The Villainess's Guide to [Not] Falling in Love Manga 01

The Villainess's Guide to (Not) Falling in Love (manga) #1

by Touya, YOIMACHI (Illustrator), Ren Sakuma (Artist)

Can one would-be villainess fend off multiple handsome suitors’ advances to simply live a peaceful life? Or will the game force a happy ending no matter what?

From a mundane existence to an extraordinary adventure! Luciana, once an ordinary woman, now finds herself reincarnated as the stunning villainess of an otome game. Well aware of impending plot twists, she’s ready to rewrite her destiny and avoid catastrophe. She hatches a brilliant plan to live a peaceful life and avoid troublesome suitors. What could possibly go wrong?

Surprise! These persistent men refuse to take a hint! And if that weren’t enough, she also possesses incredible, unparalleled magical abilities. What about this world has made her so special?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Magic, Comics, Graphic Novels Manga

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2024

Reviews

[Jess | jadecanread · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this on a whim from Libby because even though it was just added, there were soooo many holds on it.

I’m pleasantly surprised and sufficiently hooked into this series!! It’s an Isekai into an Otome RH video game where the FMC isn’t the game’s protagonist but the villainess.

The art is gorgeous, the storyline is intriguing, the magic casting reminds me of Demon Slayer. I think there’s some fumbling explanations in here, but overall I greatly enjoyed this opener.

Now tell me why I picked this up when the next volume isn’t out for months 🥲

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIRST IMPRESSION VIDEO HERE: https://youtu.be/qEzSZmbC_IU

"But if I don't fight here I would be a disgrace to all villainesses."

This completely blew my expectations out of the water and I can't believe that past me didn't decide to preorder this!

IT WAS SO GOOD!!

I absolutely love Luciana!! I'm trying to think of another villainess isekai I've read where the woman getting isekaied is in her 30s but right now nothing is coming to mind. (I can think of a few isekai series, but not specifically a villainess isekai.) That could be because it wasn't as funny or as relatable as this first volume was or something else altogether, but I found Luciana's reactions to seeing these otome guys in the flesh extremely funny! Her commenting about their voices, how they look, and how they act seemed way too on par if I was ever isekaied into my favorite otome game! LOL!!

Because of that, I was instantly invested in her story and seeing even her experience parts of this world that weren't in the "real" game. She gets to see new sides of them such as them smiling AT her (and just smiling in general), acting kind towards her, and even showing their strength in a different way than how the game showed it. Plus, she gets to hear them talk and one of the guys didn't even have a voice in the game! :o It was truly a lot of fun and I admired the courage that she showed later on because I think she is just all-around epic and amazing. Totally can see why she gets a "fanatic follower" later on! LOL!

I really liked both the guys that took the spotlight! I was sold on our handsome "black lily" as soon as we met him and had to laugh when Luciana said, "If I were a run-of-the-mill villainess, I would've fallen for him in an instant!" Girl, I must be one because I was already calling him a favorite right after she met him! Bahahahaha! Her brother is an interesting character and loved seeing how he is living out the trope of "more than meets the eye"! He's such a fun and playful character that I'm eagerly hoping we continue to see more of him!

The person who influenced me to pick up this manga mentioned how there was an epic battle near the end AND OH MY GOODNESS WAS IT CRAZY EPIC!!! I have seen some cool fight scenes in villainess manga, but this one might take the cake!! The art is stunning and so detailed, and I think it really brought the fight to life! Plus some of the humor sprinkled in and the way the fight was not just a few pages, but almost a chapter long was deeply satisfying to read! Not only that, it wasn't just a damsel-in-distress kind of situation because something major happened for Luciana and I am alllll here for it!

Truly, I absolutely loved reading this and already added future volumes to my list of things to preorder in the future! EAGERLY anticipating more fun adventures with Luciana and seeing how this story will unfold! I have no doubts it will continue only to get better because this was already super good!

Highly recommend this to fans of villainess manga, a diverse male cast, and an engaging story that has humor, good storytelling, and a big touch of action!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was SO. GOOD. I need the next one like YESTERDAY. Pretty artwork, excellent storyline, I’m loving the trope of villainess in an Otome game trying to save her own skin and the lives of those around her.

PS-and what’s up with her “brother”??? I need to know!!

5, gimme the next one NOW, stars.

[Natalie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

May 2025
Kindle edition

Something wrong on this one. Wouldn’t connect to Goodreads, and errored out when done manually and got to the end of the book. On the desktop version, the images look blue rather than black.

The book itself was great. I liked the cover, although not sure about the brother looking like a love interest, unless it turns out to be adoption or something. I don’t like the prince. The little seen of him he looks like he’ll be the last to fall.

Lakas heavy with the first fanatical follower. Reminds me of the villainess routes one but less comedy and more fantasy. The villainess is a bit of an airhead and I foresee a whole lot of careless flags being raised. Looking forward to the next one.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ohhh, this is a fun spin on the villainess trope again~ A lot of the time the peeps reincarnating into the game/book know practically everything, however our MC just played a free to play edition and is finding out that there are secrets/hidden stuff in the paid version. I loved how she tried to figure things out herself and managed that formidably. I also love that the guys (or in this volume one guy) didn't immediately fall in love with her, but that it took some effort and a great deal of awesome stuff by our MC before that. I am curious to see how this one continues, plus also what magic our MC has. She was supposedly weak, but dang, she kicked some butt in that last part. I am very much curious about the rest of the game and the guys we still need to meet.
Oh, and I just love the brother x sister dynamics that our MC has with her brother. It made me laugh.

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is pretty good, but she is so concerned with not being doomed when it is so easy??? 6 months until the heroine appears, so time to study and just not be a bitch to her when she arrives. Like... that's all that needs to happen.

On another note, is the brother a potential love interest because oh my god. I'm seriously wondering if this character was adopted into the family hahahaha and hoping because he is honestly the best.

[Cindy ✩☽♔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent start! I’m interested to see where this goes 👀

[mikaela (spinebreaker) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly and fun. I love an overdramatic brother character.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was sooo good!!!! I am immediately obsessed. The artwork is amazing and the story itself was so silly and fun. It is everything an isekai story should be. I think my favorite character so far is definitely Saphir, he was so silly and his character design is stunning.

It does give me similar vibes to Villain's are Destined to Die, but way funnier and light hearted.

[Kaitlynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read up to chapter 15

This series is an immediate favorite. It's silly, and a little bit over the top and ridiculous. It's everything I expected an Isekai/reincarnation/otome/reverse harem(ish) manga to be.

Aubin is probably my favorite so far. (it's the glasses)

[Alexia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute & funny! Reading the short story of Lakas’ perspective was icing on the cake for me. Can’t wait to read the next volume. 😋✨

[Yuiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it ☺️

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot - 5 🌟
Character - 5 🌟
Writing Style - 5 🌟
World Building - 5 🌟
Art - 5 🌟
Cover - 5 🌟

Overall - 5 🌟

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Potential to be great but feels like there's a bit missing still in the translation from the light novel.

[haya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. I think I’ll forget it in 2 months and I wasn’t a fan of how the brother acted towards her so I feel like there are better series with this villainess plot line ngl.

[Sierra Burrous · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute and fun shojou isekai manga. We always love a good villainess story and eat CB info as they slowly collect their harem.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.

Our villainess is an isekai-ed 30-something who finds herself in the world of her favorite otome game, though she’s been reincarnated as Luciana, the villainess. The version she’s always played was the free version, and this is the full paid for version, starting at least six months before the game actually begins. Knowing that her character will meet a terrible end, she creates a plan to live in the shadows and not attract the attention of the love interests, thereby slipping under the radar when the heroine shows up later. But details come to light and she can’t sit idly by while some folks potentially meet horrible deaths! And getting involved also leads to a revelation regarding her magic, which, to her knowledge, has been lackluster even in the game!

Villainess stories are very popular at this moment, and here's another entry in the reverse-harem trope where Luciana, at this point in time, not particularly liked by all of the love interests. What I enjoyed about this take on the reincarnation story is that the main character's advanced knowledge of the game seems to fail her very quickly, and unexpected things happen or characters behave in ways that she does not anticipate. This keeps the narrative fresh and doesn't make her as overpowered as other entries in the regressor field of stories. The art in this story is also fantastic and extremely detailed.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

[Carissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The moment the brother has a crush on his own sister, I was out

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty standard shoujo villainess isekai: a woman realizes she's been reincarnated into the world of her favourite romance-simulation game...as the bullying villainess character. Realizing she's only a year away from her character's disgraceful end, she decides to change her fate by laying low and not getting involved with any main characters - except she realizes one of her faves' tragic backstories hasn't happened yet, and she can't stand to just sit still and let the tragedy unfold. But with her villainous reputation making everyone distrust her, how can she help?
The one thing that sets this one apart is the way the protagonist, once she becomes self-aware, can read the subtext of other characters' behaviour and notice that the star characters are not quite the same shiny personalities they seemed to players, and some minor characters are not the two-dimensional cliches they seemed, either.
That aspect I enjoyed, but the magic system was meh - a rather stiff system of specific strings of fancy-named verbal commands, like reading a file-route ("Magic circle, manifest: pyromancy, first cultivation: searing inferno cannon!").
There was also a weird point where I had to re-read to figure out what happened: someone's leg gets severely injured (like, *pulverized*) and a few frames later they're standing /walking/running around...in one frame you finally see a splint on the leg, but when the heck did that happen? And also, no, you're still not running on that thing -_-
And then at the very end, they drop what's supposed to be a bombshell, except the big important thing they mention has never been even hinted at before, so it's completely meaningless. ("Ooo, WOW!" "What...?")

A decent fluff read, particularly if you enjoy villainess isekai, but if you're tired of that (frankly overdone) trope or need something with more meat to the story, maybe pass on this one.

Content concerns: no swearing, sex, drugs; fantasy violence (magic, monsters) with some injuries (not gory, but some blood & fractures)

[Gita Karmani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artnya sangat cantik dan ceritanya surprisingly menarik. Awal2 agak bingung dan ngebosenin tp ternyata bener2 bagus 🤣
Ceritanya mirip dan sevibes sama Katarina. Ttg Luciana, villain otome game yg baru sadar kalo dia masuk ke dunia game dan lagi mau confess sama love interest nya tp tiba2 dia jatuh dan bikin malu 😅

Sambil merunut informasi dan list love interest yg nantinya bakalan dipilih protagonis, dia malah ketemu sama Lakas, salah satu love interest game yg ganteng (sumpah semua chara cowoknya ganteng bgt art nya) tp dia cool kayak es plus sepupunya Ernesto, putra mahkota yg sptnya jd love interest prioritas nya si Luciana di game. Punya adik perempuan yg brocon bgt 😂 Juga Luciana pny kakak cowok yg ganteng pol, Saphir. Secara game yg dimainin MC, dia gak diceritain begitu detail. Tp di world nya Saphir ini cool, reckless, dan agak buaya, tp tipikal kakak yg sayang mampus sama adiknya. Karena Luciana tau jalan cerita gamenya (termasuk perubahan karakter Lakas) Luciana ngotot supaya Lakas gak pulang kerumahnya dgn ngajak dia nonton teater tp berakhir ditolak. Saphir juga yg bantuin Luciana spy bisa masuk ke rumah Lakas yg lagi ngadain party bangsawan.

Kirain bakalan harem karena covernya byk cowok cakep tp malah reverse harem. Ngakak sih pas Saphir bilang kalo Luciana berhasil mengumpulkan followers fanatik (Lakas dan adiknya 🤣) karena berhasil menyelamatkan mereka dr monster yg menyusup di rumah Lakas. Mana Lakas karakternya drastis bgt awalnya cuek bebek jd bulol bgt sama Luciana 🤣😂

Love interest nya pada takluk sama antagonisnya dan jatuhnya cowok2 yg tadinya cool cakep malah jadi bulol. Untungnya MC nya gak se dense Katarina (ya walaupun sama2 gak peka sih) 😂

Jd pgn koleksi fisiknya kalo artnya secakep ini 🤣😂

[Ellyn → Allonsythornraxx · Rating 3 out of 5]

21/12/2025
3.5 ⭐
Really enjoyed this one, and I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the series!

✨ 181/100 read for 100 Graphics in a Year Reading Challenge ✨ + also read for the graphicsathon round 14!

Letterboxd | Instagram | Bookstagram | Tumblr | Twitter | StoryGraph | Hoemance Book Club | Graphicsathon | Scoobathon | Wishlist

[Lucee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to write a review for this volume because I read (I believe) the first three volumes without knowing where one ended and the other began. This review will serve all three for the most part.

The overarching story is your stereotypical isekai'd into an otome game plotline, complete with an incoming peasant-turned-noble-academy-attendee heroine. She isn't the main character in this story, however, and from what we know of Luciana so far, I like her! She's too dense and easily flustered to become a favorite, but I don't find her earnestness annoying, as I do with some heroines.

The art style is gorgeous, and the worldbuilding (while also pretty typical) has the potential to become very interesting — especially regarding the four stars. I look forward to learning more!

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luciana is reincarnated into the world of an otome game, except her new life is the villainess without any real power in a world where magic abilities are essential among the nobility. To make matters worse, her original personality was dead set on building herself up at the expense of others and chasing after men who clearly had no interest in her solely because of their titles. With her newly awakened memories and awareness, Luciana only desire to fade into the background, but when she realizes that the reason this current world is different from her memories of the game, she realizes she has the opportunity to possibly change someone else's fate for the better as well. Much to the surprise of those around her, she genuinely is out to do her best for once, and surprises several people along the way.

[Sharakael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice start to the story. If you're looking for something unique and new in the genre, this book doesn't have it... If you just want your next dose of sugary sweetness featuring a dense MC this will do the trick. I liked it enough that despite the average rating I gave this, I already preordered the next volume.

If you plan to read this just be warned to keep your expectations suitably low. There were plot holes that were never explained at all... The incident that occupied the latter half of the book was a big offender. Despite the ruckus and the noise, not a single guard came to check on the main group, which I found hard to believe...

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and fast paced start to this series. The female lead suddenly realizes she's been transmigrated into one of her favorite Otome games and she's now the Villianess of the story. An exceededingly common plot line, but still fun. I do find it funny how they don't talk about her previous life at all except for the fact that she played the game a lot. This start is a bit messy. Everything moves very quickly and is VERY dramatic. There's a lot of action scenes, which are done well. But the magic system is very confusing and is barely explained. Magic is very flashy in this world but I have no idea how precisely it works. The art is very pretty and honestly it's strongest point.

[Megan Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one starts with a fine premise, some recycled tropes, and "pretty" art. The lush costumes and interlocking panels are interesting. While it seems like familiar ground it adds layers by making the protagonist's knowledge of the world incomplete. She doesn't know everything so what comes can be unexpected or at least the route to the expected end is shocking. Mystery, romance, and magic and more merge in this shoujo style piece. Sadly, the pacing is too much. It becomes more brain candy as new characters and concepts are barreled through without pause. The ideas seem fine but without time to absorb or understand them readers are left with just vague emotional yo-yoing and angst.

[Kiera Ponting · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one up on Libby after seeing the beautiful artwork. Our FMC suddenly remembers her past life, and realises that the world she lives in now is that from one of her favourite otome games. However, she has been reincarnated as the villainess, and has the opportunity to change things for the better.

In the first 50%, things dragged a little as the world and concept were introduced. I was almost certain already that I probably wouldn't be bothered with continuing the series. The second half really picked up though, as the FMC uses her foreknowledge to change an event and the magic system was introduced. The whole concept is pretty silly, but in a fun way.

[Cassie Renais · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty standard offering of the genre - all the fun tropes but nothing revolutionary to make it stand out. There is an unusually large focus on the MC's brother rather than the various MLs, but that's about it (and not really a drawcard, at that). There are a couple of intriguing breadcrumbs to follow - someone has the ability to tell the future, the MC has an inexplicable magical ability that is maybe part of an old prophecy...

I'll get the next volume, but only if it comes out before this blurs into the maelstrom of every other enjoyable story just like it.

[Lulu se détend · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai avant tout été attirée par les dessins et après la lecture de ce tome, je reste mitigée.
Le début est abrupt et la personnalité de l'héroïne est pratiquement absente. Elle ne réagit presque pas au fait d'avoir été transférée dans l'histoire d'un jeu et ne comprend que ce qui l'entoure est vrai que vers le milieu du tome (et encore...). A voir ce que donnera la suite...

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy the concept of the manga; however, it lost me a little when it seemed like the Ice Statue had a switch flip... He suddenly fell head over heels for her. I'm more into the slow burn or insta-lust. This switch flipping does nothing for me. Also, her brother seems far too flirty toward his own sister. I don't like how close he gets to her - it kind of grosses me out.