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ciolaceum 's review for:
For My Derelict Favorite
by Kim Seonyu
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just finished the novel version after reading most of the story through the manhwa (80%), and honestly… I have a lot of feelings. If I had to sum it up, I’d say the novel was fine? entertaining, occasionally moving but nowhere near as gripping or emotionally layered as the manhwa. The connection definitely carried me through the end but when I step back and look at the novel for what it was, without the help of the art or pacing of the manhwa… it didn’t quite hold up.
The writing itself wasn’t anything spectacular. Not terrible, but it didn’t give me the depth or weight I was hoping for. Especially in the way the relationships were portrayed— there was something kind of hollow about them here. I loved Hess and Kael in the manhwa because they felt real and tender, like a bond built slowly through pain and mutual respect but in the novel, it just felt lopsided.
It’s frustrating watching a character like Hess, who has done so much and sacrificed more than anyone else, be told to just “let it go” and move on. As if what she endured was something that could be brushed off. She took on systems of power, demanded justice and stayed standing when no one else dared to.
Kael was… fine. At best. I get that his trauma explains some of his distance, but it doesn’t excuse the lack of effort. There were so many moments that called for real vulnerability or communication and he just stood there. Sometimes, I can’t help but think that Hess deserved so much more than someone who only half-met her at the finish line.
The ending, too, felt weirdly abrupt. Not terrible—it kind of worked thematically, in that “life goes on” sort of way—but it also felt like we were just getting to something and then the story decided to pack up and leave. There wasn’t enough closure, not for Hess, not for Diana, and not even for the broader world they were trying to change. I would’ve loved to see more about Diana’s own reckoning or growth, if it even happened.
I’m still glad I finished it. I cared too much not to. And despite everything, I do love the core of this story: someone clawing her way through hell to give herself and someone else a chance at a new life. That part stuck. But if I’m being real, the novel didn’t deliver the emotional depth or payoff I was hoping for.
No matter what anyone says, I will always be on Hess’s side.
The writing itself wasn’t anything spectacular. Not terrible, but it didn’t give me the depth or weight I was hoping for. Especially in the way the relationships were portrayed— there was something kind of hollow about them here. I loved Hess and Kael in the manhwa because they felt real and tender, like a bond built slowly through pain and mutual respect but in the novel, it just felt lopsided.
It’s frustrating watching a character like Hess, who has done so much and sacrificed more than anyone else, be told to just “let it go” and move on. As if what she endured was something that could be brushed off. She took on systems of power, demanded justice and stayed standing when no one else dared to.
Kael was… fine. At best. I get that his trauma explains some of his distance, but it doesn’t excuse the lack of effort. There were so many moments that called for real vulnerability or communication and he just stood there. Sometimes, I can’t help but think that Hess deserved so much more than someone who only half-met her at the finish line.
The ending, too, felt weirdly abrupt. Not terrible—it kind of worked thematically, in that “life goes on” sort of way—but it also felt like we were just getting to something and then the story decided to pack up and leave. There wasn’t enough closure, not for Hess, not for Diana, and not even for the broader world they were trying to change. I would’ve loved to see more about Diana’s own reckoning or growth, if it even happened.
I’m still glad I finished it. I cared too much not to. And despite everything, I do love the core of this story: someone clawing her way through hell to give herself and someone else a chance at a new life. That part stuck. But if I’m being real, the novel didn’t deliver the emotional depth or payoff I was hoping for.
No matter what anyone says, I will always be on Hess’s side.