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The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General!, Vol. 1

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By Miyako Tsukahara and Satsuki Sheena. Released in Japan as “Suterare Reijō wa Renkinjutsu-shi ni Narimashita. Kaseida Okane de moto Tekikoku no Shō o Kōnyū Shimasu” by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by piyo.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a book try to get the reader to abandon it and walk away quite as much as the start of this book. First off, and this is less the fault of the author than the fact that English-speaking fans are VERY tired of this by now, the very first chapter is called “The Abandoned Heiress Purchases a Slave Swordsman”. Those of you following the Sugar Apple Fairy Tale anime will know how this goes, but it’s still a side-eye moment. Things are not improved by the two leads snarking at each other egregiously for the first 40 or so pages – indeed, Chloe’s banter feels very forced and unnatural. Then, as you read on, you realize that this is not a fault with the writing but a fault with Chloe, and things get a lot more interesting. It’s not a must-read, but by the end of the book I was perfectly satisfied.

Chloe is an alchemist, and she’s just purchased Julius so he can help her kill monsters, which will get her materials so that she can do more alchemy and make more money. Both have tragic pasts. Chloe was a duke’s daughter, but when her stepsister arrived she became the unfavorite, and then when her father was accused of crimes and executed, she was thrown out onto the street. Julius, meanwhile, was a general for another country, and as part of the peace agreements was sold to the enemy and forced to fight in an arena for three years. Chloe responds to all this by keeping up an optimistic, cheery front that hides a very fragile young woman, while Julius has simply given up on life altogether. Fortunately, both are very good for each other, and they’ll have to rely on each other more as it turns out that Chloe’s past is still very much in the present.

This is the first of a series of books Cross Infinite World licensed from PASH!, best known here for the Kuma Bear novels, and it’s not a bad choice. I enjoy unreliable narrators, so seeing Chloe’s chipper yet slightly fake running monologue and constant praising of herself made me look for something more, and I was rewarded. Julius, meanwhile, is a jerk to Chloe at first, in the best shoujo manga tradition, but, like the better shoujo manga with that trend, he gets better. The book is very much a ‘game’ fantasy in the way that monsters, when they die, happen to drop labeled items you can use in alchemy, but honestly, that’s par for the course now. Its biggest flaw may be that it’s a stand-alone – there’s hints of Chloe’s alchemy mentor that go nowhere, and the eventual bad guy doing all this gets away and things stay unresolved. So in terms of plot it’s not great. But in terms of romance it’s absolutely fine.

That said, there does appear to be a second book in the series due out in Japan in March. Till then, if you like disgraced heroines falling for hot guys with sharp tongues, this is a good choice.

Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension: Heavenly Bath of the Seven Goddess Sisters

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By Nagaharu Hibihana and Masakage Hagiya. Released in Japan as “Isekai Konyoku Monogatari” by Overlap Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sophie Guo.

I was going to make several jokes about the lengthy wait for this final volume of Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension, but it turns out I made them all in my previous review, which also had a lengthy delay between volumes. Not nearly as long as this one, though. The last time this series came out was pre-COVID. Fortunately, this is the final volume, so we won’t have to worry about it anymore. As for the book itself, it has all the strengths and weaknesses of the rest of the series. I’ve always liked this more than it probably deserves, and that remains the case. But the book is, like its hero, just so goshdang earnest that it’s hard to dislike. There are really no surprises here, no last-minute twists. There are also (thankfully) no new women added to the bath pile, which is good, because as I noted in my previous book, I’ve long since forgotten who is who, with the exception of the tiny cast list at the start.

We pick up where we left off, which is annoying as I did not remember where we left off. But basically one of the summoned heroes, Nakahana, has turned evil and is using her gift, which is essentially “sleeplearning”, to brainwash people and have her own little army of handsome men. Fortunately, Haruno’s powers can dispel this gift, but it’s a one-by-one process, so it won’t be that easy. They’ve got to infiltrate a castle, steal the king, and then go to war with a brainwashed army. And try not to kill anyone, because most of the army is brainwashed, not evil. And then there’s the actual task that Touya has to do, which is to rebuild Hades and set up a massive temple with shrines to all six goddesses… which will allow most of them to once again reappear in this world. Fortunately, y’know, he has a bath.

On the minus side, Touya’s narration still tends to sound like he’s reading us his shopping list sometimes, and the book also can’t stop going on about “ripe melons” and “obscene tits” until your eyes get damaged from rolling them back. And everyone’s just so NICE. On the pus side, that’s because, in the end, this is a found family title rather than a harem romance. There’s no romantic resolution here, though you get the sense that eventually he’ll end up with several women. But it’s irrelevant, their bonds as family and friends are more important. Also, I appreciated how the book used its OP heroes. Touya and Haruno are both ludicrously overpowered… and so the book comes up with actual obstacles that stop them simply being OP, and forces them to strategize and think. And, as with previous books, the women all do a lot here, particularly Haruno, who gets badass interior art (unbrainwashing four knights with karate chops to the head) and comedy/sexy interior art (where she accidentally shows Touya her naked body while trying to meditate).

So yeah, still not recommending this to anyone but fans who don’t mind a breast fetish. But leaving that aside, this remains a flawed but pleasant series, with a very likeable cast, and I’m glad it finally got released.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 5: Avatar of a Goddess, Vol. 2

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

It has to be said here: Ehrenfest is absolutely terrifying. I mention this mostly as, to a reader, that may not be the case. We’ve been with Rozemyne since the start of the series, in her home duchy, and we know its people. We also know that she is the equivalent of a human nuclear weapon, and that they’ve been desperately trying to hold her back for the most part. But to lesser duchies (like, say, Jossbrenner, who get the bulk of the short stories here), their meteoric rise has to be explained by evil. It’s the only way the rumors make sense, because otherwise, you’d have to accept that their entire change in fortune is down to the machinations of one book gremlin… who honestly doesn’t care all that much about where her duchy ranks as long as she gets books. And then we get this volume, where she talks to the King like she talks to everyone else. And produces multiple magical sacred items. What *is* Rozemyne? They just don’t know.

As always with these huge books packed with STUFF, there’s too much to recap, and I apologize for leaving out Detlinde’s excruciating tea party. But the two important things in this book are: 1) Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger release their joint research, showing the efficacy of prayer and belief in gaining blessings, and proceed to have a demonstration which will involve (Rozemyne thinks) two of the three princes, but actually involves ALL the princes, and the King. The other duchies are somewhat stunned, but hey, it’s for the good of the country, right? Then we get 2), where Lestilaut finally snaps and challenges Wilfried to a game of “bride-stealing ditter” for Rozemyne’s hand. Rozemyne, unable to figure out a way to get out of this, then says that if Dunkenfelger lose somehow, Hannelore has to marry into Ehrenfest’s duchy. Hannelore, who is Dunkenfelger’s archduke candidate. Clearly this will be Safe And Fun.

Much as Leslilaut is an absolute ass in this volume, and I cannot wait for his inevitable downfall next time, he has a point: Wilfried is still pretty terrible as a leader of men, and as a minder of Rozemyne he borders on pathetic. That said, he does get a moment at the end when you cheer for him, when he goes to rescue (and not to capture) Hannelore. I tend not to think about romance too much for this series, mostly as it involves admitting who Rozemyne will end up with, which I’m still trying to ignore, but Wilfried and Hannelore would make quite a cute couple. Unfortunately, given Hannelore’s exceptionally bad luck, I can’t see it happening. Oh yes, and the library now has enough mana to open up some new sections, which will no doubt end up being important down the line.

So much happened in this book that it’s difficult to accept that it’s all just setup for future books, but there we go. That said, Bookworm is great whether it’s setting up pins or knocking them over, and I always love Rozemyne’s “common sense” causing everyone around her to faint or have a migraine. Keep up with this series.