I Refuse to Be Your Enemy! Volume 1 Kindle Edition

I'm an avid Fire Emblem fan and a very avid fan of josei fantasy romances, and this has the perfect mix of both worlds. You can see the influences of both (Cain being a cavalier that you start with in a turnbased strategy game is a big one, and the main character's father dying in the first chaprter of the game is another lol) and the "reincarnated into another world as a villainess trope" that's been popular the past few years. Kiara is cute, very much a teenager having to adapt her memories from a previous life in a world where her country was not war torn and relatively peaceful then her current one having that smothered and somewhat sheltered life, it really gives the desperation she has to save Reggie a little "omph" even prior to not having feelings for him yet. She's very much a teenage girl out of her depths in both worldly experiences.I enjoy Reggie as a love interest, he's very teasing to Kiara and doesn't fall into the tropes that current love interests in Shoujous and Joseis have been falling into. He tries to communicate with Kiara as best as he can and they both have nice chemistry that you can see how much Kiara makes him happy. He also tries to keep her informed about what's happening around her and tries to eleviate her worries about his future. He's protective of her as well.I like Alan a lot, lol. He's the stereotypical protagonist of a fantasy turn based game. Very blunt and observant, but draws the wrong conclusions very fast. Quick to action with a stronger sense of loyalty.The world building is somewhat minimal, but you're able to imagine the scenes clearly and understand what the society is like somewhat. It also is clear enough that when something that is brought up is explaned, its easy to remember. The politics are very easy to read and not a info dump of blood feuds and relations. It's overall an easy read, but theres no need to turn your brain off to enjoy the romance that's building up.

If you’re looking for a realistic iskei novel this is it. The MC isn’t super smart or strong and the obvious love interest isn’t suddenly in love and they don’t see eye to eye on everything. Yea I know powers and monsters aren’t real but think about what would happen if zombies become a thing. None of us would suddenly be strong or smart enough. Over time we’d grow accustomed to fighting often and further generations would be smarter and stronger to face the zombies but that’s over time. And most stories like thing have the MC be smart/strong straight out the gate. Plus the usual insta love trope. Don’t get me wrong I love a good insta love story sometimes but I can’t get consumed by the story usually. This was so consuming that I spent an hour at work just reading it. That’s how good it is. I absolutely love it and am about to read book2.

I got this book on my Kindle because it popped up and was hoping to read a light novel series and I am pleasantly surprised by the story.There are a few things to be aware of. The narrator is typically first person when it's from the MC, Kiara's, perspective. It occasionally switches to either Reggie (Reginald), Alan, or Cain's perspective at times and when it does, it goes to third person omniscient (lol, I'm trying to remember if that's the correct term so don't quote me!) and that might be jarring at times but I think it really helps the story progress and help you become invested in the characters.Also, this story is about a girl who has memories from Japan when she's reincarnated into the villainess of her favorite RPG--but she has the memories from Earth since childhood so this leads to an interesting question of who she really is--is she the self from Earth and in someone's body or is she actually reborn and just has memories of a past life? (This is a question that IS answered in later volumes of the book and it's well done, in my opinion). As a result, her thought process and her personality is shaped by those memories and she is also shaped by the customs and traditions of the world she was born into.I think another strong point of this story is that it's not a reverse harem situation. Alan, who was the hero in the RPG of her memories is NOT the love interest, but rather his friend Reggie and possibly another suitor, Cain. And the main character isn't really interested in relationships but rather how she can save her friends from the fates that she remembers from her past life--and this is where I think the strength in the story telling lies, especially considering that in order to become a spellcaster in this world, she will have to sacrifice a lot--AND she still decides to pay that price in order to have the ability to save her friends.The other strength in this story is that there is a focus on the building of the relationships--not the romance--but the way that interactions between people help everyone grow and become better people. Also, there is a focus on battles and tactics and the fighting and the military information isn't glossed over but gives you enough information as to what's happening where you can really picture it in your head.The reason for the four stars is because I have a few minor annoyances that I couldn't really get past and these are more things that are specific to me. I don't like how the word "giggle" is in reference to Reggie. He giggles a lot. And I don't know why, but for some reason, I don't like the use of the word "giggle" for a cis-male character--this is something that just bugged me and I have to sit with it to figure out why it bothers me so much and is my own personal reflection--maybe I'll figure it out and get over it. BUT Reggie is a really interesting character and usually his interactions with everyone did bring out a good giggle on my part (and yes, that use of "giggle" was intentional).The other thing that bugged me at times was Kiara herself. I am not a fan of characters being self-deprecating. And she puts herself down A LOT. As a brunette myself, I find it annoying with brunettes put themselves down for not being seductive black haired women, or blonde bombshells, or sexy red heads. Brunettes are just as beautiful as any others! But, she does put herself down in many ways and without reason which is why I found it annoying--and this might be cultural to the author, I'm not sure--but for a girl who is doing what she's doing in the story and what she sacrifices, to be hung up on the fact that she doesn't think that she's pretty or that people wouldn't interact with her or find her attractive ever is grating. Also, in that society, showing your ankles is improper--WHICH, in my opinion, is a little extreme. I mean, literally, she shows her ankles once (actually a few times) but the first instance it happens, she internally freaks out--and that just surprised me because of how extreme it seemed to me as a modern-day woman.But overall, the story is good. Oh, keep in mind that the first volume ends on a semi-cliffhanger. So, if you're into the story, you'll most likely get the second volume and the case can be said that all the volumes except the 6th&last volume all end on partial cliffhanger endings. Just an fyi. But, overall, I did like the story. If I didn't, I wouldn't have gotten all the subsequent volumes!

Although I have read other books with a similar premise I found the twist on this one quite nice. The characters were well rounded with none of them being overpowered or hopefully incompetent. All in all this book found the right balance of adventure, minor amounts of introspection, not to many tropes, and character growth for me to read it in one sitting.

I loved the storyline and characters! It made you want to see what happened next. A lot of the storyline I was thinking would happen didn't and that made it so much better. I hope you read this and decide to read for your self!

Character dialogue and behavior does not fit the era. The female lead is predominantly from the era with hints of her alt modern world existence so her behavior should mostly fit the fantasy environment, but easily forgets behavior she cultivated for 14 years. Meanwhile, the other characters that spawn from that world are definitely acting weirdly and even using modern terminology at times which destroyed the setting credibility. Gonna pass on the sequels because there were to many, “Yeah right” moments.