I did enjoy it. It was quite different from what I've read from Tokyopop. I liked the vibe. I just feel like it stayed a bit surface level and I wish it had had maybe less content to just go deeper into relationships or characters psychology.

I absolutely loved this novel.
Such a great story with defined characters and a great plot.
What drew me in the most was how fleshed out the characters were
The writing style was fluid and relateable.
The cover was fascinating as well.
A reviting read overall
Definitely recommend adding this to your TBR!

In this manga we follow Kei, a regular guy who has lost all of his money trying to help a sex worker named Momo. Distraught after she dumps him he tries to commit suicide. When he wakes up he's at a a place called Circus. They tell him that he can work for them to pay off his debts and he somewhat reluctantly agrees. Turns out that he has agreed to become a sex worker.

I really enjoyed this manga. All of the different men that worked at Circus were interesting and well drawn. I liked the story and I also liked that it wasn't super graphic when it came to sex. I'm no prude, but it was a nice change of pace to focus on the story and characters instead.

Firstly, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book to review! This one somehow got away from me and I forgot to review it even though I read it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't a big fan of this one. The setting of being more or less a circus sex shop was not something appealing for me. I also expected more to happen in this story, but it was largely just slice-of-life. Not a bad book, but just wasn't for me.

There were way too many red flags in this story for me to enjoy it. There was also not a whole lot of interaction between the main character and love interest, so their romance also felt really forced and lacking.

This was such a dark read. I mean you could guess it from the content warnings, but still!
It hurt my little heart but I also could not stop reading. Interesting premise set up in a male brothel.
As in most graphic novels, I felt I need more character depth sadly, which is why it does not get my full five star rating.

Loved Circus is a BL manga that follows Kei, a salaryman who hits rock bottom after giving everything he has and more to a host girl who tricked him. After he tries to end his life, he's saved by the male brothel Circus that caters to gay clientele and joins them to pay off his debts, and finds more than he bargained for with the men he lives with.

I always look forward to seeing how sex work is portrayed on page (my one fatal point of optimism), but ultimately that was the only part of the book that piqued my interest. I didn't find the pacing gripping or the romance very compelling, but if you're the sort who enjoys more character-focused stories with a slower pace, you may enjoy this. Be aware of the many trigger warnings.

Loved Circus is set in a brothel, which was refreshing and it's quite realistic too. Kei is a salary man and in love with a girl, who's scamming him and now the guy is in debt paying her expenses. Kei wants to kill himself, but instead ends up working for the brothel to pay of his debt and somehow finds meaning in his life. It's a male brothel for male customers of course. I do like the fact that we have a bunch of characters all with a persona and their own lives and problems. This makes the manga interesting and quite credible too. The sex ins't even the main thing, but more like human relationships and life. The dialogues are meaningful and deep and there's lots of text. It suits this so well, although makes this heavy also.

I like Nemui Asada and her style. It's crude at times with a lively line work. The art and style are very grownup-like and there's no cuteness in the series at all. I don't even see this as BL, but more like a sexual seinen in a sense. Overall I would've liked more pages to make more room for the plot, since the ending comes quite abruptly.

This was a really enjoyable slice-of-life manga from start to end. The male brothel setting was unique to me but I loved all the characters and the found family trope. The main cast had such incredibly satisfying character arcs and I was firmly rooting for everyone. There were sad and bittersweet moments but also funny and tender ones.

I've never read a yaoi manga and wasn't aware of the genre when I requested this on Netgalley, but I'm glad to have Loved Circus as my first. It's such a meaningful and beautiful read about hope, living and love. Makes me wish there was a second book or volume!

After sinking all his monkey into appeasing his girlfriend, Momo, a man wakes up one day surrounded by strange, unfamiliar men. The men inform him Momo has played him and in order to pay off his debt he'll now have to work for them at their brothel, the titular "Loved Circus". Now christened "Kei", he is swept up in a world he never could have anticipated amongst the crew of eclectic men who keep this circus running - including one particularly alluring but mysterious coworker, Shiro.

I'm a fan of Asada Nemui whose work has mostly been licensed digitally in English and was excited to see this go print (I'd love to see Living Dead join it in the future). Her work is dark and Loved Circus is no exception, rather than expecting a straight-forward romance it feels more like an ensemble piece that follows several not-great people. Going in, readers should be warned for sexual intimidation, assault, and suicidal ideation.

This was definitely darker than I expected but it was really good. Kei is wanting to end it all because of bunch of debt because of a woman when he's saved and given an option to work off his debt at Circus. Doesn't realize it's a male brothel but is willing to put up with it for the sake of his debt. Shiro is the longest worker there and is definitely a troubled soul. He was born into the life and doesn't know how to live a normal life. There are other characters there with their own stories too. Definitely an interesting tale with great artwork. Unexpected ending as well. Was very glad I read this.

I see where this is trying to go. If you ignore all the massive red flags, there's a sweet story deep, deep down.
But I could not, in good conscience, ignore the fact that the main plot point is human trafficking and guys getting SAd because of their debts. They might find a place to fit in and make their own little family, but there is soooo much wrong here that I just can't.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tokyopop LOVE x LOVE for the interesting read!

Nice artwork and decent plot. Would like to have seen more scenes between the two main characters in order to see the chemistry and love develop.

Rating: 3.56 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 3/5
-Cover(plus art): 4/5
-Story: 2.5/5
-Writing: 4.75/5
Genre: Yaoi
Type: Manga
Worth?: Eh

First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review. I was going into this manga thinking one thing and it showed to be something else. Kind of disappointed to be honest. It wasn't my cup of tea, though I do like some elements it had it wasn't something I would pick up again or recommend unless someone is looking for a palate cleanser.

Loved Circus is a good one-volume story depicting the slice of life in a brothel. No one's a saint, no one is the outright devil, it's just people doing what they can with a job most of them did not expect to have. I'm impressed with Asada's character designs. Everyone looked distinct and didn't suffer from sameface syndrome, unlike other books I've seen where the leads are interchangeable if it weren't for their signature hair or trademark outfits. Surprisingly, for a book set in a brothel, it's not as explicit (no invisible cones of light) as you would think. There's no lesson to be learned, the characters are just making a living. (I received a free copy of Loved Circus from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

The summary of this book sounded really interesting but I did not enjoy this book and had to DNF at 27%. I did not like the graphic style at all. The illustrations were more in the style of Manga books, and I'm not a fan of that particular artistic style. Aside from the graphics the story from what I read was not great. Maybe it would've gotten better had I kept reading, but I just couldn't stand to read anymore.

I've always enjoyed what Tokyo Pop publishes, and this is no exception. The thing that I always enjoy about yaoi/BL is that no matter what happens, they normally always go along with whatever is presented to them...even if they are "straight" men. Loved Circus is no exception. Kai gives everything he has to Momo, and when he can give no more, he decides to end his life. Until the men from Loved Circus rescue him and reveal his relationship with Momo was a ruse...the poor sap...and reveals that he can pay off all his debt by working for Loved Circus. The men put Kei immediately to work, without explaining what is going on, but Kei goes with it and is very willing to pay off his debts. I enjoyed the beginning, but I got a little lost toward the end. I felt like some plot was missing. I hope this isn't a stand alone manga, as I would like to see more from it.

I understand this was just a one-shot, but the plot and relationship dynamic felt incredibly rushed and underdeveloped.

This was a one shot and like most you kinda feel like there are spots you would have liked more or not so rushed. We meet four characters all with different circumstances for being at The Circus (which is a brothel). Our main character, Kei, is there to pay back his debt but he did not originally know what he was agreeing with. Then we have Shiro who only knows that kind of environment, although he has two people trying to protect him.in their own way. I will let you read it to find out about the other two characters-Joe and Rin.

There are some content warnings, more of a mature manga, and it has its uniqueness. Overall, I enjoyed reading Loved Circus.

It's weird how a straight guy with money problems so easily transitions to the world of gay prostitution and doesn't even think about questioning anything that's happening. Very odd story without much of a narrative. Decent art, not that badly written, but overall feels more like softcore gay porn more than anything.