I read the book more or less blind and went a little OH when I realized it was going to be a romance between a woman and her former teacher

I did know what I was getting into, and was a little surprised that the romance part of things took so long to even be hinted at, let alone developed! I thought it was a very sweet book— although bittersweet, at the end. I like that it gave Tsukiko an alternative love interest, to make her romantic relationship with Sensei an active choice rather than one that arose out of sheer... orbital gravity, I suppose?

No idea what was going on with the book's cover, either. Maybe... it's a metaphor...?