i love how a woman with a low self esteem who initially found it hard to speak for herself is partnered with a hot headed guy in this story.
Usually, writers make the male lead soft and kind to provide the female lead the gentleness she rightfully deserves and (i guess) somewhat heal the inner child who maybe grew up in a harsh environment.
INSTEAD, we see Riftan's temper all the time, which initially intimidated Maxi, but eventually, she finds the courage to have her own convictions and fight for them as well. She grew so much, and so did Riftan! Slowly, he's developing the patience to understand where his wife is coming from during their arguments. It's almost like their own unique temperaments that are opposite to each other are what's helping them grow as individuals in a relationship.
They've come so far! I can't wait to see more of their character developments
I loved the story and how the mcs slowly fell in love. But as soon as the setting went off the island, everything became so rushed and there were a few technical stuff that didn't make sense for me, like how an exiled king got the privilege to stay at his brother's house before he went off to Hubaek (or whatever i forgot).
Then we get the half assed chapters about their time apart. 1 year turned to 2 years then 4 then 5. Idk, they skipped a lot when they could've have dedicated those chapters to build up his return and go into details about the conflict between the courts. and btw, i cant believe the brother who was not raised in the palace, and was not introduced properly about his standing in society, suddenly became a king ⊙.☉
We didnt even get chapters about their married life and how FL was during pregnancy. Suddenly it's been a decade since they've met and really, it's likely they didnt really think about the pacing and proper sequence of events. I would have preferred details rather than side stories about the councilor starting a rebellion









and i remember getting the feeling that whenever they had sex, it was like between a perverted guy and a sex doll. he's rough and she goes with anything he wants.
i always hated how the sex scenes were written. Blair was made to be so submissive in bed, it almost seemed like she was a lifeless doll.
Yeah most of the time she was just “giving in” to him wanting sex instead of being a willing participant, it highk put me off
Obviously, I am expecting something like that... She doesn't like him and he likes her but doesn't want to admit it, but sex is somehow ok to release some of the frustration he has, so this uncomfortable situation is created. It's not that strange. Good thing that it is well portrayed in the novel
I guess at some point they would understand each other but meanwhile they will be this uncomfortable together