On her way to the palace Princess Alisha dies. Prince Azure must find a replacement before anyone finds out the truth. There’s one problem: Princess Alisha had bright blue eyes, uncommon in her kingdom. Nina has been taught to hide her eyes in order to avoid attention from slave traders, though its hard as an orphan who’s living on the street and stealing to survive. There’s little she can do when faced with Prince Azure, who sees her as an opportunity to cover up the accident that was his sister’s death.

As dark as it sounds, Nina the Starry Bride was a fun and cute read. I liked the light-hearted tone of the manga, even though serious things took place it didn’t take away from that – and as I was looking for something more easy-going, this was perfect. The banter between the characters was great, and the relationships developed nicely. It will be interesting to see how Nina’s friendship with Prince Azure progresses in the future. Additionally, the art was stunning and made the manga a delight to read. If I had to pick on anything, perhaps the pacing was a little fast? Though this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for what it is, personally I just prefer things to be explored in bit more depth (though as a shoujo it’s totally fine and I’m just being picky).

Overall, I really enjoyed this! I thought it was such a fun read to pass the time, the characters and plot were interesting, and the art was gorgeous.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book. "Nina had a rough start to life, stealing to survive—and eventually being sold into slavery by her own brother. But to her surprise, her captor, Prince Azure, ordained that she would live the life of a princess...specifically, that of the recently deceased princess-priestess, Alisha. But despite her changing fortune, Nina won't give up her old life without a fight...and Azure might just be the one to finally match her wits. But how much can she trust Azure? And can she stop the feelings budding in her heart, knowing she must eventually marry another...?"

I enjoyed reading this manga, and can't wait to read the next one. The characters were mostly interesting and fun to follow and I liked the story. The art style is beautiful.

The story has pretty art and an interesting story, but might not continue. It was just missing... something.

I really enjoyed the characters and the world which is introduced in this first volume of Nina the Starry Bride. I think this is going to be a really interesting romance and from the first volume the story had a ton of potential. This is definitely a manga I would love to get a physical copy of.

Overall I have to give this story 3.5 stars. I'm not really a fan of the premise of the story as it just feels a bit too generic to me. However, the art was solid. The characters and backgrounds were all intriguing to look at and had enough detail to be immersive. I also really liked Nina as a character. I don't think this is a manga I would continue reading, but I get how it might have its appeal, especially to those interested in that romantic subplot that we all know is just on the horizon.

4,5/5 stars

A story of palatial plots with hints of humor and romance.

Nina is a young woman who, after losing her parents as a child, lives in poverty and makes a living together with her best friend by robbing the rich and merchants in order to survive. She also must hide her eye color for fear that the slave traders will take her, since it is a very strange color. One day, strangers take Nina and ask her to leave her previous life behind to pretend to be a princess, with whom she shares her eye color and that she is dead. From then on, Nina's life will be filled with lessons to learn, new people to meet, but above all to play a role that she does not know if she will be capable of, all of this fleeing the dangers that surround her.

A manga that I am looking forward to continuing since its history and characters attract me a lot, in addition to the drawing style, it seems very soft to me.

The art style for this was absolutely gorgeous but unfortunately, the story was very unmemorable. I don't even know what happened in this volume. I just found this one to be average but I could be convinced to pick up the next volume and give thise series another go.

This was a lovely read, and the artwork was beautifully executed. Nina was a very likeable protagonist, and the world was unique and unlike anything else I have read. However I did find that many of the plot points were somewhat cliche and predictable. Overall, this was a fun enjoyable read!

A Not So Wonderful Princess Experience - Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina (Nina the Starry Bride) Vol. 1 Manga Review


This Isn’t the Kind of Treatment I Would Expect.


Mangaka: Rikachi
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Josei
Published: April 2021 - Ongoing

Nina has a pretty rough life, doing whatever she can to survive in the streets where poverty is common until her brother sold her out to the slave traders. Unexpectedly, the person she once thought is a slave trader turns out to be none other than Prince Azure. He asked her to replace the recently deceased princess priestess, Alisha. This may sound fortunate, but Nina isn’t too interested in this new life. Can she even trust Azure? But what is this odd feeling blooming inside her heart, even though she has to marry another…?

--- Spoilers Ahead ---

Discussion Time

You would think that this story is the product of putting blu-ray discs of Disney’s Aladdin and Princess Diaries in a blender, sprinkle them with a hint of salt and pour it over a blank book to create a happy go lucky story. No! None of that! We have Nina being somewhat forced to replace a royal member of the family to save a country. Yes, saving a country is one thing, but we have no idea what the royal families would do if they find out that she stole their daughter’s identity.

Why You Should Read Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina (Nina the Starry Bride)

1. Authentic

When it comes to manga, we sometimes place high expectations a little more than the story. We didn’t expect the fantastic background designs and aesthetic of the Middle Eastern environment and buildings. The characters’ clothing has a mix of Astrology, Chinese and Middle Eastern culture behind the designs.

2. Families Are Complicated

For the royal families in this story, the king has three wives, which creates potential internal conflicts among the wives regarding which prince will ascend the throne. Prince Azure is the son of the second wife, and Muhulum is the third wife's son. The third wife and mother of Muhulum entertains thoughts of having her son on the throne and is at the moment the main villain of the series.

Fortunately, Muhulum does not see himself as a worthy candidate to become a king because of the qualities shown by Azure, and he doesn’t want to see him as a rival, rather a brother. The competition between the royal siblings bestowed by their mothers causes a rift in their relationship. That is where Nina, who understands the relationship, steps in to mend their relationships.

3. Identity Crisis

Nina was tasked… well, forced will be accurate for this case, to act as Princess Alisha. The main problem is that she has to learn royal etiquette within three months. After that, she has to marry a prince from a neighbouring country. She has never met a prince in her entire life, then ascends the throne, asserts her dominance, and saves the country. Seems doable, right?

Nina begins to question herself regarding who she is supposed to be. She is acting like Alisha, but deep inside, she wants to go back to her normal life even though her brother sold her out. That development leaves her the fact that she doesn’t have a home and an identity. That is where Prince Azure’s presence is needed to help stabilize her mentality and give a life purpose.
Why You Should Skip Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina (Nina the Starry Bride)

1. Identity Theft

This goes without saying that, generally, identity theft is not something one should do. For starters, it will jeopardize the victim’s life for all the hard work they have done, and the double would probably face severe punishment, so please do use this manga as a form of awareness regarding the doubles’ intention for moral reasons.

Final Thoughts

Many questions come into our mind as we read Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina (Nina the Starry Bride) because of Prince’s Azure. The main question would be why he was willing to risk himself to save the kingdom by having Nina acting as Alisha to marry some prince of the neighbouring country. The story shows how poverty can affect the people’s livelihoods and how the royal families see them and each other. Even though they are one of the royal families, they still have family problems similar to any other families, creating wholesome moments between Nina and the royal siblings.

The manga isn’t portrayed to encourage readers to commit identity theft, instead of spreading the awareness to readers that identity thefts do happen in reality. Of course, some readers agree or disagree with this, but everyone has their own opinion. Overall, don’t commit identity theft, and who would you cheer to ascend to the throne? Leave them down in the comments below.

By. Nobodies17

This was the first shojo I’ve read in a while, and it sure didn’t disappoint.
The plot was fun and fast paced, and the art style was gorgeous.
I’m looking forward to reading the next volume!

This was a really cute story! I also really liked the art style! I'm excited to see what happens next!

4.5
This book was so beautifully drawn and written, I loved it and I can’t wait for the next volume. The only reason it’s not a five star read is that it did take a little while for me to get drawn to the characters and connect with them. But there were other things that held my interest in the beginning. Like the storytelling was amazing and the world building was fantastic. I absolutely loved the world, with the court drama and intrigue. The world was so intriguing and I can’t wait to see more of it. And the star festival was beautiful especially with the wish lanterns. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading the next volume.

Subjective grade- 90%
Plot - 90%
Writing & dialogue- 90%
Worldbuilding - 70%
Character development - 90%
Character relationships - 70%

That was BEAUTIFUL!! Nina is such a sweetheart, I wish only the best for her 🥺🥺
The plot: immaculate.
The queen made me want to pull my hair! Ugh I hate her. I’m really interested about Galapa but seeings as things turned out, I’m not quite sure if Nina will still be going there?? Nonetheless, I’m still interested.
Overall this manga was so fun and the art style was beautiful! 4 stars 🌟

Nina had a rough life, her brother sold her into slavery. Her captor wants her to live as a princess. The art is adorable, but the story will break your heart. It has a Prince and the Pauper or Anastasia feel to it. The princess died so the second prince finds a girl who has the same rare eyes and trains her. I am super excited to see where this book is going. I have added it to my pull list so I won't miss a title.

I just had to buy this for myself. First of all the illustrations were absolutely beautiful... I honestly do not read much Manga and I think that this was the perfect introduction as I cannot wait for more volumes. I thought that the storyline was really clever and honestly Nina as a whole was just a gem of a character, I loved that she was seemly plucked out of a life where she was not used to really strained ettiquette and found herself in a world that is pretty much reliant on etiquette and politics. . I also adored Azure. Overall I loved this both for the art, but also the story was just super interesting and I am wondering where it will go next.

Thank you Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga. Now this is a story that gives me some comparisions to a lot of the royalty period pieces; Yona of the dawn, Fushigi Yuugi, Story of Saiunkoku,etc. However, this time its an orphan posing as a princess in the castle. I think this story is very intriguing with the court politics, the use of constellations as a mythos/teaching, and of course the brimming romance that is most likely going to brew (I can just bet but, I have been wrong before) I think though, the only issue I had with this volume was that I couldn't tell the main character from her companions at first (but that's just me). Because of these points, I have to give this a 4 out of 5 stars

Nina the Starry Bride was something I didn't expect and I enjoyed it very much! I first thought this was shoujo, but this is josei, so that could explain it. Nina has blue eyes and they are rare, thus the orphan hides her gender until she's captured by Prince Azure to act as a princess. The original princess died and now Nina has to "die" in order to become Alisha. They don't have that much time, but Nina isn't your basic girl, so it's not going to be easy. I really loved Nina and Azure's relationship and their interaction. Azure is cold and passive and Nina is like a rascal boy. All the characters have their own personas and even the young prince is wonderful, even though annoying kids are usually, well, annoying.

The art looks great and vibrant, which is awesome. There's action and not just talking heads. The plot isn't the most original, but I do hope Rikachi is innovative with it. The characters are likable and the discussions are profound. I'm very much into this, which is surprising. The cover is beautiful, but the title isn't the best possible, since it somehow feels so lame compared to the story's purpose. For once a great fantasy story with romance!

Love Love Love this manga. It's been so long since I read a shoujo manga and this one feeds my longing for them. I love the art style, it's beautiful and totally eye-pleasing. The storyline got interesting the more you're in the story. The characters are very likable and I don't think it's so obvious that I love Azure (lol). I definitely want to continue with this series!

This was so good and so beautifully drawn! I think this is definitely going to be a manga I follow. The story is similar to Prince Freya where a regular girl has to pretend to be royalty in order to protect a kingdom, but the characters have a lot of life in them and are enjoyable to get to know.

I absolutely loved this manga! I need volume 2 asap because it’s so cute and I need to keep reading! I love all the head pats in the story because those are just a whole other level of precious 😍 This is such an interesting story but so sad in the beginning. I really enjoyed the storyline and lots happen including court intrigue and drama! Muhulum is also so freaking cute! The costumes and world building in this manga was splendidly done and the star festival is just so magical. I love the idea of the wish lanterns. I can’t wait to see what happens in upcoming volumes!
4.5/5