his father but has branched out on his own. Christian who still has strong feelings for Daniel, now sees his opportunity to stalk...I mean, show Daniel that they belong together. Again, I liked the story but the inconsistencies were that in all the time of Daniel being in Christians live and when they met again, Dan never seemed to age...this may be because of the comic aspect, but there should be a way to make Dan look older than Christian. Also, the story sort of jumped around at times so I had to re-read parts of the book to understand where the story was. Overall an okay read, even for someone who doesn't read a lot of manga. Beautiful illustrations/artwork though. I am voluntarily reviewing this book after receiving a free copy from NetGalley.

I loved the artwork and the concept of the story, but I struggled with seing the difference in some of the characters and I got confused by the plot holes after a while, so I gave up roughly midway.

The art is beautiful but the overall storyline is mediocre BL. The pacing could use some work as I lost interest a few times.

Was never able to access this book. Tried to download it to two different media readers and it never opened. I can't really rate it since I was not able to read it. I'm required to give it stars so I'm going with 2.

An admirable attempt but unfortunately this book was unable to sustain my attention. Perhaps more attention needs to be paid to the narrative arc.

I received this comic from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I just ADORE BL, and I was excited to see a manga-style BL comic on Netgalley. Of course I had to try it out, plus the idea that it was Servant x Lord made it all the more tempting. :P

The story starts with Daniel coming into Christian's life when he is around 9/10 years old, which see that Christian is instantly happy with Daniel and that they both have a great bond. Something happens and we skip over to the next time which comprises of the next two chapters, when Christian is around 16/17 (at least I would guess so given how he looks and acts). Next up is 3 years later and I am guessing Christian is now 19/20. Which made me finally be able to root for these two to get together. Yes, sorry, I have my principles. I don't care about age differences as long as both characters are 18+ otherwise it is just a no. It was cute that they both had feelings in chapters 2 and 3, but it made me slightly uncomfortable given their ages. So I was glad that nothing happened/that Daniel was able keep his feelings in check (because you could see he was tempted when Christian was licking his arm).

I had a laugh when Christian came back and found out that his love had other interests now. Yep, that is what happens, plus I can imagine that Daniel didn't go after Christian. He was still the servant, and Christian the higher-up. He didn't want to lose his job or reputation. But oh my! We find out some juicy things from Victor. Before that moment I loved Victor, especially had a laugh when he was called Christian's girlfriend by Daniel. Later on Victor shows he just really cares about his friend, and I can imagine, but that is just not the way to do things.

I was expecting it to be a bit longer before Christian found out about what Victor is hiding, but nope, just a few pages after the juicy things... Christian also finds out. You may now all take a good guess at his reaction, and how his friendship with the guy is now.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh yes, go go Christian! I was rooting for this guy to finally tell Daniel how he felt and also to find out if Daniel felt the same way (yes, duh, everyone can see that he is just trying to not feel that way). On the one hand I loved the couch scene, on the other hand, not that much. I am getting a bit tired of things having to be forced in BL. :(

I had a laugh at how Daniel reacted when he found out Christian was working in his workplace. And then what he did after that. His other employees were all wondering what was going on and what their boss relationship was with Christian (a very hot one, well as soon as Daniel finally decides that a relationship with Christian is good and he finally accepts his feelings. I get that he wants the best for Christian, but come on!!!!!!!!!).

"Wait a minute.. is my birthday today? Thought too much about Chris and totally forgot." *snorts* Oh Daniel, you are in so deep. :P

Daniel in reaction to what Christian said: "Haha, you're asking for my permission to stalk me for the rest of my life? Who would agree to that?" That look on Daniel's face was just too precious.

Yayyyyyy! Finally!!!!!! I was already wondering when it would happen, we only had so little time left in this book, and I needed them to finally confess and see their feelings.

Oh my, Christian:"I don't know what's going on... but if you change your mind tomorrow, and try to escape again... I'll handcuff you to the bed."

The ending was fabulous, haha what a brilliant plan by Daniel. That is one way to get Christian to go to LA. :P

*bleeds to death due to that character page at the end*

All in all, a very well written BL story about two guys who were meant to be together and finally found each other again. Finally managed to confess, finally could be together. EEEEEEEPPPP! *swoons* Fantastic characters, lots of cute scenes.

The story was charming and interesting but a little disconnected so I found it hard to truly fall into.

Gorgeous illustrations.

A courageous MM romance comic. You should read it just because it's rare to find a good one, if any. This one is particularly well plotted and the art is amazingly good, give it a shot.

The artwork in this was great! I really liked the transitions from one panel to the next. The story was cute and infuriating at the same time. I have always liked the kind of story where two people sort of grow up together...and find their way to each other's hearts in the end.

I got an ARC of this book.

So I have some pretty big issues with gay relationships in manga. They tend to be over the top when it comes to dramatics, rape being normalized/romanticized, and a ton of other issues. This manga doesn't do most of my issues, so I am impressed.

The art is great. Christian ages wonderfully in the book. He starts as a kid and by the end he is in college or high school. There is mention of Stanford so I am thinking college. The way he aged and was still recognizable was wonderful. I am always impressed when an artist can age a character in a realistic way. However, Daniel's character didn't really age. I don't get why he doesn't appear older at all by the end. He just seems more stiff. 

The age gap was a bit problematic. Christian was much too young to be staring in a romance when the book started. It was a cute mentor/mentee sort of relationship, but it got really unhealthy really quick. So while I wanted to ship it, I couldn't ship it physically. There was too much room for grooming and it gave me really negative vibes. 

The adult side of the romance was a bit forced. If this had been multiple volumes, the story would have been more fleshed out. The characters were very much flat. There wasn't time to really make them whole and to give this the heat it really needed. I have seen shorter pieces that were able to be perfect. So I think the author needed more space to tell this story. Some stories can be told with less pages, this one to really have an impact and be great would need more. 

So while this story avoids the idea that rape is romantic and the only way that two males can have sex, I was still disappointed that there was a fake sexual assault situation set up. There was so much jealousy and bad intentions. It was just a super unhealthy relationship. So I wanted to ship it, because what else is the point of a romance, but I couldn't. There was just so much standing in the way of me caring or wanting the relationship to happen.

Servant & Lord is an age-gap story between the bratty rich kid Christian and his long suffering friend cum caretaker cum mentor and former composer Daniel.

Like all the good M&S tropes, the dynamics between Christian and Daniel is filled with USTs, and fervent longing. Christian is more open about his feelings and Daniel, being older and an employee of Christian’s father, kept his under tight reigns. The manga is mostly from Christian’s POV but I really liked it that there were some parts were presented from Daniel’s perspective.

The manga starts from the time Christian met Daniel as a child, to him as a high school student and finally as a university student. Through all these years, Daniel is in denial and maintains the illusion that Christian’s feelings were the affections of a child and therefore something he would outgrow. And so I threw big hurrah when Christian took matters in his own hands and made Daniel face his feelings.

Since I like slow burn stories, this is right up my alley. The artwork looks good and I had no problems following the story progression. Age-gap is not my jam but I have no issues with it here. The story is not the most unique but still interesting enough for me to enjoy. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

P.S.

I received a copy of Servant & Lord from Tokyo Pop via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

From backgrounds to characters emoting, the artwork is beautifully-detailed. Unfortunately, the plot left a lot to be desired.