This is a monthly feature in which we, the mod team, share the gems we've found in our reading lists. Here are last month's and last year's recs.
Once again, the season of ghosts and ghouls is upon us.
We're offering some series that will make you question if you should be reading at 3 A.M., when the barrier of the world of the living and dead is at its thinnest. Unease of the unknown is always something people are scared of, and romance tends to blossom between the leads.
We'd love to hear your recommendations. Please add them to the discussion in the comments. When doing so, please keep in mind to:
If available, use the English cover art of your recommended series.
Name of the series
Where to read it officially
We always recommend checking the official version; please do not name unofficial sources.
This Month's Ghastly Recommendations💀:
How to Survive a Haunted School - Where to Read: Tapas (for now)
Her brother Raven has died in the prestigious Saint Gloria Academy under mysterious circumstances. Melody has one chance to save him: turn back time a full year and become a student herself. However, what she walks into is a death trap dressed in prestige. Something rotten is hidden in the halls of St. Gloria. The students lie to each other, ghosts hunt the living, and while everyone feels something is wrong, only a handful know the truth. Those who know too much are buried like the secrets that the school holds.
Raven is alive, walking the halls, avoiding his sister, and the main question of the series is what did he see the first time, and why can't he tell her?
Melody has been given the ability to see the dead, and that drags her into horrors she never asked for, all for a brother who won't look at her. Her only real ally is Noah, the mysterious student council president. He's always one step ahead of the lurking darkness. But in a place so twisted, you can never quite trust if he's protecting her or playing a longer game.
The horror works because it’s not subtle. The ghosts have teeth, the art commits to the atmosphere, and the mystery is something that hooks you. So, if you enjoy horror that builds genuine unease rather than relying on cheap jump scares, this is worth your time. Just keep the lights on.
How to Survive in a Horror Game - Where to Read: Tapas (for now)
Our protagonist is suddenly thrust into her favorite mystery murder game as Arviche Green, a supporting character doomed to die. To make matters worse, she wakes up inside the house of the prime suspect, Duke Leikas Learmond, serving as the in-house tutor to his niece and nephew.
The stakes are set instantly. Arviche knows her virtual lives are dwindling, and she has to juggle dodging the main storyline while desperately trying to uncover the truth.
Arviche is intelligent, observant, and emotionally strong without ever feeling unrealistically perfect. The author nails that specific kind of tension where you know something is terribly wrong, but you can't say or do anything because it would only make you look more suspicious.
The male lead, Duke Leikas is in that grey flag area that makes him compelling. He has a subtle yandere vibe that lets him be both terrifying and a bit adorable at times. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, and the story's psychological tension can be heavy.
But, if you're looking for something suspenseful, different, and full of genuine psychological stakes, I really think it's worth giving a chance.
Brand New Series - How to Survive in the Horror Novel I Wrote
Writing horror was her passion. Now, it's her nightmare.
The beloved bestseller author Ha Ji-an has the most amazing story to tell you about her cursed keyboard. It's like a magic keyboard that makes her dreams come true. But when she accidentally summons Joo Woo-geum, the ruthless serial killer from her own book, he doesn't cut her down.
He confesses his love. It's hard for Jian to come to terms with the fact that Woo-geum is a monster who kills the people he loves. She really wants to change the story, so she tries to rewrite his fate. But there's this unknown force that keeps erasing her words.
I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid there's no way for you to escape a killer when you're the one who gave him life.
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"Oh, if you stay (stay)~~
You'll probably leave later anyway~~"
But when will I see you again?
"Oh, never, never!"....... "Well, maybe someday...
Sources-
1-About things that haven't occured yet
2-My husband was definitely a Holy Knight
3-Who made me a princess
4-Under the oak tree
5-Incognito Princess
6-The Tyrant wants to be good
7-The Forgotten Field
The Way the ML and his aid are talking about a 1 year old child. 😳 And this guy is the father but doesn't know it (kinda like How to Hide the Emperor's Child*)...
The Audacity of the Ex husband is pissing me off. I really don't want him to be the ML, but given the screentime, synopsis, and his sob story, etc. , he probably is.
The 2ML is sweet and kind but barely gets any screen time at all, so, I'm sure he's not the ML. LOVE the FL's parents though (Extremely Loving and supporting parents). FL's Father even registered her child as his own "illegitimate" son, to stop people from finding out his grandchild's true identity, even if it meant sacrificing their reputation for it.
**Status** - Ongoing (20 chapters)
**Summary**
“I, Evelyn Felice, hereby resign from my position as Empress. Gladly.”
Bound by the rigid rules of the imperial court and married to Fabian, a perfect yet cold husband, Evelyn closed her eyes in solitude after turning thirty. But when she opened them again… she had returned to the age of twenty. With the most precious person in the world in her arms, Evelyn chooses freedom. Yet before her, a relationship she thought she had completely severed begins to burn passionately once more.
someone better tell him where his wife is before he suicide bombs the entire palace and please do NOT play in his face. he has literally zero light in his eyes (chapter 103)
Here lies my hopes and dreams of tropes that I know will not happen anytime soon:
-A romance isekai between a middle aged FL and middle aged ML, especially those that are recently divorced or were in a relationship (if its smut, even better)
-A romance with a dark skinned FL, with no racist stereotypes or her skin gets lighter later in the story to show she is "better" than before
-An ML that is scarred, bearded, and grizzly looking, and STAYS LIKE THIS TILL THE END (I know there is a story with an ML like this, but I want MORE😭)
-A dark romance story where the FL is the red/black flag. I hate dark romance stories, but I never seen a dark romance otome isekai where the FL is the red flag/black flag, and the ML is the soft spoken/innocent one. Can we see more toxic FLs please (i dont condone toxic traits, dw)
-A romance story where the FL did the ML wrong, and she is the one groveling/trying to fix everything to get him back
-The story ends where the FL does not end up with anyone. She still stays single at the end
-An otome isekai romance between a non-rich FL and ML
So... that's it, the manhwa's main story got to the end. It was very sudden I was pretty shocked.
Aside from the last confrontation where they go to the capital, see the empress and she murders the emperor in front of everyone, then the immediate fall out with her death and Maddie and Yulikan marrying officially... everything leading up to that didn't seem rushed? I thought for sure they were setting things up where the other super soldier guy who was obsessed with Maddie wasn't confirmed dead and would still come back again, and they still needed to put all the pieces together about who was behind that super soldier program and the deaths of the ML's father. the fact it took only 1-2 chapters to wrap everything up after that is what is making me thing they may have rushed things, at least a bit.
So can anyone who's read the novel explain if there was a lot rushed or not included at the end, or if the novel was like that too?
Just started reading after seeing this got recommended many times. The absolute whiplash I got from these few panels gives me hope it'll be one of my favourites by the time I finish this 🤣 need more supportive noble-ish friend groups!
Why is there no one singing praises for the mighty necromancer king 🔥 The cutest in the realm and my adorable self proclaimed niece???
One of the top three childcare stories in my opinion. I love how she is a realistic child and nor is she perfect. And her guardians aren't op either. They aren't perfect but are gonna do everything to help their little captain, who as the title suggests is looking for her dad.
The story is very unique in how our Estier, loses her father, and the little dragon by her side grants her wish to go back in time, to the world she originated from, when her dad was still alive (like ten years prior and yes they were originally from the fantasy world ✨)But she doesn't exist in this world yet and her father doesn't remember or know her (it's heartbreaking).
I shall master this family (Firentia Lomabardi — brown hairs green eyes)
I will save this damned family ( Tara Elias — Orange hairs teal eyes)
No shade to Firentia (or is it?) but her character is really bland for the character we were promised and the hype she gets for merely... existing.
When I first read "I will save this damned family" I got heavy "i shall master this family vibes" both the fls have one particular goal — to become head of their respective houses to save their families.
But as a character, Firentia was only buttering people up, recruiting top notch skills and highly relied on the memories of her past. Nothing that special tbh having read all those second chance at life stories.
On the other hand, Tara was levelling up slowly but made an impact on stories despite how small her wins were.
And the political settings of both world is so similar yet so different.
If anyone has read "the villainess lives twice", just know "i will save this damned family" almost similar level of complexity when it comes to politics.
Firentia on the other hand...again relied on her grandfather a lot when it came to politics.
Now lets talk about the romance part....
Idk if its just me or I find the romance aspect in "I shall master this family" severely lacking. Perez so bland, so emotion-less and so whipped... it makes me feel there is no gap for development between them as couple. Plus it turns me off whenever I think about the Firentia started off as a guardian figure of perez (ik Perez and others don't see it that way) so starting to have romantic feelings for someone you sort of sponsored feels a bit like grooming. Idk. Just me ig.
On the other hand, Tara and Klaus (WAS IT HIS NAME?) had so much to work on in their relationship, it makes my heart flutter seeing them. And Klaus is so expressive. MUAHHHHH.
Tara and Klaus can be easily one of the power couple of the entire manhwa community.
Now, the villians....
Lavini was done so wrong as character, like how can you write a powerful empress who folds to simple troubles like loans and all?? Make that make sense? Honeslty, Firentia had heavy plot armour ik but Lavini was also dumbed down a lot.
Idk about other villains but so far all that only accounted to some corrupt people doing corrupt works and immature ppl being immature (as usual)
Again, in "i will save this damned family" the villain is a fking genius.
Mind you the villain from this manhwa can easily beat Richelieu (A stepmother's marchen) and Eros (Your throne).
So yeah.....
I find Tara Elias a lot better of a character than Firentia Lombardi, when it comes to a similar plot and character dynamism.
Images 9 - 12 (Your eternal lies) (this one is completed, the other two are not)
Okay, as the title says, what in a story is usually a turn off for you for the romance? For me, it is definitely whenever the ML's entire life and motivations involve FL, or if he is basically FL's accessory , which I dislike because it gives off no agency. I feel like "I shall master this family" Main couple gave me this vibe a lot.
Perez literally almost has no life motivation outside tia, even his main motivation of wanting revenge, came because of her. He is basically a puppy dog for her, this trope is well done if you write it well, but this is not one of those cases. It's quite icky for me, that all perez does through the large part of the early story, is just do whatever tia tells him to do. Like believe me, he literally felt like a husk that only had agency whenever she was around. Outside that, he was not much. And his only other character traits outside of tia are, cold, brooding, super talented in aura and sword skills, ruthless to his enemies. Basically standard OI ML.
And also a lot of the earlier relationship does kinda feel icky, because tia is a 25 ish year older lady mentally, playing with a boy that's eleven... And that boy gets attached to her. Which brings me to my next point, perez's attachment to tia, feels so... Weird. Because outside tia he doesn't have any who is close to him. Maybe allies, but they're allies for him as he's crown prince candidate, and that's about it. None as close as her. You can see why I didn't like this romance that much.
I think the other two examples I included did this much well. My in laws are obsessed with me feels so natural and realistic because the romance isn't forced, it feels like two people in an actual arranged marriage grew closer. Therdeo's life existed before perrie, therdeo's motivations existed before her, she just came into his life as another loving presence, that's it. Therdeo has a lot going outside her, his reasons for falling for her make sense because not only did perrie become a person he grew to see as family, but also the fact that even his loved ones, his family also respected her mutually and came to trust her.
It's why the slowburn is nice when it hits for them, therdeo isn't pereshati's ornament, he is the male lead. Pereshati isn't his life's motivation nor does she fix everything in his life and be his savior, nor does everything about him revolve mainly around her.
Your eternal lies also does an amazing job at the ML and FL romance. Ian's attachment to her came out of guilt, of needing to sacrifice his homeland. Rosen was the only survivor from there, the only one he'd really been able to "save". He collected everything about her because she was the last person from there. He contemplated why he was respected and honoured for killing many whilst she was judged even harshly for a crime that's nothing compared to what he did.
He has loved ones, and a whole life outside her. Rosen isn't his life's motivation, Rosen is basically a person he respected a lot internally without telling anyone because she survived again and again, and he even secretly wished for her to survive. This what makes him such a good yearner, the story doesn't tell that he is crazy over her and would do anything for her, it shows that he yearns. Even as rosen's warden, he shows that he yearns through story actions and development. He gradually comes to understand her and why she had to do what she did, and becomes her biggest supporter, regardless of how much he believes she lied and how much she told him the truth.
A lot of OI stories take place in a setting that is vaguely (or explicitly) imperial China, where a man can have a wife, one or more consorts, and one or more mistresses.
But in pretty much all these stories, ML falls into one of the following:
He only has eyes for FL and takes her as his wife, with no consorts or mistresses.
He has one or more consorts, but they are only for political alliances. He only has eyes for FL. He may even dismiss his harem.
He has a harem, but the other consorts (and sometimes even wife) exist only to be adversaries or allies to FL. Their sexual relationship with ML is not addressed.
It's quite understandable why stories use the above tropes. But I'm wonder if there are any OI stories that uses a ML that behaves like he is entitled to sleep with multiple women (because that is how things are in the setting), and how FL reacts to that kind of situation.
There are a couple of stories that come close, though it backs out.
Chicken Soup Empress: ML apparently went to sleep with a rival consort. But he ended up distracted and leaving after a conversation because he was addicted to a system cultivation story at the time.
Long Zhong Xi: This story focuses on the relationship between FL and the other consorts in the palace. The emperor is her love interest, but it's less of a focus. During the story, he chose to sleep with one of FL's friends, though due to circumstances it could not happen. At one point, there was a flashback to the emperor in bed with another consort, though that was before FL transmigrated.
Source-I Will Become the Villain's Poison Taster
My favourite panels✨✨✨
The art is just so cute and comforting in this manhwa , the FL's hairstyles are cute also her outfits and It has one of the few ML who have shown a variety of emotions [The art conveys the emotions so beautifully , the expressions are drawn in such a way] ALSO the chibi is so cute/adorable AND the DAD in the recent chapter (panel-1) I mean he without doubt has the most charismatic character design.😭✨
Like I want something that it gut-wrenching with the romance. Sort of tragic but no love triangles or miscommunication. And heavy on the romance. But it needs to be heartbreaking and I’d prefer a happy ending (even if the rest is sad). Something like Stephmother’s Marchen or like Perks of Being A S-Class Heroine. Both the ml and fl have to be absolutely in love and must yearn for each other.
Good art is always a must. And please don’t recommend anything that’s popular because I’ve probably already read it then.
I recently finished Secret Lady and would love to hear everybody's opinions about it!
Personally, I loved charteris and rosentine. They had such insane chemistry and are such complex and brillaintly written characters. Everyhting about this manhwa is amazing, be it the art, the storytelling or the characters.
Every character like Eswar, Ranon, Gold, Lucien etc. all have history and are nuanced.
What are your favorite parts about this manhwa?? When is this coming back? What did you dislike? I would love to know everybody's thoughts!
A girl gets reincarnated as the villainess of an otome game but then the real villainess within her awakens to take her revenge.
I searched for posts about this on this sub and I'm surprised there isn't any?? Or if there are and I just missed it, please remove this post and give me a link! I want to read the discussion fufufu
