Review: Would You Like to Be a Family?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Would You Like to Be a Family? is one of those reads that wraps around you like a warm blanket. With its gentle storytelling and soft artwork, it beautifully captures themes of connection, care, and quiet companionship. I was surprised by how much warmth and emotion could be conveyed through such a simple narrative style.

It’s a cozy slice-of-life manga that makes you pause and appreciate the little moments between people. The way the story unfolds—with tenderness and subtlety—makes it a perfect comfort read, especially when you’re looking for something that leaves your heart feeling a little fuller.

This book doesn’t shout; it speaks softly, yet meaningfully. It's not overly dramatic or action-packed, and it doesn't need to be. I found myself smiling throughout and closing it with a happy sigh.

I highly recommend this to everyone—whether you're a seasoned manga reader or just stepping into the genre. It's short, sweet, and soul-soothing. A lovely reminder of how chosen family and small acts of love can mean everything.

It didn't really hook me in but can see why others would like it. To me it's an opposites attract type of book.

This was so so cute. It was short and so sweet and you really just wanted to root for them and love them. I went out straight away and bought a physical copy as soon as it came out because i needed to be able to read it again and again.

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me, I’m sure its reader is out there and hopefully it finds its reader. Super sad I didn’t love it

This story had great characters and was emotionally moving. It was such a nice short read. The characters were shown in a way were you really wanted to cheer them on and really love them.

I actually ended up purchasing two copies of this book. One for my shelf and one for a friend. I really enjoyed how wholesome and realistic it felt. I love seeing gay relationships represented in a realistic way.

I got an ARC for free in exchange for an honest review from netgalley.

The story was cute, but the short-story format always leaves me unsatisfied. I can usually make do when it's a full one-volume story, even though that usually seems rushed as well, but this was separate stories, so there was even less time to devote to each storyline and set of characters. Overall, the stories were cute and would be a decent addition for high school library shelves.

The issue with short stories are that, well, there isn't a lot of space to develop characters or premises, so they can seem flat or abrupt or rushed. On the other hand, they make for a good quick read without too much time investment. I thought the art here was rather standard, without anything to recommend it, and I liked the premise of the first, longest story much more than the others. There's nothing memorable here but ok for light entertainment for those who need more BL romance.

This was a wonderfully warm story about family. Although one-note at times, I did enjoy my reading experience. Definitely an easy read for someone trying to broaden the type of manga that they pick up.

This manga was very interesting. It was very cute though. The idea of choosing in adding a family member is important and the decision of the other person. It is romantic in its own way and it contains some scenes prefer for 18 and older. Besides that the drawing was well drawn, the creativity of the story and sketch is great. Love the artistic work and plot line.

Very quick read and very adorable short stories manga.
Sometimes too quick, maybe. But adorable nontheless.
Easy to follow.

I absolutely loved this MM romance.

Such a great book with a solid storyline and great characters.

I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

A definite recommend

Would You Like To Be A Family? by Koyama was interesting enough while I was reading but ultimately mostly forgettable and a skim read most of it. I do want to this this another try when I'm not in a reading slump though, as it seemed really cute.

It took me a bit to understand that there were three separate and unrelated stories in this volume - possibly because the characters looked very similar to each other. However, while short, the stories were all engaging and fun. While the author relied heavily on common character tropes to shorten the amount of needed backstory, it was done in a way that was not at all confusing or lacking. The 18+ rating is for intimate scenes, but they do not dominate the story.

sweet, bl manga is my latest obsession!
The 3 memories, plus the additional bonus content material, delivered the reader to a lovely collection of characters and the idea that households and love can come in any shape, length, or package.
the primary tale became by some distance my favourite and i'm glad the bonus content on the end supplied the reader with an perception to what got here next for the trio it featured, from a new perspective. I desire extra insights had been supplied in different areas too, to give this ebook extra depth normal. It still remained very sweet at some point of, but.

3/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing this e-arc!

cute manga that unfortunately felt stale at some parts

A cute story, but it felt very simplistic. The author tries to accomplish a lot in a single volume: Takemura bonding with love interest Natsui, the antics and backstory of Natsui’s son, a flashback to Takemura’s high school boyfriend….this story really needed multiple installments.

Note the M rating for brief but explicit sexy times. This means I can’t really promote it with my teen readers, which is too bad because this story is very pure and adorable,

Would You Like to be a Family? is a cute collection that I'd recommend to BL lovers who love wholesome storylines and cute relationships. It's a fun, quick read for the casual BL enjoyer.

r e v i e w - 3.5 stars

A collection of three one-shot stories with cute tropes and a very much appreciated adorable extra, allowing you to get to know these adorable characters and their unique family dynamic even better!

story 1: would you like to be a family?

Grumpy/sunshine trope. The first story is about 2 office workers, antisocial Takemura and the adorable Natsui who is honestly just a ball of sunshine (his smile – so adorable-). Takemura has been hurt in the past and therefore keeps his distance from people, however when he bumps into Natsui… and his son?!… doing groceries things change! I thought this story was adorable! First off, I loved the art-style! That’s definitely something that has a huge impact on my reading experience! But I loved this one! Then about the story itself! I loved the contrast between the sunny personality of Natsui and the “moody/standoffish (while actually being scared of getting hurt again – yes I won’t spoil anything but I very much appreciated the backstory we get)” vibe of Take. What also added so much fun and more dynamic to the story was Natsui’s son Mori! He had such a cutely aggressive and possessive personality– and seeing him and Take interact had me smiling and grinning all the time! Natsui and Mori are an adorable family and I just love how they dragged Takemura into their midst and he slowly becomes part of that too!

story 2: kuma’s feelings

Age difference trope. The second story is about Kuma and Yagi. Kuma is a high schooler, often mistaken for a bully/delinquent thanks to his school’s reputation, but he is actually harmless. When he goes home with his friend Usami he meets college student Yagi. Their first meeting left an impression on Kuma and throughout the story you see him trying to win over Yagi. I just did not feel this one… I personally love the “age difference trope” but this combo was a miss for me. I felt like Yagi was truly reluctant at certain points to accept Kuma’s advantages (and while it could have been funny it made me cringe and feel kinda awkward). Kuma is coming on very strong (he sure is aware and trying to hold back lol but oh well “highschool and all that”) and Yagi is just so soft and not outspoken enough. Also, I felt like his friend was just insensitive and kinda weird hahaha. I just couldn’t connect with these characters and felt sorry for Yagi… It just did not work for me… but the art is still very pretty and it might work for other people!

story 3: the first love psychology

Insta love – meet cute – standoffish/”emotionless” handsome guy + cute yet dumb guy trope. The third story is about Harada and Kodama, two college students who first meet at the train station. Kodama is a psychology student and Harada a first-year business major. And then they meet again! Once Harada and Kodama realise, they go to the same school Harada tells Kodama he likes him and asks him to be friends. While I feel like this story was a bit short it really enjoyed it! I personally enjoyed it even more because I am currently following a psychology minor and they actually got the facts right in this story! I liked the added facts/theories used by the Kodama, and how he (often analytically relying too much on his psychology knowledge haha) tries to discover what love is! OH! And Harada’s personality was just hilarious and adorable! I liked how they kept the story – romance wise – light and fluffy! Time/development wise it was 100% the right choice! The ending was well thought off too, I just wished the story was a bit longer! In my opinion another extra could have been added for this couple haha!

extra: what happened after

YAYYY! So it took me a while to understand that this was a collection of stories WHICH HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER haha so at the time I was so happy to finally read the name of a character I knew haha! With this extra/short-story we go back to the original/first story “would you like to be a family?” I was so happy to see them again! This time mori is grown a bit and we get to read about what happened in beween – aaaa I don’t even need to say anything else. Just some very much appreciated feel good pages!

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this manga. I was a bit confused by the 3 stories + extra structure. The first story is the longest and I also felt like this allowed me to get to know the character’s best! The 2 stories which followed were shorter and I felt like this caused them to be a bit “cliché?” or maybe rushed is a better word (it didn’t leave a lot of room for story development). I personally just couldn’t really connect with the second story. The third story however was really nice! While it was indeed shorter I was not bothered by it that much (until it ended haha, I didn’t want it to be over yet) thanks to the fact that it covered an “insta love” trope! That was definitely smart thinking. I think the way they used the psychology theories throughout the story was really funny and smart too! I just wished it was a bit longer!

Still, I would very much recommend this adorable collection, with a heads up that it consists of multiple (not connected) stories! While it does include some intimate scenes it is definitely a light boy’s love collection, perfect for one who wants to start reading manga of this genre (or for someone who is in very much need of a break after reading too many angsty BL haha). Thank you so much Netgalley, Independent Publishers Group & Tokyopop for approving my NetGalley request and providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!

LGBTQ – Romance – Contemporary – Comics – Manga – Yaoi – Short Stories – Graphic Novels – Boys Love

Would You Like To Be A Family? by Koyama is a collection of three very different relationships in this intimate collection of short Boys Love stories in manga graphic novel format.

Families come in many shapes and sizes, and these three are no different! Takemura is a loner with little interest in socializing with others. Bullied in high school for being gay, he prefers to spend time by himself so he won't get hurt again. When he runs into his bright, friendly coworker Natsui in the supermarket, he's surprised to find out that he's a single father... and even more surprised to be invited to dinner, with no room to decline! Kuma is a good guy, but due to his constant scowl and rough appearance is often dismissed as a deadbeat. When he oversees his friend's older brother break up with his boyfriend, Yagi, Kuma becomes intrigued with this attractive stranger and slowly, his curiosity begins to blossom into a crush. Kodama is a reserved psychology major who is approached by the loud, outgoing Harada when he falls ill on his way home. It turns out the two of them study at the same university, and Harada insists the two become friends. But as they spend more time with one another, Kodama begins to question how he truly feels.

Would You Like To Be A Family? is a graphic novel about love and family that is heartfelt and well written. I thought the artwork was well done and did a great job of capturing the emotion and mood of each character and scene. I will say that because of the fact that the manga was one larger love story with two related tales, I did have some trouble connecting with the characters and getting fully invested in the story. However, I think there more positives than negatives here. The stories are told well in the short format, I just prefer a little more depth to even insta love stories. That being said, I think there are many readers that will really enjoy this read.