Home Office Romance

I received this book as an advanced copy from NetGalley. It’s a standalone romance manga set during the Covid era, showing a relationship that blooms during the work from home phase. This is the first time I am reading a book set during Covid.

The story is told from the male protagonist’s perspective and captures his daily life and the gradual unfolding of the romance. The artwork is detailed, and their connection through shared experiences and interests is portrayed really well.

The main weaknesses are the lack of character development and the one sided storytelling . We don't get to know much about the romantic interest's life or her thoughts. I felt like this weakened the chemistry a lot. The story also speeds up near the end, slightly disrupting the flow it had from the start.

In conclusion, if you're looking for an easy but fun romance read, this manga is worth checking out.

Sweet, simple, no-drama domestic bliss? Yes, please. A manga with an absolutely charming art style? Yes, more! A one-shot that will leave you feeling whole? Yes, of course!

If you're looking for a simple, one-shot manga to get you started in the big wide world of manga, manhwa, manhua, and graphic novels, Home Office Romance is the read for you. I didn't know I needed a sweet, nearly saccharine, tale of two neighbors finding each other during the pandemic, but now I also know you need it, too!

No hard feelings, no twisted tales of despair and miscommunications (like is typical in many manga and manhwa romances!). This is a story of two people who meet and develop a simply adorable and wholesome relationship from a chance meeting on their balconies. This is a refreshing, easy read and I would recommend it to anyone who needs a little pick-me-up or just wants to smile for an hour or two straight while they read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! 

“Home Office Romance” is a the story of a blooming romance at the height of Covid in Japan, while both main characters are forced to work in near isolation from home.

What more can I say besides the fact that I absolutely loved this story? It made me giggle and kick my feet in the air almost every chapter and that's a very hard feat for a romance, let alone a straight one, to make me feel.

The art style, without being super out there, has an original feel that distinguishes it from other romance manga that I've read, without mentioning the fact that it's also very polished. No single panel or chapter felt rushed out or like a first draft or like this was a second serialized work from the author.

Most importantly in my opinion, the story felt REAL. I felt like the author was really drawing the story of how he met his wife, not reading a romance manga. A lot of manga tends to be very tropey and formulaic, so this one was a breath of fresh air. Neither the problems that arose from their work, nor the conversations they had as neighbors, nor the mental ruminations from the characters felt overdone for the sake of comedic efect nor forced to create a false sense of conflict and urgency for them to get together. And also, because of the short nature of the story (only this one singular volume) it was also told very thightly, every chapter connecting with the next one, nothing being used as filler or irrelevant to the plot.

I will 100% recomend this to everyone I know. It's a short and super sweet read that won't make you feel like you wasted your time for a relationship without chemistry.