A Bloody Kiss Tonight (Yaoi)
Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing (Doki Doki imprint)
Release Date: November 2010
Price: $12.95
Creator: Makoto Tateno
Format: 200 pgs.; B&W; Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-56970-170-6
Age Rating: Mature
ICv2 Rating: 2.5 Stars out of 5

Yaoi fan favorite Tateno offers up her take on blood-suckers in her first vampire yaoi story.  Though she has previously explored vampire myths in her shojo work Red Angel (published by DMP), her new work is less about the existential angst of the undead and more an excuse to draw pretty boys being, well, pretty.  And she does skew young here-the main love interest Riku is only a junior in high school and a boy in the final story is even younger (though the vampire’s interactions with him never go beyond a peck on the lips).  But as with all vampire stories, the fun lies in seeing which elements of the lore the creator will keep and which she will ignore. Tateno tosses in a lot here-mind control and other vampiric powers, reincarnation, sexual oppression-so much so that the plot becomes a little thin.

Fans of Tateno’s other works, however, will still enjoy her sharp-featured men whose inability to admit their feelings sets them up for heart-break and even death.  Her trademark lean-muscled bodies and sad eyes are used to their fullest effect, surrounded by plenty of flowing hair and rose petals.  While the explicit sex scenes-combined with the unequal balance of power in the relationships-will put off some readers, vampire fans and Tateno devotees should still find themselves entertained.

--Snow Wildsmith: Writer and former teen librarian and ALA/YALSA committee member.