By Kazuhito Minagi and PenekoR. Released in Japan as “Anata no Oshiro no Kobito-san ~Gohan Kudasai, Hatarakimasu~” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

I really enjoyed reading this book, but if it has one big flaw it’s that it cannot settle down with one genre. And unlike, say, Sasaki and Peeps, I’m not sure how deliberate it is – it just feels unfocused. Judging by the cover and blurb, I was expecting the story of a plucky and adorable orphan winning the hearts of everyone she encounters. And it definitely is that. But it’s also the story of a reincarnated Japanese woman who wakes up in a middle-ages sort of monarchy and gradually introduces new foods while also winning over the monsters of this world with her powerful magic. And it’s also the story of a child left for dead who has tremendous PTSD about the whole thing and keeps getting triggered over and over again, either accidentally or on purpose. It’s about how sometimes abuse through neglect cannot simply be waved away or fixed. Still, if you can handle the ping-ponging, it’s a compelling read.

A Japanese woman, who passed away due to a car accident, wakes up in a deserted storeroom as a two-year-old dying of starvation and thirst. Not great. She manages to stagger to a kitchen and is found by the cooks, and it turns out that she’s in the royal castle. In fact, it turns out that her connection to royalty is a lot more intricate and filled with secret plans than anyone realizes. For Chihiro, though, all she wants to do is quietly live her life, eat nice food, and maybe try to find sweets, as this world lacks sugar or honey. Well, it has honey, but in the forest, and there are bees. Pshaw! Who’s afraid of some bees? Well, when she manages to get a mysterious stranger to take her to the forest, it turns out you’re afraid of bees if they’re the size of a human and feed on magic. Good thing that, as it turns out, Chihiro has TONS of magic…

Chihiro is absolutely the best reason to read this. A lot of these “I’m two years old but have my adult memories” series feature the main character trying their best to act like a kid and failing. Chihiro doesn’t even try, she’s like one of the kids in Full House. A scene early on just made me throw up my hands and realize the author was writing this on vibe, where she not only figures out how the commoners are getting their sums wrong, but asks the nobles to forgive them as it’s not the expected “we’re corrupt” but just “we suck at math”. There is an occasional hand wave towards people realizing that a girl as young as her cannot POSSIBLY be doing everything she is (she’s doing perfect embroidery, coming up with new recipes, etc. At two years old), but every time that happens the person ends up thinking “well, whatever, she’s so cute I don’t actually care to investigate this”. As for the conspiracy that led to all this happening in the first place, it never really gets resolved beyond “yeah, those evil maids did this and then vanished”.

Basically, this book is a mess. But it’s a fun mess, and I had a great time reading it. I want more.