She’s in her 30s. She’s convinced she’s a mess. She goes on a blind date and ends up literally in the arms of a yakuza. You know, standard.
A Blind Date, a Baker and a Yakuza
Am I allowed to want you by J.E. Baldr is a romance novella set in Tokyo, following Imani- a woman constantly looking for fresh starts as a way of running from perceived failures. She’s single, living alone and working in an office surrounded by people invested in her love life. After disaster strikes on a blind date, she ends up kissing a yakuza called White Tiger… while thinking she’s kissing the quiet baker she’s been flirting with for weeks. They’re brothers. Go figure.
The novella offers a forbidden love story. Will Imani fall for the White Tiger? Will she just run away and skip town again? Will she listen to her sister?
Old Enough to Know Better
But the joy is that this is not some first love teenage drama. This is a woman in 30s who knows she shouldn’t be there. She talks about experiences, is self aware of the danger and her options. That’s what gives the romance an interesting layer of agency. Imani knows this is dangerous. She knows she has other options. She’s a grown woman making a choice anyway, and that makes her actions feel entirely her own and strangely liberating.
I enjoyed the use of setting, using the Tokyo nightclub scene to add drama and danger to the relationship. I’ll admit, there are plenty of clichés and at points it gets downright cheesy. But hey, it’s a novella. It doesn’t have 400 pages to slowly build its world and relationships. It needs to get me into Tokyo, introduce a dangerously attractive yakuza and tell me a complete story in about 80 pages. I’ll forgive it some shortcuts.
In Defence of the 80-Page Romance
Let’s take a moment to celebrate the joy of novellas. A short, 80-page, self-contained story is an absolutely wonderful evening. Being able to finish a book so quickly is such a cheeky dopamine boost. There’s a rail at my local library called ‘quick reads’ and I’m so keen to raid it on my next visit.
So thanks Am I allowed to want you. Thanks JE Baldr. I’m all inspired again.
I received a free ARC copy of this book from Booksprout in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Review by Emma Sinclair
Emma Sinclair is a Scottish writer and book reviewer behind The Second Draft. She writes about books, culture and the things she can’t stop thinking about, from speculative fiction and internet history to the odd ideas hidden between the pages.
Check out The Second Draft’s latest posts
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