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What it Means to Be You (Comic) Vol. 1 (What it Means to Be You
A tragic romance gets a second chance when one woman switches bodies with her husband. The full-color manhwa/webtoon (comic) in English print for the first time ever!
Princess Violet always played by the rules—right down to marrying the hot-tempered Winter, an illegitimate noble, to save her family from ruin. Though Violet fell head over heels for Winter at first sight, her dream of happiness was shattered when her family lost its royal standing on their wedding day, leaving her branded a swindler and an outcast.
Three years later, Violet endures endless shame, convinced even her husband wouldn’t care if she died. Desperate, she attempts to take her own life… only to wake up in Winter’s body! Now, trapped in each other’s lives, they’re forced to see the world through the other’s eyes. Could this strange twist be their one chance to truly understand—and love—each other?
Princess Violet always played by the rules—right down to marrying the hot-tempered Winter, an illegitimate noble, to save her family from ruin. Though Violet fell head over heels for Winter at first sight, her dream of happiness was shattered when her family lost its royal standing on their wedding day, leaving her branded a swindler and an outcast.
Three years later, Violet endures endless shame, convinced even her husband wouldn’t care if she died. Desperate, she attempts to take her own life… only to wake up in Winter’s body! Now, trapped in each other’s lives, they’re forced to see the world through the other’s eyes. Could this strange twist be their one chance to truly understand—and love—each other?
296 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2025
3 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Ocean
49 books13 followersOcean is a singer, a songwriter, and a producer, whose talents also extend to writing and into the visual arts.
Ocean loves to explore myths, history, and writes books of both fiction and non-fiction.
I am a Vegan, Animal Rights Advocate, a volunteer for wildlife rescue ,world traveler, spiritually into Compassion, Allness of All Beings, Universality, Internationalism, and Harmony with mind, heart, soul, spirit, and body, via Compassionate LIving, which is eating Vegan food, which will also save the world and the environment!
"Ocean, "A Music Sorceress!", from one review, Ocean, singer, songwriter, creates hot and cool music, from beach funk to danceable trance, from enchanting raps to pop rock, often compared to Sting or Evanescence. "Smooth voice, mesmerizing appeal, haunting qualities", says one review. Ocean's music spans the range from from exotic melodic through rhythmic waves to tribal infusions.
"Along with my music career, I write for film.
That is, I write my books with a cinematic vision in my head, and, being a Hollywood type myself, I suppose that's only natural.
As a huge fan of Steven King, thrillers, suspense, mystery, and horror, I've written mostly books, so far, in that genre. In fact, since I jones for scary movies, and franky, those are the only ones I race to the theatre to see, like on the day they open, I write books of films I want to see!
There are several other genres, also cinematic, that I write in, including fantasy, and I really love thining about the way these books will translate onto film!
Also, historical novels, with larger-than-life characters I've admired and want to explain to the world better than their biographers have done - and a chick novel or two, but mine have rad twists that others won't have, due to my own life experiences, that tend to be weird and expansive. I've traveled a lot, and this adds to everything I create." - Ocean in a recent interview about her debut novel, The Sea Wraithe
Ocean loves to explore myths, history, and writes books of both fiction and non-fiction.
I am a Vegan, Animal Rights Advocate, a volunteer for wildlife rescue ,world traveler, spiritually into Compassion, Allness of All Beings, Universality, Internationalism, and Harmony with mind, heart, soul, spirit, and body, via Compassionate LIving, which is eating Vegan food, which will also save the world and the environment!
"Ocean, "A Music Sorceress!", from one review, Ocean, singer, songwriter, creates hot and cool music, from beach funk to danceable trance, from enchanting raps to pop rock, often compared to Sting or Evanescence. "Smooth voice, mesmerizing appeal, haunting qualities", says one review. Ocean's music spans the range from from exotic melodic through rhythmic waves to tribal infusions.
"Along with my music career, I write for film.
That is, I write my books with a cinematic vision in my head, and, being a Hollywood type myself, I suppose that's only natural.
As a huge fan of Steven King, thrillers, suspense, mystery, and horror, I've written mostly books, so far, in that genre. In fact, since I jones for scary movies, and franky, those are the only ones I race to the theatre to see, like on the day they open, I write books of films I want to see!
There are several other genres, also cinematic, that I write in, including fantasy, and I really love thining about the way these books will translate onto film!
Also, historical novels, with larger-than-life characters I've admired and want to explain to the world better than their biographers have done - and a chick novel or two, but mine have rad twists that others won't have, due to my own life experiences, that tend to be weird and expansive. I've traveled a lot, and this adds to everything I create." - Ocean in a recent interview about her debut novel, The Sea Wraithe
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 26, 2025
CW: suicide
This is, to put it mildly, a lot. Violet is treated abominably by very nearly everyone, and her husband's only "excuse" is his neglect. The body switching mechanic is dark, and while I wouldn't say this is without hope, it feels remarkably close. Bonus points for an unflinching look at how women's pain is marginalized and dismissed, but it may be too bleak for me.
This is, to put it mildly, a lot. Violet is treated abominably by very nearly everyone, and her husband's only "excuse" is his neglect. The body switching mechanic is dark, and while I wouldn't say this is without hope, it feels remarkably close. Bonus points for an unflinching look at how women's pain is marginalized and dismissed, but it may be too bleak for me.
August 30, 2025
The summary was really intriguing, but its execution is not great.
An illegitimate son of a noble family marries a princess in order to gain the title he wasn't able to pick up at birth. He's an extremely good businessman, so he uses most of his life savings to pay for his bride and the stamp of nobility - since the royal family was massively in debt and getting in trouble with the populace for it.
Except on the day of the wedding, the prince congratulates the two of them, thanks Winter for all the money, and says they're dissolving the monarchy and turning it over to Parliament. Which means they're renouncing their royal titles, along with the one Winter was supposed to gain in marriage.
Literally none of this makes any sense. Winter also could've at this point backed out of or annulled the marriage due to breach of contract, I'm sure. But in general...that's just. Not how royalty works. And nothing the prince does is based in any logic, other than the general manhwa "lead character is tormented by horrible abusive family" storylines.
Because while Violet had been excited to see how handsome her husband was - I guess she'd never even seen him before the wedding? - he's immediately cold to her, along with everyone else who sees her as a scammer who took his money at no profit to him.
And for the next three years, he barely even speaks to her. When he does, he's rude and dismissive.
Yet!! We're supposed to believe!!!! That secretly he's been in love with her or something all along, and has been away so much because he's working so hard to gain back his fortune to ensure she can have the lavish life she deserves as a princess. He's been buying and sending her fancy dresses that his mother has been returning, while acting as though Violet is the one rejecting them. He's never once asked Violet herself or even looked in her wardrobe or room to see what she has.
He set up a special fund for her that her brother banded with his parents to steal all the money from so they can live off his wealth. And yet. He never even told her about this money and never checked in on what was happening with it so how on earth was she supposed to even know it existed?????
Three. Years.
Three years of never speaking to someone, driving her to the point of literal suicide because she's so miserable. And I'm supposed to believe he was actually in love with her all along and confused that she didn't get it?
Then there's the bodyswap, which was the intriguing part of the story, and which...kind of barely even happens?
It's triggered by Violet killing herself. So the first time, she takes a bunch of pills with alcohol because life is so unbearable and she's not even sure her husband would spare a day of his valuable, expensive time to come to her funeral. The second time she rides a horse to the beach and shoots herself in the head because he refuses to grant her a divorce and insists if he did, she would have to repay him all the money he'd given her family.
So romantic, right? Clearly she should be able to see that he actually likes her.
When they wake up in each other's bodies, they honestly learn very little about the other person's life, which is supposed to have been the entire point. Winter doesn't witness his family or Violet's brother being horrible to her, or locking her in a wardrobe before the party - because they swap back before any of that happens. Violet really only learns that Winter apparently handles all of his business deals by flipping tables and threatening people.
His whole Thing is that he's a brilliant businessman who can make tons of money, but by the end of this first volume, he's thinking about asking Violet to bodyswap with him again so she can handle a particular business deal for him that requires someone who has better and more elegant manners.
The first time they're bodyswapped, she negotiates a favorable business deal for him because while he would've been (literally) flipping tables to bully the other guy into taking his terms, she used her three years of experience just sitting around being miserable in her favor. She just out-stubborned the guy by staying in the room for 47 hours until he gave up.
Again, none of this is actually. How business works. But whatever. And it's making Winter seem like an absolute brute...which has a weird amount of racism embedded in that portrayal, because he's from an "Outlander" race that is distinguished by...having grey eyes...and being heavily discriminated against, to the point where the police stop Violet-in-Winter's-body when she's wandering around in an unfamiliar city.
Trying to go to her mother's house for shelter. While in Winter's body????
This story is honestly pretty frustrating.
Winter also gets mad at Violet for insinuating that their bodyswapping might be due to his foreign blood, but then he comes back and says I researched it and actually you're right, it turns out the outlanders have stories about this sort of thing happening, oops.
And now I guess he's cool with asking Violet to kill herself again so she can do a business deal for him. Because any time they physically touch, they swap back, so basically this whole bodyswap thing is massively easy to fix and they're learning very little from being in each other's bodies.
This just wasn't good. There's zero chemistry between the two of them, and neither has a distinct enough personality to make watching their progress worthwhile.
An illegitimate son of a noble family marries a princess in order to gain the title he wasn't able to pick up at birth. He's an extremely good businessman, so he uses most of his life savings to pay for his bride and the stamp of nobility - since the royal family was massively in debt and getting in trouble with the populace for it.
Except on the day of the wedding, the prince congratulates the two of them, thanks Winter for all the money, and says they're dissolving the monarchy and turning it over to Parliament. Which means they're renouncing their royal titles, along with the one Winter was supposed to gain in marriage.
Literally none of this makes any sense. Winter also could've at this point backed out of or annulled the marriage due to breach of contract, I'm sure. But in general...that's just. Not how royalty works. And nothing the prince does is based in any logic, other than the general manhwa "lead character is tormented by horrible abusive family" storylines.
Because while Violet had been excited to see how handsome her husband was - I guess she'd never even seen him before the wedding? - he's immediately cold to her, along with everyone else who sees her as a scammer who took his money at no profit to him.
And for the next three years, he barely even speaks to her. When he does, he's rude and dismissive.
Yet!! We're supposed to believe!!!! That secretly he's been in love with her or something all along, and has been away so much because he's working so hard to gain back his fortune to ensure she can have the lavish life she deserves as a princess. He's been buying and sending her fancy dresses that his mother has been returning, while acting as though Violet is the one rejecting them. He's never once asked Violet herself or even looked in her wardrobe or room to see what she has.
He set up a special fund for her that her brother banded with his parents to steal all the money from so they can live off his wealth. And yet. He never even told her about this money and never checked in on what was happening with it so how on earth was she supposed to even know it existed?????
Three. Years.
Three years of never speaking to someone, driving her to the point of literal suicide because she's so miserable. And I'm supposed to believe he was actually in love with her all along and confused that she didn't get it?
Then there's the bodyswap, which was the intriguing part of the story, and which...kind of barely even happens?
It's triggered by Violet killing herself. So the first time, she takes a bunch of pills with alcohol because life is so unbearable and she's not even sure her husband would spare a day of his valuable, expensive time to come to her funeral. The second time she rides a horse to the beach and shoots herself in the head because he refuses to grant her a divorce and insists if he did, she would have to repay him all the money he'd given her family.
So romantic, right? Clearly she should be able to see that he actually likes her.
When they wake up in each other's bodies, they honestly learn very little about the other person's life, which is supposed to have been the entire point. Winter doesn't witness his family or Violet's brother being horrible to her, or locking her in a wardrobe before the party - because they swap back before any of that happens. Violet really only learns that Winter apparently handles all of his business deals by flipping tables and threatening people.
His whole Thing is that he's a brilliant businessman who can make tons of money, but by the end of this first volume, he's thinking about asking Violet to bodyswap with him again so she can handle a particular business deal for him that requires someone who has better and more elegant manners.
The first time they're bodyswapped, she negotiates a favorable business deal for him because while he would've been (literally) flipping tables to bully the other guy into taking his terms, she used her three years of experience just sitting around being miserable in her favor. She just out-stubborned the guy by staying in the room for 47 hours until he gave up.
Again, none of this is actually. How business works. But whatever. And it's making Winter seem like an absolute brute...which has a weird amount of racism embedded in that portrayal, because he's from an "Outlander" race that is distinguished by...having grey eyes...and being heavily discriminated against, to the point where the police stop Violet-in-Winter's-body when she's wandering around in an unfamiliar city.
Trying to go to her mother's house for shelter. While in Winter's body????
This story is honestly pretty frustrating.
Winter also gets mad at Violet for insinuating that their bodyswapping might be due to his foreign blood, but then he comes back and says I researched it and actually you're right, it turns out the outlanders have stories about this sort of thing happening, oops.
And now I guess he's cool with asking Violet to kill herself again so she can do a business deal for him. Because any time they physically touch, they swap back, so basically this whole bodyswap thing is massively easy to fix and they're learning very little from being in each other's bodies.
This just wasn't good. There's zero chemistry between the two of them, and neither has a distinct enough personality to make watching their progress worthwhile.
August 9, 2025
I really loved this one!
August 18, 2025
This is an interesting twist with the foundational story of a husband and wife who truly do not understand each other and can't seem to communicate at all. They both make assumptions, but the assumptions make sense to them in the context of their own lives. When Violet can no longer take the pain of this life, she tries to end it, only to wake up in her husband's body. By pure chance, she does manage to discover the trigger for switching, and they quickly learn how to switch back. These small glimpses into each other's lives are enough for Winter to start wondering if all he knew was really correct, while Violet becomes more confused and determined to go their separate ways to try and prevent further pain. It seems like maybe Winter cares a good deal more than Violet knows at this stage, and is practical enough to even see some usefulness in this new strange ability, though given his reaction when he realizes she is injured or needs help, it is unlikely he will be as pleased if he learns the reason for the swapping in the first place.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2025
This is a good WEBTOON. It is very dark and tones of angst and pain. I think it’s off to a great start and I look forward to the next book
September 14, 2025
Keeps me guessing what might come next. I am totally rooting for this couple to be together and happy.
December 1, 2025
I was sobbing at parts of this book 😭😭😭
October 29, 2025
bro this is literally temu My Beloved Opressor. Theres so many issues:
Suicide being a plot device, takes away all the tension around the act
Her life is genuinely better without him. She is genuinely well liked ehen away from him.
You cannot convince me this man is a savvy business man when he literally just yells at people until he gets his way.
MC changing what is meant to be sustemic racism against people with grey eyes by just telling the cops to stop??? And people listen to her because she's an ex royal??
You can not convince me this man actually likes her, btw. He literally refused to hold a conversation with her and hates hearing about her day bro what's the point.
Suicide being a plot device, takes away all the tension around the act
Her life is genuinely better without him. She is genuinely well liked ehen away from him.
You cannot convince me this man is a savvy business man when he literally just yells at people until he gets his way.
MC changing what is meant to be sustemic racism against people with grey eyes by just telling the cops to stop??? And people listen to her because she's an ex royal??
You can not convince me this man actually likes her, btw. He literally refused to hold a conversation with her and hates hearing about her day bro what's the point.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews