Today, I’m hosting and reviewing international bestselling author Amy Tasukada‘s latest release My Heart’s Desire, a Yakuza Path Romance.
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Title: My Heart’s Desire
Series: A Yakuza Path Romance
Author: Amy Tasukada
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Tropes: Second chance romance, mafia, enemies to lovers
Themes: Coming out, forgiveness
Release Date: April 6, 2023
Heat Rating: 2 flames
Length: 35 000 words
Publisher: Macarons & Tea Publishing
Some high school romances just won’t fade.
Blurb: A high-ranking yakuza, Yuuki enjoys his relatively quiet job. If only his mother would stop asking for grandchildren. Unwilling to come out, he contemplates a sham marriage just to shut her up. After all, it’s not as if he’ll ever be lucky in love again.
Black-listed after his divorce, the only reason luxury suit designer Kazuki is still in business is his yakuza clientele. Desperate to find new clients, he starts looking for a collaborator for the upcoming fashion show. But who’s daring enough to partner up with him?
When Kazuki’s high school sweetheart walks into his shop, all those worries disappear. Although Yuuki has far from forgiven Kazuki for his past betrayal, Kazuki wants nothing more than to rekindle their love. But then he learns Yuuki is in the yakuza…
Can these two mend their love, or are they now too different to thread their lives together?
Buy to My Heart’s Desire to find out if they were always meant to be!
Note: It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Yuuki pressed his lips together but followed the command. Kazuki’s happy-go-lucky smile couldn’t look dumber. Yuuki held his breath and waited, hoping the tingling at the back of his throat would subside.
Kazuki had always had an innate ability to talk to anyone and make them feel at ease in a matter of minutes. It was what had won him the popularity contest for high school president and what had stolen Yuuki’s teenage heart. But Yuuki wasn’t seventeen anymore. He’d been able to ignore Kazuki as he’d schmoozed up Jun, and he could do it again.
But for the first time he could remember, Kazuki was silent. He did his job taking the measurements and nothing more.
His long face and angular jaw always had the girls fawning over him, but for Yuuki, it had been Kazuki’s eyes that had ripped open the walls surrounding his heart. Kazuki’s eyes were otherworldly nebulas of golden brown.
During their school years, Kazuki had always skirted the boys’ hair length policy. Unrestricted by rules, it seemed Kazuki had allowed his luscious locks to tumble to his waist. Yuuki’s fingers ached to reach out and get lost within Kazuki’s hair again.
“Could you hold your arms out for me so I can measure your chest?” Kazuki’s monotone cruelly gnawed away Yuuki’s warm memories.
Yuuki held out his arms, and Kazuki measured. If only Kazuki would allow his fingers to press a little heavier so Yuuki could really feel the touch. He swallowed down the flicker of desire. Their relationship had ended a lifetime ago, and it wasn’t like Kazuki had proved to even be friend material after what he’d done.
“You’re still clumsy as ever.” Yuuki nodded to Kazuki’s bandaged finger.
“You do remember me!” Kazuki’s charming smile slid into place like it had been punched out of Yuuki’s memory. “All this time, I thought you’d forgotten me.”
“How could I forget how much of a jerk you were?” The caustic tone surprised Yuuki, but no amount of wanton longing could erase what Kazuki had done.
“I told you about Hana because I wanted you to know the truth.”
“I would’ve appreciated knowing you were engaged before we started dating.”
“I told you the marriage had been arranged when I was twelve!” The wrinkles around Kazuki’s eyes deepened. “I was a sexually confused bisexual kid. Of course I said yes when my dad offered me an easy way out instead of figuring out my feelings. My parents never brought it up again. I had completely forgotten when I started dating you. Then, during New Year’s, they brought up helping arrange the wedding, and I called it off right away. It would’ve been wrong to not tell you as soon as I could.”
Kazuki’s words reopened the scar Yuuki had thought faded long ago.
“You told me when you did it so you wouldn’t have the guilt weighing you down during our college entrance exams. Instead, I was stuck thinking about how much I hated my boyfriend while trying to use angle-sum identities. I spent three years in cram school for that day, and you ruined it!”
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As stated in the blurb, Yuuki and Kazuki had a great romance happening in high school, but being deep in the closet meant it all went downhill for them quickly. Fast forward years later and the two are still hiding. Yuuki’s mother wants grandchildren, and Kazuki is buying himself in his job.
I must admit I enjoyed reading about Kazuki’s job. I don’t know anything about tailoring, and it was great to watch him behind the scenes running his business while trying to find a collaborator for the upcoming fashion show. It was a nice sub-plot within this short story. The same for Yuuki’s mysterious aunt, and how he wound up joining the yakuza.
But problems arise. The first being the two meeting once again. Then there is also Yuuki’s job. It kept the tension moving throughout the story, but there wasn’t great angst. It was the right number of problems for a story of this length.
I enjoyed both characters, and the chemistry between them popped. The author did a great job tying up all loose ends. She also created a great world in Japan that made me feel as if I was there.
It’s a short read, but a good one. I recommend you get a copy. She’s a talented writer who bring her characters and story to life.
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International best-selling author Amy Tasukada writes thrilling times of crime, love, and gore. Readers who crave diverse characters, unique settings, and edge-of-your-seat action will devour her Yakuza Path series. Readers who seek less blood and more love will swoon over the Yakuza Path Romance and Would it Be Okay to Love You? Series. Amy is an atheist, queer author who enjoys drinking tea, Japanese street fashion and visual kei music. Her calico cat, O’Hara, is never far from her side. Amy lives in North Texas, but is always planning her next trip to Japan.
Follow Amy: Blog/Website |Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
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Maggie Blackbird 