Everything was a Mistake
Some soap opera worthy drama and a bunch of misunderstandings that make my heart CLENCH in pain and frustration. Literally no communication between characters who desperately need it. During confrontations between opposing sides you'll expect that FL's side walks away with some info on ML's situation/feelings- or at least a hint that they're walking through mud when a pathed sidewalk was right next to them- but NOPE. It seems that Deodorent is dead set on believing everyone and everything that isn't ML himself. It's hard to keep up with how many things got lost in translation and it only gets worse because FL and her squad keep on walking into more misinformation, which probably builds into a climax that'll only make me facepalm and moan instead of bringing relief. At least the title is accurate, I can give the author that.
The Duchess with an Empty Soul
A Villain Is A Good Match For A Tyrant
This is good generally. Very lighthearted and kind of shits on shoujo stereotypes while also indulging them. I personally dislike how when two characters of the opposite gender meet, in most cases it only takes a finger snap and boom they're crushing on each other. This manhwa is VERY on the nose about shipping and romance in general. Honestly, t's very refreshing that no one is wasting time playing the sensitive, annoyingly insecure and borderline blind character that cannot see how much they're loved. There's a lot of question marks and lore to be explained. It's nice that nothing is outright given a chapter long explanation and you just get the info as you experience the story, until everything eventually comes together. Honestly though, after the story gets a bit darker I found myself asking when I'm gonna be done reading this. Also, the constant comedy is SO jarring sometimes. After you're past the I'd say 50 or 60 chapters it gets REAL serious, some heavy lore is being uncovered piece by piece, shit is going down if you will... and into every nook and cranny there's comedy squeezed in. It's like you're in the middle of a somber post-war landscape, taking in the devastation, and spot someone moaning out a fat dump by a bush, that's the comedic timing I'm talking about. Anywho, the start of the story is definitely better than later chapters, but it's a good time in general.
Setting Sun, Dazzled Eyes
Doctor Elise
One of the first shoujo manhwas I read, it's a lowkey a classic in my heart, so I may be a bit biased. As the title indicates this is about our FL, Elise and she is a doctor. In more detail though: Elise lived in a fantasy world as a noble lady in her first life, and basically did a lot of bad things for which she was burned at the stake. In her second life she became a surgeon to atone for the life she wasted on misdeads, only to die at a young age and be reborn as Elise again. Anyway, despite FL's lowkey confusing reincarnation thing, she's a solid character. Same goes for everyone else in the story. The ML is on the more brooding, serious side but he is never out to be your stereotypical cold-shoulder emo love interest that FL has to beat and rinse him with affection first or what have you. I also love the whole dynamic between ML's brother (also the second ML) and Elise. But the one thing that's a major turn off for me is that FL is kinda giving subtle to major Mary Sue vibes. She just yeets from one obstacle to another and over time it gets tiring bc you know she'll solve it somehow by using her surgeon skills, even if the issue is only distantly related to her doing doctor things. You can smell, taste and hear how potential plots will be tackled the moment there's a close-up pannel of someone looking sick. Anyway, overall I like this one. It's cute enough to flip through to remind myself of certain plot points, and up to a point it is entertaining, but it's no reread for me.
The Reason Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion
This is the SSS-class of shoujo reincarnation manhwa if you ask me. A young female college student finds herself in the body of Realiana, a minor character destined to be murdered. She's the starting point of a criminal romance drama starring Realiana's friend and the ML duke daddy of your semi-masochistic dreams. Anyway, our FL does not want to die again, so she starts taking measures as well as taking down red flags. I don't want to spoil too much, she basically ends up chilling with the ML in a contract relationship kind of deal, and together they start encountering more and more crimes, which eventually leads them deeper and deeper into serious plot, all the while their relationship develops nicely. I love their dynamic sm. Anyway, the homor and characters have a good umph to them, despite the more serious murder mystery vibes we get going on. The author certainly knows what they were doing, everything from the comedic timing to the final plot points is planned well. Even FL's reincarnation has solid ground and reason. I will certainly read this again.
The Abandoned Empress