. I came across Under The Oak Tree by Sushi Kim and let me tell you, I was intrigued and interested in what this story had to offer. Although there was a good plot and development in characters, I feel there could be much more thematic elements throughout the story to continue to entice the reader.. Although slow burned, there were good parts to make the reader focus on the details you for I felt there could be more to the story. I like the struggles, tribulations and strong essence of marriage carried out throughout the story. Strong main characters brings this book into perspective. Into the romantasy realm.

Suji Kim's Under the Oak Tree is a high fantasy romance series that enthralls its readers with a rich fantasy world and a STEAMY forced marriage romance between a low-born knight and a chronically self-concious noblewoman. This fantastic romance wedged its way into my heart and will forever be one of my favorite romances of all time!

Quick Thoughts:
- Under the Oak Tree is the PERFECT romance series for fans of world building, monsters, magic, high fantasy and (most importantly) steamy romance!
- Heroine, Maximillian Croyso, is a noblewoman with a stutter and cronically low self-esteem that slowly becomes more confident after leaving her father's abusive household and marrying Riftan.
- Hero, Riftan Calypse, is a heroic, moody, manly and handsome low-born knight OBSESSED with Maxi. Riftan is, quite frankly, my ideal book boyfriend (even if he is a bit overbearing!).
- At some points, the romance is a slow burn, but when it erupts, it is a volcano! Author knows how to write a love scene that is sure to send pulses raising while also feeling beautifully elegant.
- The forced marriage and marriage of covenience tropes are perfectly executed. Readers will rejoice in witnessing the evolution of Riftan and Maxi's romance.

3.5🌟

I first discovered this story as a manhwa/webcomic and was captivated by the art. Then when I saw the original webnovel was being translated to English I knew I had to read it. Thank you Net Galley for the arc!

This story is a romantasy set in a classic fantasy world. Maxi is the firstborn daughter of Duke Croyso, who disregards and neglects her because of her stutter and shy personality. Duke Croyso makes an agreement to marry Maxi to Sir Riftan in order to avoid his responsibility to go on a quest to defeat a dragon. Riftan, a lowborn knight and former mercenary returns after a 3 year campaign to bring his wife Maxi back to his land and begin their life together. This story shows the evolution of their relationship as they both deal with their respective insecurities and hidden secrets. Riftan has a chip on his shoulder for being lowborn and always wants to ensure Maxi has enough needs to prove his status by being able to provide and protect his high lady wife. Maxi is insecure of her stutter and the truth that she was neglected and abused in her childhood home and fears Riftan will discover she is not the high lady accustomed to wealth and grandeur that he perceives her to be.

This book is a fun, quick read about two complicated people coming together. My favorite parts are Maxi connecting with the servants and knights of Anatol as she gains more confidence in herself.

I give this a 3.5 star 🌟 I want to continue Maxi and Riftan’s story but the continuous lack of communication drives me crazy. Miscommunication trope to the extreme.

Review posted on Goodreads and Instagram (@elfs_bookshelf)

Lady Maximilian (Maxi) has lived an isolating life due to her stutter. Her cruel and domineering father fears her speech will damage the family's noble reputation. He forces her to marry Sir Riftan, a lowborn knight. Their relationship starts rocky, with Riftan's abrupt departure the morning after their wedding. After three years, he returned from the war as a celebrated hero. Determined to keep Maxi as his wife, she is taken from her home and thrust into a budding relationship with apprehension and wonder.

Both main characters are profoundly conflicted and lack the understanding of how to express emotion. You are furious with Riftan, hate him at the beginning of the book, and feel sorrow for Maxi. They were both put in situations where they had to make the best of it because they were bound by duty and fear. Maxi's character develops from a sheepish and fearful woman to someone who is beginning to stand on her own two feet and has some self-assurance, which is beautiful. Riftan's return changes their relationship, revealing his true feeling for Maxi and their marriage. The writing effectively conveys the emotions and inner struggles of the characters.

There are mentions of monsters and werewolves on the way to Rifan's home. It gives the reader a sense of dread and a balance between Maxi's innocence and the perils of her environment. You will have a sense of suspicion whenever any character mentions Maxi's father. Considering this is the first volume, there is some foreboding.

Maxi is inspiring as she overcomes significant personal challenges and past trauma to find her inner strength, which is reason enough to read this book.

I do love the idea of the plot but the author stuck so true to historical treatment of women that it felt a little uncomfortable. The MMC pushes his wife to have sex with him several times and it just felt unhealthy.

I dont know what I was thinking I was going to get when I opened this book. First thank you NetGalley and Siji Kim for the ARC copy.

These are my honest thoughts and feeling when it comes to this book.

I struggled getting into this book in the start due to how the FMC was treated by almost everyone in her life. After the first few chapters and a couple of interactions with the MMC, I was hooked. The character growth of the FMC through the story had me eating up page after page. Seeing her grow so fast into her new role was something that I was glad to be seeing. The MMC still left a bad taste in my mouth near the end of the book. I assume we will be getting more information regarding his background in the next volume. I truly don't want to hate the MMC like I do the FMC's father.

The magic system is one I can get behind. While it is not groundbreaking, there is something in its simplicity that drew me to it. I highly appreciate the chapters spent on us truly learning how it works.

When I saw this one available on Netgalley, I decided to grab it because the webcomic seems to be super popular. I ended up really enjoying it and wish I had more so I could continue my binge reading. I do wish it had a little more depth. Yes, there is a lot going on and Maxi has had an abusive life and we do get descriptions on the castle, money systems, different people, etc., but the writing still felt shallow or done in a way that creates distance between the reader and story. I wasn't completely entrenched and I kept wishing for more. Then we'd get an info dump on the money system or magic system which sometimes felt unnecessary. Like, why is the money so complicated and why should I care about this when I know it will only (probably) be important for one arc?

That all being said, I am really enjoying where the story is leading us and I cannot wait for Maxi to feel comfortable with Riftan and everyone else. Seeing her bloom is fantastic. Even the setbacks in the relationship developments make sense. Now that she cares about Riftan and these people of course she will have new worries and concerns which, with her background, can and do create obstacles.

So yeah, I really enjoyed this, I'm looking forward to reading more and might get so impatient I hunt down the manhwa to see how expensive reading that will be.

I've read the online web novel and the original Kindle (ebook) publication of the light novel: Under the Oak Tree: Season 1 volume 1.

I love the new cover; the original light novel cover was fine, but I did frequently get confused because every "season 1" novel had the same cover image.

Under the Oak Tree: Season 1 volume 1 ends sooner than this new publication with Maximilian initially being confronted by her husband, Riftan about why she did not move into his castle right after their marriage. Whereas Under the Oak Tree: Volume 1 makes it about twice as far into the story when Maximilian takes her first interest in magic.

Is the content different? It doesn't appear to be noticeably different between the web comic, first light novel publication, and this one. I looked over much of the first chapter side-by-side in comparison to the original light novel. The original novel feels like it was translated. This novel feels like it was localized, meaning after the translation, a native speaker went back and rewrote parts to flow much more naturally and poetically to improve the reader's enjoyment. Essentially, this feels like the finished product whereas the original light novel was the Beta.

Under the oak tree is a story originally from Korea translated to English.
I’ve read the manwha version and was so excited to see they are now coming out with an official English novel version.
This cover is gorgeous.
The story starts off with an arranged marriage with a lot of misconceptions of who each person is. Fortunately as the couple spend more and more time together they slowly learn about each other and their upbringing.
I personally love the Wizard/Mage character, he’s so grumpy but is always helping others.
If you like book such as A Deal with and Elf King, a court of thorns and roses, and fantasy manwhas you will love this book.
It has enemies to lovers, Cinderella syndrome, arranged marriage, strong ml, and a lot of spice🌶️
This is just the first book and ends on a cliff hanger.

This started out slow, but it got extremely interesting just before the halfway point and I could not put it down. The character development was amazing and I did not want to stop reading.

I absolutely loved this book. It was such a unique story and the writing was so addictive and I could not put this book down. I would highly recommend this book!

Under the Oak Tree by Suji Kim is a captivating and emotionally rich story that I adore. So much angst and pining between the heroine, Maxi, and her husband, Riftan, who were forced into marriage by Maxi’s father three years prior. This story is character-driven, focusing on the intricate development of its characters rather than a fast-paced plot.

The character development throughout the novel is exceptional. Watching Maxi and Riftan navigate their own faults and attempt to understand their partner’s desires is both heart-wrenching and deeply relatable. The pains of their relationship contribute to a sense of realism, reflecting the complexities of staying in love while dealing with personal struggles.

I ended up having to DNF this book. I had a really hard time getting into it. The writing style just wasn't it for me, and I felt like the story didn't quite transfer over from manwha to novel very well; to me, it was quite one-dimensional and I could not get invested enough to continue reading and see if it got any better.

This book is very consuming. Once you begin reading it, you won't want to put it down! There is so much that happens in this story, and I absolutely loved it! The relationship between the main characters is very well written. I love the character development of all of the characters, and even the side characters are lovable. Highly recommend!

I cannot tell a lie I did dnf this book.

The writing just wasn’t for me. I can tell that my friend would really enjoy this book. I do enjoy fantasy novels but there was something about the writing that didn’t jive with me. I can’t put my finger on it. I will definitely be telling my friend to read it though, it is right up her alley.

I got this book as an arc from NetGalley.

I’ve bee waiting a long time to get a physical copy of Under the Oak Tree. And even better, we are getting a novel and the graphic novel printed! I’ve kept up with the graphic novel through the webcomic. So I was definitely interested in seeing it written out in a novel form. This is just the beginning of Maxi and Riftan’s story. Three years ago, Maxi was married to Sir Riftan. A lowborn knight who has come a long way and is one of the most powerful knights and war hero. But the same night he married her, the next morning he was gone. Sent on his next conquest by the king. Maxi has stayed in her abusive father’s home. But Riftan has returned and is taking Maxi to his home of Anatol. While Riftan thinks she ignored her duties to have already gone to his home, the truth of the matter is Maxi had no idea. Maxi has been viewed as nothing because of her stuttering speech. She has been beaten among many tactics to “fix” her but to no avail. Her father has kept her in his home to avoid anyone seeing her. In doing so, Maxi has no clue how to be the wife of a war hero. But she will do her best. She will travel with Riftan and fulfill her duties in her new home with the hopes that Riftan will not toss her aside. But the more time she spends with him the more realizes that he has genuine affections for her. And that perhaps she can make a home here. It was really neat seeing the story so far in this form. I’m enjoying the story all over again and getting even more details than my first time read of the still ongoing comic. I can’t wait to get the next volume and seeing the story continue!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't typically love historical romance. I'm a contemporary romance girlie, because I hate to read romances with a power imbalance where women have many fewer rights and decision-making power than a man has. I know that that is historically accurate, but I hate to relive how women were considered only a male property. 

So, I don't know why, despite that this is marketed as "Historical fantasy romance" I expected something different in the romance aspect. Maybe it was my fault for expecting a historical fantasy book where women are equal to men, because you know, this is a fictional world (and a fantastical one) so why not make it happen?

Well, if you love a historical fantasy romance where the female MC is a damsel in distress and the male love interest is this giant, super grumpy guy who is there every time to save the girl but has some serious anger and communication issues but will do anything for the FMC maybe this is your book. If you are not into that, maybe run the other way.

This book was so long for no reason, it takes too long to become minimally interesting, but I never managed to connect with the characters. In the fantasy aspect, it was very lacking, and the explanations felt very poor for me.

Maybe the graphic novel felt a lot different while reading, but this novel wasn't for me.

So, a quick disclaimer: I haven't read the manhwa of this novelization. I wanted to see how the novelization stood on its own terms and see if it would interest me enough in reading the manhwa.

Before I get into the bulk of my review, I want to say that the novelization read pretty well overall. It didn't seem overly stiff or clipped. I think if you like the manhwa, reading the novelization would definitely be worth your time.

Unfortunately, I... didn't like this... at all. There are multiple reasons for this. Primarily, the love interest, Riftan, is just terrible. I couldn't get behind his and Maxi's romance at all. Especially not when it does that thing in some romance novels that I hate: noncon to dubcon to consensual sex. Maxi starts out afraid of Riftan (for good reason, guy is huge, has anger issues, and is generally a grump). Some of this makes sense because Maxi is very heavily abused by her father and thus, afraid of men. And a lot of Maxi's and Riftan's relationship is obscured by misunderstandings and lack of communication. Whether this resolves later in the manhwa, I don't know. The point is, I cannot root for a romance where marital rape is a factor and is also barely addressed. Riftan also almost never seems to take accountability for his anger and is very paternalistic to Maxi, which I also hate.

Again, maybe this is resolved later, but the fact is I don't care enough to continue and I don't really care to see Riftan redeemed (if he even is at all).

So, maybe good for fans of the manhwa or people interested in the manhwa, but not for me.

I was excited for this book because of the original Webtoons story. However, I struggled the entire time due to the SA the took place right at the beginning.

It was hard to follow along with the characters and I struggled with the plot.

Maybe one day I will re-visit and feel different.

I was gifted a copy for an honest review. Potential Spoilers ahead

I have read both the original rough translation of this novel and the manwha. The novel covers the first 76 chapters of the original novel and the first 2 seasons of the manwha. The beginning is a little slow in terms of plot development. However, that energy is given to character development and world building. You really get to know our FL (Maxi) and the ML (Riftan).

To keep it vague as possible Maxi is of noble blood and lacks self confidence due to her disability and her rough upbringing. She is forced into a marriage with a knight who leaves immediately for 3 years for battle. Upon his return she is swept away to his kingdom and begins to learn her new royal duties all the while trying to not let those around her down for fear of rejection.

To say that this novel is spicy is an understatement. The consent in the beginning is questionable at best but not the worst I have read, and given the feudal setting it doesn't surprise me. Don't misunderstand, I don't condone non-consensual relations but all I say is take into consideration the broader story.

If you are coming from the comic the interactions and Riftan are a lot more intense, so it can catch you off guard. So be prepared as the comic definitely portrays him more favorably in terms of his actions. ( I think it helps having pictures to go with the dialogue rather than just the text).

This novel really picks up halfway through and we get to really see the beginnings of, albeit slow, changes in Maxi (and Riftan). Given that this adaptation will most likely be at least 6 volumes worth of novels we are in for the long haul. Watching Riftan and Maxi get to know each other and their love blossom is truly a beautiful thing.

If you love fantasy, tremendous character development and world building, blossoming love and a weak to strong FL then this novel is for you!

Thank you again to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.