Thank you to NetGalley and Viz for this ARC

This is a slice of life, manga, that unfortunately doesn't hit the right notes a for me.

I loved this volume and it has me really excited to continue the series. It's a fascinating exploration of figuring out your sexuality as an adult, facing emotions and relationships you struggled with as an adolescent before you were willing to acknowledge those aspects of yourself, and the way your friends and loved ones contribute to your understanding of yourself. I'm definitely feeling like I have a strong sense of each individual character and their relationship ties and I've become invested in seeing how those relationships shake out. The artwork is still very beautiful, and the emotions feel very authentic.

Volume 1 of a manga is, by and large, going to be enthralling. The first few chapters need to grab and keep the reader. Whether a series persists beyond those first few all-important chapters, and what it does in that time, is especially important. The sophomore volume of a manga sets the tone for the rest of the series. And fortunately, PINK CANDY KISS just keeps getting better as it continues into volume 2.

The first volume set up the relationship between recently-dumped real estate agent Takara and Ema, a girl Takara once kissed in high school. Ema is happily married, but is looking for a small place of her own to stay while she pursues her career. As the pair seek out a place for Ema, old feelings come to the surface... and it becomes very hard to figure out what's what. This second volume sees Takara finally becoming more open about her feelings, while also shying away from poking her nose into Ema's relationship. We also see a much more open exploration of Takara's own sexuality, as she pursues the question of whether it's Ema specifically she prefers, or women in general.

Ami Uozumi's art continues beautiful - soft but expressive. The cover pages are almost Ai Yazawa-esque in their fashion model poses and accessories. It would be more than enough to have a compelling and sweet story to read, but the art takes it above and beyond. This is a manga to stick with, and one that looks poised to address a lot of real questions about attraction, romance, and growing up.

Takara's feelings deepen as the story progresses. Meanwhile, we are just starting to get into Ema's story and her feelings about Takara.

I'm really enjoying the mystery surrounding Ema and her husband. I reeeeeally wanna know what's actually going on between them. I can't wait for the next volume!

The second volume was just as amazing as the first one. I absolutely can not wait for more volumes of this.

Still really enjoying this series! I appreciate Taka's openness with Ema about her past feelings for her, and I'm hoping this means things will pick up in the next books. Nothing feels rushed and I find the dynamic of the two women to be sweet and intriguing; there is some palpable tension and a potentially very complicated situation, so we'll see how things continue to blossom between these two!

Amy Uozumi's story of two women reunited a decade after their friendship ended in middle school, is touching. Taka has never before thought about her sexuality, Ema has thought about nothing other than Taka, even though she is married. The story takes time to make this lesbian x married bisexual make sense,and even allows room for lesbians at a lesbian bar to find Taka's emotional development cute, rather than ridiculous.

Uozumi's art is pleasant "Josei" style of manga that focuses on emotional impact over detailed backgrounds.

Overall, a solid volume of a classic-feeling manga about adult women catching feelings.

Pink Candy Kiss picks up where the last volume left off both literally and in my sentiments about it. It was as likable as the first volume, and the tension between the two characters was amped up. Their chemistry versus the reality of their circumstances makes for a very compelling narrative.
It was nice to see our lead Takara with the help of a friend dig a little bit deeper into understanding her sexuality, and I'm really interested to continue this series. I enjoyed the introduction of some new supporting characters, and I'm excited to see where the story takes them as well. Definitely a great read for June!

This is volume two of this series and I'm even more in love with it than I was with the first volume. It's so deeply romantic, with a hint of tragedy because of the nature of this romance (love triangles are always a little bit tragic). I'm also a fan of the main character learning a new thing about themselves after their an adult. As people, we're always learning more, even past when we think we know everything. I'm excited to see where the story goes.

Thank you NetGalley and Viz Media for the digital ARC of “Pink Candy Kiss” vol. 2! I was a big fan of the first volume, and I was pleased with this next installment. Ema and Takara’s romance is slow burn at this point, both of them dancing around fully confessing their love, so only a bit of progress is made unfortunately. I was happy we got a little bit of Ema’s perspective and could confirm that the feelings are mutual! The art and paneling is beautiful, and the character interactions are so cute. There was a bit of a cliffhanger, was that Ema she spotted? I can’t wait to read the next volume to find out! If you’re looking for a thoughtful yuri manga that isn’t just another high school romance, I recommend giving this manga a try.