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!

*ARC received for honest review*

Lady Maximilian, the unfavorable daughter of a Duke is forced to marry a lowborn knight, Riftan Calypse. After her wedding night, she wakes up alone without a word from her husband. Three years have passed and now he’s back, a war hero. Now a knight favored by the King, she must do whatever she can to convince Riftan to not divorce her. Until she realizes that Riftan had not come to divorce Maxi but to take her back to his estate.

I was so excited when it was announced that we would be getting an official English translation. Maxi has a stutter and has been the subject of her father’s abuse. Most of the time, Maxi is very timid and fearful of everyone. Always wondering when Riftan will lose his cool or send her back to her father. As the story progresses, you can see Maxi become more and more confident. Like Riftan, I just want to wrap her up in a blanket and keep her safe. Riftan just wants to care for her and give her everything that she deserves. He doesn’t want Maxi to feel like she lacks anything compared to when she was at the Croyso castle. What he doesn’t know is that Maxi has never actually known such luxuries. Riftan has no idea about the mistreatment and abuse that Maxi went through at the hands of her father. She’s scared that if he were to find out, the lady image that he had of her would be broken and would come to hate her as her father does.

It did slow down a bit in the middle but I still enjoy reading this book. I love seeing how Maxi’s confidence grows as the story progresses. I love her relationship with all the servants, knights, and the banter between Ruth and Maxi. I am so excited for the next volume.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This book was really hard to get into. The book opens strong with triggering content, that is not listed in the content warnings. I also found that the main characters were hard to read about. One just wanted to be grumpy and the other just wanted to be insecure. This story being in a novel I think was a disadvantage to the story and plot.

This book was probably my biggest surprise read of the year. I didn't know much about it going into it, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I loved it. Maxi was amazing and so easy to root for. Riftan was great as well. I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.

This was interesting! The SA scenes that apparently were not SA were pretty intensely described and although it was a misconception since we’re getting what happened from her pov I still don’t know how to feel about it. I’ll have to reread this volume when the next one comes out.
Other than that there were many things that although being a bit predictable were very enjoyable.

3.5 stars

Sexual assault by the main make love interest in the first few pages? I will pass on reading this. No thank you.

I requested this novel because I used to be an avid reader of the Manhwa a few years ago. I quite honestly forgot what happened and how much dubcon/noncon there was in this story. Maybe it's becaues the artwork distracted me.

Regardless, I was uncomfortable with the story and I unfortunately decided to DNF. I am sure a ton of people will like this story, however I am not one of them.

Thank you to Suji Kim, NetGalley, and Random House Publishing for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this title!

"Under the Oak Tree" is a novelization of the popular Webtoon of the same name, which follows the adventure of high-born but sheltered and abused Maximillian Croyso and her aloof, low-born-but-rising-hero husband Riftan. Three years following their arranged marriage - in which Riftan leaves for adventure following their wedding night - he suddenly returns and claims her, throwing her into a new life amidst swirling rumors of his engagement to a famed princess and her own worries about his temper and her secrets. Maxi must find her courage and power as she struggles to find her place as a wife, and as the object of her new(ish husband's desires and longing.

I had not read the Webtoon before requesting this title but have seen it advertised many times across social media, and throught that the story and art style were beautiful, and was excited to read this novelization. As many other reviewers have pointed out, however, the series begins with an account of SA between the two main characters, and I have a hard time recommending this book to anyone who may have any triggers or misgivings about reading books with this specific subject. Though the author offers a generalized "mature themes" warning at the beginning of this book, they do not mention SA specifically and it was jarring to read about within the first chapter of the book. I have seen others dub this scene as "non-con" instead of SA, and for my reviewing purposes, I will only say that there really needs to be a better warning so that readers can enter the story well-informed and make a decision beforehand about whether they wish to continue the book.

All that to be said, I still was surprised I enjoyed the story. Further encounters between the FMC and MMC grow increasingly enthusiastic, and the idea that their first encounter was not with the FMC's enthusiastic consent is darted around. The FMC has a pronounced stutter and I think the book does a good job of exploring what living with this disability in a fantasy world looks like, and provides the FMC with a way to regain power and balance in her relationship that doesn't involve her magically losing her stutter, overcoming her insecurities in two chapters or less, and becoming good at weapons and fist-fighting, which is a trope that happens a lot in romantasy which I don't care for. I found myself comparing this book to the manga "My Happy Marriage" quite a bit and I think that it follows a roughly similar timeline, albeit with a LOT more smut, which is not a bad thing, just an observation.

Overall, while I can't generally recommend this book or likely the manga/Webtoon due to the SA themes and the lack of warning of those themes on the author's part, I actually enjoyed the story going forward and would likely read the second volume when it comes out. I think there is a specific genre of readers who would enjoy this with enough specific warning about the content, but unless this is addressed so that anyone picking up the book will know before starting into the story, I don't feel comfortable giving more than a three-star rating.

Format: Ebook

Rating: 3.25

My Review- This story was a self-published novel and graphic novel but the first time I saw it was on a webtoon and I liked the story was interesting when I found it was getting picked up both the books, I heard the book so better the the webtoon. I was blessed to get an arc and I did like it better than the webtoon but only half of the book, you have a girl who is treated badly by her dad and is forced into marriage. She meets him on the wedding day and leaves her the next day to fight in a battle that lasts a long time. He comebacks and they try to get to know each other I just don't like how he treats her in the beginning and assumes things about her. It did get better and can't wait to see what happens with them.

I loved reading about their love story and watch them overcome hardships. And watch the MF develop into her new role.it was refreshing to see the MM show his love for the MF and see his story develop.

Lady Maximilian was married to the knight Riftan Calypse three years ago, but they only spent one confusing, unpleasant one night together since he had to ride off to battle. Now Rifton returns as a hero, and the king has offered a princess to him. Maxi’s both terrified to lose Riftan but, when he greets her with passion, just as terrified to stay as his wife.

I think I enjoyed this? Alright, hear me out. We’re inundated with Western-inspired fantasies and Western portrayals of the East. Here, we have a Western fantasy as seen through a Korean lens. It’s frankly delightful. The names are charmingly random. The food is described in exact detail. It’s very slice-of-life. And we have the certainty from the beginning that Maxi, while her trauma is turned up to 11, is on a road to self-discovery and true love. It’s predictable, but in a way I kind of needed right now.

My major complaints are the highly dub-con sex scenes (especially one at the beginning of the book that really doesn’t set the stage well, yikes– but note that the book does have a note from the author warning of possible triggers) and the anti-climatic ending (the latter because there seem to be 10+ volumes of this story).

Throughout the book, I thought this might be better suited to a comic, so it was satisfying to find out that it was originally a manhwa. I scanned the first couple of episodes of the manhwa, and I think the comic medium is superior. I’m especially baffled by the choice to make the sex scenes so much more dub-con and explicit than in the comic.

I ended up DNF’ing this at 44%. The writing was good but I just couldn’t connect to the characters and the plot wasn’t keeping me engaged. It was very well written, and I enjoyed that Maxi had challenges with her stutter, but I just kept waiting for something more exciting to happen and it didn’t. I think others would really enjoy this book, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

I was drawn into this one by the cover and the plot sounded very enticing. However it did leave much to be desired. It wasn't completely terrible, and it did have its moments, just maybe wasn't for me. There are a few instances of the FMC being forced into sex, and while it does show some historical accuracy in that facet, I feel like those scenes could have been glossed over just by stating how she was forced because "they had to consummate their marriage on their wedding night or it was invalidated because of how laws were at the time". I probably would have enjoyed the book a bit more if those scenes were less, but even then there's not really much substance to this one in my opinion.

I received this as an ebook ARC from Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

I read this when it first came out as a Webcomic on Manta and really liked it. After reading the book, I still think I prefer the webcomic version. One thing I enjoyed about the novel over the webcomic, is the depth that the novel was able to provide. It gave a further understanding of Maxi and the world itself. The biggest thing I didn’t like about the novel was honestly Riftan as a character. I often found him harsh, demanding and in general kind of a jerk to Maxi, except during spicy scenes. The spice was nice, but felt like it was all the characters had keeping them together. I might read the next novel just to see how it portrays their relationship moving forward.

I adored this! This will need all the freaking hype. I devoured every word. The story was amazing and I loved the characters!

Under the Oak Tree is the novel version of the popular webcomic. The story follows Maxi, a noblewoman who grew up with a speech impediment that embarrased her father Duke Croyso. He would frequently beat her while trying to correct her stutter. 3 years ago, Duke Croyso married Maxi off to Riftan Calypse a knight who then left on a 3 year campaign. Upon his return, he comes to get Maxi and take her back to his lands. He appears to be furious at her for not going there to manage his land. At firat, Maxi is terrified of Riftan, but she soon begins to see how much he takes care of her. All the while, Maxi is terrified of Riftan learning that she is not the nobelwoman that he believes, but instead the rejected daughter of the duke. In her new castle and in a new land, Maxi begins to be truly happy for the first time, but she constantly longs to be the perfect wife and useful. Riftan seems content to just spoil her and have her do nothing, vut Maxi wants to help and soon begins learning magic. Their relationship is filled with each other doubting that they are good enough for the other.

Under the Oak Tree was such a good story! The worldbuilding was rich and the characters were so interesting. Maxi's growth throughout the series is the best part. From the beginning, you absolutely want her to find a place where she can belong. The story is all about her finding her place at Calypse castle and with Riftan and his knights. Their relationship is so sweet and very steamy. Riftan adores and dotes on Maxi, but is overly protective. For the first time in her life, Maxi feels that she can offer something and be useful, but Riftan justs wants her to be pampered and spoiled. This causes tension within their relationship as well. If you want a romance with a quiet main character who begins to overcome her issues, found family, an overprotective male main character, steamy and sweet romance, and an addictive, hard to put down story, then this is perfect for you! I will definitely be anxiously awaiting the next volume.

This story was enjoyable, but it felt a little long and drawn out. It was very low stakes with more character development between Maxi and Riftan than plot. I don’t know if it was necessary to have been more familiar with the web comic before reading this, but I feel like things kind of ended abruptly. If you’re looking for something different and easy to read between other series, then this could be a good one to try out. It has lots of spice , but also a lot of miscommunication.

I’ve been excited to read this novel ever since I stumbled across the webcomic version. It was a delight to read and I can't wait to read the next book!

I absolutely loved the manhwa of this so to read it as a light novel was chefs kiss. Maxi and Riftan just kill me in the best way possible.

The relationship between Riftan and Maxi carried this whole book. Luckily, the majority of the book is focused around them, but anything else that happens plotwise did not keep my interest that much.