Amita4ever's manga / #Overcoming(587)

And unlikely, but cute, little tale is about learning to like yourself.

The art was good, but the plot itself wasn't woven as tightly as it could have been. Ended well, but left a few strings flapping in the air.

Rather disappointed that there was unnecessary bed before vows, but other than that it was an exceptional romance.

1 chap - It was well written, making you smile at one point and pulling on your heartstrings the next. The only thing I didn’t like was the bed before vows. The plot didn’t require it and strengthening the emotional and saving the physical for after the marriage is much more intimate. It builds a stronger marriage. Real life statistics support it.

This is one, strong, single-minded woman! Wow! There really isnt a lot of romance here - it's more like after his initial attraction, she makes herself unforgettable through sheer defiance. And I'm still not completely sure when she fell in love. Clearly there is attraction and it's very clear she respects him, but love? Obviously it flips at some point. I'm thinking when she learns her father's fate, she can finally stop fighting herself. The other thing I'm not sure about is how to judge the bed before vows. I don't like it, but its harder to condemn when dealing with the king of another culture who, we find out, has already decided you're his wife, even if he hasn't got around to telling you. In general, I enjoyed the story, even if it was drier than some, and I loved the art.

Honestly, I liked the art better than the story. You don't see much in the way of justice (although with the father I would have rather seen reconciliation, but with the way his character was depicted, that would likely be impossible). And of course it had bed before vows when I think the story would have been fine without it.

Includes part 1 & 2. The only thing that was distasteful about this story was the heroine's past. Such should not exist, even in the pages of fiction, but - tragically- it does. That said, she is also an example that strength to overcome and find happiness can be found even after such a tragedy, and I believe that can be found in reality also. This was quite a tale and I'm glad it was given the length to spin it well. On top of that, the art was excellent.

I was rather surprised. This is an outright honest-to-goodness, realistic romance. There are certain challenges real marriages hit. Certain years and certain life events can be triggers. Kids are a big one! The woman's body changes, rarely for the better. The parents get busy spending time with the kids and less time with each other. The guy may feel the need to provide more, after all, there are more mouths to feed and may start putting in a few more hours here and there. Mom, if she stays at home dealing with the kids all day, can become starved for grown-up conversation Dad may be too tired to provide when he comes home. Or if she works, Mom may still be responsible for a good number of the household chores like cooking and laundry on top of her job. Days can just get really full when kids are involved. The consequence is relationships that were once deliberate are easily taken for granted in the day to day flow of status quo, and guys are especially bad about not noticing it is happening. It's not that they don't care, it's just their needs are pretty basic. They get their satisfaction from providing for their family and making love to their wife, and if he's doing these two things, a man will generally feel like he's succeeding. The woman, on the other hand, is a primarily emotional being and needs to talk, connect, feel loved, and supported. Trouble is because it's foreign to his hardwiring, the man doesn't even notice something's missing from her point of view - just like the guy in this story! And when that starts to slide, the wife often starts to feel insecure - just like the gal in this story. That's real life and that's why I liked this story. It was so very nice to see very real-life problems come to a believably real-life happy ending, especially in this genre that is usually filled with the outrageous and the ridiculous.

For a story centered on bed before vows, it was actually pretty nice. The heroine inspires the hero to move beyond a real dark spot (rather literal) in his life, and when she finds out she's pregnant, he steps up to do the right thing and returns the favor. It's pretty sweet. There was one episode of the 'other woman' having her say, which exacerbates the heroine's shaky self-image, but unlike many Harlequin heroines, she finds her courage and doesn't run, even when her situation goes from questionable (in her mind) to worse. But the hero pulls through with statements of love to make most any woman envious. I really did like it, despite it using one of my least favorite plot devices.