Long title, but it summarizes everything I want to say about False Confession even after it came back from a long hiatus. You can refer to my first post about False Confession, in which I said it was promising but sluggish and not satisfying because of the extremely long-drawn out pace. 18 months and several chapters later, my opinion remains the same.
Even worse, the previously nice art has devolved significantly, especially in the case of the hero Cavert, so it is much harder to get excited about the future of the relationship. You can talk all you like about lookism and egalitarianism, but it still remains a fact that beautiful people attract more eyeballs than plainer ones.
Fans of the series are already familiar with the premise. If you keep reading regardless, you have to get used to the way things are in False Confession instead of wishing it was something else. There are other series with more decisive heroines or more attractive male leads, better art, faster paces, etc. That’s why this will be my last time whining about a series I choose to read, and one that has clearly shown that it is a deliberately slow and meandering and wishy-washy series.
But since this is my last time whining, and I’m gonna have a good and proper whine. Priestess Renesha is soooooo annoying! They might as well have titled the series, “Renesha learns to say no,” because eventually she will learn to express herself clearly, but for now it is super irritating.
- She doesn’t love Cavert. She has some affection for him, and there’s some part of her that feels she should like him because he’s so obviously into her, but no, she doesn’t like him yet, much less love him. It’s only at chapter 64 that she claims to have some sort of romantic feelings for him, but it’s more because she was frustrated he didn’t kiss her than any other reason.
- Nevertheless, because of her inability to clearly say no or turn anyone down, she is stringing him along and giving him false hope. This is by her own admission, that she is just going with the flow until some other lady appears for him. But how will any other lady appear when you are firmly occupying the “lady” seat, going on dates with him, visiting his home, being his escort to parties, etc? It’s just cruel.
- She keeps entertaining the shady Prince Elviniraz even though she can tell he’s up to no good. She does this because she’s still attracted to him and flattered by his offer of an affair (she says otherwise but it’s obvious) so you have to watch this girl officially date Cavert but get all blushy and flustered around Elvin. Pick one, girl. Or pick neither. Or heck, both. But PICK!!!
- The rest of the story isn’t going anywhere fast either. The Imperial family is still being shady and trying to recruit Renee. An unspecified threat is out there in the world and there’s going to be an expedition (yes, another) but at the rate it’s going it will take till 2025 for them to go. Meh.
- Even worse, another expedition will mean having to watch Renee in close proximity with Prince Elviniraz again, acting all confused and upset when he flirts with her, then all weepy and trembly when Cavert confronts her. It was annoying enough the first time so I am not looking forward to a second dose.
TL;DR False Confession is irritatingly slow. The romance isn’t going anywhere fast, the rest of the story isn’t going anywhere, the art has dropped in quality and is getting worse. I actually worry about the health of the artist, especially after what happened to the Solo Levelling artist. There isn’t any reason for me to follow this regularly.
That said, as I already mentioned, there are all kinds of series out there even in the genre of isekai romance with magic and politics. Some may like a faster pace, some like Mary Sues, some like more flawed characters with more room for character development. I’m not sure what group I fall into, but I do know I get pretty impatient with slow series, so I think False Confession will be one of those series I catch up on once a year and binge-read. That’s for the best.
