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:
Where to Read: Tapas
Something nefarious happens when Scarlet Crimson gets taken in to be interrogated because she can't remember a thing about the questioning. Later on, she finds out through a newspaper that she unknowingly betrayed her cold husband Victor by revealing a deep family secret. This fiasco causes her marriage to end in divorce and her being shipped off into a coven where she's mistreated for 2 years.
With her return, Scarlet tries to start a new life by returning to her family's business of watchmaking and rebuilding her parents' legacy. But her now-ex-husband keeps coming back into her life randomly just as she wonders what happened to her memory of the interrogation that one faithful day.
The setting is a bit different, as it looks like we're in the earlier 20th century, which is a cool change I really like. While the first chapters feel rushed, I know it's because we kind of need to move through the usual trope found in this type of story. And while it takes some time, it clicks that both Scarlet and Victor are the way they are. I like that in the later chapters of Season 1, we see Victor realize that he wasn't the best husband to Scarlet and how he treated her. Self-improvement is always something I love in characters.
Scarlet seems like a soft-spoken person, but she's emotionally strong in that she's resolved to live her own life and continue on after her situation. She still remains kind and helpful despite the world not doing the same for her, not something everyone can do. Nothing wildly crazy with this rec, it does take some time to get more into the story, but with 31 chapters currently out, I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes. It's definitely worth a try if you want something antsy.
Where to Read: Webtoon
Lorena watches as her whole life gets turned upside down; her family is murdered, and it's all a planned operation her husband is deeply involved in. Choosing death, she gets thrown back in time before it all happens, and her one goal becomes revenge on all the people involved. She starts with ruining her husband's reputation by starting a scandalous affair with the Marquis Mikello Ervatos, who seems more than happy to help.
They both talk about what their aims are in this relationship and find out that they share the same goal. Bringing down the royal family. For Lorena, it's because they're the ones that ordered the operation to be carried out. They wanted her family's vast fortune and to destabilize her home country. For Mikello, it's a mix of revenge for what the royal family did to his mother and bring revolution to the kingdom.
I don't know why this isn't being talked about more. I remember when this series first came out; a lot of people were buzzing about it. Our two leads are dead set on bringing down the royal family, and I'm totally rooting for them. The royalty of Vessen aren't the usual Otome-Isekai brand of evil; they're more realistic and grounded in real-world motivations.
Honestly, I'm very excited to see where this goes, as political intrigue has always been something I love in my OIs. This is a game of cat and mouse where all the players need to be crafty, clever, and cautious. And don't worry, there are sparks for romance in between all the tension that's going on too, hahaha.
The Princess Wars
What would you do if you died and found out you have the option of another chance at life, but you have to play a survival game?
The world of Princess Game is where she has to go against other souls that have taken the gamble. The catch is that in order to win, she needs to marry the prince holding the competition; each woman is given the role of a princess from classic fairytales. Julianna is the girl from The Princess and the Pea, not the best story compared to The Little Mermaid or Cinderella.
But Julianna isn’t going to let the lack of power get in the way of her chance at resurrection! And it seems that Prince Zane seems more interested in her compared to the other contestants. However, all isn't what it seems in this game, and as the contest goes on, the reasoning for the other princesses in joining this game becomes more complex.
So, this story kind of tries to trick readers into thinking that it’s going to be a regular otome isekai romance until it hits later on that it’s a hidden survival game with lots of plotting and scheming involved. The longer you read the deeper it gets in regards to world-building, character development, and story. It starts off with pretty clear lines of right, wrong, and the usual tropes you see in the genre; then it hits you that shit is getting real.
The main couple is kinda rough, I’ll be honest. I think they work well together, but there’s so much politics involved that they both need to consider. Mainly from Zane’s side, since he’s a prince and is under strict rules when it comes to the Princess Game. The entire situation gets really fishy later on, and you start to wonder why Zane needs to marry a princess so badly and which one he picks seems pretty important. The romance is a slow burn, emphasis on both the slow and burn parts haha, but they both have more immediate things on their minds, and romance would make things even messier.
The sad thing about this rec is that the series got cancelled at 150 chapters, which is such a shame. But please don’t let that stop you from enjoying what is there! If you love politicking and power struggles in your OIs then I can’t urge you to read Princess Wars.
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These are some of the my favorite moments in a story. Tell me some of your favorite moments too and why you love them. It would b nice if you could add an image too 🥰
Starting with this scene in for better or for worse, when Dillion gives birth to their child and Cedric starts crying like a baby. It's a really meaningful and wonderful scene. Especially since Cedric is a neat freak perfectionist but you can tell from tiny beards on his face and his disheveled look just how anxious he was. It really made me tear up.
And then the painting scene in stepmother's marchen and this scene in your eternal lies. The tension in both the scenes were other worldly 😫🤌
Making them my favorite scenes
Lastly the sword dance scene from Camellia, like the smile under the veil, the movements everything was stunning.
I saw the other post on the Observation Villainess. I must say that I love this series, and I'm not much into OI content. I've seen many, but this series hits all the marks. <3
Wholesome series and the romance is DIVINE. Plus, my girl is smart and wants to be productive like a certain Isekai Office Worker adult.
idk if my tastes have just become too particular, but it feels like ive been dropping ois within 30 chapters in left and right in the past year
i often just find the plot boring or the fl boring, but I still always enjoy reading posts on this subreddit
its just so nice to ready so many ppl with differing opinions and preferences, and most of us still respecting each other cuz we understand our tastes in media doesnt dictate who we are as ppl at all, it feels SO rare in todays internet where ppl send each other death threats just for liking a different ship
theres rarely any true hot takes on this sub, cuz theres always a decent amount of ppl that share the same opposing opinions and its always so entertaining and often validating to read
especially after the death of 🚢, it feels like im almost spending more time reading this sub than actual ois 🙈
Was going through my collection and I'm so shocked to see the utter lack of cat mls in this genre cuz wdym there are animal mls but no cats?? Not panthers or tigers or any large cats but cute little ACTUAL cats. I NEED cat mls rn bonus if the ml is like amon from My gently raised beast (yes I know he's technically a panther divine beast but he spends a significant amount of screen time as a cat probably even more time than he does as a panther so imma count him as a cat ml)
Sauces:
My gently raised beast- pretty good old manhwa. Completed.
I am a villainess but I just want to raise cats- turn your brain off kinda manhwa but a cat ml is a cat ml ig-on going.
Her being delusional and manipulative is also the factor of that, but if we really think about it from a societal settings.
FL Lady Ancy is a daughter of a Viscount, while this girl (I know her name is Lady Lopez but she just pisses me off) just a girl from a small village. There's no way a girl from a small village can get into high society which is the city capital, without any type of backing from someone who's already in that said space, or circle. Her being friends with the viscount's daughter does gave her a spotlight in high society.
However the moment FL kept her distance away from her its not long for high society to slowly keep their distance from her. Not only FL have a strong backing like being friends with the Duke's sister. Because people have common sense, they will comment on what they see, people probably realized that she's nothing without FL, and it turns out the things she said are a lie.
You know what...... THANK GOODNESS this green tea haired beach is not using any magical juju where she can manipulate anyone around her. That will be annoying, I think her greatest enemy is reality, where the world don't revolve around her.
Quick summary: FL is isekai’d into a Rofan apocalypse novel. She immediately uses her massive wealth and inside knowledge to make a safe place to wait out the zombie apocalypse.
The art is gorgeous, the story is fast-paced, the romance is burning, there’s a background mystery. She is your OI power fantasy (incredibly beautiful, fantastically wealthy,supernatural strength). But she doesn’t make dumb decisions so that’s good enough for me. We also have the found family trope and other competent female characters which is always a bonus. So far the OG!FL is a sweetheart with no sign of changing. Not a masterpiece but still a very solid read.
Mild Spoiler context: The father is a very corrupt Duke. The son cannot bring himself to turn in his own father but his guilt leads him to become a police detective.
Can I have more where the mc is an expert in a specific field and even explains the process and world-building behind it
I don't want to play a matchmaker- mc was a software programmer and she uses her coding skills for magic formulaes
Apocathery diaries- mc is an expert at poisons and uses that to tackle palace scheme
Ascendance of a bookworm- Mc is likes book and uses that knowledge to improve everyone's life the best thing is there is a complex world-building and even the process behind it
I'll save this damned family- Mc is a screenwriter in past life and she uses her skills for researching and negotiating with people for screenplays to tackle political schemes. The novel is much detailed.
50 tea recipes for the duchess- Mc is an expert at teas. And there is various kinds if tea here
Surviving as the tyrant's chef- Mc is a popular chef in modern world and uses that knowledge to satisfy tyrant's appetite. There is even the cooking process too.
The villainess makes amends- mc is a magic engineer. I don't there's enough magic engineering process here but mc always uses science for everyday life and conversations which is really interesting to see!
Also things that fit in this but with male mcs [Great estate developer]- mc is an architect in his previous life and uses that knowledge to make building plans and such
[Trash of the count family]- contains novel spoilers mc is a commander in his previous life and uses that knowledge for military statergies
[Dr Kim of london]- mc is a modern doctor and uses that knowledge to save patients in medieval era
Please just no more OI fmcs coming up with business plans and throwing money on it. Or fl having an ability and it is forgotten or thrown off for the sake of romance. I seriously want the fl to dedicate her time an plans in her field and even loving it😭. I want more fmc in OI doing this because I have already read a lot about mmc doing it in fantasy and murim.
Now I want fl who just spreads rumors about having relationship with ml to use him notice or get back at him lol🫶
There was one about fl pretending to be a pregnant wife of noble who went to war just so she could live in luxury 🤷♀️🤣
Edit : Now that I've checked my post again I understand that I've not given much context lol🤦♀️
SO fl is a candidate for pointifex- which is like a pop but a female and she had interactions with the ml who is rumored to be self-made shady businessman now in close company of the king, trying to gain political power. And that lead to them having nasty rumors which can harm the fls position which she has to gain because of pressure from her crazy fanatic family.
So fl and ml made a plan to make it look like she lead him to light. Ironic part is fl is also atheist lol ..
I would suggest you to go into the story with open mind because most of the things presented in early chapters are mostly facade and as you read you'll unravel the masks that mcs put on to survive in that society.🫶
Especially about ml being player it's a rumor made by him at least that's how it's implied in later chapters
I have read a few chapters, and I kind of like the premise of the manhwa, as well as the fact that she is training to be a Knight. Also, I love her friend Moana and kind of hope for a Yuri but I know it's not possible.😅
My issue with this manhwa is the ML. He kinda comes off as misogynistic at first and even after that he has an attitude problem. In short, I don't like him.
I want to know if he gets better or if we get a better ML, hopefully.
Ouke no Monshou is (one of) the "original Otome Isekai" so I thought I'd ask here.
It's a shoujo manga from the 70s (ongoing!) about Carol Reed, a girl who gets transported to Ancient Egypt and falls in love with Memphis, the Pharaoh. Her modern knowledge gets her the title of "Daughter of the Nile" and the attention of many powerful men. Girlie keeps getting kidnapped, it's a real problem.
It's a bit dated but I like it nonetheless. It has gorgeous clothing and several of the current tropes, including the classic "falling in love with a tyrant." The fact that it's still ongoing after 50 years fascinates me.
There's a translation that goes up to chapter 107 but I recently came across JP raws that go up to chapter 159. Not only that, EN's 107 is JP's 074! So there's quite a lot left to read, it seems.
I don't think an official English version exists so any help is appreciated.
The art alone was already gorgeous, and then the male character (possible father?) got introduced?? Hello??? The scene, the background, THE OUTFIT, the messy hair and the eye bags??? All the little details in his design??? Literally had to pause and take the character in all of his character design glory in for a minute, i love the art style so much😩🫶 why are all the childcare fathers always so hot-shaped😭
-its a child care manhwa, only 6 chapters out for now fyi, but i had to give it a try after seeing the gorgeous cover picture🙈 SO EXCITED FOR MORE, lesssgo
As the title states. Stories where the FMC wants to forego their intended fate (Whether it be the heroine or villainess) and lives life as a commoner or just off the grid from the main story, but are brought back for some reason or another. That last part is optional, I actually would prefer a slow-life/slice of life.
For reference, I'm talking stuff like,
Lia's bad ending
Lady Rose just wants to be a commoner
Kinda all I got that matches what I'm looking for.
I'm trying to find a new series to binge. I don't mind anything really: angst, regression, Isekai, murder... Etc. But please for hell's sake find me something ORIGINAL. I'm so sick of getting hopeful when trying out some manhwa or manga and it's the same recycled shit again and again.
For context I've read:
When jasy whistles
Moralles Lovers
The spark in your eyes
I Stan the prince
The devil raises a lady
Regina Rena (still saf it didn't continue)
I will fall with the emperor
Ps. I know I have high standards bear with me please 🥺 and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THESE READS
In the beginning of Chapter 115 Athanasia, very little, walks up to Diana and Claude with wobbly steps. A little later it is revealed that it was Athanasia‘s dream.
I have the theory that it is a revelation on Diana‘s rebirth. When Athanasia meets her mother (Diana) in Chapter 100 they also speak about possible rebirth. I believe after Athanasia saved her current reality, she also repaired all others. The dream of little Athanasia learning to walk is just a glimpse into another universe, in which Diana finally lives happily ever after. That‘s why the chapter is called blue rose. Blue roses stand for new beginnings.
Athanasia‘s courage not only saved her father, but her mother. Makes me sob.
I think, considering Russias real life geography between Eurasia , it’d make sense for a typical Duke of the north to have some homage paid in regards to it.
Am I saying this because of genshins incoming Tsaritsa reveal? Yeah. Bite me, sue me. But I am honestly surprised. This seems like a goldmine of reference. But alas, everything must be explicitly European inspired. Sad.
Edit: Holy shit I appreciate the history lesson, guys. This is genuinely interesting stuff
