Nina the Starry Bride, Vol. 4

星降る王国のニナ [Hoshi Furu Ōkoku no Nina] #4

by Rikachi

Nina, the girl with eyes the color of lapis lazuli, is scouted by the second prince of Fortna, Azure, to replace Princess Alicia, who died just before she was to be married off to the prince of neighboring country Galgada. These lonely souls are quickly drawn together, but in order to save Azure from the king himself, Nina swears she will become the queen of Galgada. Unfortunately for her, the crown prince of the neighboring land is a cruel young man who has never known love. Nevertheless, she suggests he give loving her a try. Imagine her surprise when they really do grow closer!

The fourth volume in this classic fantasy tale about the whims of fate and a once in a lifetime love!

Genres: Manga, Romance, Fantasy, Josei, Comics, Graphic Novels, Young Adult

174 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 12, 2021

Reviews

[Valéria]

AAAAHHHHHHHHH

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy god, how is Sett NOT the worst option?!

[Ink & Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, okay. I get why people like Sett… I still don’t like him and his past does not justify his actions, no matter how traumatic it was, but I get it. I did enjoy learning more about his childhood and his family; it does explain quite a bit. At this point, I do ship Sett and Nina together more than Az and Nina only because they have dialogue and understanding between the two of them. (If there was a third guy that was even slightly better than Sett or Az then I’d choose him.)

I’m so torn on liking this series. There’s so much BS that happens to Nina (and other women at this point) that it’s a rougher read. I do have the next couple volumes so I’ll be continuing. And I do like Nina, so that helps.

[marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vol. 1 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 2 ★★★☆☆
Vol. 3 ★★★☆☆

Sett is growing on me. I enjoy his dynamic with Nina and the way he's feeling more comfortable with her is so cute. That said, the reveal at the end of the volume baffles me to no end. As I've said this in previous reviews, Azure is nowhere close to the shrewd politician that the story hypes him up to be. It does make for some interesting storytelling so I'll give Rikachi that.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nina has been dragged even deeper into the heart of Galgada, which is probably the only proper use of the word heart you’d get from any of the crown princes. Sett and Nina get closer, but the other princes are more than happy to make themselves known, especially once the king decides to, basically, unleash the hounds…

After a shooting in self-defence opens this volume, we sure are headed for an eventful instalment of this story. You can pretty much tell what’s about to happen though, as Sett gets wounded and Nina helps him and they finally get a little closer (the parallels between this series and the Sheikh one are… uncanny… or just trope-y).

Nina remains some kind of perfect no-nonsense heroine who just pushes back against this boneheaded society so much that it’s hard not to like her. I wish she didn’t need saving or get groped quite so much (yes, once more clothing is threatened and boundaries are violated), but she has no problem speaking her mind or calling out male machismo as utter garbage.

Which is good, as there’s a ton to go around. Besides a dive into his brutal backstory, which does not excuse his behaviour, but totally explains it, Sett is (debatably) made that much more palatable by introduction of no less than three idiot brothers also in line for the throne.

Various degrees of awful in various guises are then paraded around our poor heroine, especially once the king makes a decision that, to my mind, they all manage to take completely wrong or is a glitch in the translation. Either way, the game is afoot and it’s sure not bringing out the best in people.

On the upside, this book manages to be impressively funny. One of the princes is clearly super gay and it’s definitely not the one that you’d probably expect from appearances, which is a welcome little touch. Nina’s expressions are often fun, and Sett’s bird Neena picks up a lot of idioms that it probably shouldn’t.

The reason this works far better than the Sheikh manga that’s been coming out concurrently is that this series doesn’t completely humiliate its heroine and at least manages to not threaten her constantly with assault (that’s where the bar is here, sadly). Even against all odds, Nina is fighting for what she has back home (though she’s in for a bit of a surprise there).

I don’t necessarily love softening Sett’s character by the addition of worse people, he was plenty miserable in the last volume, and the way Nina forgives him and continues to reach out to him speaks either of her great character or the fact that she’s a ding dong. I am politely siding with the former.

That being said, is there any universe other than manga where ‘pretend to like me and see what happens’ has ever been said and has it ever worked out? Also stop doing that, writers, it’s ridiculous.

3 stars. It’s definitely better than last time and Nina remains a gem of a character. This book certainly knows how to dole out a great cliffhanger and it says something that this book remained pretty darn good without a whiff of Az in it.

[Sarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay der Prinz hat mich in diesem Teil echt überrascht. Ich mag ihn in Ninas Nähe...Allerdings bringt mich das Ende in diesem Hinblick in einen Zwiespalt

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sett is growing on me. I’m confused about Azure.

The baby tiger is the cutest!!! 🐯

[Rocío García]

Estos países los gobierna un mono con dos platillos.

[DonutKnow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Nina’s straight shooting nature- someone like Sett needs that ❤️

[Ester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué pasada de tomo. Me ha encantado ver que ahora es el turno de Sett y Nina en acercarse y conocerse mejor. Nina llega a la capital de Galgada y conoce a los hermanos de Sett. La cosa es que hay un cambio de paradigma: Sett ya no es el príncipe heredero, sino que el próximo rey de Galgada será quien consiga conquistar Fortna y casarse con Alisha.

Reseña sin espóileres en mi blog:

https://unabibliotecaentremundos.blog...

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look, I can see how someone could read this and just think it's okay. I don't think this series is doing anything groundbreaking, but that being said, this feels like my bread and butter. I love everything that is happening in this story. I love Nina, I love Az, I love their relationship, I love Az's backstory and his dedication to the kingdom. And while I think Sett is a prick, I love watching him slowly warm up to Nina, I like their interactions together.

Also, Nina gets a baby tiger. What's not to love?

[Doc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A succession of the heart

Things are not looking good as lost and injured as a huge tiger makes its way toward Nina after she tried to find Prince Sett's bird Neena after the crash of her cart. However regardless of his flaws Sett is not one known to show fear as it turns out thanks to the feathery fiend Neena Sett finds Nina and saves her just in time. Why tell you the result of the tiger cliffhanger at the end of the last volume? Well you see this is but a moment in how Nina grows closer to Sett regardless of his cold nature. In this volume we meet his brothers (some of which are even worse than he is) and discover more about Sett's past as well as the future of Galgada as the four princes are told something rather interesting Making Nina's role as future wife all the more important. In the mean time the truth about Azure has come to Galgada at last and it seems as the new king Azure is coming to visit. What kind of emotional fireworks will come out as these cool as cucumber princes from different kingdoms find their eyes wandering to the same princess?

Continuing to be a fantastic series even though Sett comes out as cruel at times it is a little more understanding considering most of his life he has lived by the sword and when he did not he lived in constant fear of not knowing if he would be loved or tortured by the one person who attempted to raise him in secret from the crown. Between the complex situations, human interactions, and the antics of Nina (not to mention her amusing facial features) I am looking forward to more. :)

[Lady Butterfly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madre mía!! Que genial es esta historia!!
La cosa ya estaba un poco tensita pero ahora ya empieza a enredarse bien, y esto es solo el principio de la movida buaaaahhh!!

Esta obra necesita más reconocimiento 🥲🥲

[Librarian Jessie (BibliophileRoses) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marry Me Sett “No.” Whyyyy??? “I am In love with another.” Who is this woman?! “She… is… Neena.”

[hea booktubes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the good stuff. I am adoring this series.

[mikaela (spinebreaker) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of admiration for the way Rikachi makes me love Sett but then Azure's face will be on the last page and I'm thrown right back into turmoil 🥲

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cliffhanger at the end of volume much better last volume.

[Isa Newbury | reading_isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh, so now we know about Sett’s sad background. Hmph, it’ll take more than that to win me over.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish her feelings weren’t romantic for sett. I wish it was more empathy. These brothers are crazy?

[Tiffany S · Rating 5 out of 5]

alsdkjflaksdf so excited to see more Prince Sett moments with Nina! I'm hopeful to see more moments for their relationship to improve. I also really liked getting a glimpse of the politics of Galgada and the royal hierarchy.

[BeckyisBookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg please be a why choose series 😭 I can't decide who I like mooore. How can we choose now!!! I'm obsessed

5 psychopath fiances who only like you out of 5 sweet first loves

[✨ Paula ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Todos los tomos de este manga me parecen maravillosos.
Aunque Seth me va cayendo mejor, sigo siendo team Azure.
Se vienen cosas interesantes en el siguiente tomo. 👀

[Risa (Clazzi) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need more!!! Not me liking Sett more and more 🤫

[Sunread26 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chronique complète :
https://sunread26.wordpress.com/2024/...

Extrait :
Dernier tome de la série pour moi et pour l’instant, j’avoue avoir été séduite par celle-ci. Un triangle amoureux semble se dessiner avec Nina en plein milieu… Manquerai plus que son ancien ami vienne se rajouter à l’équation (même s’il n’a aucune chance si sa propre situation n’a pas évolué). Les choses pourraient prendre une tournure intéressante pour elle, de plus, elle semble déjà plus à l’aise dans ce nouveau royaume, alors même que le danger semble y être plus présent.

Je ne sais pas si c’est le nom d’Alisha qui porte la poisse, mais c’est tout de même la seconde fois qu’une personne « portant » son nom subi un accident de carrosse. Bon heureusement, Nina n’a rien, mais elle se retrouve seule visiblement affaiblie ou légèrement blessée. Elle finira par tomber sur un immense tigre qui l’attaquera, mais Sett interviendra. Ils vivront ensuite un moment assez intime tous les deux, de quoi les rapprocher un petit peu l’un de l’autre. Il faut dire que Sett n’a jamais vraiment eu quelqu’un sur qui s’appuyer, il vit littéralement entouré d’ennemis ou de profiteurs. Quant à son enfance, elle explique pourquoi il s’attache si peu aux gens et semble rester indifférent à ceux qui l’entourent. Ses frères le traite de la même manière que celui qui s’occupait de lui au temple du sang. Avec beaucoup de méchanceté et ils s’étonnent de la réaction de Sett… Eux ont été élevés dans l’amour et surtout au palais, s’ils avaient grandis en étant torturés puis aimé et ainsi de suite, ils ne seraient pas mieux ! En plus, je doute que son arrivée au palais est changée quoi que ce soit, je doute que le roi ou qui que ce soit d’autre, lui ait montré ce qu’est réellement l’amour, Nina lui dira d’ailleurs. Elle veut lui faire comprendre ce que cela signifie réellement, même si ça pourrait créer une faiblesse nouvelle chez le prince. Après tout, s’il vient à tenir à elle, il serait plus enclin à accéder à ses demandes, notamment celle de laisser Fortuna en paix. Même si la première démarche de Nina est pour Fortuna, elle n’en reste pas moins sincère tant dans ses propos que ses actions et cela l’a rend admirable.

La seconde partie du tome fait enfin entrer les frères de Sett, on peut dire qu’il est facile de comprendre pourquoi ils ne s’entendent pas entre eux. Hormis qu’ils ont sans doute tous été élevés avec rivalité, il semblerait que Sett ne soit pas apprécier non plus. Née d’une relation entre le roi et une prêtresse, il n’a découvert son sang royal qu’à une dizaine d’année (je dirais). Malgré son passé, il est pour l’instant le prince héritier, alors même qu’il ne semble pas être l’ainé. Ses exploits au combat y sont peut-être pour quelque chose. Les autres ne sont guère mieux, l’un de ses frères est le fils d’une concubine. Pour les deux autres aucune idées, mais entre un coureur de jupon et un calculateur on peut dire que le royaume est assez mal servi… Le premier frère semble également avoir un différend avec la gente féminine, rien que pour ça, il ne peut pas être roi, tout le monde doit le savoir et remettra en doute sa possibilité à faire des héritiers… Quant au coureur de jupon, il a plus de chance de faire des gosses à droite et à gauche que de savoir régner correctement. Sett n’a donc qu’un seul frère à craindre réellement à mon avis, c’est sûrement pour ça qu’il n’a pas peur de perdre sa position même si le roi lance une compétition puérile. Je vois aussi mal Nina tomber dans le panneau de l’un des frères (à part le rusé), même si elle est naïve, elle n’est pas stupide. Ses toujours assez marrants de voir une fratrie avec autant de caractère différent (sans parler qu’ils n’ont pas bien l’air de se ressembler non plus physiquement).

[...]

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite part in the anime, and what cemented both my love for the story and for the Nina/Sett ship.

We'll see how it goes once I get more into the full series, but right now, if this is a story about destiny/fate, Sett really feels like the endgame. Even the fact that the only creature in the world that he loves, his bird Niena, shares her true name - which leads to Sett calling her by the name she'd thought she'd lost forever.

A lot of big stuff happens in this volume. Sett going down the cliffside to track down and rescue Nina, and being badly clawed by a tiger in the process. Agreeing to take in the orphaned tiger cub simply because Nina begs him to. Calling her by her real name (which he thinks is a "childhood name") when she asks him to pretend, for a while, that he likes her, so he can see if it can turn into true feelings. Spending a night in bed together - simply talking and getting to know each other a little more, with Nina curling up against him in the night. Rescuing her from his brothers when the king makes Nina - her marriage, her body, her future child - the bargaining chip to the throne.

Sett actually doesn't particularly care about the throne; he isn't that into power, but the battlefield seems to be the only place he belongs. I'm not sure where he got his military training, since up until the age of 9, he was hidden away in a remote, freezing temple, with only wild birds as his friends, but by age 12, he was leading troops and coming out of battles unscathed. He was reckless because he didn't care whether he lived or died. But he never seemed to be able to die.

It's Nina who starts breaking through that empty shell by telling him that she doesn't believe in fate. She's made her own choices. He can choose his path, too. And Sett...starts to think about it.

Azure got a humanizing backstory, which led to the kiss on the balcony and Nina deciding that she'd do anything to protect him and the kingdom. This volume is Sett's backstory, which is...way worse. It explains so very much of who he is and how he relates to the world, and why he's empty and emotionless and doesn't care about anyone. He's not actually that cruel. He just...doesn't see people as people, really, because he's shut off all the human parts of himself.

Nina refuses to learn about his past unless it's directly from him, and Sett, to his surprise, not only tells her about the temple of blood, but takes her to see it. He tells her about his mother, who was a priestess who'd been shamed by her affair with the king, and hid her child away. He tells her about the priest who'd been obsessively in love with his mother, and who sometimes treated him well for her sake, and sometimes beat and cut and starved him because he had too much of his father's blood.

He's shocked when Nina cries, when she throws her arms around him, when she promises that she'll spend the rest of her life finding ways to make him happy. Because she understands now - which Sett does not - that he'd buried his heart in these temple grounds, locking away all of his emotions to protect himself.

And Sett, for the first time, sees the world through Nina's eyes...and discovers that this remote, freezing, abandoned temple, buried in all this snow, is beautiful.

It is such a perfect scene and it was built up to so wonderfully.

[Luana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come immaginavo, dietro il carattere di Sett si nasconde un passato decisamente traumatico - cresciuto da un pazzoide ossessionato dalla figura della sua defunta madre (una sacerdotessa considerata scandalosa per via di questa gravidanza). Un tizio che passava da momenti di devozione ad altri fatti di punizioni corporali. Un'infanzia solitaria e terrificante, tanto da spingere un bambino a sperare di morire. A spegnere tutte le emozioni in modo da poter affrontare tutto (anche le spedizioni in battaglia quando era solo un ragazzino). La famiglia reale di Fortna non era il massimo, ma nemmeno quella di Galgada scherza. È evidente che Sett è odiato dai fratellastri e, ora che il re ha fatto saltare tutti i piani per la linea di successione, i vari pretendenti al trono vogliono mettere le mani sulla nostra protagonista. Infatti, il grande sogno di Galgada è quello di occupare la terra che gli era stata promessa da un messaggero divino: Fortna. In questo contesto, Nina/Alisha gioca un ruolo fondamentale. Chi conquista la principessa di Fortna, diventerà il prossimo re.
Non so come andrà a finire, ma immagino che gli altri principi abbiano poche speranze, visto che c'è un certo avvicinamento tra Sett e Nina. A dispetto dalla facciata crudele mostrata dal primo, la seconda non si dà mai per vinta. È la prima persona a trattarlo con gentilezza, sinceramente interessata a passare del tempo con lui (e con la piccola banda di animali che stanno radunando). Questo sembra promettere bene per un eventuale matrimonio...ma a Galgada arriva la notizia dell'incoronazione del nuovo re di Fortna. E da come finisce il volume, sembra che la reunion tra Nina e Az sia imminente. Ergo, all'orizzonte c'è altro drama 🫠
Comunque, c'è da dire che tra Nina e gli altri due galletti, non ne abbiamo visto uno con un'infanzia normale e serena 😩 bene ma non benissimo.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, dear. I thought this would be an exception among the secondary-world fantasy manga I've tried and dropped, but things aren't lookin' good.

It isn't that it's done anything in particular to lose my interest. It's more like a pileup of minor annoyances has eventually led to an itchy irritation whenever the story pulls yet another barely telegraphed twist into the mix. Impending love triangle, "sunshiny girl and terrifying emotionless monster," cute animal sidekicks, color-coded palace wings. (What happens if a fifth prince is born? a flurry of new construction, perhaps?)

I suppose the temple on the palace grounds served no purpose aside from giving Sett a "poor abused child" background, because once the priest and priestess died, it fell into disuse. As often happens with serial storytelling, religion is a plot point rather than a solid part of the world with history and culture behind it.

I've got one more of these, but I suspect much like its fantasy sisters Snow White With the Red Hair, Yona of the Dawn, Basara, Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden, Liselotte in Witch's Forest (that one was incomplete anyway), etc., it's headed to the used bookstore bin.

There are shoujo genres and subgenres I like, honest! Supernatural, romance, "MC learns an art," melodramatic trash, time loop and reincarnation*, alt-history, etc. There's always plenty out there to enjoy. :) Fantasy and comedy have a much steeper hill to climb with me, and haven't ever succeeded, but alas my bank account, I keep trying.

* even if they have the same half-assed worldbuilding as regular fantasy does. I don't get it, either.

[Mathou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un ennemi incompris

Nina voit maintenant le prince Sett sous un nouveau jour.

Il semble que ce prince soit un personnage beaucoup plus complexe qu’il n’y parait!

Après avoir sauvé la vie de Nina, Sett semble s’ouvrir à elle. Leur relation devient presque une amitié…et peut-être même un peu plus pour Sett.

Pourtant, cela ne signifie pas que Nina va pouvoir se reposer. Elle est propulsée dans le palais royal, et devient même le centre de toutes les attentions : le roi présente à Nina les quatre princes du royaume et proclame que le prince qui arrivera à séduire Nina deviendra le roi!

Nina est donc au centre de tous les pièges, essayant de suivre de loin les secrets de son royaume, et tente de tout faire pour sauver Azur.

Comme dit, j’avais l’impression, surement à cause des magnifiques couvertures, de me lancer dans une série mignonne, qui allait être remplie de clichés bienvenus, et qui m’aiderait à m’endormir.
Je me suis bien trompée.

On est dans une réelle série qui vous coupe le souffle, vous brûle les nerfs et fait fondre votre cœur.

Vivement la suite!

[wbforeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is up to my thoughts up to vol 4. I’d say at first I was enjoying the first two volumes. Nina is put into a very tricky situation that she has to navigate. There’s also political intrigue which is always enjoyable and the budding relationship with the second prince. I quite enjoyed.

But then when we get to volumes three and four, it shifts to where she has to go to the country with a character, I strongly dislike and setting up a love triangle between the two male leads. a love triangle is a failure if you’ve already decided. A successful love triangle is having two compelling leads that you as the reader have difficulty deciding. Prince Sett kind of reminds me of Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3. Someone that’s very arrogant very cold and calculated and I don’t care if they both have tragic back stories. Their personalities are set. They’re unlikely to change.

I’m gonna stick with it for now, but I’m not enjoying the love triangle aspect. I wish the book chose a better second option.