Review: Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! by Nmura

Posted September 9, 2024 by Lola in Contemporary, Review, Romance / 2 Comments

Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! (Online Game #1)
by Nmura

My Rating: 3 stars

Genre: Contemporary Romance/ Manga
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/m

Blurb:
Hashimoto is your average office worker — young, and prone to being pushed around by his demon boss, Shirase. His only escape is his favorite online game, and the friends he’s made within. But when he plans an offline meetup for his party, he gets the surprise of his life…!

My Review

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

After reading some good graphic novels/ mangas earlier this year I decided to get a few more from Netgalley and this was one that caught my eye. I liked the premise and the way online gaming was part of it. It was a cute sweet read with some funny moments, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

There is a big misunderstanding that’s part of the plot and the main character is super oblivious, which was kinda funny at times and other times it just felt a bit much. It takes a long time for the romance or plot points to develop. And while I usually enjoyed it while reading, I just didn’t really have a strong urge to pick it up again.

I liked the art well enough, especially the character designs, although the art for the in-game scenes wasn’t my favorite. I also would’ve liked to see a bit more of the game, but mostly there are some in-game conversations, not much about how the game actually works. The romance was sweet and there are some cute scenes between them, but I just didn’t fully feel the romance. Probably also because the main character doesn’t really think of romance and what it entails until they start dating, which is toward the very end.

To summarize: This one had a fun premise and was a cute read, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I enjoyed it while reading, but didn’t really have the urge to pick it up. I didn’t fully feel the romance and because the main character is very oblivious it takes a long time to progress. There is also some misunderstanding a big part of the plot, which could be kinda annoying as it dragged on pretty long. I also would’ve liked a bit more about the game as that was part of the premise that caught my eye.