Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #Isekai(41)

A nice little isekai story based on the novel by Kuru Hinata. Sixteen year old Nosake Sumire transports to a different world; the land of Gladitoria. Appearing in the room of Violand Ole Lesuic (26 yo), Sumire is instantly attracted to the rather stoic older man and after some some introductions and time figuring out how she appeared in this world, Sumire happily seduces Vio for the comfort she finds in his arms. The rest of the story follows the beginning steps of determining whether travel between their world goes both ways, meeting Vio’s large and highly ranked family, forming friendship with an ivy butler and Sumire and Vio falling for each other. There are a lot of unresolved story points by the end and I believe that this short manga would have benefited from less extra characters and more time between Sumire and Vio talking or doing things together to make any love like feelings believable. Overall, it was cute yet lacking in real character connection.

A reborn noble in an otome game with the memories of her past self, Karen was engaged to a prince and had a dark fate in store when the heroine arrived. Her childhood friend Hansel was a cursed child, alienated by his colouring and marking. In adulthood, Hansel becomes the princes attendant and keeps a cool distance from his engaged childhood friend. The rest of the story follows Karen and Hansel falling for each other as the prince is readily swayed from his fiancée by Alice. There are some good lovemaking scenes and a happy ending, but it feels like there was much that was unexplored (eg what made a cursed marking cursed? It seemed to have no impact other than social rejection).

An epic romantic adventure graphic novel that was totally addictive. Japanese high school student Noriko transmigrated to a fantasy world where the first person she meets is Izark, a serious and powerful young man who seemed ready to let her follow his lead. In a world of monsters and a mysterious prophecy, Noriko and Izark travel together and fall in love while the legend of The Awakening and The Sky Demon looms. No more spoilers, just read this wonderful story where the FMC is an ordinary girl who is neither a clinging damsel in distress nor an overpowered Mary Sue. She musters her courage to help where she can and is incredibly loyal and supportive of Izark. That warrior in turn treasures her and it’s so sweet how close the two are. This is an older story written around 1990’s - 2000’s, so the art style is (naturally) older, but it is still cute (especially the MCs) and it’s balanced by the plot which was rich and colourful.

An epic graphic novel set in the time of the dominance of the ancient Hittite Empire. The FL started as a 15 year old school girl from Japan who was forcibly transmigrated many thousands of years to the past and the city of Anatolia. There she met Prince Kail and found herself falling for the roguish playboy whilst becoming embroiled in the murderous schemes of the Dowager Queen. This story spans years and along the way Yuri is in the thick of political intrigue, war, kidnappings and revolution. I liked how she became stronger as a woman over time. Always a little impulsive and reckless but gradually tempering that with maturity. Yuri was charismatic and I appreciated that she wasn’t restricted by her gender in her ability to be a powerful woman in her own right. The romance plot line was very sweet. Yuri and Kail were devoted to each other and for all the prince wanted to keep Yuri tucked away and protected he never stood in her way and valued her opinions and independence. The secondary characters were great, from the twin bodyguards to the enemy leaders and generals to the dowager Queen. There were some heartbreaking moments that had me crying, but overall this was a really entertaining romantic adventure that I loved.

Rune is transmigrated to France in the era of Marie Antoinette where she is saved by a green eyed man on a white horse. However, this guy has plans for the petite Rune that involves hands on training. And lips on..and more. The story was an okay read, it’s just that the ML was a manipulative pimp for most of the story, one who was willing to let a girl be gifted to a sleezebag for social clout. That made him rather unlikeable for me, though there was some hope in the ending for a happier relationship.

A fun story about 17yo school girl Lin Xiaoqi who gets summoned to a distant world with three of her classmates. One of them is the expected reincarnation of the daughter of the Phoenix God who will make a wish to benefit the nation. However, Lin Xiaoqi becomes separated from her friends immediately and is helped by the servant of the third prince, Ye Li to reunite. The FL here is bubbly, energetic and full of commonsense and practicality. She doesn’t always wait for rescue and is brave enough to strike out on her own and take charge of her destiny. I really enjoyed her optimistic enthusiasm and her relationship with the deadly and intensely loyal Ye Li. The first half of the story was Lin Xiaoqi and Ye Li’s romance and adventures and the second half was of some of their predecessors, including the first daughter of the Phoenix God and the human she loved. The fact that the souls of their forebears were recognisably tied to their current souls (reincarnated) was icing on the cake for the first half of the story. These guys were a fated pair of destined lovers who were forever drawn to each other. Totally irresistible.

Kanzaki Misuzu is whisked into a different world of magic and knights where she becomes the Black Healer, Daughter of Gaia (the God of the world) and sets about to find her way home. I enjoyed her journey, she was a brave adventuress who sought to use the talents she had to make her own way. The romance was sweet, though probably something I wanted more of and I liked the choices Reene made. My only issue was the ending seemed just a touch fast (the flow was a little off, perhaps from the new translator) and I wanted to see her life more in the demon world (the whole story was really spent in the human realm after all). A recommended read.

This is evolving into an interestingly complex story with the past of the King revealed. There are plenty of silly, OTT moments in the story that balance out the serious topics, but understanding why the King ignores his daughter and wife, looking into the attempted murder of the Queen and getting to the bottom of the relationship with the illegitimate brother provides plenty of drama to what would otherwise be a silly but fun piece of fluff story.

Story is finished. Considering that most isekai stories are long (some go on waaay too long) these 4 oneshots managed to pack a lot into a chapter. It helped to have the characters introduced in the beginning and I enjoyed the simplicity for a change over dragging on forever. Perfect for those times you want something that has a mix of romance and light smut to just pass the time.

I absolutely loved this story. Modern girl Eunha got isekaied into a body fated to die. No thanks. She didn’t wake up in a novel’s story just to get killed off again as an unfortunate extra! To change her story she needs a cover… 6 months pretending to be the fake fiancée of the novel's male protagonist, Duke Noah Wynknight. But will this cold-hearted, angel-faced demon of a man really help her avoid another ill-fated ending?! I loved the characters. The bold Raeliana, a strong FL in the best of feminine ways. She had grit and determination, and was not one to toss along helplessly at the whims of fate. I loved her strength, and I loved that Noah respected her direct gaze and confidence too. Noah was perfect as a ML; powerful, dangerous, a little unpredictably yandere, possessive and protective, yet very much in love and respectful of his partners abilities. I want to thank the author and artist for not rushing the ending as too many stories do. The epilogues were fantastic. Truly, this story is worth buying.