憎らしい彼: 美しい彼2

Contains spoilers for the first volume, read only if you have read this already!

This novel is the second volume in the 美しい彼 series and directly follows the events of the first book, giving a closer look at the lives of Hira and Kiyoi who are now living as a couple. If you expect great dramatic plot developments, you will probably be a little bit disappointed, this volume feels a little bit more like a character study and glimpses into their daily lives.

While they managed to finally get clear about their feelings at the end of volume 1, in the second volume a great part is dedicated to their relationship struggles. It is noticeable that both characters have had some character development from volume 1 but they still have a lot of work to do. Especially Hira struggles a lot with self-worth issues and I related a lot to Kiyoi's suffering about (t)his きもうざ俺さま. While this may seem frustrating character development, I found it actually pretty realistic, people don't just change completely in a day, it needs time and a lot of communication.

Some interesting new characters are being introduced in this volume, namely 安奈 (あんな) who is a close colleague and acquaintance of Kiyoi, and 野口 (のぐち) who is a renowned photographer who's determined to take Hira under his wings.

More than the first volume, there are a lot of musings about the entertainment industry and the fragile relationship between celebrities and fans. I can't judge about what goes on behind the scenes in that industry, but from what I heard about idol culture and the descriptions by the author, a lot seems to match, so I think there's surely some core of truth to it.

All in all I recommend this continuation if you liked the HiraKiyo dynamic in the first volume and want to see more of the characters, and don't mind if there is not too much of dramatic action going on.