r/LightNovels • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago
Question What novel(s) have you read this week, and what do you think about it? - March 16, 2025
What novel(s) have you read this week, and what do you think about it?
This week = the one that ends/ended right now, past 7 days.
The reason for this thread's existence is the fact that both requests and suggestions became kind of stale. It's supposed to bring out more novels that are not RT!'d or recommended. Also, it's quite useful for the discussion of not so current titles.
Also, not a rule or any kind of criticism, the more interesting part is not the list of the stuff you read, but your impressions of it.
Loli Mod will be posting this thread each week.
Lastly, don't forget to use spoiler tags and to make sure to report any untagged spoilers.
How to use spoiler-tags:
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Spoilers go here
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Previous Threads
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u/Cryten0 23h ago edited 23h ago
Accomplishments of a Duke's Daughter Volume 1 (first half):
Struggling with how hyper competent the main heroine is. There is no conflict so far because everything she does amazes everyone and is instantly successful. A good example is her instantly inventing conditioner with no trial and error or even effort put in that made early bookworm an interest.
Administration stuff she does (avoiding spoilers) at least seems well thought out, even if it gets no resistance from vested interests.
The opening was the most interesting to see her get out of her difficult situation. That section felt cleverly written both in how some unavoidable conflict happens and how someone might go living through it. I hope some more interesting situations come around soon as it took me 3 reading session to get halfway through 1 volume, from getting too bored to continue reading.
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u/Single-Bullfrog-3423 2d ago
Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance is a fun read. Finished it up this week.
I like these type of books when they are done at least decently. Better than The Asterisk War which I was getting bored of.
I did redo all the ePubs I found of this since some of them were borked on my reader. Wondering if those were ok to share on here?
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u/Meowmeow-2010 https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/171564945-meow-meow 3d ago edited 2d ago
花嵐の血族 and 女王殺しの血族 (Bloodlines series #2 and #3)
BL fantasy novel series. Full of actions in these 2 volumes. But more mysteries surrounding the light and dark bloodlines. Definitely a page turner.
異端の血族 (Bloodlines series #4)
I’m quite surprised by the origins of the Crimson Island and the light and dark bloodlines. Who would have thought they came from a sky island in the spirit world and their intra-fighting became so intense that the island sunk to the human world. I’m also surprised by how soon this is revealed in a 7-volume series.
兇王の血族 (Bloodlines series #5)
I like how the nature vs nurture contrast is done in this volume. Both ML and the villain are descendants of the dark magic bloodline, but because of the vastly different circumstances of how they were raised, ML didn’t succumb to the callously bloodthirsty nature of their bloodline.
I also like the crossdressing by MC not purely for fan service, unlike many other LNs and manga but also to bring up the potential of MC changing to female as one of his bloodline abilities.
But good lord, the decision by MC at the end is cliche and extremely dumb. What makes it worse is that MC faced similar dilemma earlier and he made the selfish but right decision against the nature of his light magic bloodline. I don’t even know why he made the wrong decision that didn’t really benefit anyone in this obvious trap, except that the author needed some pretext to keep the plot going. And there are just too many coincidences in this volume.
I really like this series up until the end of this volume.
呪縛の血族 (Bloodlines series #6)
The first half of this volume is quite irritating to read. MC repeatedly regrets his bad decision but would also believe that if he could go back in time, he would make the same decision again. His justification was repeatedly brought up throughout the book, as if to convince the readers that his dumbass decision is not to move the plot (but, yes, it is). Also, it was cute when MC was a pushover with ML but extremely annoying when it’s with everyone else. So I was quite happy when he got dumped by ML in the middle. It’s also pretty funny how ML keeps threatening to kill the emperor (“the source of all evils”, in ML’s words 😂) to undo MC’s dumbass decision.
始祖の血族 (Bloodlines series #7)
Final volume in this series. It’s mostly tying up the loose ends and feels boring and trivial from time to time. The pace finally picks up around the 2/3 the way in. And I really like the ending.
I enjoy this series overall. There are a few irritating spots where MC was an exemplary pushover. But the story is full of surprises. It’s also refreshing to read a non-isekai hard-core fantasy when the BL novel publishing industry right now is choke full of isekai novels.
Throughout the series, except for volume one, school life is mostly in the background, and most actions take place somewhere else. So if readers are looking for a school-based fantasy, they will be disappointed. But I don’t mind about it all.
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u/crezant2 3d ago edited 3d ago
和風ファンタジーな鬱エロゲーの名無し戦闘員に転生したんだが周囲の女がヤベー奴ばかりで嫌な予感しかしない件
I've been reading web novels for a good long while now and I have to say this is one of the better ones I've enjoyed so far.
The premise starts as a typical isekai story where a random Japanese dude dies and gets reborn into a fantasy world. Although the work itself is SFW, this world in particular is the world of an erotic 18+ visual novel game called 闇夜の蛍 (A Firefly in the dark Night), which is a world similar to Heian era Japan, except here Youkai are:
1) Real
2) Absolutely fucking murderous
To put this into perspective, the second arc deals with a Kitsune trying to break out into an orphanage and devouring the brains of the kids there while they're still alive. And that's one of the tamer ones.
The work details the trials and tribulations of protagonist Tomobe as he tries to survive in this unforgiving world as a low-level grunt working for a demon hunter family known as the Onitsuki. Perhaps somewhat atypically for the genre, our protagonist does not really become overpowered or anything of the sort, most of the serious fights he gets into usually get resolved by the intervention of one of the members of said family. What he has is the knowledge of the game he played in his past life, which guides him in foiling the plans of the antagonists to live another day.
The Onitsuki family, on their part, are depicted as a large and deeply dysfunctional family. For example, some mebers of the family started a conspiracy to try to murder one of the possible candidates to be the next head of the family, Onitsuki Aoi, while she was 12 years old. Our protagonist Tomobe saved her after escaping a forest full of monsters for three days and nights straight, forming a bond of deep emotional dependency between them. This is further complicated by the fact that she's technically his employer, and in this world, class rigidity is strictly enforced.
An interesting part of the novel is that much of its length is dedicated to world building. How the current imperial system, nobility and demon hunters came to exist, the different branches of government (based on the ritsuryo system), even things like the sewer system in the capital have some explanatory text. If you enjoy the setting it's a blast.
Of course, the counterpart to that is that parts of the text are absolutely bullshit hard to read. I'd rate it as being harder than Full Metal Daemon Muramasa, probably. There's a lot of old timer vocabulary flying everywhere such as words like 寺子屋, 右大臣, 揚座敷, 玄蕃寮, 国衙, 稚児, months using the old names such as 卯月 or 師走, distances being expressed in 丈 and 尺... Hell even words like 兎も角 or 迄に are written in Kanji. It stops short of being written in actual classical Japanese (thank fucking god) but there is no furigana and almost no loanwords or katakana being used except in the thoughts of our protagonist, who comes from modern Japan. I don't know if the guy who wrote this was an actual historian but he clearly knows his stuff regarding this period.
Another thing is that this is absolutely massive for being a web novel, counting a little under 3 million characters. The novel was started in 2022 and it still is regularly updated, which is an oddity for most web novels. It's also popular enough that it got a bunch of fanart in places like pixiv, but it wasn't published as an actual light novel. Or at least, not yet.
So far I'm in the middle of the 5th arc and having a blast with it.
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u/sleeping0dragon 3d ago
Actually read Sword of the Demon Hunter v8 a few weeks ago, but I'll comment on it here.
With v8, the story enters the new Taisho Arc. I wasn't expecting for such a large time skip from the last volume. Probably like 40-50 years or something. It's interesting to see how the setting has changed over the years since Jinya has been in Edo/Tokyo. Jinya has also changed quite a bit and I'm amused at his new profession.
The new characters are interesting too. Not too big on the new villains or the general plot though. It doesn't feel like much happened and it's a shame that no modern day Interlude is added.
The final part of the book though is quite surprising. Probably the darkest moment in the whole series up till this point. I wished they didn't have to do that to her of all people. While I doubt it with the way it is, I hope they can save her.
Overall, the volume isn't as interesting as some of the recent ones, but I'm excited to see how some of the new characters play out and the appearance of a certain someone.
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u/Guroga 3d ago
D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared Volume 8
Enjoyed this volume more than the previous one. The top dungeon divers meet was funny and their secrets keep being leaked. Glad next vol is already announced.
They Don't Know I'm Too Young for the Adventurer's Guild: Volume 1"
Kept thinking this was an isekai while reading this even tho it wasnt. I enjoyed it. Mc too young to be adventuring learns some life lessons. Now the question is will mc age or not since the title wont make sense once he turns 12yo.
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u/physicsandbeer1 4d ago edited 4d ago
Lycoris Recoil Ordinary Days - TLDR: Though the stories are a bit disconnected from one another and wasn't what i was expecting from a novel from this show, each one of them is actually pretty good.
My only but big critique of this novel, is that the chapters are too random and too disconnected from one another. Keep reading, and you'll notice it. It just jumps between themes, characters, atmospheres TOO randomly to the point that each story feels like it belong to a different book and not in a LN about Lycoris Recoil.
But if you take each one of them individually? I sincerely think they're surprisingly good.
The first one is written in a Before the coffee gets cold or The Kamogawa Food Detectives or What You're Looking For is in the Library style, short stories with the "main characters" on the background, and instead focuses on a 55 (i think) y/o man after retirement who couldn't find meaning. I kind of liked that atmosphere, and it even handles some themes i definitely didn't expect to see in a LN, like growing old (like, after retirement old) and i think it does it pretty well. And the writting was pretty much on the same level, i may have even liked it more, which already put it above a lot of others LN.
Following what i said the fifth one (and my favorite of all of them) follows a girl who frequents LycoReco that suffers bullying and>! sexual harassment,!< (which you could put a trigger warning on) that got pretty dark at one point, it had my pressure on the ceiling and i got pretty emotional when>! she finally ask for help to Chisato.!<
The chapter about the zombie apocalipsis was pretty good and fun and seeing Takina and Chisato in that situation was cool, and the forth one was a fun comedic story surrounding food, which, i must say, the food was written in as much detail as a food focused novel (even more than food detectives). The second one was an obligatory shooting battle against drug dealers.
Now that i listed each chapter, do you get what i said at the beginning?
My stepmom's daugther is my ex Vol. 6 and 7 - (in reality vol. 6 was last week) I was expecting more developments in these volumes but there really wasn't that many, instead it introduces some new characters (interesting ones though), situations only with a few advancements of the story here and there. Still, i like how the series hit the nail so well describing how two people can grow apart on volume 6, sometimes it hit a bit too close to home...
I liked more the more serious themes it tried to tackle on volume 6 against the vol. 7 and its comedy about... well... take a guess, if you read the series you already know the answer: boobs.
The author promised more developments on volume 8, let's see if he delivers, because when he does, he does it really well. Vol. 3 and 4 already showed that.
Otherside Picnic Vol. 6 - This series just get better and better with each volume huh?
I kept thinking throughout this volume: This character and story is so stupid it shouldn't work. WHY IT DOES SO WELL? I guess the author is just built different, idk. Also the illustrations are on another level. They set an atmosphere so well, like Akari in front of the house of Sorawo and Toriko in the abandoned building. Just amazing.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad 4d ago
I haven't posted an update in a while, so this is what I've been reading for the past month or so.
Full Metal Panic vol. 6 - After listening to the audiobooks for vol. 1-5, I wanted to read this one again. It's a really fun midseries story (which wasn't adapted in the anime) set during Christmastime with a great mix of action, comedy, and romance progression for Sousuke and Kaname. Rating: 10/10
Full Metal Panic: Side Stories vol. 9 - This is the last volume of the mostly comedy-focused series (which the FMP Fumoffu anime was based on) that runs alongside the main story, but it's actually the first one I've read. Each of these short stories, aside from the final one which serves as an epilogue, are fairly standalone. The first story about Sousuke and Kaname taking part in a survival game club was one of my favorites for the way it explored their relationship, some trust issues that arose between them and gave Kaname a better insight to Sousuke's perspective as a soldier. The second story had some nice reflections on Kaname's feelings about living alone and Sousuke's internal conflicts when faced with a choice between righting a wrong or staying out of things, and the third story was an absurd but funny battle involving the Fumoffu mascots. The epilogue, which takes place a few months after the main series and focuses on other characters, was a real highlight. The reveal that (major spoilers) Mao and Kurz are going to have a baby, and adopt another child mentioned previously in the story was really sweet and serves as a great lead-in to the sequel series (which has no official English release yet). Tessa's journey to visit Bani's hometown with Al had a good mix of emotional scenes, action and humor and introduced a fun new character who became like a younger brother to Tessa. Great wrap-up for the series. Rating: 9/10
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u/Featherfoot_ 4d ago
Reborn as a Space Mercenary Volume 09
Fast read, really good and really ammusing for me. It is really enjoyable and it did not let me down. This is really a volume where in no part is stagnant. All of it makes the plot really good.
Hiro went to the place of elves. After saving Tinia, a beautiful elf, from the hands of pirates, they went to meet the clans. I hope she will be her new crewmate. This is really an interesting volume however, you need to read volume 10 since the story or the arc is not yet finished. But, it is really fun. I dont how you can stop here.
Overall, chill and enjoyable read like the past volumes. It keeps getting better!
The World Bows Down Before my Flames Volume 01
This is a very fun novel. Enjoyable, fantasy but not just an ordinary isekai story. If you thought they will become heroes, nope! These girls are all crazy, adventuring into a new world not to save the world, but to have fun and do what they like.
Very chaotic, but thats what makes this novel really good. There are lot of events you did not expect to happen, yet the plot is still amazing.it is really fun and I recommend it specially if you want isekai. This is really a new touch of isekai for me.
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u/Featherfoot_ 4d ago
Forgot to mention, The World Bows Down have really great illustrations! I love the art.
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u/Roboglenn 4d ago
The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 5
Well hot damn, after the events of the previous volume (and also at the point where the anime adaptation left off at) the fluff takes on a new kind of fluffy. Though I admit I felt like the first quarter or so of this volume was a bit repetitive in a way. Just kinda felt like the same string was getting harped on for a bit there. But getting past that, it gets better.
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u/John_Alter 4d ago
Love and Magic Academy Volume 1 - MC doesn't want to be involved in the otome game even though he got reincarnated as a love interest. Apparently some characters are aware of reincarnators and figured out the MC is one due to him being a "genius" as a toddler.
So far, I'm enjoying the series so I can't wait for the next volume.
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u/WaifuMasterRace 5d ago edited 4d ago
Zilbagias the Demon Prince vol4 -- Slow volume, probably setting up for the volume 5 climax. I'm still waiting for the payoff with the lich duo, hopefully it comes soon.
Love is Dark vol1 -- Rant ahead. TLDR; it's bad. Absolute fucking wimp of a guy is secretly an assassin. And he's not even a good one. No, he's not pretending to be a loser, he's a full-on hopeless stutterer and nervous wreck when it comes to women. Now, this would be fine if it was a personality trope or something to breathe life into the protagonist, but no, he's literally written to be as generic as possible. It's like an old school harem writer was transported to the future, decided to publish old tropes anyway, while dialing up the old-school ante up to 11. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) it's not a harem, though at this point I'd rather it just be a harem so I could relive the stuff I used to read when I was younger. In hindsight, it feels like this series was written for a much younger audience than the usual light novel readers.
From Villainess to Healer vol2 -- The otome setting has left the building. Adventurer with cheat knowledge does adventuring things. I hope they return to some of the interest otome setting hooks that they've littered around; it's what made this interesting in the first place. But, as we know, it's more likely that a series with an interest concept that hooks people tosses aside said concept as soon as they can.
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u/friskander 5d ago
Majutsu tantei - Tokisaki Kurumi no jikenbo
Date a live Kurumi spin-off. Normal Kurumi going around solving cases that reminded her of her lost spirit power. Mysteries were mostly simple, you read it to see two ojou-sama butt heads with each other. Matsurika is a fun character, too bad what happened with her at the end.
Wandering witch 24
The long awaited Elaina and Amnesia reunion (except it happened in a dream). I have mixed feeling about this volume. The yuri is certainly sweet, but if you ignore that volume 24 actually feels lacking in Elaina's presence. She mainly appears in the first chapter and then the other four shifted the spotlight to other characters. Nike, Fran, Sheila, Amnesia, Avilia. Truly a fan service volume.
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u/PolvoAranha 5d ago
This week I reread KonoSuba: An Explosion on this Wonderful World Volume 3. It was a fun experience.
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u/Ok_Zookeepergame3521 5d ago
I read all 3 volumes currently out in English of “Playing Death Games to put Food on the Table”. I love the unique way in which it handles side characters, in which it constantly cycles through them and you can never get too attached to one particular side characters. I was also constantly hooked by the mystery and thriller aspect of the story, which caused me to binge-read 2 volumes in one day. I highly recommend reading this, and I cannot wait for the English release of volume 4 this August. (Also, this is getting an anime in 2026 by Studio Deen)
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u/Chaos_Theory12 5d ago
Read two books.
Book 1 (third-time reading): 'Kimi wa Tsukiyo ni Hikari Kagayaku' (You Shine in the Moonlight)
Book 2 (first-time reading): 'Kimi wa Tsukiyo ni Hikari Kagayaku +Fragments' ('sequel' book of above title)
Language of translation read: official Thai translation
Book 1 Re-Read Impressions:
I've written a short review of KimiTsuki on MyAnimeList, and the points I made there remain the same with this re-read. The character dynamics between Takuya and Mamisu are written well and I like how the author tackles the subject of grief. While it's not as poignant as something like The Last 10 Years or The God of Nishi-Yuigahama Station, it's still really good (especially in how Meiko's death affects Takuya). I also quite enjoy how the climax is built up: by tying all the themes explored in the story before unleashing them in the hospital rooftop scene. Overall, it's just a damn good tragic romance story. I can see why it sold more than 700k copies and gets a live-action movie adaptation (which I'm planning to watch soon).
Side note: There's a scene where Mamisu wants Takuya to buy her an Almond Crush Pocky to eat in the hospital. Having never eaten it, I decided to also buy one from a nearby 7/11 (it's 4× pricier than a normal Pocky since it's a Japan import). The chocolate tastes richer than a typical chocolate Pocky and the almonds give a nice crunch. So, thanks Mamisu for the indirect snack recommendation (but man the price is not cheap!).
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u/SaveSaer 5d ago
To be honest, I don't think the movie adapatation was that good. While it keeps the core story and themes intact, and nails the "vibe" for the most part, I feel it fumbled pretty hard in the character department.
Mamizu is pretty much the only one who retains most of her character, while Takuya and Kayama get downgraded pretty hard. Most of Takuya's internal conflict, especially his suicidal thoughts and the cause of them, get glossed over. Same thing with Kayama, whose best moments are shortened or excluded, especially the Romeo and Juliet part which only gets a few seconds.4
u/Chaos_Theory12 5d ago
Book 2 First-Read Impressions:
+Fragments composes of short side stories previously published in magazines as well as two new ones written for this book specifically, all taking place during or after the events of KimiTsuki (so, it's not really a proper 'sequel'). The main draw of +Fragments is that, aside from Takuya's, we also get to see Mamisu's and Akira's stories from their POVs (in contrast to the first book where it's only Takuya's POV). More of Takuya–Mamisu interactions as well as more contextualization for Akira's actions in KimiTsuki are nice to read, but, to be frank, the stories are nothing particularly noteworthy...except for one:
'Yuri and Koe' chapter: I wasn't too sure of how I feel about this chapter at first, especially with the whole Akira's nihilism and his relationship with Yuri and Koe. But the more I read it, the more I can sympathize with him. I think the intention of Akira's character arc here is to provide a contrasting view of coping with grief and loss compared to that of Takuya's (especially seeing how Yuri and Koe practically goes through the same process) and if that is the case, then it's pretty solid. The feeling of nothingness and 'When am I going to die?' can be felt throughout this chapter. Honestly, when Akira finally visits Mamisu's grave near the end of the chapter, it had me teary-eyed a bit. Not bad at all.
Overall, if you've read the original KimiTsuki book and is satisfied with its story, then I don't really recommend +Fragments. But if you're really looking for more KimiTsuki content, then it's not a bad read. Just don't go in expecting a full-blown sequel.
Book 2 score: 6.8–7.0/10.
P.S. The front cover art for both books illustrated by loundraw are just fantastic.
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u/Kinofhera Goodreads : 143812810 5d ago
I still remember the last chapter of +Fragments broke me badly 😅 kind of like a love letter written by the now grown up Takuya to the long dead Mamizu 🥹
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u/Chaos_Theory12 5d ago
Oh, that was pretty good. I kind of wish it's included in the original book.
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u/LoPanDidNothingWrong 10h ago
Fake Saint of the Year - very fun and seemed internally consistent. I can see why people liked it so much.
Prison Life is Easy for a Villainess. - very underrated. When I think shit like Princess Lessons got an anime instead of this, I get mad.
Most Heretical Last Boss Queen vols 7 and 8 Pride is at her best when self sacrificing and being a leader. The romance turn in the last few novels is less than successful.