A fairly generic shojou manga in which after helping a young man out, our lead discovers he is a sheikh and now wants to marry her. The lead is money obsessed (which is her main trait) except when it comes to other people being hurt by her antics (thus allowing the audience to still like her). The sheik is a pale pretty boy character with stalker tendencies.

Honestly, I don't have much else to say. It goes most of the directions one would expect it to go. There's nothing particularly wrong with it (I should note that it does have some nice artwork) but it just seems bland in comparison to so much of the other manga being released. Nothing sets it apart really in terms of style or content. I'm sure some manga fans will love it, but there's just nothing in here to make me think that I'll pick up the second volume. 2/5

My thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to read and review this manga. I'll be honest, at first when I saw this manga, I thought it was going to be something that I really enjoyed, however, I do agree with some of the other reviews of this and I believe because of such a likeness to some of the middle eastern culture and its seemingly satire look about it in this volume, it is not going to be very well received. There are also random acts of violence that seem to be just added for plot and the end introducing another character in the mix to make it a triangle for the future just made things worse for this. I think personally, if you want to ignore everything wrong with this volume, you should check it out. However for me personally, I am glad to have read this for myself, but I will most likely not be continuing. Because of these points, I have to give this a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Maybe it’s just me but this book kept giving me Twilight flashbacks. The main love interest is a pale red eyed 17 year old boy with an almost limitless supply of money and some pretty stalkerish tendencies. I don’t know if this was intentional or not but I found those details very distracting. I’m not sure if this book racist or not. Some parts are pretty funny.

I was given this ePub in exchange for an honest review so thank you Kodansha Comics and net galley.
I wanted to start off to say what initially intrigued me about this manga was the title and and art, as an Arab it is very rare that we see any aspects of our culture depicted in mainstream media without being offensive or just completely inaccurate. This was no different, while the content itself wasn’t inherently offensive they’ve just used the Middle East as an exotic setting for the story to take place in without doing any real research on our culture or customs. While I do think the average shojou reader will find the story entertaining it just wasn’t for me.

3.5/5

I received this book in exchange of an honest review, from the lovely people at Kodansha Comics and Netgalley.

Sanagi Yoshino knows how important money is. She is a dedicated worker during off time from school trying to support the financial turmoil her family has been left in ever since her father business collapse and her mother died. One day during work, she is offered to help a stranger to escape the hotel she works in only to reveal he was planning to take his own life. Sanagi rush in, prevents it and before we know it a day afterword this mysterious man appears again, proclaim to be a Sheikh from a prosper land and desires her to be his wife. I think you know this plot is pretty typical for a shojo manga. A 101 class routine if you will, girl/boy saves despairing love interest and in return they are infatuated with them and solves all their life problems. Which Lui, the love interest does. He seems all too perfect, but not without an edge to him and folly, and he is not the real king in line for the throne which was a nice change I appreciate but his brother is. Also you can tell Rin Miasa took immense inspiration from the Arabian culture for her fictional country which isn't far fetch considering that there our some Muslim originating in the South and East of Asia. It is pretty fast foreword guilty pleasure read and I don't mind continuing this series because I love reading something fluffy as this. I really am excited for the next volume!

4/5 Good read and art!

First off, this isn't a harem thankfully (not into them). The story is about a high school girl struggling with money and she meets a "prince charming". Was a bit iffy at first but really enjoyed the story as it went along. I will be picking up the next volume and I suggest you do as well if you like romance. :)

Disclaimer: I read this in advance on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

**ARC provided by Netgalley for honest review**

With the Sheikh in His Harem 1 by Rin Miasa was a very light shoujo manga about a high school girl who gets proposed to by a desert prince after she saves his life. It's pretty insta-lovey so far, but at least the setting for much of this volume was uniquely refreshing. Not much else to say at this point, but may continue with later volumes.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this!

I absolutely loved this manga, it was so cute!

I love the interactions between the characters and I can see this being a very interesting storyline, I am keen to continue this series!

This was a very fluffy story about a Japanese high school girl who meets an Arabian prince who proposes marriage after meeting her once and takes her to his country. Her dad is completely fine with child marriage and shipping his teenage daughter off to another continent with a stranger.

It wasn't really my cup of tea, the plot is uneventful, the conflict is all over the place, and the relationship dynamic of the main characters was annoying. The art wasn't bad though and the heroine is headstrong and determined and gets shit done. In the end I just couldn't get over how ridiculous it was that this was supposedly an Arabic country. Except for the architecture and the supposed "harem" (of one) there was nothing remotely "Arabic" about any of this. I suppose it was just a little juvenile for my taste.

This is a sort of slice of life (as in an over-the-top Cinderella) manga. A foreign prince meets a commoner Japanese girl. After that political and relationship hijinks ensue. It also has some serious moments as well.

I like the main character. She is the main money maker for her family. Her mind is trying to pay off debt instead of being a normal teenage girl.

Her life changes when she meets a superrich prince.

My favorite parts are when she has such spastic reactions to extravagant spending.

The political fallout in the story has me intrigued. I want to see how this plays out in the rest of the series.

What I like about this was that it was far from being a stereotypical romance manga. It was fun and had a depth that I didn't first expect which made it even better! Great beginning to the series~

Suspend your disbelief and just think of the fictionalized Middle-Eastern spin as a more realistic isekai setting. With the Sheikh in His Harem is a fluffy boy meets girl story with fantastical elements that still manage to be grounded in reality. Miasa knew what they were doing by introducing a cute mascot and ending with the cliffhanger at the end of volume 1. (I received a free ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

not my favorite it had fun parts , the characters was ok I wish the story was more developed ahe anime looked excellent

It was painful to read With the Sheikh in His Harem. I knew this wasn't my cup of tea, but I'm always eager to try, since you never know. Sanagi is in high school and thinks only about money, since her mom has died and her dad is in debt. Oddly enough Sanagi is working, but her dad cannot land a job and thus Sanagi brings the food to their table. She has a sibling too. At work she ends up saving this blond Arabian prince and the prince somehow falls madly in love with her and wants to marry her asap. Suddenly she's flown to his kingdom and the prince pays of her family's debts and Sanagi wants to repay the extremely rich dude everything back. Right. I just don't get the "money is everything" and why a kid should support a family. Also, the whole romance feels weird for the same reason, Sanagi is basically a kid still. The world and setting is grownup and like a bad Harlequin novel with a modified language translator fox.

The art is OK, pretty basic girly sparkly stuff. Someone could explain me why the prince is blond and Western looking if were in Arab countries though. With the Sheikh in His Harem is a mixture of everything, but it does nothing well enough. It plays all the cliches and I don't know how girls that respect themselves can read this. For Japanese reader this is a fairy tale somewhere far off, but for us it doesn't work the same way.

With the Sheikh in His Harem vol. 1 (a pretty misleading title, you soon learn) sets up the start of Sanagi's story - a girl who finds money to be the most important thing in her life. She needs it to support her sister and father. When she's offered the chance to have all of her family's debt paid and have them live comfortable lives if she marries the stranger she just met... you can guess what decision she makes.

This isn't a story that takes itself too seriously or is worried about being forward thinking. It's just a classic model of a girl being saved by a rich boy and whisked into a whole new world of romance, an evil mother-in-law, and a likely love triangle set up. But, that's okay if that's the kind of fantasy story you're looking for and just want to be swept away in something for a bit.

If you are looking for something really logical, realistic or unique, this probably isn't for you - but if you just want to read something light, fun, silly and that has the set up of being a relatively predictable plot line, you'll probably enjoy this one.

Royalty in Love – With the Sheikh in His Harem Vol. 1 [Manga]

Author: Rin Miasa
Publisher: Kodansha
Genres: Romance, Shoujo
Published: May 2021

Having multiple spouses is normal and accepted to some religions and cultures. This is especially true for the royal families during the olden times. Nowadays, harems are far and few, since it’s frowned upon by modern society for several valid reasons. Nonetheless, such a topic is still widely tackled in manga and anime. Of course, it’s mostly done in unrealistic settings and whatnot.

Contains Spoilers

Discussion Time

The story begins when the second prince of the filthy rich country of Armadia needs to be smuggled out of a hotel. He enlists, for a price, our protagonist Sanagi to sneak him out rolled up in a carpet. The reason he wants to escape is so he can commit suicide, an attempt foiled by Sanagi and before she knows it prince Liu falls madly in love with her changing her fate forever.

Why You Should Read With the Sheikh in His Harem Vol. 1

1. Not-really-a-harem Harem

Honestly, the title is misleading, which results in a pleasant surprise. Even though it suggests that Liu, the Sheikh, has a harem, the reality is far from that. True enough, Sanagi claims to be part of Liu’s harem, however, she is the only one in it. Liu said that he only needs Sanagi in his harem. As long as he has Sanagi, he doesn’t need anybody else. Yeah, that line got us too! If you’re not much of a harem fan, then don’t go counting this series out of your reading list yet. Just ignore the title and give it a try.

2. A Look Behind a Cult?

The kingdom of Armadia is quite unique. It’s not just a country, but also a religious cult. The way it’s run is similar to Vatican City, but instead of the pope, the royal family is seen as the divine. This is quite interesting as the series portrays Armadia’s constituents as devout followers that both fear and admire the royal family. In fact, there’s a scene where Liu easily makes a merchant confess simply by staring at him. On Liu’s defense, he does possess the unique red eyes that only the males of the royal family possess, and we can definitely see how red eyes can be terrifying.

Why You Should Skip With the Sheikh in His Harem Vol. 1

1. A Bit Difficult To Get Giddy

Admittedly, the series has multiple squeal-inducing scenes and lines. However, the fact that Sanagi only agrees to marry Liu out of financial burden kind of spoils the mood. Even though Liu doesn’t intend to manipulate or harm Sanagi by unconsciously putting pressure on her, we still find his mindlessness a bit bothersome. On his defense, though, he is still a seventeen-year-old child. Nonetheless, Liu can be unintentionally obnoxious and unwitting at times.

Final Thoughts

Just like most romance series, both Sanagi and Liu’s lives change the moment they meet each other. Liu saves Sanagi and her family from financial hardship, while Sanagi saves Liu’s life. Overall, fans of similar series may find With the Sheikh in His Harem interesting. After all, there are multiple cute scenes. However, the series comes short in terms of wow factor and can even come off as average.

By: Christian Markle

Not going to lie, I mostly picked this up because I thought it was going to be offensive on some level. Japan doesn’t care about things being politically correct, so I was expecting something to annoy someone. The only thing it achieved was being boring.

The story is your typical shojo story. Girl meets guy, they start dating/married, there’s a love rival or triangle, blah blah blah. There’s nothing new here, and it’s honestly ridiculously dull. It’s the same tired tropes in an Arabian inspired country (with a very white population), and with wet blanket characters that barely have personality.

Initially I thought this might be a bit like Nina the Starry Bride, which I picked up a few weeks ago but while “humble girl, rich guy” is the very broad overall premise I think ‘With the Sheikh in His Harem’ (note: I really not like the title) has more going for it.

Sanagi is the hero of the story. Her father is in debt and her family is struggling. Her mother died a while back and Sanagi is a main breadwinner. She “meets” a stranger at her place of work, after their encounter he returns and proposes.

The beginning coupled with the cute art, over the top moments lead you to think this will be quite silly but then then the first dark story elements get thrown in and it’s clear that Sanagi’s new life and husband isn’t going to be just palaces and presents. As a first volume I think this does a good job of capturing the reader, I would like to continue on to see how the story and characters develop.

I think this book is a great start to an interesting story. Definitely entertaining. I am glad the the "harem" part of the title is not really what you would normally think it is as it is only Sanagi and no one else. I definitely look forward the reading more in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

With the Sheikh in His Harem Vol. 1 is an "edgier" manga but this was a lot of fun! It's the first manga I've read where we have an exotic location and I'm here for it!

The heroine, Sanagi, is a very hard worker. She was her family's breadwinner and I absolutely love how she supported her family. Even though her situation changed drastically, she still seeks to be true to herself and work hard. The hero, Prince Lui, is a fun character - passionate with some demons. I enjoyed how he discovers the beauty and joy in life with Sanagi.

Can't wait for the next volume.

Highly recommend!