Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!, Vol. 10

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By You Fuguruma and Nama. Released in Japan as “Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Hengtee Lim.

Last time I said we were caught up with Japan and I wasn’t sure when we’d get the next book in the series. Well, it turned out to be about a year and a half. And since we’re caught up with Japan again, it may be another year and a half before Book 11. On the bright side, unlike some other slow-burn romances I could name (coughDahliacough), this one is actually realizing that it’s going to be ending with Book 11 or 12 and doing something about it. The meeting with Alec’s brother, which we’ve been hearing will be happening soon for a while, finally happens. The actual suspense part of the book involves a figure from Shiori’s dark past, which she is finally able to lay to rest. They move into a larger house that ends up being a dorm for adventurers, with them as resident assistants. Oh yes, and they finally go all the way. Busy book!

There are three large stories that make up the bulk of this chunky book. In the first, Alec and Shiori are looking for a new place to live that is larger than his apartment, and discover an old boarding school that has just one slight problem: it may be haunted. Which is bad news, as that’s Alec’s one fatal flaw. In the second, a woman has been stalking Shiori and Alec, and she’s definitely bad news. She seems to know Alec, but he can’t remember who she is. And she’s got a ringer to help her out – Torre, Shiori’s old partner in her first adventuring party, is back and ready to cause another round of PTSD for her. In the last story, Alec and Shiori venture out to meet his brother (the king, in case you’d forgotten) at last, and also Rebecca, as she and Alec are finally able to apologize to each other and admit they’re both very happy with other people. This allows Alec to finally do what we’ve been waiting ten books for – propose.

Let’s talk about that middle story. I could not tell you how little I wanted to see the remaining member of Shiori’s old party… you know, the one who isn’t dead. And Shiori certainly feels the same. Fortunately, thanks to a villain even worse than he is, he gets a first-hand taste of what Shiori went through when he left her to die, and proceeds to repent. We even get a quick one page “and this is what happened to him the rest of his life” from the narrative, as if to reassure readers that we don’t have to worry about him again, either. The most amusing thing about the book for me was the sex. The start of the book shows that, while they haven’t gone all the way, they’re still doing everything short of that. We get to briefly see Nadia and Clemens, and hear about the marks all over her body, clearly from their lovemaking. And towards the enhd of the book, Shiori gets those exact same marks. These folks have very difficult lives, and so they are ready to have great sex whenever they can. And they do.

I always enjoy this series, but I’m enjoying it even more now that it’s resolving its plots and drawing to a close. I will happily wait for whenever we get Book 11.

From Bumbling Prodigy to Villainess: Will the Duke’s Love Go Unnoticed?, Vol. 2

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By Saki Ichibu and Yukako Fujimura. Released in Japan as “Munou Saijo wa Akujo ni Naritai ~Gimai no Migawari de Totsuida Reijou, Koushaku-sama no Dekiai ni Kizukanai~” by Dengeki no Shin Bungei. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Joshua C Shupp.

I have, inevitably, mentioned this before, but it is still interesting how, due to translations having to actually be translated and not just literally ported over, “Villainess” is having to get redefined in these books. Sometimes it does mean someone who is capable of doing evil things, ranging from murder to throwing wine on someone’s dress. Sometimes it’s someone who enjoys sleeping around, or toying with other men. But sometimes the “bad woman” merely means “strong woman”, and one reason why transposed Japanese otaku, or shy retiring noble girls, might admire them is that they can do things that most would not. They can stand up to men and tell them off. Even if those men happen to be in a position of power. When people say “she’s rumored to be a horrible villainess”, there’s a thrill in their words. “She lives her own life!” Of course, this is still a romance novel, there are limits.

Surprisingly for a series as goofy as this, there’s a hidden opium trade in the kingdom, and Dylan is being asked to investigate – with Avril sometimes helping out despite herself. After a masked ball full of intrigue – and reminders of Avril’s former reputation as a loose woman – the signs point to a lead in Dylan’s own domain, as one of the mistresses that his dissolute father has brought in is part of a family involved with the drug. Meanwhile, Avril is just delighted to be able to see where Dylan grew up and meet everyone in his domain… though perhaps a bit less excited to meet his father, who supposedly likes meek, shy women rather than confident brassy ones. But Avril has a way to fix that. She just has to be a villainess! She’s so good at it!

I was reminded a bit of Marielle Clarac here, mostly with the idea that the heroine is so unassuming that she is automatically assumed to be a maid rather than the fiancee of the Duke she actually is. That said, Avril is much sillier than Marielle – this is a romance, sort of, but first and foremost, it’s a comedy, and there were plenty of laughs. Not just in funny scenes, either – possibly the biggest laugh in the book for me is when someone throws themselves out a window on the 2nd floor. We also get a side story that explains how Alexandra ended up with the Prince, which is great, as I like Alexandra, but also not great, as it promotes “if you’re annoying to the one you love for over a decade, she will eventually give in and love you.” Other than that, this was solid, if suffering a bit from second book syndrome. Series are hard, aren’t they? Everything is just the slightest bit less fresh this time around.

This arc will continue into the third book, and I’m sure Avril will do something outrageous while practicing her “horrible behavior”. And you won’t have long to wait, as this series is still monthly!

The Villainess’ Journal: Newlywed Life of an Obsessive Researcher, Vol. 1

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By Len Kagizaki and Akira Shigaraki. Released in Japan as “Akujo Nisshi -Otaku na Akujo (?) no Shinkon Seikatsu-” by Maple Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Emma Schumacker.

This review does spoil the biggest reveal in the book, sorry about that.

When I saw this was coming out one month after From Bumbling Prodigy to Villainess debuted, I was somewhat puzzled. Let’s face it, the two have a premise that’s so similar it’s almost eerie. But after reading it, I can see the differences that make this one stand out. For one thing, Bumbling Prodigy has one normal guy trying to deal with his very sheltered, eccentric, somewhat autistic nerd of a wife, with help from snickering servants. Whereas this title has the exact same thing, only the guy is also a nerd. There’s an evil dad. There’s a younger sister who uses the name of her older sister in order to go out and fool around, which gives the older sister the bad reputation. And yeah, that’s exactly the same here, though the reasoning behind it is very different. And both leads are hilarious. But in the end, the difference is that Avril is a savant, while Estelle is a nerd. In a good way.

Estelle Aublanc is sitting in her bedroom researching magic circles – which she’s done for the last ten years or so – when her father shows up and demands that she get made up gaudily and go meet with a prospective fiance. It turns out her sister has dragged her name into the mud, and now a marquess with a reputation for being cold wants to marry her. Estelle does not particularly care about the marriage as long as she can study magic circles. Though her father threatening to burn all her research does galvanize her to try at least a little. Unfortunately, trying to act like a “villainess”, like her fiance has requested, turns out to be difficult as she has no idea what one does. She doesn’t want to wear all that sticky makeup. She doesn’t really have it in her to be mean to servants. And what’s a callboy anyway?

To get the bad out of the way, like many in its genre, this book suffers from a bad case of “the same scene from a different perspective.” Estelle’s narration runs about 30 pages or so, then we get 15 or so from Gerald’s perspective giving us the exact same scenes and dialogue. This was annoying in Bakarina and its imitators, and it’s still annoying here. Other than that, this is a delight. I will try not to spoil but the most interesting part of the book is Estelle’s sister Alette. The fact that Estelle is so happy to meet everyone and everything helps disguise things, as she’s exactly the same when it comes to her sister. Alette’s scheming is rather brilliant, frankly, and I like that we get a younger sister who is neither evil NOR an innocent waif. Actually, while not having any explicit on-screen sex, this book is pretty spicy, especially towards the end.

So yeah, that’s why CIW licensed this one right after Bumbling Prodigy. They’re both winners. I look forward to the second book, though unlike Bumbling Prodigy it’s not being fast-tracked by the company.