@Almond-Magnum said in Ascendance of a Bookworm - General Discussion:

You say that because you're looking at the end result, but she didn't start as a tyrant. She started as an underdog in enemy territory. Her mother was dead, her older brother was dead, her father, at best, resented her, her stepfamily hated her, her little brother was nothing but dead weight. And from there, she climbed to a position where she could be a tyrant. She must have been quite the schemer before she got old and complacent.

I was mostly playing devils advocate, we've only seen her abuse and tyranny, fterall. I agree that she was probably quite the schemer, but it could just be everyone in Ehrenfest being meatheaded knights.

@doceirias that's a great reminder that I need to keep in mind, thank you!

J-Novel Club is a company that doesn't sell anything I'm interested in reading. I only have an account here because I bought a few volumes once upon a time. I do put my money where my mouth is.

@Korppi said in The Ryuo's Work Is Never Done!:

@Ekun said in The Ryuo's Work Is Never Done!:

now, now ... Will JNC add the whole series into their catalog too!?
or will be still only on BookWalker (dot) com ...

it still neither on Amazon Kindle, nor Kobo, neither (Apple) iBooks store ...

Seems j-novel club added the first three volumes here. Now hoping they add the rest. I do have them already from bookwalker but I don't mind double dipping, at least now I don't have to go through all that hassle to read them on my kobo (or re-read them when the occasion appears)...

3 each month is their current plan.

https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/10356/the-ryuo-s-work-is-never-done-volumes-1-3-discussion

It's hard to know whether it's an author or a publisher that's dragging out a series, and if it's the author why they're doing it (money, attention, lack of ideas for a new series or after story, etc.)

Failure Frame drove me away when it reached a perfect point to end the main story arc, but then the author threw in a reset to drag it out (forever?).

I'd much rather read the Skeleton Knight or Realist Hero approach where the author finishes their arc then starts something new with the story. Otherwise it turns into kid cartoon shows where the bad guy escapes every episode so they can come back next week to sell new toys.

Maomao is the only standout example I can think of. She is absolutely surrounded by sex, and occasionally romance, but only ever engages with it at an intellectual level. I'd appreciate it if someone familiar with the ace/aro spectrum could give an analysis of her (non)sexuality.

Addressing some of the other suggestions:

Myne from Bookworm is a child for most of the series (which is a lot.) If your head canon is that she is ace and mostly aro, you can read it without cognitive dissonance. Potential marriage partners for her are a plot point on several occasions, and romantic attraction or how hot the potential partner is are not factors in her reaction to the possible pairings. If you haven't read Bookworm, you should, not because of ace representation, but because it is Bookworm.

Wild Last Boss just never thinks about romance (at least that I remember) so although technically every character could be considered ace/aro, it doesn't give me ace/aro vibes.

If you think it's already polished enough to release to the general public as a paid novel, you do have the option of self-publishing through the Amazon kindle store.

For that you'd probably want to have had a professional editor go through and point out any problems with it.

For sharing a web novel for free, the suggestions above make sense.

I read 2 of the contest winners' books and I would 100% read a vol 2 of both

@dennisambler the series is published by Drecom Media in Japan, and they've only had Blade & Bastard go to v4 (and beyond) of works they started. V3 is the latest one released there. So not officially cancelled, but I'm not expecting more any time soon.

So, about the ones I read:

Are You Okay With a Slightly Older Girlfriend? Is great if you're fine with the premise of a 27 years old woman and a 15 years old boy dating, which wasn't a problem for me. The series technically is not concluded from what I heard, bit it reached a good stopping point.

Why Shouldn’t a Detestable Demon Lord Fall in Love?! Is ok if you are looking for something sickening sweet.

Guide to the Perfect Otaku Girlfriend: Roomies and Romance is an ok romance between otaky and gal, nothing particularly special but if you like the genre is a nice read.

Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I'm Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! as others starsc isn't 100% romance but is more of your average fantasy isekai. I enjoyed it, although it's brought down a bit by the apparent inability of the author to stick to his ideas until the end.

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte is a series I appreciate reading and I usually don't read villainess stories. It has a good romance and lots of nice characters. The version currently on sale is the manga, though.

@Reshes

My favourite is A Late-Start Tamer's Laidback Life by Yuu Tanaka. It's fun and fluffy and cheers me up.

I gave up reading the series when the kids showed up. Been debating if i want to pick it back up or not. Guess I'll keep waiting to decide.