The Fall 2023 Light Novel Guide

I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons

What's It About? 

Duchess Leticia Dorman has been betrothed to Crown Prince Clarke since age seven. She was once a rambunctious and free-spirited child, but the strict education she's receiving to make her a fit future princess has really put a cramp in her lifestyle. Her only hope is that the prince might someday take an interest in someone else—so when Clarke shows up to a royal ball with an unknown woman at his side, Lettie is overcome with delight, presuming her dream has come true and her engagement has been broken off! She wastes no time retreating to an easygoing countryside life, but her newfound peace is cut short when the prince shows up and claims she's still his fiancée! Clarke is determined to win Lettie over and marry her, while Lettie is determined to resist his charms and escape! Who will emerge victorious in this heart-pounding battle of wills?

I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons has a story by Izumi Sawano, with art by Miru Yumesaki. English translation by Camilla L. Published by J-Novel Guide (September 20, 2023).

Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

Lest you think I'm unaware, it's very clear that Izumi Sawano intended this to be nothing more and nothing less than a silly romantic comedy. They say as much in the afterword, and even before that, it comes across in the text. And to a degree, this reads very much like a story where Katarina is a dedicated escape artist and Geord was a lot pushier. Heroine Letitia has been engaged to Prince Clarke since she was seven, and she deeply resents the fact that she has to take the eponymous princess lessons and can't do the things she loves, like climbing trees and fishing. And that resentment finds a perhaps undeserving focus in Clarke.

The issue with this book isn't that it takes clear influence from My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, because that's actually a fun element of the plot. Leticia has the same sort of joie-de-vivre and lack of brainpower as Katarina, and Clarke reads like a combination of most of her swains. There's also a good sense of the villainess genre as a whole, with Leticia trying desperately to find a “heroine” for her fiancé so that she can get rid of him. On paper, it looks great.

But as the story gets rolling, it becomes uncomfortable, and that's because Leticia is so determined not to marry Clarke and he's equally as determined that she will. His dedicated pursuit of her begins to take on undertones of stalking, even though that's not the author's intention. He pursues her, he carries her off, he locks her in increasingly secure rooms, and ultimately, he arranges for a speedy wedding so that she can't escape him. There are attempts to show that the real problem is with the traditions of the kingdom, which has poisoned Leticia against Clarke without ever having really gotten to know him, but not quite enough time is devoted to this. Instead, we mostly see Leticia desperate to escape and Clarke equally determined not to let her. It's uncomfortable rather than funny, and that's a shame because it has its moments and some very pretty illustrations.