Not-sew-wicked stepmom vol 1 by iru

Illustrated by Mo9Rang

One day, a child fashion designer works herself to her literal death and awakens as the queen in the fairytale-inspired story she was reading. Now living as Abigail, she finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage with a husband who gives her the creeps, and the worst case of Resting-B**** Face that scares the daylights out of everyone, including her beautiful step-daughter Blanche, the Snow-White figure of the story. Abigail can’t stop herself from wanting to continue to design clothes, but the person she would love to dress up more than anything is afraid of her, and the entire castle still thinks she's a terrible villain. First, she has to repair some of the relationships with the maids that former Abigail has terrorized, Blanche, who is deathly afraid of her wicked stepmother, and her husband Sabrian, who doesn’t trust her at all.

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This story is a delightful blend of several fairy tales with the reincarnation/isekai and villain storyline tropes that are popular in Manhwa presently. With a lot of villain reincarnation stories that have been published lately, there is a sense of danger to the villain, but for Abigail, she mostly has to change people’s perception of her as the dumb, easily outraged vain person rather than have a fear for her life constantly. Coming to a medieval world with modern ideas also means this title tackles outdated gender stereotypes as well as harmful ideas about body image and diet that were forced upon girls at a young age. Abigail becomes Blanche’s biggest advocate for being healthy and enjoining her childhood, messages that are in nice contrast to what most young girls see portrayed in modern media.

The illustrations are beautiful, particularly the coloring. Everything is bright and alluring, and the characters are designed with fine detailing and coloring as well. Special attention was given to each character's outfits in every scene, as fashion is of particular importance to the storyline.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

Publisher: IZE Press
Publication Date: August 22, 2023 
ISBN: 9798400900501 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manhwa, Fantasy, Regressor, Isekai, Family, Folklore, Adaptations, IZE Press