Reviews

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Volume 4 by Satoru Yamaguchi

Only show reviews with written explanations

estherbookster's review against another edition

5.0

5 stars
“If there's something you don't know, then all you have to do is to learn about it, right?” (95)

Keith really went and did it. I'm glad we're seeing Sora again in this one. He's so honest and real. It'd take a miracle for me to root for Jeord. Of course, everybody wants her and it's frustrating to see these characters suffer when she's thick headed and oblivious to their motives, words, and actions. Overall, don't overthink adoptive sibling love, or maybe do, I guess.

confusedmuse's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

It finally happened! The vast majority of this volume wasn’t repeated scenes! Now the author just needs to work on less telling and more showing, and we may have something here. For how dramatic the content is (Kidnapping! More black magic! This world apparently has a slave trade!) that urgency doesn’t come through in the text - possibly because our viewpoint protagonist feels like she’s gotten denser since the end of the previous volume. I was willing to accept that Katarina could not believe that anyone would be interested in her because of her role in the game, but now that it’s over and done with, her being obtuse just feels silly. Not to mention how she openly talks about how she’d marry Maria in a heartbeat if she were a man, despite the narrative trying to place her with Jeord. And don’t get me started on Keith at the end of this volume… Overall, this volume is an improvement in technical skill but still leaves a lot to be desired. But I’m rooting for the author! Reading this series feels like I’m watching a writer improve in real time, and I want to see how far they get.

venpyre's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Probably the weakest book in the series thus far.
Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of a side story delving into Keith and Katarina's relationship, but I think this one falls short because of its heavy focus on plot. This series' strong point is its characters, romance and comedy— imo any plot is best kept simple so we don't have enough time to analyze it and see how contrived it actually is (again, there really isn't anything wrong with this kind of plot if it serves its purpose). This feels like an expository book setting up future arcs rather than a contained story on its own, and you can tell the author was struggling to write the characters separated from each other. The main cast is relegated to the background, sulking because of Katarina's absence and this leads to a lot of rehashing points we're already very familiar with.

As far as story progression, we're now at two suitors who have made their feelings clear, though Katarina does her best to pretend this isn't the case. Side note: It seems like she's not opposed to being romanced as long as it starts slow, which I think makes sense as she doesn't have any real experience over two lifetimes.

merinnan's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

saidahgilbert's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Not really as funny anymore now that I am comfortable with the characters. Besides, these later books are focussing more on the "rom" part of the romcom which is not as enjoyable. Still, it's a good read otherwise.

2nd reading: It now seems that Katerina is going out of her way to be dense which makes her seem like a spoiled noble lady and that is not a nice character to read about. However, like she always says, she is a villainess.