From the title alone, I knew The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride was for me. The mention of ayakashi, hello?! This has Lisa written all over it. But aside from that, the synopsis mentions that the story is from the creator of Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, which is an anime I love. Those two things coupled together only mean great things for me!

The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride is by Midori Yuma with art by Mamenosuke Fujimaru. Kodansha is publishing it in the US. In it, Nanao is a young woman whose life has been in ruins due to a yokai curse. When she was younger, she was set to marry the young lord of the Byakurenji family, Reito. After being cursed, Nanao is shunned from the family, treated horribly, and made to be a silent servant. One fateful day, she meets Yako, a powerful son from another important family. He recognizes her true spiritual powers and saves her from her awful life by making her his bride.

Call me a simple woman, but I cannot resist a “damsel in distress” storyline. Serve it to me on a platter because I am eating it up! Especially when the rescuer is a man everyone fears, but he treats his partner with care. Nanao is wary of Yako but can’t help but to be drawn to him.

This first volume lays a lot of groundwork about the world this is set in. We gain an understanding of the spiritual world and the powers that be, as well as the family dynamics. It also hints at troubles coming down the line. At first glance, the plot may not be that unique, but I’m finding that it has a certain charm that sets it apart, especially with the main characters. The spiritual world it takes place in also feels like it has a lot of depth, especially with how Yako interacts with the yokai.

Nanao initially comes across as the powerless damsel despite possessing strong spiritual powers, but something tells me that she is going to level up tremendously. Already, she has made the decision to leave the place she’s been, filled with abuse and oppression, to be with someone she barely knows. She has a lot of agency, and it seems like Yako will only be encouraging that.

The promise of romance along with a spiritual world with interesting yokai characters, like Goki and Zenki, has me already preordering the next volumes. From the way this volume ended, I can tell there’s a lot of good drama on the way, and I can’t wait!

Akemi sucks and I hope she gets what she deserves. I hope nanao gets a happy life full of love. This has such an interesting magic system in it.

I picked up The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride on a whim, and I’m so glad I did! The mix of romance, mystery, and supernatural folklore totally pulled me in. Nanao is such a sympathetic character—you really feel for her—and Yako is mysterious in that perfect, brooding way. The art is gorgeous too, with so much attention to detail in the clothes and setting. It kind of gave me The Ancient Magus’ Bride vibes, but with its own unique twist. Definitely looking forward to volume 2!

This was a really great story! The overall plot was very interesting and I was surprised by how easily he accepted Nanao but he really does seem like her and wanted to help her. His household with all the demons was very intriguing too especially since its his job to exorcise them. I was hoping for a little more insight into that life but it was really focused on Nanao for this portion of the story. I can really see this being an anime in the future it has really good potential.

As a fan of “Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits” I’ve been dying to read something with similar vibes.

The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride is a steamy new historical fantasy romance about a cursed girl shunned by those around her...and the demon hunter who falls for her.

I loved it so much and it was so addictive I finished it in one sitting! The characters, the drama, the romance were all amazing and the art was stunning 🤩
I think this one will appeal to lovers of paranormal romance a lot.🖤 I for one need the next instalment because I am positively obsessed 😭

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

I really liked it! It's perfect for anyone who enjoyed My Happy Marriage. I think the volume had a great pace and promises to be an incredible fantasy and romance story! The characters are very mysterious, and the whole cast of demons seems like it'll be fun. I want to read more!

The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride would be a good addition to the bookshelves of those who love romance with a side of the supernatural. Especially to readers who love My Happy Marriage.

Nanao is a girl who was once engaged to a childhood sweetheart, However, after an unfortunate event, she ends up cursed by a demonic spirit. Years pass, and while she was allowed to stay in her village, her engagement was broken and she was forced to hide behind a mask. It seems like the rest of her life is written out until a demon hunter from another noble family visits. During his stay, Yako meets and sees Nanao without her mask. He falls for her beauty and strength, and he gives her a way out by leaving with him. What Nanao doesn’t know is that Yako is also harboring a secret.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I honestly couldn’t stop myself from reading this. Albeit manga is generally read in a handful of minutes. The first volume laid the groundwork beautifully for the rest of the series.

The illustrations are stunning, and really brings out the historical elements. Character development was very well done, and there was a great deal of emotional depth. The story flowed well and left me wanting (in a good way); I now require garden ayakashis in my life!

Perfect for fans of My Happy Marriage and Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, which makes sense considering it’s the same author.

Really interesting read, I felt so so bad for the main character for how she was treated. I do think it's an interesting topic considering how beauty is treated in some countries. So glad she found someone after how her fiancé at the start was. She deserves all the love!

This was such an interesting read! Demons, vampires, curses… I read it in one sitting and immediately went to see when volume two comes out.

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

Unfortunately this is a DNF at 31%

Look, I am still relatively new to manga and I don't understand all the cultural influences, but this opened with an an adult telling his extremely young girl fiance that he would marry her once she was 15, talked about how uniquely spiritually charged women are so they must be the ones to makes breakfast, and then proceeded to have the protagonist who was 'tainted' treated in the most abusive and dehuminising way possible, which were all incredibly unpleasant to read.

I get that it's going to be all about how one of the guys will fall for her and her station will improve, but this is absolutely not for me.

Otherwise the art and script were great

this was very cute and I love the story. I want to continue this series to see where it goes. I really like the back story of out main character and I want to see her get a happy ending without being hurt in the process.

I really enjoyed reading this manga. It somehow gave me strong "My Happy Marriage"-Vibes what I loved so much! The artstyle's incredibly gorgeous. Also, I am a fan of these cute little garden ayakashis blabbering around. This first volume gave a really nice introduction to the story and made me curious for following volumes. Absolutely a must-read!

This was such a fun read! I love a story where the person that is put into a difficult situation out of their control gets an opportunity for a better life. This was a great first installment and I know I could get lost in this magical and romantic manga series.

The art is beautiful and the story is a timeless one with its own unique take I really enjoyed. I recommend “The Ayakashi Hunter’s Bride” to anyone who enjoys fantasy or romance. This is an enjoyable story to add to your manga collection!

It's a very interesting story! I really enjoyed it! It's sad that she has been treated that way and I'm glad she found someone who treats her better!

If you’re looking for something that gives you sort of a Cinderella vibe this is the manga for you. I adored Yako so much, he was so caring and understanding in a way I almost didn’t expect. I loved the story and the direction the plot is going on. I’m honestly really excited for the next volume to come out of this book.

I couldn't put this down after I got into it! I finished it in one sitting and the setting was so interesting, I kept turning to read more. It's cliche, but it was an indulgent read and I really liked that Nanao had someone who was immediately smitten with her. It's a perfect contrast to all that mistreatment she spent so long under, and I'm excited for the couple's development. Yako is so mindful of Nanao and shares in having that "ugly side" of them that scares others, which I think was a nice touch to give Nanao that extra sense of relatability (amongst such a high-ranking clan)!

This was a strong foundation for the rest of the series and I can't wait to see more of it! There's not a lot of romantic moments just yet, but the sweet moments shared between the two as they begin to adjust to each other has me hopeful for their relationship. There's a lot of groundwork laid out for the worldbuilding that I'm thrilled to see developed. I especially loved the incorporation of culture and tradition. The art was so beautiful to look at and the usage of screen tones was masterfully done!

Loved this volume. I hope Reito explodes. Will definitely be reading more.

This manga is so cute, I love the storyline and I love the characters. The main character girl is someone that I am excited to see grow over the course of a series. The art is so pretty.

I really enjoyed the Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride was a great start too a new Manga series. Really gave me more grown up Kamisama Kiss vibes, I'm excited to read the other volumes of this series.

Thanks Net galley for the read.

It was quite a cute read, the main character seems overly naive but does get better as the story progresses, you can't tell if she's aware she was set up to lose everything or not but its very obvious to the reader throughout, i'm really hoping we get to see more of her husband's found family, the character designs are pretty cool and diverse - very excited for volume 2

though there were 2 pages of random blocks of text at the end which threw me off a lot? but overall a cute read, and one i'd continue reading