The Dragon King's Imperial Wrath: Falling in Love with the Bookish Princess of the Rat Clan Vol. 2

Ryuuou Heika no Gekirin-sama ~Hon Suki Nezumi Himedesuga, Naze ka Ryuuou no Saiai ni Narimashita #2

by Aki Shikimi, Akiko Kawano (Illustrator)

THE RAT PRINCESS DIARIES

Ruiying, princess of the rat clan, has begun her formal training to become a worthy bride for dragon king Yawen. Much to her excitement, this comes with unconditional access to a treasure trove of knowledge! However, her teacher, Meiyu, informs her that being a “fated mate” holds special meaning in the dragon clan. Can the weak but clever rat princess handle the dragon king's unabashed love for her?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Fantasy, Dragons, Graphic Novels, Historical, Comics

162 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2022

Reviews

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are the birds blackmailing the dragons or something? Because why are the dragons threatened?!

I love that Ruiying, Menghua, and Yuchun are girl’s girls. Instead of hating on each other because they’re all competing for Yawen, they each get along so nicely. Menghua has a cute exuberant spirit and Yuchun is gentle and kind. Sure Menghua doesn’t like Yuchun but overall, as a whole, there are more positive connections than negative ones.

I wanted more cute moments with Ruiying and Yawen!!! Also I’m interested in seeing where the world building will lead.

[Home Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8*

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruiying learns more about the Dragon Clan and starts to become closer to King Yawen, although she's relieved to hear that he isn't ignoring the other princesses. She meets and befriends the Rabbit Princess, who wanted to become a bride candidate so that she'd have the opportunity to study medicine - although the Rabbit Clan is known for its medical knowledge, women in the clan are expected to be beautiful and submissive dolls.

In this volume, we get our first on-page instance of the "dragon king's imperial wrath" mentioned in the title. There are some indications why the rule that dragon kings can't be with their fated mates exists - it's not hard to guess that a previous dragon king must have gone nuclear when something happened to his fated mate.

Although King Yawen is instantly devoted to Ruiying upon meeting her, it's not love at first sight for Ruiying. She likes him well enough, and he's handsome, and it would be beneficial to her clan if his clan backed them, but she wants to take the time to get to know Yawen. I liked that. I also liked that the other princesses aren't presented as "jealous mean girls." The Rabbit Princess is the only one this volume looks at in any depth, but it's easy to imagine that the other princesses have deeper motivations of their own for becoming bride candidates.

One thing I found myself wondering was whether they other bride candidates could stay in the Dragon Clan's territory, even if they weren't chosen. It seemed like that might be possible. Or maybe they'd have to be concubines? But would King Yawen choose concubines if he were marrying his fated mate?

Extras:

A bonus manga featuring the Rabbit Princess's meeting with King Yawen, a full-color illustration, a couple humorous 4-panel comics, and a bonus 2-page short story ("The Ice King's Retrospection"). The short story makes aspects of the whole "fated mate" thing a bit clearer - from the sounds of things, dragons don't experience the full range of their emotions until they find their fated mate (which also means that Yawen doesn't have much experience with controlling emotions like anger).

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Dora · Rating 3 out of 5]

the rabbit princess is so cute 😊

[Sierra Burrous · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and cute!!! Gotta love it, a little bit of angst in this volume but not too bad.

[Zwart Raafje · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es ist so süß gezeichnet und mir gefällt die Geschichte sehr gut :)

[KristynRene SwissCheese JellyBean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm confused. Why are the other girls still at the palace? I thought the decision was already made... Strange. Very strange. Also, how cliche was that ending? The art is as beautiful as ever but the plot this time around was a bit melodramatic.

[Catarina Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is way too fast, but better than the first one. I'm happy ruiying is actually developing a personality

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned this would be a 3 book series after reading #1, so I waited until I had #2 and #3 to finish. With that in mind, I think the storytelling and pacing are spot on. We get world building, action, romantic progress, and downtime as Ruiying settles in. I like all the main characters and, for as much as I'd love to spend more time in this realm, I appreciate that this isn't a drawn out series.

My one complaint comes from not being a trope person. Shojo has a very specific recipe and it's followed by every manga out there. Tropes get old. Some authors find ways to freshen them up and some don't, but in almost every shojo manga the same tropes show up repeatedly. I wish the genre would loosen that up, but it's either required by the publishing houses or believed to be a requirement to get the audience to buy the book. I digress. This specific trope can be seen coming from early pages, so the ending is not surprising.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dragon King's Imperial Wrath

I have really enjoyed reading this manga so far. The Dragon King seems imposing at first but once she has gotten to know him better in the library, they have found that they have so much to talk about. In this one she meets the Rabbit Princess and they become quite close spending their days learning about medicine. The Dragon King Starts visiting the Princesses in their rooms but when he reaches Ruiying, he chooses to sleep next to his fated mate.
It is after this when Ruiying and Yucchan are together heading to Yucchan's quarters where herqww attendants and guard S4were killed that the Bird Clan kidnaps both.....
Does the book end there? Will the Dragon King attack?
This is a MUST READ! You must pick it up and find out more!

10/10++

[Lauren Critchley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than the first volume, it felt more fast paced and it was interesting to see some of the princesses meet eachother for the first time.

It's not quite a five star as the character names have stuck out to me since reading the first volume. I'd seen a review saying that the names sounded like they'd been made up to seem Chinese, rather than feeling like authentic Chinese names and I've been thinking the same then since 😭.

Overall a cute series so far and I do look forward to reading the next one.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there is one thing Ruiying really has going for her, it's her curiosity and thirst for knowledge. She genuinely wants to understand things and learn. She's also not threatening at all, in part perhaps because of her race yes, but also just because of the type of person she is. It's cute to see how she interacts with the other princesses, let alone her meetings with King Yawen. The ending certainly wasn't expected, though it would be strange for everything to be smooth sailing all along. Perhaps now that scale may come in handy.

[Christina Blank · Rating 5 out of 5]

very fun…

This is the second book I’ve read in this series and I love it. I really wish I could find the light novels to read in the series in English… Definitely a priority. Because it is a very good series, I love the characters I love the concept of the zodiac being different Clans of people… All under the dragon king. And I can’t wait to learn more about this unique culture and storyline. Great characters.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE CLIFFHANGER AUGHHHHHHH I cannot believe I have to wait months for the next volume....

I am so in love with this couple. ruiying is an amazing character, and the fact that this focuses a lot on female friendships as well as the love story makes this 10/10 in my book. ruiying and yawen slowly inch closer...only to have her be KIDNAPPED!! I need vol 3 now!!!!

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little better than Book 1 because forget insta-love, there was basically no romance in it (no interaction between the FMC and MMC). Instead, we got a lot world-building and info about the different tribes. The art is still my favorite aspect of these books, and I'm thankful this series will be complete with one final volume.

[Mariána K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story

The pacing is just right to keep you from getting bored. I love the cast of characters so far and truly enjoy the rabbit princess.

Small spoiler: the cuddle scene warmed my heart and made me squee a bit!

[Terri Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow, thoughtful romance

The art is good, sometimes funny chibi and sometimes beautiful, while the storyline developes at a steady pace. This isn't the kind of manga that just jumps into the action or is totally cutesy. I'm enjoying it

[Nymphie (Cynthia) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute story. This volume gave us a lot more background on the lore and history of the world, which I appreciate. The character interactions are still a bit clunky, but the plot really kicked up. I’m looking forward to the next volume to resolve the cliffhanger.

[Sushie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and fun with cute characters and engaging intrigue just like the first, but with a big cliff hanger! King Yawen was still overbearing, but not quite so bad as volume 1 as Ruiying is beginning to care for him back. Can’t wait for volume 3!

[Valleri · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the Bird Clan closing in, this book has a bit more action than the first which makes it better. The friendship and rebel aspects between the princess of the Rat Clan and Rabbit Clan add an element of charm to the series that makes me want to read the next book to find out what happens next.

[Cindy ✩☽♔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This continues to be intriguing and sweet, and the art is 🤌🏻✨

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

👑 4 stars 👑

tropes: fated mates, animal characteristics, dragons, historical fantasy, bookish heroine, bachelor-type competition, based on web novel

[Princess Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope this continues to get better. Still up in the air and we shall see if I want to invest in this series.

[BreAnna (Bre'sBooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh whatever, I'm intrigued. 😅

[Kawal · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75
I honestly only continued the series because I forgot about the plot and the art was pretty, but again, this story really isn’t for me. Although, the art style is beautiful!

[Magdalenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the concept, but it's too big to be packed in 3 volumes.

[Skye (Skye's Scribblings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the concept but the telling is a little too simple, there's just not much to a volume. Still, I'm in for another volume or two.

[Izzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been so cute so far! Really excited to pick up the final volume

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the friendship blooming between Ruiying and Yuchun, it’s so cute.