Well written story of historical romance. He wants to love, and protect her and she wants to be useful. He fights monsters and eventually she becomes a mage to assist. Spicy and hot story as you cheer these two on throughout their ups and downs.

First I’ll start by saying that the premise of this book was so interesting. Maxi has been married off to a newly made knight before he’s shipped off to battle and after years apart they are finally reunited and trying to learn to live together. Definitely hits hard the trope of arranged marriage if that’s what you are into. I love how Maxi also has a speech impediment and how her husband is one of the few that doesn’t treat her as less because of it. I’m interested in reading the original comic or webtoon this is based off of.

Absolutely not. I get there is a trigger warning but no. Just NO. The blatant rape and overall uncomfortable feel to the entire book was just too much! Poorly written and just disgusting.

I received a free ebook from ##NetGalley. #UndertheOakTree by #SujiKim has a female protagonist, Maxi, who has been mentally and physically abused in the past and has a stuttering problem. She never feels good enough and was left at her father's after she was forced at a young age to marry Sir Riftan who was forced to kill a dragon for Maxi's father. Maxi and Sir Riftan meet 3 years later and she never feels good enough and I suspect he doesn't either. There are numerous sex scenes so this book is definitely an adult fantasy. The book is continued in Vol 2 which I look forward to reading. There is an appendix explaining the types of knights and monsters but in this volume we do not see many examples in the story. We see mainly Sir Riftan and his people and how Maxi grows while she lives with them

3.5 Rounded up. Boy was this a lot smuttier than I expected. I am unfamiliar with the web novel so I didn't realize just how raunchy it would be. I was definitely taken in by the cover thinking we'd have a much more ethereal fantasy but nope. I'm glad there were trigger warnings because this story does begin with nonconsensual scenes and I was worried how this would turn out but as the story progressed it became a bit like popcorn. It's not the best but it was kind of addictive to see how this would progress and even though our heroine is extremely meek she was previously abused so it was nice to see somewhat realistic growth in her journey of healing and self-respect. I wished there was a bit more plot to this than just scenes that felt a little repetitive, I don't know how many times we needed to be reminded that he is obsessed with her essentially but like I said, this is popcorn and I ate the whole bowl.

This book is absolutely stunning, and I know that both my fantasy and manga customer will love this book!

Unfortunately this story was just not for me. I was not a fan of the characters or the relationship, that I just could not finish.

However, I know that this book will be perfect for many customers, and I will not hesitate to recommend to those customers.

Delightful read! The romance was enough to keep me reading despire how much I wanted to slap the both of them for their lack of communication. Also I would very much like to see her father thrown off a very tall hill. Very intrigued to see if there is a confrontation between her, her father, sister and her husband. Would love to see what happens next.

The first half of Under the Oak Tree is rough and I almost dnfed, but I'm glad I pushed through. In the beginning Maxi is peak blushing virgin and doesn't seem to even understand what sex is, let alone be able to consent to Riftan on her wedding night. There are a lot of sex scenes in this book (they use polite euphemisms for genitalia and are generally written well enough), but I'd say the first few are rape just because Maxi doesn't understand what's happening and believes sex to be a frigid, dutiful affair between man and wife. Riftan also doesn't listen to her when she says no or clearly seems uncomfortable because he's just so horny for Maxi.

Aside from traveling between castles and the dubcon/noncon sex, not much else happens until 50% in when Maxi takes on her duties as lady of Calypse Castle. Here we get learn more about the cast of characters, in particular Ruth the mage, and see how Maxi takes to her new life away from her father. I enjoyed seeing her grow and come out of her shell a bit more. The worldbuilding was also interesting with the politics between countries and the magic system. I'll likely read more, though I may switch to the comic instead as I grew tired of being in Maxi's self-deprecating head at times.

If you can get past the slow start and rape in the beginning, then the story actually gets interesting. I don't blame if you if you can't though.

Cover - A++
Story Overall - I still really like it, knowing what I do about where it goes (though I am hesitant to recommend the novel over the comic for the following reason for first timers)

Max as a narrated character versus a comic character is so painful to read. Half the point of this book is her character growth, but holy heck is it a slough to get through the first volume before those changes start to occur.

I had always heard amazing things about this webtoon, and to be able to have the chance to actually read it was wonderful. I absolutely loved it and can't wait for more. Thank you for the arc.

I really wanted to enjoy this but I found I struggled with the pacing and the choppiness of the dialogue. There were some aspects that I enjoyed but overall this was a difficult read for me.

This was a very quick read and I was thoroughly intrigued. I liked the worldbuilding of the medieval aspect but nothing spoke out to me.

I read the comic version first and this one sticks very closely to it. There's SA and the relationship comes off more as a bully romance in the beginning with lots of miscommunication/lack of communication. While there are scenes where the MCs are tender towards each other and you can tell that they care for each other, it definitely comes off harsher here than the comic. I really wanted to like this one more than I did but there wasn't much depth to the characters or plot. It started off with some action and a clear journey but once they get to Riftan's home, the plot slows tremendously. I'm hoping as the series continues, we see more worldbuilding and character growth (I'm sure we will since this is just the beginning). I'd recommend the comic version first and then if you like that and want to read the novelization, give this one a try.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a DRC from Inklore via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

So many Romantasy books these days center around an already badass FMC who worked hard in her past to get to where she is today. Under the Oak Tree Vol. 1 gives the reader the distinct pleasure of witnessing Maxi transform from an abused, sheltered lady to a capable badass, and the journey is so worth it.
The world Kim creates is rich, but Vol. 1 is just dipping the reader's toe in the water. I love how epic the universe is, how Maxi's journey is ever changing but her perseverance and adaptability is unwavering. There's romance, adventure, tension, all wrapped up in a wheel that keeps turning and keeping the reader engaged.
Overall, this book and its universe are addicting. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I DNF this book early on. This book is written in an awful way that makes it uncomfortable to read - and I like dark books.
I think there are ways to write books this dark without it making the readers feel dirty/uncomfortable.

I was not expecting the amount of smut right from the start. This is not a complaint. I'm reminded of early romance and fantasy novels where the woman doesn't have much agency in the beginning but has some by the end of the book. The consent is very dubious, bordering on non-existing in the beginning especially. Maxi is soft-spoken with a stutter that has been punished harshly by her father for years and has the low self-esteem to match. Riftan seems to have two big feelings. One is anger and the other is desire. He has a strong handle on neither of these. If Maxi had remained a wilting flower under her big, strong husband's wants, I would have hated this but Maxi starts to make decisions about what she wants and doesn't let him strong-arm her. The romance is, again, reminiscent of early romance novels where a woman having wants and desires is frowned upon and a lot of that comes with dubiously consented to intimacy. I look forward to Volume 2 and really hope to see Maxi learning how to put herself and her wants over what everyone wants of her.

i just wanted to reach into the book and hug Riftan and Maxi and tell him everything would be ok but there were times I also wanted to shake the ever loving 💩 out of them and tell them to smarten up!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Trigger warnings are important to read here too.

I was drawn in by the beautifully designed book and pretty art and what seemed like an interesting storyline for a romance where an anxious and oppressed girl starts to find her voice in the world and a new love.

I know this was adapted from a web novel and it reads that way for sure. Which isn't inherently a bad thing, but I think it could have been edited a little more smoothly together. This could be a translation issues as well though.

The plot was a bit of a let down, Maxi never reaches any kind of potential in this first novel, her romance isn't giving me anything to actually root for either. Being "nice" doesn't actually make a difference when you are opening the book with SA in the marriage. Made it hard to come back from. It would have been possible, but there was no actual development in their relationship other than she started to actually enjoy their bedroom activities sort of. None of the characters were developed enough for me to care about what happens to them. We didn't get enough world building or plot development to make the romance issues inconsequential to the enjoyment of the story either.

Maxi trying to become a mage is the most interesting thing that happens in this first volume and they barely give us enough information and time to really explore that as well. Nor does the Love Interest in this romance, which is the main plot of the story, give any kind of actual support towards her goals. I just needed them to have an actual conversation.

I'm sure some of these problems might get addressed further in the story, but nothing that happened in the first 39 chapters that are in this first volume enticed me enough to make me want to continue reading about Maxi and Rifton.

You know the romance is failing when I start hoping she leaves her husband for her magic teacher and his sorcerer.

1.5 stars is my final rating, Ruth the sorcerer helped bump it up just a bit.

No. An insane amount of marital rape, verbal abuse, trauma bonding and its romanization of that is awful .

THIS IS SO GOOOD!!!! 5 STARS!
I have read the manhwa of this novel, but let me tell you the novel has my heart!