Marriage of Convenience
This is ok, good even, but just not for me in the end. It was interesting enough to get me to read more than 50 chapters so I understand why it's highly rated. There are however quite a few things that just didn't sit well with me. I don't mind age gaps too much as long as the people in question are consenting adults and stuff, so I'd leave that aside. Even though I can understand some people just nope-ing out of a story where an adult marries a 9 year old girl (though they don't have sex till like a decade later). The main couple start off pretty estranged, so I don't think anyone can *really* make a case for any grooming on MLs part. Oh and apparently there's like 1 chapter with smut in it? There may be more later I don't know about, but it was fine. Not even that explicit to be honest. So the story is about reincarnation or sort of time travel, girl dies and then wakes up and she's suddenly 18 again. Bianca has gone through a lot of emotional abuse (alot of it seemingly not purposely inflicted) and then later on (in her first life) she ends up destitute and homeless and dies of sickness. When Bianca reincranates, she does not feel like a jaded world weary woman. She feels like she's mentally also 18 again, and acts like it. Some comments were saying how they liked how straightforward Bianca is and how it doesn't take 100 chapters for them to confess and there aren't any annoying misunderstandings. I don't know what story those people read, but it wasn't this one. The main couple are constantly misunderstanding each other, it gets better around chapter 50 or so, but it's the same as many other stories. Bianca turns out to be an extremely forgiving person, and I kind of wanted some more drama with regards to the neglect she suffered from her dad and brother. She's already lived a life and died, and a few tears are enough to fix that particular issue completely? They sold her to this older dude (can't say old cause I can't even figure how big their age gap even is. It feels like 5 years, but apparently is supposed to be more?) and then never spoke to her again. Not one letter or visit. Nothing. I also expected more bitterness directed at Zacheria, or whatever his name was. At least when they fought, but Bianca backs down and away with all the confidence of an 18 year old. And don't get me wrong, it does also make sense, but I was disappointed she wasn't more combative. At the beginning of the story, Bianca decides she needs to get pregnant as quickly as possible and her attempts start bold and then quickly peter out, which again, understandable, but also such a shame! It would have been hilarious if the author had decided to run with it just a little bit more! Like fuck, man I didn't want her sexually assaulting him, but it would have been fun for her to be more active in her persuit. She's tiny and he's a behemoth and the idea of him deflecting her advances would have been funny as fuck! Especially as he starts the story already having feelings for her! I guess in the end what I had hoped to get was Megara from Disney's Hercules and what I got was Bianca, who isn't a bad protagonist, but just wasn't what I was hoping for. Such a shame. The villains are... well pretty much all in love with her, which is fine. Except one, but he's pretty uninteresting so far. I'll be honest I kind of started rooting for the main antagonist. He didn't feel like a real villain to me, but more a victim lashing out and trying to survive. Frame the story a bit different and he'd be the main character of a reincarnation revenge story. He seems so lonely, and I honestly wished he wasn't the villain. The story hints at bad things he's done in Mc's past life, but honestly it doesn't do a good job of really showing what he's done. Like I'm the person who says being a victim isn't an excuse to be a psycho, but he just doesn't seem like one. Just a hurt person doing his best to get revenge on an uncaring family who appears to shun him for literally no reason other than bloodline purity bullshit. Or maybe what his mom did. It's not explained very well, so I'm just over here hoping he does succeed in his plans. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Retsujou PARADOX -Banken ha Yoru Kiba wo Muku-