Reviews

Another winning volume that had me crying at the emotional end. This brings to an end the second part of this series. If you've watched the anime, this is the point the third season ends.

slienert's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

greenstarfish's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

For this review, I will first review part 2 as a whole and then review volume 4 on its own.

Pros:
Part 2 sees Myne slowly but surely march toward her goal of producing books and improving the production process. While this is happening, the scale of the story is also increasing, with

Myne going on trips outside the city, meeting the knight's order and the true power of her mana being revealed.

A highlight of this progression is the scene at the end of volume 2, where

Ferdinand looks into Myne's memories. This gives a greater glimpse into Myne's life when she was Urano than the opening of the first volume of the first part. It ends up being quite emotional because Myne didn't know what she had before it was too late and now she can never get that back.

Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 Volume 4 continues the build-up from part 2 and brings it to a climax that far surpasses any previous ones. It starts with

a count being let into the city without permission. Myne is then nearly kidnapped by this count's goons but is saved by Gunther. You would think that this would be enough of a tense moment for now, but the book doesn't let up in the slightest.

Once Myne returns to the temple, she is immediately accosted by the count who snuck in, Bindewald and the person who he was in cahoots with, the High Bishop. This leads to a drawn-out fight which Ferdinand and Sylvester join to turn the tides. The battle ends up being much darker than I thought it would be, compared to the light-hearted nature of the rest of the book. Several of the High Bishop's attendants get erased from existence due to the power of a magic blast.

The biggest plot twist in the book however is that

Sylvester, the comedic noble is the archduke of all people. You expect the archduke to be some serious figure you wouldn't meet until much later but here he is. Sylvester even visits the commoner's forest of his own volition,

which further prevents the reader from seeing this plot twist coming.

The end of the book is also quite surprising and emotional.

Myne has to abandon her former family and be declared dead so that she can become the adopted daughter of the archduke.

This is

a huge jump

from being an apprentice shrine maiden and makes me curious about where parts 3 and 4 will bring Myne.

six_foot_turkey's review

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

themorbidcorvid's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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