Kohaku, outcast of the White Tiger Clan, once shared an unbreakable bond with Seiryu, chieftain of the Dragon Clan and lord of the beastfolk. As children, Seiryu was the only one who made Kohaku feel like he belonged. But the centuries have driven them apart—Seiryu now hides behind the facade of a constant smile, and Kohaku can no longer trust his heart to the whims of another. On the rare occasions that the two met, Seiryu would casually propose marriage, only for Kohaku to refuse, unwilling to believe in his cavalier promises. However, things change when Kohaku finds himself next in Seiryu's long line of matchmaking partners. Despite everything, nothing could have prepared Kohaku for the secret Seiryu has been hiding for all these years. As the truth begins to unravel, can Kohaku finally understand his old friend's feelings? Or have time and trauma already doomed their chance at happiness?

The Azure Dragon's Devotion: An Offering of Three Centuries to You has story by Haru Sakura and art by Ciel. English translation is done by Stephanie Liu. Published by J-Novel Club (December 30, 2025).

Content Warning: domestic abuse

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Haru Sakura's BL light novels are some of the most readable I've encountered recently. If that name sounds familiar, that's because she's also the author of Romance Revived from the Fall 2025 Light Novel Guide. That one was isekai, but this one isn't, and I have to say that I really enjoy it when authors don't pigeonhole themselves into a single genre. Yes, Sakura's works are both queer romances, but that's more of an authorial theme than anything. The Azure Dragon's Devotion is a Chinese-inspired fantasy about beastfolk, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't even realize that it was by the same author as Romance Revived until I looked it up.

The Azure Dragon's Devotion plays with a few odd tropes that otherwise don't feel as if they really belong. For one thing, it's set in a sort of omegaverse world, but without any of the omegaverse trappings; probably the smoother way to describe it would be that it's a universe where male pregnancies are possible, but that's about it. No explanation is given for this beyond “dragon so masculine,” and even that seems to be discarded as the book goes on as anything more than an excuse for the leader of the most powerful clan to be able to take another man as his spouse. There's a little bit of “fated mates” going on, although it's never framed that way; instead the idea is that Seiryu just loves Kohaku so much that he's more or less imprinted on him. Kohaku is the only one who can calm Seiryu down, for example, and the dragon always wants to be touching his tiger beloved. If you read a lot of shifter romances, it'll seem very familiar.

Emotionally, this is really very sweet. Kohaku and Seiryu were friends as children, torn apart by a near-tragedy that left Kohaku very confused about what actually happened. Seiryu, on the other hand, has remained utterly devoted but unable to fully voice his feelings. That Kohaku spent the 250 years they were largely apart being abused by his father and feeling like a waste of space adds pathos to the proceedings, and by the end, it's hard not to want to see them get together. Of course, the main obstacle is somewhat manufactured, as Kohaku has never received any education whatsoever and still thinks babies are made when two people hug in bed. Do better, White Tiger Clan. Sex ed is important.

The book is definitely racier than Sakura's previously published one, and the illustrations keep pace with that, including a couple with visible penises and otherwise suspect anatomy. But the illustrations are quite pretty otherwise (I love the cover), and as I said before, the whole book is incredibly readable. It's great snow day reading if you don't mind some of the world building holes.