just_m3h's manga / #Strong Female Lead(134)

Ch 49. The art is incredible. The story's good. The FL is great. But why are they marrying a 10 year old off??? How does that make any sense????? And the events make zero sense from around CH 48 onwards. Suddenly there's a wedding? The duke's undergoing some side effects of the curse and losing his mind out of fucking nowhere? It's all SO disjointed!!

This story is complete. I think, perhaps, the fact that Aria, while softening over time, remained stubborn, ruthless, and a bit selfish, really made this standout a bit more than some stories where the reincarnated character does a complete 180 (although, there are many of those that I also love). Asher too, is not a typical ML, unexpectedly ruthless when push comes to shove, but marshmallow sweet, otherwise. I wouldn't normally like either character all that much, but the way they are presented here, I really do love them, especially Aria. I really enjoyed her realising how the people she had seen as means to her ends had become precious to her. I also really, really loved how Aria was so overwhelmed and happy to be recognised for her intellect and talent, for the first time in her life. I also love her relationship with her mom. I like how the loose ends were wrapped up, and I really do feel justice was truly and fully served, which is rare. I didn't think the latter chapters with the kids was necessary, and I do prefer that their memories got erased, even though the explanation was a tad wonky. I wish their wedding chapters were more detailed and longer, but other than that, zero complaints. 5/5

Quite the toungue-in-cheek title. Author knows perfectly well there's nothing typical about this romance. Instead of your young and energetic do-gooder heroine (a type I love, btw) or even the lazy take-it-easy type or the selfish and reluctant FLs we find in this genre regularly, this is about a FL who lived a considerable chunk of her life in our TL, before being unceremoniously dropped into the book-verse as the main lead. When her first (not short) life ends tragically after the "happy ending", the God Noathe grants her a second (third?) opportunity, thus allowing her to start her THIRD life, to do-over her life in the book-verse. She is a world-weary soul over 100 years old and the ML is her unlikely safe haven in this life and the last. He is by no means your typical romance ML, he's certainly no rumored devil who turns out to be just a misunderstood pretty boy. Instead, she finds a tired and scarred, but incredibly kind and loyal man, her perfect match. I love them and I love that they are both so competent and waste no time getting shit done. Hell, I even love the supporting cast (most of them). Ch 62

What a political minefield! I don't typically enjoy these, but this one is amongst the few exceptions. Mostly because the princess is so resourceful and smart and doesn't waste her time on unnecessary bullshit. She doesn't care for petty revenge either. Her goal, as ever, is to secure the crown, and use it to establish universal rights for the homunculi. You have to love that. I am also enjoying this so much because she found out the truth about her regression so early in the story. It makes the whole thing so much more satisfying to read. I am excited to read on and see the revolution come to life. Ch 58

The plot has me so intrigued! There are multiple mysteries to solve, and I just can't wait to find out the truth about what going on with the horrid stepsister and the douchebag finace. Also, the side plot about the stolen magical items, and even the details of Mel's request to the Emperor. Also, so curious about people's reactions to the hero reveal, plus, I really, really want to see Mel's alchemy develop!!! ~Aaahh. What an engaging story! Ch 40

The premise is interesting but it's really hard to read. It's honestly kind of heartbreaking. Whether it's Claudia who is being pursued by psychopaths who will not stop at literally destroying the world to have her, or Irene who was almost sold as collateral for her father's debt or even poor Felix, who had to live half alive for so long. In fact, Lerry too, though he has his faults. I needed to take a break after Felix burnt his body down. This is genuinely breaking my heart T.T Edit: What a ride. Whew. Now just the cleanup is left. I don't know how to feel, tbh. That was wild. Ch 87

Wow. Noelle's truly and well a bitch, huh. She's almost at Mielle's level, I think she's not there only because she doesn't hold the power in this relationship. Adele is actually the one calling all the shots. In any case, things seem to be going fairly well for her, which is a refreshing change from all the tragic stories I've read recently. I don't know though, what the appearance of the og FL is going to do in this scenario. Doesn't seem like she has good intentions, exactly. It's good that it takes a long time to travel to the south from the Capital. I was worried she'd stop the wedding. Anyway, bottom line, I love Adele, she's smart, resourceful and capable. Plus, I really like Killian too, how he's full-speed ahead XD He's certainly more like Adele's trigger-happy brother than his pious appearance would suggest. Anyway, the plot is just great, I cannot wait to read more Edit: Ahh. So the MC everyone loved was a greentea bitch, after all. Can't say I'm surprised. Ch 66

Frustrating but interesting plot Ch 57

I'm not going to say it wasn't good. It was. She certainly did a good job of averting a horrible future. I like that she worked on multiple big issues, from epidemics, to wars to coups, bringing them all to a halt with her efforts. Although I do think that it was rather easily achieved, I didn't mind that. But overall, I felt that the story dragged on, quite a bit. I also felt that Elise was far too comfortable with Linden, for someone who was murdered by him. It really threw me off, in the beginning. Although, he did end up proving the sincerity of his feelings later on in the story. To sum up, I didn't dislike it, but it wasn't the most interesting story, either. On a side note, Ch 43 makes little sense when this is supposed to be isekai, not historical. Plus, it's not exactly heartwarming, when we know she dies in a few years. But, whatever. It doesn't ruin the story or anything. 4.6

I mean, it's long, but it is *solid*. From the fully fleshed-out, interesting characters, to the intriguing plot, to the chemistry between the leads, I was absolutely hooked. I think the relationship between Raeli and Noah is the main selling point of this, despite the plot being so interesting. Their interactions, the teasing, all that unwavering loyalty and support for each other (well, mostly on Noah's part, towards Raelina), and even their slight mutual tendency towards violence. I loved it all. Even when she is in a completely different body, even when she has no memories, he will always fall in love with her. Even in another world, another time, another reality, several times over. That's *got* to be the ego boost of the century! The secretary was right, no concerns about him cheating, no sir! Honestly, I even liked most of the side characters. Raelina's parents and her baby sister, adorable little Adam, the King, Justin (even though he was annoying with his persistence, things would never have turned out so smoothly without him) and even the poor honourable follower of the godess (this poor man T.T ), I think they were all well designed and lovable characters. The plot was truly very interesting, and I didn't guess the twist until the very end, so I was very impressed! "Kill the brunette" makes SO much sense, in hindsight. The only parts that were unclear were the circumstances surrounding the motive and death of the black magician who helped the original Raelina. Anyway, in summary, too long (so long that I really struggled to finish it), but very good. 4.9