The Princess Groom Volume 1 Review

Square Enix Manga has quickly become a publisher for romance and fantasy fans to keep a close eye on, as they’ve brought us titles like Always a Catch!, Bethrothed to a Fox Demon, and The Prince’s Keeper. And now another action-packed romance enters the scene in the form of The Princess Groom, but does it impress? Let’s take a closer look.

Our story follows Leticia Orlesian, a duke’s daughter who is nicknamed ‘belle poupée’ (beautiful doll) for her delicate and beautiful appearance. And Leticia plays that part well in front of those who don’t know her, but in truth Leticia is quite a free-spirited young lady who lets absolutely nothing stand in her way. She even has a ring that changes her appearance to that of an attractive gentleman known as the Frost Dragon Emperor, who is known for his powerful fighting capabilities. But her family worry about her getting herself into trouble, particularly as she’s about to meet Gilbert Rothman for the first time, who is the second-born prince of the kingdom and her fiancé.

And Leticia’s behaviour isn’t the only reason her family worry. Gilbert has a bad reputation due to his red eyes. In his bloodline those born with red eyes have always plunged the kingdom into chaos, and so Gilbert now lives with the nickname ‘Cursed Prince’, which has caused him to shut himself off from those around him.

And naturally, Gilbert and Leticia’s first meeting does not go according to plan. Leticia does her best to act like a noble young lady, but Gilbert fiercely insists that she’s not his type and he will never love her before storming off to a brothel he frequents only for Leticia to follow along! One thing leads to another and they find themselves in trouble, so Leticia quickly drops her act and shows her true colours, which might be just what she needed to win Gilbert’s affections all along! And what will he think once he learns she’s also the Frost Dragon Emperor?

This first volume of The Princess Groom is a little odd in structure, as almost the entire volume (165 pages) is just the first chapter, with a short (25~ page) second instalment included to round things out. So it feels like we’re still at the very beginning, despite a lot happening in Chapter 1. There’s a lot of world-building and time spent developing our two leads, which I’m grateful for. They both have complex feelings toward their public duties and personas, but their true selves feel well matched to one another. And I felt like by the end of the book I had a good grasp on both their personalities.

One aspect I particularly enjoyed is the role reversal of their relationship. Gilbert has long acted cold due to his reputation and how he’s been treated, so he’s always wanted someone to dote on him and give him all their love and affection. Leticia, meanwhile, is a strong, independent woman and would much rather spend her time showering Gilbert with affection than be on the receiving end of it. Watching him blush as she swoops in to protect him from harm later in the volume brings her immense joy and proved highly entertaining for me as a reader.

This is based on a light novel written by Asaki Asagiri (not licensed at the time of writing), and the adaptation is handled by Selen (Before You Discard Me, I Shall Have My Way With You available from Seven Seas), who also drew the illustrations for the original work. I like the art a lot on the whole, as Selen proves more than capable of depicting the lovey-dovey romance scenes and the fast-paced action. Perhaps most importantly, Selen prevails at showing the many different sides to Leticia’s and Gilbert’s personalities. I think having that consistency from working on the original really makes the difference for deciding how they’d handle the manga. I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s next for the pair and how Selen will bring that to life.

As mentioned, The Princess Groom Volume 1 comes to the West thanks to Square Enix Manga and has been translated by Minami with lettering by Lys Blakeslee, who have both done a great job. The release includes a colour page at the beginning and a preview of Volume 2 at the end.

Despite beginning serialisation in 2024, this one releases rather slowly on the Japanese side, so they’re only up to Volume 2 over there currently. Luckily we don’t have to wait too long, however, as here in English we’ll be getting Volume 2 in January. And then, just like Japan, we will be waiting for more to be published! But if you can’t wait for compiled books, this is being released on MANGA UP! as well.

Overall, The Princess Groom is off to a charming start. This could have been your average romance, but instead there are some clever role reversals and a real effort to develop these characters well right from the start. I’m certainly intrigued to find out where the story will go from here.

Our review copy from Square Enix Manga was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).

Demelza

When she’s not watching anime, reading manga or reviewing, Demelza can generally be found exploring some kind of fantasy world and chasing her dreams of being a hero.

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