ascendance of a bookworm

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

This is the penultimate book in the fourth arc, and each of the arcs has featured a game-changing plot twist, so what we see happening in this book should not be a surprise, and yet it still feels a bit unreal. Ever since the 4th volume in the series, Ferdinand has been the second most important character after Rozemyne, and his presence… and ability to rescue her in case she got herself in a jam… were always there. Now he’s going to be leaving, and not in a happy way, either. As a reader, I know that something is going to happen to stop this, but I’m not sure when it will happen, meaning we may have to wait for Rozemyne to graduate before we get any results. And, um, I highly suspect that the civil war that keeps bubbling under will be underway well before then. Times are dangerous.

The first half of the book is pretty normal. Rozemyne finally meets her younger brother, Melchior, who is shorter than her! – just. She’s doing temple stuff, pushing publishing, and working on the finances of the duchy. Then we get the Archduke’s conference, and everything goes to hell, as Ferdinand is asked to marry Detlinde, an Ahrensbach noble. We know from the Royal Academy sections of the story that she’s the girl who wants to bully Rozemyne, so we already hate her. Needless to say, Ferdinand says no. Then the King tells him he has to do it. You cannot really say no to the King. We gradually over the course of the rest of the book hear the official reasons why this is happening, as well as the unofficial reasons, but hovering over all these is a secret reasons: Georgine is plotting bad, bad things.

One thing that this series has hammered home time and again is that very few marriages in this world are based on love, or even have any romantic feelings at all. Political and practical marriages are the watchword. Rozemyne is engaged to Wilfried, but neither of them really care about it. Angelica’s engagement is broken in this volume, and she literally has to practice being devastated by it, as in reality she just doesn’t care. So it’s not surprising that Ferdinand’s own feelings are being ignored here. (Indeed, a side story tells us that other duchies think he’s being abused by Sylvester and company!) But I mention this because the scenes with Ferdinand and Rozemyne here, while not romantic, are intense. She literally says that all he has to do is give the word and she will raise hell and go rescue him. Even if you are still wary of them as a match, it’s heartwarming in a familial sense.

The next volume, as noted, is the last one in this arc, and should feature Rozemyne and Ferdinand permanently “breaking up” – not that I expect that to actually happen. Will she be able to help? Will the country explode in war? And will Rozemyne ever stop looking like a 7-year-old so that all of this can get slightly less creepy? Can’t wait to find out.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

While we have gotten short stories at the end of each volume of Bookworm from the perspectives of the people in the cast who are not Myne/Rozemyne, it’s nice to have an entire volume that does not feature her at the center – in fact, a lot of these stories revolve around her absence. Instead we get a sense of what the Academy is supposed to be like for people who are not Rozemyne, and how she really is just tearing through everything like a bull in a china shop. There is political wrangling about tea parties, political wrangling about sports, and literal assault as a romantic overture. One thing I will note: everyone who said “I still hate Wilfried” as we went into the 4th arc should read this, as you really do feel bad for him. That said, anyone who hated Traugott will find only things that make you hate him more. I can’t believe he was once engaged to Best Girl.

Many of these stories are from Hannelore’s POV, and indeed the collection itself came about as the author wanted to find a place for the web-only Hannelore stories that didn’t fit into the main books. I can sum most of them up as “Being Hannelore Is Suffering” and leave it at that. There’s also a long story from the POV of Rauffen, the ditter-obsessed housemaster of Dunkenfelger, and how he proves to be much more on the ball than I had anticipated. And we get a wonderful story with Angelica, showing how even if she wants to serve Rozemyne for the rest of her life, she still has to realize what that actually means (though she also proves more emotionally adept than I had anticipated at handling the temple servants). And there’s Hartmut, as we see the short story that had been referenced before in the 7th book of Arc 4 (this volume came out in Japan before that one), and it’s a lot of fun.

I’d argue this is pretty essential reading even if it’s just short stories without Rozemyne in them. The discussion of ditter and what it was originally meant to do, as well as the changed made to it, forecast an ominous fate for the knights if there is, say, a civil war. The most ominous short story is the one with Ortwin and his sister Adolphine, who had been expecting a relatively easy and happy engagement, but thanks to Rozemyne’s intervention and the power of True Love, is going to get one that’s far less easy and far less happy. The words “I’m screwed” do not pass her lips, but they drench the text, and I think this is also going to play out in future volumes of the main series. And we also learn that even if she may only be 11 years old and look like she’s 7, Rozemyne is still a hot item, which helps explain why she got a rushed engagement. Powerful people want her in their duchy.

As with most short story collections of large series these days, this came out awkwardly after the books that refer to it. I assume that’s the usual rights issues and contract stuff. Still better than Re: Zero, which relies on “no, we’re not doing these volumes, just read the wiki to figure out who this is”. Thankfully, we have it now, and it’s a great read for Bookworm fans.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Each of the parts of this series expands and builds on the one before it. We begin with Myne pretty much confined to her tiny home and the immediate area around it, and this expands when she starts doing her paper thing and meets Benno. Then we expand into the temple environment, where we see our first exposure to the religion of this world, Myne’s role in it, and noble society, where there is a chasm so great that Myne has to die and Rozemyne has to be born in order for the plot to move forward. The third arc gives us all we want to know about nobles and their infighting, and ends with Rozemyne in a two-year coma. In the fourth arc, we move to the Royal Academy and begin to see Rozemyne seriously influencing people beyond her duchy, up to and including the royal family. We’ve still got two more books after this, but after this one I think we all know where things are headed. Civil war.

Rozemyne may spend the first half of the book away from the Academy, but that does not mean that this is a laid back and relaxed sort of book. Things get serious right away when she reads the Bible, trying to find the bits of the Book of Exodus describing how to build an altar (this world, alas, does not seem to have that), and finds that she can suddenly see a magic circle hovering over her Bible. Ferdinand is so unnerved by this that he urges her to never mention it to anyone or even remember she saw it… but then she has to give testimony about all the cool things she did in the previous book, and admit that she learned dark spells form the Bible she has… which is not the same as the Bible other duchies have. This almost sparks a holy war, and I’m pretty sure we aren’t done with it. But I suspect that the terrorist attack we get at graduation time will distract people from it just a tad.

There are many funny moments in this book, not least of which is the introduction of the perfect partner for Hartmut, a woman who is just as obsessed with Rozemyne as he is AND able to threaten to kill him with a knife. Every man’s dream. That said, it’s hard not to focus on the more serious parts. The attack is harrowing, and has a body count… though the body count is not from Ehrenfest, which sadly, given the way nobles think in this world, means they’re actually under suspicion. We also get a prologue showing us how much stress Hannelore is under merely by being in Rozemyne’s orbit, and an epilogue showing us the tragic past of Eglantine is even more tragic than we had previously been told. I have a sneaking suspicion that Eglantine’s pacifism is going to tie into future books, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.

If you’re reading this series and wondering if you should pick up Book 19, you don’t need my review. But I’ll tell you anyway: yes, you should pick up Book 19. This remains a top-tier light novel series.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

I must admit, she’s started to mesmerize me, that’s the only explanation. Towards the end of this book, I recall thinking that it was another quiet book with not much happening and with Rozemyne not really doing anything wrong. While the latter is… partly true, the hilarious epilogue reminded me how earth-shaking all of this was to the folks back home, and how Sylvester and Ferdinand desperately need the invention of Tylenol. Rozemyne is getting better at the social niceties, but she’s still a huge chasm away from everyone else, and things are not helped by having someone who is basically the same as her come along, and be royalty at that. The two of them join forces in this volume, and I am grateful that they have Hannelore there to try to keep things from exploding, but I also feel very bad for her. It’s tough to be a minder to a cataclysmic event like Rozemyne.

We’re back at school for Rozemyne’s 2nd year, and she’s a little bit calmer about things this time around, though of course that’s only by degree. Her main concern is starting her library committee and being a good big sister to Charlotte (which is not helped by Charlotte being both taller and more mature than her big sister). Then things… start to happen. Lessons are for the most part fine, though Rozemyne is starting to discover how much of the entire 7-year curriculum Ferdinand has already drilled into her. And she almost kills a teacher. Whoops. Things escalate a bit when she runs into Hildebrand, the 3rd prince, at the library. Hildebrand is supposed to be hiding from the rest of the students, but he quickly gets attached to Rozemyne (who he has finally figured out is not Charlotte) and ends up part of Rozemyne’s library committee. Which… complicates things.

I haven’t even mentioned the most interesting part of the book, which is when Roderick, the former Veronica Faction boy who wants to pledge his name to Rozemyne, goes out hunting feystones with others and runs into a magical beast that absolutely should not be there, forcing everyone – including Rozemyne – to rally round and try to stop it. This has moments of humor, as Rozemyne, who was chiding Wilfried for trying to look cool earlier in the book, is upset that everyone was able to be cool except her, but it’s also a scary moment, and a bit ominous, as it becomes clear that this monster was directed directly at the area their duchy occupies. Bookworm loves to drop little hints of things to come and then leave them alone for a few books, so I’m not sure when we’ll get back to this, but let’s just say the political war that is inevitably coming simmers in the background.

We leave off with Rozemyne heading back home for a series of lectures about how she is appalling, but again, only about 1/3 of this was her fault this time. Still an essential light novel series.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

I feel this volume is almost deceptively relaxing. On the one hand, everything goes pretty well. Rozemyne does not make social faux-pas that can’t be glossed over somehow. There is an ambush to try to kill her… but she’s nowhere near it and it’s thwarted immediately. There’s a wedding to a woman from an enemy duchy… but she turns out to be a big sweetie pie who just has a case of resting “I look just like my ancestor who nearly destroyed you all” face. That last one, though, hints at the undercurrents we see in this book that I suspect are going to pay off in big explosions down the line. We’ve talked before about how the class system in this series is not going away anytime soon, but that also means that the nobility are going to be what nobility tend to do, which is find ways to quietly murder each other. Time to pick a side. Meanwhile, Rozemyne wants fish.

The author admits in the afterword that this cover (and indeed most of the covers in the series) is theme related rather than specifying actual events. In this case it’s the dyeing competition that Rozemyne is holding in order to introduce the new techniques (and bring back the old, forgotten techniques), and it turns out that Myne’s mother Effa is one of the contestants. Elsewhere, they’re setting up the printing business in the Groschel area, but the way that the nobility treats the commoners who live there turns out to not only be arrogant but also have legitimate negative effects on the printing. And then there’s the aforementioned marriage, as Lamprecht is marrying a woman from the far, far higher in status Ahrensbach district. It’s a political move, yes, but fortunately there seems to be actual love there as well. Finally, Rozemyne heads back to school to start Year 2 at the Academy, where she will face even more problems… not least of which is that the young prince of the realm has confused her for her younger sister.

As I noted above, Rozemyne is getting better at this. She still screws up enough to make Ferdinand (who is in this book far less than usual) smack his forehead, but that’s mostly just when she’s fantasizing about her ideal library, which would require more magic than there is in the world. She can do the meet and greets and keep up with the nobility, and has learned to translate when they’re being condescending, rude or threatening. The best example of this is her discussion with Aurelia, the bride I mentioned before. She screws up in that she’s not supposed to speak directly to the bride in her position… but she doesn’t bat an eyelid as she immediately says she was just talking to herself out loud, and she AND Aurelia then proceed to have an entire conversation like that. (I hope we see more of Aurelia, she seems sweet.)

So yes, an excellent Bookworm volume, and almost calm and peaceful. Ominous. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. Also, when Rozemyne finally does grow up (signs point to Book 28), she will be absolutely terrifying.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Due to a translation schedule that can only be described as bananas, we are slowly catching up with the series in Japan. Slowly being the word – this is the 16th book in the series, and it came out in Japan in 2018. The latest book is the 28th, which came out in December. But if we continue to do 6 a year, while Japan does 4, we will eventually get there. It’s enough to make a reader feel confident about looking at fanart. But, as anyone who’s ever looked up Japanese Bookworm fanart knows, this can be very dangerous. Look, I don’t know who Rozemyne will end up married to in the future. Indeed, this particular book makes it very clear that Wilfried is a very good choice – and that Ferdinand would be a politically bad one. That said, anyone looking at pixiv will see that one pairing is overwhelmingly the favorite, to the point where it’s 95% of all the art. And it ain’t Rosemyne/Wilfried. We shall see.

As with all Bookworm volumes, there’s a lot going on here. Rozemyne’s desire to avoid a lot of hard embroidery work causes her to not only revolutionize the ink industry, but also invent invisible ink, which will no doubt prove very useful in future books. The spring prayer happens in the middle of the book, and a discrepancy between the bible that everyone else knows and the one that Rozemyne has read in the High Bishop’s office leads to a literal miracle. The archduke learns that, in terms of the “commoner” parts of the city, his territory is at the very, very bottom, which leads to a need for sewers – and a mass cleansing. Most importantly, Rozemyne is engaged to Wilfried, and while some readers may still be grumpy with him due to past events, it’s shown to be a political necessity, as Rosemyne is a Hot New Item.

As I have said many times before, these books are long. This one is 343 pages, which is actually 30 pages shorter than the previous one. And yet I always find myself wishing that the books went into more depth. Worldbuilding can be tedious when it’s another boilerplate isekai talking about casting from hit points, but this series really is entirely about the worldbuilding – it’s a major reason why it’s a huge hit (though I will admit our smol book gremlin is the main reason). Even the side stories told from other perspectives are excellent – we get Wilfried’s thoughts on his engagement, and show off how much he’s matured. We also get to see Gunther and Myne’s family once more. And, most importantly, we get the politics. It’s not entirely Rozemyne not caring about anything but books – the politics in this world is genuinely hard, and you need a lifetime of training.

This volume ends with the implication that the next one will be even more focused on infighting and intrigue. Which is great, I love that. But I do hope it also shows Rozemyne casually inventing more stuff, and playing more magical rugby, and causing Sylvester, Ferdinand and Benno to hold their heads in pain at her antics. The books are long, and yet all too short.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Ominous-looking cover, isn’t it? I feel like being the grandfather in The Princess Bride, reassuring the son that no one is eaten by any aquatic creatures. That said, each arc of Ascendance of a Bookworm is practically its own separate series, and Rozemyne has been moving farther and farther away from the childhood she had long ago. She’s a noble now, and her main concerns have to be a noble’s concerns – even though she also has to be the champion of the commoners, because really if you leave that to the other nobles bad things will happen. She has a lot on her plate, basically. And so the instance in this book where she’s told point-blank that her old coping strategies are going to be unavailable going forward is somewhat devastating to her, and to the reader. Let’s face it, I think a lot of readers would be quite happy if Myne had stayed in the commoner town making books. But that’s not what this series is anymore.

Despite doing her absolute best to try to talk and think like a noble, it’s rapidly becoming clear that Rozemyne in social settings like like a ticking timebomb. As such, certain precautions have to be taken in this volume. Justus is made her main attendant (even if this will involve him cross-dressing), and gets a first-hand look at how Rozemyne is 90% correct and 10% HIDEOUSLY WRONG. More importantly, she is of an age where arranged marriages need to be set up, if only for political reasons. Even Angelica is now engaged, though she seems to regard romance as something that’s about 7th on her list after swords, swords, and more swords. And so it’s fine to engage Rozemyne to another noble… even if this means that some meetings that she had in the temple previously will now have to be ended.

The narrative is quick to point out that Rozemyne will keep seeing Benno, Lutz and Tulli on occasion. But going into the hidden room, hugging Lutz, and acting as a commoner girl like Myne did… that’s dead and gone. It’s brought home in a beautifully tragic nightmare she has about all her old family and friends getting farther and farther away while she can’t keep up. The rest of the book consists of fun Academy scenes, though it has a very serious ending as one of Rosemyne’s attendants is being abused and she has to figure out what to do about it without overstepping her bounds. She’s also engaged. The engagement partner makes sense and works politically and socially, and I (and most readers) have no doubt whatsoever it’s never gonna happen. But given she still looks about 8 years old, I’m fine with kicking this can down the road.

Life is only getting harder for Rozemyne from now on, and not even endless furniture metaphors can protect her. Fortunately, we can read about her tribulations, and this is another excellent volume.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

If the plot of all nine of the books in this arc is 75% “Rozemyne goes to the magical academy and fun things happen” and the other 25% is “Sylvester and Ferdinand stare in horror, mouths agape as Rozemyne tells them what she did”, I will be a happy clam. Yes, once again she’s breaking rules she didn’t know existed, or breaking rules simply because she’s too deep inside a book to really pay attention to anything around her. Everyone in this book is constantly talking to her about sociability lessons and etiquette, etc. That said, they really should remember what she used to be like, as should the reader… we have come a LONG, LONG way from the Myne of the first three books. There are a grand total of zero temper tantrums here, even when you’d expect her to have them. – Benno doesn’t even noogie her! That said, one sad note for older readers, as her path back to Lutz and her old family is getting fainter and fainter.

The cover art shows Rozemyne and her attendants engaged in what seems to be a sporting match… indeed, I was a kid once, so I’ll buy the author’s explanation that she based the game played here on her daughter’s invented dodgeball variation. That said, the author is also correct that anyone who is reading the description of the match will be thinking of some other fantasy series. The match itself comes about because it turns out that the two rabbit familiars Rozemyne powered up last time are not only highly intelligent and powerful but also wanted by most of the other student cliques, and just getting them to her dorm so they can be measured for new clothes is an adventure. Getting them back is even more of one, and leads to the game of “ditter” we see on the cover, which our heroes only win because they have Rozemyne’s bag of tricks – they’re clearly outclassed in every other way.

In other news, much as she would like to try to stay out of everyone’s way and read books, that’s not going to happen, and much of it is Rozemyne’s own fault. Sure, she cannot turn down a prince when he arrives at a tea party she’s going to, but at the same time, she did not have to bluntly play matchmaker for him and tell him how far he has to go to be prime boyfriend material. She is fortunate that the advice works really well, or else disaster might have occurred. Then there’s the issue of her attendant Traugott, Rihyarda’s grandson. He’s a hothead who thinks you can get what you want through charging ahead, but unlike the other rock-stupid attendant we know and love (and Angelica is wonderful throughout, she’s my favorite after Rozemyne), he does not actually listen to or care about Rozemyne. As such… bye-bye. Mama don’t allow no mana-compression leeches in here.

I’m not sure what else to say, except that everyone should be reading this. Despite its length (each book is easily the size of two normal light novels), you’ll want to plow through it the moment you pick it up.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

It’s two years later, and we’re starting a new arc in Ascendance of a Bookworm. The longest one yet, this arc is 9 books long. After Rozemyne wakes up and comes to terms with life moving on without her, she barely has any time to get her footing before she’s supposed to start going to the Royal Academy as a first-year student. Good news: The Academy has a pretty large library, with actual books. Bad news: she can’t go there till she passes all her written and practical starter exams, and thanks to an unthinking Wilfried, everyone else also has to do this. There’s also the usual class struggles, not helped by the fact that she STILL looks seven years old. Still, she’s been thoroughly prepared by Ferdinand for this sort of thing, the people who tried to kill her have gone back into hiding, and she’s making new friends. How hard can a magical academy be?

There’s a lot of new people in this book, many of whom e will probably have to remember – there’s a reason why the best Bookworm fans are the ones with the colored spreadsheets. The most important so far seem to be Hirschur, an eccentric teacher who was fairly hands off with students… till she meets Rozemyne and realizes she’s Ferdinand 2; Solange, the Academy’s librarian who takes a shine to Rozemyne right away when she accidentally activates two dormant magical tools designed to help run the library (those would be the rabbits you see on the cover); and Hartmutt, a new attendant of Rozemyne’s who seems to think she’s the second coming of Jesus Christ. Can’t imagine where he got that idea, given that she’s resurrecting long-dead magical rabbits, plowing through the coursework in record-breaking time, and completely upending the Academy’s music department.

It can be a bit frustrating for the reader to see that Rozemyne is not only still in a short seven-year-old body, but also still tends to get exhausted easily – though not nearly as much as before. It can also be a bit frustrating for her, as she’s not taken very seriously by the nobles that are above her in status – some are ignoring her so they can get closer to Wilfried, some see her as an eccentric wind-up toy, and some seem to only want her for her mana compression teachings. Fortunately, she does have quite a few allies – Wilfried has matured since she was asleep, as has Charlotte (who is now taller than she is, to Rozemyne’s horror) and her attendants are mostly on her side, and also a bit eccentric. Though for eccentricity it’s still hard to pass Angelica, who remains Bookworm’s favorite rock-stupid knight.

Despite Sylvester’s growing horror as he hears of just what Rozemyne has gotten up to in the first few weeks of her classes, this is still mostly setup – we haven’t really had any serious threats or plot shakers yet, although Detlinde might prove to be one. Rozemyne’s biggest enemy right now might be herself, as her lack of court manners leads her down dangerous roads, such as forgetting that she promised to meet after school with the PRINCE. Still, I’m sure she’ll get through it. In the meantime, welcome to a new arc of one of the best novels currently being translated.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Word of warning: this review is filled with spoilers. If you do not want to be spoiled, you should only read everything above the cover image.

The final volume of this particular arc sees Rozemyne finally managing to achieve everything she needs in order to fix her mana and her body. Given that we’d previously seen the expedition to get the ruelle ingredient, and saw it fail, it should not be surprising that we see it succeed here. The main new plot point is the introduction of the Archduke’s daughter Charlotte, who adores Rozemyne and sees her as a big sister, something that absolutely fills Rozemyne (and, let’s be frank here, Myne) with delight. She is therefore determined to give Charlotte the best possible baptism before she takes her potion, which we are told will require her to sleep for about six months. Unfortunately, things are (again) sent into turmoil by Wilfried being unable to think politically. And then, well… everything turns terrible.

Even with the hint that Rozemyne would be out cold for six months as seen earlier in the volume, I don’t think any of us expected the time skip to actually be TWO YEARS. The fact that it doesn’t even fully heal her (though she is allegedly much healthier now) and also still looks like a seven-year-old makes it extremely easy to understand her stunned reaction at the “end” of the book. Except, given this is a Bookworm novel, we have a bunch of stories from other perspectives at the end, and this time they take up almost half the entire volume. The stories serve to tell us two things: first, that everything Rozemyne does and accomplishes is truly stunning and irreplaceable… and second, that she’;s also set everything up so well that it can run pretty well without her. Indeed, Benno states that this is a good thing in some ways, as having no new innovations for the next while will let the innovations she’s already come up with take hold.

While this book revolves around a serious event, it is not without its humor. Angelica manages to even inject the best joke in the volume into the middle of the tense midair rescue of Charlotte. It is also not without its romance, though surprisingly – though it shouldn’t be – the pairing its’ been teasing for the last few books is the one that doesn’t work out. Bookworm is walking a fine balancing act between showing off the problems with a very class-based system while also showing that this is not something that can be changed overnight by one girl and her books, and The non-marriage of Damuel and Brigitte is an excellent example of this, as it forces them to think harder in order to give the reader more immersion into this very political, very difficult country. On the lighter side, Tulli is suddenly becoming a hot commodity… am I the only one seeing her and Lutz as a pairing? If only as Lutz and Myne was pretty thoroughly torpedoed several books ago.

The next arc has the exhausting subtitle “Founder of the Royal Academy’s So-Called Library Committee”, and is apparently “The Great Brain at the Academy – The Rozemyne Variations”. We’ll see how she copes with her miniature Rip Van Winkle timeskip next time. Till then, this is another volume that reminds you why this series is one of the most popular light novels of the last few years.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

It’s a good thing these books are coming out every two months rather than every three or four, as they definitely rely on a reader remembering everything that has come before. Nothing that happens in these books is ever truly forgotten, and it ranges from Rozemyne’s worrying about her autumn monster hunt (the one she accidentally failed last year) to remembering a very minor character who popped in about 7-8 books ago. To be fair, Rozemyne does not remember him either, and the books are not written in such a way that they are incomprehensible if you haven’t done your homework. It does serve to show off how important and prevalent the worldbuilding in this series is. Rozemyne still has aspects of the world she now lives in that she is unaware of, and this is fortuitous, as it can themn be explained to us without sounding too much like infodumping. This includes family politics, a rather more serious part of the series.

Given the size of each volume, it’s no surprise there’s a lot going on in this one. Rozemyne gets her summer ingredient for the “fix my broken body tour”, which involves going inside a volcano and stealing an egg – expect lots of hot springs references. The printing press is finished, and we get to see them printing their first non-picture books. Brigitte’s dress is finished, and she makes a stunning appearance at an event, showing off how good tall, muscular, busty women look in this new fashion – and getting a proposal from the earnest Damuel, though more on that in a bit. We also visit Illgner to search for new kinds of paper, and if Rozemyne’s world is the equivalent of Boston, this would be the equivalent of Portland, Maine. In her spare time, Rozemyne also invents hand pumps for wells (deliberately) and intelligent talking swords (accidentally). The biggest issue, though, is the arrival of Georgine, Sylvester’s older sister and. let’s face it, the story’s new villain.

One thing brought up here is marriages in this society, and how nobles tend to marry based on mana capacity. This is why Brigitte doesn’t see Damuel as a partner – his mana is not strong enough, though he’s working to make it more impressive, and asks her to wait a year for him to improve. It also shows off why Rozemyne, in the future, will have a limited number of partners – and sorry, Lutz fans, he ain’t gonna be one of them. Brought up in this volume are Wilfried, which I cannot see working at all given his behavior through the entire series, and Ferdinand, a suggestion proposed by Sylvester that is immediately shot down by both parties. Fortunately, Rozemyne is still about nine years old here, so we don’t have to worry about this anytime soon.

The book ends very ominously, with Georgina’s faction gleefully talking about plotting against Rozemyne – indeed, they talk about torturing her. What’s more, the next book in the series is the final one in this arc. I know the series goes on long after this, but it is worrying that Rozemyne’s life as an adopted daughter may be coming to an end soon. Till then, this remains essential reading.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Last time I talked about how Rozemyne, try as she might, is not going to drag this world kicking and screaming into the 20th century anytime soon. Indeed, anyone reading this series hoping for a class war starting between the elite nobles and the clever commoners has probably already checked out by now. Rozemyne may tell Ferdinand that she will never be comfortable with killing another person – and thank God for that! – but she is still going to stay a noble and try to follow noble rules. Of course, there are other ways to subvert society, and we find that her cards and picture books are doing this far more than most people are ready for. Kids are learning fast. Very fast. Heck, even Angelica, her bodyguard who took the job because it would mean she didn’t have to study at school – ends up learning with a sufficient reward dangled in front of her. The Revolution Will Be Printed.

As you can see by the cover, much of this book takes place in winter, though fortunately Rozemyne only has one “and then I was in bed for days” incident in the book. She’s gathering ingredients for her cure, which can involve fighting a massive snow leopard monster who can create hideous blizzards, or can involve collecting nectar from a hot spring that proves to be a lot more sentient than Ferdinand was expecting. So there’s actually a fair bit of action here. We also get to see Rozemyne play politics, as she gets the noble kids to work together, teaches them without it being overt (the best kind of teaching), and starts to create the idea of lending libraries, getting one poor noble’s daughter books in return for hearing new stories that her mother had told her. Honestly, if it were not for the resolution of what happened with the Mayor last book, this would be a light and fluffy volume.

It is not a light and fluffy volume. Rozemyne is forced to not only watch the Mayor, his wife, and a few people who had shown (thank to Ferdinand’s magic) that they were disloyal be killed, but also to see how nobility in general regards commoners as little better than animals, and their lives absolutely do not matter. Much as we would like to see her fix this, Rozemyne is still about 7 years old here, and cannot bend the world to their will quite that much. The execution itself is fantastical in nature but also horrific, and much is made of the fact that those killed with be unburied and unremembered. Fortunately, we do move from this to the Hot Springs episode, which, fortunately, does not lead to a bunch of fanservice as it would in any other title. The closest we get to fanservice is Rozemyne giving Brigitte a present of a fashionable dress, and remarking on her large chest. As for the hot springs ingredient gathering, it’s honestly hilarious, especially in retrospect. Even Rosemyne and Brigitte getting eaten by a giant toad just made me think of KonoSuba (it’s OK, they get out).

There’s two more volumes to go in this arc, and I’ve really no idea where it’s going to go, other than better printing, more books, etc. But that’s fine. Even the chapters discussing springs and leverage are interesting in this series. It remains a must read.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

Let’s face it, Rozemyne has done a lot for the world she now lives in. From all of her printing achievements, which have the potential to change the world as everyone knows it, to even such things as shampoo, the footprint of Myne/Rozemyne is everywhere. However, there is a limit to what she can achieve. Ehrenfest is not going to slowly become modern-day Earth. What’s more, there is a disconnect between a) the way nobles think, b) the way Rozemyne thinks as a commoner who was raised into the nobility; c) the way Urano thinks as a former modern-day Japanese woman who’s been reincarnated with her memories; and d) Rozemyne’s natural eccentricity. As such, sometimes she doesn’t get how other people think, and other people assume that she is familiar with things that she absolutely is not. This becomes a big problem in this book, where Rozemyne taking some abused orphans from a local mayor turns out to have many, many repercussions.

Of course, Rozemyne has an additional problem that she has to deal with, which is that Ferdinand is not only assuming that she gets all the nuances and subtleties with which he speaks, but is also, in his own way, as eccentric as Rozemyne. He is the definition of “it would be easier if I just did everything myself”, and the fact that he can only makes life harder, especially as Rozemyne also falls into that category a lot. This leads to her having a near emotional breakdown when he tells her to solve the problem that she’s gotten herself into, implying that the entire TOWN has to die because of her actions. While Benno and the others are able to help Rozemyne flip the problem on its head (don’t think about how to kill the mayor, think about how to save everyone who is NOT the Mayor), Rosemyne and the reader are left with the harsh reality of a world that does not run on modern-day ethics and morals.

Fortunately, the rest of the book is not as serious as this. There’s a cool action scene as Rozemyne goes to the forest to get ingredients for the potion that will help her Devouring and the forest is overrun by monsters. More importantly, Wilfried once again whines about how easy Rozemyne has it, and she proposes changing roles for one day. This serves as a massive splash of cold water to the face of everyone involved with Wilfried, especially his father, who had been spoiling him without realizing that that had led to a young man who could not read, write, play any instruments, etc. There is some blistering dialogue here about how to educate young people, particularly those with short attention spans. It also shows off Sylvester as a very imperfect Archduke – he’s not a happy camper here, especially when his wife hears about this. Fortunately, Wilfried DOES have a good memory when he bothers to use it, so all is not lost.

There’s not as much of what made Bookworm tick in the early volumes – Benno and Lutz are here, but in supporting roles, and papermaking/bookmaking is also a side project compared to everything else. But it’s the expansion of Rozemyne’s world, and the fact that this world can be terrifying, that makes this arc of Bookworm the best yet.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

I was expecting great changes with this volume. When last we saw Rozemyne, she had had her past altered to make her the daughter of a noble, was then secretly adopted by another noble (who was also the archduke), and was getting ready to move to the noble part of town… while also maintaining her businesses, finding ways to employ the temple’s orphans, and assuming the role of high bishop. Some of the things that I was expecting did actually happen. Rozemyne had a bit of culture shock when she came across noble attitudes, and they in turn were unprepared for both Rozemyne’s health and her ways of thinking. She would start her high bishop duties and give lots of blessings, which would stun those who witnessed it both because of her age and then because of her ridiculous amounts of magic. What I did not expect, and this is totally a failure on my part, was Rozemyne organizing an idol concert.

Actually, there was a lot that did NOT happen in this book, which seems to want to give Rozemyne an easier time of it than the previous books. After the terrifying battle that ended book 7, this seems sedate by comparison. Rozemyne has to get used to her new family, including winning over Elvira, who is her new mother now… and it goes quite well, mostly as Elvira is a Ferdinand fanboy and will happily do anything he says, but also as Ferdinand has been grooming Myne this entire time to prepare her for her role as Rozemyne. (I will admit the grooming does worry me a bit. Given that Books 22 and 23 still show Rozemyne as a child, I don’t think romance is in the cards here, but it is suggested once or twice that Ferdinand and Rozemyne should be a couple, and please, no.) Ferdinand is even prepared for Sylvester’s spoiled son to not “get” that Rozemyne can’t run around, and has a solution – let her almost die in front of the boy.

Then there is the concert. I must admit, given what I’ve been writing about him in this review, I did feel Ferdinand sort of deserved what happened to him. That said, it’s also a terrific way to show that Rozemyne is not done coming up with innovative ideas just because she is now a noble. Her old ideas are also still going strong, of course, and I appreciated that Benno, Lutz, etc. did not simply vanish. (Myne’s old family appear slightly less, but they are also there, especially Tulli, who gets to learn manners from a most welcome tutor.) But Rozemyne needs money, and the idol concert was the best way to do it. I really enjoyed how she was able to spot, based on the reactions of the noble ladies to Ferdinand, that there would need to be attendants on hand for when they fainted. And the special final guest was also hilarious.

So far so good, then, but I expect trouble has not abandoned Rozemyne completely. In any case, if you enjoy books at all, light novels or no, this is a series that you should be reading.

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

(This review contains more spoilers than usual. I’ll try to keep the big ones to after the cover art.)

To my annoyance, the book starts off with a scene between the villains, each trying to prove that among the sneering evil bastards, they are the MOST sneering evil bastards. To my relief, it’s all uphill from there – as always, Bookworm’s books are long but they feel like they’re too short. Myne is trying to get her kid’s picture books off the ground, which involves experimenting with colored ink as well as getting new wax for their stencils. the second quarter of the book has a lot of the arts and crafts we’ve come to love from this series. (It also has the author, in probably the funniest part of the book, write in “Myne and Lutz as an adult married couple” and have it be DEAD ON.) Unfortunately, right at the start of the book an abandoned baby arrives at the orphanage, and Myne, trying to convince a reluctant Delia to care for it with the others, makes a big deal of Delia being the child’s big sister. This sets off a terrifying change of events that will shake up the lives of everyone – and result in a major fatality.

Though we’re not quite going to be leaving the temple yet, I suspect this may be the last we see of Delia as a major character. I had wondered if Myne would ever manage to win her over to betraying the high bishop, and sadly the answer is “not really”, though this isn’t helped by everyone keeping secrets from Delia because… well, she’s a spy. At least she avoids execution. Indeed, this book is filled with executions and threats of executions galore, and it’s a reminder of just how dark this world can be when it’s not about “hey, let’s make paper!”, and when the archduke is pondering whether it would be easier to simply have Myne’s family executed, you get the chills. Fortunately, Myne has her fingers in too many pies to make this really feasible, especially given that her printing press is the proverbial genie that cannot be put back in the bottle. No, instead of everyone around Myne getting executed, the simplest thing is for Myne to die.

And so we end this arc, with Myne dead. Fortunately, we have a new heroine in Rozemyne, who is the hidden daughter of a noble adopted by the archduke, and who happens to look, talk and act just like… OK, yes, Rozemyne is Myne, something most people are immediately made aware of. But the cover story is very important, and the scene where Myne has to say goodbye to her family as a family is heartbreaking. We know they’ll meet again (if anything else, I’ve seen Tulli on a few book covers coming up), but it’s not the same. Indeed, the cover story is magical, to the point where even Myne’s magical contracts change names. As for the Archduke himself… well, I admit, I didn’t see the reveal coming, though others may disagree. Certainly he helps to rescue Myne in the nick of time from a hideous fate. We’ll see how the double act holds up in the next arc. (The book proper ends about 2/3 in, and we get some very good post-Myne short stories, including some subtleties in regards to the High Priest’s aide, and how his seething cauldron of anger is not as secret as he’d like.)

The next arc is titled ‘Adopted Daughter of an Archduke’, and as such I expect a lot of noble life, probably some bullying – Rozemyne will likely find it hard. That said, she’s now in a majorly important position, the daughter of the MOST important man, and as we saw here, has enough mana in her to whip up a prayer to 5 or 6 gods, all at once, and have it work fine. No need to worry, even if Myne has left us, Rozemyne should be just fine. This was an excellent volume in the series, despite the “I am eviler than the most evil person!” villains.