What: A short-and-sweet take on the villainess genre with lots of the usual tropes (tsunderes, overpowered hero characters, handsome princes) and its on creative take on things.

Author: ENOSHIMA Suzu

One day, Crown Prince Sieg hears the Voices of the Gods out of the blue. Apparently, his fiancée Lieselotte is a “tsun de rais” villainess destined to meet her demise..and her sharp tongue is just a way of covering up her embarrassment. The prince can hardly contain himself after discovering Lieselotte’s adorable hidden side. Little does he know, the heavenly beings that bestowed this knowledge unto him are actually high schoolers! Can he use their divine prophecy (let’s play commentary) to save his betrothed and avoid a Bad End?!

(description from J-Novel Club)

Where to Read: On J-Novel Club (2 volumes) or purchased from a retailer like Kobo.

The Good:

• Unique premise keeps things fresh compared to other villainess novels/manga.
• Adorkable characters may be rather tropey, but are still lovable nonetheless.
• Short length means things don’t overstay their welcome, and conflicts are wrapped up in a timely manner.

The Bad:

• Still contains a lot of familiar and well-trodden tropes, even if executed well.
• The “real world” romance between Endo and Kobayashi doesn’t get developed nearly so much (partly because of the length).

Overall: 4/5.

Scale for reference:

• 1/5: not really worth looking into; you won’t see many of these because I’ll just drop it without bothering to review it.
• 2/5: probably not worth the time, but you may enjoy it regardless.
• 3/5: an average to above-average series; may be a 4/5 to fans of certain genres or themes.
• 4/5: a strong recommendation with some flaws or shortcomings.
• 5/5: a universal recommendation; one of my favorites. Not necessarily flawless, but has something extremely compelling.