TheMidnightower's manga / #Romance(54)

Vol. 4 ch 4. I wasn't sure how I felt about this to start but I think that it get's better over time. Things start off very dubious but the characters have a ton of depth and there's a feeling of steady progression as well as they come to know each other. Things mellow out as they go along which seems kind of weird but sort of makes sense since they're operating on attraction initially and it takes a while to turn into actual care. I'm not usually a fan of characters that have a sadistic streak but it's so well handled- there's a kind of childish innocence that can come along with being so easily delighted and also an insight-fullness that can be used for good that I practically never see that is utilized so well here. I honestly might end up giving it that last star because the writing is so solid, even though it's not to my tastes.

Ch 58 I was not expecting this one to pull me in to quite this extent. I initially started it because the art looked good but it actually got me pretty quick. I'm glad I ignored the whole thing about it being a love triangle because it's not that; essentially we have our couple and then the weird rich people games and obsession that our MC gets caught up in. That said our 2nd lead is properly complicated but mostly just... kind of sad? Like he's not a terrible person but he's trapped, a bit childish, and doesn't really know how to handle himself but he's also made choices that don't make him very sympathetic either, so it's less that I hate him and more that I don't really feel any kind of sympathy for him. Meanwhile our leads are both pretty interesting characters. Def gonna keep up with this one.

Ch 104 Finally gave this a reread, caught up and had to completely change my rating. Though the art is absolutely beautiful, I was expecting more with that title. As it stands, things take a turn for the worst somewhere around ch 50: our MC loses her nerve, our ML shows himself to be entirely pathetic, instead of just cutely so, and they reach an impasse that more or less both of them proving to be incompetent idiots, despite the fact that this is their second go around. I would, perhaps, be less annoyed if only their next move wasn't to bring children into the world that they mistreat as much as they. I would, perhaps, had enjoyed it more is either one of them had any nerve or sense: if Reinhardt had either fully committed herself to revenge, had committed herself to Will, had actually planned out what she wanted to accomplish if she wasn't committing herself fully to revenge, if Will had used all that stupid power to keep Reinhardt, or maneuvered her to accepting a marriage, had actually gone ahead and killed himself at any point. In the end, both of them just came across as wishy-washy assholes capable of great harm and terrible parents. The only one worth shit was Dietrich and he wasn't even in a position where I could enjoy his character for most of the story because his motivations weren't clear or he didn't even have his memories. Not worth the read.

6 ch Honestly super cute and surprisingly wholesome. Age gap that doesn't come into fruition until they're clearly adults, clear communication, both sides of the couple being adorable, cute, supportive background women. A slam dunk.