My Happy Marriage (Light Novel), Vol. 1

わたしの幸せな結婚 [Watashi no Shiawasena Kekkon] #1

by Akumi Agitogi, Tsukiho Tsukioka (Artist)

Born to a noble family, Miyo is raised by her abusive stepmother and married off to Kiyoka, a soldier so heartless his prior fiancées fled within three days into their engagement. With no home to return to, Miyo slowly starts to open her heart to her cold and pale husband-to-be, despite their rocky introduction... This might just be her chance at finding true love and happiness. 

Genres: Light Novel, Romance, Fantasy, Manga, Historical, Fiction, Historical Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2019

About the author

Akumi Agitogi is a Japanese writer and translator from Tokyo. She has published several works of fiction and non-fiction, including novels, short stories, essays, and translations of English literature into Japanese. Her works explore themes of identity, gender, and culture, and she has been praised for her lyrical and evocative writing style.

Associated Names:
* Akumi Agitogi
* 顎木あくみ (Japanese Profile)
* อาคุมิ อากิโทกิ (Thai Profile)

Reviews

[Aliki (semi hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

JUST KISS ALREADY

[fadheela ♡ (ongoing ME war hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⤿💌02/08/25
Ok can we all take a moment to appreciate our beautiful husband kiyoka?😍💘 I fell for him when I watched him in the anime series, but holy moly, reading his thoughts in detail here??? HELLO 😩 I'm baffled I didn't get into reading the books sooner aaaaa. I'm onto the next volume now!

P.S. I read 0 books for july & I've been in the worst reading slump ever 😭 Thankfully this light novel series is doing the job in pulling me out of it slowly! Sorry for disappearing from here besties 🤧

“I would like to stay with you, if you would permit it.”
“Permit it?” He chuckled. “You’re the only one I want to live with. No one else will do.”

[ana ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the beginning but this is so cornball it doesn’t even make sense half of the time 😭😭 like yes girl suffer beautifully but also why is everyone acting like they’re in a victorian drama written by a teenage tumblr poet. the male lead shows up once, breathes, and suddenly everyone’s like “he’s cold 🥶”

her family is cartoonishly evil for no reason. girl breathes wrong and they’re like “you ungrateful little worm we should’ve left you in the snow” LIKE WHAT. calm down cinderella’s stepmom😭 actually insane like the plot reads like a fever dream. her dad hates her because??? vibes?? she’s too polite?? not sparkly enough?? like bro is just permanently frowning in the corner acting like she personally ruined his credit score😭 the mom and sister are in a competition to see who can be more insufferable and honestly it’s a tie. and then suddenly she’s engaged to mister cold🥶 and everyone’s acting like he’s gonna murder her but he just stands there being awkward and mysterious like an anime edward cullen. everyone else in this show acts like they’re in a slow opera. dramatic sighs. long pauses. everyone talking like they’ve got a poetry quota to hit. i kept expecting someone to start reciting a haiku about pain.

and the whole kidnapping?? WHAT WAS THAT😭😭😭😭😭. they legit just kidnapped her because she’s too happy?? like the mom and sister saw her smiling ONCE and were like “nope. time to throw her in a dungeon” i was so confused. LIKE WHY. what is the goal here?? they weren’t even trying to ransom her, they just wanted to be evil and messy. the logic was: mio’s doing slightly better? smiling now? unacceptable. throw her in the sad basement.

then kudo shows up like “hi :) i’ve known you for three business days but i will commit arson for you” and honestly? king. he spends the whole time staring at her like she hung the moon and she’s just sitting there like “me?? love?? safety?? i don’t deserve this…”

also no one explains ANYTHING. kudo’s like “i have to leave for work” and then he’s out here battling cursed spirits with a glowing sword and a trauma backstory like he’s the sixth member of jujutsu kaisen. there’s a whole government agency of spiritual power users and they just popped in halfway through like “btw this is a thing. sorry we didn’t mention it before.” and i’m just sitting there like what IS this book😭😭

nevertheless would let kudo awkwardly stand in a corner for me again

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

These two are such precious little beans it’s not even funny. 😍😍😍 I ADORED the manga version of this story and after watching the live action movie on YouTube I checked out the light novel from my library eager to get more of the story and I was not disappointed!

Miyo and Kiyoka are so amazing and adorable towards each other, and I love how they quickly love each other’s kindness even if neither of them are close to love yet, hehe. 🤭🥰 Like seriously their relationship is so soft and protective it’s so cute and I love them to death. 😍🥰

Miyo’s abuse isn’t as sharp as it is in the manga, but I think that had more to do with the telling style of writing that light novels use more than the abuse she endured was actually less, so keep that in mind if you are like me and a sensitive soul to stuff like this. Just know she goes through a lot of physical, mental, and emotional abuse from her family and has lots of scars to heal from regarding that which I look forward to seeing more of in later volumes.

This novel covers the first two and half manga volumes which I was pretty surprised by, so there’s plenty more uncovered story to go! Still not a fan of the formatting and telling style of light novels but these characters and this cover more than make up for that in my opinion. 🥰 Also one thing I criticized the manga for was that the supernatural elements were not well explained or fleshed out, which I blamed on there not being enough room to transfer it all, and I was right as this book explained all that and more which helped me understand how the supernatural elements fit in and how the Gifts work in a very satisfying way.

So sweet and adorable though also hard and healing, this story is amazing and I can’t wait to dive into more.


‼️Content‼️

TRIGGER WARNING: familial emotional, mental, and physical abuse and the PTSD/trauma from that

Language: wench; dammit; hell (as a place)

Violence: hot tea is thrown in a character’s face; fighting with magic powers and hand to hand (not detailed); a character is slapped, kicked, and nearly choked to death (not detailed); a character is nearly lit on fire

Other: supernatural powers/spirits; familial emotional, mental, and physical abuse and the PTSD/trauma from that; a character was locked in a storehouse as a child; a character is given an amulet; a character is kidnapped; a character is tied up; a house burns up

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miyo is living the worst sort of Cinderella life in the late Meiji/early Taisho era of an alternate Japan. Blamed for her parents' unhappy (and unwilling) marriage by her father and stepmother - who were forced to break up so her father could marry her mother and married after her mother's death - her "sins" are compounded by not having the Gift of Spirit-Sight. Horribly abused by her family, Miyo's self-esteem is in the negative numbers when she's told she'll be married off to the cold Kiyoka Kogou with the assumption that he'll reject her and she'll die on the streets. It's...a lot to take.

Fortunately Kiyoka's a good person who is righteously infuriated by how Miyo was treated by her family. He saves her, but not because she's inherently weak, but rather because no one ever made her understand that she's worth saving. Their relationship is sweet and makes up for the sheer fury her family creates in the reader. Seriously, it's hard to overstate how much her family sucks.

3.5 rounded up - it's a nice story and a better-written one than most light novels, even if the title and chapter titles are first person and the novel is written in third.

[vxmpslibrary [hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

.4 stars.
#. started: 13th March 2026 ; finished: 13th March 2026.

"I will do my utmost to protect you from any hardship, but I am a soldier. There will be times when I will
need to leave you to fight, and the battles I take part in are extremely dangerous. Then there’s the matter of my personality… I’m a bit of a bore, but I’d still like to be by your side.”

.my thoughts.
well a cinderella inspired slow burn romance really drew me in so I thought why not!

The cover is gorgeous, both the characters are so beautiful that imagining them is easier [because I already saw the fanart] i could see the buildup was also quite nice.

I also didn't know but after finishing the book I realised it actually also has a movie and anime already done! While I want to finish the book as soon as possible, maybe I will start with the anime as well.

It was a very easy bingeable read and I really had no problems going through it.

I loved Miyo, and as a character it wasn't hard to understand her, I could feel her emotions, could find a reason for her actions. I appreciated her deeply and how cherished she was by her fiance. One of the main possible reasons I would want to continue this would be I want to see her grow as a character, someone strong who doesn't feels inferior.

Kiyoko isn't a bad character himself, he has emotions, atleast he's not some cold hearted man, he has genuine feelings and actually acts like a human. [Not a robot yay!] I actually loved his character so much because the way he was. Well he's a soldier, but atleast he knows how to take care of someone.

Treated miserably all her life, everything in this book felt real, the way both Kiyoka and Miyo's emotion bloom is genuinely fast, but still appreciated.

The slow burn part, I cannot say much, because they had already learnt to take care of each other in few days, especially our male lead.

This book is not layered, it is simple, slow like fragment of threads joining together. I did have a good time when I feared I was going through a reading slump, but this indeed gave me a heart to continue this volume series.

It's also very lightweight novel, but still check the warnings such as Emotional and Physical abuse etc. Everything isn't much deep but on a surface for me.

Yurie is such an amazing woman, the way she take cares of Miyo is my favorite. I also liked her so much.

There isn't much to say about the characters but I did actually liked them all except all the people who did Miyo bad.

.🎐 .final thoughts. - this was an interesting and simple read I cannot wait to continue this series! It's a mixture of Japan culture with a fantasy twist.

[Sheen⚘ ⃰⃰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah! I didn't feel like watching the anime so i picked up the light novel.. and it's amazing, I'm going to cry. I AM crying with such a big grin on my face, ugh.


Would Miyo look good in this? He tried to picture her wearing it…but quickly banished the image from his mind, abashed. What on earth am I doing? There was no special meaning to this. None at all.


He's just like Loid 'its for the mission' Forger.


“…You really never smile.”


Who do you think said this line? The sweet little girl, abused and abandoned, hoping to stay with this man in any capacity? Or the cruel grumpy guy who has chased away numerous marriage prospects?


Miyo reacted to everything with fresh wonder, which made her fascinating to watch. In fact, Kiyoka was enjoying her company so much more than he expected. He even considered making a habit of spending his days off like this.


Casual domesticity ✨


His lips and his voice quivered. What was this strange feeling? Was it wonder? Excitement? Delight? Or all of that at once? There was a simpler word for it, though: love.


Hihihihihihi


As for Kiyoka, he simply wanted someone who would want to stay by his side. He wanted someone who would genuinely enjoy living in his forest cottage as his wife, not simply relish his status or wealth. And Miyo would do that. He had no intention of letting go of her.


My misunderstood little baby and my other little baby.. now kiss! 🌝


It was all too easy for him to picture himself spoiling Miyo with gifts, forever chasing this warm feeling in his chest.


My favourite genre.


“Be careful in the city. Don’t talk to strangers.”
She thought he was being overprotective, as if she were a child.


Oh! the strict man is being overprotective. Let me exorcise myself of this feminist spirit.


It had been a week since Miyo had started keeping to her room. To Kiyoka, each of those days felt long and depressing. She wouldn’t even see him off when he was leaving for work or come out to greet him when he returned. She took her meals in her room. His days grew colorless without seeing her, and his house—somehow colder.

Look me in my eyes. He MISSED her. She brought colour and warmth to his life.

“Miyo.” He said her name for the first time in a voice so gentle that simply hearing it was pure bliss. “Would you tie my hair for me?”

Ugh! D. I. A. B. E. T. E. S.

Lastly,

Miyo wondered if Kiyoka’s father would be disappointed and angry when he discovered he hadn’t gotten his son the woman he’d bargained for. She expressed this worry to Kiyoka, who snorted dismissively.

“If he complains, I’ll turn him into a pile of ashes.”

Rather than reassure her, his savage remark made her worry for his father instead.

I love this man and i approve of this arranged marriage. 💯

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this fantasy reimagining of the Meiji/Taisho era, there are beings known as Grotesqueries that can only be seen and fought by those with Spirit-Sight, known as the Gifted. Miyo Saimori was born to a Gifted mother and father, which should have guaranteed her a comfortable noblewoman's life. However, she never demonstrated any ability to use Spirit-Sight, nor any other Gift. After her mother died, Miyo's father neglected her and married the woman he'd preferred over Miyo's mother. Her daughter turned out to be Gifted, so it wasn't long before Miyo became less than a servant in her own home.

Miyo's only ray of hope was that she might one day marry Kouji, her childhood friend, but even that wasn't to be. When her father tells her that Kouji will marry her stepsister, Kaya, while she will be betrothed to Kiyoka Kudou and sent to his household immediately, it's all Miyo can do not to cry. The Kudou family is powerful, but Kiyoka is known for being so cold and terrible that he has thus far scared all his potential brides away within days of their arriving at his household. Unlike them, Miyo will have no home to return to if she leaves.

My first impression of this book was that it was very, very short, only 156 pages if you count the afterword. Granted, it doesn't have illustrations, but it was still a much slimmer volume than I was expecting. I hoped this meant it lacked the usual light novel bloat.

I really wish I could say I loved this book. In many ways, it was a breath of fresh air. It wasn't yet another isekai story set in a vaguely medieval European world. The heroine wasn't a Japanese woman reborn as the villainess in the last otome game she played. It was written in the third person.

This had so much potential, but sadly the execution was lacking. This was a quick read that didn't dwell much on unimportant details...but that unfortunately also didn't spend much time on anything else, and never allowed even the slightest potential conflicts or complications to brew for long. Even the romance went much more smoothly and easily than I expected.

Kiyoka's past potential brides were depicted as being overly spoiled, but considering the way Kiyoka first acted towards Miyo when he met her, I thought his past potential brides probably had a point. However, Miyo was used to being treated worse, and it took barely any effort on her part for Kiyoka to become curious, investigate her background (it was his father who arranged the marriage, so he didn't know much about her), and realize he'd been acting horribly towards someone who'd already suffered years of neglect and abuse. He felt bad about this, and it wasn't long before his efforts to make up for his behavior resulted in both characters falling in love.

The book's various villains were idiots who reacted to everything in the way most likely to lead to their ruin. It was honestly kind of amazing how quickly and thoroughly they managed to screw everything up once they all got going. And once again, the author robbed the story of all its potential tension by having solutions basically fall into characters' laps. At one point, Miyo was in danger and I thought Kiyoka might at least have to spend some time frantically searching for her, but no, after approximately two seconds of worry, someone came and gave him everything he needed in order to wrap things up.

The fantasy aspects have potential. So far there have been no on-page Grotesqueries, but several characters used paper familiars (shikigami?), and some of the Gifted used their abilities on-page. I wouldn't be surprised if members of Miyo's mother's side of the family become prominent characters in later entries in the series, which could potentially lead to some exciting developments. In general, it was nice to read a series that didn't include the usual generic RPG creatures and monsters.

I'm glad to see a light novel series with a female protagonist that doesn't follow the usual "reborn as the villainess in an otome game" template, but this was a depressingly bare-bones start. I'll probably give it another volume to see if it improves, but I suspect that this is one of those cases where I'd be better off trying the manga instead (although that won't be out until later this year).

Rating Note:

I debated on the rating - this is probably more of a 2.5-star read. Round up to 3 may be too generous, but it wasn't a bad read, just a very slight one.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[vanessa ⋆.☕︎ [semiᝰia] · Rating 5 out of 5]

⤿ Reading period: June 25 - June 25, 2025

⤿ Rating: ★★★★★

It had been a week since Miyo had started keeping to her room. To Kiyoka, each of those days felt long and depressing. She wouldn’t even see him off when he was leaving for work or come out to greet him when he returned. She took her meals in her room. His days grew colorless without seeing her, and his house—somehow colder.

The intimacy between them is EVERYTHING to me, I love how their relationship grew path by path with pages also I love how he was so understandable and really caring about her and her presence.
OBSESSED!

[Sollenbum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Japanese Cinderella story is the focal point in a world that is set in the historical Meiji and Taisho eras with the added extra of supernatural beings and powers existing just beneath this historical surface. Akumi Agitogi’s “My Happy Marriage” is a Japanese light novel that follows the familiar trope of an arranged marriage that develops into a real relationship.

Miyo Saimori is a young girl whose stepmother and sister have treated her so badly that she has lost all sense of herself. Through some scheming they engineer her engagement to Kiyoka Kudou who may be an aristocrat and soldier but who has a reputation of rebuffing potential marriage candidates. But Kiyoka sees Miyo for who she really is despite her tattered kimono and battered self-esteem. Slowly, they grow to respect and care for each other, defying the opinion of others.

Despite being set in a world that is both historical and supernatural, the family dynamics of the Saimori family ring true. It is desperately sad that the insecurities of the second wife result in the inhumane treatment of a young child. It is comforting that Kiyoka turns out to be a kind and competent fiancé who is willing literally to tear his way through obstacles to keep her safe.

This first volume sees them grow close. It will be interesting to see how their relationship develops in future volumes …

[Phoenix2 · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Happy Marriage is the first volume of the light novel series that presents a fantasy world where people are born with gifts that aid them in keeping evil powers at bay. And yet the book doesn't really deepen too much into the fantasy world. Rather, it uses it to enhance the melodrama of the main story, which is the story of a girl who has been mistreated all her life until she is betrothed to an infamous man. The story is okay, quite melodramatic, though the book kept repeating situations and information which got tiring. Still, it was an enjoyable read.

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread on audio: the audio is fantastic and it was a delightful reread

obsessed

[Austin (Weird) · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok plot
ok characters
overall an ok story

you might be wondering why I rated this 3 stars...

ITS BC THERE ARE FUCKING CARS IN THIS BOOK LIKE CARS NOT CARRIAGES FUCKING CARS....WHEN I PICKED UP THIS BOOK AND READ THE FIRST CHAPTER I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE A CUTE ROMANCE STORY WITH ELEMENTS OF HISTORICAL FANTASY (which it does) THEN WHY THE HELL WOULD THE AUTHOR ADD CARS OUT OF ALL THINGS ^RDTFYGIUGYFUTDYDTFUGIHI

anyways I'm going to go watch breaking bad-

[libriconfragole · Rating 5 out of 5]

La light novel da cui son tratti il manga e l’anime di successo, è un retelling di Cenerentola in epoca Meiji e Taishō con elementi fantasy che mi ha stupito, intrattenuto e invitato alla riflessione! Tralasciando la meravigliosa storia d’amore tra Miyo e Kiyoka che si sviluppa in pieno stile slow burn - tipico dei marriage of convenience - ho AMATO il discorso sulla salute mentale che si fa tramite la protagonista, la crescita personale che entrambi affrontano grazie ai loro sentimenti, l’azione e i plot twist nell’ultima parte del romanzo e sotto sotto mi sono innamorato anche di Godō!!

[aurei · Rating 4 out of 5]

need to read more <3

[Skrivena stranica · Rating 2 out of 5]

All these light novels are just so concise and lack descriptions. I really like the theme and all, but how it's made, it's more like some average fanfiction in style and plot. Thanks God that manga menages to put the story to the higher level. It was fast read, but did it have anything to make me even think of ever going back for it? No.

[Jessica Blackburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because the anime is being released later this year, and I can confidently say I loved it!

It’s very obviously a debut novel and it isn’t the most challenging read (it is a light novel after all!) but I found I didn’t mind this at all. There's a sense of gentle domesticity throughout the novel that I love and there’s been a lot of thought put into the setting, particularly the fantasy elements. I’m interested to see where Agitogi takes this next!

I adore the characters too, I was felt genuine empathy for Miyo and disgust for her family. I didn’t mind the lack of romantic scenes between her and Kiyoka either, although I understand why some people might be put off by it.

I’m wary who I recommend this to as there are a couple of moments (and one particular character) who are very anime-esq that made even me think twice BUT if you want something short and easy to read that will definitely make you smile… this is it!

[Bonn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The time is a minute past 11 pm.

Am I sleeping after reading the first novel? ××××

Sleep is for suckers!!!

✓ arranged marriage/kinda convenient for one family?
✓ Japanese traditional aesthetic
✓ fantasy elements
✓ Cinderella-esque vibes only her dad doesn't love her 😭😭 my poor baby.

[Canan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light Novel pek denediğim bir tür değil.Bu yüzden okuma konusunda biraz sıkıntı yaşadım. Japon edebiyatının genelde yazım şekli, hikayeye odaklanma ve akıcılığına kendimi kaptırma konusunda beni biraz yavaşlatıyor da...Buna rağmen yine de merakla okudum hikayeyi. Mangası, animesi ve hatta filmi olduğunu da keşfettim.Yakın zamanlarda çıkmışlar tv yapımları sanırım. Manganın ilk 16-17 bölümü 1.kitaba dayanıyor. Görsel olarak da kıyaslamalar yaparak okumak güzeldi.

Konuya gelirsek.Japonya'da, batı etkilerinin görüldüğü ama tam olarak birbirine karışmadığı, tarihi bir dönemde geçiyor hikayemiz.Dönemin anlayışı konuya hakimken, fantastik unsurlarla süslemelerde yapılmıştı. İnsanların Gift olarak adlandırdıkları yetenekleri vardır.Zaman geçtikçe bu yeteneklerin güç oranı azalsada, toplumda öncelikli ve zengin konumundadırlar. Telekinezi, ateş, zihin kontrolü bir kaç örnek.

Miyo Saimori, ailenin büyük kızı olmasına rağmen bir hizmetçiden farkı yoktur. Babasının ikinci kez evlenmesi, bir yetenekten yoksun olması ve kötü kalpli üveyanne-kızkardeş ikilemi ile klasik Cinderella vakası okuyoruz.Çok fazla ezilmiş, bir kabuk haline gelmiş Miyo.Mükemmel çocuk Kaya ile aynı andan nişan haberini alınca işler değişir.Herzaman kendisine iyi davranan tek insan Kouji Tatsuishi ile nişanlanan Kaya...Defalarca nişan atan, korkutucu, soğuk ve acımasız Kiyoka Kudou ile nişanlanan Miyo...

Kiyoka tam benim adamımdı...İlk etapta gerçekten soğuk olsa da temelde tüm bu tantanadan canı sıkılmış bir insan.Sadece onu kendisi için isteyen biriyle evlenmek istiyor.Statüsüne ters orantılı kaldığı evi yadırgayan, davranışlarını eleştirip her fırsatta sinir krizi geçiren, sığ ve düşüncesiz insanlardan bıkmış durumda.Ama zaman geçtikçe Miyo'ya karşı yumuşak ve anlayışlı tarafını gün yüzüne çıkarıyor.
Miyo ise gerçekten narin ve hassastı.Çıtkırıldım.Yaşanan her sorun onun suçu, her şey onun hatası...Hep başkalarına yük oluyor...Zihniyeti tamamen bu şekilde.

Eğer bu light novel değilde bir romans olsaydı sinir krizleri geçirmelik çok fazla konu var.Ama türü ve kültürü bilerek okuyunca pek takılmadım. İlk kitap kendi içinde sonuçlandı diyebilirim ama olaylar ve Miyo'nun gerçekten de yeteneksiz olup olmadığı hala bir soru işareti olduğu için de ilerleyen kitaplar kilit konumunda..Zaman zaman bakarım sanırım devamına.

[Kindred Reader (lilastrings)]

This light novel is so cute! What a joy to read! It has a writing style very familiar to other Japanese light novels, which I find to my liking. The story is about Miyo - born into an abusive family; she finds herself forced into marriage to Kiyoka, who is famous for being powerful and feared by others. Thinking of herself as doomed to a life of misery, she tried to keep to herself and stay quiet but was surprised to find Kiyoka to be a kind, fair, and honest person she could depend on.

I love our main characters and their character development, especially Miyo's. I like that she slowly found her voice and her self-worth. Her family is really the worse, and I genuinely appreciate how Kiyoka is astute enough to understand Miyo and her personality. I appreciate how this story progresses and how our main characters become each other's support. This is an endearing story I think its target audience will appreciate.

I'm looking forward to the manga version soon coming out!

[Muzmuz · Rating 5 out of 5]

So yeah if you thought i would wait till may for vol 3 of the manga you are HIGHLY mistaken....
i ordered the light novel as soon as i finished vol 2 cause i would be damned if am gonna wait to find out if my little baby girl is safe....
it arrived next day and i nearly sat on the step to read it.... yeah ... you got the picture.
now please allow me to end this review here cause vol 2 of the light novel is waiting for me.

[Autumn Rose Dearborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! The writing was so much better than I was anticipating. I started watching the show and got hooked instantly so decided to stop and read the books before continuing the show. I’m so glad I picked this up because it became a new favorite. I’m excited to continue with the novels.

[Lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the trailer for My Happy Marriage came out last year I just knew I was going to watch the movie. I also thought it would be a good idea to read a light novel first because usually it has more details to it. Little did I know that I would be so disappointed by the book, it didn’t live up to my (very high) expectations.

It is a variation of a Cinderella story. Only Japanese “slave girl” had a much worse circumstances than her European counterpart because of the mentality of humility that is one of the key features of the Japanese culture. Miyo - the main female character- spent more time on the floor bowing deeply apologising to her stepmother and stepsister than she did anything else. Even though my heart was breaking for her, I also felt angry from this exaggerated behaviour.

While Miyo was an obvious kind of heroine I couldn’t say the same about her “saviour” Kiyoka. It was stated that he was a very handsome man but not much was said about why everyone thought he was merciless and cold-hearted. There was no character development. Only rumours. I felt very conflicted about him: which one is he - cruel general or loving a caring man?

The Meiji era atmosphere was created beautifully by the author. I have to give her that. But the storytelling was far too basic to my liking. And I found some punctuation marks annoying (ellipsis). It’s EVERYWHERE!!! I understand the author was trying to show confusion/uncertainty/lack of words but, for spelling gods’ sake, it could have been expressed differently.

I also didn’t expect a supernatural twist. Every human being in this world has magical powers - the Gift. It varies from person to person. It could be telekinesis, ability to set objects on fire, reading someone’s mind etc. I’m not sure I liked it even though this magical bit probably makes a Cinderella story more interesting.

Anyyhooo, if I decide to continue with the story (and that’s a big IF), I’ll choose manga adaptation because it sure looks beautiful. I could totally read it just for the handsome husband-to-be 😋 and better yet, watch the movie.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have already watched the anime and read the manga, so I wanted to check out the light novel. I am so glad I did. I really love this world and the characters. I also really liked getting more glimpses of Kiyoka's thoughts and feelings towards Miyo.

[Hyperion_slvt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read a japanese light novel. To be honest, my expectations were a little low, mostly because I was used to reading poorly-translated versions of the novels. However, this is the very first time I picked up a LN with an official english translation, and it went better than I expected! The writing flowed nicely, the pace was good, and I apreciated how simple it was! Reading it didn't feel like a chore so I finished it pretty fast.

My complaints about My Happy Marriage are a bit personal, though. While the pacing and writing were fine, the story felt a little... bland. The characters were also too 2D for me. The book is written in third person, but we still jump from a PoV to another. Miyo's PoVs were... very frustrating to read, honestly. I understand where she's coming from, and her background was pitiful and cruel. As a victim of abuse, her character made sense and I had to clench my fists and remind myself that this is normal and that I shouldn't be frustrated AT her, but FOR her. Nevertheless, some scenes had me a bit annoyed due to the clear lack of communication between Miyo and Kiyoka. Again, both of their behaviors make sense, but the way it was potrayed felt incredibly frustrating to read at some points. Thankfully, the awful miscommunication didn't last long and the couple started developping a healthy, well-respected relationship.

It's clear that this story is more about Miyo's journey than her marriage life, at least on this first volume. Kiyoka played a big role in helping her heal, and I thought that their pure relationship and semi-slow pace was wholesome. This LN is very pure and can be read by anyone, really, but that's also why it made it feel... a little dull.

Again, this is just my personal opinion. I love slowburn romances, but somehow this LN didn't really make me feel the little heart-throbs I usually feel when I read a romantic book. Kiyoka was cute, but there was so little to his character that I couldn't bring myself to see him as anything but 2dimentional. Yes, I do love cold on the outside but soft on the inside types- but Kiyoka's lack of personality-layers made me care for him so very little. At some point, I could only see him as a shield for Miyo- and extension of her, and that's pretty bad for me.

Another complaint I have is the severe lack of PUNISHMENT Miyo's family received by the end of the book. Seriously?! All of that abuse, senseless hatred and cruelty going unpunished? Yeah, they technically did get a 'penalty', but the author was so very LENIENT on them that I felt completely disappointed. One of the main reasons why I kept reading My Happy Marriage was to see the daughter-mother bitch duo get a taste of their own medicine- including that bastard of a father. Instead, we had a very mellow conclusion to that evil family... I was so disappointed.

I have very conflicted feelings about this LN. On one hand, it's a well done, wholesome story about a cute and shy couple (mostly Miyo-focus). On the other hand, the lack of flavor, layers, and overall world-build made this story very bland. I will still try out Volume 2 when I have the chance.

Maybe the Anime/Manga will give this work justice.

[Paillettes & porcelaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

« My happy marriage » c’est l’histoire d’une femme brisée, d’un homme froid, en apparence, d’un mariage arrangé, de renouveau… et c’est sans doute aussi l’une des plus douces romances que j’ai pu lire !

« My happy marriage » c’est avant tout l’histoire d’une lente reconstruction émotionnelle, entre douleurs du passé et espoir naissant ! Au fil des pages, on y découvre une Miyo qui passe de la résignation à l’espoir. Et ce qui de base devait être une nouvelle source de souffrance pour elle, va être au final le début de sa guérison. Et c’est en partie grâce à Kiyoka Kudo, cet homme d’apparence froide qui va se montrer respectueux, patient et doux avec Miyo. Leur relation va d’ailleurs se construire dans la bienveillance, la confiance et la tendresse et c’est tellement beau à lire ! Un véritable renouveau pour Miyo qui va apprendre à s’aimer et à être aimé…

Dans cette lecture, j’ai vraiment retrouvé le calme et la douceur qu’on a dans les romans japonais et le petit plus c’est vraiment sa touche de fantasy et de surnaturel que l’on retrouve tout au long de l’histoire, et on sent que cet univers nous cache encore beaucoup de mystère…

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to have a light easy read with this one, and that was certainly it. I regret not reading the manga instead for this specific story, though; I haven't looked at it yet, but it seems it does a much better job of conveying the story.

A scarring backstory is fine, but the sheer helplessness of the main female character is simply frustrating at times. The situations are very static, the characters plain and usually only driven by one defining feature. The magic system is kept very vague and although it seems to be of utmost importance in-world, there is barely any mention of people actually using powers.

I enjoyed the occasional romantic scene, where the writing was quite sweet and honestly, it was the only thing that got me through the book. I won't read it again, and I'll pass on the sequels, but I may pick up the manga after some digestion.

[Cartoon Sutcharee · Rating 2 out of 5]

อ่านเวอร์ชั่นมังงะน่าจะดีกว่า เพราะเราจะไม่มีความคาดหวังในเนื้อเรื่องของมันมากเท่านี้ แบบไม่คิดถึงความสมเหตุสมผลอะไรมาก
ถ้ามันเป็นการ์ตูน แต่พอเป็นไลท์โนเวลแล้วคนละแบบ คือมันพลอตละครไทยจนน่าตกใจ ไอพลอตก็ว่าน่าตกใจแล้ว ภาษาเขียนมันก็ไม่ได้ พอเอาเรื่องมาเรียงแล้วมันดูขาดๆเต็มไปหมด ดูไร้เหตุผลโดยสิ้นเชิ��� ภาษาแปลยิ่งหนักใช้คำประหลาดมาก คือมันจะพูดไม่ได้ว่าใช้คำตามภาษาโบราณของญี่ปุ่น สำนวนการแปลมันไม่ได้ทำให้เรารู้สึกโบราณแบบนั้นเลย แต่ก็อ่านจนจบนะ อ่านให้มันจบๆไปนึกว่ามันจะดีขึ้นในช่วงหลัง แต่เปล่า มันเหมือนเดิม

[kay! ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

✰*ੈ✩‧₊˚ three ✰’s

cute!!! already read some of the manga, watched the anime/the live action too so i knew i would enjoy the light novel as well.

miyo & kiyoka are adorable!!! their romance is far better in the light novel because you get more of an insight into their thoughts and feelings, mostly because the passage of time in the novel flows really well. it was sweet watching the two of them slowly open up and fall in love with each other 💞

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. I love Kiyoka Kudou
2. I really like Miyo's improvement, I'm glad she finally has people who genuinely care for her and help her to heal & gain her confidence back
3. I loathe Miyo's sad excuse of father and step family
4. Excited to read the rest of their story