- #1
This novel was kind of disappointing and I'm probably going to be dropping it for this reason. The reason I'm giving it 3 starts is because it's has a very interesting premise, has a great translation, and I can totally see someone with different tastes than me really enjoying.Pros:Like I said before the premise itself is great and everything that happens pre-reincarnation/time skip is amazing build up for what's to come. Their dynamic is genuinely really heart wrenching in these first couple chapters and it's so satisfying to see Abel's kindness shine through all the corruption in the palace. The author also does a great job of making the Prince's cruelty come from a place of innocence rather than just being inherently evil. All that makes his quite endearing as a child and later somewhat as an adult. This is something that I feel get's lost a bit as the novel goes on. The comedy writing and world building is also very good, if you love high western fantasy then you will probably really love this setting. Separate from my opinions of the novel I really want to give a shoutout to the translator because it shows that they have been putting so much work into it and really love this work.Cons:This novel suffers from a bad case of the author wanting to write innocent ray of sunshine MC x ruthless killer ML but not wanting to deal with the optics of that. Obviously I am simplifying their characters but for all intents and purposes this is the dynamic the author wants to portray. Our ML will literally kill anyone for any reason, enemies, doctors, women, and children he killed all of them without a care in front of our MC. So why does our innocent MC who we are told highly values life and is deeply saddened by the thought of the Prince having to kill to survive barely fazed by this. Sure he does have moments of fear and disgust but he'll just pass out and wake up completely fine, ready to have cute moments with the ML again as if he had a case of amnesia. He'll plead for a characters life in the moment or shed a few tears when he see's a head fly off but it doesn't really have any long term effects on their relationship. Spoiler
The worst case of it is when the Abel finally learns that the Karas is the Prince and begins spiraling to the point where he literally dies from grief. It's honestly really well written you can feel the terror and guilt that Abel feels for all the death and suffering he may have caused. So tell me why the moment Able wakes up all of that tension is gone and they're giggling having their first kiss with no thoughts at all as to why he almost died a couple minutes ago.
[collapse] It's to a point where he gets over these deaths so quickly that it all feels meaningless. Why does any of this matter if the MC is just going to pretend like it never happened and keep moving forward with the ML romantically in the same exact way. I get some people like this, it assures that the main couple will end up together regardless of what is put in front of them, but it really annoys me. I feel it takes away the possibilities for interesting conflicts and character growth in favor of cute fluffy couple moments that (in my opinion) feel unearned.Again I completely understand that a lot of people prefer this type of writing and want those fluffy cute couple moments, which is completely valid. So if you read my very long con and saw no problems with it then go ahead and read you will probably enjoy it a lot! If you are like me and are looking for some drama you might be disappointed.