I think this is one of the coziest happily ever after books I’ve read so far. The spice was spicin’. Be warned, it was a little to difficult to read in the beginning so please be sure to read the warnings. It was a little intense in the MCs earlier memories and flashbacks of intimacy BUT as you read on you’ll understand why. The FMC is extremely timid. Shy, and fearful because of such a hard past dealing with so much abuse and hate from her father and sister. It in a way gives a similarity to Cinderella and how she was treated but much more intense. I honestly couldn’t put it down. I loved seeing her grow into the more confident woman she is and how her past had given her such a loving and humble nature. I loved this book and I cannot wait to buy the physical copy for myself!

4/5 - So good! A good story in a wold that is ultimately well constructed. Though this first book was a little rough for me given the dubious consent, meek FMC, and seemingly curt husbando, it was a pretty hard for me to get into. But, having persevered and finished the entire series, I have a much greater appreciation for this book given the character growth that occurs throughout. Definitely a book for you if you like epic love stories and/or fanfiction!

Also, just a heads up to all my readers out there, the novel came BEFORE the webcomic, and is ultimately about 10 or so books long. This book may not seem like much at first, but that's because it is one part of MANY and is necessary for the rest of the series to shine! It was originally a Korean series that was translated into English, which may help to explain the writing style. Enjoy!

Under the Oak Tree was not for me. I felt disconnected from the characters and the romance. I wonder if the graphic novel would've been better for me to read instead.

I had heard good things about the comic version of Under the Oak Tree and jumped at the chance when I saw it was available in the catalog. All I saw was a gigantic knight and stuttering lady in the synopsis. I'm in. Say no more. Maxi and Riftan were a very sweet couple, but it took a long time for them to be comfortable with each other. She constantly flinched at his touch, remembered abuse from her father, and wasn't given the birds and the bees talk before her wedding. A total recipe for disaster. Thankfully, over time they learned to trust each other and developed an intimate marriage. The writing did get repetitive at times and Maxi never knew what she wanted, but I did read this book in one sitting. All I can say is it's a wonder she didn't end up pregnant at the end of this volume. That woman was resembling a double stuffed Oreo by the final chapter, if you catch my drift. I'm leaning towards picking up the second volume when it's released. Enormous knights in cold armor have me standing at attention and it doesn't take much convincing. I wonder what direction their story will take Under the Oak Tree.

Loved this so much I bought the special edition AND started reading the comic. I look forward to further installments! I think this is a great way to introduce American readers to Korean fantasy novels.

I am not the target audience for this book. I originally requested this book because the cover art and sprayed edges are so beautiful. But after reading about 10% I realize that the characters aren’t working for me.

It feels very surface level and the MFC is too timid and anxious for me. I did switch over to the webtoon where this originated from and I did enjoy that slightly more than I did in novel form.

Maxi is put into an arranged marriage with Lord Calypse, the most famous knight in the kingdom by her father, Duke Croyso. Maxi, being abused by Lord Croyso throughout her life because of her stutter, is naive in the ways of the world when she is wed to her husband, who consummates the marriage and the next day abruptly leaves for a war with a dragon. Three years later, after returning from this dragon war, he comes to collect a stunned Maxi, who has been told by her father and others that he would no longer want her because he was offered the hand of the beautiful princess. Maxi is whisked away by Riftan (her husband) to his estate in the mountains and finds that even though his demeanor can be prickly, he is deeply insecure that she may not want him. As they learn more about each other over time, will true love bloom between these two arranged spouses?

I liked this book, but not all the way up to giving it a five star rating. I did find that the writing style was a bit stilted and felt like that may be a translation issue? I did not read the original webcomic (unlike me, I know), but I did think that this felt like the novelization of an anime at times. While I did ultimately like Maxi’s character, it is a bit annoying and frustrating how the two main characters never seem to be able to communicate in the beginning of the story. Riftan is always convinced that Maxi dislikes him because he isn’t highborn and Maxi is convinced that Riftan won’t like her because of her father’s constant cruelty regarding her stutter. Riftan is definitely unlikeable at times and (TW!) their first encounter into the spice realm feels pretty non-consensual and is explained as being less Maxi not wanting to and more Maxi being unsure of what to do. It still felt a little icky, though, in my opinion, and I could have done without it.

The rest of the spice (and it is plentiful) was alright. Not all my thing, but I can see how others might like it. It does tend more toward being spice-heavy and plot-lite, so if you’re not into that, then I’d suggest skipping this book. If that’s not a deal-breaker for you (and it’s not for me), then this may be to your liking. Having not read the webcomic, I’m not entirely sure how it compares to the original. However, having skimmed through a little of the original just now, I would say that while the main plot points seem the same, the webcomic seems to somehow go into more detail into Maxi’s point of view, which I would’ve appreciated more of in the novel. However, I found this to be an overall pleasant read and would recommend it to others.
If you’re looking for some anime-type smut that somehow manages to not be too dark even though it deals with some unpleasant subject matter, I’d give this one a try.

I thought this was an ebook of the graphic novel, but was pleasantly surprised that this was a real novel NOVEL. Please be wary of the content warnings. If you love older historical romance and role playing fantasy like DND then you will love all the magical references. My only complaint is that this first novel, or Volume 1, is not a complete story arc and ends rather abruptly. I am unsure when the next volume will be published so that was a miss for me.

Originally, I read this story when it was a webcomic on Manta, and I absolutely loved the story so when I saw that it was being adapted to a novel I was so excited.

Overall I did like the story however, I found myself constantly wanting more emotional development between Riftan and Maxi. Typically I am okay with CNC, but I found myself getting slightly uncomfortable with how the romantic scenes were initiated and that Maxi just gave in to please Riftan to fulfill her marital duties. It felt like Riftan just constantly wanted to jump Maxi’s bones at every single interaction they had, and there wasn’t a deeper emotional connection between them on Riftan’s end. We do see more growth and character development as Maxi finds her voice and comes to being able to stand on her own. There is definitely a miscommunication trope throughout the entire novel between the main characters and they constantly struggle to express their true feelings to each other. I enjoyed the representation of someone with a speech impediment, and being able to experience her perspective and feelings throughout the novel’s development is a refreshing point of view. When comparing the manga and the novel I definitely prefer the webcomic more. I felt that there were a lot of rewritten portions in this novel that made the interpretation of scenes vastly different from the Manga which in turn resulted in conflicting feelings of this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

2/2.5 ⭐️

Under The Oak Tree is a book with some magic, monsters, castles and romance.

The romance had quite an interesting, and disturbing start to it, but it did develop some. There are major triggering warnings to watch for in the spice, as the MMC never asks if she wants to be physical and just takes, even if she doesn’t want him to. She does seem to eventually enjoy it, but be mindful of that.

The storyline just seems kind of lost to me. I’m unsure of what the plot and conflict actually is.

I do enjoy the magic happening, but there wasn’t much of it until the end. The FMC had a stutter, and I did enjoy the representation of that. However, she does endure abuse and shame because of it.

The FMC is very…. Ashamed and anxious almost the entire book. I was really hoping it would get better, but it’s a slow journey to confidence.

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. It ended so abruptly and that was really disappointing. I wish I could give this a better review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Pub for the read.

Publish date: 11/5/24

DNF at 10%. This was difficult to read. The opening marital rape, uneven dialog and unusual pacing put me off. I know the intent was to present the web novel true to form, but this needed an editor for those of us unfamiliar with its previous iterations.

Under the Oak Tree is a novel with the main focus of self discovery and empowerment. While there are scenes that are explicit and controversial the bones of the book are solid. While I was surprised and taken back by there being SA depicted in the first chapter I wasn't thrown from the story of Maxi's journey to find herself. I actually really enjoyed seeing her small steps into becoming more confident and self assured. The romance is very heavy in this book and the only draw back I have is that it didn't seem like much really happened. I would also say that the content/trigger warning should be more detailed as to what exactly it is that's in the book.

Enjoyed the story. I liked the main character Maxi. I was cheering for her to open up during the book and become more confident. I enjoyed the supporting characters. I look forward to the Vol 2 see more of Maxi and Riftan's relationship grow.

Under the Oak Tree by Suji Kim was such a good and enjoyable story.
The storytelling and characters held my attention.
I enjoyed reading it, and found it to be entertaining.

I loathe this book L the smex parts just didn't sit right with me. I understand that the story starts out with Maxi as a naive timid girl with an awful father that didn't deem her worthy but the lack of consent the MMC that is suppose to this great guy as you continue reading I could never see him as the hero in this, i thought of him worse than her father tbh.

I don’t think this book was meant for me. I struggled with loving the characters and it felt like they had little to no development until the very end. I really wanted to love it when I saw the cover and the summary seemed up my alley but alas it fell flat.
The romance felt cringy at best and I’m not sure if it’s because it just didn’t translate over well from a webtoon /comic?

I applied for the ARC of this one because of the stunning edition they are releasing, and I am still not sure why I did not DNF it.

There was absolutely no plot to the story. The FMC felt so young and naïve that it was borderline intolerable - and while I appreciate disability rep in books, the need to type out extra letters EVERY TIME she spoke to show her stutter was incredibly distracting. The MMC was very quick to anger and controlling which made him very unlikeable to me, even if he did try to improve his behavior. Don't even get me started on the uncomfortable "consummating the marriage" scene.

Definitely not my cup of tea unfortunately. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I received an advanced reader copy of Under the Oak Tree from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine. This review will be posted on Goodreads (/mariaviale) and Fable (@mariii) starting November 5th.

Under the Oak Tree follows Maxi, a girl born into a noble household who has faced cruelty throughout her life due to a severe speech impediment. After marrying the most respected knight in the land, Riftan, she must navigate her new life when he returns from a three-year quest to slay a dragon. Maxi’s sheltered upbringing makes this journey both challenging and transformative.

The writing is impressive—descriptive and immersive, bringing to life a world filled with magical elements and charming characters. However, I struggled to connect with the story.

Maxi is a difficult character to like. While her insecurities are understandable, her negativity can be frustrating, which detracted from my enjoyment of the narrative.

The romantic aspect also posed challenges. The initial sexual scenes between Maxi and Riftan felt abusive rather than romantic. Although the importance of their marriage is clear, I found it hard to engage with these moments when Maxi is begging him to stop. This dynamic made it tough to root for their relationship, even as Maxi eventually begins to enjoy herself.

Additionally, Riftan is often absent, appearing mainly in violent reactions or sexual encounters. This limited my understanding of his character and the depth of his feelings for Maxi. While he expresses love for her, it often feels tied more to his sexual needs and knightly duty rather than genuine emotional connection. Maxi seems to have a more profound bond with Ruth, a character she can be vulnerable with, while her connection with Riftan lacks meaningful conversation and emotional depth.

Overall, while Under the Oak Tree has its strengths, I found the character dynamics and romantic elements challenging to engage with.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

I have been super excited since this was announced and I was not disappointed! I loved the characters, the plot locked me in.

The cover art is beautiful and I would have purchased it based on this alone, it would look really good on my shelves.
I tried to like this book but I could not get beyond the cringy sex scenes. Riftan is raping Maxi throughout the entire book. She never gives consent for the interactions and she is constantly speaking about the pain she is in. This is on top of her being treated as a subhuman by her father due to her speech impediment...

This book should have trigger warnings, to have a reader fall into this in the first chapter without warning is rough.

It's a no for me.

Thank you, NetGalley and Suji Kim for the opportunity to give my honest review of the e-ARC of this book I have received.