This was a lovely read.
The artwork is stunning, the setting and world building in general really interesting and picturesque, the story an intriguing play on a classic.
The characters aren’t quite as as well-formed as I’d like, except for the little prince, but I’m sure that will be gradually solved in later volumes. We are starting to peek a bit of background for both of them, and I’m *very* intrigued.
Overall, I quite enjoyed the story and I look forward to seeing how it continues!

I wish I got more of Nina's backstory or more time spent with her friends before becoming a princess. I would have empathized with her and cared about her a lot more. This being the first volume could have given more information about the kingdom itself, which I'm sure Rikachi will explain in later volumes. So far you get exactly what the synopsis says.

The story was average. The last 15 pages were what truly "hooked" me. The artwork was stunning (it strangely gave me Dragon Quest vibes) I will be reading the sequel!

This manga is right in the top ten of my target with preferences.
As with other (but few) titles related to the Arab world, the story is a gesture to the well-known practices of The Thousand and One Nights. At the moment there is nothing fantastic in what is happening, but the atmosphere is built perfectly. The two main characters behave more than decently and are very cute, lively and funny. In terms of art, I'm also very happy, although for me the girl is somehow strange with these big, round eyes, at least in the situation of this manga.
In general, I recommend it and I would definitely collect it ... I have a weakness for Arabic stories, obviously.

The original of this opinion is in Bulgarian. Sorry for the translation errors. I am adding a link.

I received an arc in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this comic. The art style was gorgeous and the pacing of the volume kept me entertained the entire time. I don't like the concept of Nina having to pretend to be another person, but I'm interested to see where this series will lead!
I feel like it follows the typical fairytale or shojo manga cliches, but I'm here for it.

This is a very beautiful series. The art is gorgeous and it reminded me of other shojo series, such as Kamisama Kiss and Snow White with the Red Hair. It has a likeable female lead, who is spirited and kind, and the setting is magical and different to others I’ve seen. It was awesome to see something new explored.

The problem I find is that the story beats seem too predictable and a bit cliche. I already had an idea of where this series is going to go, and I’m not expecting many spins on the genre. It seems to be playing it straight, with the very obvious relationship forming, and the political intrigue going to happen. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. The formula works for a reason, and I think it will work for novice readers going into the genre, but if you’re looking for something new and different then you won’t get it here.

This is the first book of the series and it potraits the transformation of the life of a girl named Nina. She used to live with her two cousins and all were small kids only. They all were living alone and their gaurdians had died in the plague that spread throughout the town.
The cousins with whom Nina was living were two brothers and one of them died due to constant sickness. The brother who was alive sold Nina as he lost his brother only because of their poverty.
Nina used to dressed up as boy because she had a pair of beautiful blue eyes which was uncommon in their town and traders could have purchased her easily for the beautiful pair of eyes.
But that was the reason of these buyers too, the ones who purchased Nina from her brother. When Nina finally realised about her new lifestyle, she was stunned as she was the replacement of the dead princess Alisha.
Princess Alisha was restricted to the castle only and recently she met an road accident and died on the stop. So the fellow courtiers had to find a replacement inorder to let the marriage of Alisha with the Prince of nearby kingdom come true and the relationships between the two kingdoms be fair.
Nina met a golden eyed boy and came to know that he was the half brother of Alisha and Nina's master in the training of the Princess Alisha's life style.
This was the first volume, so basically the readers are being introduced of each character and there's a development of the world.

This was fun and different to read, I miss reading manga so this was a good reintro into the genre. I liked the story and the characters had decent chemistry. I did feel the beginning was quite rushed but overall great story

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Kodansha for this amazing opportunity. I loved this manga so much, its the type I've been liking recetly. The history love type, and it was great, so unlike others that I enjoyed so much! The plot was different and original andnreally loved it. Im keen to know how this continuous and develops itself. Great amazing drawings and súper interesting. Hyper mega Recomendable if you like this types of historycal romances. And THAT beginning, god I'll die in the waiting to know and for the volumens to come.

What a Great story. I‘m so in love with this Manga. The Cover was the first thing that got. my attention. The drawing of the characters are so beautiful and there are so many details.
The Story is about a Girl who is forced to take the place of the princess to remain the peace in the country. But the more she gets to know the second prince the more she feels like she belongs and has a meaning.
I can’t wait for the second book of the series.

I am glad I was able to read the first volume of this manga and I have to say that I have enjoyed it at every turn. Nina is an entertaining character and her interactions with the prince brings a good dynamic between the two. The story so far with her living in the palace and using the identity of the deceased princess which brings lots of trouble to her along with the fact that she has to learn how to be a princess in a short amount of time. Though it is sad that their meeting was when she was betrayed but I can't wait for the next volumes to come out so I can enjoy the character development and the possible romance between them.

This manga reminds me of another of the same genre but I can't seem to remember it. But I really enjoyed reading this manga can't wait to recommend it.

Volume one of Nina the Starry Bride is a promising start to this priestess-princess/pauper-based royal succession storyline. Having Nina get plucked from the life of a street urchin to stand in as the (presumably dead) priestess-princess is the initial plot, but I'm sure this will have more drama from who will be the eventual heir to the throne, involving Prince Azure and his half-brother. Nina does some emotional labor for the two princes, big surprise there (not). But wait, there's more, because the priestess-princess Nina is currently pretending to be is also supposed to marry a prince from a distant land. A lot of promises are set up in this first volume, and we can only hope the remaining volumes deliver. (I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley.)

While this is pretty tropey (classic orphan-becomes-princess due to the actual princess dying) it has potential. The art is quite lovely and I like the characters so far. Nina has a strong spirit and feels a bit more real than other similar princess MC’s I have read, so I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out!

I also liked the secondary characters and palace drama always delights me. Definitely a series to watch!

Okay, so right off the bat I love the artwork style!! It’s mesmerizing, and so visually pleasing aesthetically as well. I’ll admit the cover is what first drew me in, then I read the plot and was sold.

Nina The Starry Bride follows the story of Nina, an orphan ,who lives with 2 brothers for some time. They all steal to survive, since they’re left with no choice. It’s that or get sold as a slave or worse for Nina, her eyes are a dazzling rare blue color so the rich will surely pay a fine price for them.

Lucky for her, and unfortunate for the “real” Alisha, Nina has the same eyes as the priestess Alisha who has mysteriously died in a crash. Desperate to replace her in time to be married to the crown prince of Galgada, a golden eyed prince kidnaps her and turns her into Alisha.

Nina, now Alisha must adjust to life as royalty, and try not to give away her true identity in the process, which will be hard with such a blunt Queen around.

I overall enjoyed this manga to the fullest, I love the bit of mystery and perhaps budding romance sprinkled in, and can’t wait to collect the physical copies, I want to learn about this Prince of Galgada!

There are very good plot points from the aspect of it being a more developed storyline than the usual princess swap theory.
The art and drawing style are very pleasant to look at and I found it to be a very smooth and easy read.
Since I'm used to reading traditional Japanese style manga I found this to be quite a good mindless read that had a very light airy vibe that didn't require much strained thought.
As it is not the most complex plotline it didn't have a great impact on me yet, however I did thoroughly enjoy reading it and definitely think it is very well written. I really like the characters and the way they are portrayed. I would happily read more volumes of this series.

The plot of this manga is pretty cliche. It’s a standard princess and pauper style story except the princess is dead the whole time. If that was my only issue, the book would just be okay. Unfortunately there are a lot of confusing details, especially with how the royal family works, that aren’t ever really explained. The actual setup of the royal family is confusing. I would have greatly appreciated a family tree. Also, people’s motivations are sometimes nonsensical or confusing.

I am really excited for this series. Though the politics are interesting on their own, Nina is an amazing character.
An orphan after the plague, Nina has eyes the color of Lapis Lazuli. After Prince Azure finds his half sister, Alisha, dead on her way to the palace, he seeks a replacement.
Nina is sold by a friend to the prince, and is now posing as Alisha. They seem to truly be growing fond of each other, but she is supposed to be going off to marry another prince in 3 months time.
I am so excited to see where this goes. The art is lovely, and I am excited!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Nina the Starry Bride is about a 15-year-old orphan girl who finds herself kidnapped and asked to become the double for a recently deceased princess. "Alisha" is a priestess-princess arranged to be married soon, but can Nina really take her place without anyone else catching on?

I loved this manga and think it was a great introduction to an interesting fantasy romance. The art style was beautiful and the characters were so much fun to see interact. Nina and Azure honestly made me smile so much, I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here.

Thanks to net galley for an arc copy for review**

The art was good but the story was lacking. It's an interesting premise but alot of this volume felt like filler. I am interested to read more and look forward to learning the main plot and more character development.

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Nina the Starry Bride by RIKACHI is a fantasy/romance shojo manga about a street urchin who is kidnapped and asked to become a "double" for the crown princess. Nina is living a rough life on the street when one day, Crown Prince Azure comes and takes her away to the palace. Because of her blue eyes, which are rare, she is the spitting image of the Crown Princess Alisha. Because Alisha recently died in an accident, Azure decides that Nina must completely replace Alisha and pretend to be her. Her duties include deceiving the King and Queen, as well as eventually getting married to a Prince of a foreign country. If Nina is found out, she might be killed for impersonating a princess, and Azure might be punished, too, for his part in the deception.

Overall, Nina the Starry Bride is an exciting blend of action, romance, and fantasy. It reminded me of classic fairy tales like Cinderella, The Prince(ss) and the Pauper, and Beauty and the Beast. I had to keep reading and find out what happens to Nina. Will her true identity be revealed? Will Nina and Azure's relationship develop? Will she be able to deceive the court long enough and to get married? These are all questions I was pondering as I sped through this book. I was so engaged that I ended up finishing in few hours. If you are interested in fantasy/romance stories or in manga in general, I recommend that you check out this book! It was released in April 2021 and is now out on the shelves of bookstores across the U.S.