Amita4ever's manga / #3 star(173)

The heroine has a strong `when life gives you lemons, make lemon lollipops' attitude, and life has given her enough lemons to start a candy store, which is exactly what she's done.

Loved the art. Liked the theme (you are more beautiful to me than you know), but was disappointed by the fact that he seems to be trying to prove he loves her using her body rather than trying to convince her heart. It could have been a better story if he had actually pursued her on a emotional level before taking her to bed. Better yet, instead of taking her to bed.

Not bad. Not completely original, but enjoyable.

It started out good... he got my hopes up. At first he said he couldn't know if he would want to marry a gal unless he had her in bed first, but then he respected the FL enough to not push. I got hopeful! It was short lived, and she's the one who caved. Sigh. Other than that unnecessary stuff, it was a good story.

It was okay. INCLUDES SPOILERS: For most the book the FL is hung up on this big secret regarding her no longer working that she won't tell anyone, not even her sisters. The readers get to find out she was fired, but not why. She worked for some big business so I keep thinking she insulted a client and lost a big account, her boss came onto her and she slapped him, a rival caught her up in a scandal.... something, but no. It was just that she was fired - someone else got the promotion she was after and didn't want her around for continued competition so she was let go, with honors even. After all her anxiety about it being a reason he couldn't love her, it was so anticlimactic it felt like a let down. Actually the ML treated it pretty much the same way. And in all that, I kept hoping that it would all stay above board bed wise, not that they didn't try on occasion, but they kept getting interrupted, but no. Its an unessesary BBV (Bed Before Vows) story. The art was good, but the story was not exceptional.

It’s a BBV (Bed Before Vows) coercion story. He felt betrayed, but never considered she might be doing it for different motives. I could sympathize with the FL, feeling trapped between a rock and a hard place with sheer walls to boot, but despite this, she did her very best to maintain what pride and dignity she could. Although we know she is as fragile as egg shells, she never lets HIM see it. And I liked the ML as well... for the most part. He sets up the Mistress contract with a pre-conceived image, and while he fights to keep it to protect himself, he’s not wearing blinders. He see’s stuff. He starts to question. He doesn’t start asking questions as soon as I thought he ought, but when he did and learned the truth, he was truly remorseful and didn’t limit himself to saying, “I’m sorry.” He set out to make things right. I can respect that. I’m not a big fan of BBV stories, but for some reason this pulled on a few emotional cords, so it gained a star.

Another 'sibling married a noble who died, and then they died leaving their new baby to their poor sister and now the noble family has come to claim the baby and the only way for the poor sister to stay with the child is to marry the noble's brother' story. Franky, I don't expect this marriage to last. Not only was their initial relationship broken up by his jumping to conclusions and refusing to listen, but even after they were engaged and supposedly trusting each other, he was competely willing to jump right back on that wagon and whip his assumption horses hard without even giving her a chance to say 'whoa, back up and listen!'! If that is his reaction every time he sees something he considers the least bit suspicious, even after recognizing his past errors, I don't see this being a happy union.

It's a BBV (Bed Before Vows) based plot, but with this in mind, I found the story had its strong points. The FL was a strong character who made her own decisions, considered possibilities, acknowledged her shortcomings without dwelling on them and acknowledged the consequences her choices were of her own which I can’t help but respect. The ML on the otherhand, was a man of his class - rich, presumptious, a bit haughty, and quite selfish, but - of course - love turned him around in the end. Its too bad that their BBV starts their marriage off with a handicap. RL statistics show that marriages without BBV are stronger and last longer.

The ML has the patience of a Saint and a gentlemanly control rarely, if ever, seen before in HQ. I was rather annoyed with all the beating around the bush and double speak. SPOILER: I'm not sure what he expected when he refused to be honest with her. Yes, he thought he was still competing with Steve, but did he never think that making her think he was in love with someone else would hinder her from coming to him. I'm glad she had more guts than him in the end or both would have lost out.

This story is (another) good example of what can happen if you get physical too soon. I liked that he diliberately waited until they got married, but they got married in such a rush that they still skipped step one - building a strong emotional connection and a foundation of trust. When a woman (or man, for that matter) jumps to infidelity presumptions without asking questions and/or wonders if they are only wanted for their body, the foundation of love and trust that should be there has been allowed to erode or was never built to begin with. Getting physical and throwing hormones into the mix before that foundation is established can be incredibly detrimental. That said, I'm not sure why he couldn't let her in on what was happening, especially after he suspected she overheard. He had to know that would shake her trust in him, and it was only further complicated by the entrance of his old lover (Really!? Who lets their old paramour keep the key?! Makes you wonder how many keys to his place are running around out there.). Right then and there, he should have been intent on a heart-to-heart... and I have come to hate the phrase, "I need to talk you later." Add a topic!!! '...about extending our relationship.' '...about saving your company.' '...about my past, because you are really the only one in my life now." Whatever! All that said, it wasn't a bad story. It just wasn't exceptional.