Sweet romance but it does have some sad parts that I wasn’t expecting because of the cover and the description on the back of the book, which is my fault for not looking at the TW before reading but be sure you check those out. Otherwise great story with interesting characters. 

Minobe is a first year at a fine arts school (ballet) -he becomes enamored with a 2 nd year student Ichinomiya now doing modern dance. After becoming paired for a dance project the two develop their relationship -friendship then romance. Most of the story is from Minobe's perspective -he has the physique and skill for ballet but doesn't seem to have that je ne sais quoi that draws the eye (think Hyunjin). Inch has the charisma and skill (again Hyunjin) but is not tall enough to be a ballet dancer. Throw in the creey teacher and we see why he is seeminly stand offish. There is a chaper that is told from Ich POV that fits in nicley so we can see where he is coming from and why he acts.reacts the way he does. I get a bit of a Given vibe -the obssession here with dance instead of music. 

TRIGGERS: possessive/jealous/controlling and abusive ex, student/teacher relationship, coersed into sex, age gap


This was such a surprisingly beautiful story.

Minobe Chihiro is a 1st year high school student at the private fine art school, studying classic ballet. He's got everything a ballet dancer needs - except the drive, the passion and the ability to draw the eye when on stage as part of a group. In contrast, Ichinomiya is a talented ballet dancer, who has recently transitioned over to contemporary dance. He's got a reputation at school, for being unapproachable and grumpy. Underneath the exterior, he's actually really sweet and lonely, separated by his reputation as a dancer and a grumpy student.

They're perfectly imperfect characters who are adorable together; cute, friends-with-benefits, and have a sort of tutor and student vibe.

We mostly see the story through Minobe's POV, but at 59% we get to see some of Ichinomiya, who has such a tragic story.

There is a seriously messed up "relationship" between Ichinomiya and a teacher at the school, Futima, who becomes obsessed with him, abusive and violent; he's controlling and actually ties Ichinomiya up at one point. There's some off-page stuff that hints at even more violence, but it's hard to tell what really happens between them because Ichinomiya is so closed off a lot of the time, and we don't get to see much of his POV. It keeps the violence/aggression and most of the student/teacher relationship mostly off-page.

There are a few pages of sex at the end, but the build up is lovely and because it's between the MC's - Minobe and Ichinomiya - you don't feel too weird about them being teenagers, because they've had a legit relationships that has grown and evolved to the point where it's almost the inevitable result. Though they are teenagers and it's a little squidgy to read the pages, it did feel like where they were heading. It felt like a nice culmination of all the work they'd put into their relationship until that point.

Overall, the chemistry and connection between Minobe and Ichinomiya is what makes this story so amazing. Minobe is outgoing and fascinated by Ichinomiya right from the start, captivated by his talent, attracted to him but super excited to see him dance. In contrast, Ichinomiya is curious about how un-jaded Minobe is, that he's dedicated and eager to work hard, to learn dance, to share that experience, and he's not put off by Ichinomiya's reputation. That begins their work together, where Ichinomiya realises Minobe is a little over-eager about dancing together and encourages a physical relationship that eventually, slowly, blossoms into more.

I can't wait for Volume 2, to hopefully see Futima get his comeuppance.