Normal People meets 10 Things I Hate About You in this simmering, multi-layered Achillean literary mystery set in Tokyo.

A comedy of errors, until fate reveals its twisted sense of humor.

Kamada Eizo, a popular young web novelist, lands his dream—a flagship fantasy series with an ambitious publisher. The catch? He is paired with Miyamoto Ran, a brusque and uncompromising editor with a keen eye for literary hits.

Perfect opposites, they clash at the start. Eizo is skilled at spinning tales; Ran hates liars. Eizo is quick to notice Ran’s aversion to touch; Ran sees through Eizo’s polished smiles. What follows is frustrating one-upsmanship with no clear winners, only bruised egos.

As the weight of their high-stakes project closes in, Ran senses something amiss about Eizo. He begins to uncover the man behind the writer, a truth that forces Eizo to double down on his defenses, fighting not just for his story but to keep Ran out. But exposing the truth will come at a cost Ran isn’t prepared to pay, not when his feelings, long suppressed, are becoming as complicated as the mystery he must solve.

Perfect for readers craving a book that combines the intimate dynamics of love and social class found in Sally Rooney's work, the humor of Alexis Hall's rom-coms, with modern danmei/boys' love elements.

Expect dual third-person perspective, layered narratives, and banter teeming with romantic tension and psychological intrigue. This is Book 1 of a duet which ends in a happily ever after.

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