Risou no Himo Seikatsu

Description

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Yamai Zenjirou is your everyday office worker in modern Japan. One morning, he suddenly finds himself summoned to a tropical world where dinosaurs roam the land.

He is told that this is the kingdom of Capua and the person who summoned him – its monarch, Queen Aura – wants him to marry her and leave his old life behind for a life of carefree extravagance as her prince consort.

The reasons for her offer are many and varied, but she needs an heir, and she wants him to be the one to provide it! If he accepts, he’ll never have to work again, lazing around in luxury with no worries other than securing the kingdom its next monarch.

Certainly, sleeping with the buxom beauty is far from a hardship, but is everything really as it seems? He’ll also need to give up everything he knows on Earth.

Is he ready to drop it all at a moment’s notice for her sake? And how well will he be able to navigate the politics, people and culture of this new world if he does?

Associated Names
One entry per line
The Ideal Sponger Life
理想のヒモ生活
理想的小白脸生活
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki (4)
My Pet Is a Holy Maiden (3)
Altina the Sword Princess (3)
Takarakuji de 40-oku Atattandakedo Isekai ni Ijuu Suru (3)
Hokuou Kizoku to Moukinzuma no Yukiguni Karigurashi (2)
Rakuin no Monshou (2)
Recommendation Lists
  1. My Recommendations
  2. My List Harem LN/WN (MC Polygamy) V2
  3. SATISFYING NOVELS, I HAVE READ. (PART 3)
  4. 0xReki's Recommendations (Licensed LNs)
  5. Actually good isekai/reincarnation list

Latest Release

Date Group Release
11/29/20 J-Novel Club v1 part1
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76 Reviews sorted by


Madoga
Madoga rated it
February 15, 2019
Status: v3c1
I really wanted to like this a lot more than I did. The core premisse is good, the politics are fun to read, most of the characters are interesting and the world is engaging. The protagonist though... He's just so unlikable, s*upid and completely useless.

The 'heroine' on the other hand is great. Though I wouldn't really call her a 'heroine' per se. In fact, she's more the protagonist in a lot of the story than the actual protagonist himself is. She actually has conversations, does interesting things, thinks about situation,... more>> is involved in the world and engages in politics. The actual protagonist does non of that. At the end of the second book, I was so frustrated, I simply couldn't read on anymore.

I feel the main issue with this novel, lies in what the protagonist brings to his new world. He wants to live a comfortable leecher life -- I have nothing against that premisse. The way he goes about it though, is really really s*upid and contrived.

Spoiler

He doesn't think about what he could develop, so he can have a comfortable life in the long run, no... what he brings is a power generator, an airco, a fridge, alcohol, candy, baby clothes,... I mean wtf... Why not brings some books, so you can structurally improve the situation? And if the author wanted to force this whole electricity thing, why not load your computer full of relevant knowledge?

Our protagonist however does non of that. Even when he knows his power generator is only guaranteed to work for 3 years, he still goes all in on his airco and fridge. He also clearly knows electronics break.
What he brings is just so beyond the pale s*upid, that it completely breaks all immersion. Especially when he later comes across problems he could've easily fixed, if he had brought some more knowledge and know how. He even had an entire month to prepare and do research...

[collapse]

The entire novel seems to balance on the premise of the protagonist his incompetence, laziness and s*upidity. I kept reading until the end of the second novel, in the hope the protagonist would actually do something. He doesn't have to become overly active and take a front role, all he had to do was actually support his wife with something useful. But so far all he did, was do some official ceremonies, fill in some number in excel and discuss a contract. He is from another world, he should be able to offer so much, yet he barely offers anything. All he does is play games on the console he brought and watch old dvd's on the TV he brought. The menial tasks he does, don't or barely outweigh the problems he causes. Literally the only reason he is relevant, is due to his heritage.

I'm generally not quickly annoyed with the stereotypical passive Japanese protagonist. But this is just beyond the pale. He's beyond passive, he's s*upid, he's lazy and he doesn't do anything noteworthy. Meanwhile the world is interesting, the politics are fun to read and the heroine is also great (and is arguably the protagonist herself). If the protagonist doesn't bother you, this should be a great read. For me however, it's just too much. <<less
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kakistory
kakistory rated it
September 27, 2018
Status: v6
This is a good novel. Except that if this novel becomes a harem, it's totally off my taste.

The MC is decent guy who then got s**ked into another world of different cultures and technology to become a husband of a queen.

The MC tries to improve his living condition in the new world, cuz the world seems to lack of tech.

... more>> He is true to his nature, he didn't change his personality or stuffs, just trying to make his marriage going more well (which is in great condition, btw)

The queen is a very good woman. Tolerable and loving and all good quality in a wife. She even agree to another wife of her husband, due to some conflict, but the MC stands up like the loyal man he is! Which makes me feels good reading this.

Bad aspect? Hm. Let me think.

It's just that he's a normal guy. (Lol, hahahahah) I mean, it'll be a plus if MC is good in politics to help his wife shoo away those potential concubine that shoved to the door. And, I really hope there's no harem. Please author! No harem ! The MC and fMC marriage is great. Don't ruin it please please please please. <<less
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UniqueUsername
UniqueUsername rated it
September 11, 2018
Status: v7c5
It's a decent novel. Nothing too amazing but not entirely bad. The MC is a simple but sensible character and the female MC is a character with some depth. The romance aspect is a bit lacking, at the moment it seems mostly one-sided from the male MC. The female MC has shown concern and affection to the male MC but it doesn't feel like she loves him and that's one of my biggest gripes with this novel.

Many people seem to hate the male MC because he has no motivations or... more>> dreams but I don't get why that's a bad thing. Not everyone wants to rule or shape the world. He is the queen's consort so he doesn't have to worry about money, housing nor food. Hell the title of the novel itself tells us that the male MC wants to be a "sponger". People complain that he has no motivation/dreams and that he doesn't do anything but I'm willing to bet that the very same people would call this novel another wish fulfillment if he did try to change the world.

I think that the scale of the political problems it focuses on is great. It's not too heavy that it feels stale and overbearing but it's not too light that they feel insignificant. If you want to read about massive wars or the like there are dozens upon dozens of novels that cover that. It feels refreshing to read about smaller political problems.

I would have liked this novel better if the male MC had more liberties. He can't leave the palace without being escorted, he can't see his infant son, he's forced to take a concubine which was the one single thing he asked the female MC not to force him to do. It would also be great if the female MC showed him more love because as it stands it looks like she thinks of him as a pawn. But other than that it's a decent read. <<less
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Prochy
Prochy rated it
December 17, 2017
Status: v6 extra
Ok, I voted mainly because I feel the raiting for this novel is way lower than it should be!

Without doubt most relatable isekai MC out here, first time reading Iseka novel I thought "Oh, thats how I would act in his situation"

Writing and translation is great, story is interesting and well paced.

Definetly worth reading.
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Zack
Zack rated it
April 27, 2017
Status: v3
Good Story Setting and Premise.

Boring MC with little to no character development as a story. Who is either too wimpy, passive and

presence less. There is no problem being a non ambition MC, it is even welcoming too, if the MC is smart and useful. But he is no different than a puppet doll or tamed pet in this story.

... more>> Take Ainz from Overlord as a example, he does not have desires or ambition, yet the story is done really well and smart too. Where he leads and conduct properly.

On other hand, female lead is instead power hungry, who always wanted her power to the point of not even delegating it to a prime ministers or a marshal, even when she was pregnant. Which defeats the purpose of what she intending to do at the start. She would also have her retainers constantly on the lookout for MC when he was out and even put in counter measures to smoother it if he ever have a slight ambition or an interest to do something big.

Her goals constantly clashes with each other, yet she does not want to let go of either of them, being the sole ruler or being a mother. Thus can be irritating to read at times.

In the end, all this make for a bland and boring story.

Setting is good? Yes

MC successful? Yes

Slice of life? Yes

Progress? Little

Development? Little <<less
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Hash2cool
Hash2cool rated it
February 23, 2017
Status: v3
Well the only issue I have with this brand of novel is, the author is treating the male lead similar to what a male dominated novel does to female leads. Till where I have read in the novel, the author could have realistically developed a far more curious character of the MC but instead chooses to only depict the romance and the understanding, which works till the second volume but then gets boring as there is no substantial character development of the MC. His personality is similar to air and... more>> so is his presence. The author works on the premise that adding a person to your life will still not let your life be changed. Also the MC isn't curious about the new world at all. He doesn't experiment, doesn't find substitutes to technology to use his magic. In short even the details of what he has learnt is kept in the dark. Well its an indirect way of writing a female dominant manga with a side male MC. The only good the MC does is that he brought good alcohol with him and that is all.

Though don't get me wrong it's a feel good novel and that is all it is. Hence an average rating to it seems fair. <<less
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devonsewn
devonsewn rated it
October 24, 2020
Status: --
The story was good at the beginning and looked promising, the pace was slow still manageable but it gets messed up and downright laughable. First of all MC doest have any conviction and straightforward want to live like a shut-in which is understandable, but starts to meddle half way in outdoor ceremonies. He was very weak spirited at first and atleast valued people thinking but changes to a full on politician sporadically.

The world building is sub par as you can expect from a shut-in, he knows jack outside his "inner... more>> palace".

The queen and love of her life can simply be described as a leecher even more worse than the MC himself. Zero credit given to his other world knowledge and his invention which was given a specific reason at first as to maintain "dictatorship" at first but that was on the pretext to test the character of MC and that has not changed still.

anyone who wishes to speak with the MC is a bad guy or want to seduce him or curry favours etc. I mean there is not a single decent likable character in the entire series. Queen aura fully trust the MC still doubt his every move.

Needless long chapters. You could just read the double quoted conversation and make sense of it all. There is quite a repetition of same information.

All in all the novel is slice of life-ish without any goal and a MC with inferior complex who can by the way run the hotness of a country far better than the queen. And a mess of a character who have zero relatable value. The story is so bad you will enjoy the extra chapter at the end more than the whole volume. Never cringed after reading any novel but this one takes the cake. <<less
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M.trikz
M.trikz rated it
May 19, 2020
Status: --
Yeah, this novel isn't well executed. I understand that the entire concept is about him being a sponger, but I still expected more from him as he is the main character of a fantasy novel.

What we basically have here is a lazy beta Japanese character that falls in love the first time he sees a beautiful woman and decided to leave his word behind and give up his freedom to basically become her property. I can't believe some people are calling that romance.

He has so many advantages in this new... more>> world but doesn't nothing with them. He has no dreams or goals. With his knowledge of his world he can easily be self sufficient or even become one of the most powerful people in that world, enough to be and equal of the queen, but he chooses to do nothing with all his knowledge and just do as he is told because he want to live as a sponger. That's all well and good, but a guys with no hopes or dreams, squandering his huge advantage of being from another world because his only goal is to be a sponger, just doesn't make for a very entertaining or inspirational story. And the fact that it had so much potential makes it even more of a shame.

For anyone looking to read it, like some people have said, the title has said it all, and that basically the story. At least from what I have read so far nothing much changes, and it basically just gets boring. <<less
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MondoX
MondoX rated it
February 25, 2018
Status: v4
Another spineless, unambitious Japanese MC. The MC was summoned by the countries' queen for the sole purpose to provide an heir, and was told about. So, it was a political marriage, but MC falls in love with the queen too fast. Everything he does is for her, and rejects concubines. However, the queen "loves" him, but she is using him has a chess piece. As long as the MC does not become ambitious, she will love him. The queen has shown that she wants full control of the country, that... more>> is why she does not have a Prime Minister, and rejected a marraige from an ambitious candidate. If the MC were to show any ambition, I would not be surprise if she killed the MC. <<less
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Reddu
Reddu rated it
September 1, 2016
Status: v3
The novel is about normal Japanese man, who was a salary-man before going to another world. But although you can say he is "normal", there is still the typical Japanese personality (which is in other JP novels), that he apologize almost every time he thinks he is even a little bit rude. (like being selfish, cause other people small amount trouble, etc...)

He is not particularly smart person. He just got good insight to stuff related from his salary-man days. (Like reading peoples' personality or what they are after.) But... more>> the problem I got with the MC is that he lacks ambition. He just basically freeloads in an Inner Palace, doing nothing else than trying to stay of out other people sight. (Basically a NEET)

The story got nice political side in story, which can keep you interested to it. If you are in to political stuff. Without it, I might had dropped this before reaching Volume 3. But still the MC's lack of ambition makes me want to drop this. It feels more like the Queen is the real MC and the male is the other main character. (Showing up only when it is convenient for the story.) <<less
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Mr Inanda
Mr Inanda rated it
July 15, 2021
Status: v9c5
There's a lot of people complaining about Zenjirou's personality for being the typical japanes MC doormat, which in fact he is:

  • This isn's a rebirth LN, Zenjirou is an adult corporate sl*ve that is summoned to a medieval society with sorcery and military culture;
  • Being an adult male that has lived a modern confortable life, it's too late to start training with sword and magic to become some OP protagonist, he's just a normal weakling surrounded by scary people;
  • The MC doesn't get any kind of cheat skill, only magic like other nobles (and he isn't some kind of special genius that has most magic than anyone else, or something like that).
This said, it's a concrete isekai LN, without RPG elements like skill points and such. The magic is nicely explained, but the... more>> real focus is palace intrigues. For a court noble, even a sigh at the wrong time can be a grave mistake. The MC enters this world summoned by the queen to be her spouse, realizes the possible consequences of living there and has a choice wheter to live in there or not. And he takes a long time to learn etiquette, the culture, the economy and how to live in such a place.

That said, this LN does have a pacing trouble sometimes, the descriptions can be lenghty and verbose and in later chapters it goes the way of extremely convenient coincidences. But it is a great LN if you like kingdom building and court intrigue.

One thing that I'm still butthurt about is that I was reading the fan translation from Infinite Novel Translations, which had a patreon. The translation was at volume 9 already, and every week there was a new chapter. Then J-Novel Club licenced the series and started translating from scratch. More than six months after the licencing and it's still at v4c6. It sucks so much, I was reading new chapters weekly and now it will take at least six more months to the official translation to reach the same place the fan translation was at. <<less
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Lacking Motivation
Lacking Motivation rated it
February 22, 2020
Status: v7
Spoiler

I get that the title is ideal sponger life but come on. The protagonist needs to have some form of personality to be interesting. He has a total of three traits: loves his wife (quite one sidedly as for her it is a slightly happier marriage of convenience), obeys his wife, and complains about the fantasy world's shortcomings. Ok the last one isn't that prevalent but I couldn't think of any other traits this guy has. He is a male version of the ideal harem member for JP and CN novels. All his achievements are to the world his wife's, he can't meet his son, and he can't leave the palace.

I know it's the sponger life but his life seems more boring than paint drying to me. Author seemed have better ideas for the MC in the beginning but now he is repeating the same actions over and over again and being put down.

[collapse]

Read if you have nothing else to read and want to waste some time, but I highly doubt you will make it past Volume 4.
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Blackleg
Blackleg rated it
April 2, 2021
Status: --
(I like to rate this novel four star and not three star. Don't know how to change the ratings)

There are so many unfair reviews on this novel. So, I thought will take my time out to write why you need to read this novel? I will try to explain without much prejudice.
The complaints made by other readers were
1. Incompetent MC
I will ask the readers to remember that novel title 'Ideal sponger life'. So, I will suggest the readers not to go with unnatural expectations.
My opinion: MC cannot be considered incompetent but a doormat for his wife. In fact, when he was offered to... more>> act he always exceeds expectations of people.
2. Subservient to wife
MC knows what he was signed for when he married the other world's queen. She clearly states why she married other worlder and what she expect from her husband.
3. Marriage
Most of the readers here did not understand what is in to be relationship or to put it more clearly when the couple have very skewed power dynamics.
If you like to see real relationship, where husband and wife had frequent night talks and how they patch relationship after fights? There were lots of sacrifices big and small mostly from MC.
4. Queen vs Wife
FL frankly said to MC if compelled to choose between the role of queen and wife. She would choose to be a queen of her country rather than being his wife.
Catherine the great could be considered the worst example (real life example) in how she dealt with her husband and lovers, when she reigned as queen of Russia. FL was much better than Catherine. She does not cheat and in personal life allow him to be more dominating to offset her dominance in social life and more than that she really tries to make the relationship work irrespective of differences.
If it does not bother you, above discussed perceived cons of readers. Also, like to read about believable relationship and believable life of aristocrat in other world. Go ahead you will not be disappointed. <<less
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Drake888
Drake888 rated it
November 16, 2019
Status: v8c1
This is kind of a tricky one to review. I personally would give it a 3 but I'm raising it to 4 because I'm comparing it to other novels on this site.

A lot of people are complaining about the MC being a doormat, or not having ambition, or some other criticism of his personality. Honestly though, the MC is fine. The MC is actually a pretty decent character. I find him interesting and relatable. A downtrodden modern guy who gets a chance to give up his responsibilities and live with... more>> a beautiful woman. After relaxing for a while, he starts trying to apply modern knowledge. He has no talent for combat or statecraft so he avoids getting involved in either. Especially since he doesn't want to make some kind of mistake that would jeopardize his wife's position. It's not exciting or glamorous but it makes sense and I like it. I feel like I would have a similar approach.

The problem is the author. Too much focus is put on nonsense. We see glimpses of political maneuvering but they never have any real weight. I'm happy that there is no ridiculous conspiracy in the background but writing about power struggles without showing their implications is dull. I understand that Aura is struggling to retain control after a war weakened the royal family's power but I would like a more tangible result for what would happen if she loses that power. Similarly, seeing more of Zenjirou's efforts would be nice. Instead we only get to see benchmark moments. "Oh, this thing I was doing was mildly successful." Or, "Oh, the magic I have been practicing has reached this point."

That is where this novel fails. Everything feels bland because the author is combining the boring parts of political stories with the worst parts of slice-of-life stories. Too little focus is put on the isekai and politics because the author wants to write a slice-of-life but since the characters are adults, there isn't enough growth to be interesting. That's not to say there's no growth. There definitely is character growth. It's just that the characters are adults so the growth is more subtle. And it is very difficult to make a subtle slice-of-life good.

As for the romance, I think it's good. The author actually does a good job with the romance between the two MCs. I can't actually think of another light novel that actually allows the woman to be competent and have power without the ML calling the shots. Some of the other reviewers seem to view this as the FL being controlling, and I'll admit that she starts out that way, but learning to trust her husband is actually part of her character growth. It makes sense for the FL to not immediately trust her husband in what is essentially a political marriage. It just makes it that much sweeter when she finally comes to truly love him. But she always remains capable of independent thought and I feel like some readers aren't used to a Japanese LN novel where the FL isn't constantly seeking the approval or advice of the MC. <<less
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Zombiefan
Zombiefan rated it
July 16, 2018
Status: v1c8
It was kinda cute at first, yeah I wanted a more romantic story and this seemed like it was but it started turning into a harem. Male lead isn't even a catch, it's just some political stuff the author made up to give him a harem.
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CursedLich
CursedLich rated it
June 19, 2018
Status: v7c4
The characters have depth, the storytelling is both nice and fluid and although the main character is obsessed with some japanese habits like most MCs (like a hot bath), he is more relatable as a normal, non-crazy, likeable person than most MCs and not stuck with total japanese cultural superiority over everything else.
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stalonewolf
stalonewolf rated it
April 22, 2018
Status: v6c4
Got interested early on to see how the "fantasy marriage" trope plays out and it does very poorly.

If protagonist was turned a secondary and the story was from queen's PoV it might have been half decent.

Read it if you're new to the fantasy slice of life/kingdom genre, but if you are tired of beta Nippon protagonists it's a pretty bad read.

P.S. Change the title to "I was teleport to another world and transformed into a human shaped doormat "
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Miracle
Miracle rated it
July 28, 2016
Status: --
Living life a happy new life as a neet consort, but just enough appearances as a royalty to keep unnecessary rumour from spreading (since otherworld is patriarchic). Royalty life not being enough, our MC brings appliances together with him.

Extremely nice novel slice of life with politics included. The novel is very nice and cool, because the situations that happen is logical and sensible for the mc's appearance and the action he is doing

On a side note:
@Immoral Peac obviously did not pay attention on why passive MC is a... more>> need, much less understand the synopsis given. Expecting the opposite of his purpose would obviously be s*upid considering his position as a consort not a ruler. What is the point of the explicitly written "sponger life" <<less
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blueratel413
blueratel413 rated it
November 14, 2020
Status: v8c2
For all those readers wanting something different from most kingdom-building OP isekai, this is the right novel for you. The kingdom is already built, life is good and everything is peaceful. This is something the MC "knows" (and is broadly true). He even has the option to refuse the call, but he doesn't instead he gets some time to set his affairs in order so when the MC is resummoned, his plan is to take the longest vacation ever. With the added bonus of marrying a beautiful and powerful woman.... more>> Yes, the kingdom is medieval in period and he "could" uplift them, but that will take a lot of "work".

Then life happens, the beautiful woman he was shagging gets pregnant and not wanting to be a useless man, he starts doing some work. The support doesn't come from tech uplifts that he has no idea what to do, and can't return to earth to research, but from taking public roles. The public role isn't speaking and everybody agreeing and having perfect understanding, but rather understanding the nuances of politics and social appearances.

Spoiler

MC wants to keep a monogamous lifestyle with his wife, but there is increasing political pressure to have a harem. There is also pressure for him to be a "man" in a patriarchal society.

[collapse]

The only quibbles I have with the plot is the lack of major events, or rather the lack of "action." As someone who has read a variety of Self-inserts, Alt-history stories, Kingdom building, etc. I expect there to violence and conflict. This story averts that with political discussion (read: Schemes And Conspiracies), so much so that I find the tag of Strategic Battles unapplicable.

Spoiler

The biggest "battle" is against hostile wildlife that the MC never gets involved with. Also, the wildlife isn't considered a serious threat but an annoying nuisance and basically free merit.

[collapse]

I have found all the characters rather bland, which I applaud for being realistic, but again it makes the story boring. There is no character development so far, but it is justifiable within the context of the setting and plot.

Grammar and readability are fine, I found no issue understanding what was happening. <<less
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TitanAnteus
TitanAnteus rated it
April 1, 2020
Status: v8 prologue
The basic premise of Risou No Himou Seikatsu is that a man who worked in a black company in Japan. 70hr workweeks, very little free-time, gets summoned by a woman in another world to be her husband.

On the surface it's an escapist fantasy, but the author's sense of prose and social intelligence takes the story in interesting directions.

For instance, the world the protagonist gets sent to is a patriarchial society. The woman who summoned him, absolutely needs his bloodline, but wants the best for her kingdom. The protagonist knows nothing... more>> about leadership nor has the martial skill to stand on the frontlines. He also doesn't want to. In this new world he'd prefer to relax after the hardships he's faced in the other world.

His mentality is perfect for the woman who summoned him, and as the story goes on she starts falling for him pretty hard. He doesn't cage her, he supports her, and when things get rough he's decisive. Not only that but he maneuvers around social situations in ways that don't usurp her power clearly hoping that the people around them see HER as the ruler not him. It's actually quite a feminist story!

The protagonist is great. There's actually a few chapters in volume 6 and 7 that follow another character and I had trouble reading those parts. The main narrative following the protagonist and his relationship with his new wife and how they grow closer to one another is more engaging than a soldier's quest. The writer is exceptionally skilled at writing mental confrontations. They use just the right amount of dialogue and inner dialogue that it feels like the characters aren't static in their perception. The heroine is fantastic, and because the protagonist is completely unwilling to overshadow her, she gets to shine in really unique ways.

And I didn't even talk about the political situation of the country, it's allies and how influential magic is to the world. It's such a well thought out and interesting world, but still has a very strong character focus.

I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN UNTIL I CAUGHT UP. It's SUUUUUPER good. <<less
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