Amita4ever's manga / #Overcoming(587)

A nicely drawn tale of emotional redemption. Both have their pasts and find the strength to overcome it because the other is by their side. And for once, the 'horrible scar' that causes the ML to change his personality and shun others lives up to it's name.

Chap 30

This is actually a pretty good story. Two people with painful backgrounds is a norm in this genre, and self-serving deception as a reason for starting the relationship is too, but they are handled differently here. It felt gentle and loving. What I found regretful was the author felt the need to include some gratuitus BBV (Bed Before Vows) action that really wasn't needed. It would have been a good, if not better, story without it, and RL statistics show that their marriage would likely be better too (statistically the marriages of those who wait are longer and more satisfying).

Very enjoyable. Typical 'contract marriage to get position' plot, but it was quite different in that the 'commoner' bride carried herself like a warrior queen! When we first meet her, everything is against her and she seems like the typical weepy, weak Harlequin heroine, but after they are married and she gets her feet back underneath her... watch out! This lady takes no guff about herself, her daughter or her husband, sham marriage or not! The ML calls her a lioness, and it works. Best yet, things take their proper order and the bed comes after the vows. The only thing I didn't like was the time flow wasn't clear. They finally get intimate and the next thing you know she's pregnant, and it didn't seem that much time had passed. Maybe because it was her second child she recognized the symptoms early? All in all, it was a good read and a satisfying end (although I kinda wish they had given us a chance to see her in a proper wedding dress ;).

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 was a real tragedy, and it was a story that dealt with serious emotions, but somehow it felt a little topical to me. Not saying it wasn't a good story! No Harlequin drama here. This story dealt with real stuff!

It's another `no questions asked; I believe what I think I saw; don't bother me with the facts' story. I mean, it's hard to not make assumptions when you see something suspicious, but to react on it without considering an alternative, without even questioning your assumption in the face of being told you're wrong, without verifying one fact or even investigating.... And it wasn’t even a case of someone lying to him. He jumped to and clung to these assumptions all on his own. It was definitely a trust issue, but he had the means to follow up and check things out. He just didn't. That just gave the plot a bit of a sour flavor (not uncommon in these romances). You know it will work out in the end, but until it does you really want to grab an individual... in this case, two individuals by their collars and give them a good shake.

This story actually addresses a rather complex RL issue... domestic abuse. The ML is pretty arrogant and unforgiving until the heroine finally confides in him, admitting that both she and her mother were physically abused (and that for the sake of her brother, her mother is still there). Once he realizes that, he becomes her knight (although he could have handled the 'why didn't you tell me' part way better). I rather liked it, although I didn't like the BBV ( Bed Before Vows). It wasn't necessary for the plot, but provided the means to amp up the 'angst and despair all alone' angle through the loss of her child, but it also left me a little confused. Just how did her father know? That might have been among the details inevitably lost in adaptation.

The ML is quite a mess, and initially it makes for a tortuous relationship, but I think that what makes it tolerable, is we get to see his POV and it feels like his struggle is real, especially for a prideful man whose entire life is built on a foundation of personal and internal control. I can't say I'm entirely certain we end on, 'They lived happily ever after,' but I think the FL is strong enough to correct his course once he recognized and accepted the consequences and blessings of being in love.

I can’t say I don’t understand the ML’s side of things, but how can he even speak of trust when he went so far as to knowingly marry a woman without telling her he was likely sterile. That’s a serious issue! That is an issue that has to be addressed as a couple before the vows. It’s true that she might have left him, but did he really think - if she felt that way - that she would just say, ‘oh, well,’ and be happy when she found out AFTER the vows? Such unhappiness that initial selfishness caused. That said, I do understand his side as well.