What do you think?
Rate this book
ムシシリーズ #7
愛の在り処に誓え！
たった一人で国と共に滅ぶ道を選んだ大公・シモン。葵にも息子の空にも国や種を背負う苦しみを味わわせたくないがゆえのその選択が、シモンなりの愛だと知った葵は、彼を一人にしないために空と一緒にケルドア公国へ向かった。ところが、シモンの種を受け継いだ空は祝福されるも、ナミアゲハの葵は冷遇され、城の使用人から粗雑に扱われてしまう。それを知ったシモンは、彼らを次々と解雇しはじめる。愛しているとは口にしない一方で、過剰なまでに葵を守ろうとするシモンの苛烈さに、葵の胸は疼き……。
淋しさと孤独を凌駕する、美しい幸福がここにある。
「愛の在り処をさがせ! 」に続編登場!
淋しさと孤独を凌駕する、美しい幸福がここにある。
「愛の在り処をさがせ! 」に続編登場!
303 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2017
7 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 11, 2017
WELL. WELL, WELL, WELL.
so, if you remembered from my last review, i raved and ranted my emotions away declaring that volume 6 was by far, to me, the best volume in the series. forget character bias, if we're talking about the story, heck to the yes volume 6 was 'da bombsss. blew my frickin' mind with the angst, drama, and how emotional it was. there was no romance in volume 6. it was just. painful love.
so imagine my EXCITEMENT when i picked up volume 7, hoping to get that piece of romantic lovin' that i was so hoping to get from our boys. volume 7 picked up exactly where volume 6 left off, and i was ready. i got my milk tea, i got mah bread, shit. let's do this thang.
I THOUGHT. the first half of the book i was like wtfff?? where's my happy? where's my romance? why is there still drama involved here?? why is aoi still in pain?? what? whyyy? i think it's my fault. maybe? i came into this book with high expectations, and was sorely disappointed for more than half of the book... (because i honestly thought shimon would have fixed his shit by now. sigh.)
brief summary (i always say this, whatever) the biggest dilemma facing aoi and shimon is aoi's cold reception from the servants of shimon's household - as well as the country's people as a whole. aoi is an outsider, a foreigner, and he's not welcomed in shimon's closed-minded (and quite gated) country. however, the country is practically opening their arms to sora in joyful tears because sora is the child heir to the revered, highly-esteemed goutei sapphire oriental tarantula bloodline. so they look up to this cute, adorable 4 year old, but completely ignore or scorn (or heck, both) the mother of this child. aoi is treated incredibly (and unfairly) badly by them, but aoi just takes it patiently, despite feeling extremely hurt and sadden by this. he tells himself and shimon that so long as he's able to stay by his side, and be with sora, he can handle this. he studies the language(s) of the country, the history, and the literature so he can one day be able to understand, relate, and contribute to the country's traditions, culture, and its people.
i honestly love aoi in both volumes. especially in volume 7. he doesn't complain, he's a hard-worker, he's kind, understanding, he's an amazing mother and dedicated spouse, he puts himself last constantly, he's clever and smart, and... and?? bae be best uke. he's a fictional character but i would... yes... volunteer myself as his shield for his sake. the description of his smile during trying times, his laughter, his reassurance... makes me feel calm and warm inside. so as you can see, i just wanted him to be happy, darn it.
i was irritated at shimon's lack of sex drive in the first half of the book. um, boi, aren't you married to him? he cares about aoi, he obviously loves aoi (despite being unaware of this "love"...), and whenever aoi is hurting, he feels the same way. but it was annoying reading about how he thought sex was meaningless since he already had a child. or that he had no desire to progress their relationship to what it already was. obviously aoi doesn't feel the same way, but isn't going to mention it to his husband for fear of being turned away. shimon was just. ugh... granted, his personality is a billion times better here than in the last volume, but i was waiting for him to ACT like a husband and not... i don't even know. robot version 2.0?
though realistically, the country is not going to showcase a warm reception towards aoi in one day, so it makes sense for him to be treated poorly upon his return to the country. and shimon is forever always a robot when it comes to love and emotions (ok, not forever always, because babbyyy - robot upgraded to husbando level later on), so it would make sense for him to be awkward in realizing his true feelings for aoi (but for like, almost a year??? after 5 years of being separated??). i just wished the pacing was a lot quicker because once you hit that half way mark....
bruh. BRRRRUUUUUUUH. once shit starts to hit the fan around page 160, and you hit that magical page 205.... BABYYYYYY, I'M A STAAAR. the 2nd half of the book is what i wished this entire book was. if this entire thing WAS page 160->end, with a continuation of the epilogue, i would have GLADLY shower this review with 5 stars.
the 2nd half. perfecto. no complaints. shimon's reflection of his past as a child, the "love" he learned from his mentally ill mother and not wanting to replicate her actions, aoi's character development that had gradually developed since the last volume and blossomed beautifully by the end of this volume, the sweet, sweet, romantic love that i was waiting for that finally, ooooh finally, arrived, etc. it was. incredible. it made the frustration and impatience i felt in the beginning worth it. like, if i had to re-read this book again, i would be very skeptical in re-reading the first half, and would just jump straight to the 2nd half of the book.
no tsubasa or sumiya this time... but! 13 year old teo makes his re-appearance. aoi's mom shows up again. the reunion was... yeah. his mama... yeah......
the cool thing about volume 7 is that it switches between aoi's and shimon's pov throughout the book. there isn't a part 1 dedicated to aoi's point, or a part 2 dedicated to shimon's. it just switches, either by the chapter, or even mid-chapter. though by the end, it just sticks to shimon's pov. btw, the epilogue is amazing. shimon and aoi have 4 more kids after sora, with the youngest two being twins (!!!). and teo being a college student.... bless.
in the after thoughts, misao mentioned that volume 7 started out as just an digital only short story, to continue off from volume 6. i'm assuming the beginning of this book is the 2 short stories that you can purchase online to read. readers wanted more, and so she decided to continue the story in novel format instead. praise be, thank you for continuing on. i don't know if i could handle if all i got was the beginning... which probably explains why this book is divided into 6 chapters, when misao typically writes 12-15 chapters/volume.
she also mentioned that we'll eventually (?????) get a story about maya later on, but it depends on her editors. when they give the ok, she'll write it. judging from her twitter posts though, it doesn't seem like volume 8 will be focused on maya but. who knows?
i was mixed between rating this as a 3 or a 4 but... as much as i loooooved the 2nd half of the book, plus the epilogue, the first 150 pages or so was..... really frustrating for me to read. maybe if misao didn't drag on the dilemma of the country's cold attitude towards aoi (with shimon wanting to kick aoi and sora out of the country in order to protect them, or keep them hauled up in the castle, OR keep sora but move aoi to a neighboring country... shimon, please...), plus shimon's naivety and annoyingly low sex-drive (which, I UNDERSTAND WHY, because of his past... i don't blame him... really... but still), and enhanced their relationship realistically in a way that would make it appear as if they ARE a married couple, i would have enjoyed it more. i was at an all-time high coming out of volume 6, so i felt like i had a brick wall in front of my face when i read this. but rest assured, when i say it gets better, baby. it gets better. believe me. the ending is amazing. but these are just my opinions, so you might feel differently when you read this. what i like may not be your cup of tea, and what you like may not be my bag of potato chips. so my 3/5 could very well be your 5/5, and vice versa.
anyways, yes, it's worth reading this. tons of cute moments, tons of wtf moments, and tons of feels. and remember, aoi - bae be best uke. repeat that three times. until the next ai no mushi volume!
so, if you remembered from my last review, i raved and ranted my emotions away declaring that volume 6 was by far, to me, the best volume in the series. forget character bias, if we're talking about the story, heck to the yes volume 6 was 'da bombsss. blew my frickin' mind with the angst, drama, and how emotional it was. there was no romance in volume 6. it was just. painful love.
so imagine my EXCITEMENT when i picked up volume 7, hoping to get that piece of romantic lovin' that i was so hoping to get from our boys. volume 7 picked up exactly where volume 6 left off, and i was ready. i got my milk tea, i got mah bread, shit. let's do this thang.
I THOUGHT. the first half of the book i was like wtfff?? where's my happy? where's my romance? why is there still drama involved here?? why is aoi still in pain?? what? whyyy? i think it's my fault. maybe? i came into this book with high expectations, and was sorely disappointed for more than half of the book... (because i honestly thought shimon would have fixed his shit by now. sigh.)
brief summary (i always say this, whatever) the biggest dilemma facing aoi and shimon is aoi's cold reception from the servants of shimon's household - as well as the country's people as a whole. aoi is an outsider, a foreigner, and he's not welcomed in shimon's closed-minded (and quite gated) country. however, the country is practically opening their arms to sora in joyful tears because sora is the child heir to the revered, highly-esteemed goutei sapphire oriental tarantula bloodline. so they look up to this cute, adorable 4 year old, but completely ignore or scorn (or heck, both) the mother of this child. aoi is treated incredibly (and unfairly) badly by them, but aoi just takes it patiently, despite feeling extremely hurt and sadden by this. he tells himself and shimon that so long as he's able to stay by his side, and be with sora, he can handle this. he studies the language(s) of the country, the history, and the literature so he can one day be able to understand, relate, and contribute to the country's traditions, culture, and its people.
i honestly love aoi in both volumes. especially in volume 7. he doesn't complain, he's a hard-worker, he's kind, understanding, he's an amazing mother and dedicated spouse, he puts himself last constantly, he's clever and smart, and... and?? bae be best uke. he's a fictional character but i would... yes... volunteer myself as his shield for his sake. the description of his smile during trying times, his laughter, his reassurance... makes me feel calm and warm inside. so as you can see, i just wanted him to be happy, darn it.
i was irritated at shimon's lack of sex drive in the first half of the book. um, boi, aren't you married to him? he cares about aoi, he obviously loves aoi (despite being unaware of this "love"...), and whenever aoi is hurting, he feels the same way. but it was annoying reading about how he thought sex was meaningless since he already had a child. or that he had no desire to progress their relationship to what it already was. obviously aoi doesn't feel the same way, but isn't going to mention it to his husband for fear of being turned away. shimon was just. ugh... granted, his personality is a billion times better here than in the last volume, but i was waiting for him to ACT like a husband and not... i don't even know. robot version 2.0?
though realistically, the country is not going to showcase a warm reception towards aoi in one day, so it makes sense for him to be treated poorly upon his return to the country. and shimon is forever always a robot when it comes to love and emotions (ok, not forever always, because babbyyy - robot upgraded to husbando level later on), so it would make sense for him to be awkward in realizing his true feelings for aoi (but for like, almost a year??? after 5 years of being separated??). i just wished the pacing was a lot quicker because once you hit that half way mark....
bruh. BRRRRUUUUUUUH. once shit starts to hit the fan around page 160, and you hit that magical page 205.... BABYYYYYY, I'M A STAAAR. the 2nd half of the book is what i wished this entire book was. if this entire thing WAS page 160->end, with a continuation of the epilogue, i would have GLADLY shower this review with 5 stars.
the 2nd half. perfecto. no complaints. shimon's reflection of his past as a child, the "love" he learned from his mentally ill mother and not wanting to replicate her actions, aoi's character development that had gradually developed since the last volume and blossomed beautifully by the end of this volume, the sweet, sweet, romantic love that i was waiting for that finally, ooooh finally, arrived, etc. it was. incredible. it made the frustration and impatience i felt in the beginning worth it. like, if i had to re-read this book again, i would be very skeptical in re-reading the first half, and would just jump straight to the 2nd half of the book.
no tsubasa or sumiya this time... but! 13 year old teo makes his re-appearance. aoi's mom shows up again. the reunion was... yeah. his mama... yeah......
the cool thing about volume 7 is that it switches between aoi's and shimon's pov throughout the book. there isn't a part 1 dedicated to aoi's point, or a part 2 dedicated to shimon's. it just switches, either by the chapter, or even mid-chapter. though by the end, it just sticks to shimon's pov. btw, the epilogue is amazing. shimon and aoi have 4 more kids after sora, with the youngest two being twins (!!!). and teo being a college student.... bless.
in the after thoughts, misao mentioned that volume 7 started out as just an digital only short story, to continue off from volume 6. i'm assuming the beginning of this book is the 2 short stories that you can purchase online to read. readers wanted more, and so she decided to continue the story in novel format instead. praise be, thank you for continuing on. i don't know if i could handle if all i got was the beginning... which probably explains why this book is divided into 6 chapters, when misao typically writes 12-15 chapters/volume.
she also mentioned that we'll eventually (?????) get a story about maya later on, but it depends on her editors. when they give the ok, she'll write it. judging from her twitter posts though, it doesn't seem like volume 8 will be focused on maya but. who knows?
i was mixed between rating this as a 3 or a 4 but... as much as i loooooved the 2nd half of the book, plus the epilogue, the first 150 pages or so was..... really frustrating for me to read. maybe if misao didn't drag on the dilemma of the country's cold attitude towards aoi (with shimon wanting to kick aoi and sora out of the country in order to protect them, or keep them hauled up in the castle, OR keep sora but move aoi to a neighboring country... shimon, please...), plus shimon's naivety and annoyingly low sex-drive (which, I UNDERSTAND WHY, because of his past... i don't blame him... really... but still), and enhanced their relationship realistically in a way that would make it appear as if they ARE a married couple, i would have enjoyed it more. i was at an all-time high coming out of volume 6, so i felt like i had a brick wall in front of my face when i read this. but rest assured, when i say it gets better, baby. it gets better. believe me. the ending is amazing. but these are just my opinions, so you might feel differently when you read this. what i like may not be your cup of tea, and what you like may not be my bag of potato chips. so my 3/5 could very well be your 5/5, and vice versa.
anyways, yes, it's worth reading this. tons of cute moments, tons of wtf moments, and tons of feels. and remember, aoi - bae be best uke. repeat that three times. until the next ai no mushi volume!
October 8, 2024
While MC1 sorted out what love is for him In the last book, MC2’s EQ during his private life has never grown since he was 7 years old, not surprising given he was raised by a cold father and a mother who went crazy after her 13 children all died before the age of 3. It’s kinda funny every time after he does something uncharacteristically for MC1, he would question himself if this is because of love, and then denies that. I wish there are more pages about their children.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews