By Eu
Synopsis:
From the back of the book:
Welcome to Shinjuku district’s Kabukicho, Japan’s red light district. Here, the streets are dotted with bars, pachinko parlors and “love hotels”, which cater to all sexes and sexual orientations. These are the streets which Detective Masaki Shiiba must patrol.
A recent rise in gun crimes forces shiiba to go undercover and work with an “S” or spy, a member of a crime organization tasked to hand over information in exchange for special favors. Shiiba’s S is a man from the influential Matsukura Group, and someone who seems to have developed a fondness for Shiiba.
But when the detective gets a mysterious call warning him about his S, seeds of doubt are planted. If he can’t trust his S, who can he trust?
I have recently noticed that I have a growing pile of unread books that I ordered last year. Since my guilty feelings wouldn’t go away, I figured it’s about time to tackle all of them slowly. As you can see, I have already started with OTRFK and now S. Thing is, I didn’t have the fourth volume yet as my favorite (online) store said that it’s still out-of-stock but they’ll let me know by July if they could find one and send me a copy (I’m hoping for a positive answer obv XD). As much as I’m tempted to continue reading the other volumes that I have, I didn’t want to read it until I completed all four books. So after this, I read other novels that I have instead.
Anyway, S is another series in my re-read if you consider skimming through the books years ago. Shiiba is a detective who is working under the guise of Shibano, a flashy guy working around Shinjuku. The only one who knows his real work is his S. An S is a police dog, they give information to the detectives. There is a slow build-up of story at the start and lots of information. It is understandable that Saki Aida has to describe the setting and how the police system is constructed. However, it can get overwhelming at times with lots of definitions and departments thrown at me. I swear I am getting @_@ with all the police terms.
Shiiba looks like the average goody-two-shoes guy. You know, the morally upright detective. But deep within him lies unfathomable darkness that can either destroy him or push him forward. For the record, I said darkness but not the evil kind of darkness. It’s a dark sinking feeling. His stubborn and cold behavior is what makes Munechika attracted to him. He is someone who doesn’t go back without a fight. And you probably wouldn’t believe how sexy and slutty Shiiba can get in bed.
A single event triggers the start of Shiiba’s complex relationship with yakuza Munechika. Seems like Munechika knows something, maybe everything that concerns that event and Shiiba is bent out to know the truth even if it means he has to use his body. Right from the moment they set their eyes to each other, they have this intense unresolved sexual tension. That is enough to make me complain more about the amount of description when they could have been in bed doing “repetitive friction” with each other.
You’d think that DetectivexYakuza would have bondage or something like that, you are dead wrong. Munechika may be rough but he is surprisingly gentle with Shiiba. While their relationship is a little too complicated for now, he speaks to Shiiba as if the other guy is his most precious lover. Munechika is a cunning man. He relentlessly teases Shiiba both by words and his body. I see their banters as their own way of flirting and it’s cute.
There is also a short story with the title Beast’s Pride. We get to see a glimpse of a day in Munechika’s life and so his thoughts about Shiiba. I enjoy it a lot because, well, seme’s POV is pure love. Tee hee. <3
Wrapping Up!
Such a good mix of action and romance. I loved how solid the characters are. I want to see how their relationship will work out, professionally and personally.