Vale Amor is a tale of yore that leaves me wanting for a sequel. Well...perhaps the setting is not best described as yore but the rest is true. ^-^

Praesev, a young prince, is made to marry a princess from a neighboring kingdom in order to achieve an alliance between the two lands. With anguish, he tells his long time friend and lover Lucient, about the new turn of events that promises to divide them from one another. A brave and pained smile graces Lucient^³s face as he resigns himself to leave his love. Shouting out against the unfairness of it all, Praesev begins to cry and moves forward to kiss Lucient forcefully. The kiss quickly becomes gentle and as their embraces become more impassioned, my glasses become steamed up and I can't see.... hold on a sec.

Flashbacks of the past occasionally decorate their thoughts amidst their lovemaking. Moments perhaps when their love had not yet been recognized, though with Lucient's heavy-lidded gaze, I think somebody's becoming a little more daring with his feelings. ;)

Now think Barry White for a moment and we'll go back to some more lovemaking. Lucient and Praesev continue to revel in their few stolen moments together in a graphic and lovely sort of way, especially for us voyeurs.

Trains speed tunnels, rockets blast off into space, and white light surrounds Praesev and Lucient as their vigorous actions come to their inevitable conclusion.

The first time I read this, my eyes did well up a bit. The story itself is very sweet and with the heartbreaking twist at the end, I find myself chomping at the bit for a sequel. This is mainly because I adore happy endings but the end of this love tale does works very well. It, of course, makes the whole story. Nevertheless, it is quite sad.

Dora has a nice, consistent drawing style. Contouring for shading is prominent in nearly if not every scene, which helped to give a feel for the shaping of the character's figures as well as other points of interest. There is much detail to it, for example (and I know this is going to cause smirks on many a face) when Lucient is beginning to make love to Praesev, he is still wearing his pants though aroused. I noticed that (ok, smirk) his erection was drawn. It's a small thing (Not you, Lucient!) but I believe it relays how much attention had been put into this doujinshi...wonderful reference point though, isn't it?

Throughout the storyline, Dora also uses words to convey the sounds of what is occurring. By this, I do not just mean the sounds of sex like moaning and groaning but in all things such as bodies rubbing together. I think, in all, that the sound words assisted in the story because it is predominantly about the lovemaking.

However, at first I found it somewhat amusing, such as when Lucient and Praesev are grinding their erections together thereby producing a squishing noise. If I was with a guy and heard that while I was doing what Lucient was doing, I'd figured the story would already be over if you get my meaning. *wink* At least not for another twenty minutes or so anyway...

Nevertheless, this was a wonderful piece to have been able to read and enjoy. The romance, pain, and sex in stories such as these are addictive. If I cannot have a sequel, maybe a prequel...I'm so glad Star Wars gave me that word. ^-^

Did I mention Lucient's a hunk as well? The final picture of Lucient and Praesev in a glamour shot dressed in modern clothing is very nice indeedy. ^-^

Thus, Vale Amor is very worthwhile, with its regent backdrop and star-crossed lovers. The healthy dose of sex doesn't hurt either...but that's a given. ^_~

Lucient and Praesev follow a standard yaoi dynamic. Lucient is the long-haired, stoic but caring seme, Praesev the weeping and (amazingly) sexually responsive uke. Throughout the story are scenes showing the growing relationship of Lucient and Praesev: how they met, and the circumstances that are causing them to part. These details, while not particularly original, added a note of poignancy to what would otherwise be astraightforward PWP.

Most striking to me about this doujinshi was how explicit the art is. No glowing cones here!--to the contrary, both penetration and oral sex are shown in uncompromising close-up. Both Praesev and Lucient have pubic hair, and they use several different positions, all of which seem workable in real life. Artist Dora uses pen work for shading, not a favorite technique of mine unless the artist is completely practiced and confident in what techniques look good where. The art is somewhat representational, not the cartoony type of anime-inspired art.

Vale' Amor's medieval/fantasy milieu is set up on the first panel, which shows a rather poorly-rendered castle and some dragons flying around. That panel could possibly have been dispensed with for more sex!

Backgrounds, like the human figures, are more detailed than I've usually found in doujinshi, but don't exactly add up to a fully-realized world. It's more like a stonework version of the standard yaoi bedroom, and well fitted to a passionate goodbye between lovers trapped in a situation beyond their control.

At 40 pages, Vale' Amor is a nice substantial size for a one-shot. If you're up for a hot, explicit read, with solid yaoi-type characters and a little sadness, this doujinshi would be a good choice!