Customer Reviews

Pinned! (Yaoi)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

this was a really good read!

the writers kept you guessing up till the very end and the character arrangement on the cover is very deceptive ^_^ A must have for Yaoi Press fans

I really liked it, yes the art is not pretty boys and flowers everywhere but it is good and it fitted the the whole 'Manga' quite good. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, I would love to see a Pinned vol.2 just to see the reaction Synn has to Renegade words.

first off, i'm really not into WWE-style wrestling, but i ended up w/ a copy of this so i thought i'd check it out anyway. i was leery of a yaoi book made in by a non-japanese company, but i was pleasantly surprised. the artwork is serviceable and occasionally gets steamy, but the real draw is the story. many people will be turned off by the power-play type dynamics (and the kinkier scenes) and not be able to see the underlying emotional turmoil of the two main characters. those are the same people who hated such japanese series as jazz. i for one enjoy unusual stories like this, and the author really brought the whole backstage pro wrestling setting alive. i found the emotional dynamics to be interesting, enough so that i'll be looking into what other books the author's released. hopefully the author's artwork will improve to match her writing.

Alright, I absolutely loved this one. I bought it thinking I was going to be horribly disappointed as I'm not really one for big beefy boys doing yaoi things but this one was the outstanding exception. I couldn't put it down. Not only that, I've read it several times since. An absolute MUST for Yaoi fans!!!

*SPOILERS*

It's great to see more original English-language yaoi in print, although this book sadly has a number of flaws.

The dialogue is quite stilted and sometimes feels more like reading a translation than something that was in English to begin with. This is unfortunate considering how often the subject of rape comes up, which really needs to be better handled. I'm not entirely sure how to say this without getting my review thrown out, but basically every discussion emphasises the "with a FIST...!" aspect of said rape, which is difficult to take seriously.

I was a little uncomfortable with the negative stereotypes regarding homosexuality in this book too. All the gays guys in this are evil or overbearing and controlling. Most (all?) sex is borderline rape and the seme even jokes about him fitting a gay stereotype when he says, "I got poofter tastes. That's one dead-giveaway about me." It made me cringe.

Also, the book's editor needs to play closer attention to grammar. It's 'would've' not 'would of' and I was stunned to see this mistake repeated throughout (at least four times). There was also the classic 'you're' and 'your' mix up, as well as a few other isolated typos.

Overall, despite my criticisms, I didn't hate this book. The scenes that took place in the ring and backstage were extremely well-done. I also think it's good to support the production of original English-language yaoi and this book is a good choice if that's your aim. So far, I think this would be my pick of Yaoi Press' output.

Yaoi Press titles tend to get some really bad reviews, and my opinion is that people often buy them with wrong expectations. If you consider buying it to get another Japanese / Korean-style manga/manhwa: please don't bother. I read hundreds of those, and though I have my favorites there, I want some diversity. I want yaoi written from our, Western perspective, and this title really delivered in that regard. No pretty ukes, no "kuns", "chans" or "sans" here. The characters are manly, and very straightforward with each other. The book depicts the world of pro-wrestlers, and does it fairly believably (at least to me, and I must admit I'm not a fan, so I may not know much about it).

The top champion is gay, into mild "Dom" / S&M play and has a "thing" for straight male wrestlers. The one he chooses first resists but then ... Well, it's yaoi, so you can guess :) It might sound simple and predictable, but it was well-executed, with some funny moments thrown in.

The sex scenes are moderately explicit, though no frontal nudity. To all those who enjoyed this story, I recommend "Yaoi Hentai", volume 2, which has a bonus story / continuation of "Pinned!". And that one is REALLY explicit: everything is shown, and shown many times :).

I wasn't expecting too much from Pinned! originally, but once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. The relationship between Synn and Renegade is as hot as it is dangerous. The twist ending has only left me breathless for more. This is my favorite tale from Yaoi Press so far.

I really liked this manga because it created a love story that wasn't gushy, but was still very touching. As well, I loved the whole "in the dark" thing about Renegade or how Synn's friend wasn't quite what he seemed either. I look forward to part two! Oh and again, very nice and consistent art!

I hated this book. I don't consider it a yaoi title, it's more like a suspense thriller that just happens to have a few pages of man rape thrown in. It's about a psychopath wrestler who molests a younger wrestler. It's boring, makes you uneasy and the twist at the end is just plain stupid. The characters are really 2 dimensional and you are never able to sympathise with the hero. The rape/sex scenes don't last more than a page and everything is covered up. Don't waste your money on this awful book, go buy "Brother" by Yuzuha Ougi instead.

Good plot that's not completely predictable. Solid character development. Hot boy on boy action. Umm, did I mention -- hot. I really grew to like and care about the main characters (like I did with Dee and Ryo in Fake) -- unlike a lot of yaoi manga I've read lately. There's tension (who should our hero trust?) plus great, funny, snarky banter. All in all, good times. Hope they do a second volume.