- #1
To be clear: the plot, like traditional fairytales, isn't lacking painful points, e.g. poverty, illness, violence... Our MC starts out in a grim (m) situation, a fallen noble crushed by debt after the death of her father and brother. Every day is a struggle to provide the most basic necessities of life, while supporting her ailing mother. (A benevolent mother figure, still breathing?!? - THANK YOU, author!)
As someone who's awakened memories of a former life, of course her secret 'superpower' is knowledge of the original boo... no, wait; that's wrong. Her knowledge of the original book plot has been almost completely useless! (thus far.) Her actual 'superpower'? - Being a bookworm!
Let's take a moment to discuss MC's personality... If ordered to describe her in a single word, I'd blurt out "average", or possibly "normal". The better end of normal, of course - she is every inch a heroine! - none of the pettiness, laziness, or mean-spiritedness that mere mortals like myself are made of. It seems she was born to star in one of those contemporary romances where your humble plain-Jane MC is quietly going about the drudgery of everyday life, when some mortifying accident causes her to catch the eye of the Big Bad Boss, sparks fly, and...!
*ahem* Well, anyway - MC is sensible, modest, polite, quietly efficient... she might as well have the phrase "Office Lady" written all over her. Ironic, as in her previous life she was not one... Likely her current demeanour stems more from this life's recent experiences: disguised as a boy (prior to the story; no pseudo-BL here) to get work, acting timidly in front of employers lest her deception be discovered, learning to blend into the background like a mouse. (Though she transforms into a hissing, spitting cat at threats to someone she cares for - quick to unsheathe her claws against those who try to bully her mother, in particular.) Either way, apparent in all aspects of her attitude - the way she walks, the way she talks - is an air of Extreme Averageness.
... By the standards of our 21st Century world, that is. By the standards of the historical-magical-fantasy world she's now in? - all that I've just described comes across as extremely freaking weird to people who spend more than five minutes in her company.
Being a bookworm is just the most obvious instance: in this setting, women of any class knowing how to read/write is extremely rare, and generally considered "worthless". MC does not merely know how; she excels when dealing with the written word. Passion and extensive practice produced a gift for reading aloud, in particular - in her former life, she was a voice actress.
Gauging what stage of "the plot" the world is at, she summons up her courage to apply for a non-existent job as Admin Assistant to the Male Lead. Both he and his aide are taken aback, thinking she must be a very clumsy spy. However when they hear her heavenly reading voice, they quickly agree to hire her, while inwardly vowing to unearth her sinister hidden motive. (... It's money. Nothing hidden about her search for a decent living wage, fellas.)
Our cold Duke of the North West has a literal secret superpower (not mentioned in the original novel) : specifically, heightened senses. Since losing his sight last year (in a fight with a particularly vicious flower), his other senses have run haywire (why hello there Matt Murdock). His incapacitation means various matters in his domain are starting to slide out of control - despite his quite lovely supporting cast of loyal employees - as he occupies each day moodily brooding in the gloomiest corner of his castle.
Though she appreciates him as a magnanimous employer, MC is frequently disconcerted by his erratic behaviour. Habitually grumpy, often outright menacing (beastly temper, one might say)... He's struggling to come to terms with his 'permanent' (ha) disability, and the prospect of constant torture and subsequent sanity slippage due to misfiring super senses. Naturally he's pretty deep in despair: concern over his domain's lack of a successor may be the only consideration keeping him alive. All told, I feel he's handling things pretty well!
At this point in the translation, our plucky heroine has just moved with her mother into the (suspiciously luxurious) "servants' wing" of the Ducal household, and begun charming the inhabitants with her kindness, wisdom, humility, and fascinating weirdness... just like a True Princess! (no need for pea testing.)
... Does all this sound very trite and boring? (The Duke of the West says "YES!", and would like to express his hearty displeasure at having to star in this sort of sappy dreck.) Thing is, I also find this style of story trite and boring far more often than not. Simple fairytale-esque fluff may seem easy to write, but its very simplicity makes it incredibly hard to write well. For me, (so far) this story has managed to balance all its parts just right.
[collapse]Despite having only read a small portion of the full work, I'll boldly go and give it five stars - even if the tale turns terrible, the chapters I've read have been worth that on their own.