Alterna

You won't find sparkles or flowers petals here, but you know, after reading BL for so long, it's nice to find something that avoids all the usual clichés of the genre. What I especially like about Kikka Furutsuji's stories is that they don't take place in a world that is 100% open to the idea of homosexuality. That's pretty rare for BLs that take place in contemporary settings, so it's refreshing to see characters aware of the world around them. The story is a pretty typical love triangle. It's not remarkable, but it has its moments of drama that keep it interesting.The art is clean (so don't be tricked by the sketchy cover image) and simple and matches the feel of the story quite well. There are sex scenes as well, of course, so be aware of that. While they're not too explicit, they do go pretty far. Finally, the characters are neither over the top or underwhelming. They're perfectly balanced and normal, although jaded in their own ways. I'd recommend this to BL fans who are ready for a more mature kind of storytelling. It doesn't follow the "laws" of the genre and it is a pretty fast read. Pick it up if you have an hour or two to kill. I'm not fond of overly used phrases, but Orutana is a hidden gem and worth checking out.