2.5 ⭐️ the mom(s) in the story that were supposed to be the villain characters were too mustache-twirly, two-dimensional bad guys. Rolled my eyes so hard throughout. But I did picture this specific German 'celebrity' guy while reading and that was added to my enjoyment.
Recently I joined a book club in which the whole slew of us have given up on Western novels and are reading badly MTL foreign novels for the thrill of the plot.
And this book was one of two that were my top reads for 2024.
Yes, to read this, you're going to need to research all of its extensive trigger warnings. Yes, you might feel inclined to skip portions, because there are seven volumes - Asian novels are not kidding around when it comes to a thiccc plot. And yes, there are once or twice when I felt the plot meandered.
BUT ON THE WHOLE, this book gave me a high that makes me go back and reread whenever I DNF a new novel (daily).
Quick Synopsis Set in a fictional interwar Great Britain, there's a rebel uprising that the monarchy has tried to quash multiple times. Our FL belongs to the rebels and poses as a maid in the ML's mansion, which has been requisitioned as interrogation quarters. ML is a captain in the army and has an innate drive to regain the family's lost title. At the start of the story, he becomes engaged to a Duke's daughter in an arranged alliance.
But wait! There's more!
Our FL comes from rebels, including her mother, who was a prime honey trapper and at one point was ML's mistress. That operation was the reason ML and FL met when they were but wee teens. It's also the reason that
This provides more than enough reason for ML to want to thoroughly punish the FL when he finds out. And he does. He ties her up, starves her, treats her like a dog, sticks all sorts of into her , and yet somehow, somehow this author made me want to root for the two of them.
Maybe it's because there's so much meat to the story (I mentioned it goes on for 7 volumes, right?) that even if you skip the entire containment/torture/kinky porn bits, there's still quite a lot of story left. There's the part where she eventually does get away and runs back to the rebels to find that she's been betrayed, and for him to start a massive chase.
I think what this book excelled in was detailing the separation. Never have I read a romance novel where the FL ran away, and the separation lasted for multiple chapters. There's always a time skip when I most want to know what exactly has been happening during that time. In various books I've tried recently (Run Posy Run), the separation arc is ruined by the FL doing stupid things (camgirling? really?) for the plot to throw the two back together. In this book, I'm actively rooting for the FL to stay away. It's an active chase, across train stations, ships, the entire country. The hunt is on, and he's so good at his job that eventually he's promoted to Captain and regains the family's lost title.
He does eventually track her down, having put on her an effective leash (pregnancy), but by that time, he's a changed man. It's taken the literal length of the pregnancy and more for him to find her, and he's suffered in the absence. He has insomnia, he's doing barbituates to sleep, and he's got a literal shrine set up in his home dedicated to her.
I've never seen an FL get revenge so successfully and thoroughly, and it's extremely satisfying. It's like getting an ice-cold drink when it's 120 out and you've been wandering outside, drooping from the heat; except that the desert is this utter lack of decent novels from authors who don't understand that enemies isn't made from the FL hating the way ML drinks his coffee with his pinky up, and this drink is this redemption arc that hits the spot like nothing else has in over a year.
In short: FL infiltrates ML's base and poses as a maid that he develops the hots for and leaks information out, only for him to find that she's the daughter of the spy who seduced his father and got him tortured and killed, and ML was the one who discovered his father's mangled body ON the day that young FL dumps ML of their cute teenage romance. THIS IS HOW YOU DO ENEMIES TO LOVERS, TAKE NOTE, PEOPLE.
(I do hesitate a little to recommend this book because it's, uh, extreeeemely kinky, but even if you read the PG version of this where our ML doesn't stick a knife in the groin of the rebel who sold FL out or stuff a burning cigar into FL's ex-fiance's mouth, THE STORY STILL HOLDS. THE END.)
There was a promise of a dark book; however, this book is nothing more than a pornographic novel full of inconsistencies:
1 - Grace is portrayed as being very intelligent and cunning, but she had several opportunities to escape from Leon and did not. 2 - Grace allows Leon to sexually harass her multiple times, even becoming embarrassed, which suggests she secretly liked it, yet she simultaneously calls him a pig. 3 - The author uses an implausible plot device of no hot water in the employees' bathroom to force her to use Leon's bathroom, where he harasses her. This narrative choice demonstrates her character's fundamental inconsistency. 4 - Grace is 26 years old and a virgin. The author clearly uses this detail to later justify a graphic rape scene, complete with explicit description of blood. 5 - The author constructs an illogical romantic backstory between Leon and Grace from their childhood, as if attempting to retroactively justify a romantic connection. 6 - The author provides no organic opportunities for Grace to escape before Leon locks her in a torture chamber. 7 - Leon is also a virgin in his late 20s, which seems equally implausible. 8 - Grace continuously cleans Leon's room, an action that makes no logical sense within the narrative. 9 - I marked this as a DNF (Did Not Finish) after learning that Grace and Leon ultimately end up together with a supposedly happy ending, as if this were a romantic story. 10 - There appears to be a recurring fetish for candies and sexual content among South Korean authors, an element that consistently appears in their works.
I concluded that South Korean authors often:
1 - Use European settings with numerous inconsistencies 2 - Develop physically beautiful characters, especially male characters 3 - Seemingly suggest through their narratives that "it's acceptable for a man to be violent toward a woman, provided he is handsome and wealthy" 4 - Romanticize toxic relationships 5 - Fundamentally ignore the basic literary premise of "delight and instruct" 6 - Overuse of food scenes and birds (boring, predictable and cliché) 7 - Characters constantly blushing 8 - Anachronistic dialogues 9 - Heavy use of AI to write, with AI running wild in its nonsense
Moreover, these authors consistently fail to develop female characters based on the rich historical tapestry of women who fought oppression. Throughout history, women have been powerful agents of change—not passive victims, but active resistance fighters who transformed societies.
Consider the profound legacies of women like Eleanor of Aquitaine, who ruled territories larger than French kings, or Milunka Savić, the most decorated female combat soldier in World War I. Think of Christine de Pizan, who challenged misogynistic medieval literature, or Sophie Scholl, who lost her life opposing the Nazi regime. Take Princess Isabel of Brazil, who used her royal power to sign the Golden Law in 1888, abolishing slavery—an act so revolutionary that it ultimately cost her the throne. Despite being heir to the Brazilian imperial crown, she chose moral courage over political preservation, signing the law that freed over 700,000 enslaved people, knowing full well it would trigger a republican revolution that would end her family's 67-year reign.
These women were queens, nobles, artists, soldiers, and intellectuals who navigated complex political landscapes, challenged systemic oppression, and often paid extraordinary prices for their courage.
By consistently overlooking these profound historical narratives in favor of romanticized, violent power dynamics, these authors not only do a disservice to women's history but also perpetuate harmful stereotypes that reduce women to sexual objects rather than recognize their intellectual, political, and creative agency.
In this book's case, the only credible narrative resolutions would have been: Leon dying or being arrested, with Grace subsequently hiding her traumatic past from her daughter.
ยังคิดว่ายังน่าอ่านอยู่ปล่อยเบลอไปหลายๆ อย่างต้องคีพติ้งอินมายด์ไว้ว่านิยายมันคือเวย์นี้ แต่ในขณะเดียวกันถ้าให้เทียบกับเรื่องescape me if you can เรื่องนี้ต่อให้ถอดสมองอ่านแล้วยังไม่ไหว ป่วยแบบกู่ไม่ขึ้น แต่เรื่องนี้คนอ่านยังไงก็มองออกว่ามันไม่ดี มันเลว แต่เรื่องที่น่ากลัวที่สุดในมุมมองเราคือเรื่องไม่ร้องก็อ้อนซะ
So far, I enjoyed this book apart from the trash male lead. He's an actual trend douchebag, call him whatever disgusting name you feel like, but the rest of the story was quite good.
llegué hasta el final de la novela para verlo sufrir A ÉL, q engañosas son esas ilustraciones xq él físicamente todaaa mi tipo!! ah pero como persona... deja nomás
The entirety of the plot is rape. DNF at 40%. Got spoiled that Grace ended up marrying her rapist aka Leon. Nah im out. Doesn't matter how hard he grovelled at the end. Not for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.