The Honey-Blood Beauty & Her Vampire Vol. 1 Review – Damn Sexy Vampire Boys

Vampire love is a recurring theme in romance manga. The idea that a human girl and vampire boy can come together and start a relationship creates an almost irresistibly sensual mood. However, it’s overused, and writers must get creative, which is where I assume the idea of The Honey-Blood Beauty & Her Vampire Vol. 1 came to be. While it doesn’t explicitly carry unique plot points, its characters and world-building are something to admire.

The Honey-Blood Beauty & Her Vampire Vol. 1 is set in a world where vampires and humans co-exist. Vampires can typically drink the blood of humans if they are dating, and everyone gets along for the most part. Our lead heroine is Kagari Tojyo, a pretty high school girl who happens to have a rare pureblood known as “Honey-Blood.” This makes even the slight smell of her blood drive vampires mad to eat it. So, she is assigned a species protector named Ryotaro, a vampire who lives off her blood but can resist the urge to attack her.

Their relationship in the opening chapters is toxic. They seem to have feelings for each other. Still, Ryotaro draws a metaphorical line to limit Kagari’s advances, only after providing every bit of service imaginable for her to the point where she can’t do anything without him. They keep playing this cat and mouse game of who can make the other person jealous, and while it’s humorous, I couldn’t help but think that it isn’t good for their mental state.

An antagonist appears in the form of a pretty boy plotting something evil, but that’s neither here nor there. The story itself is enticing enough to get hooked on the pacing since you want to see if this strange relationship goes anywhere. The world-building isn’t forgotten either, as the writer snuck in plenty of small details about how this world works through clever means.

I must admit, when the characters do let themselves go, the story can get rather sensual. The illustrations give off this slight glow, and we see full body shots of the characters wrapped around each other. There are some very romantic scenes sprinkled throughout the pages, and I couldn’t look away. I never considered myself a huge fan of these fluffy romance pieces, but the mix of danger, humor, and subtle flirting seemed to really catch my attention.

The Honey-Blood Beauty & Her Vampire Vol. 1 ends on a high note. I only hope these characters don’t rely on their toxic means for attention in the next volume because I don’t know if it’ll work for much longer. Luckily, I don’t think that will be the case, but I’m looking forward to the drama that is sure to ensue as we learn more about the character’s pasts.