A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I'm Being Pampered by the Prince! Volume 1

A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I'm Being Pampered by the Prince! #1

by Micoto Sakurai, Kuroyuki (Illustrator), A.M. Cola (Translator)

Amelia is a studious young countess and water mage. Her fiancé, Reese, is the second son of a marquis and wields earth magic, a desirable skill for the agricultural domain that Amelia’s father rules. The couple grew up together and has always gotten along well, so their happy future together seems certain. Yet after Reese enters the Royal Academy of Magic, Amelia loses all contact with him. Although she assumes he’s just busy with his studies, when she enters the academy a year later herself, her classmates inexplicably ostracize her as Reese continues to avoid her. Throughout this confusing ordeal, the isolated and anxious Amelia finds comfort in the kindness of Sarge, the fourth prince, who seems to have taken an interest in her...

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Fiction, Manga, Comics

269 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 27, 2023

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was ok. Once the bullies were dealt with, it got more boring and harder for me to pick up and finish. Not horrible, but I’m in the middle of a mini-book slump, so this one, with its slice-of-life storyline and not much action just didn’t hold my attention.

The characters were ok, storyline ok, setting ok. Nothing blew me out of the water and this one won’t be easily remembered by me in a few weeks. The only different thing is the weather issues that the MCs are working to counter by magically developing cold-resistant food so they can advert a future famine.

3, if a wasn’t in a mini-book slump it would possibly be rated higher, stars.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little repetitive, like it needed a bit more finessing in the switch from serialized web novel to published book, but ultimately very nice and affirming for the heroine. 3.5 that I'm happy to round up.

[Mariána K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generic and a bit boring

The story is nothing special, very formulaic. Characters are rather flat and not the most rounded either. Storyline is very predictable but not in a good way, it feels rushed with little detail to make for an interesting story. Everything is too easy, there's no real risk or difficulty that the hero has to overcome. The only thing she has to worry about is her super sleazy fiance, but that's taken care of by the doting prince with little to no effort. Sometimes there are moments that you think it's going to go high stakes but it's a big let down if you think it's going to. Funnily enough, there's like three or four bonus chapters at the end and none of them are interesting because the whole point of the bonus chapters is to give you something more to read about characters you like and find interesting but none of the characters are that interesting so the bonus chapters are just really boring anecdotes. Do you really want 12 pages of apple pie baking in the winter? It's unfortunate, but I don't know what I was hoping for.

[Elizabeth Aguilar · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC

[Mystic DreamClouds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m probably well into the minority with this series because I actually really like it.

I liked Amelia’s character because it felt realistic. Not every character can be a badass, revolutionary female main lead who solves her problems by herself and quite frankly, they do become repetitive after a while. Amelia isn’t one of those characters and I wouldn’t consider her weak or helpless either. Amelia understands her position in the historical time period this story is set in, but she also tries to be independent and indifferent to the toxic rumors around her. Amelia does her best to be strong and as a a country noble with no prior experience on dealing with nobles from the capital, I liked how she trusted her friends to help her deal with the situations.

Amelia is a character who enjoys studying and working towards the benefit of her homeland. I found this quite relatable, because although I’m not working for something as patriotic, I also like giving my all towards work as well as with analyzing data. It’s fulfilling to see results and it’s easy to become lost in the process. We’d probably be called workaholics but I’d like to think we’re just overly passionate about what we do.

Sarge, the fourth prince, was an interesting character. He’s gifted, beautiful and indifferent to female characters which isn’t an uncommon setup in these genres. So I liked when he wasn’t immediately attracted to Amelia, curious yes, but he developed feelings for her as they spent more time together.

There are a lot of supporting characters. Everyone has a pairing or will be paired by the end of volume one. It’s kind of nice because they are all very nice and caring, so it’s good to see them have a happy ending too. That said, I liked how this story didn’t show the typical royal household, filled with politics and negative emotions. Instead the royal family had a caring and protective side which attracted like personalities to include in the family.

This volume primarily focuses on Amelia and her ex-fiancé spreading false narratives. The pacing starts well with the introductions; unexpected friends and bullies; and Amelia’s desire to become more well versed and knowledgeable about her magic. However, once the situation with the ex-fiancé ends, things speed up drastically. It’s suddenly revealed that Sarge has feelings for Amelia, their new magic is developed and engagements are taking place. Although I liked how it closed things, I wish that the story could have gone into a bit of depth regarding the magic and maybe had more romantic moments between Sarge and Amelia. I think they made a very cute and innocent couple so personally, I would have loved to see their growth.

The writing feels a bit off but I’m not sure if that’s translation or how it was intended to be. Personally I’ve read worse so it didn’t really bother me though it took a while getting used to. I recommend reading the manga first to grasp a better understanding, although the light novel has more details and answers.

Overall, I really enjoyed this volume and I’m looking forward to volume two in both the manga and light novel.

Read more reviews @ Mystic's Review Shelf

[Aelvana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amelia's life has been planned out for her: she'll attend the academy, learn more about how to use her water magic, marry her fiancé, Reese, and live happily ever after. Only when she gets to the academy, she realizes Reese has found another woman, and is trying to paint her as the villain.

This feels to me very paint-by-numbers. The setup is somewhat interesting: Amelia's family, being primarily involved in farming, has great need of earth mages to bolster that, so they secured her engagement to Reese. Of course, as soon as Sarge, the fourth prince, is introduced as "also has earth magic" it's pretty clear where this is going to go.

So the story is mostly Amelia trying to shake off Reese as she and Sarge fall in love. Both Sarge and Amelia are research-minded, and a lot of the book is them talking numbers and comparing data. Now, in the abstract I don't have a problem with that, as the two of them are discussing their hobbies, but I find the way the author presented it to be extremely dull. It's always an almost reflexive "they talked about the data" with no other details. No actual details about farming, just the endlessly repeated two or three phrases.

Overall it's an okay book. I can't say I loved it, but some things were interesting. I rate this book Neutral.

[Pieter · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Read at JNC)

Amelia is going to the academy for young nobles to further hone her magic and social skills in her bid to help her father’s domain and its people have bigger harvests. Thinks don’t go as hoped, as her fiancé is acting strangely, and her schoolmates are avoiding her. Luckily, she runs in with the youngest of four princes and they share an interest in researching magic to help with the agricultural issues of the kingdom.

A Royal Rebound is written from the first-person perspective in a style that I enjoy reading. The characters are likeable, there is only one romantic interest, and it is a pairing that makes sense (no opposites attract here). The lack of isekai and doomed ending to avoid are somewhat of a plus as well. Having been inundated with those in the last few years.

The reason why I am a bit hesitant to give it four stars though is that there is no twist at all, not in its stereotypical world, nor its characters or straightforward plot. Add in the lack of tension and/or humour, and it leaves a predictable slice-of-life “school” romance. The rather extreme punishment of the bullies doesn’t help. I know that bullying can do a lot of long-term harm, but permanently marring their magic talent (and with it removing any title they have had) seems a bit much. It also removes a potential powerful tool for the kingdom, which for a first-time offense seems really over the top.

Still, I enjoyed reading it, a wholesome predictable romance with little complications.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very, very amateurish writing. There are so many issues regarding logic and an overly simplistic plot and characters. I had the feeling the author just wrote whatever sounded good in that moment without considering how it worked with the overall story. For example, Amelia is thinking that she's falling in love with Sarge, and how could she not when he treats her so well. On the next page, she's talking about how she fell in love with him at first sight. How do those go together? When it comes to worldbuilding, the explanation of anything magical is just terrible. I'm not saying that magic needs to fleshed out and believable, but the key is to LEAVE OUT DETAILS if you can't write them well. It leaves less to trip you up.

That being said, light magic is ridiculous. I don't even understand how you can somehow randomly project reenactments of events, nor restore ink that ran on paper. Then you have water magic, which is apparently considered practically useless for farming?? And can't affect weather, but you can make it rain? Wind magic doesn't mix with farming because hurricanes are the enemy of farmland...can you not use gentler wind than a hurricane? Use it to spread water or something? It was just so baffling what magic could and couldn't do. And why is it limited for noble use? What if a commoner is born with magic? I felt kind of sorry for the noble kids, TBH. Yes, you want the children to be of strong moral character, but...maybe expelling them and sealing their magic (thus basically ruining their lives) should be a step taken only after some attempts at educating them better? For that matter, since magic runs in the bloodline, it's very silly to say that they are unmarriageable after their magic is sealed, since it would still pass to their children. So maybe they are in disgrace, but can still be married quietly or be a concubine (I assume the world is accepting of this, since the king has a concubine).

It's pretty obvious that the author has no real knowledge of the structure of the European style aristocracy that seems so popular in light novels (a common issue). Just because your father is a count, does not make you a countess. And I'm unclear why the middle two brothers have to become dukes after they marry, but the youngest one stays a prince because he is the queen's son. I understand they have different moms, but they are still royal family members even if they are dukes, they just branch off. Really, once the crown prince has children, even Sarge (I really hate this name) should become a duke because he's no longer in the direct line of succession. It's just really weird. Amelia was set to inherit her family's domain, with her husband marrying into her family (no, it's not an ADOPTION, thank you) but as soon as she's dumped, her value on the marriage mart is super low. Why? I understand her reputation somehow took a hit, but inheriting a title, wealth (it said her family was super wealthy, but also suggested she couldn't afford to live in the capitol. Not clear which is correct), and a ton of extremely valuable agricultural land should be enough to overcome a broken engagement (which it later said was normal). Sarge at one point said he didn't have the correct attribute, but...he has earth magic! I was so confused. But hey, guess she's been passed over in favor of her cousin inheriting, and despite being raised her whole life for the role, and loving her domain dearly, she is totally not caring that it's all being given away.

On the topic of her engagement, the whole matter with her ex was stupid. He was dumb, her classmates were dumb, and in fact, it wouldn't have worked because her reactions to him would not have fit the setup he gave her. Even if she gets (justifiably) angry, the things she says are not at all going to match his story. These students are supposed to be intelligent (I was a little sorry she lost her first friend so easily and never made up with her), and honestly she was pretty practical about giving up Reese, so why would she even react that way? So...his jealousy over her excellence caused him to slander her so that she'd be isolated, then she would flip out and cause some sort of scene that caused him to have leverage over her family....and his plan was to...keep the girlfriend as his side chick and still take over her family's title? Wow. Does that even make sense? I love how the girl just immediately ditched him after all that effort.

And why is the academy so unsafe? Why are the bodyguards so bad at their jobs that Sarge can keep slipping away? How did Amelia manage to give his knight the slip even though she even said he would be able to catch up easily? She didn't even trick him into going somewhere else - he was standing RIGHT THERE and she just grabbed Sarge's hand and ran away.

It was so bland at the end that I had to force myself to finish.

[Seragrime · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had to describe this in a single word, it would be bland but that doesn't mean its bad.

I liked it but it didn't really capture my attention like other books in this genre. It was also a little inconsistent. Our FMC is portrayed as a country noble with few airs and a more commoner like lifestyle and mentions that while her room has a kitchen she doesn't 'feel' like cooking yet later she is shown as being completely useless in the kitchen like the other daughters of nobility.

There was the potential for so much depth and character growth but it was just never developed. Instead it was just a sweet little story about two like minded people quietly falling in love, one where the bullies and villians get off far to lightly.

I don't know if there will be more books in the series but there was no big cliffhanger and you have a glimpse of the HEA ending.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing

I really enjoyed this book up to the last chapter in which everything seemed to happen at the speed of light.
Until then, the story was progressing well. It was a little repetitive in places and somewhat predictable, as you might expect of this genre, but generally a good read. However, the final chapter felt like author just wanted to wrap up the entire story quickly. The chapter covers at least half a year with nothing being explained, random time jumps, and everything just conveniently happening. There was little development of the characters so you can’t really empathise with them and overall it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It was such a disappointing end to the volume.
Shame to say, but I will not be continuing the series.

[Zoe Townley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bad writing, what plot? And nice feelings

So, first: I picked up this book because I wanted something to cheer me up after a long day at work. This book does that with the touching care the main character is given throughout the story.
That said... I can't say it's well written at all. Most of it is telling instead of showing, very scripted dialogue, and very, very little descriptive writing. In some scenes I had no idea where the protag was.
The plot is also very basic with poorly written characters that don't do anything but emote what is needed to make the reader feel good and advance the plot.

So. Wanna feel good? Yes. It does that in the typical ragstoriches sort of way. Want an enjoyable, memorable read that you'll remember? Go find a different book.

[Judith Dapon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once it was revealed that Prince Sarge possessed earth magic, which the female protagonist's father had highly recommended for his daughter, the storyline became somewhat predictable. However, I found the part where her classmates conspired against her, making it appear as if she were at fault, to be intriguing. It added an element of suspense( just a bit though), especially when the truth was eventually revealed. Personally, I believe that adding more jealousy scenes could have enhanced the overall plot and added further depth to the characters' emotions and conflicts.

[Mk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This goes by SUPER fast. It's a very gentle read considering how the author blasts through different things without pause for detail, but I liked it and will be grabbing volume 2. I would have liked if one of the bonus chapters was from the prince's view on falling for her / what he likes about her. Also his name keeps throwing me off. ("Sarge")

[J-Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this story is cute….

Two nerds form a bond over their mutual love of plants and magic. Throughout their interactions, they help one another research new ideas to ensure the success of their country.

Honestly, though, I don’t think I will continue this series because this book wraps up the loose ends nicely. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a lovely and cute read, though it can get repetitive and has a lot of clichés and world building that had potential but wasn’t ever really explored. The love story was sweet and made it worth the read, even though much happens off screen that we’re told off hand by the narration.

[Allana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

This is a lovely story about two introverts. Amelia and Sarge are the cutest couple. They both love to research and study magic and magic theory.

[Live · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like it. It's a cute story. Just a little repetitive and a lot happens off screen.

[Mireilla D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Was a bit confused when there was Amelia and Emelia. During translation they should have changed the names, but other then that an awesome story

[Aki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. I liked the characters and premise but it could have used a better conflict; this also felt scripted in some places.

[Saidah Gilbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was fine but I didn't like the writing voice of the author. There was quite a lot of telling, not showing and it was a bit repetitive with that telling as well.

[Gaea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

RTC

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got bored by the end it’s alright but not all that great.

[Stas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I regret picking this up.

Very simple and straightforward.
There is no tension here. AT ALL.

I cannot recommend this.