Ok, I need to talk about a manga that isn't twisted, clumsy, or just plain bad. For once, Kodansha is here to help me out with a shojo series that just made the jump from digital to print this year.
NINA THE STARRY BRIDE (Hoshifuri Okuko no Nina), by Rikachi. First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2021.
PLOT:
Nina was just a common thief, an orphan trying to get buy in the fringes of Fortna's capital city Dayah. She's sold off as a slave to the royal family, who need a replacement for their fallen princess Alisha. Nina physically looks the part, but she'll need months of intensive training with Alisha's haughty half-brother Azure to pass well enough to take over Alisha's duties as Astral Priestess and to take her place in an arranged marriage with a neighboring prince. In the meantime she's going to have to deal with royal intrigue, a bratty crown prince, and her own increasingly conflicted feelings about Azure.
