sadslime's manga / #Josei(69)

Isabella isekaied into a dating sim as the villainess, and despite her best efforts, the story followed the villainess exile route...wop wop. While attempting to go into hiding until her dad can figure things out, Isabella is kidnapped and sold into sex slavery, and soon her first night is purchased by a masked man looking to get some experience in before his wedding. But what Isabella doesn't realize is that the masked man is obviously her ex, the prince (Samuel) who jilted her, and for some reason, he doesn't recognize Isabella either, leading the two of them to start a relationship again, just a little too late and a lot more risque. A tired trope with nothing in particular to distinguish it, but read if that's what you're looking for. Trigger warnings: cheating (implied), sex trafficking, sex work.

Liliangé was married off in a political marriage at the age of eight to an eighteen-year-old husband, Alekseid. But despite the ten year age gap, Alekseid is kind to her and his mother takes her in and raises her as her own, leading to some of the happiest times in her life. Liliangé falls for Alekseid's kindness and does her best to become a wife worthy of him, but on her sixteenth birthday, she overhears him tell a friend that he could never actually see her as a woman, crushing her hopes. So when she turns eighteen, she decides to end this one sided romance, and asks for a divorce! The age gap is troubling for some, especially since she was so young when they met, but I don't consider it grooming since it seems Alekseid was rarely around during her upbringing and treated her perfectly amicably. No trigger warnings

Esora is an unwanted child being passed from family to family until she ends up with no place to go and nothing to eat but leftovers she found at a shrine. She falls asleep there and wakes up in another world where she's sold as a human slave to Yahiro, a masked (yokai?) brothel owner who encourages the feisty Esora to take control of her own future by becoming the best courtesan in his brothel who can pick and choose who she sleeps with. While Esora is initially resistant, as time passes she begins to see the many sides to the people around her and their ways of life, and she comes to want to know more about Yahiro and his hidden face. He promises to show her his face when she becomes the top courtesan, but that isn't the only secret Yahiro is keeping as he also seems to have known Esora's mother. An interesting premise with a nuanced look at courtesan life and sex work. So far, I like it a lot. Trigger warnings: child neglect, child trafficking, sex work.

Ever since her father died leaving her under the care of her abusive stepmother and spoiled stepsister, Ninette has only had her adopted brother/guard, Tilson (Til) to rely on. That's why, when her stepsister says the spirits have told her they need a sacrifice from Ninette's family to avoid calamity coming to the town, Ninette is willing to sacrifice herself for Til's sake. But when it turns out it was all a trap, Ninette ends up hiding out in a cave and meeting a spirit, and when she emerges, eight years have passed! Ninette starts a new life with the help of a businessman who took her under his wing while looking for Til, but when she's recognized by a powerful noble family as one beloved by the spirits, they force her into a marriage to protect her patron's business interests. But to the shock of everyone involved, her arranged marriage partner is none other than Til! Both are delighted to be reunited, but Til is a little less enthusiastic when he realizes Ninette still sees him as a little brother, and he becomes determined to change her mind. Cute setup with an interesting and unique twist to their world by including spirit and spirit contracts as such a big facet. Trigger warnings: child abuse/neglect, attempted human trafficking.

Chika is an ordinary woman who lived a life of constant abuse by her parents until she nearly died and was transported to the world of heteromorphic heads! (Meaning heads all have different shapes.) She was found by professionals trained to take care of such displaced humans and ended up living with Raz, a man with the head of a daft punk member if their head was all black and they had a venom smile for a mouth. Even though humans are treated as "pets" in this world, the scary-looking Raz has fallen head over heels for his Chika and she loves him too, though she can't express it as trauma has left her unable to speak. With the help of Raz and his friends, Chika slowly begins to heal from her trauma and bridge the gap between her and Raz so they can truly be in love. A very bizarre setup, but it's fun world building. The story does feel a bit rushed though. Trigger warnings: abuse, attempted suicide, violence.

Tono Asako is known as a spinster, but she doesn't mind as long as she can take care of her frail younger sister. But when the soldier Shintaro Kido requests her sister as a bride, Asako can't let someone with his reputation take her sister, especially when she hears he only wants a bride to give birth to an heir. Asako begs him to take her instead, and Kido agrees, beginning their relationship as husband and wife in which Asako believes herself to be a replacement bride, but Kido seems to have wanted her all along. Asako starts off seeming like a very strong character, but once married it feels like she immediately loses any strength to her actions and just becomes your basic FL and dutiful bride. It's fine, but not a standout story. Trigger warnings: Sexism, attempted rape, threat of suicide.

Straight omegaverse

Ran is a struggling college student who enjoys her job at a cafe that her favorite author, Mikami, frequents. But when her family falls into bigger financial troubles, her friend convinces her to try a job as a sugar baby while promising she won't have to do anything she's not comfortable with. But when Mikami sees her get roofied on her first date, he intervenes and then offers to become her new sugar daddy instead, to protect her. Trigger warning: drug(roofie/aphrodisiac).

Mio and Sagara grew up together, Mio as the boss's daughter and Sagara as his subordinate in the yakuza, but one night Mio sees Sagara having sex and suddenly realizes how sexy he can be. She wants on in that, so when he confronts her, she invites him and they find out they have great compatibility. But after they started this relationship as basically friends with benefits, how can they transition once feelings are involved? Surprisingly cute despite the stupid name, though it is smutty. I liked the non-traditional FL in this one. Even just having a FL who can say out loud she wants to have sex is a huge plus, and she wasn't even embarrassed. Trigger warnings: voyuerism, somnophilia(in a relationship).