All right guys let's keep a few things in mind: I read this before it was licensed way back in the day when it was fan translated. This is more accurately considered "Josei" then "shoujo" (which is kind of like the difference between "middle grade/young adult" and "New adult") and while this volume involves very little nudity succeeding volumes feature it pretty heavily (especially between the two main characters).

What does it take to be a "perfect" secretary? Kaya is determined to be such to Director Touma no matter what it means. Running ridiculous errands? Fine. Enduring his rude remarks about how 'plain' she is? Bring it on. Helping to schedule his "meals" with the women that he has sex with so he can drink their blood? Oh sure--wait what?!

Ohmi has an interesting take on vampires in this series; far as I can tell they can't be made, only born and only between a human and a vampire. As such there's few enough of them in existence. Much of the popular folklore about them is false also. They only need a meal once or twice a week to sustain them, direct sunlight weakens (but doesn't kill) them and its the power of faith (of any religion) that hurts them, not the artifacts or words.

Touma is your basic Alphahole Hero--he's arrogant, rude, condescending, womanizing (though that's partially out of necessity) and controlling. He chides Kaya constantly about her "plain" appearance and makes unreasonable demands even BEFORE Kaya finds out he's a vampire. Kaya for her part is more timid in these early chapters, but what seems softness and hesistance on her part morphs into just how committed she is to being the BEST secretary she can be under any circumstances.

What kept me interested back then and now was the struggle Touma and Kaya go through to find their happy ending (oh come on its a romance, despite any other trappings, so yes there's a HEA). Ohmi doesn't have them jump into a relationship--while Kaya is struck by how attractive Touma is, his arrogant attitude (his "pride" as a vampire) turns her off as much as the little nice things he does interests her. In this volume we see them bicker, fight, joke and frustrate each other.

For Kaya her job as a secretary is who she is--its everything she's wanted to repay her mother for raising her. She takes her job seriously, works hard and when its appropriate she speaks her mind. Because of this "pride" as a secretary she's at odds with Touma--who has a chip on his shoulder against humans (including his own family), a chip on his shoulder about women (which granted, we come to find out is not entirely unreasonable) and is perfectly fine with manipulating Kaya's sense of duty to get her to stay by his side.

The artwork is a bit more dated and sometimes seems odd--most of the men are tall, well built and almost aggressively sharp shoulders (and almost always in suits, which makes sense since this primarily takes place at a corporate building). The women, even Kaya who despairs of being a "babyface", all are hourglass figures. This changes as the series progresses and we meet more characters, but it holds true here. Touma stands out because he's dressed dark with dark hair while Kaya stands out for much the same reasons--many of the other minor characters fade into the background.

If you want a heroine who has purpose and goals, this is for you. If you want a vampire romance with all the traditional trappings therein, this is for you. If you want to see Touma and Kaya run themselves ragged trying to convince each other and themselves that they are fine without the other, this is for you. Give it a shot--after all don't you have any pride as a reader? ( )

I think this could have been a bit more romantic based on my assumptions of the plot, but I still throughly enjoyed it. ( )

You like vampires? You like vampires who are buisness executives for a big company and fall in bloodlust lust love (maybe) with their babyfaced secretaries?

Then this manga might just be for you. ( )

Kaya Satozuka is dedicated to succeeding at her job as executive secretary to the managing director of Tohma Corporation, Kyohei Tohma. It's not easy, though, especially since Kyohei is notoriously difficult to work with - so much so, in fact, that he can't seem to keep an executive secretary for more than a couple of months at a time. But Kaya is determined to be efficient and indispensable to her new boss - even after she discovers that Kyohei is actually a vampire.

To be honest, this is the first manga that I have ever read, so I don't have much that I can compare this book to at this time. I was at the local Hastings when I found myself in the manga section, and since I already have a few manga books in my TBR pile (Monster and several yuri collections), I browsed until I discovered this one, which caught my eye.

I really like the character of Kaya, who is rather headstrong and independent. I didn't, however, like Kyohei at all. He states that he wants to get another secretary more than once, because Kaya isn't attractive enough for him. He even says that he doesn't care about the skills of his secretary, because looks matter more to him. Ugh. Even though Kaya repeatedly demonstrates how capable she is as his secretary, his complaints about her looks don't end until he discovers, rather accidentally, that she's beautiful beneath the glasses and tightly put-up hair. Gag. Kyohei also practically has a harem of women floating through his office at all hours of the day and night, and he has a tendency to be cruel to Kaya in an effort to push her away because he develops ~feelings~ for her. Dislike.

Still, in spite of those things, I do think that this manga has some really good potential in future volumes. Plus it's pretty darned readable, so I'll be continuing with the series, at least for now. ( )

Yes, there are quite a few vampire romances out there, but since I've had a very loooong break from them, and really from manga in general, I have to say I found this story to be very enjoyable. It takes the traditional story of the holy highness jerky boss and uber-competent, secretly lovely, secretary and mixes it together with the naughty vampire story and manages to concoct something I found very compelling and engrossing.

It should definitely be noted that this manga is rated "M" and for very good reasons. Nicely drawn, the artist has paid a great deal of detail to her characters and has done well distinguishing everyone. You won't mistake the guys for girls here. The story was very easy to follow and although predictable, it didn't feel redundant. I zipped through the first three volumes in no time flat and wish I didn't have to wait for the rest. ( )