First Impression: Bibliophile Princess

In something like an early modern European-ish kingdom, Elianna thinks she’s a fake fiancée, a placeholder for some future “real” one. For reasons she seriously doesn’t comprehend, the shiny Prince Christopher proposed to her several years ago, and she accepted because…it meant she could read more books. But from the outset, Elianna expected to be replaced. During flashbacks (which take up most of the episode), we meet the prince’s close associates, Alexei and Glen, and the prince’s uncle Theodore. And now a girl named Irene enters the picture and (at least to Elianna) it seems like she’s clearly going to displace Elianna. And our book-loving heroine doesn’t mind…or does she?

This is a sweet romance with a lovable protagonist and elements of mystery strewn throughout. To be fair, some of the “mysteries” are only mysterious to Elianna. She’s one of the most totally-on-the-autism-spectrum-ish protagonists I’ve seen. She’s intelligent but displays a sense of disconnection in social interactions that plainly evokes neurodivergence (seen most hilariously when she misinterprets the poor prince’s gift of jewelry as a loan and wonders how soon she can return it). However, speaking for the story more broadly, there’s a good bit of mystery and intrigue that are more than just misunderstandings by the protagonist. I’m a fan of the light novels and this seems like it’ll be a solid adaptation of an already excellent story.

Bibliophile Princess is streaming on HIDIVE.