By Tobirano and Mai Murasaki. Released in Japan as “Zutaboro Reijou wa Ane no Moto Konyakusha ni Dekiai Sareru” by M Novels f. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Rymane Tsouria. Adapted by Zubonjin.
Ah, it’s time for another of my favorite genres. No, not Cinderella story, although this is that as well. No, it’s the classic shoujo light novel genre of “I am so horribly abused by my family that my self-worth is garbage and I will spend volumes trying to like myself”. Generally speaking, these books live and die on their heroine. Sometimes they suffer stoically, such as The Too-Perfect Saint (this will not be the last time I mention The Too-Perfect Saint in this review). Sometimes they are such pollyannas that the abuse doesn’t even register as such. And sometimes they just accept that they’re terrible and ugly and awful because that’s what their parents say, and live a life of quiet desperation. That’s where Marie is at the start of this book. Fortunately, we know that things will get much better for her, but the challenge, with someone like Marie, is to make her accept that she deserves to have good things happen to her at all.
The title may throw off the savvy reader, who sees it and expects an evil sister to go along with the evil parents. In fact, Marie’s sister Anastasia is the only good thing in her life, and the two of them get along great (Much like Too-Perfect Saint). Unfortunately, Marie’s parents REALLY despise her. They force her to do all the chores – yes, they have servants, but why use them when you have Marie? – and her 18th birthday party is hijacked and used as an excuse to get a rich husband for her sister. A proposal soon arrives from Kyros, a Count who’s going to be a Duke when he inherits. The parents could not be happier. Anastasia is, frankly, terrified, but she goes to his country… and dies in a carriage accident along the way. Now they have to send Marie, the “horrible” sister. (Again, Too-Perfect Saint, yes.) Marie, who is not only grieving for her sister but being told she’s only useful as a womb and that she should never have been born, meekly goes along. Fortunately, a series of misunderstandings mean that her welcome is much nicer than expected.
An anime of this has aired in the summer (so no spoilers for the second book in the comments, please), and everyone agreed that the absolute best thing about this title was Mio, Kyros’ head maid. They’re absolutely correct, Mio is indeed the best thing. She’s a badass, snarky, caring, and has an appetite for food that boggles the mind. She helps both of her charges, though finds herself exasperated with Kyros, whose screw-up (he met Marie at the party when she was hiding in the garden and fell in love with her, but assumed, as it was a party to engage the other sister, that she was Anastasia) led to all this. I also like what little we see of Anastasia, who loves to sew masculine outfits for women and wishes she were in a different type of shoujo light novel (the “my family goes under and I have to become a merchant” kind). As for Marie, well, her growth is the point, but I will warn folks, her self-hatred oozes from almost every line she has till near the end, and she cannot accept anything good happening to her. This is understandable, but readers might balk.
Not me, though. I want more of this. It’s like catnip.
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