not bad #2

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not bad #2

continuation of my previous list -----> [https://www.novelupdates.info/viewlist/51643]

women-focused stories [KR & CN]

every story falls under the romance-fantasy umbrella and *usually* has some element of transmigration, rebirth, regression/second chance, etc.

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notes:
- majorly het/BXG, some are yuri/GXG
- my reading progress and review of each story can be seen in the descriptions, usually not spoiler-free and can be especially rant-y for the ones I feel "strongly" about
- there's a 100% chance you're going to see censored cursing in my more lengthy reviews
- no actual ranks, I just add whatever I'm reading rn to the list
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status:
- [Finished]: completed reading
- [As of chapter (...)]: still reading up to said chapter
- [On hold as of chapter (...)]: will pick up again if I'm interested/there's an update
- [Dropped]: stopped reading

0 460 26

3 Followers

JHuaaa

Created: May 23rd, 2025, Updated: Jul 23rd, 2025

Created May 23rd, 2025

Updated Jul 23rd, 2025

KR (3.9)

#1The Search for the Duchess’s Husband

74 Chapters Every 5 Day(s) 291 Readers 1 Reviews 07-23-2025

Fantasy Romance

[As of chapter 74]... more>>

I was so f*cking afraid that Artia was gonna end up with her original cheating ass husband, but thank goodness it's Killian's socially inept ass instead. Also like, this is a given, but I like Vivi and Artia better together... Vivi is just so cute. Butchfemme maid and lady. Come on I know y'all can see my vision.

I never thought I'd see a genuine side character who's a lesbian and SUFFERS from straightness. Sure, I've seen characters who are gay men, and also original FLs in a transmigration story who turn out to like women instead, but barely any of them ever sincerely address the implications of being in the closet in noble society. Since I always read stories of het female protagonists, those gay dudes become bis**uals who don't express attraction to men anymore and the girls have a big ass unrequited love for a straight woman. I feel for Julie. She had to fight against comphet but was driven to the extreme because of marriage with a man. I respect that she at least tried to run away. What finished her off was her family not accepting her true self and feelings. Thankfully, her death wasn't treated as something scandalous, but rather something tragic.

Of course, it's Helen's own fault that she rejected her daughter and dismissed her as "just being confused". It's a warranted reaction given that the setting is patriarchal and heteronormative, but goddamn if that isn't something so many lesbians and queers in general have faced after coming out to their parents. As seen with her interaction with Artia (whom she perceived to be Julie), she could've accepted Julie for who she is, albeit belatedly and after such pain. This is why having naturally accepting parents as a queer child is important. You could say that Julie was "overreacting" with how she handled the situation, and indeed her su*cide was dramaticized, but still. If she had actually married that man, Julie would've ended up like one of those damn tragic period pieces where she runs away with a mistress. I'm so, so, so glad that Artia respected Julie and didn't out her.

Julie I care so much about you even though you were just used by the narrative as a plot device.

Okay, aside from me getting attached to a literal dead lesbian side character, I think it's nice that Artia and Catherine have an unconventional mother-daughter relationship. Definitely parallels with Helen and Julie, though obviously each of their conflicts are different. These moms only realize their mistake after deeply hurting their daughters, but they evidently care about them. <<less

KR (3.8)

#2Even Extras Want to Live

14 Chapters Every 27.2 Day(s) 173 Readers 2 Reviews 09-04-2024

Fantasy Mystery Romance

[On hold as of chapter 1 part 15]... more>>

KR (4)

#3Baby Prisoner of the Winter Castle

170 Chapters Every 21.5 Day(s) 1803 Readers 4 Reviews 10-23-2024

Drama Fantasy Romance Tragedy

[As of chapter 80]... more>>

KR (3.6)

#4Instead of the Heroine, I Married the Male Lead

87 Chapters Every 2.7 Day(s) 537 Readers 1 Reviews 07-23-2025

Fantasy Romance

[As of chapter 96]... more>>

KR (4.5)

#5Bailonz Street 13

219 Chapters Every 6.4 Day(s) 1422 Readers 8 Reviews 05-16-2025

Completed Action Fantasy Horror Mystery Romance Supernatural

[As of chapter 10]... more>>

KR (4)

#6The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner

76 Chapters Every 0.9 Day(s) 258 Readers 0 Reviews 07-22-2025

Comedy Drama Fantasy Romance

[As of chapter 51]... more>>

I find Cynthia's insistence and persistent belief that she's in a romcom to be so endearing. She's so used to war in her former life that she can only accept that this new one must be peaceful, knowing how transmigration rofan cliches go. She's not gonna taking ANY possibility that this life will turn into an angstfest. Girlie really said she WILL make it a healing story whether y'all like it or not. I respect it. Cynthia views the world hilariously through the lense of a stubborn and delusional transmigrator. I really do think it's nice to see this kind of ultra-positive coping mechanism. It's a realistic one that traumatized people have: they want nice and happy stories rather than wallow in sadness. It's not like she lets herself be a doormat either, she just wants a nice life.

While sad, I also like that Cynthia's PTSD, which was carried over from her past life to her current one, is portrayed in a pretty realistic and respectable way. Yeah, her current body didn't have to go through the experience of being accustomed to such reactions, but she retains the psychological damage. I'm glad that the story didn't just gloss over what happened in her previous life and instead appropriately bring it up whenever something happens that triggers her condition, which are loud noises (e.g: gunshots, air strikes). Her strategic adaptability is a necessary thing in that environment. She can handle all kinds of social hardships, but she fears being lonely. It's not surprising how severe her survivor's guilt is considering how her family died in the war while she lived simply due to luck. Those flashback scenes really gut me.

Massera is an as*hole and is suspicious of Cynthia given the circumstances, but he can still sometimes be reasonable. Everything is balanced out by Cynthia's unbotheredness, though obviously this guy still needs to get his ass kicked. It sure is interesting to see the contrast between how the Brigadier's place operates (militaristic and orderly with typical social darwinism) compared to how it would normally go at Count Queensguard's place (a noble house where human rights don't exist; exhibit A: pew pew). Can't wait to see Maceira fall dead for girlie and Eugene become their co-owned naively childish tsundere son. Helene is a bit*h but ngl she's stuck with such a shitty man goodness gracious.

[Most of the time, when women put real effort into their looks, it was to hear things like ‘Queen, you slayed’ or ‘Take my heart, big sister’. All that attention from fellow women, that was the real reward.] EXACTLYYYYY

Medeia being a posh country with a history of brutal colonialism and nasty food, which reminds Cynthia of another country in her past life? That's gotta be Britain alright. And boy, oh boy, "Francia"? Incredible. I do like how the author based everything on IRL countries and monarchies. Absolutely no defense of the in-story monarchies about how incompetent/corrupt they were. Sure, it's annoying that Cynthia has to face antagonism from everybody all because she has pretend to be a royal, but it's understandable. I hope she can break free from this pretense soon. <<less

KR (4.2)

#7The Duchess and the Devil

120 Chapters Every 22.9 Day(s) 6221 Readers 28 Reviews 02-27-2025

Completed Drama Fantasy Mystery Romance Smut Tragedy

[Finished]... more>>

[Because eating delicious things slowly, and diligently, was important.] HE WANT THAT COOKIE BADDDDDDDDD

Highkey, this story is giving me a very terrible case of pen*s envy. But in a lesbian way. I wish I had a permanent organic strap-on, so that I can always be ready to please a stick-loving lady. And so, it disappoints me that I don't have one (no dih </3). But still, I'm a proud muff-muncher with a muff myself.

Amazing how Derrick, a literal demon, is notably not THAT r*pey. I thought he would ignore all forms of consent, but he's one of the most decent h**ny male leads I've ever seen. He's insatiable and persistent for sure, but hey... their s*xual encounters are (majorly) consensual. This demon even does aftercare, which easily puts him leagues above other degenerate MLs. He constantly teases her but not to the point of blatant disrespect; he *is* obscene, but he treats her nicely and is merely playful. Plus, he can compromise despite his hunger and doesn't engage in somnophilia.

Man... if I was Derrick... GIRL I WOULD HYPE YOU UP LIKE THE BIGGEST PERVERT TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad that Judith is in a good relationship now, she's very clearly into the attention and affection that's being given to her. I hate that Judith had to suffer so much because of this whole demon bullsh*t in the first place though. Her loving demon husband died, she had a miscarriage, and then she's accused of killing Derrick and Sylvia as a crime of passion. I would literally die out of misery if that happened to me.

The only thing I dislike about this novel was the miscarriage. I firmly believe it wasn't needed. Things were already going terribly for Judith anyway. I guess it's to make sure Judith isn't a Vaisil anymore entirely, but still, she could've just been driven out of the duchy because of her declining mental health and schemes of the collateral family. Getting double-whammied like that is way too much. Well, nevertheless, I'm glad that Judith got back on her feet after she got reunited with Derrick. She was only timid out of tiredness and anxiety, but she can be assertive and is far from a doormat. The second kiddo was successful!!!!!

Love it when demons actually act otherworldly; I really dig that the demon world's setting isn't at all like the human world and it's reflected on how nonsensical Derrick can act. It's incredibly funny that the traitorous demon is called Hannibal. Apparently, Dr. Lecter upgraded from cannibalistic psychiatrist serial killer into a literal demon of hell... or maybe this is the Carthaginian from ancient times idk. The emperor is just entirely disgusting and original Derrick is also a lunatic. One's a voyeur and the other is a pimp. Yikes. Sylvia is your typical "innocent" sidepiece. Nothing is known about her aside from that (which is a shame), but I can acknowledge that it's not her fault that she fell to Hannibal's scheme. Lastly, I thought Vincen would be like their parents, but it's nice that Judith has genuine familial support. <<less