Plot

This series is worth it! If are looking for a series with scheming and politics and a uniquely smart isekai FL this series is the one for you. Tara/Yeon Woo needs to work hard to gain the trust of her family, become a court official and prevent her family from being framed for treason. Her isekai knowledge is usually unhelpful (since she never liked the novel in the first place and was not paying attention, lol) and she does not give much of a crap about the plot unless it pertains to averting her family's imminent doom. The FL does not lose sight of her objective (even when the romance comes into play) and the plot is not just there to shore up the romance plot.

I think this series involves some fun spins on common romance or isekai tropes. The FL is not dense as a brick when it comes to romance (Thank you!!!!) and ends up avoiding cliche while adapting some of the well worn tropes.

There is a lot of scheming, planning and hard work that goes towards the FLs objectives and she is not a perfect schemer by any stretch, but she is clearly intelligent and improves as the series progresses. This series can be really dense plotwise, but is not as dense as The Villainess Lives Twice for example. It's also frequently hilarious.

Characters

Side Characters - I love them esp. Bernard and Beth. A lot of them have their own lives and arcs alongside the protagonists. One of the (many) best things about this series for me.

FL - Tara/Yeon Woo

Tara/Yeon Woo is a legitimately intelligent protagonist who also tends to mess up a lot along the way but slowly adapts and gets better along the way. She is a combination of very competent and hilariously awkward at the same time.

One of the more divisive things about Tara's development is her weight loss plotline, but here it is handled well in my opinion. The weight loss takes time and is done for personal health reasons rather than out of petty fatphobia. This novel actually touches on the challenges of trying to lose weight realistically. The ML also does not care about her weight (in fact later on when she loses weight dramatically in a few months he's worried about her being in danger due to the lost weight!)

Tara's family dynamic and repairing her strained relationships with them due to ogTara being a recluse for the past 7 years after her brothers death is a slowly evolving plotline that gradually changes as Tara evolves and proves herself to them. Most if not all of her family get development as the series progresses and it's very satisfying so far.

ML - Prince Kyle Amure

The ML, Kyle, is scheming as heck at first (with a big soft spot for the few people he trusts). He comes in with his own political interests in vying for the throne and gets the FL caught up in it, and it takes the FL a long time to build a trusting relationship with him. I could write a damn essay on this man.

The romance is great once it gets going around chapter 130, but there are hints of MLs growing feelings way earlier. Their relationship starts off quite rocky but develops into a great dynamic. Later on in the novel

when they get together officially, he is incredibly respectful and sweet to the FL while also respecting her intelligence. I live for every moment these two are together I swear.