This was an okay read. I was neither invested in the characters, plot or romance. I don't see me ever re-reading the manga or picking up the book.

Not that great. The graphics were good - typical manga, though the story wasn't amazing. It was an okay-ish read, though if you're a big romance lover then you might like it more than I did.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoy these Harlequin romance mangas. I love the illustrations. I love the stories and since the stories are from actual books, sometimes it even motivates me to go and read the book for more details. Love it.

This was so bad. So disappointing. This entire relationship is based on lies! The hero lied to the heroine about his intentions, about his ability to speak English, about nearly everything but his name and that he's from Russia. And normally, that's fine, because the point of those stories is that the lies come out and they work through the lies and their characters and relationship develop. That NEVER takes place. She enters a relationship with a man who lied to her and feels justified in those lies. I didn't want them to end up together, which is a terrible precedent for a romance novel. I didn't like either character, they were poorly matched, this book was a terrible read. If I could give 0 stars I would

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Harlequin/SB Creative as the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Book title : The Unwilling Bride : a Harlequin Manga

Author : Jennifer Greene ; Illustrator : Megumu Minami

Release Date : 17 May 2019

Paige, our heroine is working in her workshop when our hero, Stefan, the new Russian-hottie-neighbour is knocking her house saying that her house is on fire. They start to interact to each other and started to get attracted either physically or sexually to each other. 

I am not going to spoil everything here as I am sure that it is something you do have to read as a reader. Yet there are some highlights that I underlined here, including the convo which are sometimes too awkward and there is no real conflicts between the hero and heroine. The illustration in manga does look a little bit childish to me. Well, a minor point but a little bit lamentable because the story is supposed for the adult readers. Yet still, the story is as a sweet romance  wrapped in manga style to read!

Review: https://literatureisliving.wordpress.com/2019/05/11/the-unwiling-bride-harlequin-manga-by-jennifer-greene/

This is my second manga and I couldn't put it one down. It was hilarious and infuriating and hilarious again. There was no way someone could have pried me away from my reading time and I'm beyond happy about it.

The art in this one was as pretty as the first one I read from Harlequin a few months back. The characters are very stylized, tall and thin with delicate features on their faces.

For some reason, this manga felt more approachable. Maybe because I took extra care when I was picking what manga to read next. I also have to admit that the fact that the male character was a Russian intelligent, protective, sweet and sexy guy had much to do with it.

Paige is an artist and when she's working she tends to space out, forget what she was doing before and this is how Stefan gets into her life. She is working on her next project when someone shouts "Fire!" and it turns out she forgot she was cooking and her new next-door neighbor, a Russian man that speaks English strangely, has come into her house to put out the fire before it became a problem.

I must admit that when I read the title I thought that the plot was going to go in a different way. After reading the synopsis I kind of understood but I was hesitant. Now that I'm done with the story I completely see why the book is titled "The Unwilling Bride" and I love it. This was very clever and I still smile thinking about how the storytellers wove this into the book.

What I enjoyed the most was the dialogue between Paige and Stefan, the way they both think is just so different and his approach to being with her is just hilarious. I don't know who taught him English but OMG the things he was saying. He made me laugh so much.

I would definitively recommend this manga for those lovers of romance that want to read something different, in the sense that this is a book with pictures, not only the words telling the story. The unwilling part was cleverly made in my opinion so that could also be a good point of entry for anyone that has a curious nature.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book provided by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Excerpt]:

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I’ve read manga before [Fruits Basket, Inuyasha, Ouran High School Host Club], but never Harlequin Manga. Obviously Harlequin is pretty synonymous with romance, and since I’ve been on a bit of a romance kick these last few months, I decided to check this one out. I absolutely love stories where the male love interest goes out of his way to pursue the female protagonist, and even though the female is at first resistant, eventually she comes to befriend and then care for/love the male. The synopsis for “The Unwilling Bride” fits this description exactly, so I was eager to start the book!

At times this manga seemed very superficial, with simple sentences and character interactions. I felt like the target audience should be maybe 15 years old, but then at other times I felt that the language and sentences were a bit more complex. Especially when Paige was figuring out her feelings towards Stefan and what his motivations towards her were. I didn’t totally understand Paige’s career, particularly her creative processes with the jeweled cameos, but I got the gist – sculpt images on stones and sell them.

[Full review on my blog!]

Paige is working on her next creation in her workshop when a strange man appears and shouts, “Fire!” Thanks to him—her new Russian neighbor—her house is saved from burning to the ground. Stefan is so sexy that her heart starts pounding, but she’s not one to fall in love, preferring to live in solitude. Then he begins coming by her house for English lessons day after day… And before she knows it, he’s become a constant presence in her life. And yet, something holds Paige back even when she knows she's falling for Stefan, something she can't quite put her finger on… could it be he's only seduced her to marry her and get a green card to extend his stay in the USA? What secrets is this sexy scientist hiding?... I liked this story even if I often wished I could smash Paige's head with a bat since she had clearly so little use of it. I only resisted because this is a romance, so a hea was in the making, and it was delivered as promised.

I received this manga from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

The next one in line, and oh boy it has a gorgeous cover! I am not a big fan of the expression on the girl's face, but the rest of the image is just stunning. I am also loving the blurb, I am curious to see how these two will grow together. He more then willing to go further with her, and she interested but also loving the solitude of being alone.

Oh, I just love the things she makes, though I had to look up what cameo was again. But now I know, and I love it! That she make something so beautiful on something so small. Dang, talent!

Lol, a guy bursts into her place and her first reaction is drooling over him, only when he grabs her and tries to tell her something (using endearments that one just doesn't use on women if they don't know them) she gets pissed. :P But she goes along with him, and oh yes, she was baking something. Girl, you are even worse than I am.

I did think it was funny that he wasn't able to utter a whole sentence in English or understand much of what she was saying, but after the fire was extinguished they had a whole conversation with some very hard sentences for people who have only a small grasp of English. :P

Lol, he is creepily staring at her through this window (though I did think it was amazing he could see her so clearly given the distance is pretty big). This sentence though: "She can't be a virgin. No woman in America is a virgin after the age of sixteen. That's what I learned from the media." Um.....

*snorts* Their conversations are just hilarious, and I am not sure what that dude taught our guy, but all the wrong things it seems. I did think it was even further hilarious that he calls her beloved.. in Russian. It is good she doesn't know what it means otherwise she will go on another rant about gender equality and such.

While I understand that he comes from Russia, I still think it was odd that he was just intruding on her space all the time. Never heard of asking at least?

And sorry, artist but do you have to make the guy ugly at times? We go from sexy and details to some kind of simpler face which looks really odd and out of place.

These conversations are so awkward. It just ruins the sexy moments.

Oh, we do find out that he can actually speak English? Oh man, what a dick. Sorry, but leading a girl on, and also acting like she is the one who doesn't understand, and then also just calling her all sorts of names... I am not a fan of this guy. But does explain why he at times seem to understand so much and also is able to do some long sentences.

Sorry, that sex scene is just ruined by terrible English. Eventually I gave up on reading the text bubbles and just looked at the art.

The rest of the story just keeps being that. Fun romantic moments, but ruined by silly and dumb broken English. It made it hard to read and I had times I just got thrown out of the story by the dialogue.

Also, still unsure about the title. She is not even getting married, nor is he planning on making her his bride, well, for now.

I am not even sure if he ever told her that he was good at English, or not. Again, the dialogue was such a mess that often I just skipped over it or just didn't care any more. Sorry, but it just didn't work out.
They were a cute couple though, and I was rooting for them. They had some romantic moments.

The art? I really liked it but as I said a bit above, why does she need to deform his face/body at times and then a panel later just turn him into sexy guy again? It was really strange.

All in all, not for me. The broken English, the weird conversations, the fact there is still tons to be said about his character, it just didn't work.

The Unwilling Bride was a cute and sexy romance between Paige and Stefan. Paige has become some sort of a recluse that is only focused on her work. She’s neglected to have a love life and has closed off her heart. In comes Stefan who has just recently arrived from Russia. He is attracted to her and notices her reluctance to get close. He builds a friendship with her and slowly teaches her that it’s okay to open your heart and fall in love.



Goodreads Review Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2767167408?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

This one was really cute! I was honestly worried at certain points with this particular plot. Thankfully it went in a positive direction. They did a lot of things right with the story in this one. The way that they approached sexism in this story made me very happy.
The art was beautiful. There was one particular panel that was SO EXTRA in a sexy scene, but otherwise the art was quite enjoyable.

I didn't like the plot enough to appreciate the manga....

La trama non mi é piaciuta abbastanza e questo non mi ha permesso di apprezzare il manga come avrei dovuto, la storia era abbastanza scontata e stereotipata, il che, considerato che é un romanzo rosa ed é giá in partenza piuttosto scontato, é dire tanto.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!