The Villainess is a Marionette 3

The Villainess is a Marionette 3 by Hanarim

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Kayena is further confused by the devotion others are showing her, especially her previous crush who she is convinced should be with Lady Grace. It's strange to hope Kayena gains her freedom but also perhaps hoping she can find happiness where she was denied it in her past life if she wasn't so hung up on how the novel should play out in this one aspect alone. Things seem to be working out for the most part, though it seems her brother is starting to pull his own strings to try and keep her in check. It seems at least one person has a rather unhealthy obsession with her as well. Grace is fortunate when she is saved, but it looks like it may be too late for Kayena unless they manage to pick up a trail and find her quickly. From the previous rather dark discussions in this volume, she may be rather well hidden, or at least they think she is. There is no word yet on when the next volume will be released in English, so hopefully it won't be too much of a wait.

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The Villainess is a Marionette 2

The Villainess is a Marionette 2 by Hanarim

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Kayena is an interesting character who has a lot of potential options with the way things are playing out in this new lifetime. She still seems to think her original choice of leaving the palace is best, but with the way she is gaining allies, power, and possibly even some other interest from parties who would be far less likely to treat her the same as her ex-husband would hint at several other possibilities in the future. While we heard about what happened in her previous life in the first volume, she comes face to face with possibly the worst part of that history in this volume, leading to an unlikely savior. Now the palace may be turning on it's ear so to speak, and even more key players are moved into position, though they do not seem to be responding the way Kayena expects them to originally. 

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The Villainess is a Marionette 1

The Villainess is a Marionette 1 by Hanarim

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is another isekai series where the main characters dies in their life and wakes up as the character in a story they remember reading, except this time there are indications the character originated in this life before living their second life in what the reader would consider the normal world and read the book where they resonated with this character before dying for the second time and waking up back as this character again. As with many of the series, the main character is painted as the villainess, but in reality there are far crueler characters pulling her strings originally. Even in this short volume, there are several subtle yet drastic changes identified as Kayena slowly lays the groundwork to try and achieve a more peaceful life where she can enjoy her freedom instead of ending up dying for a third time around. Those around her are baffled by the changes in her if they are paying attention, but most seem to just be glad she's "grown up" as she approaches her coming of age. Even her own brother doesn't seem to know what to make of these changes, but all those who are close to her seem to slowly be mellowing and finding themselves drawn to her in this new role she's chosen.

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