shit my heart is clenching at how she reacted to that black knight commander jermel guy it...

Which is one of the reasons why I like this manhwa, it's different and unique, and somehow realistic

It does fleshed of her character and vulnerbility.
But a part of me really wish that she will get her shit together in time and won't fear that blackhaired commander scum anymore.

Maybe I am too used to FLs that quickly overcome their trauma caused by her enemies/toxic people and then turning their fear into controlled anger + raging determination as a mean to scheme against/destroy those who wronged her.

"The Monster Duchess and The Contract Princess"

I think I being impatient since I wanna see already some suffering or pathetic reactions from the antagonist.
I really hope there will be a good pay off.

yup agreed :)

ikr, and her vulnerability is very well conveyed in the drawings. However I join you on the fact that I really hope she will regain her composure and be able to clear her head as much as possible. I too really enjoy revenge plots, and if the mc is able to turn their fear into controlled anger just like you said so well, it usually develops into such great stories!
I also absolutely can not wait to see how things will unfold and really hope for the villains to be punished as they should.
I hope she can really grab this second life opportunity, get even stronger than she was before her death, protect the people she loves and might have been unable to protect before and really grow from what she learned. Really looking forward to this manhwa :)

My worst fear is that she gets easily overpowered by the black knight commander and develops any sympathy for him, if the plots wants to humanize him...
Or wotst case scenario he becomes suddenly obsessed with her because he wants her for whatever reasons.

aaaarrrghhhhhh noooo no no no I like it better too when we know who the antagonists are and when the authors don't try to make us readers feel like they could be nice somehow.
I also don't really want her to grow some kind of harem including people who hurt her badly in her past life. Let her have one love interest and the rest of the story would focus on her growth, her change, her revenge and her trying to do good things for her country. She lived one life for money, let her grow and unfold the reasons why black knight commander guy ordered her to kill the crown prince and do all sort of bad stuff.
Also hope there'll be some nice political background and that red knight commander guy and she will be joining forces with a good prince, maybe the 4th one? he looks nice and is friend with red knight guy, so that there is a nice plot etc etc
at this point i'm just saying all the things i would find nice in the story but let's just go with the flow and hope they don't waste the potential of this story!!!! heheh

Better not getting the plot twist revealation where it makes the FL more special that she already is.
Hidden lost princess, descendant of a magical tribe, reincarnation of an angel, priestress, goddess or deity, incarnation of an ancient legendary warrior or the ancient fated soulmate of the ML from a past life etc...

Can't agree more with you.

ahahaha indeed omg no please just let her be normal and let her "try her best" despite having flaws and having made mistakes before!! i kind of feel like we have much in common when it comes to our taste in stories (≧∀≦)

My absolute favourites that I will always remember because these stories are very subversive and progressive for me - having the least tropes/cliches:

Beware of The Villainess, The Pet of the Villainess, The Lady's Butler, Slow Prison Life, Trash of the Count's Family, The Monster Duchess, Ebony, My Lord the Wolf Queen, The Duchess With An Empty Soul (Wish the two antagonists weren't queer), Charlotte Has Five Disciples, Untouchable Lady, The Way to Protect the Female Lead's Older Brother, The Lady and the Beast, I Raised Cinderella Preciously, Tearmoon Empire Story, This Corrupt World's "Normal" Is Difficult, The Stereotypical Life of a Reincarnated Lady, Light & Shadow, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Potion Tanomi de Ikinobimasu!, Peerless Alchemist, Cheating Men Must Die Claymore, Majo To Kiketsu No Kishi, Metamorphosis/The Skeleton Becomes a Cat Dad, Skeleton Soldier Couldn't Protect the Dungeon, Kingdom of the Queen, Uglyhood and Sailor Moon

Some of them have melodramatic logic and annoying characters but overall these stories really speaks to me.

I can also recommend "Ascendance of a Bookworm" but after reading the spoilers in novelupdate and seeing the direction of the plot...
Let's just say I don't personally like that the MC has to struggle/suffer too much, she is a little too childish and dramatic for me, becoming unwillingly the center of attention and anyone's target, the goddess who put her in this world with this magical dangerous sickness because she has this grand convoluted plan to judge/save this fantasy world and the potentional ML is way too old for her (MC Myne is 7 years old and he is 20 years old when they met). It doesn't help that in the anime ML/Priest/her guardian Ferdinand has the mature deep voice of a middle aged man....
I respect the character Myne and how she makes as a weak daughter of a commoner the best of any situations. Evtl just like any other reincarnated/fantasy protagonist she gains special magic power.

This story makes me realize that female main characters like her seems to suffer way more than their male counterparts.
Personally I get the impression now matter how hard the situations of male heroes/protagonists are, they still have it somehow easier and get conventionally access to great power.
Another commentator told me the main difference of Myne and other male isekai protagonists: She has to do household chores, kitchen stuffs and she has to face lots of misogyny/discriminiation as small fragile girl.

It's nice to find others sharing a similar tastes and discuss things maturely.

waaaaa yup yup yup, I personally didn't read "Ascendance of a Bookworm" so I can't really speak on the subject but I really like your list of "less cliché" stories.

I personally can only stand very little cliché moments until it makes me annoyed. I like stories to be as realistic as possible. By that I don't mean that I don't like fantasy worlds for exemple. By realistic I mean the situations that mcs get into should at least seem credible. Like you said, too many struggles and obstacles get irritating. Even more so when you feel like if it would have been a male mc, he would have found a way more easily, or people would have acknowledge him more naturally due to his genre.
Of course yes, we have to take into consideration that most of those isekai stories take place during "ancient" times, during monarchy and such, but it doesn't change the fact that as a 2021 reader it can get quite frustrating.

I also absolutely love most of the stories you listed, I would also like to add I tamed a Tyrant and Ran Away, The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass, as well as A Stepmother's Märchen. They are all 3 stories that I really enjoy especially the last one. Be it the plot, the character's personalities, the growth, the reactions etc
I have always felt like I could learn so much from reading such stories and I truly believe it helped me grow and become more of the person I am now :)

I feel happy that these stories helped you grow as a person.

Sorry to disappoint you but I lost my interest in "I tamed a Tyrant and Ran Away", "The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass", as well as "A Stepmother's Märchen".
I have to say that I can't sympathize with the dark haired superior angsty brooding cruel stalkery royal ML/manchild type anymore.

The reasons Why I don't care about these stories anymore:

In "I tamed a Tyrant and Ran Away" FL is the unappreciated overlooked fairylike beauty.
The genius dark haired bored ML kills the entire family of a tortured spy for the sake of his FL, he becomes so smitten and obsessed with her that he will do anything to keep her on her side. He doesn't actually respect her wishes and scares her when he turns his scum father into the swordlike entity like she was once. In the end the tyrant gets everything what he wants in both timelines. And there is the caring 2nd ML who came out of nowhere and was actually the only one who really unconditionally cared and searched for the FL in the original timeline. He even has dream memories about the first timeline.

In "The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass" I didn't like the first encounter between the FL and ML. The ML manhandles her, finds her interesting and then keeps bothering/stalking her until she gives hin. I appreciate that in chapter 58 he finally apologizes deeply for his rude harassing tsundere behaviour because he was so paranoid and vigilante due to his social status and having many enemies. But still don't like the power dynamic between these two and how he is easily forgiven because mainly how charming, attractive and influential he actually is. And the FL's father is kind of part of a magical royal family from another country... So her bloodline/lineage is actually very special. Classic revealation about the true origin of a FL.
To be frank, I would be much more interested, if this story would focus more only on the FL and her mother and how they both as unapologetic scheming bitches go against society/their enemies together.
I dislike the romantic logic that the FL develops feeling for any pretty powerful Alphahole ML who mistreated her, gets physical with her, threatens her life, almost killed her or already killed her in the past life. And after she survived + endures the dangerous tortured overwhelming ML with a messed up past he will become obsessed with you and evtl becomes your Mr Right/Gentleman to you.

I like the artstyle of "A Stepmother's Märchen" and how competent the FL can be.
What bothers me the most is that everyone especially the male characters is kinda obsessed with her. All the older men who helped her were in love with the dead pink haired lady who resembles the FL very much. Her own oldest stepson has feelings for her, the son of the late beloved lady wants to marry her and the Bishop targets her because he was also uncounciously in love with the lady... And the darling ML is the son of the duke who also had a crush on this pink harem lady.
The premise seems to be very soapy and too awkward to me.

I hope my opinion about your three recommended stories didn't offend/hurt you too much.

i feel the same way, feels nice to have a calm conversation. i enjoy the "excessive enthusiasm" one may feel commenting something right after finishing an exciting chapter but it's pleasant to have a tranquil discussion once in a while :)

I apologize, if I somehow suddenly disappointed you.

I really did like these 3 stories at the beginning.
But some time has passed, I grew older, learned new social progressive things, my critical thinking extended and there are specific tropes/values/messages/indications/logic in those plots that doesn't sit right with me anymore.
I personally outgrown them.

ooohhh wow you seem to be really good at analyzing what you read and forming your opinions based on what you deciphered/understood of the story as a whole! That's great. You don't seem bothered by the "entertaining" aspect of those stories and have your own standards, I can only respect that.
Don't worry, you expressed your point of view in a detailed and respectful manner, there is no reason for me to feel offended at all :) On the contrary, it is making me look past what I find enjoyable in these stories, and is making my brain work a little.

It does seem however that you are more advanced than me on I Tamed a Tyrant and Ran Away as well as The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass, did you maybe read spoilers/the novels?

Personally, from what I read so far in these stories, and my reflection right now after reading what you said, here after would be my answers..

In I Tamed a Tyrant and Ran Away, I now believe that I overlooked Dylan's obsession over Charlize a bit too much. The way he acts is actually quite creepy (the way he asks to be complimented/patted on the head, and his face when she does so was quite hmmm.. unpleasant). I mainly focused on Charlize and the entertaining aspect of her character. What she lived as the sword was so unique that it captivated me. I also really liked her idea of punishing the royal family in "the most human way possible" because what they did (transforming someone into a sword) is the most inhumane thing and was quite disappointed in Dylan when he acted on his own. I also don't think the second ML you are talking about has appeared yet but you already made me like him almost more than the ML, and it's making me quite disappointed in the story that Dylan will get everything while the second ML is actually the one to really care for Charlize in a healthy way argh...

In The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass, I don't really remember how old Asher was when he met Aria in that little shop when he heard her talk about the casino but if she was ~13 he was probably ~16..? I was not really shocked by the way he acted at that moment or after (the stalking part) as he was in quite a sensitive position as the crown prince with the conflict between aristocrats etc. And thought that he even acted quite courteously/respectfully after (while still remaining cautious around Aria and what she represented as someone really intelligent and who could gain quite a lot of power which wouldn't be good if she ended up in his enemy's side).. but I was quite pleased to hear apologies from him in chapter 58 indeed.
However ARGH I didn't know they were gonna go the "oh the FL is actually this life long lost princess from somewhere with those extra rare magical abilities that actually makes her more special than anyone else while everyone was insulting her due to her bloodline" path, but unfortunately you tell me they did... sigh
Like you said, I would have also liked it if they had stayed the "prostitute who became the countess and her vulgar daughter who doesn't know her place" type of characters while building their own influence (like Aria and her role as investor A in business) and going against the norms of society to kick the "real nobility"'s ass. But I guess they went the easy, safe and common way... too bad
In the end I still like Asher and don't mind the romance they added into the story :) but I can understand how his character before and after reincarnation can make you have this kind of opinion about the romance.

For a Stepmother's Märchen, I have to say, I am completely swayed by the art. I don't think that I am as good as you in putting aside the entertainment purpose of those stories and having an impartial judgment because I could just stare at one chapter for 30 minutes and overlook any little hick in the character's behavior just because the art captivates me so haha
However, I did have quite a lot of questions as to why Shulli resembles the late empress so much? and if you tell me that it is somehow a way to explain some of the character's interest in her, then I am once again very disappointed.
I really liked how Shulli was handling things so far and I thought the politic aspect of the story to be fascinating, though this cardinal guy was really getting on my nerves. But I find the fact that the deceased pink hair lady had a harem of her own including the emperor, the black hair duke, johanness as well as the cardinal and that of course Shulli had to look like an exact copy-paste version of her, very annoying (￣ε(#￣)Σ too bad once again
About the fact that Jeremy likes her, the son of the pink hair lady likes her and Nora likes her, yes I do admit that it is a bit much. It would have been great to have Jeremy develop feelings of respect and maybe admiration, but making him look like the desperate son in law who falls in love with his step-mom who is barely older than him, having to suppress his feelings and marry someone else for the sake of the family was a bit annoying but oh well, I thought i'd just overlook that haha
The crown prince is the typical case of "I didn't receive much love and no one wants to tell me about my mom but whatever I wanted I could get it because I was the intelligent and good crown prince but now I want that girl who looks at my best friend with the loving eyes no one ever looked at me with and who looks like my mom and whom I cannot get even if I am the crown prince so I am frustrated" kind of character. (sorry that was too long of a description but it's now the middle of the night and I can't think straight haha).
And well Nora is... my weak spot I'll admit it. He has a good heart, dark hair, blue eyes, and he screams "exactly my type" so I'm too biased to say anything neutral.
About the plot, I really liked the conflict between the imperial family and the church. I like the fact that the church has the support of the people and can get away with some things they do, because it made me look forward to how the imperial family would handle the situation. I also liked the pace of the story and found myself enjoying the flashback chapters about shulli's death in her fist life. I liked Nora's point of view as well. Liked the fact that he cut all ties with his family in his first life but that there might be a chance he doesn't have to in his second thanks to Shulli, I thought it was pretty common but I enjoyed it nonetheless :)

Well I think this will be about it for my opinions, I also hope I didn't offend you in any way and that you didn't get too exasperated when you saw the amount I wrote ╥﹏╥ I enjoy reading about your thoughts on some stories as it makes me think more deeply about my own feelings and understanding of the works. In the end I am glad we all share different opinions but that we are capable of conversing and learning from what others have to say :) let's continue enjoying great stories ^^

No problem!! Please do not apologize there is no reason for you to do so :) I personally have very few friends and social interactions as I have been home schooled for a while now so reading stories has helped me learn new things and somehow grow as I mentioned before but I haven't quite understood everything and I have yet to create values for myself that I really want to stand by (except for some obvious ones, I have yet to define what sits right with me and what absolutely does not).
I still have so many things I don't know, be it about the LGBTQ+ community, people behavior, acceptable behavior, manipulative characteristic, toxic behavior and all that so I tend to miss out on some pretty obvious red flags for exemple. For now I tell myself to be kind and learn as I go but it would be nice to forge some beliefs, stand by them, avoid stupid mistakes etc etc. Same goes for manhwas for exemple! I might approve or overlook some things in the stories now that maybe in 2 years time I will never look at the same way..
So talking with you like this is very enriching in my opinion :)
I actually turned 18 this year and would like to ask how old you are if that is okay with you. You seem quite mature so it got me a bit curious :) you don't have to answer though if you don't feel like it hehe

You can read inofficial translated chapters of novels in novelupdate or any spoilers in novelupdate spoilers.

You can enjoy any entertainment but also stay critical.
I learned a lot from social progressive Youtubers analysing and debunking pop culture stories.
Sarah Z, Yhara Zaid, Broey Deschanel, Lindsay Ellis, Tiffanyferg, Kat Blaque, Friendly Space Ninja, Cynical Reviews, Melinapendulum, ModernGurlz, Mina Le,Karolina Zebrowska, Storied and The Take.
We all can learn from each other as long we stay civilized and respectful.

The 2nd ML for Charlize who is barely a supporting character is Kahu in chapter 22.
I forgot to mention that Shuli's late husband was also in love with the late empress.
To be more clear when I said pink harem lady I meant that the late Empress was kind of the heroine in a Harem drama novel where everyone loved her.
The dark haired MLs are actually creepy manchildren.
Boys Over Flower is quite toxic when you consider that the ML is the quintessential romanticized rich violent immature psycho jerk who is abusive to the innocent struggling poor not like the other girls FL.

Better support works that are healthier and really progressive for the mind.
Escapism can make you stop think critically and accept the status quo.

I didn't expect you be that young.

Quality over quantity. My dear.
Better a few real good friends or be alone than to be with toxic shallow false friends.
The important thing is that you love and respect yourself. You have no idea how powerful that can makes you.

And since you turned 18 and have a lot of life ahead of you let me recommend the PBS educational Youtube channel "Two Cents".
Their videos can really educate/teach you about many various serious issues in our modern society.

I am 30 years old, Taiwanese and born/living in Germany.

I see thank you for telling me about novel updates as well as all those interesting Youtube channels, I'll make sure to go take a look! :)

About I tamed a Tyrant, I went back to read chapter 22 again and now see who the second male lead is! His appearance was a bit brief but they did introduce him already...
About a Stepmother, when you say the dark haired MLs are actually creepy manchildren, do you mean Nora and Duke Nurenberg?

About Boys over Flower, I really share your opinion that it is quite a toxic story, I didn't enjoy watching it (I watched the drama). I thought his violent, arrogant, abusive but romanticized behavior to be truly infuriating. In the end, they tried to save the day by making the FL somewhat go her own way into medical school then get married with the male lead but yeah, didn't do much for me.

I had never heard of the word escapism but your last sentence is great in my opinion. We should always keep a sense of criticism and not just overlook things that shouldn't be overlooked! Thank you for making me realize this :)

Have fun with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3mFWU352L4
Abusive Behaviours in Korean Drama

Just my general opinion about most overused MLs who are dark-haired, obsessed, arrogant, priveledged, immature and have stalker vibes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_CAK_yj5JM
The Liberal Escapism of Bridgerton

Never stop learning and educating yourself.