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魔法世界の受付嬢になりたいです [Mahou Sekai no Uketsukejou ni naritai desu] (Novel) #1
The Sorcerer's Receptionist, Vol. 1
In a world of everyday magic, Nanalie has always dreamed of becoming a receptionist at the prestigious Sorcerer's Guild. To achieve her goal, she needs to attend a magic school full of princes and the daughters of nobles. Determined to prove that a commoner can be the number one student, she must compete with Rockmann, the son of a duke. When she graduates, she lands her dream job and they go their separate ways. Nanalie enjoys spending each day alongside her familiar Lala and her kind co-workers, but it seems that fate won’t let her escape her entanglement with Rockmann that easily...
332 pages, ebook
First published July 12, 2018
98 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Mako .
19 booksLibrarian note: there is more than one author using the same name.
▪ Mako (default profile)
▪ Mako . (まこ .) (novelist)
▪ Mago . (まご) (mangaka)
▪ ｍａｋｏ . (mangaka)
_________________________________________________
Mako . (まこ .) list of works:
1. 2016 - 隅でいいです。構わないでくださいよ。 [Sumi de ii desu. Kamawanaide kudasai yo.]
2. 2018 - 魔法世界の受付嬢になりたいです [Mahou Sekai no Uketsukejou ni naritai desu]
▪ Mako (default profile)
▪ Mako . (まこ .) (novelist)
▪ Mago . (まご) (mangaka)
▪ ｍａｋｏ . (mangaka)
_________________________________________________
Mako . (まこ .) list of works:
1. 2016 - 隅でいいです。構わないでくださいよ。 [Sumi de ii desu. Kamawanaide kudasai yo.]
2. 2018 - 魔法世界の受付嬢になりたいです [Mahou Sekai no Uketsukejou ni naritai desu]
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 3, 2021
Nanalie has always dreamed of being a receptionist at the Sorcerer's Guild. To make her dream come true, though, she needs to be the best---and she's determined to be at the top of her class. But no matter how hard she tries, she's always second place to the most annoying boy in school.
The short version: This creep should be in jail.
Long version: This story is a perfect example of a red-flag relationship. The main character is constantly verbally, magically, and physically assaulted by a boy the school forces her to sit next to for SIX YEARS (and the school itself is extremely improbable anyway since it's yet another example of let's pretend nobles and commoners are just regular high school kids with different fashion sense and no practical status difference apart from money).
And yet this is clearly building up to be a romance between the two.
Look, he's described as the kind of guy who punches her when she's tired and distracted from doing her own magical workout, who drove her to master an ice armor spell specifically because he keeps burning her, who constantly insults her. He burns her to the point where she needs medical attention. He's a BULLY. And the worst part is that the school enables him. None of the teachers tell him to stop. None of them do anything more than fetch a healer if she's so injured she CAN'T GET UP. Yes, she fights back against him. But all the examples of their fights are instigated by him. She even yells at him at one point for attacking her when she's just trying to GO HOME. She doesn't want to deal with him. She doesn't want to be NEAR him.
I basically skimmed the last half of the book because I was dearly hoping she would punch him in the face. Permanent scars or disfigurement would also be appreciated.
Again, WHY IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A ROMANCE? If you'd used the same setup for a horror story you wouldn't have to change anything.
And whenever she tries to GET HELP (during school, or after she graduates), everyone tells her they must be friends. This is so toxic. Anyone in a position to help her deliberately leaves her to get beaten up by him.
And another negative point against the school is that it's constantly listing her as second place, despite perfect scores. If she can ace an exam, he somehow gets everything plus bonus points. When there was no bonus section. They won't even explain why, as though they know that they're just forcing her into second place so he can be first. So all in all this is an extremely frustrating read and I just wanted her to snap and destroy the school, kill the teachers, and show everyone how absurdly dysfunctional this whole mess is.
The worldbuilding generally is poor, but this doesn't improve when she gets out. Receptionists are required to have top grades in combat magic because . . . they do recon? Any intelligent company would have field agents and people who do the desk work. And this is billed as a series about someone who basically does desk work (though if she was secretly OP and hunting monsters on the side I would be more open to it).
Nor does it make a lot of sense when the plot tries to explain "we had this opportunity to strengthen our alliance with a neighboring country, but there were concerns that maybe the two young people weren't ACTUALLY in love."
My standards are admittedly low for this type of genre. I just wanted some mostly-mindless slice-of-life about a different angle of adventuring work (aka dealing with the adventurers not the monsters). Instead I got . . . whatever this was supposed to be. I will not be continuing. Not Recommended.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
The short version: This creep should be in jail.
Long version: This story is a perfect example of a red-flag relationship. The main character is constantly verbally, magically, and physically assaulted by a boy the school forces her to sit next to for SIX YEARS (and the school itself is extremely improbable anyway since it's yet another example of let's pretend nobles and commoners are just regular high school kids with different fashion sense and no practical status difference apart from money).
And yet this is clearly building up to be a romance between the two.
Look, he's described as the kind of guy who punches her when she's tired and distracted from doing her own magical workout, who drove her to master an ice armor spell specifically because he keeps burning her, who constantly insults her. He burns her to the point where she needs medical attention. He's a BULLY. And the worst part is that the school enables him. None of the teachers tell him to stop. None of them do anything more than fetch a healer if she's so injured she CAN'T GET UP. Yes, she fights back against him. But all the examples of their fights are instigated by him. She even yells at him at one point for attacking her when she's just trying to GO HOME. She doesn't want to deal with him. She doesn't want to be NEAR him.
I basically skimmed the last half of the book because I was dearly hoping she would punch him in the face. Permanent scars or disfigurement would also be appreciated.
Again, WHY IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A ROMANCE? If you'd used the same setup for a horror story you wouldn't have to change anything.
And whenever she tries to GET HELP (during school, or after she graduates), everyone tells her they must be friends. This is so toxic. Anyone in a position to help her deliberately leaves her to get beaten up by him.
And another negative point against the school is that it's constantly listing her as second place, despite perfect scores. If she can ace an exam, he somehow gets everything plus bonus points. When there was no bonus section. They won't even explain why, as though they know that they're just forcing her into second place so he can be first. So all in all this is an extremely frustrating read and I just wanted her to snap and destroy the school, kill the teachers, and show everyone how absurdly dysfunctional this whole mess is.
The worldbuilding generally is poor, but this doesn't improve when she gets out. Receptionists are required to have top grades in combat magic because . . . they do recon? Any intelligent company would have field agents and people who do the desk work. And this is billed as a series about someone who basically does desk work (though if she was secretly OP and hunting monsters on the side I would be more open to it).
Nor does it make a lot of sense when the plot tries to explain "we had this opportunity to strengthen our alliance with a neighboring country, but there were concerns that maybe the two young people weren't ACTUALLY in love."
My standards are admittedly low for this type of genre. I just wanted some mostly-mindless slice-of-life about a different angle of adventuring work (aka dealing with the adventurers not the monsters). Instead I got . . . whatever this was supposed to be. I will not be continuing. Not Recommended.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
May 29, 2022
OMG I LOST MY REVIEW CUZ I'M AN IDIOT. Going to try to make this one as good as what I furiously typed out the last time.
I picked this up because it looked cute. I was sucked into the story, so got the other two books. After binging it and I came out of the Stockholm Syndrome acceptance of the world, I asked myself, "What the absolute F*CK was THAT garbage?!?"
I'm going to review all three books in this review, so spoilers after this point, please be warned.
1) all of the characters are one-note. No growth and no character other than the one thing that makes them all different from each other. MC h wants to be a lady receptionist and wants to beat the MC H in ANYthing. MC H starts off as an @sshat and actually has some character development and ends up...as an even bigger @sshat. One of the MC h's BFFs loves a guy who is a HUGE womanzing jerk. He is "with" the BFF, but constantly states that he likes older women with BIG tatas and is CONSTANTLY hitting on other women when they are out. YET, when she is left alone and other men try to chat her up, he chases them away. So he is Double Standard Skirt Chaser Man and she is Pathetic, But I LOVE Him Girl.
2) Trope of mom not telling the daughter of her heritage, I hate that. Actually, trope of, "lets not tell the MC h ANYthing and watch her flounder like an ignorant idiot" is in full swing in this one and I HATE IT.
3) the MC H, since they were students at the magic academy, BULLIED the MC h. And when I say bullied, I mean, he 1) PHYSICALLY ATTACKED her, like hitting her so hard from behind that she goes flying into the nearest building, the ground, etc., 2) with his FIRE MAGIC to the point that she has to go to the nurse at the school to GET HEALED and 3) verbally, calling her stupid, idiot, etc.
AND THE TEACHERS LET IT HAPPEN
Despite the fact that the students enroll when they are 12, the MC h is a 12 year old female, THE MC H IS A 16 YEAR OLD MALE. The MC h doesn't know this, BUT THE ADULTS DO.
So the teachers are allowing a 16 year old boy to PHYSICALLY AND MAGICALLY ATTACK a 12 year old girl, ALL THE WAY THROUGH WHEN THEY LEAVE SIX YEARS LATER.
And the "reason" is so PISS POOR I CAN'T EVEN.
It's because their magic power is SOOOOOOO strong that if they don't constantly use it, it will over flow and go crazy and end up hurting themselves and others. So they let him attack her so she will defend herself using her magic so it won't go nuts and hurt others.
Wait, wait. Let me get this straight. So an ENTIRE magic academy of PROFESSIONAL ADULTS that has the resources, knowledge and experience to actually 1) explain to her what her situation is and 2) schedule time in an appropriate facility at the school and actually, you know, TEACH her how to handle it, isn't as good as letting someone who grossly out-ranks and out-sizes her to BULLY her for the six years she is there? It's not like he can continue to do so once they get out of school, why not EDUCATE HER about it so she can take care of it herself and be self-sufficient??
4) despite both the MC h and the MC H getting the SAME EXACT GRADES, he is ALWAYS in first place and she in second, which gives her such a complex, she can't get over it and after they graduate, she is STILL trying to best him in SOMEthing. It's infuriating and never really explained, but I assume it is part of the teachers making sure she is always spoiling for a fight so she will use her magic against the MC H so her power will have somewhere to be focused other than sitting around to blow because it's not being released. Face palm.
5) Throughout the first two books and a good chunk of the third, the MC h HATES the MC H, not without good reason. There is LITERALLY NO indication that she has any warm feelings for him whatsoever. She isn't shown as being a masochist, BUT by the third book, I think she is worn down and just goes with everyone tittering behind their hands about how CUTE she is and how CLUELESS she is about her own feelings about him.
I think her feelings were pretty clear. The MC H took dunking her pigtails in the inkwell to a whole new level. He needed to GROVEL and CHANGE IMHO before he got ANY words of love from her.
Yes, he did risk his life to save her multiple times, but he never explained why he did what he did, he never STOPPED calling her names and angering and upsetting her, even after they graduated.
The MC h was railroaded into ending up with him and that left a REALLY bad taste in my mouth. I really don't like couples that fight to show their affection tropes and honestly? The MC h DIDN'T like him. She went to a temple to get PURIFIED because she thought she was under a CURSE because she kept bumping into him.
And WTF was that little set of charm boxes?!? If they both opened their respective box, they would allegedly never see each other again AND HE OPENED HIS BOX STRAIGHT AWAY BUT SHE DIDN'T!!!
If he REALLY loved her, WTF did he do that?!? And yet, she didn't open hers. I guess that was to show she was starting to care for him, but in that case, WHY DID HE OPEN THE BOX?!? Was he THAT certain she wouldn't open hers?!? HUGE ego on top of everything else!
OH the more I think about this the madder I get!
1, I really wish I didn't waste my time and money on this one and I can't recommend it to anyone, stars.
I picked this up because it looked cute. I was sucked into the story, so got the other two books. After binging it and I came out of the Stockholm Syndrome acceptance of the world, I asked myself, "What the absolute F*CK was THAT garbage?!?"
I'm going to review all three books in this review, so spoilers after this point, please be warned.
1) all of the characters are one-note. No growth and no character other than the one thing that makes them all different from each other. MC h wants to be a lady receptionist and wants to beat the MC H in ANYthing. MC H starts off as an @sshat and actually has some character development and ends up...as an even bigger @sshat. One of the MC h's BFFs loves a guy who is a HUGE womanzing jerk. He is "with" the BFF, but constantly states that he likes older women with BIG tatas and is CONSTANTLY hitting on other women when they are out. YET, when she is left alone and other men try to chat her up, he chases them away. So he is Double Standard Skirt Chaser Man and she is Pathetic, But I LOVE Him Girl.
2) Trope of mom not telling the daughter of her heritage, I hate that. Actually, trope of, "lets not tell the MC h ANYthing and watch her flounder like an ignorant idiot" is in full swing in this one and I HATE IT.
3) the MC H, since they were students at the magic academy, BULLIED the MC h. And when I say bullied, I mean, he 1) PHYSICALLY ATTACKED her, like hitting her so hard from behind that she goes flying into the nearest building, the ground, etc., 2) with his FIRE MAGIC to the point that she has to go to the nurse at the school to GET HEALED and 3) verbally, calling her stupid, idiot, etc.
AND THE TEACHERS LET IT HAPPEN
Despite the fact that the students enroll when they are 12, the MC h is a 12 year old female, THE MC H IS A 16 YEAR OLD MALE. The MC h doesn't know this, BUT THE ADULTS DO.
So the teachers are allowing a 16 year old boy to PHYSICALLY AND MAGICALLY ATTACK a 12 year old girl, ALL THE WAY THROUGH WHEN THEY LEAVE SIX YEARS LATER.
And the "reason" is so PISS POOR I CAN'T EVEN.
It's because their magic power is SOOOOOOO strong that if they don't constantly use it, it will over flow and go crazy and end up hurting themselves and others. So they let him attack her so she will defend herself using her magic so it won't go nuts and hurt others.
Wait, wait. Let me get this straight. So an ENTIRE magic academy of PROFESSIONAL ADULTS that has the resources, knowledge and experience to actually 1) explain to her what her situation is and 2) schedule time in an appropriate facility at the school and actually, you know, TEACH her how to handle it, isn't as good as letting someone who grossly out-ranks and out-sizes her to BULLY her for the six years she is there? It's not like he can continue to do so once they get out of school, why not EDUCATE HER about it so she can take care of it herself and be self-sufficient??
4) despite both the MC h and the MC H getting the SAME EXACT GRADES, he is ALWAYS in first place and she in second, which gives her such a complex, she can't get over it and after they graduate, she is STILL trying to best him in SOMEthing. It's infuriating and never really explained, but I assume it is part of the teachers making sure she is always spoiling for a fight so she will use her magic against the MC H so her power will have somewhere to be focused other than sitting around to blow because it's not being released. Face palm.
5) Throughout the first two books and a good chunk of the third, the MC h HATES the MC H, not without good reason. There is LITERALLY NO indication that she has any warm feelings for him whatsoever. She isn't shown as being a masochist, BUT by the third book, I think she is worn down and just goes with everyone tittering behind their hands about how CUTE she is and how CLUELESS she is about her own feelings about him.
I think her feelings were pretty clear. The MC H took dunking her pigtails in the inkwell to a whole new level. He needed to GROVEL and CHANGE IMHO before he got ANY words of love from her.
Yes, he did risk his life to save her multiple times, but he never explained why he did what he did, he never STOPPED calling her names and angering and upsetting her, even after they graduated.
The MC h was railroaded into ending up with him and that left a REALLY bad taste in my mouth. I really don't like couples that fight to show their affection tropes and honestly? The MC h DIDN'T like him. She went to a temple to get PURIFIED because she thought she was under a CURSE because she kept bumping into him.
And WTF was that little set of charm boxes?!? If they both opened their respective box, they would allegedly never see each other again AND HE OPENED HIS BOX STRAIGHT AWAY BUT SHE DIDN'T!!!
If he REALLY loved her, WTF did he do that?!? And yet, she didn't open hers. I guess that was to show she was starting to care for him, but in that case, WHY DID HE OPEN THE BOX?!? Was he THAT certain she wouldn't open hers?!? HUGE ego on top of everything else!
OH the more I think about this the madder I get!
1, I really wish I didn't waste my time and money on this one and I can't recommend it to anyone, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2021
You will spend the first 45% of this book screaming 'Get a room!'
I kind of want to give this one star, but it wasn't that bad, possibly because (as with most light novels) it' short. I still found myself staring at the percentage-read indicator at about 30% wondering whether I could finish it. It does pick up a little after the protagonist leaves school, but then it runs off into this ridiculous Cinderella skit (she's actually wearing glass shoes!) which ends the book abruptly and without warning in a distinctly unsatisfactory manner.
Basically, for all the potential for an interesting story this has, 'The Sorcerer's Receptionist' is a romance novel. As such, okay. Unfortunately, it's a romance novel which relies on all the worst tropes of anime/manga harem romance plots. Our hyper-competent heroine is great when it comes to magic, but in more or less everything else she is as dumb as a bag of hammers, and it is ONLY her painful, awkward stupidity that keeps the plot going. This can be endearing and funny (look to 'My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom'), but in this case it just comes over as irritating.
The writing style isn't that bad. The descriptive work flows well. I personally don't like first-person, present tense narratives, but it actually doesn't work too badly here. The worldbuilding shows some promise. Unfortunately, I think reading volume 2 would be like pulling teeth. It certainly won't happen soon.
I kind of want to give this one star, but it wasn't that bad, possibly because (as with most light novels) it' short. I still found myself staring at the percentage-read indicator at about 30% wondering whether I could finish it. It does pick up a little after the protagonist leaves school, but then it runs off into this ridiculous Cinderella skit (she's actually wearing glass shoes!) which ends the book abruptly and without warning in a distinctly unsatisfactory manner.
Basically, for all the potential for an interesting story this has, 'The Sorcerer's Receptionist' is a romance novel. As such, okay. Unfortunately, it's a romance novel which relies on all the worst tropes of anime/manga harem romance plots. Our hyper-competent heroine is great when it comes to magic, but in more or less everything else she is as dumb as a bag of hammers, and it is ONLY her painful, awkward stupidity that keeps the plot going. This can be endearing and funny (look to 'My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom'), but in this case it just comes over as irritating.
The writing style isn't that bad. The descriptive work flows well. I personally don't like first-person, present tense narratives, but it actually doesn't work too badly here. The worldbuilding shows some promise. Unfortunately, I think reading volume 2 would be like pulling teeth. It certainly won't happen soon.
November 9, 2025
Another mediocre light novel. Natalie is supposedly talented, but is quite dumb. The writing style is stilted and spent far too long on boring details. The school is problematic too, in that the tests are actually harmful to students. Clearly this is one where the rival likes her, but their relationship sucks. They literally beat on each other magically and physically for 6 years. As an example of how bad the writing can be, his dad tells her they’re distantly related to the royal family. By “distant,” he means he’s the younger brother of the current king. 😐
It blathers about her being second place, something about his special circumstances that aren’t explained, which made me wonder if he was getting bonus points sh3 could never get. It’s really annoying to me that she is considered inferior to him for getting second when that’s better than the other 148 people in their class. Hello, there’s so little difference between the scores that they mean nothing.
I don’t get her fixation on being receptionist, but whatever. Parts of it reminded me of another light novel that was not great but was still better than this.
It blathers about her being second place, something about his special circumstances that aren’t explained, which made me wonder if he was getting bonus points sh3 could never get. It’s really annoying to me that she is considered inferior to him for getting second when that’s better than the other 148 people in their class. Hello, there’s so little difference between the scores that they mean nothing.
I don’t get her fixation on being receptionist, but whatever. Parts of it reminded me of another light novel that was not great but was still better than this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2021
Maybe it's just because I'm not typically a Light Novel reader, but this was a bit lacking for me.
It had a great premise, but then it just didn't seem to go anywhere with it, and the slice of life was just a bit too average and chill. Like why is this even set in a magical world when it's just a young woman trying to adjust to working life as an Office Lady instead of being at school?
The character has so much power and potential but then she's all "oh no, I don't want to do anything with my training, I just want to give encouraging smiles to others and follow orders. Tee-hee!"
It's not even particularly funny, or maybe it was simply lost in the translation. I'm not sure but I'm good leaving the series here.
It had a great premise, but then it just didn't seem to go anywhere with it, and the slice of life was just a bit too average and chill. Like why is this even set in a magical world when it's just a young woman trying to adjust to working life as an Office Lady instead of being at school?
The character has so much power and potential but then she's all "oh no, I don't want to do anything with my training, I just want to give encouraging smiles to others and follow orders. Tee-hee!"
It's not even particularly funny, or maybe it was simply lost in the translation. I'm not sure but I'm good leaving the series here.
April 29, 2023
Messy and in need of editing
I really wanted to like this book. However it was a difficult read after all. There was very little world building, character development or substantial plot developments. Characters often did things that seemed completely out of left-field, which left me feeling short changed during the story. Most of the writing felt shallow and the pacing was in dire need of editing. At times the passages were confusingly written and it was often hard to distinguish which character was speaking. I cannot recommend this series, and will not be continuing on to volume two.
I really wanted to like this book. However it was a difficult read after all. There was very little world building, character development or substantial plot developments. Characters often did things that seemed completely out of left-field, which left me feeling short changed during the story. Most of the writing felt shallow and the pacing was in dire need of editing. At times the passages were confusingly written and it was often hard to distinguish which character was speaking. I cannot recommend this series, and will not be continuing on to volume two.
December 27, 2020
Could have been good
This story had a good idea to begin with and yet it didn't seem to go anywhere. The book could have been more humorous but the humor that was in was all structured around the main character who was very naive and a little bit self-centered. For me the characters around her were better than what she portrayed. I will not be buying the next book this book was boring and not very entertaining.
This story had a good idea to begin with and yet it didn't seem to go anywhere. The book could have been more humorous but the humor that was in was all structured around the main character who was very naive and a little bit self-centered. For me the characters around her were better than what she portrayed. I will not be buying the next book this book was boring and not very entertaining.
October 14, 2020
Eeeh. I really like chill slice of life fantasy light novels, but this is perhaps TOO chill. And those sorts of stories rely on you really vibing with the characters, and I didn't vibe with this. Might well work well for others, and there's nothing really wrong with it, but just didn't quite hold together for me.
March 14, 2022
Great story
A fascinating story filled with magic and mystery. I love the characters and the artwork. I originally read the manga first and just recently found the novel and it was well worth the purchase. So much detail in the story of a girl striving for her dream. A wonderful world and romance may be in the future for our heroine.
A fascinating story filled with magic and mystery. I love the characters and the artwork. I originally read the manga first and just recently found the novel and it was well worth the purchase. So much detail in the story of a girl striving for her dream. A wonderful world and romance may be in the future for our heroine.
July 24, 2023
On the plus, very cool to see a dark skinned character a j-novel. On the minus, there's a scene where the MC opens up about her feelings and why something basically triggers a negative reaction for her and it's played for laughs. On the super minus, this relationship is toxic AF and physically abusive.
October 15, 2023
If you don't mind an oblivious main character this book is a great start to a series. I has more of the backstory feel to it, filling in questions before they are asked. I will say though the world building that started in this volume makes me curious to where the story will lead. I look forward to seeing more of this world.
December 15, 2020
This was a bit short (even book 2 is this way) but I can’t wait to see how this ends. It’s cute and it’s not really an isekai so I want to see how this goes.
September 25, 2021
Very cute book about a girl chasing her dream. She wants, more than anything else, to become a Guild Receptionist.
March 5, 2022
I found Nanalie rather insipid.
December 16, 2022
Truly my favourite novel series of all time! Wish this gets a good anime adaptation :<
December 9, 2023
HARD PASS.
This isn't a romance. That bastard should be jailed.
WHAT THE HELL.
This isn't a romance. That bastard should be jailed.
WHAT THE HELL.
December 9, 2024
i had fun
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews