One of my all-time favorites. Primarily a fantasy story (I really like fantasy genre). It is a story about a female protagonist reincarnated in an otome-game world like most other stories of this trope. But the story stands out due to its depth and the amount of real-life lore and myths incorporated in the story. The narration style is also very well done, sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching, and sometimes scary. Most of the characters are well-fleshed out and you can feel a connection to even a lot of side characters.... more>>

Comprising of 5 arcs currently (The final arc is scheduled to be released soon), it starts with a very fast-paced dungeon crawling arc, covering a lot of information about the world of the story through the protagonist's short yet memorable mini-adventure. The second arc follows up the first, with the protagonist still attempting to get a grip on how to handle her reality. This arc has that similar pattern of facing a big boss in the end, but no dungeon-crawling this time. Rather, it stands out due to the beautiful descriptions of the world and culture. The third has no boss-fighting (which many tend to assume by this point), but it shows the protagonist's discovery of her powers and learning how to harness it, with plenty of dramas to flesh it out. This arc leads up to the main plot after a time skip to the fated game-scenario. From then on, it's a continuous story filled with conspiracies, actions, and intrigues.

There is no romance in this story as of yet, nor is it a reverse harem as many might assume (Only two of the target characters are implied to have romantic inclinations but they never act on it so it remain ambiguous, the other one already admitted her to comrade-zone, the rest are her older brother's age and her teachers so obviously no.) The strong world-building and intriguing plot makes it one of my most favorite stories. <<less

A Chinese novel. There is no end to the rebirth trope among the CNs. But this one really takes the cake for me. One of the reasons being the male lead. The male lead of the story, at least at the time of this story's release, was one of the most unconventional leads of this genre. With a fiery and scheming personality, with a tiny bit of kindness which he rarely showed, he was portrayed as a very charismatic lead. The female lead, after her rebirth, remains a solemn lady of few words as befits her past identity. ... more>>

The plot is pretty generic like most other novels of this genre, scheming against scheming relatives and meddling royals and what not, but the interaction between the two leads is what made the story interesting to me. The male lead, despite taking note of the female lead's existence and figuring out right off the bat that she was up to something grand, never interferes with her business and even when they cross paths, the only thing he has to say is something along the line of "Destroy the country or do whatever you like, just don't implicate my family in your business." He does, however, lend her a helping hand out of courtesy quite a few times despite his degenerate-like demeanor, and doesn't hesitate to try and kill her when she finds out more than necessary about his business (which should be a normal reaction mind you), but still spares her when he figures she means no harm. The development of romance was a real icing on the cake. The male lead never shows his emotional upheavals, but through the narrative, we eventually get to see how deeply he was hurt when everyone he has grown up with, including his closest family members and friends, chose to treat him as an enemy after finding out about his ambitions, yet the female lead, who has similar goals as him, decided to treat him like a comrade since they had the same goal anyway. Despite being more powerful than any of his former friends and now enemies, he had grown emotionally attached to them at some point yet never showed it, but he finally falls for the female lead once she remained his only ally in that world. Finally, some of the snippet's of the female lead's pasts are just so tear-inducing that I cried every time I read it. The same goes for the ending part of the novel where their everlasting bond was shown through various tragic turn of events. But in the end, it is a happy ending, and a real joy to read. <<less

A Korean one. It is a shame that it has not been completed, but I have finished it anyhow. This is a purely tragic story with a protagonist who undergoes inhumane treatment in both lives at the hand of her family. As a result, she has a cold and detached personality. After reincarnating in her new life, her situation doesn't change and her only goal is to leave behind her family to live an independent and carefree life. But her ill-repute and the misunderstandings that surround her doesn't make it any easier for her. In the end, however, she successfully sets out to live her own life after having found someone who loved her unconditionally... more>> and she loved him back.

The story has plenty of fantasy elements. There are plenty of potential male leads, making it a legit harem since it was an otome game to begin with. But the male lead grows on people. After getting attached to her due to finding similarity between them (I am hated and you are also hated, might as well help each other out), he constantly watches out for her, and defends her when her family or anyone else is trying go hard on her. The plot follows the format of "a big villain in the end, once the villain is dead, everyone will be happy". There are only a handful of significant characters so it is easy to keep track of them. And most of all, it is interesting to watch the protagonist overcoming the hardships she was destined to suffer.   <<less

Yet another incomplete story, but as far I could read, it left a very strong psychological impact. The story, the narration, and the sheer goriness... more>> of it was striking. This is a story with much potential, not to mention, unconventional, with a very rebellious aura emanating from it.  <<less

This was probably one of the earliest "otome-genre" stories that took a vastly different approach. The story follows Iris, a noble lady whose engagement was annulled, attempting to develop her fief through the use of her modern knowledge.... more>>

The story has great depths both in terms of narration and plot. The characters are also quite fleshed out. Iris is a strongly business-oriented protagonist, so if it is anyone’s preference, they are in luck. 

If I have to point any flaws, I would say the final quarter of the story was somewhat lackluster and rushed. Regardless, it is a satisfactory read among the stories if this trope. <<less

This story is already of a well-repute among many who read korean light novels. It is a fine story with plenty of drama. The protagonist, Empress Navier, has a charismatic and mature personality as she calmly deals with her husband's "not-so-professional" actions with utmost dignity. She is likely to be the most "empress-like" character I have read so far.... more>>

A plus point of this story is how, despite her husband being shown as a typical cheating bastard, it is also elaborated how the two shared a harmonious relationship in the past, and Navier's feelings of agony in this regard. 

Another plus point is despite the white-lotus Navier's opponent is, she is at least given some room of redemption by offering snippets of how she has always been but a puppet to others ' whims, and that she did everything she did only out of a desperate hope of being allowed a secure life without being abandoned. (Don't get me wrong she is still annoying enough to warrant a slap or fifty.)

All-in-all, it is a story with plenty if drama and a satisfactory ending, but it is slightly lacking in the political intrigue department so I wouldn’t recommend anyone to expect that. But for a satisfactory female protagonist, this one is a gem. <<less

This one does not fall under reincarnation trope. This story follows a mystery-solving thriller type pattern as it smoothly incorporates the typical "heroine-villainess" role in... more>> a real world setting while expanding on the suspenseful backstory gradually. The story follows a young girl who witnessed the death of a notorious villainess when she was just a child only to end up haunted by her ghost years later into solving the mystery behind her suspicious demise. The story has a solid plot with touches of realism as it fleshes out the worst nature of the privileged class. <<less

This story is one I have followed for a long time. This one, too, is a story with a female protagonist that doesn't fall under the usual tropes. Strongly in a historical setting, the story follows a princess with the ability to communicate with her ancestor sovereigns, who was made the heir to the throne over her brothers.... more>>

The story doesn’t lack any political intrigues and the characters are also well fleshed out. The protagonist, Leticia, also bears the makings of a crown royal with her insightful, confident if not outright pompous, and mature personality.

This is a fairly long novel, having been running for a long time. It would require quite a bit of patience to read this through, but if you are into historical stories with a touch of fantasy (not outright magic), this one is a good choice. <<less

Regrettably, the story is on a hiatus right now. This is one if the most exceptional stories of the "broken-engagement" trope. For once they don't make a show out of false/true accusations in front of a hall full of crowd with a white lotus heroine. Rather it is a simple case of a private meeting between the parties involved, "I fell in love with someone else, I am sorry!" ... more>>

I wanted to write further but will leave it at this until the chapters are updated. <<less

Pure comedy. Do not expect anything serious out of this story. If you wish to laugh, this one is a goldmine. Although partway through, it does start to feel a bit draggy, however, it is bearable. I feel like this story could be wrapped up in 30 chapters or so without dragging it in that long. ... more>>

The plot right off the bat, follows a "mentally twisted" protagonist, her engagement annulment, and her antics in the prison cell she has been kept in. A protagonist who is capable of overturning the whole country from a prison cell with her crazy antics, the plot mainly follows her antics one after the other and the hopeless victims who suffer from it. <<less