If you are a romantasy fan looking to branch out into manga or just looking for something short, this might be for you.

I liked the art, the details in the clothing and how it mixed Western and Japanese fashion and mentalities. The only thing that bothered me a bit was how the magic system and world were never explained, but that might just be me not being familiar with the culture and folklore.

I loved that the heroine, while downtrodden and seemingly accepting of it, did have thoughts and feelings of her own and tried her best to advocate for herself in her situation, even if it was by guaranteeing that her new husband liked her, which is the only power available to women in patriarchal societies. I did hate that the hero saving her for his own is presented as the same as romance, because I was not a great fan of the lack of communication and consent and the difference in power.

While the heroine is the ostracized Cinderella type that remains sweet and unjudging no matter how badly she is treated, I do love how the villain in this book is not the big bad supernatural evil but a man who the heroine fell in love with and was prepared to serve and honour as her husband for her entire life only to be cast aside and mistreated for years. And then he turns around and decides that he still wants her and blames everyone else for keeping them apart, once someone else saw the value in her and took her away.
That is a much scarier and dangerous villain than any fictional monster.

I hope the hero becomes much nicer to Nanao because she deserves the world.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for this DRC.

En este primer tomo conocemos a una chica cuya vida cambia por completo cuando es maldecida por un ayakashi. Como resultado, su cuerpo emite un olor insoportable (huele a mono) y para evitar que los demás la detecten, debe llevar puesta una máscara con forma de cara de mono. Su familia la aísla y su prometido rompe el compromiso, dejándola completamente sola y marginada.

Pasado un tiempo, un misterioso chico llega desde otra región para visitar su casa. Tras un accidente inesperado, él decide unilateralmente que se casará con ella y se la lleva a la capital. A partir de ahí, comienza una historia que mezcla romance y magia.

Me ha gustado mucho este primer tomo. Ha sido una introducción sólida, con un buen equilibrio entre drama, folklore japonés y desarrollo de personajes. Aunque por ahora no pasa mucho a nivel de trama, sí que deja con ganas de saber más: ¿cómo funciona la magia en este mundo? ¿Qué secretos guarda el protagonista? Y, sobre todo, ¿cómo evolucionará la relación entre los dos?

Seguramente continúe la serie, ya que este primer volumen ha sentado una base interesante tanto para el desarrollo de los personajes como para la construcción del mundo.

This has a very interesting story and such nice art. I cannot wait to see the second volume. I liked the main character and how cute she is and the main male character seems the typical silent type, but a little changed with how he is with his demons. There was also nice clues into what to expect for the next coming volumes.

Thank you for allowing me to read this arc. I had enjoyed myself reading this. I like seeing the relationship between the two leads develope. I was uncomfortable reading the beginning since I felt that the mistreatment that the female lead went through was a lot. But I am also glad that the book doesn't gloss over how her treatment has affected her, and that just becasue she is in a better environment doesn't make her magically better from what she had to for through for years. Over all I am looking forward to reading more from this series.

If you're a fan of shojo, romance, and stories like 'My Happy Marriage' then you'll love this one. The art style is gorgeous, and I'm really excited for the next one! I'm sad it's not available yet.

I really enjoyed this manga! The story of a young woman cursed and mistreated, and the mysterious man who comes in to save her-declaring her his wife! I can’t wait for the other volumes to be released!!

I am obsessed. Will be adding this to my manga collection. There's just something about a good girl being wronged by those she trusts and getting saved by the dark hero. The art is also beautiful and expressive.

This book was provided by NetGalley but all opinions and reviews are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me access this book! This was an enjoyable take on common manga, tropes with unique characters, interesting lore, and nice character development. The author (and artist) know how to make you both love and hate characters. The art style is sooo gorgeous. Excited for the next volumes!

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Nanao was fiancé to a high clan member until she was tainted by an Ayakashi. After being tainted, she was subject to mistreatment and basically made a servant. When a member of the Benitsubaki clan comes to visit, he sees Nanao for the beautiful woman she is, and takes her as his wife.

This a great manga to read if you’re a fan of “My Happy Marriage”. The story was very cute and I overall enjoyed it. I was actually upset when it was over. The artwork was amazing and the storyline should be pretty satisfying to those who like similar manga.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha for providing me with a free digital copy of this manga in exchange for my honest review

really interesting story. I love the art style so that is what drew me in initially. Funny enough I had started reading this online somewhere and then forgot about the story and when I got this e-arc of it I was like wait a minute this seems familiar and was excited to start it over again. Cannot wait to read more volumes of it.

Not something I would typically read but it was nice trying out something new. The premise is quite basic with a dashing guy swooping in to save a mistreated cinderella-esque girl. As our MC Naonao accepts her new role as Yakos wife we find out that he did not save her entirely out of selflessness. Naonao has very high spiritual power which makes her blood suitable for sustaining Yako who suffers from a vampire-like curse. Naonao doesn’t object to this, in fact she’s very eager to repay Yakos kindness in any way she can. The characters are alright but feel one dimensional so far. The world building is more interesting with clans representing different elements to protect the nation from demons. There is also a unique gendered magic system were women have dark spiritual power while men have a light power. This leads to women having a supportive role were they prepare breakfast and imbue it energy to strengthen the men's own power. It would be interesting if this was explored and if the magic truly is gendered or if it’s just shaped by the culture.

Review will be posted on goodreads 10th of April

This is an amazing comic and after reading this book I headed straight to reading two, three and four before I took a break this is such a great engrossing book that sucked me in. This is such an interesting story of accepting those who are 'tainted' and how you can always find someone for you, even if you grow up in a place that is bad. i would rate 1000/1000 so super good and I recommend so so much.

After Nanao was attacked and tainted by a demon, her world is turned upside down. Her fiancée and her entire clan shun her, forcing her to wear a mask to cover up the tainted mark on her forehead.
After suffering years of neglect and abuse from her clan, Yako, a demon hunter from another clan whisks her away, declaring her to be his wife.

This is an incredibly fast-paced story that wastes no time delving into character development and back stories. Yako is so gentle with Nanao and fiercely defends her from her abusers.

Fans of My Happy Marriage will thoroughly enjoy this story and I'm excited to see how the story progresses. Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for an advanced copy of this manga!

After being attacked by a ayakashi/yokai, young Nanao is ostracized for being "tainted" and "marked" by the spirit. Forced to wear rags, remain silent, and work as a servant in the household, her fate is changed when Yako, a great ayakashi hunter, visits the young lord that Nanao serves. Recognizing her great spiritual power, Yako declares that Nanao will be his wife from this day forward, and whisks her away to the capitol. What does the future hold for Nanao as she adjusts to her new status as the ayakashi hunter's wife?

I found the premise of this book to be quite interesting. There were elements that reminded me of Akumi Agitogi's My Happy Marriage, but there were still aspects of the storyline that are unique to Midori Yuma's work. I enjoyed the art, and I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress. I look forward to reading the rest of the series as it releases.

If you enjoyed My Happy Marriage, I think you would really love this one! It's a very similar setup, so be prepared for the abuse and cruelty Nanao faces in this one. It hurt my heart to see the way the people who were supposed to take care of her treating her like a monster. I really loved Yako coming in and seeing there was more to her than what the family had decided. I loved him taking her away from their cruelties and giving her a better life. I can't wait to see where their story goes from here!

I don’t know why but I had high expectations for this series and well, it didn’t go so well for me. Maybe it was the artwork, the synopsis or the title, I can’t pinpoint it honestly. However, the manga felt underwhelming for me, I couldn’t connect to any of the characters and I didn’t particularly understand the plot.

This story has a typical Cinderella type premise which is enjoyable, when done correctly. However I feel like this volume falls short on it’s execution. It’s messy and information about the world is thrown around suddenly. There’s no buildup or transition as well as the pacing felt erratic at times. There is so much happening in volume one, with so much information that it became hard to process and understand it all. I was really glad this wasn’t my first time reading a historical series, because without some prior knowledge I would honestly be lost.

The story so far doesn’t seem unique. Nanao has low self-esteem after being abused by her family at a young age, for being tainted by an ayakashi. One day, she’s rescued by the visiting Lord Yako of the Benitsubaki family and he declares Nanao as his wife. Suddenly she’s whisked away to his household where she’s met with a very different life.

The antagonists, also known as her ex-fiance and his wife, are pretty typical characters. Selfish and self-centered by taking what isn’t theirs. Although it’ll be satisfying to see them receive justice, hopefully in some form of punishment. Nanao is quite a self explanatory character as she’s the common beautiful but hurt character with low self-esteem. Lord Yako is also the rumored to be vicious but not, and hiding a secret, nice male lead. I definitely can see the potential character growth for both Nanao and a bit for Lord Yako as well. However, Lord Yako is a very kind male lead who’s considerate and understanding, so I’m sure he’ll be a great support and husband to Nanao nonetheless.

Anyways, so I read the volume in one sitting and I’ll continue the series. Because the artwork is so stunningly beautiful! I was absolutely captivated by the designs, the backgrounds and the complementary sizes of panels used to accentuate scenes. I also loved the design of the ayakashi at Lord Yako’s house. Some were very cute, others graceful and some were welcoming.

Overall, I’m glad I gave this volume a try and I’ll be continuing it for the artwork for now. The story feels a bit messy to me right now, so I’ll probably pile up a few volumes before picking it up again.

Stunning! Absolutely loved the story and the artwork. The concepts are solid and the storytelling is vibrant. The romance even seems healthy, which is a nice change of pace for a story like this. I can't wait to read the next volume.

this is a story about a girl who was made an outcast after being attacked by a demon spirit and has been since abused by the family clan. she gets to leave the family after a young lord from another noble family chooses her to be his bride.

i devoured this volume in one sitting and still was left craving for more. the story may not be the most unique one, but it charmes you with other things, such as beautiful art, great pacing and engaging storytelling.

i can't wait for the opportunity to read next volumes ♡

This has absolutely everything I adore in historical Japanese romance mangas! From the marriage of convenience to the dashing and mysterious MMC, Yako, I adored everything about the story and these characters. Nanao is such a lovable FMC and I found myself rooting for her from page one. And the plot twist regarding Yako was truly perfection.

The art is stunning. Some of the most beautiful illustrations I’ve seen in a manga. The talent is truly astounding.

I cannot wait to see what happens in the next volume! This is a perfect manga to pick up for fans of My Happy Marriage!

This had a cool premise—a cursed girl cast aside after being attacked by an ayakashi, and a mysterious guy who sees her for who she really is. The art is pretty, and the world seems interesting enough that I’m curious where it’ll go next.

That said, I felt a little lost at first since the exposition came in kind of late. The characters also felt a bit flat and leaned hard into familiar tropes. I also wasn’t super comfortable with how our FMC was groomed to be a bride as a kid, then discarded so fast over something she couldn’t control. I get that it’s part of the setup, but I wish that part had been handled with a little more care. The tone also was little bit over the place. Like, here would be some heavy/dark scenes and then it will be followed with some comical scenes after just a few pages (which is just a little jarring).

Still, there’s potential here, and if you’re into stories like this, you might enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!