Taming the Marquess

The end has so many plotholes you can use it as colander, it's like the author forgot the details along the way. ML's surname is funny, tho: it will let you screenshot some precious memes

⚜️ Season 1:

intro to characters.
raising the Ador family name
contractual marriage

👑 Season 2:

Plot for the throne. Emperor & first prince dead. Hazen crowned.
Nobles united against new emperor hunted/executed.
Relationship conflict from Eskal’s secrets
Hazen sends Eskal on suicide mission (discards him)
Trying to find the blue flame source to heal Eskal

🔹 Season 3

intro the Eilstar (dragon who gave Dyke blue flame)
the past. Founding and fall of Suspen empire.
the revenge of the last blue dragon
Eskal near death

——— ASPECTS / TROPES ———

• He falls first
• Good characterisation of side characters (not just blind support of main characters)
• Contractual marriage
• Second ML is a prince
• Dwarfs and dragons
• A magic sentient sword 🗡️ (Chelspen)
• Side relationship: FL’s younger brother (Lindt) with ML’s sister (Shinnuy)
• OP ML

——— MAIN CHARACTERS ———
🌻 Laranora Ador (FL)

• skills in swordsmanship
• optimistic, honest, strong sense of justice/honour
• warm, boisterous family (multiple brothers, single dad)
• family pride in blacksmithing
• Strong influence in family business (forging weapons)

🦋 Eskal van Dyck (ML)

powerful, cynical, oddly considerate
often with apathetic expression
can’t say no the the FL
tragic past. Abusive parents.
feared but powerful, influential family
becomes secret enforcer of new emperor

❄️ Hazen Lomanic (2nd ML-ish/villain)

second prince > emperor
calculating, driven, ambitious, calm
looked down on as child. Fell for FL.

CONTENT WARNINGS
Salve trade, Public ridicule, body shaming (reference), extreme dieting (memory), violence, parental abuse (memory), sex (implied. Off-screen), parental neglect (memory), suicide (off-screen), massacre

I am crushing over the FL ngl

I'd say the female lead is fairly decent. In a male dominated world with the male lead having op powers, she gets a pass for not being strong enough to help her family when even the prince couldn't.

Though the prince seems like a scheming scumbag, if this somehow turns into a love triangle I'll probably drop my rating.

The male lead can be quite scary. I have no idea of his kill count and don't think he's planning on stopping anytime soon.

Gorgeous art, interesting premise, and good characters but terrible story boarding. The story boarding leaves much to be wanted and makes the story feels flat. The pacing I would say is good at the beginning but got affected by the story boarding. The story boarding is so bad it gives reader no emotional attachment at all.

Like a very bad actor who is clearly trying in an otherwise good movie.

The premise of the story was interesting but the execution was not. The pace felt hurried and the flow of the development was unnatural. Also the FL is unattractive in the sense that she was not strong enough to hold her own without the help of her brothers or the ML and the parts that were made to depict her as sweet or sentimental were just weird. I mean, she was worried about him one moment and next thing you know, without reason, she just decided to sing a lullaby for him. Cringe. Not to mention she’s always wearing shabby men’s wear. I don’t even mean the kind of cross dressing that looks dashing and confident. Just shabby. Always. With a generic, typical 90s shoujo FL vibe of being kind of ditsy and bubbly and tomboyish at the same time… it’s just hard to find her interesting in today’s climate when you have many strong and well thought out characters like Medea Solon, Raeliana McMillan, Latrasil Tarium or Navier (Remarried Empress) who are in addition, drawn beautifully. The ML is also pretty basic, but at least he is drawn more attractively if one were to compare the design against that of the FL. The clothes he wears in his true form are great, so it’s not like the artist can’t do better for the FL. Maybe in later chapters she might be dressed better, but I’m not reading past chapter 18. I can’t.

Haphazard world building too. The culture built around the nobility in this story makes little sense. Like, an early plot line was an attack by a rival family/territory; who arbitrarily attacks another noble household without worrying about the consequences of the law? Or does the King not care if nobles just kill each other whenever they feel like it? There’s also an odd fixation with auction houses. There’s too much emphasis on it.

Also this doesn’t count towards the rating cause the translations aren’t official (where I read from), but most of the chapters were translated poorly. The dialogue was already weird to begin with so… Can’t enjoy the art and can’t enjoy what’s going on either.

Anyway, tldr, the pace and flow is unnatural, FL looks bad, her personality is a 90s shoujo manga throwback, and everything is cringey. Do not recommend.