Name: Kirsten Simkiss's review of Dawn of the Arcana by Rei Toma
Item: Dawn of the Arcana
Rating: 3
Author: Kirsten Simkiss

Rei Toma

A medieval fantasy where a princess’s mysterious power alters her fate! Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries. Political forces threaten to tear their world apart, but the two are inexplicably drawn to each other… But what happens when Nakaba finds out about Loki’s feelings for her? Torn between wanting to reciprocate the love of her dear friend and the love she now feels for her husband, Caesar, Nakaba’s decision between the two men may drastically change the fate of the future! Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen audiences.

Dawn of the Arcana

Juliana M

A medieval fantasy where a princess’s mysterious power alters her fate! Reads R to L (Japanese Style). Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power!

Kirsten Simkiss

I enjoyed this one quite a bit! The art is lovely and consistent, for one, and the world within the story is really interesting. I enjoy the caste system they’ve created and the concept of the Ajin. I wonder if both countries have the exact same cultures or not and have been warring over nothing. I look forward to reading more of the series.

A medieval fantasy where a princess’s mysterious power alters her fate! Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for audiences rated teen. Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, and no one expected there to be love between the unlikely couple. But as Nakaba and Caesar grow close, political forces threaten to tear them apart— especially when Caesar’s brother Cain leads an attack on a village Nakaba is trying to save! As things heat up, will Caesar be able to protect Nakaba against his own brother?

We finally get to learn about the other prince and it turns out he's a horrible person because society slighted him for his lesser birth. We also learn that there are other arcana and that Nakaba is only one of many who possess them.

A medieval fantasy where a princess’s mysterious power alters her fate! Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for audiences rated teen. Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, so no one expected there to be love between the unlikely couple. But just as feelings start growing between them, Nakaba's power, the Arcana of Time, shows her a vision of a young woman's murder. Has the time come for Nakaba to harness her power to change fate?

This volume is slightly less interesting than the last. While Nakaba gets to explore her ability more, they introduce a new character who seems woefully unprepared for he court intrigues that she's caught up in, causing Nakaba to put herself in harm's way for her sake. I continue to dislike Loki for the obvious reason of wanting to kill people on the basis that their parents did something bad.

A medieval fantasy where a princess’s mysterious power alters her fate! Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for audiences T. Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, so no one expected there to be love between the unlikely couple. Nakaba is starting to warm to Caesar, however, and her attendant Loki doesn’t like this one bit. Are Loki and Caesar destined to be enemies? And how does Nakaba’s power, the Arcana of Time, fit into all this?

This one was better than the second volume, though I’m unsure as to why the new prince is a necessary character.

A medieval fantasy where a princess’s mysterious power alters her fate! Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for audiences T. Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, but things take a surprising turn when Caesar finds himself falling for his strange wife! Caesar tries to get Nakaba to return his feelings, but she maintains that he is her enemy and that she hates him. So when Nakaba has a vision of Caesar getting killed, will she say anything to save him?

I enjoyed the first volume far more. They keep pushing this love triangle angle and it's just weird because Loki and Nakaba don't seem to have any real chemistry. The art is still lovely, but the plot seems to be trying to make Nakaba choose between the two men in her life - one of whom raised her.

A medieval fantasy where a princess’s mysterious p Reads R to L (Japanese Style). Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, yet the two find themselves drawn to each other even as political forces threaten to tear their world apart. Nakaba’s secret ability to see the past and the future proves to be an asset—but things turn deadly when she chooses to use her power to help a friend! Will Caesar still stand by her amidst the ensuing bloodshed?

The plot seems to be picking up. The characters have formed a tight group that are all working together against the king of Belquat, who clearly intends to take over Senan and kill off as many Ajin as he can in the process. I look forward to seeing how different Senan is to Belquat in future volumes.

A medieval fantasy where a princess’ s mysterious p Reads R to L (Japanese Style). Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, yet the two find themselves drawn to each other even as political forces threaten to tear their world apart. After a murder in the family, Caesar and Nakaba seek refuge in Senan, Nakaba’s homeland. The couple is far from welcome, however, as demonstrated by Nakaba’s cousin’s cruelty. Worse yet, the king of Senan sends them packing…!

I like that the relationship of the characters is getting to be more relaxed and natural and that the political intrigue is picking up. I wish they'd do more with the Ajin world, and explaining the history of the relationship between the humans and the Ajin.

A medieval fantasy where a princess’s mysterious power alters her fate! Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, yet the two find themselves drawn to each other even as political forces threaten to tear their world apart. As Nakaba becomes embroiled in the chaos within the country of Lithuanel, Caesar prepares to return to Belquat to face the possibility of execution! Meanwhile, Nakaba’s Arcana of Time power reveals some disturbing details about her attendant Loki’s past… Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen audiences.

Aaaaand we're back to the dysfunctional relationship. I still think Loki's feelings toward Nakaba are creepy considering he practically raised her. Romantic grooming will always be creepy to me. I also don't know how this ability will work or if Loki is actually telling the truth about the Arcana of Time.

I definitely prefer the intrigues of the court and Nakaba needing to make decisions to the mediocre male characters in this series. The men act in the most bizarre macho way most of the time and are completely useless as love interests. I look forward to seeing which prince Nakaba will choose.

Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, yet the two develop feelings for each other while political forces threaten to tear their world apart. With Caesar’s departure to Belquat, the couple separates. Meanwhile, Nakaba manages to take control of Senan as ruler! But once Caesar’s father, King Guran, decides to break the peace treaty and invade Senan, what will Caesar do when he’s caught between his father and the woman he loves?

Of course Loki has to throw a monkey wrench into the works. Of fucking course he does. I'm excited for what the future may hold.

A New York Times’ bestseller with gorgeous, eye-catching art and a romantic storyline that’s addicting to read. Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat only married each other for the sake of peace between their two warring countries, yet the two find themselves drawn to each other. As political forces threaten to tear their world apart, and with Caesar’s departure to Belquat, the couple separates. Now Nakaba must navigate the treacherous court of Senan by herself, including deciding how to handle her new husband, Prince Adel! Will Nakaba be able to use her Arcana of Time power to take control of Senan? Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen audiences.

The political intrigue is great. I honestly think that Nakaba taking the throne by force was a great move for her kingdom, although I'm sure the nobles are going to disagree.

A New York Times’ bestseller with gorgeous, eye-catching art and a romantic storyline that’s addicting to read. Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power! Princess Nakaba of Senan and Prince Caesar of Belquat married each other for the sake of peace between their warring countries, yet the two find themselves drawn to each other even as political forces threaten to tear their world apart. In Lithuanel, Nakaba desperately searches for a way to save both her friend Akhil and his brother Azhal. Unfortunately, her visions show that only one of them will live. Meanwhile, Caesar’s return to Belquat may mean the end of his relationship with Nakaba… Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen audiences.

I'm definitely enjoying the intrigue more and I felt the stigmas toward the Ajin-human hybrid children were interesting. I still find Loki creepy and I think it's weird that all the people with Arcana are teaming up together, but all in all, it is interesting.

Juliana M &
Dawn of the Arcana by Rei Toma

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Dawn of the Arcana by Rei Toma