The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-up, Vol. 2 by Rino Mayumi

The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-up, Vol. 2 by Rino Mayumi

My Rating: ★★★

After working hard to study magic at lightning speed, Seren is finally ready to test her abilities against magical beasts! It also means that she and Vi are going to have to sneak out without being seen. Seren has a lot on her plate, but she’s determined to become a High Mage and spend her life devoted to magic and everything that comes with it. Unfortunately for her, Prince Helios has finally started paying attention to her as his future wife. Will her old feelings throw a wrench in her plans?

I loved the first book, but I’m a little iffy about the second installment. While a few important things did occur, there was also a whole lot of nothing in between each of the important events. I wouldn’t have minded so much filler if there was some good character development, but that simply wasn’t the case. If anything, I kept thinking about how so much could be solved through simple communication, but then it wouldn’t make the story as fun as it is!

While much of the book covers studying and practicing magic, I did like seeing Seren sneak out and be able to test her magic skills outside of her secret training sessions. It was great to see what everyone was up to and what they were planning in the present. It was also great to see some world building with new characters getting introduced and seeing the characters out on the town. I think the filler would’ve worked out better if it wasn’t constant details on studying and practicing magic. It just gets dull after a while and makes the story feel like it’s at a standstill, especially because there wasn’t much character development happening during the sessions. Honestly, the highlight of the book was the side story at the end.

I swear I’m not full of complaints, though. There was some progress on the romance front with Seren and Viol and it was really cute. We did get to see the super curious side of Seren at some point, and it’ll be fun to see her finally get some character growth in the next book. I kept thinking about how it seems like she doesn’t have any friends, so I’m hoping we’ll see her make a friend once her High Mage plans are out in the open.