somnia's manga / #Shoujo(205)

MC is reincarnated into a romance novel with the typical "blessed maiden from another world falls for the Emporer, kicks off the evil fiance, and fights evil"-plot. SHE is born as the 2nd ML, who turns out to actually be a woman in disguise. First of all. I like that MC isn't all over the novel plot. She worries reasonably and has yet to fall into that annoying pattern of overthinking and jumping to useless conclusions. Her body morphing through artifacts also makes it more believable for her to pass as male, not to mention the other interesting magic stuff she got going on. It's refreshing to not be stuck in the child POV for like 30+ chapters for once. The story gets done with what it needs to convey and moves on. With that said, the pacing is tight, but a bit too tight. Some things just went and left without enough explanation. For example, I was left with confusion when they clearly show the Prince not liking his fiance, but after one sentence and whatever many years later they're bickering like true friends, without really showing their relationship progress. The story's weak when it comes to character development in general. Anyway, there is also this potential of the whole "omg no homo, thank god" narrative. But I personally hope that they'll play up the "idc about your gender, I love YOU" perspective, that'd be better than tasteless homophobic messaging. And even though Enok is lowkey nuts, I hope he's the ML, at least he admires her while knowing she's a woman. That'd be more comfy for sure. As for the saintess, an originally good main character who turns sus bc the story pov changed is always welcome. I hope the pace slows down now that she's there to basically signal the start of the og novel.

Inés has relived her life more than once by the time she chooses to become the fiance of the most handsome future playboy. She now knows to avoid the slimey, filth-ridden rag, that is the Crown Prince... and hops on the Carcel (the playboy) train, when she is reborn far enough into the past to change her fiance. That's one hell of a rough summary. The story so far is so nice. The whole time reverse thing isn't anything new, but the story makes it up with the characters and pace. It isn't anything world end heavy plot-wise, but the journey still feels important thanks to Inés' perspective. Honestly, her experiences made me cry multiple times, and this isn't even supposed to be a tragedy. Herself and her relationship with Carcel are the main driving point of the story imo. And yea, there is no actual smut in here. You barely get to witness them breaking the bed, it's vaguely shown and more so talked about by the characters. In a worse story I might've complained about lacking commitment, but here these scenes feel less like smut for the sake of smut, and more so to show the couple's development. Looking forward to future chapters for now.

Chap 64 The amount of tension going on is killing me sometimes but in a good way. Honestly, I'm just kind of mad that the wish she made, in the beginning, was so wasted. The further I read about how much she already knew at that point, and just how wasted that wish was, the more mad I was at her. She has a good head on her shoulders but manages to f/ck it up, just bc she got distracted by the sheer weight of her brother's many disappointments. But yes, it does kinda fit in with the humor u got going sometimes, so it's forgivable. The rest of the plot points so far are very good right now too. Also, love MC's vibe. She doesn't crawl back to her father just because he began playing nice after years of neglect, and she doesn't try to be a saint with her bratty little brother. Love the paddle/mallet, excellent weapon of choice.

I'd like to believe that Rosha isn't gonna stay the way she is now. It's refreshing to have a character that's not totally level headed and nice to serve as a plain self insert. With that said, she better improve over time or I'll throw hands. There is nothing worse than a main character who is simply off the grid to make plot more dramatic.

I'm here for it. I need a person like Mimi in my life. The humor here is on point, the only thing that's not perfect is how rushed Mimi's and Renato's relationship feels - honestly it's hella fast paced in general, compared to similar settings - but it's part of the charm here imo. Especially if you're a seasoned shoujo reader you'll appreciate it, I think.

79/ MC is the last siren. In her first life she was used and abused by her father and the Emperor, forced to sing and perform miracles while trapped in a cage. She died at peace after recieving salvation by the demonic Duke, he who went on a rampage and freed her. Time rewinds and MC finds herself in her 10 year old body, before her power was discovered, with memories in tact. This time she's set on avoiding tragedy, and wants to save the Duke from his. Honestly, I didn't expect to love this so much. MC is adorable and I cried for her so hard. And it's not like she's just a tragic character template either, she has this good bit of straightforwardness and mischief in her too, which is really charming. Normally I'm not into the whole babying MC thing where everyone spams them with bedazzled hearts, but her situation justifies it well here imo. I also love the messages in the story. MC focuses on making things better, instead of blindly commiting to revenge and power-hogging. A lot of these time go brr shoujos commit to the ugly feelings (not that it's bad), so I feel this is a refreshing take. Also: the bit with the Duke's mom. Her straight on telling her to value herself, not forgive abuse, and process her grief for as long as and however she needs to - speaks to the readers as well, a real power move, what a queen. The world building is interesting too, it's obvious someone put thought into the lore and magic, and I have yet to see a boring character too... well maybe besides the shady ugly uncles, but they don't count. But like many other manhwa it looses the plot after a few dozen chapters and gets lost in the sauce.

78// So, this one is set in a medieval setting, with a bit of a religious magic mix. We're shown how MC is married off at the age of 8, to a full-grown man. She becomes a woman with a bunch of gossip surrounding her, she's the vulgar wife who only cares about luxuries. But that's not the end of it, war is a thing and life takes her further downhill by ending her family's life. She ends up dead broke at a monastery, begging for a second chance. And weehee, she finds herself back in her 17-year-old body, just fresh out of bed. This is where we begin. Anyway, simply because child marriage is portrayed doesn't mean the whole story is bad. Things like war, death, and cheating are there too. Idk why people are so allergic to it, even though it's conveyed as something wrong, or at least questionable, within the story. Most characters don't feel entirely good or evil. Neither FL nor her hubby feel perfect. Especially in the beginning. But our good guys learn to communicate and trust one another. FL's spoiled, dumb attitude is there, cut her some slack - she was an abandoned child who wouldn't get affection unless she spent money - but she matures with time and learns. And her hubby ignores her because, despite being the adult, he has no clue how to approach or care for her right.. though ngl, it's creepy how it's never explained why he agreed to marry a kid, let's hope that's brought up soon. It's also brought up how the first timeline might've been a simple dream/vision of a possible future, which is cool imo, it makes god's influence feel more mysterious and illusive. The bishop said himself that there is only speculation, but no proof beyond the identity of a saint. What I also love about this shoujo is the setting. It's nice to see a more realistic medieval background that doesn't reuse the same 3D fantasy castle asset, as dozens of other similar shoujo of this niche do. With that said the art is very good too. Honestly, the thing that bothers me most is the second prince's feelings for FL. Not because they are there, but bc they felt shoved in out of nowhere. First, he had a political motive, then he was arrogant, never even got to see her smile at him - barely interacted with her in fact - but BAM! "I think I fell for her", out of the blue. I feel that could've been developed to be way more smooth. Anyway, I won't spoil it here, but that one scene where he "confirms" his feelings for her, is bone-chilling. If you know, you know.

Too early to judge this too much, but I like it. It pretty much falls into this shoujo manhwa niche where the MC is from a romance novel that takes place in a fantasy empire. Our MC is the typical villainess of "superior blood", who turns into a jealous witch after the FL of the novel starts outshining her. Through a sort of prothetic/magic dream, she gets access to this story and gains new insights and knowledge, which she uses to her advantage. The pace so far has been good, and it's entertaining imo. Our MC's character is consistent, and even though she is an OP magician, she still has weaknesses. It also helps that in most situations, using her head/heart is the go-to route, while magic is more of a convenient tool. Other than that, idk. I'm ready for more.

/26 FL regressed to her youth, thanks to her daughter's magic. Having been in a kind but loveless marriage, her daughter's wish was to have FL be in a loving relationship this time around. That's pretty much it, the story's simple. Well, maybe besides FL's moral dilemma of whether or not to marry her previous husband again. Otherwise, it's just about her and ML, future Duke... Schd-something? Schderl?? getting cozy with each other. Just your average slow romance, with magic spice as a side dish and typical obstacles to fulfilling one's love. Anywho, shitting on the previous husband for being subpar is a turn-off for me. I get the whole spiel about not letting go of your standards and all, it's a message you can also take away from this, but honestly, it just feels like the author and characters are shitting on small men lmao. There are better ways to portray loveless marriages. That and FL's constant back and forth between 2 men, one of which she loves and the other she just wants to get her daughter out of, is making her look very vain and unlikeable. The author didn't consider that flip-flopping like that is a bad look as well, and no matter what she ends up doing there'll be ground to criticize her.