Manhwa Review – Light & Shadow

November 12, 2022
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Light & Shadow by Ryu Hyang | Blushing Geek

Light & Shadow written by Ryu Hyang, art by Hee Won
Series: Light & Shadow Trilogy, #1
Genre: Historical, Drama, Romance
103 Episodes
Read it on Lezhin, Tappyton
Add on Goodreads
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

When she’s sent in the stead of a nobleman’s daughter to marry a duke of low birth, servant Edna has no choice but to lie about who she is for her survival. Eli, her new husband, has a reputation for his brutality in the battlefield and loyalty to the king. If he finds out who she really is, he will not spare her. With a secret that nobody must find out about and Eli’s growing suspicions about her true identity, Edna must play a dangerous game of cat and mouse with her husband. However, as they both cautiously navigate this marriage full of lies, something true starts blooming between the two of them…

Review

It’s rare for me to finish a completed manhwa, how much more in just ONE sitting! I’ve been so addicted to manhwa lately that I think I have read A LOT enough for a year, but also dropped a lot along the way lol.

When I started Light & Shadow, I didn’t expect that I would finish it this fast. Most of the completed manhwa I’ve read lately ended up being dropped because I got bored, but this one stayed with me that I was even surprised that I am almost at the end. The story was pretty simple compared with other manhwas I’ve encountered lately, but the narration was really good. Usually in longer manhwas, a lot of unnecessary scenes were added or dragged on to make it longer, but for this one, none. Every scene was important and eventful so I definitely didn’t feel bored even for a bit. The main characters are very likable, as well as the close side characters. The backstory of both main characters were pretty sad but it was really good to read how those tragic backstories mold them into amazing people even though they had to endure hardships. So yeah, all throughout the story, I kept cheering for them. That’s why it was really sad that one close person to them has to die, huhuhu. Another thing I like is that there were no annoying love rivals so it was really refreshing.

As for the art, it was really good! Usually in manhwa with lots of characters, it’s normal to have two or more characters almost looking identical to each other even though they’re not related. So I really appreciate how that wasn’t the case for this story. I believe every character in this story has some traits that were unique from the others so it’s so easy to identify them even though they’re not one of the main characters or side characters that were prevalent in this story. And I also love the character design of the main characters, and the baby Alex is just too cute that I want to pinch his cheeks everytime he sulks lol. And speaking of art, I definitely love the cover. It just speaks how badass our female lead is! I’ll talk more about that below, *wink.

For the main characters, I don’t have any complaints at all. A lot of recent manhwa I’ve encountered lately have as*holes and bastard MLs, so I was really glad that this story doesn’t have one. The ML was pretty outstanding and even though he was a bit mean to the FL at first, I’m glad it didn’t happen the second time. I also love how he loves his brother even though they don’t have the same mother. His conviction was really something you would be in awe of. It’s also pretty cute seeing this tough guy acting so cute in front of his wife <3 The FL on the other hand is definitely one of my favorite FLs in manhwa. She’s a badass! Just seeing how she defeated the bad guys was so captivating. Aside from that, she’s also a good hearted person. Despite what she’s been through, being alone after her mother’s death, she still pushed through. I just love seeing how she finally forgave herself on what happened in the past. I am really rooting for these two!

The romance part was also pretty sweet. I usually lost my interest in a story around 40 chapters or until season 1 with the overly cheesy romance or predictable romances. But for this story, I don’t know, I just love it! It blended really well, so it didn’t happen too early or too late. It was just perfect. Period!

And lastly, the ending was pretty promising and I was really glad seeing how the cute baby Alex grew up into such an amazing man. Plus ending this story showing once again how baddass the FL is really does wonders for me. I don’t usually like long stories, but I wish this one could have been longer. Or even adding side stories would be enough for me <3 Please, please!

If you want badass FL with as*hole safe ML novel, then Light & Shadow is definitely a must read! Have fun 🙂

SOMETHING IMPORTANT!!!!

Holy heck! I didn’t know this was a trilogy! I will definitely, definitely, definitely read the next one! Thank you so much!!!!

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