3.5 rounded up.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

Fair warning this has an ample amount of smut. And with a timid protagonist and an aggressive love interest, this may not be for everyone. I, however, seriously enjoyed the smut in this book. It was actually my favorite part unbelievably. 😂 it’s very beautiful and tasteful while also holding this intensity that just brilliantly conveys their feelings. I was impressed! And what’s so surprising is that the smut actually got less as the book went on and I…. Missed it???? With the amount in this book, you’d think it would be overwhelming but it NEVER was. I actually would have liked 1-2 more scenes near the end! Who am I???

Other than the smut, did anything really happen in this book?? It was very veeeerrrrry low stakes. She’s hanging out at the castle, refurbishing it while he goes to visit the king and then he comes back and the knights train and then she starts learning from the mage. That’s legit the entire book.

Since this is just a compilation of the webnovel, it does have a concise climax / resolution. So the book itself just … ends. It was weird because I felt like it was moving toward a big plot point but it didn’t get there 🙈 I know it’s 496 pages apparently but I wanted another chapter to give me some kind of cliffhanger or conflict that could bring some stakes.

I likely won’t continue with the series because it is SO slow. Even with the intensely amazing smut, I just can’t sit back and keep waiting for something to happen. 🙈

I really did like Ruth, the mage. Sometimes I liked him more than the MMC, Riftan. Not for a love interest for the FMC! But just as a character. It felt like Riftan was a tad one note at this point: he needs to be developed a lot and I wish we had gotten more of that in this book. Like I said, not that much happened in this book. 😂

Overall, this was a fun relaxing read with some great smut!

This was so good and an amazing companion/comparison to the graphic book on Manta! I loved reading this, especially after having read the original version! It was a fantastic story and a great read overall!

First thing that caught my eye was the cover - it's truly stunning.

The steamy scenes between the main characters really added some spice to the story. I appreciated how Riftan saw past Maxi's stutter and was completely taken with her. It was great to see Maxi's character develop from a shy, reserved person into someone with real determination and drive.

However, the communication between Maxi and Riftan was often frustrating. There were times I wished Maxi would speak up more and express herself clearly. Their misunderstandings became a bit tedious after a while.

The plot felt a bit thin in places, and the ending seemed rushed to me. The balance between romance and fantasy wasn't quite there, but knowing there are more volumes to come, this might improve in future books.

Overall, it's a mixed experience. If you enjoy romance with a touch of fantasy, you might find this entertaining. The character growth is promising, and I'm curious to see how Maxi continues to develop in the upcoming volumes.

This premise was interesting, but something about the character interactions felt odd to me, as did the characterization of the protaganist, though I liked her. For a book that was pretty romance-centric, the romance didn’t entirely land for me either. I will say, the ending was what ended up redeeming this book for me, as did the promise of this main character coming into her own through magic. That plot line was very cool. This was a good start to a world, and I will be keeping my eye out for where it goes next. Also, cover art was gorgeous.

A stuttering daughter of a duke marries a lowborn knight in an arranged marriage and are immediately separated for 3 years as he goes off to fight a dragon. When he returns, they finally get to know each other and their relationship and themselves develop.

This was originally a Korean webnovel that became popular and was translated into English, then adapted into a webtoon on Manta and became the most popular one on there, which is where I first read and fell in love with it, so I was thrilled when I was accepted for an ARC which of course did not disappoint. So I am coming from a biased perspective, but I do honestly think it’s SO GOOD.

Some trigger warnings for parental abuse, both physical and mental, and violence and gore. In later volumes there will probably be more warnings but I’ll focus on the content of this volume. I would also say by modern standards some of the early sex scenes may feel a little dubious with the consent, so please read carefully.

I think considering I read some form of this three years ago, this was my first foray into romantasy before it really took off. The setting is like a Western medieval land with kingdoms and duchys, knights and maidens, and serious monster problems including wyverns, goblins, ogres, and dragons. The characters are my favorite part, with Maxi and Riftan given so much depth and flaws and deep, psychological wounds that make it make sense why they’re drawn to each other while also hindering their ability to have a truly balanced relationship. The relationship moments are sweet, and the smut scenes are aplenty, but as the reader you know that they’re both keeping things from each other and viewing each other through rose-colored glasses. While they’re mostly happy now, there’s also this uncomfortable feeling that makes you think this relationship might not last or be the healthiest, but you also want it to work out because they obviously care for each other despite their flaws. The side characters are great, too, like Ruth the mage, whose snarkiness and sleepiness are endearing, and it’s nice to see a guy and girl be friends without any romantic undertones.

Since this is originally a webnovel, where a chapter was published every week or something along that cadence, this story doesn’t follow a typical plot structure with a midpoint and climax. It also, mercifully, doesn’t end on a huge cliffhanger, though I would probably check out vol 2 whenever it comes out anyway. Currently it feels more like a series of events building up the main couple’s relationship, though you see hints of how Maxi’s character development will progress as she starts learning magic. If you’re into a normal plot structure and a resolution by the end, this series might not be for you because if Random House will publish the whole thing (please do) you’ll be in it for the long haul to get a proper conclusion. I do enjoy the writing and the translation is very good as well.

I’m very happy for the author, Suji Kim, on her success and this new iteration of Under the Oak Tree. The cover is gorgeous, too, and so is Maxi. Highly recommend and can’t wait for the next volume!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House (seriously, thank you) for the eARC!

I can not believe I'm giving this book 4 stars, this actually might have been a 5 star book if it wasn't for the entire first chapter.

First I would like to go over my brief history with this book. I first read the webcomic years ago, when only the first season of it was out, and loved it! It was the first explicit web comic I read and I loved the story. Season one left off on kind of a cliff hanger but then I found out about the web novel the comic was based on and decided to read it since it was further along than the comic...and I instantly hated it. One, because in the first chapter Riftan, the love interest, rapes Maxi on their wedding night. You can call it what you want but I think its rape and its a wild way to introduced to the main male love interest. (Also I think its kind of wild that fans of the book don't talk about it at all?) Anyway after that I completely swore off of this story until I heard a physical version was coming out..and the cover was so pretty...so I decided to read it again. Here is my review.

First thing first, the wedding night scene was just as bad as I remember and after finishing the whole book, I think it was unnecessary. In the webcomic the wedding night gets completely glossed over to the point you wouldn't know it was rape until reading the novel AND I don't think it takes anything away the comic. The first chapter is the worse and I almost DNF'd because of it, Riftan was being so mean to Maxi and the rape in the beginning made it an overall horrible experience, then I read the rest of the book and I LOVED IT.

Literally once you get past the first chapter it really becomes such a nice slow building story. There isn't much plot-wise but it really is just following the main character Maxi as she tries to come into herself after years of being sheltered and abused. She starts to have feelings for her husband, learns magic, and learns how to run a household. Riftan can be very hot-headed but I do think he and Maxi are so cute together, they both really like each other but they both have walls up that make it nearly impossible to express that and they have alot sex in place of doing that. AND THE SEX SCENES WERE GREAT, 10/10 NO NOTES.

Another small critic I have is to make the chapters shorter. I know that they were originally published in shorter parts as a web novel and that they combined them to make longer chapters but some of the chapter are wayyyyy too long and have too much going on in them.

I will definitely be contuining on with the series because I really want to see how both Riftan and Maxi grow together. I think the tiktok girlies would like this, I feel like it could be in the same vain as A Court of Mist and Fury, Blood and Ash, or Zodiac Academy. (I have not read any of those books but that's the vibe I get?) But I do find it hard to recommend because of that first chapter. I think I would recommend the comic to people more than the novel because you get the same story but less sexual assault but I think I personally like the novel more.

Posted on Goodreads

Thank you Net Galley for giving me an arc to review.

Under Oak Tree is a fantasy romance that was originally a webcomic now turned novel. It follows Maximillian( Maxi) the daughter of a cruel duke who has been hidden and abused most of her life. She was married off to a knight(Riftan) and he has come back for her 3 year later. We’re following Maxi navigate her new life and relationship with Riftan.

As a previous fan of the Manta Comics, I can say that this novel did the comics justice. I will forever being rooting for Maxi and her healing journey. If you’re looking for a book that’s an easy read. I think you’ll like this.

I will say that the ending was a like off and I hope that changes with the final copy

I think "lost in translation" is the best way to explain my experience of this book. The writing style and flow of the formatting just didn't work. And some of the content... yikes... I don't know how well that is going to go over with readers (and I don't think I can recommend this to others because of it). It was quite off-putting for me.

I tried, but ended up DNFing. I wanted to continue. Maybe I’ll try again but I really just couldn’t get into it…

Note: I have not read the Manhwa. I’ve seen art online from it that I thought was beautiful so I wanted to give the novel a try. My review is based solely on the novel.

Unfortunately I did not like this at all.
My biggest complaint, and the main reason I’m giving this 1 star, is the relationship of the two main characters, more specifically Riftans part in it. Never before have I detested the love interest in a book as much as I do Riftan. I cannot comprehend how he wasn’t supposed to be the villain of the story.

Where do I even begin.
I found his behavior at the beginning of the book (and throughout) to be disgusting. Number one he’s incredibly rapey. There was absolutely zero hesitation from him at all when it came to consummating the marriage with his wife who was clearly terrified, uncomfortable, and in pain. In fact he seemed to enjoy himself perfectly fine. She had no idea what was happening to her and he did nothing to help or figure out a different solution. AND THEN when they meet again 3 years later he does the exact same thing. It was incredibly uncomfortable to read.
In addition to that glaring issue, he was also incredibly toxic towards her. His behavior was controlling, his temper was erratic, the way he spoke to her was borderline abusive at times. I was furious reading it. Practically every time he opened his mouth he would say something ridiculous.
Not only was he rude to her he was also rude to his staff and others around him. I genuinely do not understand how I’m supposed to be rooting for him. My favorite character in this was Ruth because he was the only one who would call out Riftans behavior.

Onto Maxi who, due to the previous abuse she had suffered, was very childlike. She came across as young and naive. This made her relationship with Riftan feel even more uncomfortable. Her character did grow on me though and in fact the only time I felt she showed much character growth was when Riftan was away. Those were also my favorite parts of the book.

I also didn’t really enjoy the story line as much as I hoped too. I was a bit bored throughout. I was hoping for more adventure to make up for the lack of swoon worthy romance but there just wasn’t enough. The writing style also didn’t keep me engaged.

I really wanted to like this one, but it was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

3/5!⭐⭐

First off, I wanna say that the cover of this book is stunning, and I was instantly drawn to it. I have never read the webnovel that this is translated from.

The plot? Maximillian (Maxi) is the daughter of Duke Croyos, who has hidden Maxi away for most of her life and abused her, due to her stutter. He marries her off to a low born knight, Sir Riftan. However, Riftan comes back from his three year campaign a hero and shocks everyone after slaying a dragon. He is expected to come back and leave Maxi for the princess, but says Maxi is his wife and he will not leave her. He then goes and gets Maxi from her fathers home, and we start the story with the two of them on a journey back to Riftans home.

I gotta say, I did not particularly like Riftan in the beginning, or the way Maxi was just an 'sexual object' in a sense. She was scared of him, and there was a lot of forced feelings and romance going on. Does it get better? Sure. I just don't think I found the romance between them enticing or interesting. They are both insecure in their own ways, and we do see them lift each other up in that sense. It was nice to see them overcome their insecurities through each other, especially Maxi, despite how toxic and all over the journey was. I was certainly rooting for Maxi in the beginning, I absolutely loved the representation of someone with a speech impediment, and being able to see her point of view. However, throughout the book, I just did not connect with the characters in the way I wanted, and so found myself pushing through most of the it.

I think if you don't mind a lack of plot, not a lot of world building, and mostly just romance, you will enjoy this book. It is definitely more focused on character growth and the relationship. ❤️

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc!

I feel the need to start this with a disclaimer of sorts. This is not the authors or publishers fault but do to the graphic nature of the book i could only get 50 pages in before I had to stop reading. Had a known about these aspects of the book I would not have requested an ARC copy for review as I am not the right audience for this book. None of the warnings given in the first page of the book are present in the NetGalley summary,

I did not enjoy what little of this book I was able to read, the sex scene was way to rapey. The synopsis made it sound like this was going to be about a girl finding out how to stand up for herself in a world that is not kind to her but so fare I have seen no evidence of that. Maxi even with in her own thoughts does nothing but be a damsel in distress. She is also abused by pretty much everyone in the story and does nothing about it, this book was not for me.

I don't usually give 1 or 2 stars, but I couldn't find enough good things about this book to give at least 3.
Let's pretend the story is fine, though it isn't, but if you do like that kind of story that's totally great. One thing I would like to say is: PLEASE PUT TRIGGER WARNINGS. I'm not a sensitive reader, but some are and they have the right to know in this book you have rape and violence. The MC says
"no" and "stop" so many times but they are all just ignored.
Being handsome and "nice" does not change the fact that this is rape.
Let's talk about why this novel is not a novel. I don't know who made it into a novel from the webtoon, but it didn't work out. Maybe problems with the translation are to blame as well, but the structure alone is just so bad.
- chapters end in the middle of a conversation, and for no reason at all. No suspense, no plot twist. They end just because they HAVE TO end at a point
- transitions between different scenes are not bad, because they're NOT THERE at all. We go from one scene to the next and everything is just so confusing (MC "returns" to the carriage. The guy "returns" to give her food. She eats and then "returns" back to the carriage??)
- confusing actions that don't make sense physically
- soooo many repetitions are strange choices of words
I won't say more. If you enjoy the story, that's awesome, but it makes me so sad to see so many 5 star reviews for a novel that can't even be called a novel. If you are interested, I suggest you go for the original webtoon.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/ Inklore for the e-arc!

Under the Oak Tree is about Lady Maximilian and her arranged marriage to Sir Riftan who is one of the top commanders in their country. Maxi is unhappy with this arrangement and believes her husband dislikes her especially after he leaves mere days after their nuptials. My first experience with Under the Oak Tree was through the manwha on Manta. I knew that fans of the series would rave about the light novel and I eventually wanted to check it out for myself. Right off the bat, I can say the edition mock-ups look great so that's a plus for the series. Outside of that, I can say the story is fine. For me, this just gave me some added context with slower pacing. I like Maxi as a main character and as someone who is ahead in the story, I can say the audience's opinion of her changes as time goes on. The same can be said with Riftan as well but I will note that this does not excuse the sexual assault in any way. Outside of the main characters, the plot does ramp up and we get backstory on the country's affairs and Riftan's relationship with the crown. If you are a preexisting fan of this story, then this novel will be a great addition to your physical collection on appearance alone. However, if you are hesitant I will say the story does get better and maybe give the manwha a try if you haven't already.

First, the cover of this book is beautiful! I loved the story, it stays true to the manga. That said, this volume is very detailed and slow. Not a whole lot of plot going. In my opinion, it could’ve been considerably shortened. I still love the relationship between the two main characters and will continue with the series. I will also be reading the manga counterpart once it’s published.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I thought the pacing was really good and kept me interested in the plot. I liked Maxi but I had a hard time believing in her relationship with Riftan. None of their interactions really indicated true affection and developing love between them. It’s really superficial, like I’m being told they care for each other, but not shown. I have a hard time viewing this as a romance, when their relationship is actually quite toxic and doesn’t read as anything more than physical, and a good portion of their physical relationship having dubious consent. I think there is potential here for their relationship to change into something of substance and for Riftan to be a character I enjoy, but I wish this book had given me more of that because at this point, I am not invested.

<b>Trigger warning for SA. DNF at 7%.</b>

This was the most egregiously disgusting depiction of romance I have ever read—and that depiction all takes place in the first chapter. This author really isn’t trying to bury the lead here from her audience.

To start, the way stutters are depicted is over the top and distracting in the text. In the singular chapter I read, Maxi s-s-stutters l-l-like th-th-this c-c-constantly. It’s extremely unpleasant to read. Is there not another way to depict a stutter that doesn’t hurt the eyes and the brain? It comes across as very amateur and poorly written, especially when it occurs with every single sentence the FMC speaks.

To top it off, Maxi has a flashback to the night of her wedding. Now, this is fantasy. I get that marriage in older eras was approached like a business transaction, with consummation being required of women who were often treated as no more than cattle while being held in ignorance like children, unaware of any education surrounding sex. Thus, the women were often subjected to marital rape. But why—in a fantasy—would you set this as your stage? She flashes back to her wedding night, featuring the male hero of the book, as she remembers her own marital rape in sickening detail.

EXCERPT ONE:

<blockquote><i>Her struggles and protests were useless. There was no chance of escaping his searing mouth and rough caress.
(…)She could not believe that something so grotesque was happening to her.
(…)Her body had been so tense that it was now drained of strength. She was no longer capable of struggling.</i></blockquote>

EXCERPT TWO:

<blockquote><i>Close to tears, she scratched at his arms.
“It…It h-hurts…”
“Too tight…”
Droplets of sweat trickled down his neck and dripped onto her face. As she writhed in an attempt to flee, he quivered slightly and secured her waist with both of his hands. A deep line creased his forehead.
“Just…stay still…”
“H-hurts…It hurts…!”
“Don’t move, damn it—ugh!”</i></blockquote>

First of all, the ellipses have to stop. There were seven of them in that second block quote. I had to wrap my own ellipses in parentheses in the first excerpt to differentiate between the author’s and my own. Second of all, this is horrifying. How the fuck are we supposed to root for their romance? Or this man at all? I don’t care that this is just a product of “the time” because this is a fantasy and the author made the deliberate choice to depict marital rape in her novel when she didn’t have to.

There were so many other options. He could’ve staged a scene that would “prove” they consummated without actually forcing her to do so. He could’ve made her comfortable and explained what they would have to do at <b>minimum</b>. Instead, he let her shake in terror while he commanded she strip naked and then forced himself on her. She pulls away? She struggles? He holds her tighter. He forces her to keep going. Deplorable.

He even drops the good ole classic “I won’t stop once we begin.” As if he’s a dog with a triggered prey drive. Like be fuckin for real you rapist pig.

It’s especially sickening because Maxi cannot verbally reject him. If she does, he can annul the marriage (which he threatened would happen if she didn’t comply, as if there weren’t other options on the table; see above for my ideas on how else he could’ve handled it). If this did come to pass, it would send her back to her abusive father who she already believes would “kill her with a timely ‘accident’ before the annulment was complete.” So she has no ability to consent here since the setup forces her to be at her husband’s mercy. And what little mercy there was.

After the flashback ends, MMC sexually assaults Maxi AGAIN. He nitpicks her reception of him after he’s been off fighting dragons for three years and treats her with utter disdain. I understand there is an element of miscommunication and misunderstanding here, but the second she starts crying because of his verbal flaying, he shoves his tongue down her throat. Then he pushes her onto a sofa and tries to SA her.

<blockquote><i>Riftan’s tongue twisted and tangled with Maxi’s, roving over her teeth. She found it harder and harder to breathe. She shoved at his chest, but he clung more firmly to her.</i></blockquote>

Even now, in present day, she’s struggling against his advances but he persists in attacking her. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is our fucking love interest.

I have never in my life DNFed a book after one chapter and would never have conceived of doing so on an ARC that was sent to me. But I cannot subject myself to the romanticization of a rapist.

<b>1 star. </b>

This is a very difficult book to review for me. I was entirely unprepared for the non-con at the beginning of the story. It does eventually become a romantic story with cute moments but I feel like the MMC never actually tries to understand the FMC. He sort of just yells at her, pats her hair, then takes her to bed. I kept waiting for him to become more understanding of her situation and problems with her speech impediment or for her to tell him but it never seemed to happen. Though it was beautifully written and detailed, I didn’t find anything about the main characters that made me want to come back for the second book. If this particular trope is in your interest, then I think you would like it a lot, as it is very well done

While I am sure that this is a great story. After reading about the first half of the book, I am not able to continue to read it. This is just not a story that I am interested in. I am so grateful for the opportunity to read it I am not able to give it a good rating for this reason.

Love a good webnovel and can't stop collecting gorgeous hard copies with sprayed edges, ribbon bookmarks, and foiled design work? This one contains the first 76 chapters of the webnovel and I am going to have to go see the rest, I can't stop here!

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.