This beautiful manga follows the titular character Nina, a starving ophan who speedruns her rags to riches arc when she's sold off to become the dead princess's double. Recruited by the princess's half-brother Azure, Nina is now Alisha, the country's priestess-princess, soon to be married to a different country... but this disguise is in name only, as her strong-willed personality keeps shining through in a way only Prince Azure can keep up with.

I found the art style beautiful, but I had a hard time becoming invested in the characters and overall the plot felt contrived. I don't think the tropes (though I love them) were enough to carry me this time, especially given how childish Nina was compared to how mature and controlled Azure seems. I can tell they've got budding feelings, but I don't feel excited about them as a romance given this imbalance. I think I liked the pieces of this story, but found it difficult to love them when put together how they were.

Overall, if you enjoy the sound of the plot, I'd still recommend giving it a try! Disguise tropes are still some of my favorite, and I love the scenes with Nina and the Queen, and the younger prince. I just don't think I'll be continuing beyond this first volume.

This is SO GOOD! I would say this manga is historical fantasy. There's no magic or fantasy creatures like dragons, but the world is a made-up one that seems partly Arabian-inspired, partly Chinese-inspired. There are some familiar tropes, like the empress feeling threatened that her son, the crown prince, will be usurped by his older step-brother, and there is a decoy princess who took the place of one that died. Still, the characters are absolutely delightful and the art is stunning. There's action and adventure, and you can sense there are mysteries to unravel and romance will be blooming in future volumes. I will definitely stick around for this story!

The protagonist, Nina, struggles with her identity after being abducted for resembling a deceased princess. The manga, honored with the Kodansha Manga Award, skillfully weaves palace intrigues with budding emotions. Personally, I didn't find the manga outstanding, but the storyline still gripped my attention. The art style is visually appealing, adding an aesthetically pleasing touch to the overall experience.

4 stars

I am a sucker for fantasy shojo/josei manga. I will pick them up whenever I can and when I saw this one on Netgalley, I snatched it up. I'm so glad that I did! I flew through this one in a sitting and thought it was a ton of fun. We follow Nina as she is living on the streets and posing as a boy to avoid being sold off. She ends up in the hands of a prince whose half-sister has ended up dead and Nina is the perfect double to pretend to be her. Highly recommend if you are looking for a fun and light shojo fantasy manga.

I loved the plot, and the characters are adorable, Nina seems to be a very sweet and determined girl but my favorite is Azure.
The drawings are incredibly good and detailed definitely a good read.

I like the art style. It's unlike any manga art I've ever seen. It almost looks sparkly.

I like the characters of Nina and Azure. I like their temperaments and how they interact with each other.

Until page 34, Nina had short hair. On page 36, Nina had long hair. It was confusing at first but I learned a while later why her hair appeared long.

Prince Azure made it sound like Nina was going to marry him. Later the queen made it sound like Nina was going to marry Muhulum. I later found out that she's not marrying either.

Overall, the book was confusing but had an interesting plot.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this manga.

I was initially nervous to begin this series, as I find many fantasy manga series hard to follow; the plots tend to be convoluted and confusing. This series however has so far managed to avoid this issue, the plot moves along nicely and at an easy to understand pace. The art style is lovely, and the characters are interesting and likeable. I'm looking forward to continuing the series and getting to know the main characters in more depth. A solid first volume!

A cute start to the manga series that feels reminiscent of other shojo manga but still be able to stand on its own. The art is wonderful and while it’s a slow start, it begins to pick up towards the middle and the ending of the volume makes you want to pick up the next one.

I was originally captivated by the cover art and intrigued by the synopsis of this manga. Unfortunately, I DNF'd this story because it didn't grasp my attention like I had hoped it would. Despite that, the artwork is absolutely beautiful and I am basing my rating off of that alone.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this arc!

5/5 stars!

I really enjoyed this story. Thus world is really interesting, and seeing Nina get thrown into the life of the princess was really interesting! I really like her character, and I can't wait to read more!

I selected this completely based on the cover alone. Once I read the description I wasn’t sure what to expect or if I would enjoy it but I was pleasantly surprised to be hooked from the first chapter! Nina is a beautiful character, she is young and thrown into a unique and terrifying situation and now has to live as princess Alisha. While it does seem like she’s having a hard time letting go of who she was and her old life, I think she is liking the idea of a little brother from the interactions between Muhulum and herself. I am interested to see where her relationship with Azure can go since she is to marry someone else. I really didn’t intend to continue the series but now I need to know how this story plays out! It is a little soap opera esk but Im going to read a few more volumes and see if it keeps my interest.

A charming fantasy with loveable characters and a sweet slow burn romance. In the description it mentioned that this story is for fans of "The Ancient Magus' Bride" series by Kore Yamazaki and that immediately caught my attention! One of my all-time favorite fantasy manga series is "The Ancient Magus' Bride" and I definitely felt it in aspects of "Nina the Starry Bride." I would also add that if you're a fan of "The King's Beast" by Rei Toma, you'll also probably love this series. Except in Nina the Starry Bride, NIna who is impersonating the late priestess and xthey look nothing alike apparently apart from their eye color which I found to be a really interesting plot point. Also "The King's Beast" is a little more action-packed I would say than this but I appreciated the characters just as much. Already also loving the way the mangaka is developing the relationship between Nina and Azure. Their trust is slowly being built up, brick by brick. They make a really great pair. Excited to see if this potentially becomes something of a love triangle with this mysterious prince Nina's set to marry. We'll have to see in volume two though if they reveal his identity more. Overall, I'm excited to read more!

Unfortunately this wasn’t for me. The story didn’t hold my attention and I found myself getting bored. I didn’t care for the main characters and didn’t like the male main character at all. Other than that I did find the art style gorgeous.

Thank you so much for letting me read this manga. This is such a fun manga I loved the banter in this story.

I truly enjoyed Nina the Starry Bride and I’m already anxiously awaiting the next book!

Nina is a young girl who grew up on the streets with two other boys when one day she is kidnapped for her unique blue eyes and forced to take on the role of the dead Priestess Princess Alisha.

Nina is such a joy of a main character! I felt her pain when she was betrayed by Saji and I was so worried for her going into this new life. I had no idea how she deal with the King and Queen as well as all the court politics. This world is so foreign to her, but I love that she has Azure and the other handmaidens by her side to help teach her and get her through it all.

Muhulum is so cute and I absolutely adore him!! At first I thought he was just going to be a spoiled brat, but he quickly proved my assumptions wrong. I love how he looks up to Azure, no matter how much he tries to deny it and I love how quickly he was to incorporate Nina into his circle. Muhulum was happy to show Nina around and I thought it was so cute how both of them constantly snuck around spying on Azure.

Overall this was a great manga and I can’t wait to read the next volume! I look forward to seeing the crown Prince of Galgada, how the relationship between Nina and Azure will grow and what will happen once the King and Queen find out the truth, or when Muhulum finds out the truth!

Nina is an orphan living on the streets when she is acquired by Prince Azure, the 2nd Prince in the kingdom, to secretly replace Princess Alisha who had died recently. Prince Azure has his hands full dealing with Nina who takes a long time to understand that she is needed to fill the role of the former priestess-princess who must marry a foreign prince. It will be interesting to see what volume 2 has to offer.

Thanks Netgalley and Kodansha for the chance to read the title.

4.5 rounded up for star rating

Thank You so much netgally for the digital copy in exchange for a honest review.
I just want to say starting off that the cover of this one is so cute which initially got my attention, and it didn't disappoint because the art style inside was also beautiful and I loved the character designs and the clothing. Now onto the story, I am a huge fan of the secret identity trope and it was executed in such a fun way here. we had an orphan named Nina who had to pretend to be a boy for her safety after her parents died because she has really rare lapis colored eyes. Her world is turned upside down however when she is sold off to who she believes to be slave trader but are instead the prince of the kingdom because he was looking for a replacement for the princess who just died. No-one really knew what the princess looked like due to her upbringing so it was an easy deception except for the need for the new princess to have the lapis colored eyes. so the story follows Nina learning how to be a pretend princess and all the responsibilities that are now being expected of her. I really loved this one and I cant wait to see how the story will continue and if others will learn her true identity.

Off to an awesome start!
Have you ever read "Anatolia Story"or AKA "Red river"? Did you like it? If so, this is probably your next great reading.
'Nina, the Starry Bride' tells us the story of our delightful protagonist who has to step up and impersonate a deceased person to safeguard the peace of two countries.
What caught my attention overall was the drawings and the character design. There is one scene in which the main character has to portray someone else and its amazing how her facial expressions are drawn so that you really believe she is someone else.
I think the story has ggreat potential (though the relevant characters are few at the moment). But the story is reaaaally interesting and I love how it is related to the famous shakesperian phrase "The fault, dear brutus, it is not in our stars".
This is a story that makes you wonder what it is to destiny and how we are affected by it.
I think that everyone who likes reading about characters questioning their identities will have a GREAT time reading this story!!

I really loved this manga and I’m really excited for the next one. The art is really beautiful, the characters are interesting, and I’m excited for the plot/story to continue.

It starts off with a short snapshot of the future where Nina looks like she is in some major trouble. Then we go back to seeing Nina as an orphan living basically on the streets. She is sold off by her friend and thus begins her journey as the replacement for Alisha the Princess. This first manga mostly focuses on setting up her time in the palace and providing some interesting foreshadowing to the future plot (I really want to know more about this Galgada Prince and what was up with that intro too).

I read it so fast and now wish I could read the second one already. This is definitely a series I am excited for.

Thank you to netgalley, the publishers, and author for the ARC I read.

Nina the Starry Bride Vol 1 by Rikachi has an exciting plot and I loved the setting and the 1001 nights tale and The Prince and the Pauper feel the story gives.

Our main character, Nina, is an orphan that has to steal on the street to survive. Her rare blue eyes make her disguise herself as a boy to avoid being captured and sold by slavers.
But when the second prince, Azure, discovers that the star priestess died on her way to the castle a girl with blue eyes is needed and she finds herself against her will at the castle. Here she has to learn how to act like a princess while she wonders more and more about who the second prince is, why she's needed and how she can get home again.

It was a light story with lots of humour and heartwarming moments. There is a murder mystery, a complot against the kingdom, blossoming feelings and a sense of loss throughout the story. I was gripped from the first page. Looking forward to the next volume.