Kenneth Harris has spent most of his life in Japan and has absorbed the culture, language and customs. Unfortunately, he never quite fits in regardless of where he is. He stands out in Japan due to his pale skin and blond hair, and he also stands out in America due to his adoption of Japanese customs and the fact that he's gay. When he meets a mysterious and incredibly sexy man at a party, his life is turned upside down because the man he finds himself uncontrollably attracted to is an underboss in the Yakuza, Shigure Matsunaga.As a fan of criminal organizations like the Mafia, this book was right up my alley. Japanese culture is also something I find fascinating, especially as a fan of manga and anime. This love story between a gruff Yakuza and the somewhat shy American (aka gaijin) was actually pretty sweet and very steamy.While I did enjoy the story as a whole, there were some problems.* I sometimes found that there was way too much detail and narration. There were entire scenes which just consisted of characters, mostly Yukuza officials, talking to each other. In my opinion, many of those scenes didn't really add much to the story and I found myself skimming through those parts.* My biggest gripe is the fact that almost 40% of book consists of the kidnapping and torture of Ken. The scenes, graphic and extremely detailed, dragged on for so long that I longed for a reprieve.* Certain things that happened towards the end of the book seemed very rushed, especially given the fact that one of the MCs had just been tortured and tied up in a basement for days.* There were great action sequences that held my interest, but then those moments were stilted with more narration or long scenes of dialogue.The MCs were interesting and complex in their own ways, but I think Shigure's employee, Kotaro, was a stand-out character. His youthful innocence, excitement and passion was a joy, especially when much of the story was so heavy and serious.All in all, I enjoyed this read, but I think at least 50 - 100 pages could have been cut to tighten up the story. 3.5 starsThis story started slow and it took me a while to adjust to some of the Japanese terminology. I found myself stopping here and there to google some words, but once I knew what they meant I was fine with them.Around the 45% mark the story started to pick up speed. The dark stuff others have complained about was the saving grace of the story for me. It was gritty and edge of the seat suspense. I was riveted to the pages for the next 30% of the story.At the 80% mark the story lagged again. The story was very descriptive, to the point of being overly so, in places. I don't need two or three analogies to paint a picture. I would rate this book 2 stars in some parts and 4 in other, so my overall rating is 3 stars.
What do You think about Yakuza Pride (2011)?
Definitely a must read. It's got culture, action, sex, family. Definitely a eye opener!
—catnip
Cruel, beautiful, lurid. Just how I expected it to be and got.
—Zheniai
