Thank you @netgalley for giving me an arc kindle edition of Under the Oak Tree! I really wanted to like this, as it was highly anticipated and looked really interesting. However, I couldn’t quite get behind the fmc. It just felt like a woah is me kind of thing, and I was hoping she’d have some major growth for what she endured, and I was really unimpressed with her male counterpart. I love a slow burn fantasy romance, but the intimate scenes seemed a little out of place and frequent. I thought the overall story and concept was interesting, and I could be interested in reading the following books, but as of now, it just wasn’t a personal favorite. I’d give this a solid 3 stars

As someone who has been following the graphic novel version of this story, I knew I was going to be getting much more as far as content. This story is what happens after the "Happily Ever After". Maxi is such a wonderful character, you read her background and see how she's lived and you see the potential for growth as the story goes on. Riftan has enough mystery that it makes you want more to find out about his character. The dynamic of these two characters is something romance lovers will crave, you want to root for these two and yet you want to shake them and be like "What are you doing! Talk to each other!". Kim was able to transport readers to a beautiful kingdom that opens a new world for Maxi as she is now a noble lady. Her struggles with fitting in and finding her place, are very relatable as a reader. You can also relate to the couple in how they interact with each other, awkward, nervous, but as they get to know each other, there's genuine affection, admiration, passion, and love with these two. A story beginning with the "Happily Ever After" and goes into a story that has something any reader will love. I look forward to the rest of the story as it continues.

Thank you NetGalley, Inklore, and Suji Kim for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I sadly couldn’t get into this one… But I recommend for others to pick it up still because that could have just been a personal issue. The cover is absolutely gorgeous as well and when it releases it will be stunning.

Fantastic!

Easily a favorite read of the year for me. I love the manwha and the novelization is equally as good.

I did find the chapters a smidge longer than my preference but this was still such a fun read.

Note: Thank you to Random House Inklore and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the eARC for Under the Oak Tree Volume 1 by Kim Suji!

Rating: 4/5 stars!

Summary: Maximilian Calypse has grown up being the stuttering, undesirable daughter of Duke Croyso. Three years ago, she was married to rising knight Riftan Calypse before he left for a campaign to defeat an ancient dragon, and now, he is returning. Her memories of Riftan are painful and tense, and on top of that, rumors abound that the princess of the nation offered her hand to Riftan. Divorce would mean at the very least exile from the only life she’s known, and at worse, death. As Maxi and Riftan make their way to Anatol, Riftan’s domain, can she come to learn who her husband really is, and make a happy life for herself in Castle Calypse?

Content Warnings: Dubious Consent (due to period-typical lack of sex education and misogyny) and Physical and Mental Abuse (Duke Croyso to Maxi, not between the FL and ML)

Review: I included the content warnings above because I would have appreciated those warnings being given before I read. It’s hard to read where Maxi is at the beginning. Throughout the novel she grows to understand more about her sexuality and herself as a person apart from the abuse she’s suffered her whole life.

I love Maxi with all my heart. She takes the shitty circumstances she’s been given and does her best to find happiness despite that. Maxi alone keeps the rating at 4 stars because I just love how she’s been written as a character.

Riftan… he’s not the worst ML I’ve ever read in this genre but good lord does he need to like, communicate with Maxi. He did not grow up as a noble and thus probably doesn’t understand that noble women don’t know a whole lot about ‘marital duties’ but Maxi’s body language was giving off discomfort and fear pretty strongly during the first few times they had sex, and for that he’s lost a lot of likability in my eyes.

Perhaps throughout the course of the story, he will realize his early mistakes and apologize, especially once the truth of Maxi’s life before him comes to light.

Other than that I really liked this novel! Kim Suji’s writing comes across well with the translation work done by the teams at MANTA! It really brings out the medieval fantastical elements of the novel while retaining a lot of the emotion and personality of each of the characters. Though the sex scenes were a bit repetitive, they were fairly well-written, and didn’t leave me feeling bored or disinterested.

I will be looking out for Volume 2, and checking out the manhwa!

*Under the Oak Tree: Volume 1* by Suji Kim is an intriguing story of love, power, and self-discovery. Lady Maximilian, sheltered and insecure due to her stutter, finds herself married off to Sir Riftan, a lowborn knight, as part of her father’s schemes. Their relationship starts on shaky ground, and when Riftan leaves immediately after their wedding night, it’s clear that their journey together will be anything but smooth. However, the story picks up when Riftan returns years later as a war hero, and Maxi begins to find her own strength and courage in a world that has long underestimated her.

While the premise of the story is compelling, the execution could have been better. The lack of trigger warnings is concerning, as the content might be distressing for some readers. Additionally, Riftan’s behavior, particularly his insensitivity towards Maxi, especially after their marriage, was off-putting and made it hard to fully connect with him as a character. That being said, Maxi’s journey of self-empowerment is inspiring, and I hope the final print includes the necessary warnings to better prepare readers for the emotional challenges ahead.

#UnderTheOakTree #NetGalley

The stuttering in this book is what took me out. The main character's stutter I sentences long? That being introduced so early on in the book really took me out.

4.2 / 5.0

This novel adaptation of a web comic follows the original story word for word. It ends exactly where the comic ends and with the same sharp cliffhanger as the original work. So, obviously, as a fan of the comic, I loved this.

I am not going to say much about the story itself since a lot of those main points are in the blurb. I am going to say that I have read a few of these comic to novel adaptations and they generally fall into one of three categories: great, fair, or poor. This one is in the higher end of fair for me. It is SO LONG, like every little leaf flutter and gasp muttered is here, but the angst is exquisite. The violence and trauma in this is also not hidden or off page, so read the TW and prepare yourself.

I hope that they continue to adapt this web comic to novel format, that they hire the same exact artist for the covers (because this cover is amaze-balls), and that Suji Kim brings her story to a solid HEA that we can all love.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the chance to read this eARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Maxi has a stutter. Her father hates her for it and marries her off to a lowborn knight so he doesn't have to go fight in the dragon wars. Three years later, the knight comes back for her. Can they move past everything and find love?

A very long read, but also a very engaging read. It follows the webcomic pretty much word for word and ends at the same moment as well. I was definitely not ready for it to end and will be impatiently awaiting Volume 2!

This is one of my favorite stories of all time. Both the manhwha and the light novel are ethereal. This romance is like no other, carefully weaving discussions of assumptions and stereotypes, with my favorite miscommunication trope example of all time. I love them <3

First of all, I want to mention that this should come with some trigger warnings right out of the gate for SA and r*pe.

Under the Oak Tree is a story about Lady Maximilian, daughter of the powerful, Father-of-the-Year recipient, Duke Croyso, who is forced into a marriage with the definition of toxic masculinity, Sir Riftan. Riftan is a lowborn night who takes a mere glance, a light breeze, as a slight against his ever fragile manliness. He responds in kind with some “cutting” remarks that really befit a toddler.

Maxi, a woman who has been incredibly sheltered her whole life and is totally okay with it because she finds her stutter embarrassing, has some glaring gaps in her education. Those gaps are namely what (who, when, where, and why—seriously…) is ✨expected✨ of her on her wedding night, what is expected of her as a wife when her new husband trots off to places unknown the morning after their wedding, and generally how to stay alive when she’s not under the gaze of a man. As her father’s throw away child, he absolutely does not attempt to aid her.

I have a lot of problems with this book, the biggest and only one worth mentioning is the constant sexual assault the FMC experiences at the hands of her husband under the guise of a sort of enemies-to-lovers romance. It’s peppered throughout the book and even when she says “wait” and “stop” he basically pretends not to hear her and thus, it still continues. He wears her down, ignores her, forces himself on her, and the thing that “makes it okay” (no. Absolutely not) is the fact that she orgasms. Oh, and that he “can’t help himself.”

Not cute and definitely not romantic.

There is absolutely no thought to consent. I desperately hope no one ever reads this who has been in those situations because it’s extremely upsetting.

All that aside, the story is utterly boring. The first 20% of the book details traveling from her childhood home to Riftan’s. This was a great opportunity to world build or… I don’t know, literally describe anything about this “magical” world outside from a random attack by some trolls. I can safely say I know all too much about the jostling of a carriage and nothing about the space around it that she’s constantly staring at. Trees, trees, and more trees… The writing lacks in all imagery. I don’t think I made it far enough in the book to comment on the character development, but I can’t continue with a romance entirely based on marital rape and breaking a woman down until she finally says “okay”.

I want to thank the publisher via netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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…