Delightful read! The romance was enough to keep me reading despire how much I wanted to slap the both of them for their lack of communication. Also I would very much like to see her father thrown off a very tall hill. Very intrigued to see if there is a confrontation between her, her father, sister and her husband. Would love to see what happens next.

The first half of Under the Oak Tree is rough and I almost dnfed, but I'm glad I pushed through. In the beginning Maxi is peak blushing virgin and doesn't seem to even understand what sex is, let alone be able to consent to Riftan on her wedding night. There are a lot of sex scenes in this book (they use polite euphemisms for genitalia and are generally written well enough), but I'd say the first few are rape just because Maxi doesn't understand what's happening and believes sex to be a frigid, dutiful affair between man and wife. Riftan also doesn't listen to her when she says no or clearly seems uncomfortable because he's just so horny for Maxi.

Aside from traveling between castles and the dubcon/noncon sex, not much else happens until 50% in when Maxi takes on her duties as lady of Calypse Castle. Here we get learn more about the cast of characters, in particular Ruth the mage, and see how Maxi takes to her new life away from her father. I enjoyed seeing her grow and come out of her shell a bit more. The worldbuilding was also interesting with the politics between countries and the magic system. I'll likely read more, though I may switch to the comic instead as I grew tired of being in Maxi's self-deprecating head at times.

If you can get past the slow start and rape in the beginning, then the story actually gets interesting. I don't blame if you if you can't though.

Cover - A++
Story Overall - I still really like it, knowing what I do about where it goes (though I am hesitant to recommend the novel over the comic for the following reason for first timers)

Max as a narrated character versus a comic character is so painful to read. Half the point of this book is her character growth, but holy heck is it a slough to get through the first volume before those changes start to occur.

I had always heard amazing things about this webtoon, and to be able to have the chance to actually read it was wonderful. I absolutely loved it and can't wait for more. Thank you for the arc.

I really wanted to enjoy this but I found I struggled with the pacing and the choppiness of the dialogue. There were some aspects that I enjoyed but overall this was a difficult read for me.

This was a very quick read and I was thoroughly intrigued. I liked the worldbuilding of the medieval aspect but nothing spoke out to me.

I read the comic version first and this one sticks very closely to it. There's SA and the relationship comes off more as a bully romance in the beginning with lots of miscommunication/lack of communication. While there are scenes where the MCs are tender towards each other and you can tell that they care for each other, it definitely comes off harsher here than the comic. I really wanted to like this one more than I did but there wasn't much depth to the characters or plot. It started off with some action and a clear journey but once they get to Riftan's home, the plot slows tremendously. I'm hoping as the series continues, we see more worldbuilding and character growth (I'm sure we will since this is just the beginning). I'd recommend the comic version first and then if you like that and want to read the novelization, give this one a try.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a DRC from Inklore via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

So many Romantasy books these days center around an already badass FMC who worked hard in her past to get to where she is today. Under the Oak Tree Vol. 1 gives the reader the distinct pleasure of witnessing Maxi transform from an abused, sheltered lady to a capable badass, and the journey is so worth it.
The world Kim creates is rich, but Vol. 1 is just dipping the reader's toe in the water. I love how epic the universe is, how Maxi's journey is ever changing but her perseverance and adaptability is unwavering. There's romance, adventure, tension, all wrapped up in a wheel that keeps turning and keeping the reader engaged.
Overall, this book and its universe are addicting. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I DNF this book early on. This book is written in an awful way that makes it uncomfortable to read - and I like dark books.
I think there are ways to write books this dark without it making the readers feel dirty/uncomfortable.

I was not expecting the amount of smut right from the start. This is not a complaint. I'm reminded of early romance and fantasy novels where the woman doesn't have much agency in the beginning but has some by the end of the book. The consent is very dubious, bordering on non-existing in the beginning especially. Maxi is soft-spoken with a stutter that has been punished harshly by her father for years and has the low self-esteem to match. Riftan seems to have two big feelings. One is anger and the other is desire. He has a strong handle on neither of these. If Maxi had remained a wilting flower under her big, strong husband's wants, I would have hated this but Maxi starts to make decisions about what she wants and doesn't let him strong-arm her. The romance is, again, reminiscent of early romance novels where a woman having wants and desires is frowned upon and a lot of that comes with dubiously consented to intimacy. I look forward to Volume 2 and really hope to see Maxi learning how to put herself and her wants over what everyone wants of her.

i just wanted to reach into the book and hug Riftan and Maxi and tell him everything would be ok but there were times I also wanted to shake the ever loving 💩 out of them and tell them to smarten up!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Trigger warnings are important to read here too.

I was drawn in by the beautifully designed book and pretty art and what seemed like an interesting storyline for a romance where an anxious and oppressed girl starts to find her voice in the world and a new love.

I know this was adapted from a web novel and it reads that way for sure. Which isn't inherently a bad thing, but I think it could have been edited a little more smoothly together. This could be a translation issues as well though.

The plot was a bit of a let down, Maxi never reaches any kind of potential in this first novel, her romance isn't giving me anything to actually root for either. Being "nice" doesn't actually make a difference when you are opening the book with SA in the marriage. Made it hard to come back from. It would have been possible, but there was no actual development in their relationship other than she started to actually enjoy their bedroom activities sort of. None of the characters were developed enough for me to care about what happens to them. We didn't get enough world building or plot development to make the romance issues inconsequential to the enjoyment of the story either.

Maxi trying to become a mage is the most interesting thing that happens in this first volume and they barely give us enough information and time to really explore that as well. Nor does the Love Interest in this romance, which is the main plot of the story, give any kind of actual support towards her goals. I just needed them to have an actual conversation.

I'm sure some of these problems might get addressed further in the story, but nothing that happened in the first 39 chapters that are in this first volume enticed me enough to make me want to continue reading about Maxi and Rifton.

You know the romance is failing when I start hoping she leaves her husband for her magic teacher and his sorcerer.

1.5 stars is my final rating, Ruth the sorcerer helped bump it up just a bit.

No. An insane amount of marital rape, verbal abuse, trauma bonding and its romanization of that is awful .

THIS IS SO GOOOD!!!! 5 STARS!
I have read the manhwa of this novel, but let me tell you the novel has my heart!

First things first, this book was MUCH STEAMIER than I thought it was going to be!
Secondly, I thoroughly enjoyed myself with it. I had a great time with it, and can't wait for the next installment!

Maxi, the daughter of the Duke of Croyso is forced into an arranged marriage to Sir Riftan. Maxi spends one night with him where he forcefully consummates the marriage before he disappears the following morning. Three years later he returns after war to bring her to his castle.

Maxi has a significant stutter which resulted in years of torture and humiliation from her father. For this reason she has a hard time trusting that Riftan cares for her and will not just leave her. She did not receive the normal instruction of what is expected of a lady and must learn as she goes as she is afraid to tell Riftan. She is so afraid that if he finds out how little she knows and how she was treated in the past he will be disgusted with her. Many of their disagreements and the anguish she puts herself through could be avoided if they would just communicate with each other.

Really good 😊👍🏻
I really appreciate the publisher for sending this book
Thanks netgalley and the publisher for the copy of the book

do you like the naive virgin trope + a FMC with extreme low self esteem?

then this is the book for you!

Let me just start by saying that I had high hopes for this book after hearing a lot of good things about it, and people being excited that it was being traditionally published as a novel, but I did not enjoy this book.

It started off with a descriptive of an SA between a husband and an innocent wife on their wedding night, where she had no idea what was going on, and told him no and to stop many times. And then he leaves her without a word for three years, comes back and then instantly blames her for not fulfilling her wifely duties while he was gone? And THEN when he comes back, he SAs her again and there's more instances of it later on as well. And this is supposed to be the romance everyone loved in the graphic novel? I'm so confused on why some people talked this up. I get that this is a fantasy romance that takes place in medieval times when that was acceptable and was expected, but it's not now, so lets not make it a thing, please and thank you. Nothing else that happened in this book redeemed these characters for me.

Maxi was a terrible FMC. She just let everyone walk all over her constantly and couldn't stood up for herself and because of her stutter and severe lack of confidence due to familial abuse. But I still couldn't find myself rooting for her or caring about what happened to her. Riftan was just as bad, but in another way. Instead of letting everyone walk all over him like Maxi did, he was the one that walked all over her. After coming back from his three year journey fighting dragons, he instantly verbally attacks her and doesn't listen to a single word that she has to say after he left her without a word on their wedding night..... after SAing her. The relationship between the two lacked so much chemistry and stemmed from marital rape... Of course, with the relationship starting like that, I don't care what happens in the relationship afterwards to "progress" the relationship, I would never root for this. I'm pretty sure Maxi just had stockholm syndrome and thought she had feelings for him after what he did to her.

I will not be continuing this series.

I read the manhwa and was so excited to see this pop up on my NetGalley! I feel this goes into further detail of Maxi and Riftan's relationship and dynamic. I thoroughly enjoyed this version of their story and cant wait for more! Maxi is my favorite and she deserves only the best in life after all she has endured!