Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower Volume 2

Volume 2 deals with the four consorts of the rear palace, as well as Rimi's new role as Shusei's assistant. It picks up right where volume 1 left off, continuing with slightly better writing and characterization. The season has shifted to summer, and the palace is now preparing for the Declaration of Stability done by the emperor and the four consorts. There's still a lot of stereotypical moments and the writing at some parts makes certain scenes feel so cheesy, but there's clear progress in comparison to the previous volume.

Personally, I liked how the four consorts were handled and their relationship with Rimi. Noble Consort So, in particular, really grew out of the villainess role they had her play at the beginning of volume 1. Rimi herself is also showing more personality than before, and the use of small flashbacks to her previous life has also lessened by a lot. In the previous volume, these flashbacks were sometimes used to advance the plot because Rimi as a character was too weak to get the story going on her own. This book seems to be growing out of that habit, which is nice.

Unfortunately, a love triangle just has to be present in this type of story. I'm not particularly fond of the love triangle here since I'm not the biggest fan of the emperor, but here's to hoping it won't get too frustrating.