By Harunadon and Kurodeko. Released in Japan as “Tsuihousareta Seijo desu ga, Jitsu wa Kunijuu kara Aisaresugitete Kowain desu kedo!?” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Camilla L.

It can be difficult for me to do a review of a title that relies so much on just being funny. We aren’t really going to get much in the way of ongoing plot, and while there is character development, it’s not really why folks would want to read this book. This book is read for the laughs. Watching Evelyn suffer, seeing her misunderstand, seeing everyone else just completely losing their minds when she supposedly vanishes, and of course everything about the curse and its aftereffects that we get in this volume. The translator must have had a ball, as there a whole lot of puns that will make even the most inveterate jokester feel a bit sheepish. (Ahem.) Fortunately, there is a dramatic nugget to grab a hold of here, and it’s actually very interesting. It also involves a new character who is, rest assured, just as weird as the others, but can also give Evelyn something she desperately needs – a mother figure.

Evelyn is going through some tough times. She’s trying to learn how to be a proper noble lady, after years of only having to be The Saint. The problem is, she’s not very good at dancing, posture, etc. The bigger problem is all her tutors insists she’s perfect, they have nothing to teach her, and then they quit. Kira is the only one who seems to recognize that she’s upset at all this. So she decides to run away for a bit, taking Kira with her and leaving a note to explain things. Unfortunately, she tried to write the note in poetic language, which means folks think she ran off to commit suicide. She actually ends up at the shore of a lake, one with gorgeous scenery, a mysterious curse, and Europa’s mother, who has a tendency to pass out at the drop of a hat but is otherwise exactly what you’d expect from a light novel mother. She’s called Mamaropa, because of course she is.

There’s some other interesting things in this book, particularly the unexpected friendship (and maybe more? Yuri?) between Theodore’s younger sister Karin and Evelyn’s evil sister Mary, who is still a bit of a brat but is now far less evil thanks to Karin’s tutelage. But the main reason I enjoyed this is seeing Evelyn and Mamaropa interact. Evelyn’s issues in this book stem from one very specific problem – almost everyone in her life puts her on a pedestal, and refuses to tell her she’s doing anything wrong. She needs family guidance, and her family are either dead or mostly still bad people. Mamaropa is very silly (it is a comedy book), and the Mommy jokes can wear a bit thin, but she doesn’t talk to Evelyn like she’s The Beloved Saint, and may even manage to teach her – we’ll see, a third book is coming. Technically there’s also Kira, and he does function as a little brother, but he has to be there to be the tsukkomi when Evelyn can’t do it herself, so he’s too busy.

I think I enjoyed this a bit more than the first book. Assuming you don’t mind – I emphasize once more – this being very, very silly, it’s a fun read.

By Harunadon and Kurodeko. Released in Japan as “Tsuihousareta Seijo desu ga, Jitsu wa Kunijuu kara Aisaresugitete Kowain desu kedo!?” by Earth Star Luna. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Camilla L.

We’ve reached the point where there are enough of the “exiled saint” books that they prove themselves ripe for parody. The noble saint, who is massively overpowered. The arrogant prince, who doesn’t get it. The little sister, selfish and greedy, who thinks she can do the exact same thing but is woefully incorrect. The saint being completely and utterly unaware of how popular she is with everyone who is not that prince and her immediate family. And I saw the cover art and the synopsis of this series, so I was ready for it to be goofy. I was still unprepared. This may be the most bananas light novel I’ve read since the days of The Invincible Shovel. It starts off with the saint being a bit over the top, and then gradually the reader realizes she’s actually one of only a few people with common sense in the whole book. You’d better be here for the funny, because it is shoved in your face.

Evelyn is horrified to be told by her fiancé, the first prince, that she’s being replaced as the Saint of their kingdom by her younger stepsister Mary, who he is also taking as his fiancée. In fact, Evelyn throws a fit, mostly as she’s extremely naive and sheltered, and has been kept away from anything that might taint her since she was five years old. Now she’s 28, “too old to get married”, and wandering around the local town. Going home proves to be a mistake, her parents are absolutely terrible people. She’s reduced to looking around for people on the street to heal, then asking for money. Fortunately, she runs into a streetwise young man who is NOT SUSPICIOUS AT ALL, and he gradually realizes she is a potential cash cow in the making. Meanwhile, back at the palace, it turns out sainting is harder than it looks.

There is a BIT of plot here. Evelyn mostly goes along with this as she’s been the saint for 23 years, and thinks her power has started to wane. Fortunately, there are other people with large amounts of holy power, one of whom is not only engaged to the SECOND prince, but absolutely loves Evelyn. A bit too much. It never quite spills over into “comedy sexual assault lesbian”, but it comes kind of close. The first prince and Mary are both comically awful, so the plot is not so much “how do we fix this” as “everyone immediately realized what happened, find the missing Evelyn”. I’ll be honest, a lot of times I was rolling my eyes and ended up exhausted. If you don’t like everyone in the cast being a broad caricature except maybe three people (Evelyn, the streetwise young man, and one of the princes… and I’m only putting Evelyn on the list barely), or don’t like OMG SO FUNNY books, this is not for you.

But come on, Evelyn goes to a town where she tries to confess who she really is but can’t because everyone in the town names their children… and even pets… after Saint Evelyn. “There are 57 Evelyns in this town.” How can you not like a book like that? (There are two more volumes, which worries me, but that’s for future me.)