After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine Volume 1 by Liu Gou Hua. Cover by Fish (@mofumofish), Illustrations by SeokSu. Translated by Faelicy and Z. Yan. Published by Seven Seas. Official Synopsis _An outrageous thesis has just hit the desk of esteemed history professor Jiang Suizhou. Dubiously sourced, it tells the story of the General Huo Wujiu, a man who was captured, incapacitated, and forced to serve as concubine to his enemy’s brother—the cut-sleeve prince. For three grueling years, the general lived as a prisoner until he escaped and sought vengeance against his tormentors._ _Convinced the story is pure fiction, Jiang Suizhou brands the thesis a failure, that is, until he wakes up as the cut-sleeve prince himself!_ _Now, stuck lording over his concubine and prisoner Huo Wujiu, Jiang Suizhou only has one option to avoid facing the general’s future wrath: Ally himself with Huo Wujiu. Still, this strategy could backfire if Huo Wujiu were to get the wrong idea about his intentions._ Ever since this license was announced and I read the synopsis, I was hyped for this story. The premise is just so ripe for drama. In fact, that's what makes the main character, Jiang Suizhou, so incensed by the thesis that (may have) caused him to transmigrate. While this is a danmei series, it seems like the other main focus will be on politics. The majority of the first book focuses on setting the scene. The main character has to navigate the current situation of being the scorned prince that is part of a weak, losing faction in the emperor's court. Not to mention that the emperor is totally unfit to rule, and will eventually cause the country to be taken over. Amidst all this, Jiang Suizhou is trying to find his footing and survive in this era by making some unexpected allies. It's just that his actions and plans lead to a very funny "fake married/fake dating/fake lovers" scenario that he's trying to portray while trying not to lose his head. Except that everyone else in his household can see the _real_ feelings that are starting to develop (as they usually do in stories with this trope). The relationship between Jiang Suizhou and Huo Wujiu starts icy, but it very quickly starts to thaw. There are quite a few adorable moments, as well as some genuinely funny ones that had me cracking up. Overall, I really enjoyed this first volume. I'm sure there will be more political machinations and misunderstandings galore in the future volumes (the series will only be 4 books long) which I will be eagerly anticipating.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill Volume 1 and 2 by Ren Eguchi, Illustrations by Masa. Translated by Kevin Chen. Published by J-Novel Club. Official Synopsis _Mukouda Tsuyoshi was nothing special in modern Japan, so when he was summoned to a world of swordplay and sorcery, he thought he was ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Too bad the kingdom that summoned him only got him by mistake! Not only was he not one of the three summoned heroes, but his stats were laughable compared to theirs. On top of that, there's something really sketchy about this kingdom... "Ah, these people are the kind to try and use the Hero," he realized, and immediately left to make his own way in this other world. The only thing Mukouda can rely on is his unique skill: the "Online Supermarket," a skill that allows him to buy modern goods in a fantasy world. It's useless for combat, but if he plays his cards right, he could lead a comfortable life, maybe? At least, that's what Mukouda thinks, but it turns out modern food bought with this skill has some absurd effects! What happens when Mukouda introduces ridiculously tasty modern cooking to a fantasy world like this? He gets some ridiculous repeat customers begging for more...!_ This is another light novel series that I basically "cheated" on by watching the anime first. (Is it cheating if this is what the anime is intended to do, drive sales for the novels?) Anyways, I watched the first season when it aired in early 2023. I had a great time watching, as the show was a comfy iyashikei series about a guy whose isekai adventure consists of being a functional adult with cooking skills AND really cute pets. It's sort of in the same vein as Dungeon Meshi, without the underlying deeper plot (from what I can tell). When the second season was announced, I held off on starting the light novel, since I prefer watching shows first before diving into their source material. I assumed that the anime would cover a good portion of the novels, but turns out I was incorrect. The first two books cover up until the 1st episode of season 2! For reference, there are already 16 books out for this series, so it's fairly long running. Does that mean there's some epic plot in the works? Probably not. The anime took the chance to shove tons of product placement into the show, and that's probably why it got a second season. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a third season in the future. The fact that there's not some epic story is one of the series' core strengths. When you're weary from the absurdities of life, you want nothing more than to relax with some entertainment that heals your soul (hence the "iyashikei" sub-genre in Japan). It's interesting to see what the main character cooks using both ingredients from his world and the monsters native to this fantasy world. The world-building isn't too thorough, but it has a couple touches here and there to keep it engaging. Mukouda, being an adult, instantly realizes after getting isekai'd that he probably shouldn't stay in the country that summoned him, since the officials were acting really suspicious. He leaves the country immediately, and we're introduced vaguely to the state of things. It's mostly a generic isekai-western fantasy world, with adventurer's guilds, dungeons, elves, and dwarves. So far, we haven't seen any crazy powerful abilities or technologies among the other non-monster characters, so it's relatively low-fantasy and low-stakes. There is a mild progression, as Mukouda does gain some stats and abilities over time. However, the focus is firmly on the cooking and light-hearted adventures. In two books, he's already gained a Legendary Fenrir (Fel), Slime (Sui), and rare Pixie Dragon (Dora-chan) as familiars. He's already got quite the party, so I'm curious to see who might be added next. This series is recommended, but not on an empty stomach! * * *

The Twelve Kingdoms Volume 2 by Fuyumi Ono, Illustrated by Akihiro Yamada. Translated by Kim Morrissy, Published by Seven Seas. This is the second book in the series, but concludes the 1st "episode", which is Youko's story. At the end of the last book, we left off on Youko meeting a mysteriously large rat creature while on the verge of death. We finally learn more about this person, whose name is actually Rakushun and is a half-rat half-person (called a Hanjyuu in this world). Meeting Rakushun becomes a huge turning point for Youko. She is unable to trust anyone in this world, but Rakushun becomes the first person to earnestly lend her aid without any malicious ulterior motives. Through him, we learn more about the world (literally, he's full of infodumps) while they travel together to Youko's next stop in the adventure. Youko's character development is accelerated by meeting Rakushun, as he serves as a counterpoint to all her preconceived notions about this world. Of course, Youko continues to fend for herself when she has to, which is nice to see. There's not much more that I can say about this book without spoiling the rest of the plot, so spoilers below! I honestly thought that the anime did this part of the journey to En much better than the book, simply because they spent more time fleshing out the world not through infodumps, but real interactions between Youko and the citizens of Kou and En. She spends much longer in Agan trying to catch the boat, and she develops some life skills as well. That said, I'm happy to report that the En-Ou and Enki are just as delightful in the books as they are in the anime. It's unfortunate that much of the interesting "climax" gets cut out here, as we don't see Youko take the throne back from Jyoei. She saves Keiki, and the rest is basically hand-waived away. I guess Ono-sensei isn't too interested in showing how all that went down, since Youko's choice to become King of Kei is done by that point. The next book isn't about Youko, but rather about Taiki and the country of Tai. This series is pretty famous for jumping around, but at least the next episode is a complete story in one volume. I've already got Book 3 in hand, but we'll see when I get around to reading it haha. * * *

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Volume 2 by singNsong, Illustrations by BLACKBOX. Translated by Hye Young Im and J. Torres. Published by Ize Press (Yen Press). ORV books are like crack, honestly. I'm kind of mad at myself for starting the series from the beginning of the physical Yen Press release (and sticking to it), since there is just SO MUCH that happens in these books! I'm also glad though, since it prevents me from bingeing the series and staying up late at night to keep reading. If I had multiple volumes to read, I would probably be finishing 1 book a day. It wouldn't even be that difficult, since each volume only contains roughly 50k words, which is on the shorter side for light novels. After the events of the previous book, Dokja and company must now travel the subway and chase after Yu Junghyeok. Dokja intends to survive the trials to come by being on the same team as Junghyeok but that requires finding him first. They arrive at Chungmuro station, and are then immediately thrust into their next "Scenario", or quest that they need to overcome. They have to survive hordes of enemies while fighting against humans who have their own motives, many of whom are willing to screw them over. Of course, this requires some violent actions when necessary. There is also the introduction of a dungeon and dungeon boss with a very cool concept that involves movies, which I really liked. Dokja also has to go out of his way to save Junghyeok at one point, which leads to a very funny misunderstanding that causes people to believe that they're a couple. Let the shipping begin! (I already had my shipper goggles on ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ ) It's also great to see some development of the side characters, such as Junghyeok's disciple. We also learn that Kim Dokja has been through some major trauma in his life, though he refuses to elaborate on what exactly that was. I'm sure we'll end up learning more, but it's clear that he really sees the "characters" in Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse as actual people, and he wonders how he will cope with some of the sins that he's committed. Technically, everyone who has survived has had to kill somebody, so in some ways it's just out of need. I'm glad this is addressed. The side characters such as Sangah, Hyeonseong, Gilyeong, and Huiwon have really grown on me, and it's exciting to see their abilities continue to grow. I'm reminded a lot of the Hunter x Hunter series, which had lots of "game" like scenarios and abilities that the characters had to overcome. This is such a fast paced series, and it even ended on a cliffhanger with another interesting "Scenario" quest to beat, this time in the form of capture the flag. Looks like Dokja will have to fight against some other scheming enemies, so I can't wait to find out how he ends up curb-stomping them (hopefully). Volume 3 is out in March, and it'll be another long wait _sigh_. P.S: Also, as an aside, since I'm reading the physical versions: I think the design with the cutout cover is really cool, but I also find it kind of annoying since I don't want to touch the inside illustration through the hole. While the design of the physical books is great, that's one unfortunate downside now that the novelty has worn off. * * *

Lout of Count's Family Volume 5 by Yu Ryeo-Han, Cover by Ashigaru Ashi. Translation by Henry Shin and Amy Cho. Published by Seven Seas. With this volume, I'm finally caught up with the series! However, Volume 6 comes out on December 2nd, so I won't have long to wait. This is the book where things are starting to move. Cale has been making preparations in the past few books for an invasion expected to come from the north, and we finally see things start to move on that front. He's made allies with the Whale and Tiger tribes, and even helped Rowoon establish an alliance with Brek, Whipper, and the Jungle. Although I'm not certain of all the details, I feel like we're finally starting to get answers to some of the ongoing questions that I've had. Where are all the dragons? Who were the owners of the Ancient Powers, and why did they all know each other? Why do they (the Ancient Powers) like Cale so much? Reading this book felt like seeing just the tail of the cat that I've been trying to chase down a dark alley. Cale also traveled to the North in this volume, and we get some worldbuilding on who these invaders are. As always, there are two sides to this story, and it's interesting to find out more about the other countries in actual detail. I wish there was a map included with this series, as it would help with keeping track of all the countries and alliances. I've been using the vague maps from the manhwa to try and visualize everything until now. I appreciated the further development of the side characters in this volume, like Raon and Choi Han. Up until now, Cale's party has been pretty overpowered with their intelligence-gathering, political leverage, and capital. However, we finally see an adversary that has gone beyond their physical and magical abilities. Cale no longer has the backup of future knowledge from reading Birth of a Hero, and he's even finding that some of the info may be wrong. I'm excited to see how he adapts to the twists and turns that come. We're in a proper war arc now! * * *

Welcome to Monstrous Miss Sophie’s Enchanted Salon of Healing Volume 2 by Sachi Konzome, Illustration by Harenochihareta. Translated by Dawson Chen. Published by Cross Infinite World. I finished this book two days ago, but I needed some time to gather my thoughts on this one. This is the second (and last) book of the series, and while there are some patients that come by here and there, the majority of the focus is on Sophie and Kurt's relationship. Kurt is sent on a mission to help subdue a dragon, and it's a life-threatening one. He leaves Sophie with the other half of his dog-tag, and promises to come back alive. This forces Sophie to come to terms with her true feelings, and promise to be truthful about them when the time is right. Everything up to this point in the book was as heartwarming as you would expect. Sophie tries to heal other people, and the book spends some time showing that just because Sophie is able to heal people's "skin-deep" problems, they still need to work on bettering their own lives. It's at this point that there were a few twists in this book that I have complicated feelings on. It's hard to talk about without spoilers. We find out that Sophie's affliction is not caused by some auto-immune condition or any physical abnormality, so much as a messed up mana flow. There is an old apothecary/doctor who is pretty much the only one in the world who is able to see and fix such issues, and luckily he's visiting the town! All of Sophie's patients and acquaintances band together to find him so that he can heal Sophie. Once Sophie's mana flow is fixed, she heals her own skin with her magic abilities. So far, so good. A little cheesy, but an enjoyable plot twist. This is not the part that bothers me. Later on, we find out through "hints" that Sophie's mother is the crown princess of a neighboring country who had to go into hiding due to a revolution. Once Sophie is healed, she doesn't just feel "normal" again. Her lineage has elevated her looks from "Monster" to "Helen of Troy" levels of beauty. Luckily, Kurt loves her anyways, and has always found her beautiful. It's very fairy-tale like, and it's kind of a slap in the face when the series has been quite adamant about showing people with non-traditional features finding happiness in the end. The rest of the book is about other people finding out how beautiful Sophie is, and their reactions of being jealous of Kurt. Sophie gets her happy ending with Kurt, but Kurt never has to spend time supporting Sophie in the public sphere. We never see him stick up for her publically, because he doesn't have to. There's also the implication that Raymond the Chef was the Olzon family's back up plan as a possible support system/love interest for Sophie. This is after they already scarred her for life with their meddling with Sophie's doctor in the beginning. What irks me about this is that as a reader, I felt that Raymond had burgeoning feelings for Sophie that would have bloomed if given time, even despite her never being "fixed". Sophie even has the beginnings of a crush there, so I feel like there could have been a natural development there, even without Kurt in the picture. Was there a need to show Sophie as some once-in-a-lifetime bombshell? Couldn't she just have been a sweet girl who finally finds the health and courage to step out into the open world, and finds people who love her for who she is? Not to say that isn't what the story represents, but I think Raymond represents these ideals better than Kurt in some aspects. The story has a happy ending, but there's all these little hints that sort of distort the sweetness of the ending. I do find the exploration of Kurt as a neuro-divergent character to be quite interesting, but it feels odd that Kurt's mannerisms change completely once they both become a couple. Is that just how people are when they're in love? I'm not sure. I really wanted to love this story, and I definitely did enjoy it, but I have some mixed feelings about some of the plot points. It was enjoyable nonetheless, and it's not too long either. I would still recommend this series. * * *

Welcome to Monstrous Miss Sophie’s Enchanted Salon of Healing Volume 1 by Sachi Konzome, Illustration by Harenochihareta. Translated by Dawson Chen. Published by Cross Infinite World. Official Synopsis _Her powers may only heal skin-deep…but she’s determined to mend every wound with all her heart!_ _Meet Sophie Olzon, the only daughter of a wealthy merchant family, cursed from birth with a mysterious skin condition. With her rough, bark-like appearance, Sophie has been cruelly nicknamed “The Monstrous Miss” by her peers and bullied relentlessly at school until she could bear no more. Forced into isolation, she retreats to her family estate and dedicates herself to mastering her peculiarly weak brand of magic that can only heal surface wounds._ _One fateful day, when Sophie nearly succumbs to the weight of her condition, a forgotten truth hits her—she once lived a life as a single mother in modern-day Japan! With renewed purpose, the Monstrous Miss opens her heart and doors to those seeking her unique brand of healing._ I don't know if I was particularly in a tearful mood when I read this book (it's very possible) but this book made me very emotional. The main character is a single mother in Japan who manages to raise her daughter with a skin condition (it's implied to be some sort of autoimmune psoriasis or eczema). Although they struggle due to poverty and social exclusion, eventually her daughter manages to study, becomes a doctor, and meets someone that she wants to marry. However, when her daughter leaves for her honeymoon, Mariko suffers a devastating stroke. Instead of calling for help, Mariko chooses not to call for help, and perishes in the process. Unlike other isekai series that don't spend much time on the character's "past" life, this one spends extra time to characterize Mariko, and it pays off quite well. You truly understand why she makes the choices she makes in the beginning, such as choosing to die rather than force her daughter to care for her during her rehabilitation. Unlike other series, Mariko isn't young, and brings a different perspective. Mariko reincarnates into Sophie Olzon, a girl who is distraught by her own skin condition. She eventually finds out that she has a weak healing magic that has the ability to heal other's skin. After hitting rock bottom, Sophie decides that she wants to help others and opens a "salon" where she offers her services for free for the 1st year. Salon in this sense is a noble salon, a room in an upper-class family's house where people meet to discuss, have tea, and socialize. For Sophie's purposes, her healing abilities are too weak to be of use to the government, so she is left to her own devices, for the most part. The series focuses on a "patient of the week" style, where you learn the stories of everyone who comes to seek treatment. Her patient's stories are emotional as well, and many of them deal with how their scars are a painful reminder of their past mistakes or obstacles to their future happiness. Through it all, Sophie heals others while struggling with her own condition, unable to find a solution. Although this series showcases something as "shallow" as skin, skin is the first thing that people see, and form their opinion of a person on. For young women, appearing youthful and beautiful is an expectation, and anything that impedes that might even reduce their job opportunities. Even for men, scars or tattoos can have negative connotations or become reminders of a previous life that no longer represents you. If you want to see similar real-life examples of how physically and emotionally painful skin conditions can be, I suggest watching "Save My Skin" which features cases treated by dermatologist Dr. Emma Craythorne. It's hurtful to feel like you're ugly, a monster that shouldn't be viewed or loved by anyone. I appreciate that this series exists, and provides a view into how debilitating such conditions can be. I shed real tears at some of the stories, it was that emotionally moving. In this first volume, it mostly focused on Sophie's patients. I'm hopeful that the next (and last) volume will also focus on Sophie healing herself, whether emotionally or physically. There's a hint at a romance here, and I'm looking forward to seeing how that develops. * * *

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong Vol. 3 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX), Illustrated by Xiao Tong Kong (Velinxi). Translated byFaelicy (faelicy) & Lily (lily_ocho). Published by Seven Seas. If you're interested in my liveblog for this series, you can read it here (beware spoilers). This is the 3rd book in the series, but it's actually the last book of the main plot, since Volume 4 is side stories and "falling action", I presume. In the last book, Shen Qingqiu gave himself up to Luo Binghe in order to prevent the attack on the sect. He basically enters house arrest under Binghe's control, but that doesn't last for long, as he is called back to his real body, which was stolen from it's resting place at the sect. When this happened, I couldn't believe that these two had been separated so quickly after barely coming together. However, although Shen Qingqiu is stolen away or kidnapped multiple times, the main story-line is advanced thoroughly and we learn a great deal about the side characters and the "villain" of the story. It felt much less frustrating because there's so much plot instead. Also, although Shen Qingqiu is "separated" from Binghe several times, in reality he follows soon after, so their separation doesn't feel as frustrating as the previous book. Shen Qingqiu is tasked by the System to "fill plotholes" from the original Proud Immortal Demon Way novel, and plotholes were definitely filled. It was an emotional roller coaster, learning about Shen Jiu's true origins, as well as the true backstory behind Binghe's parents, and the circumstances that led to Tianlang-Jun's current villainy. This book wasn't that much longer than the other ones, but it was consistently paced and constantly moving forward. For a series where the two main characters can barely have a proper, honest conversation for 2 minutes, the plot stresses the tragedy of being unable to communicate your true feelings to your loved ones. In this way, I feel like Bing/qiu finally beat the odds, in the most painful way possible. Multiple characters show hidden depths, even Master Airplane who Shen Qingqiu attempts to strangle at every opportunity they meet. I also appreciated that although the buildup to the final battle was quite drawn out, the actual "climax" was less about the fighting and more about trying to save Luo Binghe from himself. No longer is this a "stallion" novel, so it makes sense that the climax isn't about that either. The development of the Bingqiu relationship was hard fought, and they finally manage to stay together, with the support of their peers (begrudgingly). Overall, I've truly enjoyed what I've read so far. It's been a relatively breezy and engaging read, though it could have been frustrating since there wasn't much "resolution" after the conclusion to the story. However, knowing that there's at least one more book is comforting. I'm not ready to part with these characters yet. * * *

The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life as a NoblewomanVolume 2 by Kamihara, Illustrated by Shiro46. Translated by Hengtee Lim, Edited by Ruuri. Published by J-Novel Heart (J-Novel Club). I'm fully intent on reading this series "as it was intended", so J-Novel's decision to split up the volumes means that I had to wait until the 2nd part was out in order to read them together. It's annoying, but I understand, since these books are huge for light novels. We at least get a new art (a new cover!) for part 2. There's really no way to talk about these books without spoiling the plot. More to the point, the book's official synopsis (both parts) pretty much tells you what happens. Does that mean that these plot points aren't spoilers? I don't know, but I'll do my best to give impressions without totally giving up the plot. The domain of Conrad is attacked by unknown assailants in this book, and Karen's life turns completely upside down. Most of the Conrad household and domain is brutally attacked, leaving few survivors. Through the hard work of her protectors Karen is barely able to escape. This was such a harrowing arc, and for me it was just as shocking as the "Red Wedding" in Game of Thrones. I'm sorry I keep comparing this series to A Song of Ice and Fire, especially since I've never read it, but I was a big fan of the TV show (until they ruined it) and it's pretty much my only point of comparison for how horrible events end up stacking up top of each other. The first domino falls, which leads to everything cascading down. Karen is barely able to keep her wits about her as she deftly navigates the difficult political situation. And also, I'm NOT sorry about the Game of Thrones comparison because there's literally a scene in this book that's the equivalent of the duel between The Mountain and Oberyn Martell. I'm pretty sure that one of the named characters that joins the group later is also a reference to some pretty recognizable GOT characters. Is the author a fan of the series? I hope so, otherwise I'd feel like I was going crazy. Anyways, the political situation becomes even _more_ complicated, as the country basically falls to ruin. Karen originally decided to emigrate to the Empire when the time had come (and had secured the means to do so in the last book), and this is the volume where that happens. The second half of the book is basically about how she starts to build a new life in the Arrendle Empire. This seemed to be a pretty low-fantasy setting, but there is indeed magic in the world, as shown by the mage Six and his abilities. While he's a pretty mysterious character, there's more of the magic system being displayed in this book, and I'm curious to find out more. Karen's relationship with Reinald also develops in this book, and it's obvious to everyone except her that she has feelings for him. From a viewer perspective, it's also obvious to the reader that Reinald feels the same way about her, and he tries to take some small steps forward. They are both pretty level-headed, and consider the practicality of their relationship more than anything, which is why there hasn't been any big developments. But it's nice to see them start to depend on each other. However, I also have some mixed feelings about this, since circumstances lead to Karen being pretty dependent on Reinald's resources and political standing. This ends up leading to more issues and obstacles for her though, as it's a bad look, and I'm at least satisfied that he's not simply "saving the day" for now. It's pretty integrated into the plot, so I'm happy to follow along to see how they overcome their next hurdle. I honestly think that this series easily stands with the best of them, as the plot developments are fast and furious. There's never a dull moment, and some of the twists are pretty shocking. Also, the author loves cliffhangers, so there is of course a crazy development at the end of this book that will leave you itching for the next one. * * *

The Despicable Duke Settles His Affairs by Miori Kayamoto, Illustrated by Karatsuyu. Translated by Faye Duxovni, Edited by C.D. Leeson. Published by J-Novel Knight (J-Novel Club). Before I get into this particular release, I'd like to discuss the context that this book is releasing in. Right now, there are 3 major publishers in the light novel space in the U.S: Yen Press, J-Novel Club, and Seven Seas Entertainment. There are also smaller publishers like Cross Infinite World and Hanashi Media, as well as companies who specialize in other media like Kodansha and Viz Media that have also some light novels and other Japanese novels as part of their repertoire. Yen Press and J-Novel Club are currently owned by the same parent company, Kadokawa, which is a big Japanese media conglomerate that has at least majority stake in both companies. They are giant machine that churns out popular hits. When it comes to LGBTQ manga, there has been great success in licensing and selling popular series. However, that wasn't the case with novels. Light novels in general have had a rougher start in the U.S. market, and you could argue that the dearth of BL (Boys Love) and GL (Girls Love) series is related to that. But we are already past the time period where big, well known light novel franchises were licensed. Right now, every company is looking for untapped potential and a way to expand their existing sales. In the midst of all this, Seven Seas Entertainment (which is independent as of now) found that new market in 2022 with Chinese Danmei (BL) novels. Series like Heaven's Official Blessing and Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation topped the New York Times Best Seller charts, making them proper mainstream hits, in a way that no light novel series has ever achieved. Seven Seas continues to license and release Korean and Chinese Danmei novels, and of course Kadokawa has recognized that this was a direction that they could expand in the U.S. market. Although it took a while, both Yen Press and J-Novel Club are now making efforts to license more BL and GL series. For example, Yen Press released "The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter" (which I've covered here) as well as other series. J-Novel Club's effort is a new BL-specific imprint called "J-Novel Knight". The Despicable Duke Settles His Affairs is one of the first licenses for the new J-Novel Knight imprint, so quite a bit is riding on this. Official Synopsis _After careful consideration and meticulous planning, Kashimiya Tsukasa ends his life to save his family. However, instead of reaching the afterlife, his eyes snap open to scenes of torture, mutilation, and so much pain…all inflicted by his own hands. When his head clears, he realizes that he’s been reincarnated into the world of his favorite novel—not as a hero, but as the sadistic Duke Heinreid von Rodvelia. Haunted by the memories of the duke’s vile deeds, he vows to atone by giving himself the permanent ending he deserves. But soon, his shift in personality arouses the suspicions of Craig Bauer, Heinreid’s personal knight and the one who finally kills him in the original novel. Craig’s attention slips into obsession, and as his fate intertwines with Heinreid’s doomed destiny, the story of the novel begins to warp around them. Will Heinreid end up skewered down to the hilt of Craig’s sword? Or can even the most despicable duke find a reason to keep living beyond the final page?_ So with all that prologue out of the way, how is the actual book? I think J-Novel Club picked an interesting one. It's a oneshot with a dark premise: what if you reincarnated into the body of an abject villain? In most reincarnation stories like this, the main character who gets reincarnated as a villain or villainess does it at a point of the story where they haven't committed any evil deeds. They avert their fate due to "becoming" a good person. Interestingly, this series takes the opposite approach. Even though "Tsukasa" wasn't in control at the time, Heinreid really is evil, and is as despicable as they come. He's murdered and tortured people, and he clearly deserves death. Tsukasa plans his own suicide, believing that it's only right. Of course, since this is a BL novel, there is a handsome male lead to "save the day", Craig Bauer. But Craig hates Heinreid, and betrays him in the original novel, hence the tension between the two. Overall, the premise is awesome and makes for an interesting read, but it's hard to say that it was executed well. At the end of the day, this is still a spicy BL novel with numerous "spicy" scenes, and plenty of the book is dedicated to that. I feel like this oneshot would have benefited from being expanded into at least a 2-book series to give the author more time to develop the romance between Craig and Heinreid. The ramp-up of the character's feelings was pretty abrupt, and could have been done more smoothly. However, I do appreciate the ample "epilogue" of this novel. It doesn't simply end when the "main story" is over, it goes in-depth into how Heinreid and Craig navigate their new precarious relationship. I also appreciated how it explored themes of suicide and mental illness, and how love isn't a magic fix for people who are truly suffering. I'm really happy to see J-Novel branching out since BL and GL is fairly underrepresented in Light Novels, and I'm certainly interested to see what they end up licensing. They announced a new series that looks fairly interesting, but unfortunately the first book won't release until February of 2026. * * *

Lout of Count's Family Volume 3 by Yu Ryeo-Han, Cover by LOKOnity. Translation by Henry Shin and Amy Cho. Published by Seven Seas. Cale Henituse continues to believe that he's a selfish person who just wants to laze around. I think this volume makes it clear that this is just Kim Roksu's interpretation of himself, and that everyone else around him can see that he's honestly a softhearted person that attempts to help people whenever he can (that doesn't stop him from scamming people out of their money though). Raon Mir finally gets his revenge against his captors, in a pretty disturbing way. I'm glad the author didn't just decide to show violence for shock value, but actually showed _why_ Benion Sten is a bastard who deserves everything that's coming to him. You can tell that Cale is infuriated by it, and will make life hell for anyone who harms his family. It's a hard scene to read, and it's the opener for this book. That theme is even reiterated in the same volume when Cale goes out of his way to help Ron, the man who practically raised him. Poor Ron (the assassin and combat butler) comes back on the verge of death, and Cale takes his own revenge against the secret organization who did this to him in the most bombastic way possible. Luckily the rest of the book is pretty lighthearted. Cale manages to meet both the dark and light elves, and even adds someone to his party. There's a timeskip in this book, and the narration makes sure to let us know that Cale spent that entire time lazing around. Meanwhile, other people do the hard work of preparing alliances, building fortresses, ships, etc. Things are moving along, slowly. * * *

Agents of the Four Seasons, Dance of Summer Part I and II, Written by Kana Akatsuki, Illustrated by Suoh. Translated by Sergio Avila, Published by Yen ON (Yen Press). Dance of Summer is another two-part story, this time focusing on the Agents of Summer, Ruri and Ayame Hazakura. In the last installment, we were dealing the kidnapping of Autumn and the subsequent rescue. This book contains the fallout from some of the events in the previous book, including Ruri's resurrection by Autumn. Now that there are _two_ Agents of Summer, everyone is happy, right? Unfortunately not. There are scumbags in each Season's Town that are blaming the agents and guardians for taking the drastic actions to rescue Autumn, and most of the conservatives (who call themselves Doyen Turtle) would rather kill off the Agents and "start fresh" with a new set of impressionable children. The book dives heavily into some of the politics of how the Towns function, including how the seclusion of each seasons' society leads to rampant abuses of power. As always, each character is struggling just to get by and keep their sanity. None of the Agents are safe in the outside world, with terrorists targeting them at every chance they get, but this installment shows that the Agents aren't safe _inside_ their supposed safe-haven either. While we follow Ruri and Ayame, we also meet their grooms-to-be in these volumes as well, including Renri Rouo (pictured on Dance of Summer I with Ayame) and Raicho Kimikage (on Dance of Summer II with Ruri). The stories of romance in this series are just as heart-rending as expected, and every scene with Renri just about made me cry for both Ayame and Renri, who are both going through some truly difficult emotions. Raicho and Ruri's meeting was more humorous, and matched their personalities well. These volumes also contained more development for Sakura and Itecho as well, as Itecho is _finally_ realizing why he doesn't want to let go of his place in Sakura's life. We also met a new "divine" being in these books, Kaguya Fugeki, who is the Archer of Twilight. Just like the seasons, it seems the day/night cycle in this world isn't a natural occurrence either. It's built on the sacrifices of the Archers who must climb a sacred mountain and fire their arrows at the appointed time, meaning that they can never stray more than a half-day away from their job, and never take time off. Kaguya is a grown adult, and it was nice to see a reasonable person want to protect the child Agents he comes into contact with. I have to warn people that some of the abuses suffered by the characters are a little too real. (One scumbag even says that Ruri would have been better off dead) Multiple characters are suicidal, but I'm glad that it's treated with sincerity and gravity. These young kids never chose to have their job, they're just trying to fulfill it to the best of their abilities while trying to live a "somewhat" happy life. It's infuriating to see the people who are supposed to be protecting them, abuse their positions and take advantage of their kindness. Honestly, I feel like if the outside world knew what was happening to their beloved Seasons, they would charge the towns with child abuse and revoke their authority for management of these divine beings. I'm glad we achieved a happy ending here, the characters definitely deserve it, as it was hard fought. I won't spoil it, but I'm sure it's pretty obvious based on the covers of these books haha. I'm really invested in this series and characters, and the next volume will be about the Archer of Dawn, Kaya Fugeki. I already have the book, but who knows when I'll be in the mood to read it. This series is definite a heavy read, not "light" at all despite being a light novel. I always have to have tissues ready. * * *

The Apothecary Diaries Volume 15 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Translated by Kevin Steinbach. Published by J-Novel Club. With this volume, we're pretty much caught up with the Apothecary Diaries series. While Volume 16 was released in May in Japan, it takes time for J-Novel to license and translate the series. I'm glad we caught up, but it sucks because this was such a short volume and I'm always hungry for more precious Maomao antics. This was a short volume dealing with not the impending smallpox plague, but a different medical crisis entirely. I'm really interested in the medical aspects of the series, and this volume delivered on that aspect. Maomao is basically a resident at this point, as she's been assigned a new post to help with an ongoing drug trial. Everyone is curious as to _why_ this is happening, but Maomao quickly figures out that a VIP must be ill with the same illness that they're testing the drugs for. I really loved the scenes that go in-depth on how they must prepare to treat this VIP, and even prepare for death if they fail. I was even wondering if their diagnosis was correct in the initial parts of the story, but there is a very interesting twist there. Tianyu has been pushed as Maomao's foil in surgery, and I was expecting him to really show his stuff here. Let's just say that his actions in this book will leave the reader just as disappointed as Maomao was (haha). There was also some further character development with Ah Duo, the Emperor, and Gaoshun. Even 15 volumes in, I'm impressed that we're learning so much about the characters and seeing all the different facets of their personality. It's a treat to see. Ahead are spoiler thoughts for people who have already read this book: I find the Emperor's relationship with Ah Duo quite interesting. He clearly loves her, but also simultaneously does and doesn't regret trapping her into this relationship. She doesn't forgive him, but she still cares about him too. They have an interesting dynamic, and it was also quite heartwarming to see Ah Duo so happy to see her own son (Jinshi) not make the same mistakes as his father. I was honestly so exasperated with Tianyu when he refused to operate on the Emperor because it was "boring" (he was expecting the Emperor to be divine in some way). It's perfectly in character, but I also agree with Maomao threatening to cut off his fingers LOL. I'm also trying something new with spoiler text, since I want to incorporate more spoiler thoughts into my posts in a smoother way. Hopefully it works well! * * *

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX), Illustrated by Xiao Tong Kong (Velinxi). Translated byFaelicy (faelicy) & Lily (lily_ocho). Published by Seven Seas. Official Synopsis _Half-demon Luo Binghe rose from humble beginnings and a tortured past to become unrivaled in strength and beauty. With his dominion over both the Human and Demon Realms and his hundreds-strong harem, he is truly the most powerful protagonist...in a trashy webnovel series! At least, that's what Shen Yuan believes as he finishes reading the final chapter in "Proud Immortal Demon Way". But when a bout of rage leads to his sudden death, Shen Yuan is reborn into the world of the novel in the body of Shen Qingqiu--the beautiful but cruel teacher of a young Luo Binghe. While Shen Qingqiu may have the incredible power of a cultivator, he is destined to be horrifically punished for crimes against the protagonist. The new Shen Qingqiu now has only one course of action: get into Luo Binghe's good graces before the young man's rise to power or suffer the awful fate of a true scum villain!_ This series was recommended to me when I asked for recs after finishing the Lord of Mysteries donghua, by my friend/mutual Geraineon, who also runs the Chinese Novels Dreamwidth community. I'm a lurker there, but my friend kindly gave me quite a few series to check out (which will probably end up on this blog if I'm being honest). The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System (SVSSS) was the first one that I was intrigued by, simply because the premise seems more light-hearted (which I needed after Lord of Mysteries). I've seen some fan content for this series, but due to the fact that I didn't really understand who the characters were, I don't think I'm really spoiled on plot from that perspective. My general impression was that this was quite the popular series, given that MXTX has three series on the NY Bestseller List. Right from the beginning, this is a series laden with in-jokes and self-deprecating humor when it comes to webnovels as a medium. The tropes it's referencing are well established. Even though I'm new to the xianxia genre, there were enough footnotes and context to get the gist of the jokes. It helps that I'm already well versed in light novel and fanfic communities, so I had equivalent tropes to compare to. Shen Yuan is an avid reader of the Proud Immortal Demon Way webnovel, except that he's quite the toxic fan. As soon as he finishes reading the series, he curses the author and series for it's ending, and ends up kicking the bucket because of it. Did he literally have an aneurysm from his hatred of the series? We don't really get specifics on that front, but it sets the tone for how ridiculous this main character is. Shen Yuan becomes Shen Qingqiu, the loser villain at the beginning of the series. The whole plot is about him desperately trying to ingratiate himself to Luo Binghe (the main protagonist) so he doesn't get horrifically killed for his misdeeds. He spends the entire time trying to go along with the "System", which is basically telling him to fix the novel himself, at "gunpoint" lol. This must be a trope in webnovels, since "reincarnating into a book as a villain" has been done in several series that I've read, most notably Lout of Count's Family (which is Korean), and even Despicable Duke Settles His Affairs (a BL light novel). This book was so funny, there were several scenes that had me laughing (and even giggling) at how unobservant Shen Yuan is. He does everything he can to look good in front of Luo Binghe, and then doesn't understand why Binghe naturally comes to have a crush on him. It's heartwarming and sweet, and it's painful to read when you realize that Shen Qingqiu has to betray Binghe at a critical juncture because it's a canon event. Shen Qingqiu also seems to not understand that he might have feelings for Luo Binghe as well. He harps on about how the ladies in Binghe's harem are abject beauties, but you can tell that he admires Binghe's looks the most, that he's going to grow up to be _handsome_ for sure. He even talks about how much he didn't even like the fanservice in the original Proud Immortal Demon Way, and cared much more about the monster fights. Seems like the poor dude hasn't realized that he isn't straight yet haha. I had an excellent time reading this (you can read my liveblog of the series here). I'll also update my liveblog when I read future volumes, since I'm already grasping for the next one (eagerly waiting for my library hold to come up!). It feels weird to say that I'm glad this is a short series, at only 4 volumes. It's fully complete, which means I will be bingeing it! * * *

Expedition Cooking with the Enoch Royal Knights Volume 7 by Mashimesa Emoto, Illustrations by Tera Akai. Translated by Emma Schumacker, Published by Cross Infinite World. In the world of light novels, it's not often that a series ends on it's own terms, with a concrete ending. In that way, this series managed to do something great, while not overly changing its focus. Despite being a slice-of-life fantasy series with no big overarching story-lines, it managed to end with a great finale that resolves most of the character stories and leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling. There's also the question of the shitty ex-fiance that showed up at the end of the last book. I definitely still don't like him, but the story at least tied up that loose end. We find out why Lance initially cut off the engagement with Mell, as well as why the Fore Elves have the tradition of arranged marriages in the first place. Luckily, (and more importantly), we see Mell introduce Zara to her parents.As you can probably guess from the cover of this volume, Zara and Mell end up getting married. And in true Expedition Cooking fashion, they do it on their own terms. This was a cozy series that took the premise of food and family seriously. I even teared up towards the end, where Mell expressed her love for the people around her with one big feast. The 2nd Expedition Unit is a true family, and I'll be sad to see these characters go. I hope Mashimesa Emoto-sensei's other works end up getting licensed too. I'd be particularly interested in Hokuou Kizoku to Moukinzuma no Yukiguni Karigurashi for which I've already read the manga, and Taiga no Mori no Karigurashi. Both of these also have themes of food/family, and I'd be highly interested in reading them. * * *

The Twelve Kingdoms Volume 1 by Fuyumi Ono, Illustrated by Akihiro Yamada. Translated by Kim Morrissy, Published by Seven Seas. Official Synopsis: _When high school student Youko Nakajima is approached by an enigmatic, blonde-haired stranger named Keiki, her life is turned upside down. Whisked away into the perilous world of the Twelve Kingdoms—a realm teeming with mythical beasts, ancient prophecies, and political intrigue—Youko finds herself alone and hunted. With danger at every corner, she must fight to survive, all while grappling with shocking revelations about her true identity that could shatter everything she thought she knew.**Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea** introduces readers to a breathtaking fantasy world, where nations rise and fall, and destiny awaits those who dare to seize it!_ Unfortunately, I have a lot to yap about before I get into my thoughts about this book, as usual. It's pretty much impossible to come at this with no biases whatsoever because I've already seen the anime, read a previous fan translation, and generally have positive feelings towards the series due to it's beautiful artwork, enough to have collected the artbooks by Akihiro Yamada-sensei. So it's pretty much impossible for me to give any fresh impressions on a book like this. If you're interested in this series, I highly recommend watching the anime first before reading the books. It's not absolutely necessary, but I think the slow burn of the plot is better able to be tolerated in anime form, which has other charms such as the music and voice acting. The book itself cuts to the chase fairly quickly. Youko, a goody-two-shoes doormat of a high-school girl, gets isekai'd (no trucks this time, this is the 1990s) by Keiki, a mysterious man with blonde hair, who proclaims himself a servant of Youko. He uses summoned beasts (which are often more like chimeras that can talk) to whisk Youko away to another world. However, they get separated in the process, and Youko is left to fend for herself, with only a magical sword and a creepy body-controlling demon that gives her martial abilities. Due to the age of this series and the author's pedigree, nothing about this series follows the regular tropes of isekai light novels as we know them today. Rather than a power fantasy, Youko is left practically helpless, lost in a new world. She spends the entirety of the first book fighting physical and mental anguish. Rather than wanting to help her, most people are trying to hunt her down for her perceived sins. It makes for a compelling first book, but it's also only half of the story. I dislike when English Publishers do this, splitting up volumes of a story that is meant to be read together. Japanese publishers will often release multiple volumes either on the same release day, or barely a month apart, like the original publication of Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea. So this book ends with no clear "ending". Anybody who is used to light novels that were polished from webnovels will be familiar with this, but just a word of warning. Since I read this fairly late (I was in no hurry since I've already read it before), the 2nd part of Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea is out tomorrow. Anybody reading this should buy both volumes before starting this series! It's hard for me to recommend this series based purely on the merits of the first book, but in some ways, it represents a unique time period and a unique author in the light novel space. Twelve Kingdoms is a prestige work with an award-winning author, and the character writing in the first book clearly shows it. Youko is in no way prepared for the harsh world that she's been thrust into, and her insecurities continue to plague her. However, in this volume, she slowly starts to fight her way through her struggles, and establish herself as the main character. This is not an author who is pressed to get to the "good stuff" right away. She has a world to build, and a story to tell, and it's worth putting in the effort to consume. #### Extra Thoughts I wanted to save the discussion of the translation for after the main impressions, since it's a bit tangential to the point. Tokyopop initially licensed the series for the U.S., and produced the most hamfisted localization you can imagine, courtesy of the early 2000s "jelly donuts" style. Generally, nobody likes this translation due to a myriad of weird choices. I think the Seven Seas translation by Kim Morrissy did a great job; it was snappy and to the point, and kept my attention while reading. While I can read some Japanese, I'm not fluent enough to judge how accurate or inaccurate this translation is. However, I do want to let readers know that there is an alternative to the current official version. In the years where Tokyopop went defunct, and nobody had the license or intent to republish the series, Eugene Woodbury took on the massive project of re-translating The Twelve Kingdoms and did a fantastic job at it. He finished translating up to the most recent book (Hills of Silver Ruins as of now), but he unfortunately passed away recently in January 2025. He never got to see the re-release of The Twelve Kingdoms, but I earnestly believe that his hard work is what led this series to get licensed again. Woodbury's translation contains notes and reference material about the particular historical and cultural aspects that Ono included in her work. I'm not sure how much of this is something that the average Japanese reader is supposed to be aware of, but I found it really helpful, and edifying. I don't want his hard work to disappear, he literally kept this fandom alive! But I also don't want his work to be a replacement for supporting Fuyumi Ono through official means. Please, if you're interested in reading this series, support the official release by Seven Seas (even by checking it out from the library!). Once you've read that, do consider checking out the Woodbury version for some interesting additional context and alternate interpretations of the source. * * *

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong Vol. 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX), Illustrated by Xiao Tong Kong (Velinxi). Translated by Faelicy (faelicy) & Lily (lily_ocho). Published by Seven Seas. It's going to be pretty difficult to talk about this series without spoilers, so I'll do my best. After Shen Qingqiu/Shen Yuan pushed Luo Binghe into the abyss, he spent his time regretting his choices, wishing things could have gone differently. The beginning of the book deals with a brief excursion to setup some insurance in case everything goes wrong. As you can imagine, nothing goes to plan. I thought Luo Binghe would take some time to show up in the story again since he'd be travelling the Endless Abyss, but while there is a timeskip, for the reader he appears again fairly quickly. And there are certainly hard feelings on both sides, as neither Luo Binghe nor Shen Qingqiu explain their actions or their feelings about what happened, and their intentions towards one another. This entire book is what I call a "Misunderstanding Masochism Tango", where neither lead is upfront about their true feelings, causing misunderstandings that spiral into drastic (bad) actions. Since this is a Danmei novel, the reader knows to expect that Luo Binghe obviously has feelings for Shen Qingqiu. However, Shen Qingqiu does _not_ know that he's in this genre yet, and firmly believes that he's straight. What plays out is a classic "I care about this person, and think about them all the time, but I'm not _gay_ for them, ew!" situation. Many characters try to point out the possibility that Binghe loves Shen Qingqiu as that's the only reasonable explanation for his actions, but Shen Yuan is as dense as a black hole. Shen Yuan so firmly believes that he's in a stallion novel, so I'm not surprised that he hasn't figured it out yet. This forces Luo Binghe to be more aggressive and forward (downright yandere and obsessive) than he would otherwise need to be. On top of this, Shen Yuan refuses to communicate, and basically runs away from Binghe at every opportunity from what is supposed to be his beloved disciple. Nobody understands why he's doing this except for him. Listen, are either of these traits in the leads healthy at all? Absolutely not. But this is not a straightforward romance series for people who are accustomed to reading about healthy relationships. No, this is entertainment for hardcore danmei/BL novel fans who are inoculated against insane bullshit that is normally used in this genre. I fall into that demographic, and I found it highly entertaining. This book wasn't always "happy and funny", but I could tell it was using its tragic moments for not only shock value, but as almost a parody of those tropes to begin with. Gory, outrageous, humorous, and sometimes, adorable. Honestly, this entire series is representative of Binghe himself, since his personality change from revenge seeking stallion to yandere, but cute and lovable male lead is basically what this series is about. There is one thing that I'm not happy about with this series, and it's Gongyi Xiao's death. I felt that it was unnecessary, given that it occurs with little warning and no emotional buildup. Gongyi represented the flipside of Binghe, someone who is honest about their feelings but isn't obsessive. I think there was a really good character arc there that ended up cut and wasted. I also just really liked Gongyi, since he was one of the few people that Shen Yuan could rely on. It just isolated him more, and gave him even less opportunities for emotional growth. I'm excited to continue further, once the next book becomes available. It seems the 3rd book is the last book in the main story (since the 4th is all side stories), so I'm curious to see how things will wrap up. If you're interested in my liveblog for this series, you can read it here. * * *

Lout of Count's Family Volume 4 by Yu Ryeo-Han, Cover by Ashigaru Ashi. Translation by Henry Shin and Amy Cho. Published by Seven Seas. One of the difficult things about giving my impressions on this series is that I genuinely don't know where it's going, or even what to compare it to. Since it's a long Korean webnovel (with at least 18 books of content), I know the story will only continue to build from here. But the content and tropes of the story don't fit into any story structures or overarching plots that I can identify right now. Cale Henituse is now well and truly past the point where his previous knowledge about the Birth of a Hero novels will help him navigate this world. However, he's navigating it well just with his "selfish" nature and scheming. We're aware that there will be a war in the future due to intelligence that the northern countries are building up their armed forces, so Cale has no choice but to help his country and his region build up defenses as well. Cale's main character ability (other than all the other random magic tools, skills, and ancient powers that he's picked up) must be persuasion, because he never falters in a single negotiation. The Prince of Rowoon, Albert, knows this, which is why he drags him in as part of his political entourage. As much as Cale hates this, he's really good at it! Of course, people without knowledge of his internal thoughts continue to view him as a saintly nobleman who only cares about the good of his country (lol). He certainly cares about the people around him. His bleeding heart is obvious to everyone but him, especially when he can't ignore the two Saint twins of the Sun religion, one of whom was previously with the evil secret organization Arm, before defecting. We get their backstory, and Cale tries to help them out, even despite everyone else's misgivings. He also ends up helping the Tiger tribe and the Whale tribe get their revenge on Arm as well. Oh, I also can't forget about the _other_ dragon that ends up joining Cale for the time being. He's just recruiting and adding people to his crew left and right, even when he doesn't want to. He's literally collecting weirdos in his family like Pokemon! I've been enjoying the political machinations; it's still fun to see Cale prepare and then trounce people in negotiations. As much as I'm enjoying the various side quests that he chooses to take, I am curious about the bigger picture. Edit: I also forgot to add, we got a new cover artist this volume! I really like their style, Cale looks as regal as one would expect. * * *

The Trials and Tribulations of My Next Life as a NoblewomanVolume 2 by Kamihara, Illustrated by Shiro46. Translated by Hengtee Lim, Edited by Ruuri. Published by J-Novel Heart (J-Novel Club). I'm fully intent on reading this series "as it was intended", so J-Novel's decision to split up the volumes means that I had to wait until the 2nd part was out in order to read them together. It's annoying, but I understand, since these books are huge for light novels. We at least get a new art (a new cover!) for part 2. There's really no way to talk about these books without spoiling the plot. More to the point, the book's official synopsis (both parts) pretty much tells you what happens. Does that mean that these plot points aren't spoilers? I don't know, but I'll do my best to give impressions without totally giving up the plot. The domain of Conrad is attacked by unknown assailants in this book, and Karen's life turns completely upside down. Most of the Conrad household and domain is brutally attacked, leaving few survivors. Through the hard work of her protectors Karen is barely able to escape. This was such a harrowing arc, and for me it was just as shocking as the "Red Wedding" in Game of Thrones. I'm sorry I keep comparing this series to A Song of Ice and Fire, especially since I've never read it, but I was a big fan of the TV show (until they ruined it) and it's pretty much my only point of comparison for how horrible events end up stacking up top of each other. The first domino falls, which leads to everything cascading down. Karen is barely able to keep her wits about her as she deftly navigates the difficult political situation. And also, I'm NOT sorry about the Game of Thrones comparison because there's literally a scene in this book that's the equivalent of the duel between The Mountain and Oberyn Martell. I'm pretty sure that one of the named characters that joins the group later is also a reference to some pretty recognizable GOT characters. Is the author a fan of the series? I hope so, otherwise I'd feel like I was going crazy. Anyways, the political situation becomes even _more_ complicated, as the country basically falls to ruin. Karen originally decided to emigrate to the Empire when the time had come (and had secured the means to do so in the last book), and this is the volume where that happens. The second half of the book is basically about how she starts to build a new life in the Arrendle Empire. This seemed to be a pretty low-fantasy setting, but there is indeed magic in the world, as shown by the mage Six and his abilities. While he's a pretty mysterious character, there's more of the magic system being displayed in this book, and I'm curious to find out more. Karen's relationship with Reinald also develops in this book, and it's obvious to everyone except her that she has feelings for him. From a viewer perspective, it's also obvious to the reader that Reinald feels the same way about her, and he tries to take some small steps forward. They are both pretty level-headed, and consider the practicality of their relationship more than anything, which is why there hasn't been any big developments. But it's nice to see them start to depend on each other. However, I also have some mixed feelings about this, since circumstances lead to Karen being pretty dependent on Reinald's resources and political standing. This ends up leading to more issues and obstacles for her though, as it's a bad look, and I'm at least satisfied that he's not simply "saving the day" for now. It's pretty integrated into the plot, so I'm happy to follow along to see how they overcome their next hurdle. I honestly think that this series easily stands with the best of them, as the plot developments are fast and furious. There's never a dull moment, and some of the twists are pretty shocking. Also, the author loves cliffhangers, so there is of course a crazy development at the end of this book that will leave you itching for the next one. * * *

The Despicable Duke Settles His Affairs by Miori Kayamoto, Illustrated by Karatsuyu. Translated by Faye Duxovni, Edited by C.D. Leeson. Published by J-Novel Knight (J-Novel Club). Before I get into this particular release, I'd like to discuss the context that this book is releasing in. Right now, there are 3 major publishers in the light novel space in the U.S: Yen Press, J-Novel Club, and Seven Seas Entertainment. There are also smaller publishers like Cross Infinite World and Hanashi Media, as well as companies who specialize in other media like Kodansha and Viz Media that have also some light novels and other Japanese novels as part of their repertoire. Yen Press and J-Novel Club are currently owned by the same parent company, Kadokawa, which is a big Japanese media conglomerate that has at least majority stake in both companies. They are giant machine that churns out popular hits. When it comes to LGBTQ manga, there has been great success in licensing and selling popular series. However, that wasn't the case with novels. Light novels in general have had a rougher start in the U.S. market, and you could argue that the dearth of BL (Boys Love) and GL (Girls Love) series is related to that. But we are already past the time period where big, well known light novel franchises were licensed. Right now, every company is looking for untapped potential and a way to expand their existing sales. In the midst of all this, Seven Seas Entertainment (which is independent as of now) found that new market in 2022 with Chinese Danmei (BL) novels. Series like Heaven's Official Blessing and Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation topped the New York Times Best Seller charts, making them proper mainstream hits, in a way that no light novel series has ever achieved. Seven Seas continues to license and release Korean and Chinese Danmei novels, and of course Kadokawa has recognized that this was a direction that they could expand in the U.S. market. Although it took a while, both Yen Press and J-Novel Club are now making efforts to license more BL and GL series. For example, Yen Press released "The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter" (which I've covered here) as well as other series. J-Novel Club's effort is a new BL-specific imprint called "J-Novel Knight". The Despicable Duke Settles His Affairs is one of the first licenses for the new J-Novel Knight imprint, so quite a bit is riding on this. Official Synopsis _After careful consideration and meticulous planning, Kashimiya Tsukasa ends his life to save his family. However, instead of reaching the afterlife, his eyes snap open to scenes of torture, mutilation, and so much pain…all inflicted by his own hands. When his head clears, he realizes that he’s been reincarnated into the world of his favorite novel—not as a hero, but as the sadistic Duke Heinreid von Rodvelia. Haunted by the memories of the duke’s vile deeds, he vows to atone by giving himself the permanent ending he deserves. But soon, his shift in personality arouses the suspicions of Craig Bauer, Heinreid’s personal knight and the one who finally kills him in the original novel. Craig’s attention slips into obsession, and as his fate intertwines with Heinreid’s doomed destiny, the story of the novel begins to warp around them. Will Heinreid end up skewered down to the hilt of Craig’s sword? Or can even the most despicable duke find a reason to keep living beyond the final page?_ So with all that prologue out of the way, how is the actual book? I think J-Novel Club picked an interesting one. It's a oneshot with a dark premise: what if you reincarnated into the body of an abject villain? In most reincarnation stories like this, the main character who gets reincarnated as a villain or villainess does it at a point of the story where they haven't committed any evil deeds. They avert their fate due to "becoming" a good person. Interestingly, this series takes the opposite approach. Even though "Tsukasa" wasn't in control at the time, Heinreid really is evil, and is as despicable as they come. He's murdered and tortured people, and he clearly deserves death. Tsukasa plans his own suicide, believing that it's only right. Of course, since this is a BL novel, there is a handsome male lead to "save the day", Craig Bauer. But Craig hates Heinreid, and betrays him in the original novel, hence the tension between the two. Overall, the premise is awesome and makes for an interesting read, but it's hard to say that it was executed well. At the end of the day, this is still a spicy BL novel with numerous "spicy" scenes, and plenty of the book is dedicated to that. I feel like this oneshot would have benefited from being expanded into at least a 2-book series to give the author more time to develop the romance between Craig and Heinreid. The ramp-up of the character's feelings was pretty abrupt, and could have been done more smoothly. However, I do appreciate the ample "epilogue" of this novel. It doesn't simply end when the "main story" is over, it goes in-depth into how Heinreid and Craig navigate their new precarious relationship. I also appreciated how it explored themes of suicide and mental illness, and how love isn't a magic fix for people who are truly suffering. I'm really happy to see J-Novel branching out since BL and GL is fairly underrepresented in Light Novels, and I'm certainly interested to see what they end up licensing. They announced a new series that looks fairly interesting, but unfortunately the first book won't release until February of 2026. * * *

Lout of Count's Family Volume 3 by Yu Ryeo-Han, Cover by LOKOnity. Translation by Henry Shin and Amy Cho. Published by Seven Seas. Cale Henituse continues to believe that he's a selfish person who just wants to laze around. I think this volume makes it clear that this is just Kim Roksu's interpretation of himself, and that everyone else around him can see that he's honestly a softhearted person that attempts to help people whenever he can (that doesn't stop him from scamming people out of their money though). Raon Mir finally gets his revenge against his captors, in a pretty disturbing way. I'm glad the author didn't just decide to show violence for shock value, but actually showed _why_ Benion Sten is a bastard who deserves everything that's coming to him. You can tell that Cale is infuriated by it, and will make life hell for anyone who harms his family. It's a hard scene to read, and it's the opener for this book. That theme is even reiterated in the same volume when Cale goes out of his way to help Ron, the man who practically raised him. Poor Ron (the assassin and combat butler) comes back on the verge of death, and Cale takes his own revenge against the secret organization who did this to him in the most bombastic way possible. Luckily the rest of the book is pretty lighthearted. Cale manages to meet both the dark and light elves, and even adds someone to his party. There's a timeskip in this book, and the narration makes sure to let us know that Cale spent that entire time lazing around. Meanwhile, other people do the hard work of preparing alliances, building fortresses, ships, etc. Things are moving along, slowly. * * *

Agents of the Four Seasons, Dance of Summer Part I and II, Written by Kana Akatsuki, Illustrated by Suoh. Translated by Sergio Avila, Published by Yen ON (Yen Press). Dance of Summer is another two-part story, this time focusing on the Agents of Summer, Ruri and Ayame Hazakura. In the last installment, we were dealing the kidnapping of Autumn and the subsequent rescue. This book contains the fallout from some of the events in the previous book, including Ruri's resurrection by Autumn. Now that there are _two_ Agents of Summer, everyone is happy, right? Unfortunately not. There are scumbags in each Season's Town that are blaming the agents and guardians for taking the drastic actions to rescue Autumn, and most of the conservatives (who call themselves Doyen Turtle) would rather kill off the Agents and "start fresh" with a new set of impressionable children. The book dives heavily into some of the politics of how the Towns function, including how the seclusion of each seasons' society leads to rampant abuses of power. As always, each character is struggling just to get by and keep their sanity. None of the Agents are safe in the outside world, with terrorists targeting them at every chance they get, but this installment shows that the Agents aren't safe _inside_ their supposed safe-haven either. While we follow Ruri and Ayame, we also meet their grooms-to-be in these volumes as well, including Renri Rouo (pictured on Dance of Summer I with Ayame) and Raicho Kimikage (on Dance of Summer II with Ruri). The stories of romance in this series are just as heart-rending as expected, and every scene with Renri just about made me cry for both Ayame and Renri, who are both going through some truly difficult emotions. Raicho and Ruri's meeting was more humorous, and matched their personalities well. These volumes also contained more development for Sakura and Itecho as well, as Itecho is _finally_ realizing why he doesn't want to let go of his place in Sakura's life. We also met a new "divine" being in these books, Kaguya Fugeki, who is the Archer of Twilight. Just like the seasons, it seems the day/night cycle in this world isn't a natural occurrence either. It's built on the sacrifices of the Archers who must climb a sacred mountain and fire their arrows at the appointed time, meaning that they can never stray more than a half-day away from their job, and never take time off. Kaguya is a grown adult, and it was nice to see a reasonable person want to protect the child Agents he comes into contact with. I have to warn people that some of the abuses suffered by the characters are a little too real. (One scumbag even says that Ruri would have been better off dead) Multiple characters are suicidal, but I'm glad that it's treated with sincerity and gravity. These young kids never chose to have their job, they're just trying to fulfill it to the best of their abilities while trying to live a "somewhat" happy life. It's infuriating to see the people who are supposed to be protecting them, abuse their positions and take advantage of their kindness. Honestly, I feel like if the outside world knew what was happening to their beloved Seasons, they would charge the towns with child abuse and revoke their authority for management of these divine beings. I'm glad we achieved a happy ending here, the characters definitely deserve it, as it was hard fought. I won't spoil it, but I'm sure it's pretty obvious based on the covers of these books haha. I'm really invested in this series and characters, and the next volume will be about the Archer of Dawn, Kaya Fugeki. I already have the book, but who knows when I'll be in the mood to read it. This series is definite a heavy read, not "light" at all despite being a light novel. I always have to have tissues ready. * * *

The Apothecary Diaries Volume 15 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Translated by Kevin Steinbach. Published by J-Novel Club. With this volume, we're pretty much caught up with the Apothecary Diaries series. While Volume 16 was released in May in Japan, it takes time for J-Novel to license and translate the series. I'm glad we caught up, but it sucks because this was such a short volume and I'm always hungry for more precious Maomao antics. This was a short volume dealing with not the impending smallpox plague, but a different medical crisis entirely. I'm really interested in the medical aspects of the series, and this volume delivered on that aspect. Maomao is basically a resident at this point, as she's been assigned a new post to help with an ongoing drug trial. Everyone is curious as to _why_ this is happening, but Maomao quickly figures out that a VIP must be ill with the same illness that they're testing the drugs for. I really loved the scenes that go in-depth on how they must prepare to treat this VIP, and even prepare for death if they fail. I was even wondering if their diagnosis was correct in the initial parts of the story, but there is a very interesting twist there. Tianyu has been pushed as Maomao's foil in surgery, and I was expecting him to really show his stuff here. Let's just say that his actions in this book will leave the reader just as disappointed as Maomao was (haha). There was also some further character development with Ah Duo, the Emperor, and Gaoshun. Even 15 volumes in, I'm impressed that we're learning so much about the characters and seeing all the different facets of their personality. It's a treat to see. Ahead are spoiler thoughts for people who have already read this book: I find the Emperor's relationship with Ah Duo quite interesting. He clearly loves her, but also simultaneously does and doesn't regret trapping her into this relationship. She doesn't forgive him, but she still cares about him too. They have an interesting dynamic, and it was also quite heartwarming to see Ah Duo so happy to see her own son (Jinshi) not make the same mistakes as his father. I was honestly so exasperated with Tianyu when he refused to operate on the Emperor because it was "boring" (he was expecting the Emperor to be divine in some way). It's perfectly in character, but I also agree with Maomao threatening to cut off his fingers LOL. I'm also trying something new with spoiler text, since I want to incorporate more spoiler thoughts into my posts in a smoother way. Hopefully it works well! * * *

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX), Illustrated by Xiao Tong Kong (Velinxi). Translated byFaelicy (faelicy) & Lily (lily_ocho). Published by Seven Seas. Official Synopsis _Half-demon Luo Binghe rose from humble beginnings and a tortured past to become unrivaled in strength and beauty. With his dominion over both the Human and Demon Realms and his hundreds-strong harem, he is truly the most powerful protagonist...in a trashy webnovel series! At least, that's what Shen Yuan believes as he finishes reading the final chapter in "Proud Immortal Demon Way". But when a bout of rage leads to his sudden death, Shen Yuan is reborn into the world of the novel in the body of Shen Qingqiu--the beautiful but cruel teacher of a young Luo Binghe. While Shen Qingqiu may have the incredible power of a cultivator, he is destined to be horrifically punished for crimes against the protagonist. The new Shen Qingqiu now has only one course of action: get into Luo Binghe's good graces before the young man's rise to power or suffer the awful fate of a true scum villain!_ This series was recommended to me when I asked for recs after finishing the Lord of Mysteries donghua, by my friend/mutual Geraineon, who also runs the Chinese Novels Dreamwidth community. I'm a lurker there, but my friend kindly gave me quite a few series to check out (which will probably end up on this blog if I'm being honest). The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System (SVSSS) was the first one that I was intrigued by, simply because the premise seems more light-hearted (which I needed after Lord of Mysteries). I've seen some fan content for this series, but due to the fact that I didn't really understand who the characters were, I don't think I'm really spoiled on plot from that perspective. My general impression was that this was quite the popular series, given that MXTX has three series on the NY Bestseller List. Right from the beginning, this is a series laden with in-jokes and self-deprecating humor when it comes to webnovels as a medium. The tropes it's referencing are well established. Even though I'm new to the xianxia genre, there were enough footnotes and context to get the gist of the jokes. It helps that I'm already well versed in light novel and fanfic communities, so I had equivalent tropes to compare to. Shen Yuan is an avid reader of the Proud Immortal Demon Way webnovel, except that he's quite the toxic fan. As soon as he finishes reading the series, he curses the author and series for it's ending, and ends up kicking the bucket because of it. Did he literally have an aneurysm from his hatred of the series? We don't really get specifics on that front, but it sets the tone for how ridiculous this main character is. Shen Yuan becomes Shen Qingqiu, the loser villain at the beginning of the series. The whole plot is about him desperately trying to ingratiate himself to Luo Binghe (the main protagonist) so he doesn't get horrifically killed for his misdeeds. He spends the entire time trying to go along with the "System", which is basically telling him to fix the novel himself, at "gunpoint" lol. This must be a trope in webnovels, since "reincarnating into a book as a villain" has been done in several series that I've read, most notably Lout of Count's Family (which is Korean), and even Despicable Duke Settles His Affairs (a BL light novel). This book was so funny, there were several scenes that had me laughing (and even giggling) at how unobservant Shen Yuan is. He does everything he can to look good in front of Luo Binghe, and then doesn't understand why Binghe naturally comes to have a crush on him. It's heartwarming and sweet, and it's painful to read when you realize that Shen Qingqiu has to betray Binghe at a critical juncture because it's a canon event. Shen Qingqiu also seems to not understand that he might have feelings for Luo Binghe as well. He harps on about how the ladies in Binghe's harem are abject beauties, but you can tell that he admires Binghe's looks the most, that he's going to grow up to be _handsome_ for sure. He even talks about how much he didn't even like the fanservice in the original Proud Immortal Demon Way, and cared much more about the monster fights. Seems like the poor dude hasn't realized that he isn't straight yet haha. I had an excellent time reading this (you can read my liveblog of the series here). I'll also update my liveblog when I read future volumes, since I'm already grasping for the next one (eagerly waiting for my library hold to come up!). It feels weird to say that I'm glad this is a short series, at only 4 volumes. It's fully complete, which means I will be bingeing it! * * *

The Twelve Kingdoms Volume 1 by Fuyumi Ono, Illustrated by Akihiro Yamada. Translated by Kim Morrissy, Published by Seven Seas. Official Synopsis: _When high school student Youko Nakajima is approached by an enigmatic, blonde-haired stranger named Keiki, her life is turned upside down. Whisked away into the perilous world of the Twelve Kingdoms—a realm teeming with mythical beasts, ancient prophecies, and political intrigue—Youko finds herself alone and hunted. With danger at every corner, she must fight to survive, all while grappling with shocking revelations about her true identity that could shatter everything she thought she knew.**Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea** introduces readers to a breathtaking fantasy world, where nations rise and fall, and destiny awaits those who dare to seize it!_ Unfortunately, I have a lot to yap about before I get into my thoughts about this book, as usual. It's pretty much impossible to come at this with no biases whatsoever because I've already seen the anime, read a previous fan translation, and generally have positive feelings towards the series due to it's beautiful artwork, enough to have collected the artbooks by Akihiro Yamada-sensei. So it's pretty much impossible for me to give any fresh impressions on a book like this. If you're interested in this series, I highly recommend watching the anime first before reading the books. It's not absolutely necessary, but I think the slow burn of the plot is better able to be tolerated in anime form, which has other charms such as the music and voice acting. The book itself cuts to the chase fairly quickly. Youko, a goody-two-shoes doormat of a high-school girl, gets isekai'd (no trucks this time, this is the 1990s) by Keiki, a mysterious man with blonde hair, who proclaims himself a servant of Youko. He uses summoned beasts (which are often more like chimeras that can talk) to whisk Youko away to another world. However, they get separated in the process, and Youko is left to fend for herself, with only a magical sword and a creepy body-controlling demon that gives her martial abilities. Due to the age of this series and the author's pedigree, nothing about this series follows the regular tropes of isekai light novels as we know them today. Rather than a power fantasy, Youko is left practically helpless, lost in a new world. She spends the entirety of the first book fighting physical and mental anguish. Rather than wanting to help her, most people are trying to hunt her down for her perceived sins. It makes for a compelling first book, but it's also only half of the story. I dislike when English Publishers do this, splitting up volumes of a story that is meant to be read together. Japanese publishers will often release multiple volumes either on the same release day, or barely a month apart, like the original publication of Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea. So this book ends with no clear "ending". Anybody who is used to light novels that were polished from webnovels will be familiar with this, but just a word of warning. Since I read this fairly late (I was in no hurry since I've already read it before), the 2nd part of Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea is out tomorrow. Anybody reading this should buy both volumes before starting this series! It's hard for me to recommend this series based purely on the merits of the first book, but in some ways, it represents a unique time period and a unique author in the light novel space. Twelve Kingdoms is a prestige work with an award-winning author, and the character writing in the first book clearly shows it. Youko is in no way prepared for the harsh world that she's been thrust into, and her insecurities continue to plague her. However, in this volume, she slowly starts to fight her way through her struggles, and establish herself as the main character. This is not an author who is pressed to get to the "good stuff" right away. She has a world to build, and a story to tell, and it's worth putting in the effort to consume. #### Extra Thoughts I wanted to save the discussion of the translation for after the main impressions, since it's a bit tangential to the point. Tokyopop initially licensed the series for the U.S., and produced the most hamfisted localization you can imagine, courtesy of the early 2000s "jelly donuts" style. Generally, nobody likes this translation due to a myriad of weird choices. I think the Seven Seas translation by Kim Morrissy did a great job; it was snappy and to the point, and kept my attention while reading. While I can read some Japanese, I'm not fluent enough to judge how accurate or inaccurate this translation is. However, I do want to let readers know that there is an alternative to the current official version. In the years where Tokyopop went defunct, and nobody had the license or intent to republish the series, Eugene Woodbury took on the massive project of re-translating The Twelve Kingdoms and did a fantastic job at it. He finished translating up to the most recent book (Hills of Silver Ruins as of now), but he unfortunately passed away recently in January 2025. He never got to see the re-release of The Twelve Kingdoms, but I earnestly believe that his hard work is what led this series to get licensed again. Woodbury's translation contains notes and reference material about the particular historical and cultural aspects that Ono included in her work. I'm not sure how much of this is something that the average Japanese reader is supposed to be aware of, but I found it really helpful, and edifying. I don't want his hard work to disappear, he literally kept this fandom alive! But I also don't want his work to be a replacement for supporting Fuyumi Ono through official means. Please, if you're interested in reading this series, support the official release by Seven Seas (even by checking it out from the library!). Once you've read that, do consider checking out the Woodbury version for some interesting additional context and alternate interpretations of the source. * * *