Reset! The Imprisoned Princess Dreams of Another Chance!, Vol. 2

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By Kei Misawa and poporucha. Released in Japan as “Torawareta Ōjo wa Nido, Shiawasena Yume o Miru” on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Evie Lund.

This author is very good at making the reader feel tension because something has not happened. For the most part, through about three-quarters of this book, Reset feels like the 2nd book in a two-part series. Annabel is invited to the country where Prince Daniel, her husband from her past life, is from. But… he seems fine? If a little wary. There’s also Princess Karina, the woman who destroyed Annabel’s life and had her thrown in prison. But… she’s sweet and nice? Something screwy’s going on here, and it likely has to do with the sullen, taciturn mage that Karina drags around with her. But it’s OK, because everything gets resolved in the end… well, sort of. The resolution feels rather off. And wait, there’s still how many pages of book left? And then we reach the final chapter, and you realize no, this is going to be a three-parter, and everything goes to hell in a handbasket.

The intriguing plot does help to cover up the author’s weakness, with is character. As I said in my review of the first book, Annabel is an interesting character to read because, if you’ll pardon the expression, she’s not like those other reincarnated villainess girls. Annabel is not a villainess, of course. She’s not trying every hour of every day to avoid her fate – months go by between chapters with not much happening. She isn’t even oblivious to the affection of everyone around her – this is very much a one-couple romance. We the reader figure out what’s actually happening before she does, which works, as it’s fun to watch her slowly realize that the Princess Karina that she knows is no longer herself. That said… she’s a bit generic? As is her boyfriend Ed, who also feels fairly standard.

Then we get the interesting bits, which are interesting because they grate against the reader’s sensibilities. The actual villain of the piece gets a backstory that talks about how she was taken from her people and forced to be a mage, and that her people later completely vanished. The response from the royalty of the kingdom seems to be “Hrm, well, not entirely accurate but yes, somewhat accurate, we’ll try to do something about it”, and we learn that she has essentially been abused her entire life. This makes her fate rather tragic… except the way it happens is so open-ended that the reader just goes, “And? AND?!?!” It’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop, only it takes sixty years. There’s a happily ever after! Annabel and Ed marry and have kids! Annabel dies at a ripe old age! And then we find out what the villain ACTUALLY did, and man, I want to read Book 3 now.

Alas, I will have to wait a few months. Still, Reset is a very good combination of typical characters and not so typical plot, and I hope Annabel can muddle her way through into finding happiness. Again.

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: Starting Magic Lessons with a Few Modest Tricks

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By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian.

Yes, I know, I’m surprised too. Given that I have occasionally muttered that I need to cut down on my light novel intake, it’s a bit of a shock that I picked up a series whose title and cover make it sound like it was introduced by Gilbert Gottfried on USA Up All Night. That said, the book itself is… well, exactly what you’d expect with a title and cover like that. A lot of focus on 13-year-old girls trying to seduce their 17-year-old instructor. Said instructor turns out to be ludicrously good at magic and also has at least three girls in love with him by the end of the book, with the promise of more. There’s a lot of “you are hugging my daughter and are therefore a creeper who must be murdered” schtick. Oh, and there’s a red-headed angry tsundere who flits around the plot, finally showing up at the end. Despite that, I finished it, and I want to read the next in the series. It works despite everything about it.

Our hero is Allen, who has just failed his exams when we meet him, for reasons that we never actually hear until the very end of this volume. This despite being one of the school’s two prodigies (the other being Lydia, the aforementioned redhead). He doesn’t even have the money to return home, so takes a job in a northern dukedom to train the daughter of the family in magic. Tina is smart as a whip and great at everything… except magic. She clearly has a ton of mana, but can’t cast any spells. Allen’s job is to either train her and her best friend/maid/rival Ellie so that they can pass the Royal Academy exams… or else convince Tina, who’s being stubborn about it, that it’s hopeless. That said, Allen has dealt with this sort of thing four years ago, so has a few ideas in mind. Hopefully ones that will not destroy the dukedom…

I always find something to latch on to in these sorts of books, and in this case it’s Allen. He spends the entire book trying to play himself off as a dull, boring, unskilled potato of a protagonist, which might trick the reader at first, but goes out the window whenever he meets anyone and they say “So I see you’re just as big a freak as the rumors say.” I actually wonder if he’s something of a parody, and I’m certain that his constant head-patting, hugging and general close contact with his two charges is tolerable only because he has all the sexual drive of a nerf ball. His world is loaded with little sister figures, with the exception of Lydia, who essentially refuses to let him peg her like that, so he calls her an ‘albatross’ – as in around his neck – instead. Honestly, the book’s big flaw is that we don’t get the story of him and Lydia from four years ago, which honestly sounds better than this one.

If you are the sort to complain about a light novel hero, don’t even start this one. Walk away and never look back. It will melt your eyes. If you don’t take it too seriously, it’s actually pretty fun, and I will read more to see what happens next and if there are any girls in it not in love with Allen.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 4

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By Bokuto Uno and Miyuki Ruria. Released in Japan as “Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

First of all, the big news regarding this 4th volume in the series is that it actually manages to come to a logical conclusion that feels like the end of a volume, as opposed to the last two volumes, where the ending was just “finish the page you’re writing now and we’ll send a courier to pick it up”. That said, the events of the first three books are not forgotten, and have great impact on the 4th, as our heroes start their second year at Kimberly. Everyone is also growing up; our second years are sixteen, and there is a lot of discussion of sex here, why and how it should happen, and who to watch out for. It’s considered as a rite of passage rather than a shameful act. That said, events from the previous book also leave Oliver a bit… pent-up, shall we say. Fortunately, one of his friends notices this and helps him out in a scene that is actually really well written and well characterized. Further, deponent sayeth not.

Aside from talk of sex and relief from sex-based spells, there’s a lot of magical academy stuff going on here as well. We get new teachers, including one with the improbable name of Ted Williams, who stuns the entire cast by being a reasonable, normal instructor. Nanao excels in her broom-riding sport, so much so that she’s promoted to the upper-year senior league… where she finds, for once, someone she can’t blow her way past with natural talent. The kids all go out to the local town, something that takes up the back half of the book, where they get into fights with rival schools, experience the terror of British food, and deal with a mysterious man who keeps assaulting magicians. With all this going on, will Oliver finally find time to get around to why he’s actually there?

On Twitter I posted a poll asking how everyone thought the books would end: with the main cast in a polycule, or with the main cast all dead? Unsurprisingly, the poll was almost dead even, because really both options seem likely. Leaving aside Oliver and Nanao’s deep chemistry, and Nanao’s desire to want to fight him to the death (I’m hoping for redefining death in a future book), it’s pretty clear that Chela also likes Oliver a lot. Pete, of course, is also falling for Oliver. Guy and Katie have that vague R*n and H*rmoine vibe, but honestly that feels like one of the least likely, at least until Guy gets his act together. As for the death part, well, come on, look at the school. If nothing else, I’m fairly certain Oliver’s plan is not going to go swimmingly all the way to the end. Especially since his next target has taken a special interest in Pete…

I haven’t even mentioned half the things going on here – these books are very dense, and there’s a lot going on. If you enjoy magical academy stories and don’t mind them being darker and more adult than the typical light novel fare, this is still a must read.