By Kosuzu Kobato and Fumi Takamura. Released in Japan as “Unmei no Koibito wa Kigen Tsuki” by Maple Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Sarah Moon. Adapted by Max Machiavelli.

There’s not actually any art forgery in this book – all the paintings that Fiona gushes over throughout the book seem to be genuine. This is probably because the mastermind behind everything is behind bars – note that I did not say safely behind bars. A novel needs a climax, after all. This allows the book to delve deeply into the other outstanding plotline, which is Fiona and Giles’ fake relationship. Both really don’t want to break it off, but know they have to. Well, Fiona knows she has to. Giles has an epiphany in this volume, and suddenly is finding that he’s absolutely not in favor of that anymore. Unfortunately, he’s still an earl and she’s still the daughter of a baron, so there are issues. What’s more, her father is unhappy with the idea. And this book sees her uncle returning to town, and Fiona just loves him. (No, not that way.) That said, we may be more familiar with him than we thought…

After the events of the last book, Gordon has been taken into custody, which means that Fiona can finally go home and stop imposing on the Heywards. (She is the only one who thinks it is imposing.) As it happens, she gets home just in time, as her uncle Reginald has returned from abroad, and he’s brought paintings to sell. In fact, they’re paintings from the famous Raymond, which is even bigger news. Reginald, however, does not like Giles at all. He knows Fiona wants to be independent, and having her as the plaything of an earl is the last thing that’s good for her. Unfortunately for Reginald, Fiona is not the only one unaware she’s fallen in love – Giles is as well, or was, until Reginald makes him realize that he is. Things will all come to a head at the grand ball which is supposed to be their final one as a couple…

As noted, 4/5 of this book is a romance. Reginald doesn’t like Giles, but he quickly realizes that Giles is not a manipulative bastard and just settles for glaring at him a lot. There is, though, the last fifth of the book, where you realize that both of the main antagonists of the series aren’t dead, and so of course bad things can still happen to Fiona, who has a kind heart even when facing off against a broken woman calling her a whore. Sadly for Caroline, who has spent her entire life planning to be Giles’ wife, reality is not kind to her. I’m frankly stunned by her fate in this book, which is more than she deserves, as everyone else points out. As for Gordon, well, guess what, they never found the body, so I guess we’ll see him again in Book 4. At least he gave us some good royal backstory and angst.

The webnovel is done, with enough material to finish with Book 4. When the published book will be out in Japan is beyond my predictions. Till then, if you like romance and nobles and art, this is still a very good sampling of all of those.

By Kosuzu Kobato and Fumi Takamura. Released in Japan as “Unmei no Koibito wa Kigen Tsuki” by Maple Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Sarah Moon. Adapted by Max Machiavelli.

Last time I wondered if this (at the time) standalone book would be getting any more volumes. With this second one it’s very clear that the series is in it for the long haul, or at least the relatively long haul of a shoujo webnovel (the online version is about five volumes total). One way you can tell this is the case is that the ending of this volume is very unsatisfactory as a standalone. There is a conspiracy to replace the heir to the throne with a more amenable person, and that fails, with the politician behind it punished appropriately. But honestly, the reader has not cared much about that, and it always feels remote and irrelevant. What we care about is Fiona and Giles. And it has to be said, at the end of this volume they’re acting like Fiona is no longer under threat of being murdered if she goes out in the streets anymore, and I’m wondering… why? Because our bad guy is still the big bad guy.

Fiona has caught a rapscallion trying to steal her purse!… who turns out to actually be the one responsible for all the forgeries that have been floating around. He’s mad at Fiona because her catching the fact that that painting was a fake means he was summarily dismissed by Gordon, and is essentially now a street rat. That also means he’s a valuable witness, though, especially because, while identifying another fake, Fiona and Giles discover the fakes have planted evidence urging a rebellion against the crown… and they’re all being bought by the crown prince’s allies. Someone is trying to upend this country and foment rebellion. Is it the stuffy politician who is the leader of the opposition? Or is it the guy that Fiona shamed in the first book, who seems to be trying to ruin her in a much more dramatic way?

Fear not, the romance between Fiona and Giles is still very much at the forefront… well, as much as it can be at this point. Fiona is falling for Giles but doesn’t realize it, and keeps reminding herself that this is fake. Giles has fallen for Fiona and admitted it, but she’s still just a baron’s daughter, so he has a long way to go before he can make it reality. And he also has to get her to realize his feelings, which would involve… telling her. Can’t have that. The really surprising scene in this volume is meeting Giles’ father, who has always been cold and aloof with him, and finding, like a lot of dads in these shoujo romance novels, that he’s cold and aloof mostly as he’s bad at feelings, and that he actually is looking out for Giles in his own way. As for Fiona, well, she still loves art first, her uncle second, and Giles a distant third.

Still, a side story suggests her own engagement, which is currently “on hold”, might be falling apart naturally. At least I can be more confident there’s a third volume coming, if only as the bad guy got away. A solid volume.

By Kosuzu Kobato and Fumi Takamura. Released in Japan as “Unmei no Koibito wa Kigen Tsuki” by Maple Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Julie Goniwich. Adapted by Max Machiavelli.

Yes, I will admit that adding a Vol. 1 to the review title is optimistic. The book itself lacks a volume number, and there’s no sign of a Book 2 in Japan over a year after the first book. But the series has the equivalent of five books as a web novel, and this book certainly does not come to a definitive close, so I’ll include it just in case. I also realize that whenever I talk about series that are unfinished in Japan, a lot of people resolve to never read the title, showing a disdain for “abandoned” works getting a license in the first place. But this got licensed, in my opinion, because the author’s works have been coming out over here from other publishers, and they’re all quite good. And this is also quite good. It’s a normal romance novel, with a heroine who doesn’t quite realize how amazing she is, even if everyone around her does.

Fiona is a young woman who is enjoying her job as a secretary/administrator at the country’s art gallery, and wants to travel to other countries. Unfortunately, her father has decided enough is enough, she needs to be married. Which, in this very patriarchal society, means no job, and no travel. And she’s to be married off to her childhood friend Norman… who’s nice enough, but Fiona has no romantic feelings for him. Then at a party where she heads out to a remote garden to dwell on her problem, she accidentally overhears Giles, heir to an Earldom, who is also desperately trying to avoid getting married. After they meet again due to various circumstances involving a missing cuff-link, Giles’ friend Richard suggests the two of them get engaged to solve each other’s problem – after the fuss dies down, they can call it off. Unfortunately, Fiona is falling in love with Giles without realizing it, and Giles is falling for Fiona and definitely DOES realize it.

This book doesn’t really take off until about a third of the way in, when Giles’ sister talks about getting a new painting from a famous reclusive artist. Fiona takes one look at the painting – a fake – and absolutely destroys the man selling it to her, incandescent with rage. As it turns out, she has a very personal reason to be extremely angry. In fact, most of this book is made up of reasons like that – it turns out that Fiona has accidentally become a beloved contact and ally of most of the truly important people in the kingdom, and they love her all the more because she never uses her contacts for any personal gain. As a result, Giles suddenly finds everyone giving him the stink-eye, telling him he’d better treat her like the wonderful creature she is. And rivals suddenly find that this plain lady from a backwater barony can somehow get an appointment for a dress fitting in two days at the ritziest place in the city, where the wait time is normally months.

In other words, it’s an “unpolished diamond” romance novel, and quite fun to read, if unoriginal. But you don’t necessarily want originality in romance novels. I hope we get more of it.