I literally read one book and it was the sequel to a book I read last month so....yeah. I lost motivation for actual books but not for actual reading! Read on to found out how!
August Book Reviews
Empress of the Bright Moon (Weina Dai Randel)
5/10 The second book in the duology, where despite the fact that she comes back into the palace and is an actual concubine now, still nothing really happens. Okay, that's not really true but it sure felt like it. There wasn't really a sense of tension, the Empress thing was all over the place, and I liked Jewel as a antagonist more than just a crazy woman villainess. Pheasant was just a super boring character. I wish they spent more time developing the protagonist becoming cruel from grief or at least keeping it in instead of the standard forgiveness arc. This might have been more interesting if book one was about her time with both emperors and book two was about her solo rise to power but honestly, judging from the level of writing here, it probably wouldn't do the palace drama genre justice. Probably just go watch Empress of China or something, at least the visuals are amazing.
I'll be real, I actually spend the better part of this month (and probably a good chunk of the last) just reading fan translated Japanese (and one Chinese) light/web novels. So while I can't exactly count them on Goodreads, I was in fact reading...might as well review them as proof. (I usually read them from time to time alongside actual published books but because I just truly have too little to show for this month here we are).
The Wolf Lord's Lady (Morino Ion)
8.5/10 A not uncommon premise of a noble lady executed for crimes she didn't commit and is now reincarnated. The interesting parts come from the fact that the crimes were committed by her family, and she was a very realistic case of a sheltered noble girl who turned a blind eye. Another part is that her former lover was masquerading as a butler but was in reality the leader of the revolutionary army who ended up executing said family. Right from the beginning there was some great parts between the two of them (pre-reincarnation) that implies he didn't blame her and wanted her to live but the heroine wanted to atone for her crimes. There was also a sense that while she did feel betrayed by his deception, she didn't blame him either. So right from the get-out there's that sweet, sweet angst that I love. Then post-reincarnation, she ends up being a maid in her former lover's household, now lord of the town. Of course, he doesn't know who she is now so it's mostly just a lot of introspection on her part. But that's not where it gets interesting, where it gets really interesting is when he starts to guess based on her mannerisms and sense of wistfulness. There's a lot of great angst and emotion as the two characters are mature, well-developed people. I've read the first volume and it's supposed to be ongoing, but despite some of the sequel teasing loose ends, I think it's already a solid story on its own.
Observation Record of a Self-proclaimed Villainess' Fiance (Shiki)
8/10 A solid take on the all too common 'I was reincarnated in another world as an otome game villainess' trope of female-led isekai series. This is told from the non-isekai'd fiance character's point of view, and its humorous take on the various oddities of a modern-aged girl put into a fantasy world setting makes it stand out from the crowd. The protagonist himself is a calculating genius who's bored with the world but is predictably changed through his engagement with his fiancee. Said fiancee, our heroine, is a sweet, rambunctious girl who is for some reason obsessed with becoming an evil woman. Of course, her misguided attempts can't really disguise what a good girl she is, and ends up surrounded by a group of loyal friends and admirers. For most of this completed series (a rarity in isekai web novels just because the genre is so relatively new), its appeal comes from the lighthearted humor and likeable characters. Towards the end there's some drama inserted with the appearance of the in-game 'heroine' as a rival character and a mystery towards why the main character seems so hellbent on giving her fiance up for the sake of his happiness with the fake 'heroine'. The drama is fine, but the actual explanation they gave was kind of weird and felt more like a justification than anything. Still, this series stands out from the rest and was a cute, fluffy story.
Villainous Daughter Aims for the Last Boss (Nagase Sarasa)
7.5/10 Yes, another 'I was reincarnated in another world as an otome game villainess'. I should find some kind of abbreviation for it. But in any case, this one follows a pretty common set up of the heroine's fiance breaking off their engagement for the 'heroine'. In this one the 'heroine' is also another rival character who's secretly evil. The protagonist goes off and finds another, better love interest, which in this case happens to be the demon king, a hidden secret boss of the original otome game. This series continues ticking the boxes with: a cold love interest who gets melted by the heroine's candor and friendliness, the demons are good people, the fake 'heroine' is evil etc. While it's all done fairly well, there's just no new surprises, no extra part that makes it stand out from the rest with the same premise. Still, being a good standard is important and this one does manage it. While its two volumes wrap up the first arc pretty well, here's hoping from some good surprises in the following chapters.
Fiancee of the Wizard (Sakano Keiko)
7/10 I almost forgot this was a 'reincarnated in another world as a noble lady' because she starts off by saying even though she was reincarnated it didn't really help her with anything because it was a completely different world and she was just a smart child for a bit. So points to them for going with a logical character setting. The main thing that's plot relevant to her transmigration is the fact that people with completely black hair are feared because it means they're super power wizards. Does it sound like a cop-out discrimination feature? Yes, it's isekai what did you expect. Anyway, of course the heroine doesn't think he's scary because after all she used to be Japanese! Black hair is super common and in fact she finds it really comforting to see that hair color after all this time. So anyway of course he falls for her immediately but he's the silent, blunt type and doesn't know how to show it so they dance around each other for a good while and it's actually super cute. The first volume focuses on this really cute romance and ends with them confessing their feelings and I really enjoyed it. (The best part was the heroine realizing she doesn't miss his black hair because she misses Japan, it was only because it was his that it was important to her - adorable) However, the subsequent volumes move on to other arcs and other villains and it loses some of its charm especially when it comes to the miscommunication issues between the two of them. It's cute when they aren't together yet and haven't realized their feelings but not as cute when they're already a married couple. The first volume is definitely worth reading though, again, very cute.
The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Mo Xiang Tong Xiu)
6.5/10 So mixed feelings about this one. I only started reading this after watching the drama adaptation of it, which I loved, so I think a lot of my expectations were set from that. For example, this novel is fully a BL novel. The two male leads are unquestionably gay and in love with each other and it doesn't give you any illusions otherwise. The drama however, because of censorship issues, had to tone it down and instead of explicitly showing any romance it just had to imply it through judicious use of the theme music over long shots of emotional gazing. But when I compare the due, I actually do like the drama's approach better. The novel feels like a straightforward love story, with the oblivious protagonist taking a while to realize his feelings of course, but the drama's subtle hints makes it so much more moving when you stop and think about it. The best part about the drama was how they added onto my actual favorite relationship, the troubled brothers to enemies one of the male lead and his non blood related brother. God, the real tragedy are these two and I would give it a 10/10 for the way their fates have gone. The novel doesn't have these extra bits, and it has a different timeline than the drama which has the bonus of being more easy to understand at first but the detriment that it doesn't give as much emotional weight to the two brothers' story. Still, I really love the world building of the setting and the characterization of each person. The story takes care to show that very few people are truly all evil or good, but exist in shades of grey and it emphasizes how the real villain is discrimination and greed. In the end though, I prefer the drama.
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