Hey Everyone!
So I just finished reading the masterpiece that was “Getting to Know Grace”. It really was one of those series that’s just chef’s kiss. Thanks to everyone who recommended it on this forum. I’ve read Moonlight Garden a few years ago and found Getting to Know Grace to be significantly better - both in terms of character/relationship progression, dialogue and world building (but not in terms of romantic/sexy scenes of course ;) ). I did still enjoy MG a lot.
I tried to read some of the other recs that went along with Getting to Know Grace, like Ghost of Greywoods, Goodbye My Rose Garden, etc. and honestly they all paled in comparison and seemed almost comical in how one-dimensional the plot/characters were. Some of the dialogues were so bad… I even tried Opium, which seemed universally loved, but didn’t find either of the protagonists compelling (or even likable), or the character motivations involving much depth.
All that being said, I was wondering if any of you have other recs that involve well parsed out storylines, characters and/or relationship dynamics similar to those in Getting to Know Grace? Whether it’s manhwa or manga. I don’t particularly care what the setting is either, although admittedly the historical aspect did add to its charm.
And of course I’m aware a lot of this is personal preference! Thanks in advance!
"Getting to Know Grace" is unique in its genre, it's incredibly good so it's kind of hard to find a story with the same mood but the author made another manhua named Words and Kisses, it's short but it made me happy to get to read this author again.
I don't know if you've read Her ShimCheong, it's not as dark as "Getting to Know Grace" but it's an intense and kind of less mature (imo) read.
There's also Re-Blooming from the same author of "Ghosts of the Greywoods", it takes place on a more modern setting and in the beginning, it seems like a cliché story but the more you read, the more you realize that you're being deceived. The characters can make you think that they're kind of generic at the start but they get so much more depth and introspection as the story continues. It's not as dark as "Getting to Know Grace" or even "Ghosts of the Greywoods", but speaking of storytelling I think "Re-Blooming" is better than the latter. It's a personal fav.
Living Will has kind of the same characters design as "Getting to Know Grace", the story is told in 10 chapters, I didn't find it life-changing but it's fun I guess. It's tragic, it's historical and more importantly it involves a loyal assassin trying to save her friend/lover.
Here are some suggestions which I'm not sure if it's meeting your requirements :
- Sea of June, a dark historical read with a twist of supernatural, not unforgettable but not bad either.
- Reign of Desire, I didn't really like it, almost hated it but I don't know if you'll like it. It's historical and got a lot of drama.
- I don't know if you're ok with reading BL but I really liked A Painter Behind the Curtain (I'm usually not very fond of BL story but this one got me occupied during a GL drought), the world-building is very good, the design incredible but it's not dark and the dynamic between the mc is generic (bad boy x damsel in distress).
And voilà, hope you enjoy the suggestions.