My Happy Marriage, Vol. 3 by Akumi Agitogi, Rito Kohsaka, Tsukiho Tsukioka
Series Name: My Happy Marriage (Manga)
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-64609-156-0
Rating: 3/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks
Description from the Book
Though Miyo Saimori has found a place as Kiyoka Kudo‘s potential bride, the fact remains that she is untouched by thee supernatural power that defines both the Saimori and Kudo clans.
While Kiyoka seems willing to accept her as she is, Miyo is unsure and bewildered – she has never known such warmth in all her life…
Just as Miyo dares to believe she may have found happiness at last, her jealous half sister, Kaya, kidnaps her and locks her in a storehouse. Kaya’s eyes are red with rage as she declares her intention to dissolve Miyo and Kiyoka’s engagement and take Miyo’s place as his fiancée herself!
Will Kiyoka’s otherworldly abilities deliver her from Kaya’s clutches in time?
Personal & Info
I reread the first two volumes before reading this. It had been a while since I read them, and I was a bit late in getting volume three. I bought volumes three and four at the same time, so I’ll be caught up on the manga after reading both. Volume five is not yet out, even though it was rumored to release October of 2023.
Characters
Miyo Saimori is the leading lady. She has a long history of suffering abuse at the hands of her own family. Now that she’s out from under their roof, she can finally start to heal.
Kiyoka Kudo is the male love interest. He has high political and military standing as well as wealth, and he is the current head of the Kudo family.
Yurie is Kiyoka’s housekeeper. She has taken care of him since he was young, and he trusts her implicitly. She is a kind older woman and she is fond of Miyo.
Kaya Saimori is Miyo’s younger half-sister. She received everything Miyo did not growing up, and has been conditioned to want to be better than Miyo at everything and always have better than her.
Koji Tatsuishi is Miyo’s childhood friend. He is engaged to Kaya as an arrangement to become the next head of the Saimori family since they don’t have any sons.
Hazuki Kudo is Kiyoka Kudo’s older sister.
Masashi Okaito is the forty-year-old Major General in charge of the Grotesquerie unit.
Story & Thoughts
The first chunk of the book finishes the events from volume two. It shows Miyo’s side of things while Kiyoka is breaking down the gate. She stands up for herself against her family’s wishes for the first time in her life. I’m so proud of Miyo for not surrendering when it matters most. She’s had a lot of growth in a short amount of time.
Miyo’s family is absolutely insane. They shouldn’t have set her up with Kiyoka Kudo in the first place if they were going to decide she wasn’t good enough for that kind of life. They probably expected him to immediately throw her out.
The rest of the volume is more relaxed. Miyo wants to continue her cancelled education from her childhood, so Kiyoka’s older sister, Hazuki, is arranged to be her tutor. She seems super nice, and interacting with her will likely be good for Miyo.
New events are set in motion as Kiyoka receives a serious job order involving dangerous ghosts, and some interestingly foreboding foreshadowing predictions about Miyo. Something has been happening with her while she sleeps, so I wonder if all of these things are connected.
With her family out of the way, I’m curious to see what will happen next. I don’t like this volume as much as the first two, but it seems like it’s a transitional volume, so that’s normal. Either way, it’s still pretty good, and I’m looking forward to reading more of the series.
Rain
This is another bonus short story chapter written like a light novel. It focuses on an unpleasant memory of Miyo’s as a dream. The point of it seems to be Miyo realizing she can finally let out the repressed emotions she’s hidden away for so long, while speculating about whether it ever would have made a difference if she’d bothered to cry before. I think it shows more of her growth from healing to finally be able to let herself feel all the things she’s been repressing. The hope that one day she might not think about any of those traumatic experiences at all is promising.