I remember attempting to read this many years ago and dropping it because the initial premise was unsettling to read. After giving it another shot, as a now 23 year old woman, I can say without doubt that this is peak. Seriously peak. I would probably rank it in my top 5 romance manga/manwha/manhua list. This is a beautiful story not rooted in revenge but in redemption, healing, and love. Carcel is one of my favourite MLs ever, and I adore Ines and want to see nothing but her happiness. The world building is great, and the Imperial system is well defined and consistently applied. Majority of the characters, both good and bad and in between, are well rounded and not based on archetypes. I especially love how the relationship between Ines and Luciano has unfolded, and look forward to further development. The writing is great, and the art leaves a lot of room for interpretation without spoon feeding the reader certain themes and conclusions.
Sad how the father’s ego and trust issues caused all this… I support her cutting off her father and eldest brother. From her abandonment to her treatment as Perrie, she has experienced so much pain at their hands. Knowing that a part of her little 3 year old self was anchored to the tower waiting to be reunited with her family who abandoned her guts me. 72 and 73 had me bawling.
THIS IS SO PEAK. Julia has an amazing level of introspection that isn’t usually explored in regressor manwha. I equally love Carus and Lewisia. I also adore the girlhood between Julia, Coco, and Alexa. There’s so many moving parts to this story, and we haven’t even been introduced to the Empress yet. The characters are so fleshed out, even a psychopath like Count Blythe and a self righteous narcissist like Christine have depth to their character.
I don't hate the premise but the FL is dim-witted AF. The beautiful art is wasted on this story.
I love how fleshed out the characters are. Group conversations have amazing flow and the dialogues are entertaining.
The ML actually interacts with characters outside of Huina and does so rationally and calmly. He gets jealous easily but it doesn’t influence how he interacts with other men, such as the alchemist or Huiwon’s friend at the guild. Huiwon and Huina have a great sibling dynamic that’s loving, supportive, and loyal to each other without bordering a sis/bro con. I especially love the harmony between Huina, Huiwon, and ML. ML frames his desire for Huina as wanting to be “part of her household/family” rather than wanting to covet her love and affection. He has built good relationships with Huiwon, Poly, and Patches, who all like him in return. All the main and secondary characters are such green flags. Also, Huina is breathtakingly beautiful ugh.
The world building could definitely use some work but the plot is intriguing and the romance is good for dark fantasy. I like that the story shows the ML's dilemma in wanting to covet Raza while not controlling her the same way her brother does. I like how sweet the two are with each other but my heart hurts so bad for Raza and I hope we see her getting some justice or retribution. There are certain things about the setting that confuses me but the story's main focus is the romance and defeat of the brother and I think those parts are moving at a fair pace.
I love the art and smut but I'm pleasantly surprised by how serious the story takes itself. Both Aaron and Yujin have their own traumas to work through. Yujin suffers from low self-confidence and has trauma from being physically abused by his father, which manifests in various forms. Aaron is learning to break away from his machiavellian upbringing while recognizing his desire and jealousy to be feelings of romance and not ownership. The art is stunning and I really like the direction the story is heading towards. I just hope they continue building the romance and break down the economic barriers between the two, as that's where a lot of Yujin's self confidence issues lie. I want to see more of an equivalent relationship between the two where the power dynamic only exists in the bedroom.
The way half my theories were rendered useless by this chapter lmaooo. I’m waiting for something bad to happen. Its coming I can feel it.
BL creators will make the most innocent, endearing, naive, sweet, and bubbly main character then pair them up with a literal shithead. What's up with that fr?
Guwon is giving me undead vibes, especially with the stiches across his neck and feet. Perhaps he threw up because he kissed a human and views them as inherently inferior beings? That seems obvious considering how he treats MC like a pet - maybe the whole town is privy to that information and avoid him as a result. I have so many questions but I'll let this sit until it reaches about chapter 50 or so lol.
I'm not sure how I feel about the MC getting Betty's sloppy seconds lol. The translation is awful - gonna have to put this on the backburner until the officials or better translations get uploaded.
I’m so frustrated right now. I feel nothing but disdain for Castean - him being part of the ploy to get access to Sicar’s heart is one thing but him being directly responsible for Velia’s death? How dare he kill someone else’s mother for the sake of reviving his own. And I actually had some hope for the Archduchess especially since she seemed to show some care to Percy and Persillion, namely during his time in the mage tower. But now I just want to see them all dead lol. I really hope Leffie won’t feel sympathy for either of them and spare them towards the end. Gonna have to let this marinate because I’m getting too worked up over the current arc - the odds are so not in their favour and it’s killing me!!
The funniest part of this whole story is the part-timer at the cafe being dragged into their shenanigans lol
It's at a good point to binge right now. They've finally confessed to each other but they're still as stupid as ever, lol.
I haven't been this satisfied with a romance isekai since Raeliana. The ending hit all the marks, though the little tidbit about OG Fiona repeating the story over and over again was unnecessarily cruel and added nothing to the story. Apart from that, I'm happy with how this ended, and that Siegfried chose not to become the Emperor and married Fiona under her name. Loved seeing his internal struggle with wanting to be a source of strength for her despite how powerful she is. Hopefully we get a glimpse of their daughter who seems to be a reincarnation of OG Fiona. She deserves it tbh.
Man I'm getting too old for these cliche toxic relationships. What's the appeal in a man who takes your first time on a salon chair and did you dirty when he thought you were going to confess? LOL. The art is pretty though and I love Woori so I'll keep reading but that redemption and yearning arc needs to be BIG.
Jigu reminds me of when I had a crush on someone in high school LOL. The yearning and changing your whole routine to see them is too real. But Yeowoon needs to hurry and clear the air up - this misunderstanding is going to huuuurt.
I have a few gripes with the war arc but my biggest complaint is that they should have developed Art's student life a lot more prior to throwing him into the war. I mean, we didn't even get a competition arc or silly beach excursion arc lol. I think there were a lot of missed opportunities especially with the dwarves - an exchange semester would have been so interesting to see amidst the betrayal of some of the dwarves. The story could have been much more fleshed out rather than condensing the tension in a few chapters.
I'm on chapter 150 rn and I probably shouldn't be reading this on my reds because I haven't stopped crying but I'm heartbroken for Art. He didn't ask to be put in this role. He got a second chance at life and discovered love and family bonds just to lose his family by telling them the truth PLUS his bond... Like I get it from the family's perspective but Art is just a victim of these divine circumstances. I just want the best for him and I'm so emotional and sad on his behalf rn
Getting dicked down real good every night? I don't even need the luck just give me the mirror