I'm not gonna lie, the beautiful cover art is what drew me in and for some reason I thought this would be a graphic novel. Whoops!
I felt like I got dropped into the middle of a story that I was missing context for due to not reading the webcomic this is based on. But I found my footing eventually. It's a classic tale of forced marriage and constant miscommunication (really annoying tbh) that wore on me by the time I finished. Perhaps I'm just not the target demographic for this story, but while the cover was stunning, the content did not appeal to me nearly as much.

I was initially drawn to this book by the captivating cover art. Its beautiful design and striking color scheme caught my eye. My interest grew even more when I realized this chapter book was based on a webcomic I had enjoyed in the past. Knowing how much I liked the webcomic, I was confident I would enjoy the book as well.

Since the story originated as a webcomic or manhwa, the pacing of the book feels a bit off. While I still enjoyed it, it's worth noting for those who might struggle with pacing. I particularly appreciated Maxi’s character and her mental struggles throughout the book. Her growth was often hindered by Riftan, our male lead. Maxi isn’t a strong-willed character, largely due to her history of abuse, and Riftan’s dominating personality means he isn’t as accepting of her as he should be.

Due to the nature of this adaptation, the book's conclusion felt incomplete. This is understandable since the story isn’t finished yet. I’m eager to see what happens next with our characters in the next installment.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Suji Kim, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I tried multiple times but ended up DNFing AT 35 %

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you, Suji Kim and Random House Publishing for making this ARC freely available via NetGalley. I came upon this while browsing and was attracted to the beautiful cover. Since the description sounded interesting, so I requested it. Other than the synopsis and the knowledge that this was based on a web manhwa, I knew nothing about Under the Oak Tree before I read the volume 1 ARC.

The story jumps right to the FMC reuniting with the MMC after their arranged wedding 3 years prior. Since then, she was living in her father's home while her husband was away on a military campaign. Both have different worries about their marriage, but they don't address it except to make incorrect assumptions about what the other is thinking and feeling. Throughout the book, they make a bit of progress, but they keep defaulting to the lack of communication and assumptions. It gets frustrating.

While the FMC has reason to be fearful, the way she is depicted makes her seem mousy and childlike. Her uncaring and abusive father arranged her marriage, but did nothing to make sure his daughter was prepared for her role of managing a household. Instead, the only focus was on her stutter. It was my understanding that in the real world, in historical times, such preparation would have been a major part of a noble woman's upbringing. The Duke was so concerned that his daughter wouldn't be able to hold onto her husband, but the way he raised her left her at an extreme disadvantage. That didn't make sense to me as any lack on her part would reflect badly on him. That made no sense to me.

The MMC, on the other hand, is impatient and quick to anger. He clearly has moments where he is protective (overprotective, actually) and attracted to his wife, but other times he seems cold. He's so hard to figure out because we know so little about him other than his accomplishments as a knight. The intimate scenes were a lot and, especially in the first few chapters, nonconsensual and awkward.

I liked the servants and wish we got to know more about them as individuals. We get to know the knights better, even though it puzzled me that they didn't seem to have their own families.

So, there were enjoyable moments (the cats, the horse, the squires, the magic training ) and a bit of the FMC becoming more confident, but the latter was slow. The MMC's temper and the FMC's mousiness felt repetitive and frustrating. I'm curious what happens next, but the sheer length of the manwha makes me worry that the novelization will be equally as long. Unless the novelization is significantly abbreviated, I don't think I would have the patience to make it to the end.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'm the target reader for this book.

I thought the overall story was interesting for a first volume, but I really did not enjoy the constant miscommunication/misunderstandings. This resulted in me feeling like the character development/progression dragged on.

I will not be continuing this series, but I really appreciate the gifted eARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Inklore for the e-arc!
Such a stunning cover and I am so excited to see a web novel being published! The premise of this book is a classic: a young woman is forced to marry, and after a whole ton of miscommunication, things are stilted and a bit confusing for both of them. After returning from war, Riftan and Maxi start to undo their shaky start and understand more about each other.
Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and for a novel that was translated from a manga, I didn't have any issues reading it. This had a perfect mix of fantasy and romance so as a romatasy, it is definitely succeeding. I really liked Maxi and I'm really excited to see where the story goes!

I did not realize the was a manga until after I had finished it! There were some solid spicy scenes, though the lack of communication between the main characters was a pain point for me. This is just pt 1, and it feels like more will happen in the next book.

Helpless girl turns into a self-directed woman after being forced to wed. This novel was interesting as the FMC had a stutter and when her husband she was forced to marry comes home a war hero, they begin to fall in love. I definitely appreciate that the MMC overlooks the stutter his wife has, even though it has been a thorn in her side her whole life. Also, there were some pretty steamy scenes. Very good book overall.

This was interesting. Romantasy is probably my favorite genre to read. The FMC was annoying to me but I usually feel that way about most FMCs. My attention was held throughout the entirety of the book and I'm interested to see what else comes from this author.

I should preface this review by saying that I hadn't previously read the original (translated) manga version of this novel. However, after reading this novel, I will definitely be adding it to my must-reads list. I also plan to buy a hardcover copy of this book once it's published because not only did I enjoy reading it but the first edition print is stunning! Diving into what I liked about this book: I liked that it flowed well and that I didn't need a pre-existing familiarity with the manga in order to understand this book and enjoy it. The characters were very well-developed and the world building was magnificent. I look forward to Volume 2 whenever it is released.

Thank you to Suji Kim, the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐
3 🌶️
3rd PoV(FMC) 📖

This is Volume 1, so rating it only based off this one alone I will give it 3.5 stars. It's a decent start to a story but not a lot happens in this one. We are introduced to the characters Maxi & Riftan who both are flawed & suffer from not communicating. Nothing is resolved in this Vol. & it sort of just ends.

As someone that read the Korean webnovel its originally from & even the Manhwa that's running on Manta, I do encourage you to keep reading on! There is more to these characters with so much growth to happen, especially with the FMC.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I wished very badly to like this book but it was just annoying. Both the leads barely had any character development over the course of the book and kept moving in circles. The heri esp was absolutely unbearable for me.

Since I was reading the manghwa I was very excited to see what the story would look like in novel form and asked for an ARC immediately. Under The Oak Tree follows the story of Maxi, the daughter of the duke who has been mistreated since she was young because of her stutter. Due to her mistreatment she lacks self esteem and is often misunderstood. Her father marries her off to a knight, Riftan, and after their marriage he goes off on to battle and becomes a hero. 3 Years apart he comes back and while she thinks he's trying to divorce her he is actually set on taking her back to his land as his lady.
The story has a lot of charm but the beginning is hard to get through because of all the misunderstandings between the two main characters. I loved to see the romance develop between them as Maxi grows in confidence and their trust in each other expands.
I know that there's a lot more story to go through but the novel kind of ends at a weird place as plot is still being set up, there's not really a cliffhanger just a to be continued. But overall I enjoyed myself and do want to see where the story continues from here.

I have yet to read the comic of this but I did enjoy the book! I thought the world building was nice! I did struggle with some of the miscommunications but overall I thought the book did well! I would recommend this book and I know need to pick up the comics! Can’t wait for volume 2!

I loved the webtoon version of Under the Oak Tree, and sadly the novel did not interest me the same way. It starts out too tense and straight into a painfully written sex scene. The addition of narrative did not add more to evoke feeling. It did add to the plot so that part was a positive. Overall, maybe if I had never seen the webtoon this would have been a fun read, but I just couldn't get into it after the horrendous opening.

5/5 STARS

I have been an avid fan of Under the Oak Tree for years, and often credit this series for getting me into manhwa, danmei, manhua, etc. I started out reading this series on Manta, where the comic version was being published. At the time, there were rough translations of the novel floating around, but nothing official. When the official announcement was made regarding Under the Oak Tree's Novel and Comic publication coming this year, I became ecstatic.

Maximilian, also known as Maxi, is the daughter of the Duke of Croyso. All her life, she went unloved, made to feel worthless due to her stutter, and lacks confidence due to her father's awful treatment of her. An arranged marriage between her and Riftan, one of the strongest and most fearless knights of the realm occurs right before he sets off for battle. Unbeknownst to her, or her father, Riftan expected Maxi to be at his castle, and was shocked when he found out she was still at her Father's estate after nearly three years. He comes to take her home as they begin their life together.

Maxi is terrified that Riftan will hate her as her father does, but is surprised when she is treated with love and kindness.
Riftan believes that she was a beloved and cherished daughter of the Duke of Croyso, surrounded by wealth and a lavish lifestyle. thus, he showers her with riches and anything she could dream of as he never wants her to feel like she sacrificed her life to marry someone as low as him.

Throughout this first volume, Maxi learns what it means to be the Wife of Riftan and the lady of their castle, becoming a more confident woman who is loved by him and their people.
Slowly with his love, she begins to grow into a strong confident woman who is loved by him and his people.

Suji Kim has created an incredible tale with moments of suspense, mystery, angst, and love in a medieval-fantasy world with magic, dragons, and monsters.

Thank you so so much to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and Inklore for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I see this quickly becoming a new obsession. Although at parts this felt a little repetitive, I can see the potential for this story! I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the continuation. Thank you so much for this advanced copy. I will be picking up a copy for my shelves.

LOVE LOVE LOVE! I read the webtoon and the novel is even better! I love how out MFC steadily grows and develops. And I love a MMC who starts out as a jerk and slowly comes around. Also can we talk about how absolutely perfect the cover is?! It’s gorgeous!

I picked this book up because I liked the cover and description. I never read the comics but I still enjoyed reading this. went back to read the comics and definitely enjoyed the story more in novel form.

Maybe I'm at fault for hoping for more or maybe for having higher expectations but this was unfortunately not it. There was so much miscommunication that was so frustrating, there were moments that had me pulling my hair out. It was so bad. The pacing was too slow and then all of sudden it felt like everything was happening all at once and it didn't work for the romantic storyline. I've read dark romances but this wasn't that? I'm not sure what it was trying to be but it didn't work for me.