In this romantic shojo/josei period drama, a noblewoman and nobleman pretend to be in love to avoid getting married! And don't miss the light novels, also from Seven Seas.
Fiona was born into a noble family, but she eschews a typical noblewoman's life in favor of working. Unfortunately, the social pressures of her status are not so easily ignored. She learns that talks are underway to arrange a marriage for her...whether she likes it or not. If Fiona gets married, she'll be expected to quit her job and give up her independent lifestyle. As she tries to figure out how to get out of this situation, she meets Giles, a nobleman who also wants to stay single. Together, they hatch a scheme to achieve their common goal of avoiding pretend to be destined lovers!
"Even a vague feeling is reason enough. No matter how small, you cannot deny that they are your true feelings. They emanate from deep within the heart. We wouldn't need songs or paintings if we had words to explain everything we felt."
Oh, how I loved this!
I feel it's not often I pick up or read a historical feeling story or even a story with a female lead who is going against social norms with NOT wanting to marry, but this one had both!
It felt refreshing and exciting and was even okay with the romance being a little slower so I could really understand how passionate Fiona is about her dream to travel the world. Not only that, but also see Giles and why he doesn't want to get married either.
Shoutout to Giles's best friend though because I love his character and how he is helping push things forward! I'm alllll here for his influence in Giles being more daring despite having no experience with women! LOL! I have no doubts he will keep things exciting and help our leads slowly realize their feelings are genuine because even if they aren't in love yet, I do believe our "old boy" sees that these two are indeed a perfect match! ;)
This sounds weird to say, but I appreciated the translation of this volume because it really gave it a distinctive touch of feeling like I've gone back in time. It made my heart feel even more excited because it truly feels like a historical story by way of language and not just by the way they act. So, shout out to the translator!
Very much like Fiona and cheering for her and Giles both! Eagerly looking forward to getting volume two!
"I want to experience the vastness this world can offer. I wish to work and support myself with my own hands. Not to remain this docile bird. Not to stay in my keeper's gilded cage."
"Even a vague feeling is reason enough. No matter how small, you cannot deny that they are your true feelings. They emanate from deep within the heart. We wouldn't need songs or paintings if we had words to explain everything we felt."
Oh, how I loved this!
I feel it's not often I pick up or read a historical feeling story or even a story with a female lead who is going against social norms with NOT wanting to marry, but this one had both!
It felt refreshing and exciting and was even okay with the romance being a little slower so I could really understand how passionate Fiona is about her dream to travel the world. Not only that, but also see Giles and why he doesn't want to get married either.
Shoutout to Giles's best friend though because I love his character and how he is helping push things forward! I'm alllll here for his influence in Giles being more daring despite having no experience with women! LOL! I have no doubts he will keep things exciting and help our leads slowly realize their feelings are genuine because even if they aren't in love yet, I do believe our "old boy" sees that these two are indeed a perfect match! ;)
This sounds weird to say, but I appreciated the translation of this volume because it really gave it a distinctive touch of feeling like I've gone back in time. It made my heart feel even more excited because it truly feels like a historical story by way of language and not just by the way they act. So, shout out to the translator!
Very much like Fiona and cheering for her and Giles both! Eagerly looking forward to getting volume two!
"I want to experience the vastness this world can offer. I wish to work and support myself with my own hands. Not to remain this docile bird. Not to stay in my keeper's gilded cage."
Fiona is a bit of a free spirit, especially for her family holding at least a low ranking position in politics and social circles. She would much rather continue working and travel the world than settle down as is expected of a young woman her age, and she plans on doing just that until she overhears her father planning to announce her engagement to her childhood friend. While this match might seem ideal to others, it looks like her little sister might harbor feelings even she is not aware of for their mutual friend, and the match would ruin Fiona's ideal future. The last thing she expected in escaping a party for a moment to herself was to overhear Giles, the Ice Scion, is also trying to escape being trapped in an arranged marriage. As luck would have it, she not only overhears his own problems, but he doesn't seem to have the same instinctual withdrawal from her as he does from other women, and she ends up with the perfect reason to meet with him later, not that either of them realize that until she comes to call. Nor could they have expected that her keen eye and unique knowledge would come in so handy during her call.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I must say I actually do enjoy the dynamics of the characters. I also like the fact that they're getting into their shenanigans not because of a failed relationship or a bad suitor but simply because of preferences in addition to honesty not being something that works culturally. It's definitely one of those situations where culturally marriage is expected thing and women don't have a lot of rights. When considering this, a woman's not really going to have much choice about whether or not she gets married. In this consideration, it makes sense that a deception would be necessary to achieve her goals. So putting aside any feelings of distaste about deceiving one's family, the rest of the situation works. Throw in on top of that the backgrounds and characters personality are very entertaining/charming. A good solid start.
fantastic start to the series~!! beautiful art, well-fleshed out characters who feel unique, and just the right amount of blushing lol. good pacing - I feel like we're seeing their relationship slowly unfold, and I love how fiona is so straight forward and clever while also being very caring.
definitely want to see where this is going!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
It's nothing groundbreaking, but the art is very nice and the characters and plot are fairly interesting. A nice, comfy, fluffy read thus far--I'm glad I bought volumes 1 & 2 together, I think I'm going to like this series.