I think reading this nonstop made me miss a few things that had more nuance, but overall this was an engaging read. Gorgeous art, and the monologues (there's a ton, lol) were compelling and conveyed a lot of emotions.
Regarding the actual storyline, it mostly makes sense. It's a fictional setting that draws from ye old east Asia. In terms of scale, the stakes are for the whole world, but it really feels like everything happens in like a province/state.
The main premise:
MC born female was denied basic human rights like other women, see's her mom get abused for only birthing daughters, that sort of injustice. Gets an awakening that makes her a contender to be supreme ruler of the human world. Awakening causes her to kill her own mother and baby sister, so mega angst tinging her life. A mysterious mentor takes her in to set her on her path.
Early in she finds a half demon half human child that became her lifelong companion. He predictably catches feelings for her but also wrestles with his own humanity. He and her mentor are the only ones that know she's born female as contenders can only be male.
(this is what I wished the story clarified. Was MC the first female human to awaken powers? Really? She had some trauma, but it was sadly not an uncommon occurrence. Why didn't other girls awaken the same way?)
Other contenders come in a wide array of good guy/bad guy ranges. They mention 20 contenders total (Princes technically), but we only see a handful of them. It's seems even without becoming the winner, there's still prestige to being a Prince. The First Prince is a prominent character who also catches feelings for her, but while he thinks she's a man (though I think the story implied he doubted she was a man. Same with another Prince ends up being an antagonist)
Her motives are understandable, but the story doesn't make every single plot and narrative about her being righteous in her drive to be the Emperor.
But we get a few plot lines that involves how women have suffered, so the story definitely makes sure the reader doesn't forget.
There's a scene where she gives herself a mastectomy (bloody but not anatomically graphic). Honestly made me clutch my own chest. It shows how far she was willing to go because of how scared she was for being discovered as a woman. By the end, she didn't magically regain breasts, and I appreciated that it was a lasting mark on her body.
There's is some romance, but it's mostly one sided. Tbh, I'm not entirely sure if she romantically likes Biseol or not. She's shown to have romantic relations with the first prince near the end, but she's not particularly a romantic person (there's a few scenes where she doesn't pick up on feelings people have for her). I think she might've liked the priestess the most, but I couldn't figure out if she just liked the company of fellow women or she felt attraction to women.
But I guess it doesn't really matter. The story isn't about how many people she can get to fall in love with her. It's about her becoming an Empress.
I think reading this nonstop made me miss a few things that had more nuance, but overall this was an engaging read. Gorgeous art, and the monologues (there's a ton, lol) were compelling and conveyed a lot of emotions.
Regarding the actual storyline, it mostly makes sense. It's a fictional setting that draws from ye old east Asia. In terms of scale, the stakes are for the whole world, but it really feels like everything happens in like a province/state.
The main premise:
MC born female was denied basic human rights like other women, see's her mom get abused for only birthing daughters, that sort of injustice. Gets an awakening that makes her a contender to be supreme ruler of the human world. Awakening causes her to kill her own mother and baby sister, so mega angst tinging her life. A mysterious mentor takes her in to set her on her path.
Early in she finds a half demon half human child that became her lifelong companion. He predictably catches feelings for her but also wrestles with his own humanity. He and her mentor are the only ones that know she's born female as contenders can only be male.
(this is what I wished the story clarified. Was MC the first female human to awaken powers? Really? She had some trauma, but it was sadly not an uncommon occurrence. Why didn't other girls awaken the same way?)
Other contenders come in a wide array of good guy/bad guy ranges. They mention 20 contenders total (Princes technically), but we only see a handful of them. It's seems even without becoming the winner, there's still prestige to being a Prince. The First Prince is a prominent character who also catches feelings for her, but while he thinks she's a man (though I think the story implied he doubted she was a man. Same with another Prince ends up being an antagonist)
Her motives are understandable, but the story doesn't make every single plot and narrative about her being righteous in her drive to be the Emperor.
But we get a few plot lines that involves how women have suffered, so the story definitely makes sure the reader doesn't forget.
There's a scene where she gives herself a mastectomy (bloody but not anatomically graphic). Honestly made me clutch my own chest. It shows how far she was willing to go because of how scared she was for being discovered as a woman. By the end, she didn't magically regain breasts, and I appreciated that it was a lasting mark on her body.
There's is some romance, but it's mostly one sided. Tbh, I'm not entirely sure if she romantically likes Biseol or not. She's shown to have romantic relations with the first prince near the end, but she's not particularly a romantic person (there's a few scenes where she doesn't pick up on feelings people have for her). I think she might've liked the priestess the most, but I couldn't figure out if she just liked the company of fellow women or she felt attraction to women.
But I guess it doesn't really matter. The story isn't about how many people she can get to fall in love with her. It's about her becoming an Empress.
And she did c: