basically a sidestory volume. not really a whole lot of developments here though nicol's story was nice. was a bit disappointed maria didn't get a chapter, i feel like yamaguchi's lowkey pushing the het ships more which is a shame given that the earlier volumes really established maria/katarina as the superior harem ship
I was pretty meh about this volume. Basically a collection of short stories about what the other characters think of the heroine. There is no plot development. I think I would have liked it better if these little vignettes were included at the end of different volumes, as a sort of book end to the plot, and not as their own collection. More of a volume 4.5 than volume 5.
2⭐️ General thoughts: This was a "turn off your brain and just enjoy the ride" kind of series. I'm not even half way through, but gotta say, it got tedious so fast. My favorite parts were probably in the first 2 volumes when everything was still brand new. But unfortunately the writer used one trope a billion times through the story. It didn't go as I expected, and for some reason every 2D character in this universe is in love with the MC. It basically has no drama, and no plot. The story would've been much more interesting if Catarina was actually a bit mischievous. She's supposed to be a villainess for god's sake, why is she a saint??? She has nooo negative attributes and that's a big mistake made by the writer. Show me despair, show me rage, show me passion, something real! I also don't consider this as romance because nothing romantic happens. Every character apparently loves Catarina but they show no real emotions. They're like robots, oh dear, they're like chatgpt. XD
“Stealing love interests is the next big thing” (82)
Let that quote be the running theme from here on out. I thoroughly enjoyed the many POVs in this one, learning more about the characters, especially their growth. Sora remains my favorite. He can tell me about all those “dirty details” teehee.
This is a volume of short stories and vignettes, exploring various small events. How will Katarina react when she comes face-to-face with a true villainess? Nicol has decided it's time to search for a fiancee, but he's having trouble choosing. The girls have a sleepover and talk romance.
Honestly, unless you're a huge series fan, this book should be skipped. There is no plot. Even the short stories don't work all that well, as the author's tendency to retell things shows up even in the shortest pieces, so the amount of new information is buried inside a lot of recap.
The first story, where a girl shows up who is what Katarina would have been if she'd been true to her game counterpart, was the most interesting for me. But it lacks more than the single gag of Katarina being unable to remember who is trying to trap her since she's too busy at the buffet table. That could still have worked, but the short story format means there isn't much room to let the gag play out to extremes.
The rest of the stories tend to reiterate things already covered in the main books with a small bit of new information.
If you're a big fan of the series and don't mind the writing style, then you might as well read it. But overall you can pretty much skip this entirely and lose nothing. I rate this book Not Recommended.
I can't get over how insanely short this volume was. like... it barely constitutes a novel. ~160 pages. When i got this from the library i was actually shocked how short it was and thought i got something else by mistake, but nope, this is the 5th volume.
So essentially, this volume is a compilation of short stories. It doesn't really have anything to do with the main plot and is really just a group of little vignettes from the past that didn't really fit in the main story. So things like, Keith (her brother) bonding with Katarina when they were kids, Nicol realizing that he doesn't want to give up on loving Katarina even though she's engaged with Jeord (it's a very one sided love in that engagement with jeord), Everyone chatting about why they love Katarina, etc.
So if you're looking for a volume with any semblance of PLOT, well you're not going to find it here. Honestly, unless you want some backstory or you're a completionist, this volume is very skippable.
Some of the short stories were better than others to be sure. Nicol chatting with the girl about loving katarina was fine, and i like Keith stories, so that was good, but the one where the girls chat about romance was a little lackluster and rafael being at the ministry was a bit dull.
The best part of this volume was it was LIGHTNING fast to read (seriously, read the whole thing in 2 sittings) and it was still cute and fun. not great, but just fine.
Unfortunately there's really not a whole lot to say as this is REALLY just a short story collection of vignettes. nothing progressed as it was pretty much all in the past. soo.... yeah... fine if unnecessary.
I enjoyed most of the short stories in this book. While I do like these stories, I'm not sure how I feel about them being bundled into one book like this. I feel like it would be better if it was categorized as a "Specials" book rather than an actual volume, because the book doesn't advance anything from the main story.
Butttt I still enjoyed the book very much. The different perspectives felt refreshing to read and some of the stories gave me a different perspective on things.
Two of the vignettes made an impression on me. The first one being Nicol's search for a fiancée. It was nice to finally find out why Sophia is so supportive of her brother getting together with Katarina, and why his parents are kinda chill with him not finding a fiancée yet.
The second vignette is the one where Prince Jeord deals with a jealous girl. This chapter is particularly interesting because we get insight about how self-aware Jeord is of his personality and how he feels about himself. Again, very interesting and very refreshing to read about.
I have no complaints about the writing style :)) compared to the first 3(?) volumes, the writing has gotten much better. Props to the author for the improvement.
Bottomline: very good book. 10/10 would read again
This book was a lovely return to form! This collection of vignettes really encapsulated my favorite parts of the series: Katarina positively influencing the people around her and glimpses into the lives of the characters I adore.
Some highlights: -The manga sections had wonderful art. My favorites were Sleepover Girls' Talk/Boys' Tea-Time Talk and Alan's segment. -Nicol's fruitless search for a fiancee. I liked how the last girl spoke some sense into him regarding the whole outdated tradition of noble marriages and how the experience bolstered Nicol's confidence. Also the part near the end where Sophia acted like a smug sibling + the included illustration were sooo cute. -"Anne's Room," specifically how Keith and Mary mentioned they'd like to try being reincarnated as another gender...imo this has a lot of potential for a side story. -How the girls all experience romantic moments that completely go over their heads lmao Katarina's rubbing off on them.
I was confused while reading this one, but it may just be the product of having read this story piecemeal, sometimes the light novel and sometimes the manga, depending on which the library bought. It seems this volume is looking at the events of the earlier volumes through the eyes of other characters.
Very cute side stories. I thoroughly enjoyed Nicol’s segment a lot! This volume you can skip though because it doesn’t really move the plot forward (just extras that haven’t been published from the original web novel). Otherwise, looking forward to the next few volumes!
It's skippable. Has some nice character moments I suppose but they should have been bonus chapters spread throughout the other volumes instead of packed into 1 volume of what is effectively a collection of short stories that don't advance the plot in any way
A little character growth for a few side characters, but hardly any for most of the main ones. It’s still mostly cute, but the Katarina is really oblivious thing is just getting old, and less believable every time it comes up, which is a lot.
Includes the line where Katarina curses having to wear long dresses and misses tracksuits Main story feature is how a former potential fiancée for Geordo returns to exact her revenge on Katarina. And Nicol is looking for a fiancée to move on from Katarina only to give up Includes a lot of manga at the end
Lots of side stories and back stories in this volume as we go 'back' like a flashback to know what had actually happened from the sides of the other characters.
This book bothered me a bit because it mostly shows the story from other people's view point and jumps back in time but I wasn't looking for a serious read.
We get some fun short stories focusing on more of the side characters this time around and some short manga interludes while we're at it. Just a fun, sweet time.