Whenever Our Eyes Meet: A Women’s Love Anthology
Whenever Our Eyes Meet: A Women’s Love Anthology is a wonderful read if you’re interested in yuri manga or simply sweet romance. The characters are working women, not schoolgirls, which makes this a pleasant addition to the types of stories that are being translated.
Each short story is by a different creator. Most are about how a couple meets, including:
- a one-night stand turns up at work the next day as the new employee
- former co-workers meeting again by chance and revealing their crush
- an artist, asked to do a CD cover, discovers she really likes the music… and its creator
- a classmate reunion (and worry about class differences)
- friends, who have a terrific history of encouraging each other, to lovers (one of my favorites here)
- a former student meets her teacher as an adult and co-worker
- former roommates become more
- the clerk who helps is kind and wants to know the customer better (two with this premise)
The two exceptions, stories with an established couple, turn on the surprise of finding out they’re together. There’s also an odd one where two salespeople decide who tops based on who sells more. (I thought this one didn’t really fit in with the rest of the book, which is more about love stories than sex.)
These stories are simply adorable. They don’t have surprising or unusual premises, but they’re well-executed, if a tad compressed. They have to be, since they introduce the characters and the situation and evolve them within a relatively short space. It’s a big plus that the women are attractive without being overly sexualized.
I’m left wanting more time with most of these characters, which isn’t a bad thing, since that means they’re enjoyable to read about. A heart-warming, comfortable read. (The publisher provided a review copy.)