Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Flowers of Flesh and Blood
SERIES: The Yakuza Path #5
AUTHOR: Amy Tasukada
PUBLISHER: Macarons & Tea Publishing
LENGTH: 366 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2020
BLURB:
A killer. A traitor. A deadly war that could take their love and their lives…
Ruling the Kyoto yakuza makes Nao Murata a perpetual target, especially with the Koreans encroaching into their territory. An attempt on his life at his mafia headquarters crosses a line. Setting up his beloved ally Aki as the would-be assassin crosses another. Nao knows the only way to save his friend’s life is to sever their growing bond and force Aki to fake his own death…
But Aki Hisona refuses to stay dead. Determined to expose Nao’s would-be killer and save the man he loves, Aki goes deep undercover in the Korean underworld. But when he’s asked to prove his loyalty, he risks becoming caught in a web of his own lies…
With Aki gone and the Kyoto mafia in grave danger, Nao fears his trust in others could be fatal.
Will Nao and Aki find the assassin in time, or will Nao’s rule end in bloody chaos?
The Yakuza Path: Flowers of Flesh and Blood is the powerful fifth installment of The Yakuza Paththriller series. If you like gritty Japanese crime, richly-nuanced characters, and slow-burning gay romance, then you’ll love Amy Tasukada’s high-octane novel.
REVIEW:
If you have not kept up with this series or have not read it, then number one, you need to start from the beginning. Number two, be warned, this is not for the light hearted. This is a story about the yakuza, which is basically Asian mafia. Or like the Russian mob. It’s bloody, it’s gory, and full of betrayals and harsh ways of life. I’m loving this series, though. I have since book 1. However, I think this book was the worst one for me. It was so hard to read. My heart broke so bad in this one. But in the end it was worth it. It’s just the in-between that’s killer.
Aki was doing his normal duty making tea for Nao. But this day was more special because it’s almost like a Valentine’s day here. And Aki found something special for Nao to show his love. Within minutes though, Nao was on the floor, appearing quite dead. Thankfully, others had gotten him to the hospital in time, but Aki was now branded a traitor because of his dual heritage and everyone thought him siding with the Koreans to kill Nao. But he didn’t. And thanks to the real traitor, he’s now been outed out of any yakuza and sent to die. Only Nao’s caring for him kept him alive, but shunned. He has an idea on what to do to maybe get back in Nao’s good graces, but will he stay alive long enough to do so. Because the games in this war have just been upped and Nao has no idea who to really trust. And with the love of his life gone, will his grief keep his head out of the game and finally take him out or can he make it out alive himself?
I was so hoping in this book that Nao and Aki could finally get it together but darn it if something else doesn’t come along and mess everything up. I broke for Aki. I bawled like a baby at what was done to him. And how anyone could believe he would be the traitor. He wouldn’t hurt Nao for anything. But because of his dual heritage, everyone jumped the gun. And it killed me. And Nao himself, not standing up and doing what should have been done to begin with, hurt even more. Yes, he ended up doing the right thing. And yes, he finally pulled his head out of his butt and realized what was really going on, but it came at a cost. A huge one. And one that almost cost everyone everything. I can’t even begin to express enough how hard this one was for me. I have been in love with Aki from the beginning and to see the horror of what he was having to endure and what he was trying to do to make things right. Especially when it shouldn’t have been his responsibility to do so anyway.
I still love this series. And can’t wait for the next one. But if it’s like this one and breaks my heart this bad, I might be a little more upset lol. Whooo. I can’t take another one like this one, I don’t think. Well, actually I could, but it would hurt. I’m glad it turned out the way it did, but it’s a hard one to get through. If you’ve read this series and love it like I do, you will need tissues in this one. But it’s worth it.
RATING: 
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