My Happy Marriage (Light Novel), Vol. 2

This is going to be a very slow burn healing love story, isn't it? Miyo is tentatively opening up to the idea that she's not utterly worthless. Kudo finds ways to stealthily improve her situation. The scenes from the perspective of the deranged half sister are the best part.

Art-wise, Miyo gets a wardrobe upgrade with really gorgeous kimonos and accessories.

I... feel conflicted about this book LOL.

The thing that bugs me the most about this book is none other than the translation. I know the Japanese language has a lot of expressions that are hard to translate, like “うっ...” or “...っ！” or any variant of that. Still, you could do so much better than converting every single one of those into “Hng!” or “Hnh!” regardless of the situation. It's so awkward. There's this thing called paraphrasing, and sometimes you just have to do it to avoid that kind of outcome.

Anyway, about the book itself... The first half is definitely not my favorite. In her determination to be a good fiancée, Miyo is starting to take etiquette lessons from Kiyoka's older sister, Hazuki. Unfortunately, as hinted in the first book, Miyo does have a Gift and it's been sapping her energy each day through nightmares. Between her lessons and lack of sleep, she quickly withers away while Kiyoka is kept busy at work due to the actions of a certain political figure. All of this eventually comes crumbling down with the one plot device I truly dislike: the misunderstanding.

That being said, I like how Miyo's character is handled. Her long years of trauma won't disappear that easily, and she is making progress at her own pace. It's realistic, and personally I think that part is written well. I just really don't like misunderstandings, especially when it's as bad as the one happening in this book. Is it necessary for Miyo and Kiyoka to grow? Yes. Still doesn't mean I have to like it LOL. After we get past this whole part, however, it's a really engaging read as Miyo finally awakens her Gift and uses it to help Kiyoka. They also open up even more after that, leading to a lot of cute moments. Especially in the epilogue.

There's also quite a lot of new characters introduced here. Hazuki has her own personal arc, which may or may not lead us to discover a surprising connection. I actually like Hazuki a lot. Her presence really brightens up the entire book, and she provides a truly nice contrast to both Miyo and Kiyoka. Aside from her, we also see Miyo's grandfather and cousin from the Usuba family, as well as the emperor's second son, Prince Takaihito. This volume has more politics involved, and it also shows more fantasy elements even if it's still rather light. Seems like the next book will be dealing with Kiyoka's mother's disapproval of Miyo, so I shall prepare myself for family drama as I wait for it to come out.