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Housekeeping Mage from Another World #1
Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home! Volume 1
Shiori is an average Japanese office worker who was suddenly teleported to another world. Four years later, she’s managed to carve out a niche for herself—as a housekeeping mage.
Alec is an A-rank adventurer, just returned from a long-term assignment. When his friend Zack, the local Guild Master, tempts him into going on a manticore hunt by promising to bring in a mage with special skills, what Alec finds is the last thing he could have expected.
On the outside, the two couldn’t be more different. Yet deep in their hearts, they each yearn for the same thing: a place to belong. In the face of old wounds, their dark pasts, and the everyday challenges any adventurer must overcome, will they find the courage to risk being hurt again?
Alec is an A-rank adventurer, just returned from a long-term assignment. When his friend Zack, the local Guild Master, tempts him into going on a manticore hunt by promising to bring in a mage with special skills, what Alec finds is the last thing he could have expected.
On the outside, the two couldn’t be more different. Yet deep in their hearts, they each yearn for the same thing: a place to belong. In the face of old wounds, their dark pasts, and the everyday challenges any adventurer must overcome, will they find the courage to risk being hurt again?
332 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 7, 2022
63 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 5, 2022
Call it "isekai for grown-ups." Shiori and Alec are both in their thirties, no one is over powered, and it's devoid of power fantasies, cat girls, and all the other claptrap we associate with the genre. Grounded but still good fantasy, this is for you if you're sick of villainesses and OP teenage boys.
October 30, 2024
Meh. It’s not bad. It would have been three stars, except for the scene where the H and h were alone camping, he was awake and she was asleep and he kissed her multiple times while she was sleeping. They didn’t have that kind of relationship yet, he was jumping the gun and doing what he wanted to do, with absolutely no consent from her. That left a bad taste in my mouth.
Other than that, kind of slow moving and boring, with bullying and abuse occurring on and off page. Mostly off, but definitely there.
2, not bad but didn’t rock me, stars.
Other than that, kind of slow moving and boring, with bullying and abuse occurring on and off page. Mostly off, but definitely there.
2, not bad but didn’t rock me, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2022
The cover and title do this a disservice, I think. It's a story about romance, but more about people dealing with trauma than, you know, fun isekai adventures. That's not a negative, though. It's a positive. I love silly isekai stories, but even more so stories that actually think about what the mechanics of what's going on actually would do to people. Shiori feels very real. It is quite refreshing a read.
February 6, 2022
Shiori was a middle-aged Japanese office worker who suddenly woke up in another world. But being in another world is like being dumped in a foreign country, only worse--she doesn't speak the language, she has no idea how to earn a living or take care of herself, and worst of all her reliance on the kindness of strangers almost got her killed.
Alec is an adventurer in the city where Shiori works. He has his own history, his own secrets, his own brokenness. He sees in Shiori exactly what he's been looking for---a woman who works to make the lives of those around her better. Someone else who's aching for a place to call home. But for all that their wounds draw them together, they also make it hard to trust . . .
The author mentioned she wanted to do a fantasy about older characters. That gives this story a fairly unique perspective, because we don't have any bright-eyed teenagers here (except a few of the side characters who then show off why teenage ignorance is not recommended). Every one of the major characters is far enough in life to have had some kind of past, good or bad, which gives them depth. It's a more melancholic story where regrets and scars shape people as much as their hopes and dreams.
The romance is mostly pretty straightforward, although I dislike how freely Alec keeps kissing Shiori (on the lips, no less) while she's asleep and therefore unable to consent. Shiori is still on the fence about the whole thing by the end, so this is going to be a longer plotline than just this book.
Overall this is pretty good. It stumbles in a few places, where the story will say things and then show them, which reads awkwardly, but the characters are generally appealing, and I'm curious to see where things go from here. I rate this book Recommended.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
Alec is an adventurer in the city where Shiori works. He has his own history, his own secrets, his own brokenness. He sees in Shiori exactly what he's been looking for---a woman who works to make the lives of those around her better. Someone else who's aching for a place to call home. But for all that their wounds draw them together, they also make it hard to trust . . .
The author mentioned she wanted to do a fantasy about older characters. That gives this story a fairly unique perspective, because we don't have any bright-eyed teenagers here (except a few of the side characters who then show off why teenage ignorance is not recommended). Every one of the major characters is far enough in life to have had some kind of past, good or bad, which gives them depth. It's a more melancholic story where regrets and scars shape people as much as their hopes and dreams.
The romance is mostly pretty straightforward, although I dislike how freely Alec keeps kissing Shiori (on the lips, no less) while she's asleep and therefore unable to consent. Shiori is still on the fence about the whole thing by the end, so this is going to be a longer plotline than just this book.
Overall this is pretty good. It stumbles in a few places, where the story will say things and then show them, which reads awkwardly, but the characters are generally appealing, and I'm curious to see where things go from here. I rate this book Recommended.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
July 4, 2022
Let me first start off saying I can see how some people might find this book at least enjoyable, but this book just wasn't for me.
I'll get my biggest gripe with the book off my chest first. I have a bone to pick with you Alec: ASK FIRST!! The main male protagonist seems to think it's ok to kiss the girl he likes, multiple times, without asking her first.
There is a plot...kinda. It feels like it's episodic, experimental chapters that are tied together loosely because there's a vague overarching plot and the same characters throughout. Kind of like a mediocre fanfiction where the author's like "I want to do this today" and then makes it happen with the smallest tie in with the plot to try and say it was somewhat planned.
Now, I don't know if this is the fault of the translator, or if it's the author, but there's a lot of repeated descriptors within a chapter. It seems like once the author found a descriptor that fit a situation or a person it was tried out a bit within the chapter. A "madder" sky is one that stuck with me. There's also her describing Shiori as the gentle and demure, stereotypical Japanese woman. I don't mind reading that type of character, but knowing that it's the Japanese society's "ideal" woman makes me feel like the characterization is a bit forced to me, especially since Shiori is in her 30s. I have yet to get to know the real Shiori, and instead just know the image Shiori has built around her.
October 2, 2024
First off, I suspect that the translation of "housekeeping" is not quite correct. I would guess, based on her abilities, that it's sort of more like...."domestic" mage. To be honest, this is a little weird because....there's nothing that makes her magic inherently gravitate toward laundry, cooking, preparing baths, cleaning, etc. The magic system isn't really explained, so I don't know if normal people have an affinity for all elements, but she can use all of them and has basically refined her small magic into doing household-type chores at max efficiency (for her weak magic). Because she has experienced appliances in Japan, she sort of replicates the effect with magic. Yes, it's considered innovative, but once someone has seen her do it, is there a reason they can't copy her?
It’s not a *bad* story, but…it’s also not that good. I know it seems refreshing to have a isekai character that’s not OP, but in some ways she *is* OP. Yes, her level of magic is weak and we’re told she worked really hard to get where she is, but all that work already took place before this book, so we don’t see any of it. And although she gets dangerously tired sometimes, she still accomplishes everything she wants to do and in innovative ways that apparently no one else can replicate. It’s very convenient, all in all. Why can’t other people use earth magic to make a hole and fill it with hot water? How is she the only one that can combine magic? How did she become completely fluent and integrate into this world in less than 4 years (current story is set 4 years after her arrival, but she's seemingly been fluent for years)? Why is every attractive, powerful man in love with her? I was really rolling my eyes that both Zack and Alec are from the noblest of families (of course), but they have these deep hidden pains from being illegitimate. How cliche. And Zack turns out to be secretly in love with her, despite it hammering the "little sister" bond excessively. It felt really unnatural how she called him "big brother." If she'd come when she was much younger, I could understand that, but it's a lot weirder for a woman in her late twenties to do that - if it's because she felt dependent on him when she first arrived, why doesn't she call Nadia "big sister?" I also found it annoying that they kept emphasizing how young she looks. I get it, she appears about a decade younger than she is, but you cannot tell me that this world has no people that look younger than their age.
I don’t like that they put the mini story of her arrival at nearly the end of the book, in the form of a dream she’s recalling. IMO it’s awkwardly placed. The whole book does that, bouncing around in the timeline and to different POVs. Personally I don’t think it was well done; it was more confusing to sort out the chronology as you read. In her slime’s POV, the author didn’t change the writing style so it felt as if it was completely human.
Her tragic back story was really difficult for me to swallow. First, in order to even team up with Akatsuki (interesting that they have such a Japanese name…), she already learned how to utilize support magic in unique ways, and was highly prized. She has been adventuring with different groups, proving her abilities, and raising her level...yet her own team was able to completely beat her down and force her to support them with her own money (like seriously, did she never protest??) in a relatively short period. She was well liked, the other members of her team were presumably known and respected adventurers, but....no one noticed that they had changed so much? The guildmaster was involved in cheating her, but that was just sort of glossed over...like WHY was he involved? Her treatment was fine and then suddenly they decided because she's an immigrant they should and could abuse her? And later, in Rurii's POV you find that her team was kind of ordered to murder her, not just leave her behind? WHY? The investigation more or less found NOTHING out, so no one got punished? I'm sure they'll pop up later to reawaken her trauma at some inopportune time. There was also a discrepancy here - from Rurii's story you see that her team seemed hesitant to kill her, aka they clearly realized it was wrong - but when questioned about her whereabouts, they were totally nonchalant about "fleeing" without her, no guilt or hint that they understood they did something wrong. Which btw, any normal person that's trying to avoid suspicion would at least act sad that they had to abandon a teammate. This just made them look psycho. It mentions several times that the Empire is very bloodline driven, but nobles in this country also seem to be very powerful and impossible to cross, so I'm not seeing a difference. I would also note that in reality if a system is totally based on bloodline and not meritocracy (such as the adventurers in the empire) basically you would not see that many non-nobles go into the profession. Why should they if there is no reward?
The author puts a lot of unnecessary detail into this story, to the point where it is far too wordy and too much "telling" instead of "showing." I didn't find Alec and Shiori's romance to be very compelling or believable. I also didn't like the illustrations. To sum it up, it's a mediocre light novel. It has an interesting premise but poor execution.
It’s not a *bad* story, but…it’s also not that good. I know it seems refreshing to have a isekai character that’s not OP, but in some ways she *is* OP. Yes, her level of magic is weak and we’re told she worked really hard to get where she is, but all that work already took place before this book, so we don’t see any of it. And although she gets dangerously tired sometimes, she still accomplishes everything she wants to do and in innovative ways that apparently no one else can replicate. It’s very convenient, all in all. Why can’t other people use earth magic to make a hole and fill it with hot water? How is she the only one that can combine magic? How did she become completely fluent and integrate into this world in less than 4 years (current story is set 4 years after her arrival, but she's seemingly been fluent for years)? Why is every attractive, powerful man in love with her? I was really rolling my eyes that both Zack and Alec are from the noblest of families (of course), but they have these deep hidden pains from being illegitimate. How cliche. And Zack turns out to be secretly in love with her, despite it hammering the "little sister" bond excessively. It felt really unnatural how she called him "big brother." If she'd come when she was much younger, I could understand that, but it's a lot weirder for a woman in her late twenties to do that - if it's because she felt dependent on him when she first arrived, why doesn't she call Nadia "big sister?" I also found it annoying that they kept emphasizing how young she looks. I get it, she appears about a decade younger than she is, but you cannot tell me that this world has no people that look younger than their age.
I don’t like that they put the mini story of her arrival at nearly the end of the book, in the form of a dream she’s recalling. IMO it’s awkwardly placed. The whole book does that, bouncing around in the timeline and to different POVs. Personally I don’t think it was well done; it was more confusing to sort out the chronology as you read. In her slime’s POV, the author didn’t change the writing style so it felt as if it was completely human.
Her tragic back story was really difficult for me to swallow. First, in order to even team up with Akatsuki (interesting that they have such a Japanese name…), she already learned how to utilize support magic in unique ways, and was highly prized. She has been adventuring with different groups, proving her abilities, and raising her level...yet her own team was able to completely beat her down and force her to support them with her own money (like seriously, did she never protest??) in a relatively short period. She was well liked, the other members of her team were presumably known and respected adventurers, but....no one noticed that they had changed so much? The guildmaster was involved in cheating her, but that was just sort of glossed over...like WHY was he involved? Her treatment was fine and then suddenly they decided because she's an immigrant they should and could abuse her? And later, in Rurii's POV you find that her team was kind of ordered to murder her, not just leave her behind? WHY? The investigation more or less found NOTHING out, so no one got punished? I'm sure they'll pop up later to reawaken her trauma at some inopportune time. There was also a discrepancy here - from Rurii's story you see that her team seemed hesitant to kill her, aka they clearly realized it was wrong - but when questioned about her whereabouts, they were totally nonchalant about "fleeing" without her, no guilt or hint that they understood they did something wrong. Which btw, any normal person that's trying to avoid suspicion would at least act sad that they had to abandon a teammate. This just made them look psycho. It mentions several times that the Empire is very bloodline driven, but nobles in this country also seem to be very powerful and impossible to cross, so I'm not seeing a difference. I would also note that in reality if a system is totally based on bloodline and not meritocracy (such as the adventurers in the empire) basically you would not see that many non-nobles go into the profession. Why should they if there is no reward?
The author puts a lot of unnecessary detail into this story, to the point where it is far too wordy and too much "telling" instead of "showing." I didn't find Alec and Shiori's romance to be very compelling or believable. I also didn't like the illustrations. To sum it up, it's a mediocre light novel. It has an interesting premise but poor execution.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2022
I loved this one. Sweet, clever and fun!
November 17, 2025
12k of pick me and I'm honestly ready to DNF this to mars.
The sad thing is it was an interesting story. But why would you waste 12k on telling it from the guys POV her story second hand????????? bruh.
The sad thing is it was an interesting story. But why would you waste 12k on telling it from the guys POV her story second hand????????? bruh.
February 19, 2022
Another book I read out of boredom due to a stupid sounding title. I still think calling herself a "housekeeping mage" is stupid, especially since she is an adventurer working outside the home, but that could just be a cultural translation issue.
The growing romance between the 2 characters isn't that great of a story, but the tragedies in their lives adds some interesting depth that could work going forward if well balanced / juggled.
The growing romance between the 2 characters isn't that great of a story, but the tragedies in their lives adds some interesting depth that could work going forward if well balanced / juggled.
June 6, 2023
A-rank fighter Alec returns from a long mission and plans to catch up with his friend Zack. Zack has taken over the local Adventurer’s Guild and recommends Alec to participate in a manticore hunt promising a special teammate. Shiori is a self-proclaimed housekeeping mage who makes traveling easier with good food, bathing facilities, and restoration work along with her slime familiar. She uses creativity to maximize the results of limited mana and has some training as a support class. Alec wonders why her talents have been put to better use and is warned by his friends to be careful. He volunteers to help with her food stall business to learn more. In actuality, the Japanese office worker landed in this world four years ago and while she dedicated herself to finding a way to survive, Shiori has been traumatized by the exploitation of the former guild master and party team Akatsuki. Now she takes odd jobs like entertaining orphans, procuring ingredients, and assisting travelers. Her friends have guilt about what they allowed to happen and realize Shiori has learned to hide her weaknesses. A young missing noble allows Alec to see first hand what Clemens and Zack told him about the young mage.
* * * * *---------* * * * *---------* * * * *
We start with some basic cliches. A long word salad like title. Check. A protagonist who was summoned or transmigrated into a medieval fantasy world. Sure. Anachronistic modern conveniences garnering interest from others. Yup. Still, the setup is more nuanced beyond those points. Conceptually, I really like this story. It’s an isekai adventure which looks at the difficulties one would have suddenly dealing with language barriers, class separations, limited medical care, monsters, gender prohibitions, natural disasters, and hostilities against strangers. While she does use some concepts from her “hometown” like freeze dried meals, she is not overpowered or blessed. She’s not a teen. She is not the only character struggling. The themes are darker than the usual slice of life format. In execution, however, things are a bit more mixed. The artwork is okay but with inconsistent stylizations. Without color low resolution movement shots or tilted angles can cause confusion about featured players. The panels seem choppy. There are unknown timeline gaps between chapters and things lack transitions. The text bubbles aren’t always easy to interpret. The manga will sometimes explain something as a story and then literally show the flashback/dream sequence of events which is repetitive. If the mature topics sound interesting then push through a few chapters and see if it works for you.
* * * * *---------* * * * *---------* * * * *
We start with some basic cliches. A long word salad like title. Check. A protagonist who was summoned or transmigrated into a medieval fantasy world. Sure. Anachronistic modern conveniences garnering interest from others. Yup. Still, the setup is more nuanced beyond those points. Conceptually, I really like this story. It’s an isekai adventure which looks at the difficulties one would have suddenly dealing with language barriers, class separations, limited medical care, monsters, gender prohibitions, natural disasters, and hostilities against strangers. While she does use some concepts from her “hometown” like freeze dried meals, she is not overpowered or blessed. She’s not a teen. She is not the only character struggling. The themes are darker than the usual slice of life format. In execution, however, things are a bit more mixed. The artwork is okay but with inconsistent stylizations. Without color low resolution movement shots or tilted angles can cause confusion about featured players. The panels seem choppy. There are unknown timeline gaps between chapters and things lack transitions. The text bubbles aren’t always easy to interpret. The manga will sometimes explain something as a story and then literally show the flashback/dream sequence of events which is repetitive. If the mature topics sound interesting then push through a few chapters and see if it works for you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2023
This book was a real surprise to me. I really enjoy the more slice of life fantasy light novels and have read a good amount of them. I went into this one and was completely surprised by the themes of the novel.
I think as other reviews have mentioned the cover and title are a bit misleading for how deep this story goes with the characters. It's a tale of two people trying to heal themselves from past traumas in life. It was truly beautiful both in the writing and seeing these two characters evolve (and it's only volume 1!). Certain passages in the book got me a little misty eyed. This is also one of the few light novels I've read where it feels more adult since a lot of characters are in their late 20's and 30's and it was a very welcome change of pace compared to other light novels I've read! The illustrations in this were also very beautiful and perfectly picked for the scenes.
I will say that the first half of this book didn't hit for me as much as the second half did. Hence why this book took me about a month of reading on and off (I was also in a reading slump unrelated to this book so that might've been it as well). Once I hit the halfway point of the book I couldn't stop reading and now I'm eagerly awaiting the second volume.
I think as other reviews have mentioned the cover and title are a bit misleading for how deep this story goes with the characters. It's a tale of two people trying to heal themselves from past traumas in life. It was truly beautiful both in the writing and seeing these two characters evolve (and it's only volume 1!). Certain passages in the book got me a little misty eyed. This is also one of the few light novels I've read where it feels more adult since a lot of characters are in their late 20's and 30's and it was a very welcome change of pace compared to other light novels I've read! The illustrations in this were also very beautiful and perfectly picked for the scenes.
I will say that the first half of this book didn't hit for me as much as the second half did. Hence why this book took me about a month of reading on and off (I was also in a reading slump unrelated to this book so that might've been it as well). Once I hit the halfway point of the book I couldn't stop reading and now I'm eagerly awaiting the second volume.
December 29, 2022
This is basically my review for the 3 books so far:
This is such a magical story, pun intended, and absolutely one of my new favorite manga series! The premise (woman accidentally crossing from reality [in this case, Japan] into a fantasy world) is by no means new, but the realistic nature with which the author wrote the situation, especially the elements of racism, sexism, abuse, and language barrier, and the delicacy with which everything was handled was just... lovely. stunning. heartwarming. The friendships were strong and true, and the romantic arc was much more deep and emotionally charged than I expected. The unique nature of Shiori's magic use was fascinating—like, hedge/kitchen witch meets Avatar, so. cool.. In particular, the descriptions and images of food were so tantalizing!! And most importantly, despite the heavy subject material at times, this series was fun to read! The perfect combination of substance and fancy.
5 out of 5 stars, ★★★★★
This is such a magical story, pun intended, and absolutely one of my new favorite manga series! The premise (woman accidentally crossing from reality [in this case, Japan] into a fantasy world) is by no means new, but the realistic nature with which the author wrote the situation, especially the elements of racism, sexism, abuse, and language barrier, and the delicacy with which everything was handled was just... lovely. stunning. heartwarming. The friendships were strong and true, and the romantic arc was much more deep and emotionally charged than I expected. The unique nature of Shiori's magic use was fascinating—like, hedge/kitchen witch meets Avatar, so. cool.. In particular, the descriptions and images of food were so tantalizing!! And most importantly, despite the heavy subject material at times, this series was fun to read! The perfect combination of substance and fancy.
5 out of 5 stars, ★★★★★
November 15, 2023
Manga:
Housekeeping Mage From Another World (vol 1)
By
You Fuguruma
Tropes:
• Fantasy
• Adult Manga
• Romance
• Found family
• Lost in another world
• Isekai
• Older characters
Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Kindle
Shoiri was a normal overwork, thirty-something office worker who fell through a portal and awoke to find herself in a strange world far from Japan.
Shoiri works hard in this new land to learn their language and find a place for herself.
Four years later later, Alec an A-rank adventure has just returned from a long hard assignment and hopes to get some time to recover before he is sent out on another mission. As so as he steps foot into the Guild his friend and Guild master give him another quest, to hunt a manticore.
Alec is resined to a miserable mission, and agrees to take the Guild’s “special weapon”
The titular “Housekeeping mage”
I highly recommended this manga, the story is easy to read and enjoyable, while the characters are fun and loveable ( especially Shoiri she is to precious and must be treasured at all costs! Not to mention she is a kind, smart and try her very best in every situation)
It was also a breath of fresh air that most of the characters are in their thirties.
Please do yourself a favour and get a copy of this manga
Housekeeping Mage From Another World (vol 1)
By
You Fuguruma
Tropes:
• Fantasy
• Adult Manga
• Romance
• Found family
• Lost in another world
• Isekai
• Older characters
Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Kindle
Shoiri was a normal overwork, thirty-something office worker who fell through a portal and awoke to find herself in a strange world far from Japan.
Shoiri works hard in this new land to learn their language and find a place for herself.
Four years later later, Alec an A-rank adventure has just returned from a long hard assignment and hopes to get some time to recover before he is sent out on another mission. As so as he steps foot into the Guild his friend and Guild master give him another quest, to hunt a manticore.
Alec is resined to a miserable mission, and agrees to take the Guild’s “special weapon”
The titular “Housekeeping mage”
I highly recommended this manga, the story is easy to read and enjoyable, while the characters are fun and loveable ( especially Shoiri she is to precious and must be treasured at all costs! Not to mention she is a kind, smart and try her very best in every situation)
It was also a breath of fresh air that most of the characters are in their thirties.
Please do yourself a favour and get a copy of this manga
February 16, 2024
I found another author that I love
This author has such an interesting way that they deal with their characters. I really love that the characters of the drive for the story, and what they’ve been through in their life is what pushes the story there’s not a big evil person, or a quest to fulfill, there’s just People living their lives. And I love that about this author. Her characters are rich story is interesting because there’s people trying to deal with real life issues like people who don’t like you or jealousy or just the day-to-day Ness of life where you get sick or you cook or you clean.it is such a rich story and I’m so excited that there’s many more novels because I’m going to devour all of them!
This author has such an interesting way that they deal with their characters. I really love that the characters of the drive for the story, and what they’ve been through in their life is what pushes the story there’s not a big evil person, or a quest to fulfill, there’s just People living their lives. And I love that about this author. Her characters are rich story is interesting because there’s people trying to deal with real life issues like people who don’t like you or jealousy or just the day-to-day Ness of life where you get sick or you cook or you clean.it is such a rich story and I’m so excited that there’s many more novels because I’m going to devour all of them!
December 21, 2022
DNF
I am giving this 3 stars, because I think it has an audience and they will enjoy it. This was not for me. Mostly because the ML lacked consent given by FL. Also, it feelts like the ML is the real main character and the FL just happens to be there. Personally, I find the romance forced and disappointing, but that's just how I feel.
Since other people have given this 5 stars, it is worth checking out if you want a mature isekai. Otherwise, I would suggest the manga series "The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World" which is really similar to this one, but with better storytelling and more charming characters.
I am giving this 3 stars, because I think it has an audience and they will enjoy it. This was not for me. Mostly because the ML lacked consent given by FL. Also, it feelts like the ML is the real main character and the FL just happens to be there. Personally, I find the romance forced and disappointing, but that's just how I feel.
Since other people have given this 5 stars, it is worth checking out if you want a mature isekai. Otherwise, I would suggest the manga series "The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World" which is really similar to this one, but with better storytelling and more charming characters.
March 10, 2022
Nice sweet story, yet dark and foreboding too
I love how this isekai dispenses with the dues ex machine approach of most isekai... She doesn't have awesome powers, she doesn't speak the language, she doesn't have unique otherworldly tools. She really almost isn't the protagonist! I love the novel approach! I would like to see more from the plot though. Seems like this one is mainly a slow burn romance, but if it is going to be character driven, the characters need more oomph. Right niw, the slime is my hands down fave and I don't think that is the author's intent.
I love how this isekai dispenses with the dues ex machine approach of most isekai... She doesn't have awesome powers, she doesn't speak the language, she doesn't have unique otherworldly tools. She really almost isn't the protagonist! I love the novel approach! I would like to see more from the plot though. Seems like this one is mainly a slow burn romance, but if it is going to be character driven, the characters need more oomph. Right niw, the slime is my hands down fave and I don't think that is the author's intent.
July 4, 2022
Very realistic
This story is simply wonderful! I have always wondered what would happen to just an average person who happened to end up in another world of myth and fantasy, never expecting to actually read a novel based off just that idea. Thankfully, I have been proved wrong with Shiori. She is so sweet, diligent and strong despite the scars on her fragile soul. Many would have despaired after being taking advantage of and then left all alone, but she healed and continued to strive for a place in society. Alec better take care of our darling girl.
This story is simply wonderful! I have always wondered what would happen to just an average person who happened to end up in another world of myth and fantasy, never expecting to actually read a novel based off just that idea. Thankfully, I have been proved wrong with Shiori. She is so sweet, diligent and strong despite the scars on her fragile soul. Many would have despaired after being taking advantage of and then left all alone, but she healed and continued to strive for a place in society. Alec better take care of our darling girl.
July 10, 2022
This is a surprisingly different scenario for an isekai story. The idea of the protagonist ending up not having super powers that make her gain huge advantages is kind of unique. Also the budding romance between her and Alec has me rooting for them to end up together so they can heal one another. It will be interesting when inevitably she finds out the truth about their backgrounds. Sooner or later Alec (if he's still her love interest) will have to find out she's from another world. I'd like to believe he'd be fascinated by it.
July 8, 2024
Pretty enjoyable! Romantasy light novels are fun and I appreciate that this one has a cast of mostly 30+ year olds. However, the way that Shiori is constantly described as "exotic" or "looking much younger than her age" because she's a Japanese woman in a Western fantasy world was really offputting and I was tempted to DNF at the start because of it. Thankfully she breaks out of her "Yamato nadeshiko" stereotype a bit by the end.
March 10, 2022
Different
I like the idea behind this book. It was different for me because I actually like op characters. I also like books where the character is not so op but have skills that they can level up some, not enough to be op but able to do a little more. Overall I like it and would recommend it.
I like the idea behind this book. It was different for me because I actually like op characters. I also like books where the character is not so op but have skills that they can level up some, not enough to be op but able to do a little more. Overall I like it and would recommend it.
July 24, 2023
The whole story revolves how a woman's weakness became her strength. Also, it is an interesting story about a weak woman that pops in an another world then bullied by other trash characters but there's people that protects around her. Yearning to have a place called home then found some man to be her home. This story is slow verse, slow burn, and cute. Slice of life yet thrilling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2022
So sweet, so cute. Very refreshing with its emotionally mature plot points and mature 30 yr+ characters. The isekai plot is also interesting, because the story deals with the realties of being isakaied into a new universe and themes of immigration.
July 22, 2022
Some of the reviews make this sound a bit grim, but I didn’t find it so.
February 3, 2023
not particularly charming or interesting
March 2, 2024
Many of the typical LN elements and style of writing. An otherwise-unremarkable Japanese woman is magically transported to a new world full of magic and monsters with no explanation or way home. Unlike the usual isekai story she has no great purpose or power, nor is she a mistaken hero summoning. She's just a normal woman in very abnormal circumstances. The story itself is set some 4 years after the transportation. It's a little darker than the usual LN, but still with some of the lighthearted elements and over-the-top reactions or overt bullying/nasty antagonists typical of the genre. I like that the characters are older, that they have genuine traumatic responses and that the isekai reactions were quite realistic despite the fantasy setting: trapped in an alien world with no proof of where she came from, having to learn a new language and culture, deal with suspicions and prejudices, being taken advantage of for her ignorance and usefulness etc. The interludes were interesting background but I don't like that they're out of chronological order for the story.
April 3, 2022
Pass.
May 14, 2022
The writing style, to be honest, isn't the best. I'm not sure if it was something lost in translation or if it was like that originally but the flow of scenes sometimes comes across a little stiff which is particularly noticeable when the author changes POV. It's not bad, just a little formal-ish sounding. With that said, I still absolutely loved the story. I read the manga version of this first and loved that too. The novel is a little more detailed but more or less the same in content as regards to volume 1.
The title Housekeeping Mage underplays the story somewhat. While the main character is a woman who styles herself as such it's more of a story of her trials and efforts to fit into the new world she transmigrated to. Unlike other isekais, Shiori (the h) doesn't have any cheat skills or divine aid. Instead, she's plunged into a world that discriminates against women who look like her. She isn't so lucky at first but with time, many people see her efforts and she gains true and lasting allies. One such ally is her love interest, Alec, who's been hurt in the past like her, and whose background is just as complicated. They slowly but surely begin to open their hearts to each other, and with their many many supporters, begin to heal each other.
The main couple is the cutest. I shipped them from their first sight of each other. The story vacillates between the refreshing, sweet and pure love of our main couple to the darkness of overcoming trauma. There is some humor, especially in the form of Shiori's slime friend, Ruri, as well as with the other supporting characters.
I highly recommend this especially for those who like the isekai genre.
The title Housekeeping Mage underplays the story somewhat. While the main character is a woman who styles herself as such it's more of a story of her trials and efforts to fit into the new world she transmigrated to. Unlike other isekais, Shiori (the h) doesn't have any cheat skills or divine aid. Instead, she's plunged into a world that discriminates against women who look like her. She isn't so lucky at first but with time, many people see her efforts and she gains true and lasting allies. One such ally is her love interest, Alec, who's been hurt in the past like her, and whose background is just as complicated. They slowly but surely begin to open their hearts to each other, and with their many many supporters, begin to heal each other.
The main couple is the cutest. I shipped them from their first sight of each other. The story vacillates between the refreshing, sweet and pure love of our main couple to the darkness of overcoming trauma. There is some humor, especially in the form of Shiori's slime friend, Ruri, as well as with the other supporting characters.
I highly recommend this especially for those who like the isekai genre.
August 4, 2023
This story is quite realistic in terms of the actual struggles you will go through if you're thrown into another world. You have no belongings, no money, no home, and on top of all that, you don't even speak the language. You will literally start a whole new life from scratch. I'm proud of our FL for managing to survive and I hope those who caused her trauma suffer greatly. My main problem with the book is that I just couldn't feel the ML love for FL, I felt like it was said instead of shown, so I never liked some of his behavior with Shiori.
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