Jealousy by Scarlet Beriko

[reviews_and_ramblings]

The prequel to the popular yakuza rom-com Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato!

A yakuza head finds himself ensnared in the unwavering attentions of a sometimes impetuous but always cunning schemer. If being yakuza doesn’t get him killed, his new lover just might!

Uichi Rogi is in a bind, both literally and figuratively, when he meets Akitora Oyamato, the yakuza head who’s come to collect a debt from Uichi’s lover. Instantly smitten, Uichi concocts dubious and often dangerous schemes to get closer to the man, but his lies come at a heavy price—one he may regret having to pay for Akitora’s affections.

My Rate: 7 (amzn.to/41QCWJJ)

The love story between Uichi aand Akitora is totally twisted, not at all sweet and hardly romantic. Nevertheless I found myself wishing these two could find a way to be together. Having read Fourth Generation Head, the story of Akitora's son, Tatsuyuki, I found even more upsetting the fact that Uichi knew Tatsuyuki since he was a child, but nontheless he raped him. Because yes, in these Yakuza series, rape, violence, murder are common events, so common that, at one point, you don't believe possible that there is a positive resolution for the two main characters. But in their own way, this is a positive ending (saying it's an happy ending maybe is too much).