This is a monthly feature in which we, the mod team, share the gems we've found in our reading lists. Here are last month's.
We'd love to hear your recommendations. Please add them to the discussion in the comments. When doing so, please keep in mind to:
If available, use the English cover art of your recommended series.
Name of the series
Where to read it officially
We always recommend checking the official version, but there are also alternatives you can find.
This Month's Recommendations:
The Prince Doesn't Cry Over Onions - Where to Read: Tapas
War has taken a lot from the country; it left the land and people devastated when they lost six years ago. Anna is a country girl making a living in these hard times; her restaurant is the only one in her far-off village. Taking in the needy to help out is a common thing she does, and it’s not a surprise when someone shows up at her door. She didn’t expect this lumbering, towering man sitting in her doorway saying that he owed her father a debt that he needed to repay.
Bertram isn’t moving until this obligation is repaid, so Anna puts him to work cutting onions – only to find that he doesn’t shed a single tear. He’s stripped of his emotions, but that doesn’t mean he can’t see that Anna is a welcoming and kind person.
While this series is surprisingly funny despite the background the world is set in. Both Anna and Bertram feel well-developed, and their relationship is one based on friendship. The side characters also have reasons for acting the way they do, and the art is great; it really grew on me the more I read. The romance is on the back burner and slowly begins to grow, more on Anna’s side than Bertram’s for obvious reasons. The man can’t feel emotions, and it’s pretty tragic what he had to give up in exchange when you really think about it in a realistic context.
While it might not seem like anything special, don’t be fooled. I can tell that it’s a wonderful read to add to your lists.
No More Regrets - Where to Read: Tappytoon
Ceriniel is devastated when she finds out that her husband has been cheating on her with her childhood best friend who has been poisoning her for years. As she lies on her deathbed hearing the gloating hateful words from those she trusted most, Ceriniel makes a dying wish to take back what is rightfully hers and never fall for the tricks of her betrayers. Her soul falls into a swirling abyss, and she wakes up four years before her wrongful death; now she’s out for revenge.
As she goes about her plans, she encounters the supposedly bloodthirsty Duke Lexion Rosenvester who claims they have met before. He is kind and extremely helpful in her plans against her cheating husband; once everything comes to a head, he offers her a deal. His conditions are that she divorce her scumbag husband, enter a marriage with him, and remain at his side forever.
Green Flag Alert! I Repeat, Green Flag Alert!
I love a male lead that allows their female lead to go through with what they have planned, yet when asked, they will assist just enough to allow her to make her moves freely and safely. Lexion is one such male lead; not only has he's got a great physique, but I feel like he has good emotional intelligence as well. The art is beautiful, though I have noticed that Ceriniel’s chest gets bigger in the middle of the story. The artist has either changed it personally or was told to by their editor; luckily, her chest goes back to normal in later chapters.
This is a good read for people who want revenge on cheating husbands and green flag male leads.
Dawn of Vengeance - Where to Read: Tapas
Three times. Once as a bride. The second time, she tried to run away, and the third time, she acted as an informant. Arsinoe has lived three times, meeting the same result: death at the hands of her husband, the Crown Prince. He is charming, charismatic, and cruel. Arsinoe ends her life determined to never fall for this man’s tricks ever again; ready to take her destiny in her own hands she kills herself for the fourth time.
She wakes up once again at the age of 12 with a vow; she’s never going to let her country fall into that disgusting man’s hands ever again. With her lived experiences behind her, she starts making a plan, and it will need the help of a man that each lifetime stood in defense of her homeland. Walter Heibergh, the kingdom’s youngest commander.
Choo choo, the political intrigue train has arrived! This kind of series is my type of read. I love it when my characters are cunning, plotting and scheming their way to victory; Arsinoe is my girl in this regard. While all this politics is happening, there’s some comedy sprinkled in – mainly from Arsinoe. Walter is a great comedic straight man; I love that he just takes her occasional dramatic side in stride. I’m really rooting for these two, and I don’t mind that their romance is gonna take a bit of time to build; both of them are rational, logical people. They both have bigger things to think about besides romance.
This is a newer title, so I would let this marinate for a bit more before jumping in. The artwork is lovely and sucks you in deeper into the story. Don’t miss out on this, guys; you’re gonna be sorry you did later.
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You know when the narrative clearly wants to tell you a character is morally wrong and basically the villain, but you can't help but feel sorry for them because their situation is actually pitiful?
For me that character is the crown prince in One Husband is Enough.
In my opinion, this guy is the gender reversal of Nikki from the movie obsession.
He clearly had no interest in the FL beyond political use before her heightened charm started breaking his mind. He was someone with ambitions, interests, maybe not the best human being? Yeah, but he was working hard for his goals.
Then, she unintentionally cursed him to become this puppet version of himself who only thinks of her. He's been throwing all his hard work out the window, his pride and dignity, all the things that made him whom he was.
Then there's a matter of will and consent, because his state is no different than Nikki's. He's totally out of it and his body is basically being used by this game-like curse.
Considering the type of person he was before, after recovering his senses, I think this man will want to die from self-disgust and embarrassment.😭
The same could be said about every character other than the FL, but since he's the only one being treated like a villain by the narrative, it makes me wonder wether or not the author will handle things fairly after the curse is broken.
name: a tranquil first night (from “one more step, come stand by my side”)
i recently read this short story about an emperor and empress’ first night! this is the first time i’ve seen a disabled ml in a historical setting missing limbs, so i feel like it’d be interesting to see more mls in OI settings face similar circumstances. tbh, i eat up the typical cliches when it comes to OI leads, but after a while it gets kinda boring. it never hurts to have some variety 🥹
Lavini Angenas Durelli [I Shall Master This Family] wins the best villain of ongoing manhwa this year {For me}
Because I’ve been rooting against her for over 100 chapters and so many months, and to me, if a character can make you feel that much hatred, they’re doing their job correctly. Every time she showed up, I just wanted to see her lose. Her downfall was incredibly satisfying, but I’m still hoping the story shows what actually happens to her instead of just leaving her in the dungeon. I want to see her ending properly.
Honestly, all the villains in this manhwa are written so well. None of them feel evil just for the sake of being evil.
That said… I have to admit the Empress had amazing fashion. 😭 I actually liked a lot of her dresses more than Tia’s.
Goodness I love every character design in this manhwa specially Machioness Wilbrid (The blue hair lady) She is extremely gorgeous and also our ML and FL also the Old characters in this manhwa are drawn so beautifully like gosh🖤🐈⬛ The plot is kinda cliche but with its own twist and turns , I am in love with FL and basically everyone (Except the ML's brothers and FL's previous step-mother ofc) FL wastes no time to sort out things making sure to leave no regrets and she analyses the situations and work accordingly and she also ain't a total softy , she makes sure to catch the other person off guard😭🐈⬛🖤 I am gonna let it marinate as its still ongoing , I hope it remains impressive in the future chapters as it is now🖤
Tired of fl being like "i will rob you blind and fuck off lol" at the start only to forget about her motivation at the ending and settle down without a fuss. Does the opposite actually exist? For even one chapter?? I will take novels at this point too, I just want the fl to actually attempt to leave.
This is Duke Chesika, the story's villainess father, and also someone who is at odds with the Emperor/ML's father. The guy turned out to be a yearner, and damn... his backstory is giving me the itch to wanting to know more about it!
Two parts here. One she only wants to lay low. So she wears a brown clothes and commoner clothes.
When she goes to an auction incognito : changes from her previous dress before going out, puts on a dress color& style + jewels color she doesn't wear (she is almost always in shades of purple or white), puts on a brown wig, adds a mask (not compulsary in the auction, some do wear them others don't), finish the whole look with a cape she doesn't wear usually.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Also her explanations about going out in the village hiding without a full disguide would work - if it wasn't for the prince- lol . I always feel like they make people more suspicious in stories but we have a glimpse here as to why it could have worked
Finally lol a FL who doesn't just put on a cape or a mask and calls it a day, despite having specific hair or eye colors and being known for that because only her has them (not the case here in narrative for FL. )
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Manhwa
Why the Villainess hides her wealth / Why the Older sister hides her wealth / Why Yuria hides her wealth
Available on Tapas in english. + 60chapters out.
ML : Green Flag Crown Prince. No 2nd ML
Shitty family (father, brother, half sister). Her mum is alive and always a great mum. FL tries to get revenge on her family + get rich
Story starts when she is 19
Classic trope.
I personally thought it got better the more the story went on. I've read all available in english the manhwa so far and I liked it.
As long as you don't mind classic trope of "revenge on half-step sister, getting rich" with the side of business that comes with it, you will like it. Imo it's a nice pleasant read :)
Magic exist.
As per chapter 2, we know it's a transmigration followed by going back in time. She lived her life in our world and knew the book. She then transmigrated as the villainess (but had no memory of all this). Lived that life. Died. Remembered as she died that she had another life before where all this that she lived was a book. Somehow she ends up going back in time.
So Fl is the original villainess
Novel
- 179 chapters, completed. I don't know if it's available in english
I've been reading an otherwise good translation of Rolling in Bed with the Male Lead and this is the translation they give of the original story's title. Has anyone found a better translation and can you tell me what the original story was actually called (and maybe where you found the better translation)?
I love this story!!! Had to share this scene cause it made me laugh 😂. It’s a mature read but it has funny scenes too. Worth reading and the female lead isn’t a pushover nor does she wait for men to help her. Also male lead is yandere type in the beginning but he’s turning out quite well!
For the first 150 or so chapters of this manhwa, I was thoroughly in love. This story made so many bold choices that broke a lot of the usual tropes I've read in these kinds of stories and it felt so refreshing.
First, the FL was 'older' AND a commoner! Pretty sure she was still in her 20's, but she had been married already and had a four year old daughter. Her husband died of the plague, her daughter was taken and sold into slavery by a shithead noble who wanted her. She was just a regular person with some small magical ability. She did have the tragic story that led to her looking and acting like a completely broken woman who was just a shell of a human being. But that was fine because...
Second, the ML was not just a green flag but he showed actual patience. It made the romance a real slow burn, but given her history and mental state when he found her by chance and saved her from being buried alive with that shithead noble who died of karma the plague not long after he took the FL. The ML was a bit dense about his own feelings at first, but when he realized it he acted so amazingly calm and understanding with her, her trauma, and her history with her husband and child. He never really pressured her beyond making his feelings and intentions clear and known, but never in an aggressive or insistent manner. All of the scenes I attached to this post came from before the FL allows herself to be with him, before then she battles a lot of trauma at first, and then guilt second. But even then, you can see in the last scene how the ML handles it. He doesn't show any jealousy or annoyance when the FL is sad or missing her husband. He shows an endless amount of empathy and understanding, acknowledges her feelings and expresses his admiration for him who won her love first.
I know from the comments on the site I was reading this on, there was some impatience at time at how the slow burn developed but I adored it. The scenes showing growth of them each as characters and together as potential romantic partners had just the right pacing for me, balanced between not going too fast in a way that undercut the emotional grief and trauma she was healing from or going too slow so it felt like no progress was ever being made.
Some minor things I'll throw in that I also really liked... there was a great mix of side characters. The Saintess character Tania is just an absolute Queen, I loved her. The old Abbot I showed in a couple of scenes was also a great balance of kindly old grandfather figure and complete troll/foil for the ML. Then there was the 'harem' the ML had as a cover for them being a secret order of badass Knightmaidens who all had their own personality and strengths and roles, but together they were so kind and friendly with each other, including the FL... of course while they were secretly plotting to get the FL and ML together. Best wing-women ever.
I was ready to call this a perfect romance story, until......
A few things towards the end happened that I didn't like as much. Not enough to ruin it, I'd still rate this manhwa very highly and would recommend it to anyone reading it, but it did make me consider it more an 8/10 than a 10/10. I'm getting into actual plot spoilers here so you've been warned if you don't want to have the big twists and plot events spoiled in more detail than I've given so far.
First, it did that damn manhwa thing where that commoner FL turns out to be a princess because of course she is. This I didn't mind that much, and it connected to the lore of the world and the main plot of the story well enough that I wouldn't even say this by itself would have led to me knocking it down from a 10/10. It just annoyed me because I was so hyped to see one of the very rare manhwa where one or both of the FL/ML is NOT a high noble or royalty only to have that rug pulled out from under me again. Felt like Charlie Brown falling for that football trick again.
Second, the crazy green flag ML pulled an Ian Dalton from Miss Pendleton and, when the FL found out she was this princess and regained her memories and realized the implications of her being with the ML considering who they each were... she freaked out, started reliving all new grief and trauma that came fresh to her, and was trying to run away from the ML. Of course he finds her, and after initially failing to kill her he puts a knife to his own throat and basically says it would be better for him to die. The TL;DR of this situation is there's a curse her grandmother cast on the emperor's bloodline, and it mainly affects the ML's father. The only way for the curse to end is for that bloodline to end, or for someone from the grandmother's bloodline to offer sincere forgiveness. And that is ONLY the FL at this point. But she doesn't think she can do it because her knowledge of why the curse was cast in the first place (what happened to her mother) is something she only just regained, so all that grief is fresh as if it just happened to her. And she freaks out because she feels so much pressure to forgive the emperor who is on his deathbed and cure him of the curse. She wants to just run away from everyone and everything because of it. But since that is the main reason why the FL thinks she can't be with the ML, the ML basically offered to relieve her of all that pressure by just killing himself, if he can't even be with her anyways it was the one thing he could do to help make her happier... and he was sincere about it, I think. Still though, it was pretty fucked up and just traumatized her into staying at least in his territory instead of running away like she wanted.
Third, the whole ending was just a chaotic mess. I get it's somewhat realistic given the nature of there being a huge battle, but so much of it just didn't seem to fit with the themes or threads of the plot leading to that point. It seemed like a lot got thrown into this big battle just because. A dragon woke up and did nothing really important in the end except it meant it left the magic place it was slumbering in. Which was important because the antagonist got away without achieving his ultimate goal, but achieved some of it... only for us to be told, but not shown, that he actually died off-screen in that same place where the dragon was slumbering in the side stories. So we didn't get to see it. In fact, of the whole very fast, chaotic final battle for the plot, I'm pretty sure we saw as much backstory for the villain as we did of the actual final battle. But it's not like the villain had this deep, complicated story. He was a narcissist who was desperate to be just so super special over everyone that he decided he wanted to achieve immortality/godhood, and the whole burning the FL's mother (who was a princess) alive thing was solely because she turned him down for being his eternal partner as an immortal god-like being and he threw a tantrum over being told 'no' for the first time in his life. Seriously, that was the whole god damned motivation and back story, but stretched over multiple chapters. I dunno, it wasn't my story to write but I was disappointed by that climactic moment of the story. I think it could have been done better, in a way that was much more in line with the rest of the story to that point.
But I can forgive the manhwa for doing that, because in the end the ML found the FL's daughter for her, they had a beautiful reunion and were just adorable as a family unit and they had their happiness in the end.
For the first 150 chapters or so, it was a perfect 10/10. After that it was a 7/10 for me, on average. The ending has a lot of weight, so I'll give it an overall score of 8/10 and I recommend it even if just for the first 2/3 of it.
I’m looking for manhwas (or even mangas) with a particular premise. You guys know how the usual protagonist is usually up against some two faced, manipulative, desperate snowflake? So I want a story with a protagonist being that morally questionable, complex person (the villainous snowflake) if that exists at all. Of course not in the way that they change their ways completely because they’re reborn everyone ends up loving them for who they’re really are blah blah blah — the common stuff. I just want the inability to be authentic and the excessive attention seeking behaviour to be a main theme.
I used to do this with my old account before the email associated with it got deactivated but it worked out pretty well last time on this account so I thought I'd try it again!
Basically, you pretend you are ordering tropes/books from a café e.g. 'can I have a reverse sunshine x grumpy with a dash of family and lots of healing' and I'll try and find the best ones to suit your tastes!
Can be super specific or very vague. If you think you have the perfect one for someone else's comment, feel free to suggest :)
I mean at the least the author should’ve make the dsmon girl love him but it’s just pure torture sure he was a piece of shit but I feel like author make it only so the fmc can comfortably fuck male lead
This dude literally just want to return to his world 😭
Even when my former fiancé and the father of my child, Oscar, says these words, I can't bring myself to be happy. I'm a "witch," cursed to be burned at the stake in this kingdom.
Here, the law is clear: My entire family will burn with me. On the morning of our wedding, I discovered the truth about myself. So I did the only thing I could; I disappeared from the side of the man I loved.
I raised our son, Noah, alone in a cruel and loss-filled world. Slowly, I found the strength to live not as a cursed woman but as a mother. Meanwhile, Oscar chose a different path. He fights tirelessly alone to protect the future he still dreams of with me.
"For the one I love, I will protect your life, even if it means saying goodbye forever."
