Reviewed @ch56
So when I was a couple of dozen chapters in I was already feeling like I was gonna rate this extremely highly. But I felt reluctant because... I've given multiple 9s or 10/10s in the past couple of weeks. And was worried that I was loosening my standards
But nope. The more I read this, the more sure I was.
This is amazing.
The first chapter hits soooo hard in the feels. It's heartbreaking what this child is going through and how she deludes herself to get through it. It's still hurting just to remember it, and what else she must've gone through in the first timeline.
But that might not be the first thing that hits you. The first might be.....Frankly, this might be the best art I've seen in a manhwa, ever. I know a lot of female lead manhwa get a lot of praise for their art. And rightly so, the art can be gorgeous and amazing or cute etc...this is so clearly a step higher than ANY other manhwa series. It's incredible.
So many panels look like paintings.
I'm reminded of how Rangrarii is generally accepted as possibly being the best art in all yuri/gl manhwa, only this is for all manhwa AND it has the writing to match.
You have a fair few series where the art is great, writing is so-so (like Not-Sew-Wicker Stepmother).
The writing in this is just perfect for the story it's telling. Props to the original author, Siya.
You've got extremely well-written family dynamics:
Formerly abusive mother who's trying to reform (and shake off bad habits) and abused (parentified, neglected, financial abuse..) daughter who's always loved her mother to an incredible degree but now must adjust to their new dynamic and doesn't know how. But they're so incredibly loving towards to each in this timeline.
Step-father and step-daughter as they gradually break down that 'step' wall.
Adopted brother and sister as the former brings his walls down.
'Contract' Husband and Wife, as they rely on each other, are passionately intimate, and have very frank communication with each other...But we only see some very well executed glimpses of it because:
Almost the entire story is told from the daughter's perspective. Cuts to the other family members, or the male lead, are very very very rare.
Which enables a whole different look at things. We know the mother is politicking like crazy and doing the regressor thing, but it's all in the background. We know there's power struggles, but we mostly learn of those things when the daughter does, or when we get a rare alt PoV. And often the daughter doesn't understand it anyway:
Because this is one of the best depictions of a child MC who is not precocious/uber intelligent that I've ever seen. Especially in a story with a fantasy/political backdrop. She thinks, speaks, behaves, loves and believes like a child without the story feeling simplified as a result.
I'm certain there's other things in this to praise but I've kind of just gushed what was immediately in my head and this is probably long enough as is that many may skip over it.
It's incredible. I'm tempted to go to the novel but...god that art, man! (I probably will read a bit anyway 😛)