The land of Pajan, we’ve learned, has a real problem. Women are forced to do more, for less, and given very little respect for it. In Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress! powerful and skilled women in the villages are dismissed and demeaned because they are women, while mediocre men are given rank and power they do not deserve. In A Lily Blooms in Another World, we learn that life is not much better for women among the nobility.

“I’m Still Talking.”

Miyako Florence is the daughter of the noble Florence family, who has just learned that her engagement to the powerful Klaus Reinhardt has been canceled. Her reaction is the very opposite of unhappy, as she ecstatically runs off to use her new-found freedom and confess her love to the reason she’s here in Ode in the first place, the lovely, talented Fuuka Hamilton.  Miyako has a secret that Fuuka can’t possibly know…she not from the capital…she’s not even from this world. Another unappreciated and overworked corporate drone from our world, Miyako has found herself in the world of her favorite game and…she’s ready to romance the villainess, Fuuka Hamilton.

Fuuka has good reason to want to escape her circumstances, but being seduced away by a rival was not among them. Nonetheless, she gives Miyako 2 weeks, 14 days to convince her to say that she’s happy.

It is obvious to us that they are almost instantly happier in the country together than they ever were in the capital, with oppressive rules that treat them as not much more than fodder for trade negotiations. But it will take a lot more than just a country idyll to convince Fuuka that there are alternatives to a toxic system that poisons men against women, and women against each other.

“Nevertheless, she persisted”

This Light Novel is so adorable and fluffy and sweet, with a cute magical creature and bathing and cooking, that you might be tempted to not notice the gigantic hammer that crushes up the patriarchy, and all the little razorsblades that slice it into ribbons as you read. And that’s okay. A Lily Blooms in Another World isn’t a treatise, it’s a grin-making little Yuri romance. A grin-making Yuri romance that wields a powerful message nonetheless: There is power is recognizing and appreciating what women are capable of.There is power in love.

“Sisterhood is powerful”

As I noted in my review of the Japanese webnovel back in July of this year, “In the way that Sexiled creates a female revenge scenario in which the man is merely made to be seen as foolish as he actually is, and the women’s skills and power appreciated for what they actually are…in Isekai ni Saku ha Yuri no Hana the woman is finally seen and appreciated for what she can and does do. In a lot of ways, I found this story, as gobsmackingly silly as it is, to be more touching and personal.”

Back in July I had one small, request. I hoped that the art for the Light Novel would be better than the cover image…which, honestly, makes the leads look 10 years old. Well, I am very pleased to report that the teenagers look like teenagers in the final art. ^_^ And, although I would have gladly traded Miyako’s fantasy image for one of Maria coming home…or would it kill anyone to illustrate the epic climax?…I’ll take what I can get.

I know I am among legions this time as I was with I’m in Love with the Villainess, but I do highly recommend A Lily Blooms in Another World, for a spoonful of sweet Yuri sugar wrapped around a bitter pill so many women are still being forced to swallow.

Top marks to translator Tom Harris, who pretty much nailed the tone of voice and all the goofinesses in the dialogue, especially that of magical creature Umi. And thanks to the entire team at J-Novel Club for bringing us another great read!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 2
Yuri – 9
LGBTQ – Yes. Wait for it.

Overall – 9

In 2020, Kaeruda’s stories are doing something extraordinary – they are fun, romantic, epic and meaningful all at the same time, without anything having to be sacrificed to make anything else work.

The Yuricon Store link leads to the Bookwalker Global version of this book, but it is also available on Amazon Kindle  and other sites where J-Novel Club sells their books.