This westernized yaoi manga is not as good as most Japanese yaoi that have been licensed in the U.S. However, it is much better than many other western offerings, and some Japanese ones, with an unusual story. Fuyu is a winter demon who raped a monk from a local village not long ago. Now the village is under attack by fire demons and only that monk can convince Fuyu to help. But, what will it cost him? And Fuyu will get more than he bargained for when the fire demons turn out stronger than he anticipated. These two have an uneasy relationship to say the least!

The art is not as clean looking as that of Japanese mangakas Nitta or Kodaka, but it doesn't look cartoonish either. The panels are laid out in a clear manner, with sufficient background to give some depth, and the text bubbles are clearly directed to their speaker. There is sex in the book, but while graphic it is not explicit (as with Nitta or Yamane). The book is laid out left to right, rather than in the Japanese style, but Yaoi press makes no bones about the fact that they do OEL/western yaoi. The cover art is lovely and the book well made. There is a secondary story after the primary one about another demon called Figaru. One nice thing Yaoi press has done is to take a "bonus" story and make it more than just an add on as with most Japanese yaoi. Figaru's is a sexy little story that will have surprising developments in the next two volumes of this series when they stories cross-over.

Overall, "Winter Demon" is worth the purchase if you're a yaoi fan looking for something new while waiting for the next volume of your favorite series. It's hot, with good art and an interesting storline. Recommended. ( )