Everyone's Getting Married Vol. 4by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 6 Rio reaffirms his desire to marry Asuka, and decides to wait but proactively try to convince her. Ryu struggles with his growing jealousy and the thought that Asuka might leave him at any point in the future in order to get married.I'm enjoying the double love triangle. Yuko still distracts Ryu, at best; her presence back in his life reminds him why he thinks marriage is a farce. The fact that he kept his new work arrangement with Yuko a secret from Asuka doesn't work in his favor. Yes, he's professional in the work place, but he's already made one oops on-air since Yuko came back, exposing feelings he may still have for her. He obviously wants to rescue Yuko, but then what? And what about Asuka? Is he just trying to "rescue" her from her idea of marriage? And, oh my, the jealousy runs strong in this volume! It gives me hope that this relationship with Asuka is different ... even if it makes him a bit possessive. Rio is a wonderful character to insert into the storyline to balance things out with the logical "business" side of marriage. He's handsome, smart, and successful; he genuinely cares about Asuka,values her opinions and dreams, and sees the potential gain for both of them from a union. I love that he's neither aggressive nor passive in his pursuit. He wants more than a mere union, and Asuka's resolve to try to work things out with Ryu only makes Rio admire her more. It's almost fun to see how smoothly he moves in, using the fact that Ryu and Asuka are trying to keep their relationship a secret (for Ryu's sake mostly) -- and there's a lot of angst around that since a picture was taken of the two of them. The end of this volume begins to pit Rio and Ryu more like rutting stags fighting over a prize, which I don't care for. The end of this volume includes a bonus unrelated story about a woman entering a relationship to prove to both of them that she's not "boring". This is an odd perspective on relationships, but one I'm sure some people will identify with. The man wants a non-boring relationship, and will move on as soon as it becomes so. The woman feels that "boring" is an insult, so in a mix of spontaneous and awkwardly thought-out actions, she ends one relationship (with a cheater) to enter a new one with this man. The mix of regret and indecision make it rather uncomfortable to read sections of this story -- like she's putting herself in a bad situation and trying to make the best of it. By the end, it seems like they may have their own code system and might possibly be in a healthy if unusual relationship (that progressed over two days?), giving me hope for them long term. That makes this story bearable, but I'm glad it wasn't longer and won't be a returning extra. Written: March 30, 2017
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