This novel was very interesting. Fun is weird word, but I was having fun watching how Penelope was trying to figure her way out of everything. I'm very curious how the love interests will change as the story goes on. Also from the premise, I wasn't expecting some of the more tragic aspects. I was kind of expecting this to just be ridiculous, but Penelope's able to ground the story because of the complex emotions she's having to deal with because of her back story and the current abuse she is suffering from.

The translation also felt very readable. I will definitely be looking forward to the next volume of this series.

Thank You NetGalley and Yen Press | Ize Press for the ARC!

Reincarnated into the body of Penelope Eckhart, A college student now had to find a way to navigate a world that is out to get her killed at any cost for being the villainess. I read the Webtoon for this before and the LN was just as good! I do love that the LN gives more context to each characters emotions and how we get to see more in the mind of Penelope as she makes each decision to try and keep herself alive for one more day. We also get to see her full thought process on how she makes her decisions and how much of a toll the story takes on her, which is really rare to see in a lot of Isekai/ reincarnation novels, as most characters just accept their new life and go with the flow.

I can't wait to read more of the LN and see how much it differs from the Manhwa!

Thank you NetGalley and Ize Press for the eARC!

Transmigrated into the body of Penelope, the villainess and adoptive daughter of Duke Eckhart, the MC tries her best to survive in “Daughter of the Duke’s Super Love Project,” a mobile otome game where survival is nearly impossible.

As a fan of transmigration and isekai stories, I really appreciated this first volume: the beginning was just as I remembered from the manhwa adaptation, and I felt the same strong emotions toward some characters.

One thing I loved was how much deeper the characters’ feelings were explored: we see how the new Penelope feels now, compared to her previous life, and how strong she became after everything she went through before transmigrating.

In this first volume, we are introduced to the game’s love interests and see how she must navigate this dangerous new reality. The author did a great job at showing how risky every move she makes could be... because Penelope’s survival depends on the affection of the love interests!

I really love this story! Looking forward to volume 2!

Release date: August 26!

I really enjoyed getting into this world and characters, it was a strong concept and enjoyed getting into the real world and the video game world. I was hooked from the first page and enjoyed how the story was told. It was a strong start to the Villains are Destined to Die series and left me wanting to read more in the video game. Gwon Gyeoeul was able to weave a strong tale and enjoyed the overall feel of this, I'm excited to read more.

This book was kind of my introduction to the isekai romance/fantasy genre, and this title has always been a favorite of mine! I loved Penelope as a character and always related heavily to her anger and resignation. I love watching her scheme her way through survival, and the translation itself was both natural and gave us great insights into Penelope's mindset that we didn't get in the original manhwa.

One of my all time favorite light novel/manga's getting a english publication?? OH HELL YEAH. Complicated games, dangerous characters, and the fight of her life as a college teen is transported into a reverse harem video game as the villain... and now she has to find a way to survive without being killed by the love interests of the main heroine! From a difficult family situation, to a ruthless tyrant prince, and a soldier with no purpose and a mysterious magician, she has her work cut out for her as she must navigate the emotion system and affections of each of the characters... because one wrong move and her chances of survival plummet. This is one of my favorite stories and I am so so happy to see it being novelized in english! I adore this one so much and can't wait to read the rest of the series with an official english translation!!!

Release Date: August 26, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Yen Press | Ize Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for having this chance to read this novel before publication. The opinion below is that of my own and I am making no money from it.



I have loved this series for so long. I have been following the manhwa/manhua ever since the beginning and I love Penelope. I always felt so sorry for her, especially for the way she was treated in both her original world and the world she had been displaced in as Penelope. Her adopted brothers treated her horribly just as they did when she was in the real world and the servants looked down at her as though she was nothing short of dirt on their shoe, but I blame that entirely on the head of the ducal family (not the younger duke but the father) for never stepping up and becoming the father Penelope needed.



But I do love this novel because it gave us more insight into Penelope's thoughts than the manhwa/manhua did. She's trying to change Penelope's fate in the Hard Mode world, and while she knows the many directions she takes could lead her to instant death, she is willing to try her best, and she sees Eckles as her chance to get out of the game.



I really recommend this book, especially if you have read Manhwa/Manhua already, because it does help you understand Penelope a lot more.

A suspenseful, emotional fantasy series. It's gripping, dark plot makes you want to know how our Main character will survive. Or if she will survive. A young Korean student breaks free of her neglectful family situation, only to end up in the world of a game she played. Unlike many isekai fantasy novels she is transmigrated into the body of Penelope Eckhart, a villainess and adopted child of a duke. Knowing her ending Penlope wants to get out of this game (and life) as soon as possible. But with danger lurking at every turn, and family who wishes her gone, how can she survive to reach any kind of ending? If you enjoyed the comic you will not want to miss the novel.

Villains are Destined to Die is one of the most heart-wrenching stories I have ever read in my entire life. Being thrown into a game itself is already wild, but having to play through a game as the hated villainess is 100 times worse. Penelope already starts her story off at a huge disadvantage. The treatment Penelope gets is just on another level of cruel. Her family doesn't hold her in high regards and she clearly doesn't get any respect from anyone in that household. How the character has the brain power to deal with some of these characters I will never know. Penelope shows exactly her worth in times of stress as she carefully navigates towards her freedom and in turn saving her life multiple times. Each character holds such a complex background story that influences their actions. You can really see their emotions play out on the page even if you don't know their full story. The story is so artfully woven that the reader is eager to know what happens next as Penelope gets closer to her goal. I really know that you're supposed to feel scared for Penelope being around such dangerous characters, but you can't help but love them. As for me, Callisto and Reynold hold my heart. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to netgalley and Yen Press | Ize Press for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of Villains are Destined to Die.

Penelope, my queen.

You have no idea how excited I am that the novel has been picked up. Of course I had to preorder it as soon as it was possible.
In the meantime, if you haven't read the manhwa yet, I encourage you to asap. Ize Press is also currently publishing a paperback version and the webcomic version should be in its last main story's season. The art is stunning and it's literally impossible not to cry.

Reincarnated as the villainess in the hard mode of a dating sim, Penelope needs to raise the affection of the targets to survive. Unfortunately, she's starting in the negative and some of those male leads are serious pieces of work.

Penelope's story is low key heartbreaking and she's an incredibly complex character; she's depressed, intelligent, emotionally strong, going from an abusive household to another one, and every single action she takes only has her survival's in mind. She's not necessarily selfish but far some selfless, not morally grey but not a genuinely good person either. But that's okay because most of the characters around her absolutely suck and you'll be rooting for some of their comeuppance rather fast. (i'm looking at you ****)

As i know and absolutely love both the webnovel and manhwa, I was mostly interested in the translation and I am happy to say that Ize Press did a fantastic job; I ended up reading ize and tapas' chapters simultaneously to get a better idea and there is no competition. Kuddos to the translator and their marvelous job, this story deserves it. Plus it looks like Ize Press will be following the same number of books as the original publication: book one contains chapters 1 to 57 of the webnovel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press/Ize Press for the e-arc!

I recently read the first volume of the manhwa for this series and enjoyed it so I definitely had to check out the novel. This novel felt like it had a bit more time for plot points to breathe which was nice. However, if you are fan of the manhwa this is very close to it so it's totally up to you if you check the novel out. If you are a fan of the series though, this is worth picking up!