The Spring 2023 Light Novel Guide

A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I'm Being Pampered by the Prince!

What's It About? 

Amelia is a studious young countess and water mage. Her fiancé, Reese, is the second son of a marquis and wields earth magic, a desirable skill for the agricultural domain that Amelia's father rules. The couple grew up together and has always gotten along well, so their happy future together seems certain. Yet after Reese enters the Royal Academy of Magic, Amelia loses all contact with him. Although she assumes he's just busy with his studies, when she enters the academy a year later herself, her classmates inexplicably ostracize her as Reese continues to avoid her. Throughout this confusing ordeal, the isolated and anxious Amelia finds comfort in the kindness of Sarge, the fourth prince, who seems to have taken an interest in her...

A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I'm Being Pampered by the Prince! has a story by Micoto Sakurai, and art by Kuroyuki. English translation by A. M. Cola. J-Novel Club, $7.99 digital. Available now.

Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

As it has become somewhat of a norm, this isn't a villainess isekai story. However, it does have a few familiar trappings of the genre. This time, they are used well. Amelia, the hapless heroine, has been engaged to Reese since they were five and six, respectively. But she is left confused when he goes radio silent after leaving for boarding school. She becomes more shocked when she gets to school herself and discovers that he has been merrily destroying her reputation to the point of being treated abominably for reasons she cannot understand. It's a condemnation of the denunciation trope because Amelia is in no way prepared to handle the bile spewed at her continually. While fourth prince Sarge and his older brother Julius step in to save her, it's not for any reason other than to help her realize that Reese has been gaslighting her for a long time—and that she's a person with enormous value all by herself.

Although a significant portion of the book centers on Amelia's attempts to solve her problems caused by Reese, and her low-key romance with Sarge, the plot seems to focus more on Amelia's journey of self-discovery. That's a pleasant twist on the formula. It does a nice job to remind readers how destructive words can be when wielded as weapons. Amelia is rarely in any physical danger – hot tea is about the extent of it – but she's injured, nonetheless. The author seems invested in showing that bullies can and should face consequences for their actions, which makes these parts of the novel the strongest. The rest isn't bad by any means, but its plot does meander. There's a lot of repetition that probably should have been edited out in the jump from web novel to light novel; it's easy to tell that this was serialized before being collected. It's still a good book that's worth the read despite that.