Tag: I’ll do anything to become a librarian!

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 5 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 9781718356115
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Rozemyne needs only one more ingredient for her jureve: the ruelle fruit she failed to gather the year before. With it, she and Ferdinand can finally brew the potent potion that will make her a normal, healthy girl. Well, probably…She funnels her excitement into advancing the paper-making industry and gathering more support, all to create a world with more books for her to read. As winter approaches, however, the political struggles between nobles intensify. Various plots unfold and sow discord within the temple, and what happens next will forever change not just Rozemyne’s future, but her new little sister’s fate as well. Shocking developments bring Part 3 to its climactic conclusion! This volume also includes short stories leading into Part 4, and a four-panel manga drawn by You Shiina!

Personal & Info

This is the final volume of Part 3. The story itself is only about 220 pages, followed by about 150 pages of bonus chapters.

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

Rozemyne, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mostly just suffers from poor health and low stamina. Her memories of her past life, and her upbringing as a commoner with merchant experience, give her unique ideas and perspectives unlike anyone else in Ehrenfest.

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian, and the illegitimate younger brother of the archduke. He handles the majority of the work that keeps the temple running, and must also occasionally assist the Knight’s Order.

Sylvester is the eccentric archduke of Ehrenfest and Rozemyne’s adoptive father.

Florencia is Sylvester’s wife, Rozemyne’s adoptive mother, and mother to Sylvester’s three children.

Wilfried is Sylvester’s oldest son and Rozemyne’s older brother.

Charlotte is Sylvester’s daughter and Rozemyne’s sister.

Melchior is Sylvester’s youngest child and Rozemyne’s younger brother.

Bonifatius is Sylvester’s uncle, Karstedt’s father, and Rozemyne’s grandfather. He covers for Sylvester while he is away at archduke meetings. Bonifatius absolutely adores Rozemyne and usually stays away from her for her safety.

The Knight Commander’s Family

Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest’s Knight’s Order. He’s also Ferdinand and Sylvester’s cousin, as well as Rozemyne’s noble father.

Elvira is Karstedt’s first wife and Rozemyne’s noble mother.

Eckart is Karstedt’s oldest son. He works for the Knight’s Order and serves as Ferdinand’s personal guard.

Lamprecht is Karstedt’s second son. He works as a knight serving as Wilfried’s guard.

Cornelius is Karstedt’s third son. He works as an apprentice knight serving as Rozemyne’s guard while she is in the Noble’s Quarter.

Rozemyne’s Retainers

Damuel is a knight and laynoble from Part 2, Volume 2, currently assigned as Rozemyne’s guard. He is Henrik’s younger brother. Henrik is the laynoble to whom Freida has a contract.

Rihyarda is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the castle. She is an archnoble who previously took care of Ferdinand, Karstedt, and Sylvester when they were children.

Brigitte is a knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Damuel. She is the younger sister of Giebe Illgner.

Angelica is an apprentice knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Cornelius. She hates studying and wants other people to think for her.

Ottilie is an attendant at the castle. She is an archnoble and friends with Elvira.

Lower City Family

Gunther is Myne’s father. He works as a soldier who currently guards the city’s East gate.

Effa is Myne’s mother. She dyes clothes for a career.

Tuuli is Myne’s sister. Her current occupation is apprentice seamstress and she strives to move up in the industry. She currently works for the Gilberta Company as a leherl.

Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s baby brother.

Temple Attendants

Fran is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the temple. He is in charge of managing the High Bishop’s chambers and making sure Rozemyne learns everything she needs to know for her job by the time she needs to know it.

Gil is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. He is in charge of running the workshop inside the orphanage, and traveling when new workshops need to be set up.

Wilma is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. She is in charge of running the orphanage and therefore does not reside in Rozemyne’s own chambers. Wilma also provides the art for anything the workshop makes.

Monika is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. She admires Wilma and does her best to emulate her to learn from her example.

Nicola is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers.

Fritz is one of Rozemyne’s new attendants. He helps Gil run the workshop to lessen his workload and cover for him when he needs to travel for business.

Zahm is one of Rozemyne’s new attendants. Like Fran, he was trained by Ferdinand. He helps manage the High Bishop’s chambers.

Personnel

Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Hugo is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

The Gilberta Company

Corinna is Benno’s younger sister. She is the head seamstress of the Gilberta Company.

Otto is the head of the Gilberta Company, and Corinna’s husband.

The Plantin Company

Benno is in charge of the Plantin Company. He assists and advises Rozemyne in her merchant endeavors.

Mark is Benno’s right hand man. He helps manage the store and train the apprentices, as well as cover anything Benno might miss.

Lutz is a leherl apprentice. He helps make sure the Rozemyne workshop is in order and acts as a go-between for scheduling merchant relevant visitors. Lutz also helps the workers at the orphanage understand how to use and make the things Rozemyne thinks up.

Damian is Freida’s older brother and Gustav’s grandson.

The Othmar Company

Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

Freida is Gustav’s granddaughter with a nose for money. She has a contract with a laynoble to manage her Devouring.

Leise is Freida’s personal chef. She also assists with any projects the company has involving cooking.

Other Nobles

Oswald is an archnoble serving as Wilfried’s head attendant.

Moritz is Wilfried and Rozemyne’s instructor.

Justus is Rihyarda’s son, and one of Ferdinand’s estate attendants. He serves the role as scholar and tax official when necessary. Justus gathers both magical materials and information as a hobby.

Giebe Illgner is Brigitte’s older brother.

Georgine is Sylvester’s eldest sister and the first wife to the Duke of Ahrensbach.

Veronica is Sylvester’s mother, currently in prison.

Viscount Joisontak is part of Rozemary’s family. He insists Rozemyne is his niece.

Viscount Gerlach is a noble loyal to Georgine.

Gutenbergs

Ingo is the foreman of a carpentry workshop. He has Rozemyne’s exclusive business for her carpentry needs.

Johann is a smith talented with fine detail work. He can make otherwise impossible ideas a reality.

Zack is a smith good at coming up with ideas in the form of schematics. He can come up with several usable schematics of varying difficulty using abstract descriptions.

Heidi is an ink craftswoman who loves experimenting with new types of ink

Josef is Heidi’s husband, and an ink craftsman.

Other

Kampfer and Frietack are blue priests receiving training from Ferdinand to help lighten his workload.

Richt is Hasse’s new mayor.

Achim and Egon are the gray priests who are going to stay the winter in Hasse to help educate the citizens.

Volk is one of the gray priests involved in setting up the workshop in Illgner. He wants to stay there.

Carya is a good friend of Brigitte’s back in Illgner. She wants to marry Volk.

Dirk is a Devouring baby abandoned to the temple. In part 2, he was forced to sign a submission contract with Count Bindewald of Ahrensbach.

Delia is Rozemyne’s former attendant from her days as a Shrine Maiden. She takes care of Dirk like he is her own brother.

Lily is one of Egmont’s attendants. She returns to the orphanage in exchange for another after becoming pregnant.

Story & Thoughts

After reading this, I love Bonifatius. He usually keeps his distance from Rozemyne, because he’s an aggressive and excitable person, who usually can’t control his strength, which makes him dangerous for her to be around. He only had grandsons until Rozemyne, so he absolutely adores her. It’s unfortunate she isn’t aware of how he feels.

I like how the climactic events are handled. They are intense and emotional, but have humor mixed in, so they soften the blow for the heart-wrenching parts. I already know there are more Parts to the story, so nothing too terrible can happen, but the emotions still hit hard.

It’s clear that Ferdinand loves Rozemyne. I was touched by his aggressive protectiveness of her. He was speaking the truth when justifying his actions, but I don’t think he’s ever been as emotional or passionate about anything in the entirety of the story.

There are so many loose ends by the time everything is done. Thankfully the seven bonus stories help fill in some of the gaps and answer some questions. As always, I am in love with this series, and can’t wait to read more. I can’t get enough of it.

Grandfather on the Day of the Baptism

I was already loving Bonifatius during the regular story, but this bonus story just makes me love him more. It’s the events of the day of the Baptism in his perspective. He dotes internally on Rozemyne all day, and worries like crazy during the chaotic events of the climax.

This bonus also covers the investigation following the end of the volume’s events. Bonifatius’s thoughts and contributions prove he is not just some meathead. He is smart with a good intuition. The investigation would be at a dead end without him. The chapter also touches on what will happen with Georgine’s scheduled visit next year.

In Place of My Older Sister

Charlotte and Wilfried gain a new respect for Rozemyne when they try to cover all of her jobs, from managing the winter socializing room to her duties as the High Bishop. Wilfried thought he understood, because of their switch day, but he still had no real idea. Charlotte, whose perspective this bonus is, thinks Rozemyne has to be some sort of goddess to do everything she does.

It’s saddening to read this chapter. They’re trying so hard, but Charlotte feels so useless and inferior. Rozemyne has become so important to the regular functioning of Ehrenfest that there is a void to fill whenever she isn’t around.

Two Marriages

This bonus story is in Giebe Illgner’s perspective. It covers the events regarding Volk’s purchase, and the public spectacle of Damuel and Brigitte’s proposal. If I’m being honest, I’m disappointed, but I get it. It seems Giebe Illgner put more thought into things than Brigitte did. However, I think her request for Damuel to choose was unfair.

No Rest for Us

This one is in Lutz’s perspective. Lutz and Tuuli do their best to learn etiquette, while the Gutenbergs all stay busy with projects to fill their time. Unfortunately for Benno, he doesn’t get the break he thought he was getting. More work gets dumped on him with yet another tight deadline. Elvira previously discussed this project with Rozemyne, so it was bound to pop up eventually.

Meanwhile at the Temple

Rozemyne is currently unavailable to provide stories for the workshop to print. This is Fran’s perspective of things during that time. The temple’s overall workload is extra busy, and nobody knows how to compose simple stories into something publishable. I think Rozemyne should add creative writing to her education program.

The Laynoble Guard Knight

This whole bonus chapter is Damuel’s perspective during a conversation with his brother regarding his proposal to Brigitte. As with Brigitte, Damuel’s family put more thought into the proposal than he did. Between Two Marriages and The Laynoble Guard Knight, we get the full explanation behind things and why they turned out the way they did.

One Handful of a Chef

Okay, this one makes me happy. This is in Ella’s perspective. When she was originally introduced, it was clear she had a crush on Hugo. Hugo started seeing someone shortly after, and I got bummed, because two passionate chefs together would be super cute. Well, it’s finally come full circle. Hugo has finally started to look at Ella as someone who would be a good partner, who also understands the demands of his job. I’m happy for them. I’ve been rooting for them since the beginning.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 4 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 9781718356108
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Love blooms in Spring! Rozemyne’s retainers are bursting with energy as they sew new clothes, attend their debuts, and thrive in the new season. The improved printing press has finally been completed in the temple workshop, and new types of books are steadily being produced. Knight stories, picture books, sheet music collections, and more are all now being sold! Their next goal is to further develop the paper-making industry in preparation for spreading printing across the entire duchy. To achieve this, Rozemyne’s party travels to Illgner to teach the people there how to make paper and also to research new materials. Rozemyne’s environment slowly improves, but unease spreads throughout Ehrenfest when the archduke’s older sister arrives for a visit…

Personal & Info

The Cat-Eared Maid is my favorite bonus comic in the back, but all of them are pretty good.

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

Rozemyne, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mostly just suffers from poor health and low stamina. Her memories of her past life, and her upbringing as a commoner with merchant experience, give her unique ideas and perspectives unlike anyone else in Ehrenfest.

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian at the temple, and the illegitimate younger brother of the archduke. He handles the majority of the work that keeps the temple running, and must also occasionally assist the Knight’s Order.

Sylvester is the eccentric archduke of Ehrenfest and Rozemyne’s adoptive father.

Florencia is Sylvester’s wife, Rozemyne’s adoptive mother, and mother to Sylvester’s three children.

Wilfried is Sylvester’s oldest son and Rozemyne’s older brother. He is supposed to become the next archduke of Ehrenfest.

Charlotte is Sylvester’s daughter and Rozemyne’s sister.

Melchior is Sylvester’s youngest child and Rozemyne’s younger brother.

Bonifatius is Sylvester’s uncle, Karstedt’s father, and Rozemyne’s grandfather. He covers for Sylvester while he is away at archduke meetings.

The Knight Commander’s Family

Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest’s Knight’s Order. He’s also Ferdinand and Sylvester’s cousin, as well as Rozemyne’s noble father.

Elvira is Karstedt’s first wife and Rozemyne’s noble mother.

Eckart is Karstedt’s oldest son. He works in the Knight’s Order, and he is a big fan of Ferdinand.

Lamprecht is Karstedt’s second son. He works as a knight serving as Wilfried’s guard.

Cornelius is Karstedt’s third son. He works as an apprentice knight serving as Rozemyne’s guard while she is in the Noble’s Quarter.

Rozemyne’s Retainers

Damuel is a knight and laynoble from Part 2, Volume 2, currently assigned as Rozemyne’s guard. He is Henrik’s younger brother. Henrik is the laynoble to whom Freida has a contract.

Rihyarda is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the castle. She is an archnoble who previously took care of Ferdinand, Karstedt, and Sylvester when they were children.

Brigitte is a knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Damuel. She is the younger sister of Giebe Illgner.

Angelica is an apprentice knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Cornelius. She hates studying and wants other people to think for her.

Ottilie is an attendant at the castle. She is an archnoble and friends with Elvira.

Lower City Family

Gunther is Myne’s father. He works as a soldier who currently guards the city’s East gate.

Effa is Myne’s mother. She dyes clothes for a career.

Tuuli is Myne’s sister. Her current occupation is apprentice seamstress and she strives to move up in the industry.

Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s baby brother.

Temple Attendants

Fran is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the temple. He is in charge of managing the High Bishop’s chambers and making sure Rozemyne learns everything she needs to know for her job by the time she needs to know it.

Gil is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. He is in charge of running the workshop inside the orphanage.

Wilma is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. She is in charge of running the orphanage and therefore does not reside in Rozemyne’s own chambers. Wilma also provides the art for anything the workshop makes.

Monika is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. She admires Wilma and does her best to emulate her to learn from her example.

Nicola is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers.

Fritz is one of Rozemyne’s new attendants. He helps Gil run the workshop to lessen his workload and cover for him when he needs to travel for business.

Zahm is one of Rozemyne’s new attendants. Like Fran, he was trained by Ferdinand. He helps manage the High Bishop’s chambers.

Personnel

Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Hugo is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

The Gilberta Company

Corinna is Benno’s younger sister. She is the head seamstress of the Gilberta Company.

Otto is the new head of the Gilberta Company, and Corinna’s husband.

The Plantin Company

Benno is the merchant in charge of the Plantin Company. He assists and advises Rozemyne in her merchant endeavors.

Mark is Benno’s right hand man. He helps manage the store and train the apprentices, as well as cover anything Benno might miss.

Lutz is a leherl apprentice. He helps make sure the Rozemyne workshop is in order and acts as a go-between for scheduling merchant relevant visitors. Lutz also helps the workers at the orphanage understand how to use and make the things Rozemyne thinks up.

Damian is Freida’s older brother and Gustav’s grandson.

The Othmar Company

Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

Freida is Gustav’s granddaughter with a nose for money. She has a contract with a laynoble to manage her Devouring.

Leise is Freida’s personal chef. She also assists with any projects the company has involving cooking.

Other Nobles

Oswald is an archnoble serving as Wilfried’s head attendant.

Moritz is Wilfried and Rozemyne’s instructor.

Justus is Rihyarda’s son, and one of Ferdinand’s estate attendants. He serves the role as scholar and tax official when necessary. Justus gathers both magical materials and information as a hobby.

Giebe Illgner is Brigitte’s older brother.

Georgine is Sylvester’s eldest sister and the first wife to the Duke of Ahrensbach.

Veronica is Sylvester’s mother, currently in prison.

Viscountess Gloria Dahldolf is the mother of Shikza, the noble who suffered execution as a result of harming Myne instead of protecting her.

Gutenbergs

Ingo is the foreman of a carpentry workshop. He has Rozemyne’s exclusive business for her carpentry needs.

Johann is a smith talented with fine detail work. He can make otherwise impossible ideas a reality.

Zack is a smith good at coming up with ideas in the form of schematics. He can come up with several usable schematics of varying difficulty using abstract descriptions.

Other

Kampfer and Frietack are blue priests receiving training from Ferdinand to help lighten his workload.

Richt is Hasse’s new mayor.

Dirk is a Devouring baby abandoned to the temple. In part 2, he was forced to sign a submission contract with Count Bindewald of Ahrensbach.

Delia is Rozemyne’s former attendant from her days as a Shrine Maiden. She takes care of Dirk like he is her own brother.

Story & Thoughts

Everyone is thinking ahead in this volume, except Rozemyne. Benno, Mark, and Lutz are making business decisions based entirely on how Rozemyne’s life proceeds, ready to uproot at a moment’s notice. Tuuli, who wants to make Rozemyne’s clothes someday, wants to be able to follow her wherever she might end up, too.

My favorite thing in this book is the romance. Back during the previous Starbind events, we learned both Damuel and Brigitte are seeking marriage partners. If you’re like me, you might think they should just marry each other, but there’s the issue of him being a laynoble, and her a mednoble. Their mana difference makes it an impossibility due to societal expectations.

Nothing is for sure, but the start of a potential romance between them blooms. It’s so cute and sweet. I ship them so hard. We’ll have to wait until next Starbind to see what happens.

After part two, there has been a long break from major political issues. The story is circling back around to politics. However, it doesn’t seem like the people supporting Georgine have thought anything all the way through. Their thoughts seem based on what they want, rather than what Georgine might want.

If you consider Georgine’s rank for her current status, her intentions can’t possibly be what they think. After all, why would anyone with a higher status intentionally throw that away to take something of a lower status? There has to be something more elaborate going on in Georgine’s mind. I don’t think she would throw away her current rank. She seems like the kind of person who likes to have power. We likely won’t see the full culmination of whatever her plans are until somewhere in part four. Needless to say, the whole thing is ominous.

Tea Party

This is Florencia’s experience during Georgine’s visit. She attends a couple tea parties with Sylvester and Elvira to discuss the previous High Bishop’s death and learn more about Georgine. Florencia apparently never met Georgine, until now. She is more familiar with Sylvester’s other sister. We also get to see her side of Wilfried’s blunder. She has nothing but praise when it comes to Rozemyne. Florencia doesn’t speak much during the main story, but it’s clear she’s a kind person with good intentions, who has been treated unfairly in the past.

Damuel’s Proposal

If there’s a bonus chapter you’ll want to read, it’s going to be this one. Rozemyne was not present for the events of the actual Starbind socializing, so this chapter covers what actually happened, without any embellishment. Damuel’s goal is unheard of, but I’m rooting for him. Brigitte and Damuel are so cute together.

Staying in Illgner

This last bonus chapter is in Gil’s perspective. It takes place over the summer in Illgner, while they’re experimenting with new types of paper. Things are very different in Illgner. There are no stores, no thieves, and everybody has to work. Damien doesn’t like it there one bit. He was sent because he has experience with nobles, but really that has little to no significance in Illgner. I’m pretty sure I did not see the feybeast wood mentioned here, so they may not have tried it yet. This chapter’s resulting paper is the stuff Rozemyne uses to make her fan.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 3 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 9781718356092
Rating: 3.75/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll Thriftbooks

Description from the Book

Rozemyne the High Bishop has her hands full: she’s participating in noble society, the baptism ceremony, and the Dedication Ritual, as well as tutoring young children and guard knights with bad grades! Her influence in noble society and the temple increases steadily, and her squad of Gutenbergs work on improving the printing press. As her love for books grows, her mana grows stronger as well. The Saint of Ehrenfest’s work doesn’t stop there, as she must also hunt the Lord of Winter with the Knight’s Order, and then gather a new ingredient for her jureve potion during spring prayer. This is another action-packed volume of this biblio-fantasy, including two lengthy short stories and a four-panel manga drawn by You Shiina!

Personal & Info

It’s unfortunate that the title box for this volume covers the pandabus. The bus can be seen inside the book on the mini-poster version of the cover image. We need more pictures of the pandabus.

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

Rozemyne, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mostly just suffers from poor health and low stamina. Her memories of her past life, and her upbringing as a commoner with merchant experience, give her unique ideas and perspectives unlike anyone else in Ehrenfest.

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian at the temple, and the illegitimate younger brother of the archduke. He handles the majority of the work that keeps the temple running, and must also occasionally assist the Knight’s Order.

Sylvester is the eccentric archduke of Ehrenfest and Rozemyne’s adoptive father.

Florencia is Sylvester’s wife, Rozemyne’s adoptive mother, and mother to Sylvester’s three children.

Wilfried is Sylvester’s oldest son and Rozemyne’s older brother. He is supposed to become the next archduke of Ehrenfest.

Charlotte is Sylvester’s daughter and Rozemyne’s younger sister.

Melchior is Sylvester’s youngest child and Rozemyne’s younger brother.

The Knight Commander’s Family

Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest’s Knight’s Order. He’s also Ferdinand and Sylvester’s cousin, as well as Rozemyne’s noble father.

Elvira is Karstedt’s first wife and Rozemyne’s noble mother.

Eckart is Karstedt’s oldest son. He is around eighteen-years-old and works in the Knight’s Order. Eckart is a big fan of Ferdinand.

Lamprecht is Karstedt’s second son. He is around sixteen-years-old and works as a knight serving as Wilfried’s guard.

Cornelius is Karstedt’s third son. He is around eleven-years-old and works as an apprentice knight serving as Rozemyne’s guard while she is in the Noble’s Quarter.

Rozemyne’s Retainers

Damuel is a knight and laynoble from Part 2, Volume 2, currently assigned as Rozemyne’s guard. He is Henrik’s younger brother. Henrik is the laynoble to whom Freida has a contract.

Rihyarda is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the castle. She is an archnoble who previously took care of Ferdinand, Karstedt, and Sylvester when they were children.

Brigitte is a knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Damuel. She is the younger sister of Giebe Illgner.

Angelica is an apprentice knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Cornelius.

Ottilie is an attendant at the castle. She is an archnoble and friends with Elvira.

Lower City Family

Gunther is Myne’s father. He works as a soldier who currently guards the city’s East gate.

Effa is Myne’s mother. She dyes clothes for a career.

Tuuli is Myne’s sister. Her current occupation is apprentice seamstress and she strives to move up in the industry.

Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s baby brother.

Temple Attendants

Fran is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the temple. He is in charge of managing the High Bishop’s chambers and making sure Rozemyne learns everything she needs to know for her job by the time she needs to know it.

Gil is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. He is in charge of running the workshop inside the orphanage.

Wilma is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. She is in charge of running the orphanage and therefore does not reside in Rozemyne’s own chambers. Wilma also provides the art for anything the workshop makes.

Monika is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. She admires Wilma and does her best to emulate her to learn from her example.

Nicola is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers.

Fritz is Rozemyne’s new attendant. He helps Gil run the workshop to lessen his workload and cover for him when he needs to travel for business.

Zahm is the High Priest’s attendant who handles all matters between him and Rozemyne.

Personnel

Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

The Gilberta Company

Benno is the merchant in charge of the Gilberta Company and the Italian restaurant. He assists and advises Rozemyne in her merchant endeavors.

Mark is Benno’s right hand man. He helps manage the store and train the apprentices, as well as cover anything Benno himself might miss.

Lutz is a leherl apprentice. He helps make sure the Rozemyne workshop is in order and acts as a go-between for scheduling merchant relevant visitors. Lutz also helps the workers at the orphanage understand how to use and make the things Rozemyne thinks up.

Corinna is Benno’s younger sister. She is the head seamstress of the Gilberta Company.

The Othmar Company

Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

Freida is Gustav’s granddaughter with a nose for money. She has a contract with a laynoble to manage her Devouring.

Leise is Freida’s personal chef. She also assists with any projects the company has involving cooking.

Other Nobles

Oswald is an archnoble serving as Wilfried’s head attendant.

Moritz is Wilfried and Rozemyne’s instructor.

Justus is Rihyarda’s son, and one of Ferdinand’s estate attendants. He serves the role as scholar and tax official when necessary. Justus gathers both magical materials and information as a hobby.

Philine is a laynoble in the same class year as Rozemyne. She has a love of books and reminds Rozemyne a little of herself when she was starting out on her book journey in Ehrenfest.

Gutenbergs

Ingo is the foreman of a carpentry workshop. He has Rozemyne’s exclusive business for her carpentry needs.

Johann is a smith talented with fine detail work. He can make otherwise impossible ideas a reality.

Zack is a smith good at coming up with ideas in the form of schematics. He can come up with several usable schematics of varying difficulty using abstract descriptions.

Other

Kampfer and Frietack are blue priests receiving training from Ferdinand to help lighten his workload.

Hasse’s Mayor is in charge of the town where Rozemyne’s new temple workshop is progressing. He has connections relevant to the previous High Bishop, and owns all of the orphans of Hasse.

Richt is both a relative and assistant to the Hasse Mayor.

Story & Thoughts

There is a lot going on in this volume. It covers the end of autumn all the way through Spring Prayer. There are time skips, but still, it’s a lot. Rozemyne’s schedule is packed the whole time.

I’m surprised they cover two seasonal gathering attempts in one book. The winter one is kind of boring. The feybeast is cool, but the actual encounter is rather dull from Rozemyne’s perspective. All she can do is wait, while she can hardly see anything, until Ferdinand comes to get her for the final step.

The spring gathering attempt, however, I love that one. It’s less combat oriented than autumn and winter. They clear out some weaker feybeasts, but the overall gathering is more of a fantastical magical experience. It’s kind of funny, too, because of the guys’ perspective afterward.

Knowing Rozemyne, I won’t be surprised if she keeps most of her current guards as her official retainers when the time comes. She likes to keep people around once she builds trust with them. I can see Brigitte probably leaving her after marriage.

I hope Rozemyne and Philine become good friends. She needs a kindred spirit around. As of right now, I have no idea who she might choose from the playroom to make retainers, but I can’t wait to get to know the new characters better.

Angelica has basically no dialogue or anything until now, so it’s nice to finally get to know her a little. I’m looking forward to seeing how things play out for Brigitte with the new dress, too. I just love all the characters so much.

Winter Debut and the Playroom

These are the events of the Winter Debut and the playroom from Lamprecht’s perspective. What I gather from the story is that all of the people around Wilfried are concerned about Rozemyne swiping the title of the next Aub from him, even though everybody makes it clear Rozemyne has no intention of becoming Archduke. If they aren’t worrying about Rozemyne, they are worrying about Wilfried’s sister, Charlotte, who comes of age the following year. It’s kind of sad, because this just shows most of the people around Wilfried don’t have confidence in him.

The High Bishop’s Exclusive Business

This short story is Ingo’s perspective regarding the carpentry work in Hasse, as well as his stress and uncertainty about whether or not he has Rozemyne’s exclusive business. In the volume, he makes it clear his reputation is on the line if he can’t get clarity, but here we actually get to see the doubt from those around him. It’s clear Rozemyne has more to learn about how to properly work with craftsmen without causing problems.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 2 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 9781718356085
Rating: 3.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Rozemyne, now both the High Bishop and the archduke’s adopted daughter, finds herself lost in a position of power she just isn’t used to. Preparing for the Harvest Festival, taking care of new orphans, dealing with the dissatisfaction of a neighboring town—her list of problems just keeps on growing. On top of all that, Ferdinand the High Priest is being as harsh as he can be. Still, Rozemyne doesn’t give up! Encouraged by meetings with her lower city family and friends, she recharges by reading books in the temple! She’ll need as much energy as she can get as the yearly Night of Schutzaria is fast approaching, where Rozemyne will need to travel to the forest bordering Dorvan to gather materials… Being the High Bishop is hard, okay?

Personal & Info

There are some bonus comics at the end of the book. I think the comics at the end of the other volume(s), so far, are better than these ones. They’re still cute, though.

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

Myne, previously Urano Motosu, and now Rozemyne, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mostly just suffers from poor health and low stamina.

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian at the temple, and the illegitimate younger brother of the archduke. He handles the majority of the work that keeps the temple running, and must also occasionally assist the Knight’s Order.

Sylvester is the eccentric archduke of Ehrenfest and Rozemyne’s adoptive father.

Florencia is Sylvester’s wife, Rozemyne’s adoptive mother, and mother to Sylvester’s three children.

Wilfried is Sylvester’s oldest son and Rozemyne’s older brother.

Charlotte is Sylvester’s daughter and Rozemyne’s sister.

Melchior is Sylvester’s two-year-old son and Rozemyne’s younger brother.

The Knight Commander’s Family

Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest Knight’s Order. He’s also Ferdinand and Sylvester’s cousin, as well as Rozemyne’s noble father.

Elvira is Karstedt’s first wife and Rozemyne’s noble mother.

Eckart is Karstedt’s oldest son. He is around eighteen-years-old and works in the Knight’s Order. Eckart is a big fan of Ferdinand.

Lamprecht is Karstedt’s second son. He is around sixteen-years-old and works as a knight serving as Wilfried’s guard.

Cornelius is Karstedt’s third son. He is around eleven-years-old and works as an apprentice knight serving as Rozemyne’s guard while she is in the Noble’s Quarter.

Rozemyne’s Retainers

Damuel is a knight and laynoble from Part 2, Volume 2, currently assigned as Rozemyne’s guard.

Rihyarda is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the castle. She is an archnoble who previously took care of Ferdinand, Karstedt, and Sylvester when they were children.

Brigitte is a knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Damuel. She is the younger sister of Giebe Illgner.

Angelica is an apprentice knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Cornelius.

Ottilie is an attendant at the castle. She is an archnoble and friends with Elvira.

Lower City Family

Gunther is Myne’s father. He works as a soldier who currently guards the city’s East gate.

Effa is Myne’s mother. She dyes clothes and makes hairpins for a career.

Tuuli is Myne’s sister. Her current occupation is apprentice seamstress and she strives to move up in the industry.

Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s baby brother.

Temple Attendants

Fran is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the temple. He is in charge of managing the High Bishop’s chambers and making sure Rozemyne learns everything she needs to know for her job by the time she needs to know it.

Gil is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. He is in charge of running the workshop inside the orphanage.

Wilma is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. She is in charge of running the orphanage and therefore does not reside in Rozemyne’s own chambers. Wilma also provides the art for anything the workshop makes.

Monika is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. She helps fill the roles of Rosina and Delia’s previous jobs. Monika admires Wilma and does her best to emulate her to learn from her example.

Nicola is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. She helps fill the roles of Rosina and Delia’s previous jobs.

Zahm is the High Priest’s attendant who handles all matters between him and Rozemyne.

Personnel

Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

The Gilberta Company

Benno is the merchant in charge of the Gilberta Company and the Italian restaurant. He assists and advises Rozemyne in her merchant endeavors.

Mark is Benno’s right hand man. He helps manage the store and train the apprentices, as well as cover anything Benno himself might miss.

Lutz is a leherl apprentice. He helps make sure the Rozemyne workshop is in order and acts as a go-between for scheduling merchant relevant visitors. Lutz also helps the workers at the orphanage understand how to use and make the things Rozemyne thinks up.

The Othmar Company

Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

Freida is Gustav’s granddaughter with a nose for money. She has a contract with a laynoble to manage her Devouring.

Leise is Freida’s personal chef. She also assists with any projects the company has involving cooking.

Other

Hugo is the head chef of the Italian restaurant.

Hasse’s Mayor is in charge of the town of Hasse where Rozemyne’s new temple workshop is progressing. He has connections relevant to the previous High Bishop, and owns all of the orphans of Hasse, so Rozemyne will have to go through him to recruit them.

Richt is both a relative and assistant to the Hasse Mayor.

Kantna is the scholar who inspected Hasse along with the Gilberta Company to see if it would be worth setting up a workshop there.

Oswald is an archnoble serving as Wilfried’s head attendant.

Moritz is Wilfried and Rozemyne’s instructor.

Justus is Rihyarda’s son, and will be accompanying Rozemyne as a tax official during the Harvest Festival.

Nadine is Brigitte’s apprentice attendant residing in her knight’s dorm. She is a noble, and thinks less of temple attendants.

Thore(11), his older sister Nora(14), Rick(12), and his younger sister Marthe(8) are four orphans from Hasse who want to try life in Rozemyne’s new temple.

Story & Thoughts

This volume has some pretty good highs. There are a few things I love about it, but they are few and far between. Don’t get me wrong, I love this whole series. It’s just that this volume is a smidge lackluster compared to the usual. It has that feeling of not much happening when really there’s a lot going on.

Every book makes me love the characters more. They keep doing or saying things that are touching or make me go, “aww.” The cast is so wonderful. I’m a bit sad that Damuel has less dialogue, but the plus side is we get to know Brigitte better.

The real gold of the volume is probably the swap day. Rozemyne had a wonderful time, but the same can’t be said for Wilfried. Thankfully, his side of that day is a bonus story, and it’s so glorious. It’s kind of ironic, though, because Rozemyne had been asked before to help with Wilfried’s education, and she declined. I guess he bothered her enough that she felt the need to step in.

It’s finally time for Rozemyne to gather her first ingredient to help solve her mana problem. I have to say, I was not expecting the outcome. I’m not happy about Brigitte’s thoughts regarding Damuel, either. Last we heard, he’s still in his growing period for his mana. I want him to become stronger than a regular Laynoble because of the blessing he received, but that might be wishful thinking.

The problem regarding the Mayor of Hasse will take more time to resolve, since it’s a time consuming plan. There will probably be more on that in the next volume or two. Rozemyne said she won’t be thinking about it again until spring, so we’ll see how it plays out then.

Overall, this volume is a wonderful comfort read. It’s not one of the best the series has to offer, but I find it relaxing, and it makes me smile and giggle. I genuinely cannot get enough when it comes to this series. Every volume is like a treasure.

Wilfried’s Day as the High Bishop

I can’t tell you how happy I am that this is a bonus chapter. When Rozemyne and Wilfried switched, I was hoping this would be included. This is Wilfried’s perspective for his day as the High Bishop.

Honestly, it’s a little tame compared to what I was expecting. Ferdinand made me think it was much worse. Regardless, this chapter is gold. Wilfried is spoiled and none of his attendants or retainers will be firm with him. Rozemyne’s on the other hand, they don’t take any crap. It’s amusing to see his reaction when nobody cares about his rank.

Hasse’s Orphans

After the four orphans from Hasse relocate to the city temple for the winter, they start going to the forest with the others. The Hasse kids don’t like being stuck inside, so they love the forest days more than anything. This chapter is Thore’s perspective during one of those days.

It’s clear the four of them are struggling to adapt to life in the temple, but they are grateful to have a stable living situation. There are obvious growing pains, but they never go hungry, will never be sold, and nobody beats them. They are making a real effort to adjust to the equality rules of the temple, and sometimes have to remind each other how things work when they get overly frustrated. It seems like they will manage just fine with more time.

The real question on their minds is: what will their lives be like when they come of age? The idea of being stuck in the orphanage forever doesn’t sound entirely appealing to the boys in particular. By staying in the temple, they are missing out on the opportunity to own land in Hasse. I doubt the girls are as concerned about that, since their circumstances would be much worse.

Justus’s Grand Lower City Infiltration

This bonus chapter takes place during the summer right before Myne joins the temple. In this volume, Justus makes a claim about being a great spy when it comes to gathering information, like a chameleon of culture and speech. To me, that claim makes this chapter hilarious.

Ferdinand pays Justus to go to the lower city to gather information about Myne. He blunders so badly that he sticks out like a sore thumb and makes everybody he talks to suspicious. There’s no way he’s as good at his job as he likes people to think. Granted, he did learn a tiny bit about Myne.

What I like most about this particular chapter is it circles back around to that first book at the market. We learn a little more about that book, and where it ends up. It’s feasibly possible that Rozemyne might one day get a chance to read it.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 1 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 9781718356078
Rating: 5/5
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Description from the Book

Following a disastrous encounter with a noble, Myne finally resolves to say goodbye to her family and friends in the lower city, changing her name to “Rozemyne” and beginning her new life as the adopted daughter of Ehrenfest’s archduke. However, her days as an archnoble are brutal, as she is put through rigorous etiquette and magic training on top of her duties as High Bishop and forewoman. It all proves too much for a weak little seven-year-old girl…Or it would, had the High Priest not offered her the keys to the temple’s book room as a reward. If she could get her hands on those, she’d be able to read all sorts of precious books! Her name may have changed, but Rozemyne’s passion for books remains the same as she charges into a whole new world!

Personal & Info

There are some funny bonus comics and a character poll in the back of the book. The author is surprised Damuel scored so high, but I can understand why. Damuel is one of my favorites.

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

Myne, previously Urano Motosu, and now Rozemyne, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mainly just suffers from normal poor health. Myne constantly comes up with product ideas from modern Earth that can break or revolutionize the Ehrenfest market.

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian at the temple, and the illegitimate younger brother of the archduke. He handles the majority of the work that keeps the temple running, and must also occasionally assist the Knight’s Order.

Sylvester is the eccentric archduke of Ehrenfest and Rozemyne’s adoptive father.

Florencia is Sylvester’s wife, Rozemyne’s adoptive mother, and mother to Sylvester’s three children.

Wilfried is Sylvester’s oldest son and Rozemyne’s older brother.

Charlotte is Sylvester’s daughter and Rozemyne’s sister.

Melchior is Sylvester’s two-year-old son and Rozemyne’s younger brother.

The Knight Commander’s Family

Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest Knight’s Order. He’s also Ferdinand and Sylvester’s cousin, as well as Rozemyne’s noble father.

Elvira is Karstedt’s first wife and Rozemyne’s noble mother.

Eckart is Karstedt’s oldest son. He is around eighteen-years-old and works in the Knight’s Order.

Lamprecht is Karstedt’s second son. He is around sixteen-years-old and works as a knight serving as Wilfried’s guard.

Cornelius is Karstedt’s third son. He is around eleven-years-old and works as an apprentice knight serving as Rozemyne’s guard while she is in the Noble’s Quarter.

Trudeliede is Kastedt’s second wife. She lives in a separate building with her child and does not appear in this volume.

Rozemary is Karstedt’s third wife who passed. Karstedt always doted on her and she was often bullied by the other two wives.

Noble Retainers

Damuel is a knight and laynoble from Part 2, Volume 2, currently assigned as Rozemyne’s guard.

Rihyarda is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the castle. She is an archnoble who previously took care of Ferdinand, Karstedt, and Sylvester when they were children.

Brigitte is a knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Damuel. She is the younger sister of Giebe Illgner.

Angelica is an apprentice knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Cornelius.

Ottilie is an attendant at the castle. She is an archnoble and friends with Elvira.

Norbert is the butler in charge of attendants in the castle.

Lower City Family

Gunther is Myne’s father. He works as a soldier who guards one of the city gates.

Effa is Myne’s mother. She dyes clothes and makes hairpins for a career.

Tuuli is Myne’s sister. She is one year older than Myne. Her current occupation is apprentice seamstress and she strives to move up in the industry.

Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s baby brother.

Temple Attenants

Fran is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the temple. He is in charge of managing the High Bishop’s chambers

Gil is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. He is in charge of running the workshop inside the orphanage.

Wilma is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. She is in charge of running the orphanage and therefore does not reside in Rozemyne’s own chambers. Wilma also provides the art for anything the workshop makes.

Monika is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. She helps fill the roles of Rosina and Delia’s previous jobs. Monika admires Wilma and does her best to emulate her to learn from her example.

Nicola is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. She helps fill the roles of Rosina and Delia’s previous jobs.

Zahm is the High Priest’s attendant who handles all matters between him and Rozemyne.

Personnel

Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

The Gilberta Company

Benno is the merchant in charge of the Gilberta Company. He assists and advises Rozemyne in her merchant endeavors.

Mark is Benno’s right hand man. He helps manage the store and train the apprentices, as well as cover anything Benno himself might miss.

Lutz is a leherl apprentice. He helps make sure the Rozemyne workshop is in order and acts as a go-between for scheduling merchant relevant visitors. Lutz also helps the workers at the orphanage understand how to use and make the things Rozemyne thinks up.

The Othmar Company

Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

Freida is Gustav’s granddaughter with a nose for money. She has a contract with a laynoble to manage her Devouring.

Leise is Freida’s personal chef. She also assists with any projects the company has involving cooking.

Other

Johann is the smith Rozemyne usually hires to do precision work. He is not fond of his Gutenberg title.

Zack is a smith who views Johann as his rival. He envies the Gutenberg title and wants to prove he is the better smith.

Hugo is the head chef of the Italian restaurant.

Todd is the second chef for the Italian restaurant.

Story & Thoughts

This is one of my favorite volumes in the whole series. It’s exceptionally funny. Between the events of Rozemyne’s magic training, her interactions involving Ferdinand, and the renown of her chefs, I couldn’t stop laughing. None of the other volumes were this funny.

Rozemyne’s life is now a whirlwind of activity due to her transition into the daughter of an archduke. As part of this, she must undergo lessons to learn proper etiquette. After those lessons, and getting to know Ferdinand better, Rozemyne can now fight back against his scheming. She’s not an expert, but she now knows how to get revenge for whenever she thinks he’s being mean. Their interactions are getting more fun to read.

The characters in this series are all so lovable. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love the cast. Several more characters appear in this volume to fill out her life in the noble quarter. I can definitely say I like the ones that get any bit of spotlight. There are several that don’t get more than an introduction, but I’m looking forward to getting to know them more as the story progresses.

Despite rating this a five, I do have some gripes. My problems aren’t with the writing or anything significant. They are small things that I might feel something like disappointment about.

For example, Rozemyne and Lutz feel so distant. Sure, they are still seeing each other fairly regularly, but she can only be herself with him in her private room. Lutz doesn’t seem as receptive to her clingy behavior, either. They’re both growing in different directions. It makes me sad. There’s a certain warmth between them missing from before. It’s upsetting, but I wouldn’t change anything. I love the story as it is.

Being My Little Sister’s Knight

This bonus chapter covers the events of Cornelius finding out he is getting a new little sister, being assigned as her guard, and learning how volatile her health is. He’s not fond of his parents plans at first. It’s interesting to see things through his perspective. It makes it clear how nervous she actually is during that time and emphasizes how smart she really is due to her learning speed. Of course, this story also includes the traumatic experience everyone who spends any extended length of time with Rozemyne gets. But that traumatic experience teaches him what it will require to be her guard.

One Stressed-Out Chef

The second bonus chapter is Hugo’s perspective of the events regarding the lunch at the restaurant. Hugo and Todd are both very nervous to be serving archnobles. Todd is an absolute mess, but Hugo hides it better. He keeps a cool face and takes pity on Todd, but he’s probably going to get an ulcer. Neither of them seem enthused about about their employment for the next month.