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(c) 2025 TOKYOPOPThe Unwanted Bride Loves the Crown Prince with All Her Heart, Volume 1
Story and Art: Sua Tsumugi, based on the original story by Maya Koike
Publisher: TOKYOPOP (Print & Digital)
Imprint: LoveLove
Translation: Jacqueline Fung
Retouching and Lettering: Vibrant Publishing Studio
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Rating: 13+
Genre: Romance
Princess Tinalia of Lidea has loved Prince Keithfalt of Baldin ever since they were children. They share an unfortunate past in which Tina, treated poorly as an illegitimate daughter, worked as Prince Keith’s servant while he was held hostage as a prisoner of Lidea. The two had terrible experiences as children, experiencing isolation, abuse, and starvation, but Tina cherished the times when Keith was kind to her, and vows to always love him.
Ten years later, after a series of wars and terrible events weakens the kingdom of Lidea, Lidea loses and offers Tina as a bride to Prince Keith in a political match. Tina is delighted to be reunited with Keith after all these years, but Keith does not remember her, and is quite cold to her. They have the wedding, but on the first night Keith sleeps in bed with Tina on the couch; he informs her he has another lover; and that Tina will be moved to a different location in the castle in the morning.
(c) 2025 TOKYOPOPThus begins a chilly relationship between a devoted wife and the husband who views her only as a threat to his kingdom. Will Keith ever see Tina’s love for him, and respond in turn? Will Tina only ever be seen as a wolf in sheep’s clothing?
The initial premise to this manga is straightforward and feels a little familiar, like a fairy tale. Long-lost love. Pining. Arranged marriages. War and politics. The manga’s title pulls no punches and lets you know exactly what the story is going to be. The whole “unwanted bride” aspect of it made me curious, because one of the biggest tests of endurance is to continue loving someone even when you are not wanted back.
The childhood memories Tina has of Keith are very sweet—Keith, after all, is the first person to ever show her kindness.
(c) 2025 TOKYOPOPI can absolutely understand where Tina is coming from. I had no feelings of self-worth growing up, so the very first boy who demonstrated kindness to me I fell head-over-heels for, not even knowing if he was a good person or not. I was just shocked that a guy was nice to me.
So while I sympathize with Tina’s strong feelings, at the same time, I’m like, Keith, please be worthy of these emotions! Because loving someone wholeheartedly based on small but sweet encounters does not a true love make. There can be danger there.
But as this is a romance, I doubt that Keith will stay frozen to Tina’s charms the entire story. He’s already showing interest in her, and can’t push aside the feeling of familiarity when he is with her.
What keeps Keith back is his duty as the prince, and the fact that his advisors and associates in the castle repeatedly tell him not to trust Tina. While the wars with Lidea are already solid evidence that Tina might not be on the kingdom of Baldin’s side, there are schemers in the prince’s palace that are doing whatever they can to ensure Tina will not be happy or hold any sway with the prince. There are characters like Criana, a duke’s daughter who openly lusts after the prince and will manipulate to get him on her side, and the King’s second wife Bellard, who has her own machinations and desires. Both Criana and the queen treat Tina awfully and delight in making life hard for her.
While Tina has moments of self-doubt and pity, overall she does not let her circumstances wear her down. And her desire to be whatever Keith needs, whether he returns her love or not, is admirable. It’s worth reading onward to see how the relationships between all of the characters will play out, and whether or not Keith’s feelings (and memories!) can awaken.
I enjoy fantasy romance manga but The Unwanted Bride Loves the Crown Prince With All Her Heart isn’t something I’d think to pick up because when it comes to the genre, I usually tend to read it in the form of BL. But the title drew me in, as well as the art. The manga is full color, and the pastels and shades chosen remind me of watercolors with blues, purples, and pinks, and delicate lines drawn throughout. These factors make the manga beautiful to me.
There are a lot of images of flowers in the art, which makes sense because Tina cherishes the flowers Keith gave to her as a child, but this is also a common thematic shorthand in Japanese manga. Flowers not only look aesthetically pleasing and set the tone, but they have special meanings to them.
This panel, which is probably my favorite because I find it both romantic and lovingly illustrated, shows a cherry blossom tree in the garden (fragility/transitory nature), a rose bush (romantic love), and primrose (desire/long love). In this picture, Keith and Tina keep their distance from each other, and yet they have a shared moment together. The flowers help suggest their relationship is tenuous and fragile, but foreshadow that a great love is coming.
(c) 2025 TOKYOPOPI enjoyed my time reading The Unwanted Bride Loves the Crown Prince with All Her Heart and especially liked the kick-up of intrigue and manipulation in the later chapters of the volume. It ends on a cliffhanger, which only makes me more impatient for Volume 2. And Tina is a sweet character for whom you can only wish good things. I really want Keith to realize who he’s married to!
If you like romance in fantastical kingdoms, lush artwork, plus some earnest sweetness and devotion, then I recommend The Unwanted Bride Loves the Crown Prince with All His Heart. Parts of it remind me of elements of fairy tales like Cinderella and Tattercoats, but I can tell this story is out to tell a new spin on some classic romance tropes. I look forward to what’s coming next.
The Unwanted Bride Loves the Crown Prince with All His Heart Volume 1 is available July 22 from TOKYOPOP in print and digital, and will also be sold at a variety of booksellers online and in store. Volume 2 is expected to release September 16, 2025.
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English (US) · 