There are some definite issues with the premise of this one. It's a reincarnation story, more similar to the BL novel series You Can Have My Back than any isekai title in that one-half of the main couple dies and is reincarnated swiftly afterward in the same nation. The person in question originally went by the name of Pie – yes, like the food. She was a nonstandard human who fled her village at age twelve after being ostracized for her odd, saggy green skin, never having been given a name, and that means she's in the right place to save six-year-old Prince Alexei when his stepmother attempts to have him killed. But then three years later, Pie is killed by the royal knights, and, blessed with Alexei's powerful magic, she quickly is reborn as Eleonora, daughter of the Purpleus dukedom…but with her atrocious lower class accent intact. As far as reasons for a character to embark on a Cinderella storyline go, that one feels fairly lame.

Ostensibly, this is a story about Pie/Eleonora and Alexei (who went by the name of Ham while he was with Pie) finding each other and getting married. It's a bit questionable, however, when Pie was very much Ham's parental figure for those three years in the forest, or at the very least an older sister. Their love was strong but platonic, and now that she's eighteen and he's twenty-seven, the story wants to change that. (It doesn't hurt that she's exquisitely beautiful.) There's something just a little awkward about the set-up, and even though I do want to see them reunited, I'm not comfortable with the reunion taking on a romantic edge. Still, it's hard to argue with the fact that losing Pie had a terrible effect on Alexei; he's become cold and angry, taking a minister's statement that Pie died because Alexei didn't have enough power to heart. And that's not the only terrible experience the poor man's had: before her death, his mother “blessed” him with the ability to return to life after being killed, and before he met Pie he'd died and come back at least three times. That's the kind of experience that can mess someone up, and the story does appear to want to acknowledge it, even if developing it doesn't seem to be on the table.

Issues with the premise aside, this isn't a bad book. It ends on enough of a cliffhanger that I want to read volume two, although I admit to thinking that the original light novel is probably a better version of the story in terms of information and the fact that obvious narration works better in prose than comic form, in my opinion. The art is beautiful, too, so if you can get past Pie and Ham's relationship and how it turns into Eleonora's and Alexei's, this is a nice read.

The first part of the story had me intrigued, and I think it was a good setup or introduction for the series. Other than that, I find the art style really cute.

I think my only problem is that the storytelling is quite underwhelming for my taste? It didn't really capture my fun or enjoyment bar, especially the 2nd half.

Overall, I think it was okay. I think I'll continue this one.

Thank you, Kodansha Comics, for the e-arc.

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Date Released: September 24, 2024
Date Read and Reviewed: November 7, 2024
Ratings: 3⭐️

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga. This is an intriguing story that is similar to a lot of other reincarnated stories. However, there's a more fairy tale aspect involved that makes it unique, although it has a tiny bit of an Odiepus Rex complex that makes it a tad gross. I am though, curious to see what happens next. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

Generally cute, but I found it hard to keep track of the timelines and some of the characters. Still, I liked it enough that I'll pick up the next volume from the library if it's available.

Two and a half stars rounded down.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this manga

This was a very cute read, it was enjoyable but not enough for me to continue, but I am happy I read it

If u want a story about love, found family and also being a Prince who is just playing the cards his been dealt with a cinderlla vibe to it then this might be up ur alley

It's been a while since I was so captivated with a manga, but this one managed to stay in my mind for days.

I love a good mix of fantasy and romance, especially when it's not only focused on the romantic aspect, and this manga, with it's strong theme about friendship and how it can shape you life (along betrayal) was just great for me.

I really want to see what's gonna happen next and how will they react when they will find out the true identities of each other

It was a cute and quick read. I enjoyed the premise of the manga. I loved seeing Alexie and Pie's friendship and their reunion in Pie's next life. The artwork is stunning.

Wow this was so sad at times. Like Pie did not deserve to be treated as she was by the knights. And I get why Ham (the emperor) is jaded but I hope he and Eleanora are able figure out they know each other.

A great start to a romance manga! I love that our female MC has been reincarnated and remembers everything from her previous life as an ugly frog-looking human, but "Ham" of course does not recognize her. Meanwhile he's become ice cold, and I love reading as our heroine slowly (or sometimes quickly) crumbles his walls and worms her way into his heart. Excited for volume 2!

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

This was a cute and funny manga with a heart warming elements. I’d love to see this series animated as it reminded me of anime like sugar apple fairy tale and 7th reincarnation. The art was beautiful and the characters were funny! I’d recommend this.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
2 stars

This was a strange one. It had a lot of webtoon vibes (reincarnation, dark and brooding love interest, that kinda stuff). The art is very pretty, and the country-speak sticking with the protagonist after her rebirth is pretty funny. The "jaded emperor" love interest (Alexei) definitely has some very attractive art. Once the story got going, I enjoyed myself. Probably my biggest gripe, and why it wasn't a 3 star instead of a 2, is the strange ick-factor to the romance. Eleonora's original life was as Pie, who found Alexei (Ham, as she knew him) when he was 6 and she was somewhere over 12. It's never said how much older than 12 she is, but probably at least a couple of years. 3 years pass while they know each other, so he's 9 and she's probably close to 18. She dies, comes back, and the present takes place while she's 18 and he's 27. Now, she still has her memories, and she's lamenting the loss of her precious Ham, and it feels like she loves him already. This is all just so weird because she was an older teen and he was a *child* in her first life. It just feels weird and blah and I'm not a fan of the choice here. Without that, it would have been a cute, fun little romance manga.

3.5/5 rounded down

This was a cute volume with an interesting premise. I've read a couple romance manga/manhwa with the reincarnation trope. Intriguing to see it in a fantasy world as well. The art style is beautiful as well.

I kind of wanted more from this with a little more story development. It is likely I will pick up the next volume to see how it progresses and will go from there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️
Cute little read but the story development doesn’t seem promising to me. I feel like it’s also going to drag and create unnecessary dramas instead.
The art is very cute!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the arc of this.

I gave this a 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4 for this. It was an interesting plot and the artwork was beautiful. I enjoyed it but I wish a little more had happened in this first volume.

I’d pick up volume 2 to see how long it takes the two to recognize one another.

Just finished and absolutely loved it! The characters are adorable, and I’m definitely going to continue the series. It hits all of my favorite tropes: reincarnation, magic realism, and royals. Highly recommend if you want to read something lighthearted and fast.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for the e-book copy!

This series was definitely not what I was expecting. The Boy I Loved Became the Jaded Emporer starts as a story about a young prince and a forest creature who saved his life. Sadly tragedy strikes and one of them ends up being reincarnated starting off the journey of them reuniting. I think this gets points for being unique because I don't think I've read a reincarnation trope done this way. However, I think outside of that initial plot it kind of lacks depth. The characters fulfill a stereotype and I wish there was something else driving the story. Now things can change as the story goes on, but for me, this volume was not enough to convince me to find out.

Le premesse sono molto simili a tanti altri manga in cui uno dei protagonisti si reincarna in un altra persona, con cui poi viene a contatto in un momento successivo.
Uno dei punti cruciali di questo manga di sicuro è l'abbondanza di pregiudizi e mancanza di compassione. E ovviamente l'abbondanza di personaggi arroganti e prepotenti.
Persino le famiglie dei protagonisti sono tutti da considerare malvagi e senza cuore.

Questo volume è sicuramente un lungo prologo a quella che sarà la storia principale, dato che la maggior parte di esso è dedicato al flashback dell'infanzia del principe, in cui incontra la vita precedente della protagonista.
E' sicuramente un punto cruciale della storia, ma che forse avrei preferito venisse svelato pian piano.
Infatti il volume finisce quando finalmente i due stavano per interagire per la prima volta in privato.
Che nervoso!!! Ora voglio proprio sapere cosa succederà tra quei due e se Alexei riuscirà a capire chi sia in realtà Eleonora.

Grazie Netgalley per avermi permesso di leggerlo in anteprima. Spero vivamente arrivi anche in Italia questo manga!


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The premise is very similar to many other manga in which one of the protagonists is reincarnated as another person, with whom he then comes into contact at a later time.
One of the crucial points of this manga is certainly the abundance of prejudice and lack of compassion. And obviously the abundance of arrogant and overbearing characters.
Even the families of the protagonists are all to be considered evil and heartless.

This volume is certainly a long prologue to what will be the main story, since most of it is dedicated to the flashback of the prince's childhood, in which he meets the protagonist's previous life.
It is certainly a crucial point of the story, but perhaps I would have preferred it to be revealed slowly.
In fact, the volume ends when the two were finally about to interact for the first time in private.
How disappointing!!! Now I really want to know what will happen between those two and if Alexei will be able to understand who Eleonora really is.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read it in preview. I really hope this manga arrives in Italy too!

I thought that this was a very sweet manga. At first, it seemed like a retelling of Cinderella, and although there are definitely parallels, it sets itself apart enough to be unique. Eleonora's retaining her original accent is very endearing. I am looking forward to reading more!

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to read and review this.

This is an adorable and sweet start to this series, and I am intrigued to see how the story goes.

This is a very interesting reincarnation story, where the main character has retained her accent from her previous life, which had me chuckling and cringing throughout the book.

I look forward to seeing how the story progresses and when our hero and heroine recognise each other.

It's a potentially cute story that reminds strongly of Cinderella, although we mostly only had the tragic backgrounds of the main characters so far. Yet, one can sorta see, where this is going to.
I'm a bit confused, how Ham can recognize Pie - who looks completely different - without a hitch but Pie has trouble just because "his eyes are so cold". I mean, I know where they're coming from but it still kinda bothered me.