This was so much fun!! I went into the book completely blind, not knowing what to expect and it truly was a pleasant surprise.

The artwork was amazing and very colourful. The story was gripping and the characters were very interesting.

Can't wait to read the next volume!!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!!!

This is one of those villainess stories that really grabbed my attention and I just needed more inmediately.

As many others, our protagonist has a horrible ending and a new chance at life and she grabs it with both hands, vowing to survive this time around and come on top. Kayena is not only beautiful she is brilliant, and watching her manipulate her way in the various palace intrigues is very satisfying.

The art is amazing, I am a bit of a snob, as in I absolutely enjoy onepunch man but could never read the original ONE manga, so take my word when I say that the art is stunning.

This one is a great read for anyone that enjoys the reincarnation trope and a smart character making sure she can survive and thrive in dangerous place.

I really loved the concept of the storyline in this Manga! It was well drawn and the storyline was without a hitch!

Another transmigration story, but this one holds my attention a bit more than the rest I have read in this genre. I'm always a sucker for a cunning FL, and this FL is extremely cunning! Cunning to the point where other characters are confused how she suddenly became so intelligent overnight, but that gets glossed over very quickly. I don't know why it's glossed over so fast, These other characters should be a little more suspicious, as she was considered a vapid bubble-headed brat, but whatever. She is now a brilliant strategist, using her knowledge of the future (though the story acts as if her life in our world was her "second life," which is a very weird choice) to manipulate the events into becoming favorable toward her. Her goal is to choose a husband of her own, to avoid her bloody fate with her abusive husband from the original timeline. However, the plot blurb for this book is very odd. There are no romantic male leads in this volume. Even if there was, there technically should only be one, seeing as the only other option is her literal blood brother. Yikes. The art is gorgeous if you ignore certain things that are very obviously traced over from a 3D model. Pretty much ALL manwha do this now, so it's easy to ignore.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

The art in here is so pretty that I could just stare at some of the scenes for a long time. The storyline is good, and the translation is understandable. Love.

I love reading manhwa's so I was excited when I got approved for this!
I think the art in this one is done beautifully and is really suited for the type of story with the court drama and the plot of going back in time. I think the story is good enough to keep you enticed and the art doesn't pull away but adds to it and complements well. I can't wait to see where this story goes.
Thank you to Yen Press and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press/Ize Press for the e-arc!

First of all, I love the art. It is gorgeous and one of the best art I have seen in manhwa, However, I sadly didn't enjoy the plot. I don't find Kayena a likeable character. Her stepbrother has a weird sister complex for her which is a trope I don't like in general and a nasty temperament. As for ML, I can't say much other than he is pretty.

Another fun take on the villainess storyline but I was not interested in the romantic plot. Thanks for providing me with the ARC.

The Villainess is a Marionette is a perfect blend of court intrigue, romance, and power dynamics, as well as a great addition to the isekai genre. Our heroine, Kayena, was an imperial princess--framed as an evil villainess and left to a wretched fate in her past life. Unexpectedly, she goes back in time to relive her past, meticulously altering it to avoid a bitter end and hopefully attain freedom. This time, Kayena vows to no longer be a puppet of her vicious brother, nor fall victim to a jealous and abusive husband, but instead claim power in her own right. Thus begins Kayena's fight to cut the puppet strings she strained against in her past life and stand on her own in the treacherous imperial palace.

The first volume of this manhwa sets the tone for Kayena's uphill battle against her dire circumstances. She is trapped in a web with enemies on all sides, and desires only freedom from her past and the palace itself. The artwork is a gorgeous contrast to this dark and twisty narrative, with spectacular character designs and opulent detailing. While the art is a highlight of the volume, the plot is serpentine and requires readers' full attention to follow the various motives and schemes within the palace. Kayena has a great advantage in knowing how the story played out in the past, but is constantly juggling her volatile younger brother, indifferent father, and previously one-sided love interest. By the way, if you're looking for a green-flag male lead, Raffaello is the one! Every panel with him is a delight to the senses, and romance readers will be stunned! I can't wait for the next volume in Kayena's story!

Thanks again to Yen Press for providing me an advance reading copy of The Villainess is a Marionette, Vol 1. My review is, as always, truthful and unbiased, and I hope it helps introduce readers to new books they will love!

I love a good villainess isekai, and this one brings a fun twist to the trope. Kayena lived her first life as herself, a princess in this fantasy world, then lived a second life in the "real world," where she read the books about her fantasy life. Now she's got a second chance at living her original life as Princess Kayena, reset to a time where she's still got time to turn things around.

This is the first volume in the series, and I'm eagerly awaiting volume 2! I definitely recommend this one for fans of Villains are Destined to Die by SUOL & Gwon Gyeoeul.

Thank you Yen press for the copy!

Another fun take on the villainess storyline. I really love how clever and sneaky the FMC is and I’m super interested to see how her relationship with Raffaello changes as he seems to be slowly growing more affectionate for her.

I will admit there were a few times the story skipped around with characters that I got a wee bit confused. Mainly with her lady’s in waiting and Olivia but it got much clearer as the story went on.

Super interested to see where the story goes.

3.5 Stars.

The story was gripping (though the realtionship between the half-siblings gave me the ick every now and then) the pacing was fast and the drawings were gorgeous.

Can't wait for the second volume!

Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press/Ize Press for the e-arc!

I am always down to read new villainess stories and this did not disappoint. The Villainess Is a Marionette follows Kayena Hill, a novel villainess who is used as a pawn in her brother's schemes and left to die. When she wakes up as Kayena Hill again, she resolves to change her future for the better. This plot is nothing new if you are a fan of the villainess genre but this title so far has done it well. Kayena realizes the best way to avoid being a pawn is to be equally manipulative. I am willing to see where this goes after this volume and recommend checking it out when it is published.

This was an intriguing and visually captivating start to a new fantasy romance manga series. The story follows the main character, who is reincarnated as a villainess and she seeks to change her fate and navigates her new world to secure a better future for herself, a common trope for these types of novels. The artwork was beautiful and the ending has left me curious as to what will happen in the next volume.

I absolutely love these kinds of comics!! Reincarnated princess who has precognition & bosses her way through political court life. Kayena was so smart & cunning & a pleasure to read. I’ll definitely be buying a copy of this once it’s available, and will recommend to readers of Villains Are Destined To Die & Beware the Villainess!

I have read this on tapas and it’ is very similar, this one’s art style is softer and less vibrant, I prefer a darker style for a dark story. Still a gripping dark reborn story.

Review to come a few days before the release day on my blog/other places.

I received this book from the publisher + Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Despite having read many many villainess stories (either humorous/serious/romantic/scheming) I always want more so I was excited when I spotted this one up on Netgalley. Of course I had to request it, of course I had to read it. Also because the cover was just stunning!

In this one we meet a princess named Kayena, she is currently at her third life. Yup. Whereas we have had many villainess stories featuring people getting a second chance or with people isekai-ed into the villainess body this one is a bit different. In the first life Kayena was a Kayena, in the second life she was a woman from Korea who read about Kayena's life in a book, and in the third she is getting a new chance at being Kayena. It was so much fun because she has her memories from her first life, but also the memories of what she read in the second life, so she is quite knowledgeable on what to do next. Because this girl? She is done with being a puppet to everyone. In the first life she helped her brother became emperor and she did everything for him which ended horrifically. In the second life she was a puppet to a boss and also ended up dying horrifically. So naturally, she is done with all that and I was curious to see how she would become the puppeteer instead of the puppet. She is going to be holding the strings and people will dance to her tune. 

And it was great fun to see her plot, scheme, and do all she could to change the events that are set to happen. For one she has changed herself. From the original Kayena who was spoiled, didn't care much as long as everyone complimented and catered to her to be more calm, more intelligent, less dramatic, less spoiled princess. And of course (because she went a 180 degree to another personality) everyone has noticed (and we see through various people important to the story how they feel about this/see them reconsider what they are doing which I absolutely loved). She knows the story, she knows the pawns and the characters, she knows what is the end game and she wants to make sure that this time everyone, including her, get a happy ending. I loved seeing her scheme, plot, plan, and think of some brilliant plans. At times it did get a bit much or too explain-y, but in overall I had fun seeing Kayena take the reins and try her best to get her happy ending and help out others (if they so deserve, haha). I also loved how she flipped a switch around her brother. Instead of complaining and simping over him like she did in the first life she is kind, nurturing, holds him, tries to help him and motivate him to gain the throne in different ways like side with other nobles/houses which leads to confusion but also a changed opinion on his sister. 

So yeah, I am definitely rooting for Kayena, she deserves a happy ending, she deserves her freedom. And I am curious to see how the next volume will go and what will happen there. 

But the COOKIES. Seriously, you would have to be fucking blind. They are all acting as if it was hard to spot and that they didn't examine it right. BOY, the almond was like ALL of the cookie. Plus, why the fuck would she eat that? There are no epipens. Was she hoping that she didn't die from a little bite? I have a nut allergy and no way in hell even with epipens nearby will I eat nuts, even a little bit. Nope. 

The art was just amazing and I love love the style. I was so jelly of Kayena's on point make-up and her absolutely stunning dresses. The artist really put so much love in those. 

Oh, and I loved the bonuses at the end of the novel with details on several characters. 

All in all, I need NEED the next book in the series because I want more. I would recommend this one to all who love villainess stories (especially changed villainesses).

I love this manhwa so much. The fmc and mmc are everything good in this life. I even like the "villain". In my defend, he is so cute haha. I do recommend this manhwa to everyone because it has everything: romance, mystery, intrigue and good storyline.

The Villainess is a Marionette: Vol. 1, written by hanirim and illustrated by manggle, is a lusciously illustrated isekai story following a born-again princess in her quest to outwit the storyline of the novel she is reincarnated into. It's a fairly typical story involving the internal politics of Kayena's royal family and their rival and allying families, and her attempts to leave the drama of royal life behind in her second change at life.

For me, it felt a little hard to connect to the overall story of The Villainess is a Marionette, mainly because Kayena doesn't yet feel quite like a villainous character and there were no real trials for her to overcome through volume 1. It also feels like we skipped a big part of the story from the beginning, in which we could have had the opportunity to see her grow into being powerful. We begin the story as a reader when she's able to stand up for herself as a protagonist and is able to break out of being "used" by her brother, and is instead able to be the puppetmaster of the family she's now reborn into.

But in being the puppetmaster, she is doing actions that don't quite make her feel like a villain. Her wants are reasonable. I connected less with this because I expected her to be truly villainous, or at the very least, be a frustrating protagonist or be put into frustrating situations.

All that said, I did find the first volume beautifully illustrated and I rather like Kayena's character. She's cunning and brilliant and is able to garner real sway in her surroundings, and I anticipate that as the story evolves, she will too. And not only that, she's able to place herself a few steps ahead of her would-be enemies, and is able to sway them onto her side rather than further foster bad relationships. She's highly interesting to me as a reader, and she's fascinating to watch make advanced plots against the people she wishes to defeat. manggle's art style is lucious and it showcases the beauty of these royal characters, which on its own makes it very easy to immerse yourself as a reader within the storyline.

Thank you to hanirim, manggle, Yenpress, IZE Press, and netgalley for an early copy to review!

Murder. Reincarnation. Politics.
Kayena has been manipulated and fooled by her brother for the last time. A modern woman is somehow reincarnated into the princess of a novel. The new and improved Princess Kayena is steadfastly determined to change the course of everyone’s lives by not allowing Regef to become Emperor. She will play the game because dying again is not an option and she will no longer be anyone’s Marionette.

#ThxNetGalley #YirimHan #TheVillainessIsAMarionetteVol1