The Misfortune Devouring Witch is Actually a Vampire?!

by Kiiro Himawari, Kibiura (Illustrator), Amber Tamosaitis (Translator)

Would you pay in blood to have access to the witch’s knowledge? Rumors about Yuuri Watoh being a witch who feeds upon the misfortune of others have kept customers away from her Eastern Medicine Shop as long as she can remember—until he showed up. Intrigued by the rumors, Count Ernest Travis Selden, close attendant to the Hylant king and a notorious eccentric, seeks the Hinomoto witch’s specialized knowledge to solve a royal incident. But borrowing the witch’s aid comes at a steep price—one that can’t be paid in gold or jewels. How will the stubborn shut-in vampire witch who hails from the East handle the peculiar Western Count who frequently brings her problems to solve and seems all too happy to pay the price?

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Romance, Vampires, Manga, Fantasy Romance, Historical

222 pages, Paperback

Published October 27, 2020

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the country of Hylant, there is a little shop where a "Misfortune Devouring Witch" resides. Her name is Yuuri Watoh. Yuuri is a nineteen year old woman who lives by herself and mixes teas and confections for the Watoh company for a living. When she's not fulfilling orders, she lounges around and sleeps all day. Until Ernest Selden shows up at her doorstep.

Ernest Selden is a Count in service to the King and one of said ruler's closest friends. He arrives on the basis of borrowing medicinal texts for a private matter, but soon he realizes that he needs more help from the darling witch herself than he first expected. Ernest immediately becomes enraptured by Yuuri, both due to the unexpected shock of realizing she is the purported Witch of the town and because she is reticent and standoffish. He continues to find ways to see her, even when there is no reason at all.

This light novel features dual protagonists, first introducing us to the Witch through Ernest's perspective. It was really cool reading his chapters because the guy is layered and eccentric. I also loved how Ernest is self-aware that he's a shady person. From the beginning, he spouts really entitled lines about Yuuri and how he believes she should be his - and then proceeds to acknowledge that he's a "wicked man" for thinking about her this way. He even admits this to Yuuri and agrees with everyone who tells him he's selfish and a cad. Unfortunately, not a lot of novels (light novels or otherwise) bother to even acknowledge this, especially when the person thinking about another person like this has a high position of power.

Yuuri herself is also interesting as the Witch and as a reclusive individual. She tells Ernest off and it's so refreshing to see a heroine actually tell a prospective love interest off for inappropriate behavior instead of excusing his behavior. She also goes through a good deal of development throughout the story. As the title says, Yuuri isn't simply a Witch - she's also a vampire. The author did a good job of making vampires into something different, but it was much tamer than what you will find in another light novel like Akaoni. There's a lot more about her that ventures into spoiler territory but she's a good heroine to follow.

While it primarily follows a budding romance, the novel also tackles several episodic "cases" for Yuuri to help Ernest solve. In return, he gives her his blood to drink. I liked how each episode serves as a metaphor to the problems both she and Ernest are going through in order to overcome any hurdles toward progressing a relationship with each other. The last one could have been implemented better as it is just dumped into the story almost out of nowhere and takes up about 13% of the story.

The plot flows well and had a clear beginning, middle and end. Most of Cross Infinite World's titles are pretty long, but The Misfortune Devouring Witch is among their shortest acquisitions. However, because the pacing was smooth, the novel felt much more compact and less prone to filler.

The novel is well-written and the translation was smooth and easy to read. There were a few grammatical errors I caught but they were few and didn't hinder my enjoyment of the novel. One in particular that stood out to me was the misuse of "adopted father" vs "adoptive father." Aside from that, the translation was really good! If you're looking for a short but fun read, I think this is definitely a good title to choose. I enjoyed it a lot, especially considering how self-aware the novel is. It's a cute little story and while I would like to have learned more about the world and its characters and how society worked, it did a fine job with what it set out to do. I do have to point out though that a lot of the characters see Yuuri as a sort of "China Doll Girl," which is a huge issue of the time period the author set the novel in. She's often portrayed as an exotic raven-haired woman or something to own by others and even Ernest sees her as an object to eventually win over and own. He even says stuff like this to her but it's treated as romantic. Yikes.

I also really like how Cross Infinite World is helping authors who may not otherwise get a voice and this is among many reasons why I really like this company and want to support them. The author talks about how she lived a pretty normal life, going to school and making a family and so forth, until she put her writing out for the world to read on a public writing platform. Then Cross Infinite World contacted her about localizing her work and here we are. It's really nice to see things like this happen.

"And I hope that someday, I could provide someone else a life-changing chance of their own."
- Kiiro Himawari

[Soňa · Rating 4 out of 5]

PODCAST is here :)

My first encounter with 'Light Novel'... Not sure, why I've never come across bearing in mind that I love Sailormoon and avidly watch it over and over again, anime I like... hmmm, anyways, corrected on my side :)
This is a short, well a dispute, e-reader said bit over 300 pages, story about Yuuri and Mr Know-it-all count Ernst Selden. Yep, there are romantic intentions from his side all the way, but it still manages to be an enjoyable read and not too sugary sweet. There is humour and some action, plus interactions between main characters are always fun to observe.
Ohh, and of course, they manage to solve all the problems of the nobility in the kingdom ;)

4 happy hinomotoese kittens in peonies haori, just for you :) In case you are not sure what that means, please read ;)

First sentence: THERE is a witch who devours the misfortunes of others.
Last sentence: Their life together may not be a quiet one, but it would certainly be far from boring or bereft of love.
Goodreads Challenge 2022: 18. book

[Holly]

Delightful, heartwarming story! It seems I have another installment to add to the list of vampire stories I actually like.

I don't typically like moody characters, but Yuuri's sad backstory and the fact that Ernest was a bit on the pushy side made her prickliness understandable enough to not be annoying. And as for Ernest, while his unwavering persistence might come off as a bit of a red flag, he was charming and ultimately a green flag, and that just made him fun and endearing.
The story overall is fairly chill, with a slight episodic feel thanks to the pair going off to solve various "cases," and the overall plot of the power of persistent love to heal scars left by abuse and neglect.

I like how the vampirism works in this.

[Judi Easley · Rating 4 out of 5]

First thoughts: My first experience with this "light novel" format, and I enjoyed it for the most part. I enjoyed the world building and "magic" aspects. A rather unique take on vampires. I enjoyed the brisk pace of the events and really enjoyed Count Ernest, the "witch" was a bit more difficult to understand, partly because I'm not sure she understood herself. The artwork was quite good. Recommended.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I subtracted two stars for the TSTL moment of the h near the end, but added back a star for the blood bond/exclusive feeding thing of the heroine and male lead is out of choice and not a soul mate juju that her vampire biology forced her to do. I especially appreciate the way the author show instead of tell the information about the vampire bonds by the love story of the h’s grandparents.

[Nica Borders · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second light novel and another one shot really sold me on the genre. This is much more generally mature than the last one I read, though it is also still pretty chaste all things considered.

In an alternate world history, a basically English fop visits a famous witch shop for clues on his secret mission from the king. He meets the "Misfortune Devouring Witch"....granddaughter, as the original witch has recently passed of a semi-literal broken heart. The granddaughter is Japanese (basically) and immediately stands out in a world where boats are the only way to travel overseas. As a horrible tease, the lord is quite quickly taken with the witch who is awkward and inhospitable, but still making attempts. Soon he discovers her darkest secret, she is a vampire like her grandmother before her, and offers his blood. Little does he know (though she did) that binds them for life, as vampires can only feed off one person, who they love. Thankfully for our heroine, the hero decides by chapter 2 that he will marry her as soon as possible.

This is a love story between two people who can't help but be attracted to each other as much as they bounce off each other. The hero has some consent issues where he forces himself in the heroine's space that can be off putting to many, but is enjoyable to me. The heroine also very explicitly needs this, as she is tsundere and almost physically unable to communicate her needs. This is attributed to her vampire status, as they are not human and so do not feel human emotions the same way. They are devoted, passionate, awkward, and naturally isolated. The heroine comes off as someone with very real social anxiety and that the hero demands time with her is a slight blessing, because otherwise she could never let him in. He is very complimentary and doesn't wish to hide her away (all the time) but enjoys watching her bloom.

I will say that one of the reasons I love this romance so much is the hero's POV is very complicated. He is always half teasing with his emotions, even to himself, and it's pretty clear some of his love for the heroine is because he can exert so much power over her. This is not an exclusively social issue (in fact, she is from a very rich family and lives a comfortable life that she has no use for him in) but because he can cut through her walls so easily, and she is quickly flustered. However, in the way I always enjoy about those characters, in chasing her so avidly and forcing her in the corner, he, himself, is trapped in his need to chase or he'll be without her. To me, the unbalance is balanced by their equal need or each other.

The story is very serial, with most episodes standing apart and the romance being the thing that links them together. I would very much love to see this novel adapted into an anime or manga because I believe it would be beautiful and also, this is my trash so I want more of it.

If you don't like well done power imbalance and extra pushy romance heroes, please avoid, but if you do, please enjoy.

[Sorrowka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite labelled as fantasy, the writing style is a close call to historical romance. The only fantasy aspect in this novel is the fact the female protagonist is a vampire.

Yuuri Watoh inherited the apothecary skill and the vampire attribute from her grandmother. The nickname "misfortune devouring witch" came from her forte in medicine that would deal great cases. Yuuri has been living solely alone since her mother detested her vampire, creating a strained relationship with her family. That's why she sometimes feel weird being threatened in different manner from her customer, Ernest, who sought her to solve a mysterious case.

I'm smitten that in the beginning Yuuri looks kuudere, that makes the romance kind of a pure kitty and the sly fox haha.
If you love the apothecary diaries, you might want to read this too!

P.S: Glad I read others' comment, said that Xingka would represent China, Hinamoto represented Japanese, and lastly Hylant represented English. No wonder it brought the historical vibe.

[Katja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sounded fun: a young woman from a Japan-like Eastern country living in a Western nation and a count who seeks her help solving some cases and he doesn't pay her with money but his blood because she is a vampire. And them falling in love on the way.

And the setting *is* fun and there were nice parts in the book, like the whole aspect of Yuuri not being so alone anymore, but unfortunately it wasn't quite as good as I hoped. Ernest came off a little too restricting too often and while Yuuri sometimes answered back, she gave up too easily. They both apologized quite often but didn't seem to learn much in the end... I didn't really feel their relationship, sadly.

I liked how Yuuri re-evaluated her relationship with her brother though. And the illustrations were really really nice!

All right read but too uneven with its character development and narrative (the beginning of the book was speeding 300 km per hour) to be more than that.

[V.ya · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐

One star for Ernest. One star for Simon. Half star for Yuuri's snarkiness.

The words "misfortune-devouring witch" and "vampire" intrigued me into reading this book. But unfortunately this book didn't deliver in both aspects.

(Mild spoiler is hidden ahead)

First, Yuuri isn't a real witch. Second, although she's a real vampire, she's the lamest one of her genre. We're only told that vampires supposed to be very strong, but she couldn't even protect herself (because what kind of trouble she'd bring had she done that!). Further, she's a self-hating, blushing, crying-while-feeding kind of vampire. I commended her for her snarkiness and also her resolution & ability to block Ernest's advances, but apart from that, she's very tiring to read.

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is trying to be a love story - two people with very different backgrounds and standings drawn to each other and becoming close. It doesn't work because there is too little character development. Each protagonist is represented by a small set of quirks and mannerisms. Making one a count and one a vampire doesn't change that.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. A good romance book is hard to find but this one is. It does seem like one of the chapters for back story was just thrown in there to be there but I guess they had a page count to make.
The story is good and almost everything has a place. Thankfully no "fan service" scene or chapter.
Doesn't waver and go off onto side stories of no importance to the main story.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good classic tale of romance between a vampire and human. Excellent.

[Beyond Words · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a huge fan of vampires and the like. I haven’t had an interest in them for movies or books. For the Orilium readathon, one of the prompts for me was to read a book with vampires. I dreaded this task, but I searched randomly online through my library and found one that might be ok to read and relatively short. Man, I was surprised by how much I liked the book! I got so engrossed in the story because of the characters. It helped that this was on the lighter version of fantasy, so I actually didn’t mind the vampire part, and even thought it was an interesting part of the story. Obviously, vampires need blood. However, in this story, the main character, Yuuri Watoh, comes to have such an intimate relationship in this way because of the nature of vampires in this world. In this way, it made this act feel intimate, cute, and spicy. I liked learning about the different cultures in this book. I also liked the illustrations included throughout the story, which I found out after finishing the book that this is because this is a light novel, and is thus characterized in such a manner due to this format. Back to the book itself, the only part I didn’t like in this book was Count Ernest Selden. Now, don’t get me wrong, most of the time I really liked this character. However, sometimes he went too far and there was some toxic masculinity going on. He prided in not overstepping his bounds even though he would in different ways. He didn’t do anything like assault, but there was an instance when he had Yuuri kiss him so that she could drink some of his blood. It should have been when she was ready and really wanting to do that and comfortable that that should have happened. It was also quite much that he broke into her house multiple times, and replaced the lock, just to keep an extra key for himself without even telling her. I understand the jealousy part of him when it comes to others, but sometimes it would be a little too much in the case that it was controlling. Overall, it was a fun read, and I would love to get into some more light novels, but there were some not-so-great things in it as well.

[Ymm3 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't even finish one chapter. I really hate the male lead's personally and after reading a review of how entitled he'll act toward the heroine I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach any more of his boorishness. I really hate the "entitled to have you" types.

[Pieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a sweet romance between a count and a wealthy merchant's daughter (and herbalist). No real witch, no magic, but a romantic version of 19th century Europe. It was an entertaining read.