Продовження чарівної історії про дівчину, яка після смерті потрапили до світу книги!
Загадково вбита Пак ИнХа потрапляє у світ роману. Весь сюжет їй чудово відомий. Тепер вона – Раеліана МакМіллан, прекрасна дочка барона. І наче вона отримала шанс на нове життя, але є маленька проблема… Раеліана – лише другорядна героїня, яка скоро має померти. Аби уникнути повторення своєї трагічної долі, Раеліана повинна піти на угоду з людиною, гіршою за самого диявола, але не менш привабливою. Тепер Раеліана – Наречена герцога за контрактом.
Воно не погане, читається легко і цікаво, але, по-перше, історія занадто затягнута, а по-друге, сильно підозрюю, що вона мені в одне вухо влетіла - з іншого вже завтра вилетить.
Noah, my dear, at this point you're only fooling yourself.
More pertinently, I think we really have to start wondering about Beatrice. If she wasn't where she was supposed to be when Eunha originally became Raeliana, that would seem to imply that she may never have been the "good heroine" the book made her out to be. Who's to say that she wasn't somehow behind original Raeliana's death and used her to get Noah for herself? That one shot of her in this volume may just be hinting at it.
I'm just as happy that the "monster hunt" episode is over with, and we can move on to other things. Having seen two very similar sequences in this and Villains Deserve to Die, I can only assume that this is a common plot trope, and would prefer that the authors of these kinds of stories tried to come up with new situations rather than relying on the same, overused ones over and over.
After the hunt, we are given more than a hint that Beatrice, Noah's fiancee from the novel that Raeliana reincarnated into, is behind Vivan's plan to kill Raeliana with an exploding gem. Vivian's attempt at trying to make Noah jealous by being affianced to the king himself has borne no fruit at all, so attempted murder is naturally the next point of attack.
Raeliana goes through some rather unbelievable rituals in preparation for the candle ceremony, which takes place all but off-camera. (Speaking of "off-camera," Brooks is rather off-handedly executed in a line of dialogue somewhere in this volume.) The high priest of the church has a couple of scenes with Raeliana where he is impressed first with her refusal to take any shit, and then by her plot-handy ability to translate a language that--theoretically--only three people on this world know. He insists on adopting her as his granddaughter, which she vaguely, and reluctantly agrees to.
After a throwaway episode about a possible ghost, Raeliana rushes to the family graveyard on Noah's estate to finally meet Beatrice in a scene from the novel... but instead comes across Vivian's brother Justin. He, too, builds a kind of bond with her because of her force of personality.
I do rather like stories where our heroine changes her fate that way, but that's another thing that can get repetitive after a while. This is especially true when her role as a stranger usurping a body familiar to the rest of the cast makes her a novelty that no one else around her is aware of. Of course, it's what this whole genre is built on...
As with most web comics, the art looks rushed, far better suited for quick scrolling on a phone than more leisurely perusal in a full-color paperback. I noticed that in many scenes, there was a very sketchy (or clip art, more likely) depiction of a hallway, windows, etc. to set the scene, then the rest of the backgrounds were just mood lighting. Some of those backgrounds were so sketchy that I didn't parse the setting until the characters mentioned it in their dialogue. The character work is decent to good, but that isn't all that comics storytelling is about.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
After picking up a bit at the end of the second volume, this one immediately falls to pieces as it meanders around doing nothing. A long sequence with an old priest who looks like a young boy is supposed to be funny, but it is not, not even a little bit. Then there are some tiny, slow bits of romantic progress with choppy, episodic chapters featuring jewelry shopping, a haunted mirror, a visit to a grave, and catching a cold, but I just couldn't bring myself to care.
I'm not even halfway through this series at this point, and I'm not really connecting with the plot or characters, and the art is nothing special, so I think it is time to step away from it. Byyyyeeeeee.
I forgot how much I love this series because once I started reading, I was already laughing and very much enjoying myself because these two are one of my favorite "fake" couples!
But, ha! Who is to say it's fake anymore with the developments in this one? 😏😏😏
Also, can I just take a moment to say I LOVE seeing the bookkeeper again?! I didn't think Raeliana would go back to that one bookstore, but that whole conversation was GOLD and definitely one of my favorite scenes in this volume!
I think the only thing that was NOT my favorite was the High Priest. Ugghhh! He is such a prideful and stuck-up man and his kid-like appearance made it even worse! LOL! Though I will say…that glow-up was quite the glow-up. 👌
And not just his physical features, but Noah's brother! *jaw drops* I was NOT expecting him to look like that! Granted, I'm alllll here for Noah, so no worries there!
Though I was surprised by how many new faces we see, including him and the High Priest! I am curious how some of them are going to play a role in this story moving forward because while almost all of them SEEM good guys, we know from the beginning how sly Noah can be and if these people are in his inner circle (Not sure all of them are though?), then Raeliana definitely needs to be on guard!
Speaking of, she is such a wonderful character! Her expressions make me laugh more than once and some of the "soft" moments definitely had me squealing! While I felt bad for her in regards to what she was hoping would happen due to her knowledge of the novel, this volume had some mystery sprinkled throughout as a result of things not unfolding the same way. This of course leaves me a little on edge about the danger that could lie ahead. It was however a nice twist I didn't expect!
Another fantastic volume even if the whole torch ceremony (well leading up to it) was not my favorite. VERY excited for the next volume, especially with how this one ended!! 🥰🥰🥰
HIHIIIIIIIIII ok, le changement de l’histoire originale et qui nous amène à avoir une toute nouvelle histoire….. j’adore. Et Béatrice ???? Méchante ou gentille ??? That is the question
This is when the plot has finally picked up and the original story is finally merging with the experiences Raeliana is going through! Also, our ship has FINALLY SAILED.
Prior to reading the story... I was super reluctant to start it because I wasn't sure the Noah was my type... I would like to take it all back 🥹 Noah is the BEST GREEN FLAG BOY. And his teasing! Ughhh, their relationship doesn't feel rushed at all.
Also can we talk about the lack of miscommunication in this story? 2nd ML comes into play but still not even an issue. 2nd FL comes in? Noah reassures Raeliana. I couldn't ask for anything more 😭 I love the fact that the extras male characters aren't all interested in Raeliana either. They all have wholesome relationships with our FL.
💙Raeliana has to go to the temple for a torch-lighting ceremony & there’s a whole storyline with the priest & to be honest I wasn’t a fan of it. It just wasn’t very exciting to me & I could’ve done without it.
💙Vivian has been labeled the villainess by Raeliana in the last book & we definitely can see more of how that’s true in this one
💙I’m truly enjoying when Noah & Raeliana still have their banter & other little moments between them where you can tell they’re gaining feelings for each other
💙Noah’s “the thought of losing you 🥺” moment, them laying in bed together after she got scared & he reads her romance book 🥲 🫶🏼 all some of my fav parts
💙Noah’s brother & Countess O’Brien make an appearance, we also see some of Vivian’s family 👀
The fact that Raeliana is still trying to get Beatriz and Noah together because she feels like she's intruding on their lives just kinda shows you what type of person she is. AND we finally got to meet His Holiness and the fact that he calls Raeliana his granddaughter is actually hilarious. It's such a funny bit and is continued on throughout the whole series.