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I’ll Use This Do-over to Become the Ideal Lady’s Maid!
A Second Chance To Follow Your Dreams!
The daughter of a viscount has returned to the past, and she intends to dedicate her second life to waiting on young ladies as the ideal lady’s maid! The day after her engagement is called off, Emma returns to her life at the age of 15, having served her country thus far using her power to travel to the future. And this time around, she won’t be sacrificing herself for the sake of the nation!
She’s determined to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a lady’s maid when a mysterious duke from the neighboring country appears before her. “I don’t waste my time on nonsense.” But his kindness belies his cold words and Emma finds herself drawn to him. Yet he keeps a secret that could change everything…
The daughter of a viscount has returned to the past, and she intends to dedicate her second life to waiting on young ladies as the ideal lady’s maid! The day after her engagement is called off, Emma returns to her life at the age of 15, having served her country thus far using her power to travel to the future. And this time around, she won’t be sacrificing herself for the sake of the nation!
She’s determined to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a lady’s maid when a mysterious duke from the neighboring country appears before her. “I don’t waste my time on nonsense.” But his kindness belies his cold words and Emma finds herself drawn to him. Yet he keeps a secret that could change everything…
264 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 14, 2023
Ok, just for the record, a rather recently developed pet peeve of mine is in this book, hence my decision to DNF at 65% and remove from my eReader. This is not a pet peeve that I have seen in many reviews, so please bear in mind that I probably read this very, very wrong. I do that at times. This may be one of them.
Warning, spoilers will follow.
Ok, for my pet peeve.
I HATE it when characters make decisions for other characters, without cluing the person for whom the decision is being made in on it, or after the decision has already been made and there is no way to change it.
Example, the MC h's BFF's father DOTES on his daughter, but HATES deceit and lies. Now, he is a DUKE, so one step away from royalty. He has money and title, so within reason, he can do what he pleases.
His daughter, who is somewhat of a moron imho, doesn't realize that her hiding the fact that she wants to be a lady's maid and loves her commoner butler, unreasonably INFURIATES her otherwise loving father (despite him repeating over and over and over again, how much he HATES deceit and lying), so he PULLS her out of school and FORCES her to go to a foreign school to study something she doesn't care about and fires her butler.
He punishes her, but NEVER EXPLAINS WHY HE DID WHAT HE DID. First of all, a punishment should 1) fit the crime and 2) work towards rehabilitating/teaching the one who did wrong that what they did was wrong and maybe even what to do in the future.
But NOPE. He hates lying and deceit SOOOOOOO MUCH, he rather make his only child, whom he allegedly loves and dotes on, MISERABLE for the REST of her LIFE by ruining her chances at her choice of profession and having her fired butler marry someone else. Which, by not telling her why he did what he did, is kind of lying and deceitful. Just saying.
I want to say the daughter should kind of know her dad and know that he HATES deceit and lying more than ANYthing, and maybe she should have been honest about her choice of profession, but SHE IS A 15 YEAR OLD GIRL. What right does the father expect for her to tell him who she is crushing on?!?! That's a bit TOO much. Like, let the poor girl have some privacy, sheesh!
So this really pissed me off, but I was ready to continue, until I realized that the MC H basically made important decisions for the MC h, without including her in on them.
1) rewinding time so she wouldn't see her fiancee cheating on her with her childhood BFF
2) rewinding time AND giving her his powers when the timeline she was in where she DIDN'T know she was being cuckolded was revealed by the engagement being publicly broken in a humiliating way.
3) NOT explaining about her new BFF's dad and his penchant for HATING deceit and lying more than ANYthing so she could save her friend's career choice AND lover
Maybe if the female characters in this book were given information, though could make well-educated decisions on their OWN without being infantilized by the men in their lives. The one couldn't help who her father was, but the MC H kind of shoe-horned his way into the MC h's life because he loved her from the original timeline, which is basically erased twice because "he knew better".
I'm sorry, but this just DIDN'T work for me.
I was going to go with two stars, but as I was writing this review up, my blood started to boil again.
1, this had promise but UGH, stars.
Warning, spoilers will follow.
Ok, for my pet peeve.
I HATE it when characters make decisions for other characters, without cluing the person for whom the decision is being made in on it, or after the decision has already been made and there is no way to change it.
Example, the MC h's BFF's father DOTES on his daughter, but HATES deceit and lies. Now, he is a DUKE, so one step away from royalty. He has money and title, so within reason, he can do what he pleases.
His daughter, who is somewhat of a moron imho, doesn't realize that her hiding the fact that she wants to be a lady's maid and loves her commoner butler, unreasonably INFURIATES her otherwise loving father (despite him repeating over and over and over again, how much he HATES deceit and lying), so he PULLS her out of school and FORCES her to go to a foreign school to study something she doesn't care about and fires her butler.
He punishes her, but NEVER EXPLAINS WHY HE DID WHAT HE DID. First of all, a punishment should 1) fit the crime and 2) work towards rehabilitating/teaching the one who did wrong that what they did was wrong and maybe even what to do in the future.
But NOPE. He hates lying and deceit SOOOOOOO MUCH, he rather make his only child, whom he allegedly loves and dotes on, MISERABLE for the REST of her LIFE by ruining her chances at her choice of profession and having her fired butler marry someone else. Which, by not telling her why he did what he did, is kind of lying and deceitful. Just saying.
I want to say the daughter should kind of know her dad and know that he HATES deceit and lying more than ANYthing, and maybe she should have been honest about her choice of profession, but SHE IS A 15 YEAR OLD GIRL. What right does the father expect for her to tell him who she is crushing on?!?! That's a bit TOO much. Like, let the poor girl have some privacy, sheesh!
So this really pissed me off, but I was ready to continue, until I realized that the MC H basically made important decisions for the MC h, without including her in on them.
1) rewinding time so she wouldn't see her fiancee cheating on her with her childhood BFF
2) rewinding time AND giving her his powers when the timeline she was in where she DIDN'T know she was being cuckolded was revealed by the engagement being publicly broken in a humiliating way.
3) NOT explaining about her new BFF's dad and his penchant for HATING deceit and lying more than ANYthing so she could save her friend's career choice AND lover
Maybe if the female characters in this book were given information, though could make well-educated decisions on their OWN without being infantilized by the men in their lives. The one couldn't help who her father was, but the MC H kind of shoe-horned his way into the MC h's life because he loved her from the original timeline, which is basically erased twice because "he knew better".
I'm sorry, but this just DIDN'T work for me.
I was going to go with two stars, but as I was writing this review up, my blood started to boil again.
1, this had promise but UGH, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2024
I couldn't get past the bizarre obsession with becoming a lady's maid. I could see wanting to have some of the talents of a lady's maid that you admired, but WTF is this lifelong wish from a noble (not to mention her friend!) to be a maid for life?? It was SO silly every time it was mentioned.
Time travel is already problematic to maintain consistency, as was clearly illustrated here.
The story was full of loopholes, as if the author thought something sounded interesting, so just threw it in. Why elevate her fiance's family title *before* they got married? They haven't yet earned it, and why on earth does the time affinity suddenly end? Why do random creepy guys hit on her at the party? Why could Annette travel to the past, given that she should have restrictions on her power? If Bernard "just wanted to marry someone with the time affinity" why was he interested in Annette before she even gained the ability? Can you even call them childhood friends when they didn't even seem to like each other and Bernard is just stabbing her in the back every time they meet?? Annette was sort of redeemed later, but she was a terrible friend also. It wasn't that she "copied" Emma when she liked something - she straight up took it! What kind of stupidity is it that now she suddenly also has this rare time affinity, ensuring that Ian will then pass on to Annette? Which by the way, their friendship shouldn't be totally based on him being her guardian!! Why does Glen like Emma this much, and how did going back in the past cause Rashida to change her timeline to go to school with them? How can Ian help her in the future, when the info she brings back should then change the future?? I don't even understand these "time missions." How did Duke Eslan's gatekeeper believe Ian when he said he was there to give a message to the Duke, when literally 30 seconds earlier Emma said they were there to see Rashida and was denied entry? That's not a brilliant plan, that's a stupid gatekeeper.
What is this nonsense with Glen "giving" his time affinity to her, and it awakening all affinities in her blood? Come on! And her grandmother conveniently turning out to be a distant relative? Despite the thorough investigation not finding anything?
It's also filled with weird prose such as "when Emma realized her neighbor came from a ducal family, she regretted not introducing herself first. Her disappointment almost crushed her." WHY? Why would you be crushingly disappointed you didn't introduce yourself first? It blathers about the school having secrets that you can't blab even after you graduate or you'd be severely punished. By whom? "...confusion and dismay darkened those green eyes, emblematic of beauty itself."...what? That's not even about the ML, nor was it appropriately thrown in. "The words expelled from Professor Morris's well-defined lips stabbed through Emma." Seriously....why did we need to hear about this minor character's lips being well defined??
Author should not attempt to explain the magic. It makes even less sense and just exposes poor worldbuilding.
Emma is shown to have a lot of trouble heating a teapot because she can't control her emotions. But....that's all she ever did. She always acts ladylike and demure even though that's not her real personality. So how could she not have control??
Suffice it to say that it is not well written and I don't particularly recommend it. It's ok as a quick read, but not if you're someone who hates loopholes.
Time travel is already problematic to maintain consistency, as was clearly illustrated here.
The story was full of loopholes, as if the author thought something sounded interesting, so just threw it in. Why elevate her fiance's family title *before* they got married? They haven't yet earned it, and why on earth does the time affinity suddenly end? Why do random creepy guys hit on her at the party? Why could Annette travel to the past, given that she should have restrictions on her power? If Bernard "just wanted to marry someone with the time affinity" why was he interested in Annette before she even gained the ability? Can you even call them childhood friends when they didn't even seem to like each other and Bernard is just stabbing her in the back every time they meet?? Annette was sort of redeemed later, but she was a terrible friend also. It wasn't that she "copied" Emma when she liked something - she straight up took it! What kind of stupidity is it that now she suddenly also has this rare time affinity, ensuring that Ian will then pass on to Annette? Which by the way, their friendship shouldn't be totally based on him being her guardian!! Why does Glen like Emma this much, and how did going back in the past cause Rashida to change her timeline to go to school with them? How can Ian help her in the future, when the info she brings back should then change the future?? I don't even understand these "time missions." How did Duke Eslan's gatekeeper believe Ian when he said he was there to give a message to the Duke, when literally 30 seconds earlier Emma said they were there to see Rashida and was denied entry? That's not a brilliant plan, that's a stupid gatekeeper.
What is this nonsense with Glen "giving" his time affinity to her, and it awakening all affinities in her blood? Come on! And her grandmother conveniently turning out to be a distant relative? Despite the thorough investigation not finding anything?
It's also filled with weird prose such as "when Emma realized her neighbor came from a ducal family, she regretted not introducing herself first. Her disappointment almost crushed her." WHY? Why would you be crushingly disappointed you didn't introduce yourself first? It blathers about the school having secrets that you can't blab even after you graduate or you'd be severely punished. By whom? "...confusion and dismay darkened those green eyes, emblematic of beauty itself."...what? That's not even about the ML, nor was it appropriately thrown in. "The words expelled from Professor Morris's well-defined lips stabbed through Emma." Seriously....why did we need to hear about this minor character's lips being well defined??
Author should not attempt to explain the magic. It makes even less sense and just exposes poor worldbuilding.
Emma is shown to have a lot of trouble heating a teapot because she can't control her emotions. But....that's all she ever did. She always acts ladylike and demure even though that's not her real personality. So how could she not have control??
Suffice it to say that it is not well written and I don't particularly recommend it. It's ok as a quick read, but not if you're someone who hates loopholes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2023
3.5⭐
This is a decent book, but only if you know what it's actually about. The premise is that our main character, Emma, gets thrown back in time and decides that this time, she's going to go for the childhood dream she had to give up on before: become a lady's maid. For once, it's not a time reset story caused by a tragic event. It is actually due to the power of time travel.
Despite that, the main portion of the story isn't about Emma's training to be a lady's maid. It's about romance and Emma trying to break off the engagement to her cheating fiancé. Also school life, in the sense that the majority of the book takes place in a school because we don't really get to see actual lessons outside of tea reheating. There's a lot of time skips, so all the development felt super rushed. Emma just grew close to Glen, the love interest, after one sentence saying they became close friends. She mastered maid skills after the story skips the majority of the school year. She secured employment after meeting a character for the first time. Her former best friend who had an affair with her fiancé? Redeemed in a single scene. The relevancy of her close friends who are not Glen also fades away really fast, since the story highlights the main couple for the most part. The rest are just glossed over.
That being said, I'm not sure if this would've benefited from more volumes. I feel like it could be better if the author spends more time on… pretty much everything outside of the main couple, but it also feels like it would've been a solid standalone if only it didn't try to tackle all these issues only to easily resolve them, then quickly shove them away and go back to the romance.
I also have the author's other series in my TBR, but now I need to do some research before starting to make sure I know what I'm getting into. This is by no means a terrible book. Just not what I thought it'd be.
This is a decent book, but only if you know what it's actually about. The premise is that our main character, Emma, gets thrown back in time and decides that this time, she's going to go for the childhood dream she had to give up on before: become a lady's maid. For once, it's not a time reset story caused by a tragic event. It is actually due to the power of time travel.
Despite that, the main portion of the story isn't about Emma's training to be a lady's maid. It's about romance and Emma trying to break off the engagement to her cheating fiancé. Also school life, in the sense that the majority of the book takes place in a school because we don't really get to see actual lessons outside of tea reheating. There's a lot of time skips, so all the development felt super rushed. Emma just grew close to Glen, the love interest, after one sentence saying they became close friends. She mastered maid skills after the story skips the majority of the school year. She secured employment after meeting a character for the first time. Her former best friend who had an affair with her fiancé? Redeemed in a single scene. The relevancy of her close friends who are not Glen also fades away really fast, since the story highlights the main couple for the most part. The rest are just glossed over.
That being said, I'm not sure if this would've benefited from more volumes. I feel like it could be better if the author spends more time on… pretty much everything outside of the main couple, but it also feels like it would've been a solid standalone if only it didn't try to tackle all these issues only to easily resolve them, then quickly shove them away and go back to the romance.
I also have the author's other series in my TBR, but now I need to do some research before starting to make sure I know what I'm getting into. This is by no means a terrible book. Just not what I thought it'd be.
Read
November 1, 2025This one was kinda meh.
There were things I liked about it, like how time travel is literally a magic power some people have in this world, so her getting transported into the past is not just a thing that happens out of nowhere.
There's more I like about it than that (but I can't say because of spoilers) so I'm trying to figure out what exactly makes it meh to me.
I think it might be the timescale it's on? She's going through redoing four years of time and there's only like a few key problems she has to take care of, so it gives it a "going through the motions" feel even though it's all about changing her fate?
There were things I liked about it, like how time travel is literally a magic power some people have in this world, so her getting transported into the past is not just a thing that happens out of nowhere.
There's more I like about it than that (but I can't say because of spoilers) so I'm trying to figure out what exactly makes it meh to me.
I think it might be the timescale it's on? She's going through redoing four years of time and there's only like a few key problems she has to take care of, so it gives it a "going through the motions" feel even though it's all about changing her fate?
August 22, 2025
I enjoyed reading this quite a bit. It was a fun short read but it might be a little too short for me because I would have loved to learn more about the other characters and their stories. The progression of the story is somewhat predictable. Even then, I find the main character's personality really pulling everything together which is what I liked.
January 21, 2024
DNF @ 20%
HARD PASS.
HARD PASS.
August 27, 2023
Could have been a series
You know that colloquialism "this could have been an email" in reference to something being unnecessarily drawn out? Saki Ichibu is the polar opposite of that concept. They wrap up an entire series worth of plot in a single novel and while it's nice to come in and leave with a conclusion, a part of me would have like to see the long form version. As it is, none of the side characters get much in the way of development and even the two leads get speed blitzed in that respect. Good enough, but alas for what could have been.
You know that colloquialism "this could have been an email" in reference to something being unnecessarily drawn out? Saki Ichibu is the polar opposite of that concept. They wrap up an entire series worth of plot in a single novel and while it's nice to come in and leave with a conclusion, a part of me would have like to see the long form version. As it is, none of the side characters get much in the way of development and even the two leads get speed blitzed in that respect. Good enough, but alas for what could have been.
January 1, 2024
It had a strong start but fizzled about half-way through. There was nothing particularly egregious, but was more death by a thousand boring cuts. I got bored with the two MCs and wanted to know more about their friends.
I managed to finish but mostly skimmed the last part.
I managed to finish but mostly skimmed the last part.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews