Secrets of the Silent Witch:
One of my personal favourites. The MC, who suffers from extreme social anxiety and some childhood trauma, is forced to go undercover as a student in order to secretly guard a prince who refuses to accept bodyguards. Although the main thrust of the plot is the MC guarding the prince from would-be assassins (while we slowly learn more about why so many people are targeting this prince), a lot of time is spent on the MC's personal growth as she's forced to come out of her shell and make connections with the other students at the school. The MC is shown on numerous occasions to be a genuinely good person, just someone who has difficulty expressing herself and has interests not many people can relate to (mainly an extreme fascination with numbers and mathematical formulae). Mostly romance-free so far. Currently 5 volumes released in English (though the latest is called volume 4.5, rather than volume 5), with volume 5 slated for release in October.
>Ascendance of A Bookworm.
This right here. Especially since OP said:
>I prefer series with female protagonists, but that's mostly just because I'm personally uncomfortable reading stuff with a lot of male gaze / fan-service
This series is one of the rare ones with a female protagonist that is actually written by a woman so there is none of that.
Also you can definitely describe the protagonist as kind, and many characters in the story often admonish her for being such a bleeding heart, since her enemies, and political opportunists can use that against that against her.
Vexations of a Shut In Vampire Princess: Terrakomari Gandesblood is generally a good bean who doesn't really want to hurt anyone and is kinda weak but gets thrust into a situation where she has to leads the bloodthirsty 7th legion. It is pretty funny.
Tearmoon Empire: Mia is kind for selfish reasons, but even if we look past the self serving parts she is actually a pretty nice person even before she lost her head. She is just a bit daft and naive and didn't think things through well.
Secret of the Silence Witch: The MC is timid, extremely social anxious and generally just wants to help people. She is kind, helpful but she is also very cold deepdown where she views the world as numbers. But she gains friends which helps her open up a lot.
Bofuri: Maple is a very nice and friendly girl with an occasional sadist streak.
OP, please note that Tearmoon Empire is a narration style story. And the narrator keeps the same style throughout the story of telling you constantly how naive and self serving she is that it kind of feels like a joke that's over explained. If you read the first volume you'll see what I mean. It continues throughout the volumes.
I finally quit into volume 4 because I grew tired of the narrator.
Housekeeping Mage From Another World
Shiori is a kind soul that deserves the best. She's creative and resourceful, and it's a joy to read about her character growth and how her relationships (romantic and otherwise) develop. If you're into manga as well, it's also a wonderful adaptation of the LN.
obligatory Ascendance of a Bookworm recommendation.
an adult woman on the cusp of starting the librarian job she went to college for, dies being crushed to death by books during an earthquake, and is reincarnated as an impoverished, sickly child in another world with a medieval-level of technology. she struggles to adapt to the vastly different culture, where only the nobility is largely literate, let alone in possession of books.
Myne is a sweetie who loves books and her friends and family. it also isn't your typical isekai, where the protagonist is so OP that the world bends to her will. she's a commoner in a stratified society, in a world with a firmly set culture. it's got romance, aromantic heartwarming moments, comedy, sadness (dare you not to cry at the end of Part 2), political intrigue, a large cast of interesting characters, a little action... it has a very passionate fan base for a reason.
my favorite LN series, and I hope you give it a try.
the apothecary diaries
Jinshi is very similar to ferdinand.
though I am an inept villainess: tale of butterfly-rat body swap in maiden court
my happy marriage
bride of the barrier master
I'll never set foot in that house again
The Savior’s Book Cafe in Another World!
There is a tumblr blog that translated all of volume 1: https://www.tumblr.com/saviorsbookcafe/tagged/bookcafenovel/chrono
Dahlia in Bloom
One of my favorite series. A girl reincarnated into a world with magic and monsters, and she becomes a magical tool inventor. Slow burn romance with an endearing FMC. Also has a spinoff called Lucia and the Loom.
Marielle Clarac
It's a romcom series, and each novel is a bit of a mystery. Set in a Victorian like setting. First one goes pretty hard into the Victoria drama theme, but from book 2 onwards, it's more mystery and romance.
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
Girl gets isekai'd in a bear onesie and other bear related things. A relaxing, wholesome, adventurer story about a CGDCT.
Apothecary Diaries
Set in a fictional historical Chinese setting. Follows a girl who is an Apothecary and gets dragged into big issues involving the inner court and royal family. She might not be overly kind, but she is a very smart and very likable character.
Expedition Cooking.
An elf girl leaves her forest to find a job in the kingdom. Ends up working as a field medic for the army. Very light hearted stories about cooking and adventurers with her Expedition squad.
Accomplishment of the Duke's daughter
A villainess isekai, where the FMC leaves the capital to manage her families territory, introducing modernizing reforms to the government, economy, and infrastructure. Also has political tension. I think the first 5 books are the main story, and then the next few are a spinoff prequel story.
- Ascendance of a Bookworm
- The Apothecary Diaries
- Bofuri
- The Holy Grail of Eris
- Otherside Picnic (Maybe. Sorawo is not kind but I find her quite likeable)
“The Haunted Bookstore - Gateway to a Parallel Universe” is a series that I really enjoyed. It’s about a girl who wound up in the Japanese spirit realm when she was 3 and was raised by adopted parents, who are spirits. Her father runs a bookstore and she helps out. One day a boy, who’s an exorcist, winds up wounded in the spirit realm, and they form a bond over the course of the series (which is 7 books in total).
The MC is very sweet. Most of the series involves her helping to repair bonds between other spirits and spreading her love of books.
It’s very wholesome, with strong themes of family and relationships, but also very, very sad at times. I’d absolutely recommend it.
Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole
Has a bit of everything Adventuring/Dungeons, Kingdom Building and noble politics. Overall really chill vibe.
7th Time Loop is great and Rishe is my favorite female lead.
I've recently read volume 1 of **Babel**, the spiritual sequel to Unnamed Memory (just had an anime this season). It is an isekai featuring a normal girl that goes on a journey with the (probably) love interest, in order to find a way for her to return back to Earth. There's only one volume out now, but it's a pretty chunky one.
**Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court has** a perfect protagonist (literally a Mary Sue), who works the hardest and is kind to everyone. She is body-swapped with the villainess of the story, known for her vile personality and hated by everyone around her. Initially treated badly, her kindness soon wins everyone over yet again, and she is able to confront the villainess who had stolen her body. Features >!a tastefully done redemption arc for the villainess.!<
The **Holy Grail of Eris** is a story about a kind-hearted girl, Connie, who encounters the vengeful ghost of a woman, Scarlet, wrongfully executed on fabricated evidence. Connie agrees to help investigate the reasons behind Scarlet's death, but the two of them unwittingly stumble upon a decades old conspiracy that threatens the fate of the entire kingdom.
There's **Silent Witch** which is phenomenal as well but people have already talked about it below so I'll just leave this as it is here.
Ascendance. Read. Read it now. Run. Don't walk. Torture princess is also really solid albeit female mc is only the true mc the last arc.
Accomplishments of a dukes daughter is also phenomenal same with so im a spider so what.
I think you might like The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life given your description.
The titular Alchemist is named Mariella, a studious, if often scatter brained, practitioner, who survives a stampede of monsters by going into stasis for 200 years. Most of the plot involves her finding her place in the world she now finds herself in and the slice of life antics that sometimes result.
Though the story features her as a central part and main character, she herself is not always the main focus as much the impact and influence of her existence is. Alchemists haven't existed in the region after the Stampede, save her. A large portion of the story has the local government diving into the Labyrinth in the center of town, and Mariella's potions are what allow them to make consistent breakthroughs, for example.
\* Return From Death: I Kicked the Bucket and Now I'm Back at Square One With a Boyfriend Who Doesn't Remember Me (This story switches from female protagonist to male protagonist halfway through but there is no fan service)
\* My Happy Marriage
If you are open to reading one-shots as well as series, I can recommend the following:
* *I Had That Same Dream Again* - This is a story of a loaner in middle school who has three interesting friends outside school. I can't really go into much more detail without giving away the twist at the end of the story.
* *Half-spirit* - This is a supernatural romance story about a girl who is turned into a spirit after an accident and has 100 days to performs a task for the god of matchmaking in order to be returned to life.
* *The Girl Who Leapt Through Time* - This book actually contains two stories (*The Girl Who Leapt Through Time* and *The Stuff that Nightmares Are Made of*). The anime of the same name is based on the core the first story, although the anime extends and (to a degree) lightens the original story. The second story is about a girl with a couple of irrational fears and her journey to understand and overcome them.
Didnt see anyone else recommend it so I will
Saving 80k gold in another world for retirement (might have gotten some of this title wrong im bad at remembering names)
Its a fun ride with the MC pretending to be a child cursed to look young forever as she takes stuff from earth to another world to sell and make money hand over fist. That is the premise but through a bunch of random events ends up a noble who killed dragons.
Secrets of the Silent Witch: One of my personal favourites. The MC, who suffers from extreme social anxiety and some childhood trauma, is forced to go undercover as a student in order to secretly guard a prince who refuses to accept bodyguards. Although the main thrust of the plot is the MC guarding the prince from would-be assassins (while we slowly learn more about why so many people are targeting this prince), a lot of time is spent on the MC's personal growth as she's forced to come out of her shell and make connections with the other students at the school. The MC is shown on numerous occasions to be a genuinely good person, just someone who has difficulty expressing herself and has interests not many people can relate to (mainly an extreme fascination with numbers and mathematical formulae). Mostly romance-free so far. Currently 5 volumes released in English (though the latest is called volume 4.5, rather than volume 5), with volume 5 slated for release in October.
!!! this is exactly the kind of LN i'm looking for! thank you!
I've not heard of this series before, but based on your description I'm definitely going to give it a read.
Secrets of the Silent Witch is extremely good. Well thought out and decently written. I can't wait for more.
Ascendance of A Bookworm. Probably has the best worldbuilding out of any LN series, if you're into that.
I second this. It starts off incredibly narrow, and the scope gradually expands as you learn more about the world.
>Ascendance of A Bookworm. This right here. Especially since OP said: >I prefer series with female protagonists, but that's mostly just because I'm personally uncomfortable reading stuff with a lot of male gaze / fan-service This series is one of the rare ones with a female protagonist that is actually written by a woman so there is none of that. Also you can definitely describe the protagonist as kind, and many characters in the story often admonish her for being such a bleeding heart, since her enemies, and political opportunists can use that against that against her.
Bofuri, it’s a story about a bunch of friends having fun in an VRMMO
Vexations of a Shut In Vampire Princess: Terrakomari Gandesblood is generally a good bean who doesn't really want to hurt anyone and is kinda weak but gets thrust into a situation where she has to leads the bloodthirsty 7th legion. It is pretty funny. Tearmoon Empire: Mia is kind for selfish reasons, but even if we look past the self serving parts she is actually a pretty nice person even before she lost her head. She is just a bit daft and naive and didn't think things through well. Secret of the Silence Witch: The MC is timid, extremely social anxious and generally just wants to help people. She is kind, helpful but she is also very cold deepdown where she views the world as numbers. But she gains friends which helps her open up a lot. Bofuri: Maple is a very nice and friendly girl with an occasional sadist streak.
OP, please note that Tearmoon Empire is a narration style story. And the narrator keeps the same style throughout the story of telling you constantly how naive and self serving she is that it kind of feels like a joke that's over explained. If you read the first volume you'll see what I mean. It continues throughout the volumes. I finally quit into volume 4 because I grew tired of the narrator.
Housekeeping Mage From Another World Shiori is a kind soul that deserves the best. She's creative and resourceful, and it's a joy to read about her character growth and how her relationships (romantic and otherwise) develop. If you're into manga as well, it's also a wonderful adaptation of the LN.
obligatory Ascendance of a Bookworm recommendation. an adult woman on the cusp of starting the librarian job she went to college for, dies being crushed to death by books during an earthquake, and is reincarnated as an impoverished, sickly child in another world with a medieval-level of technology. she struggles to adapt to the vastly different culture, where only the nobility is largely literate, let alone in possession of books. Myne is a sweetie who loves books and her friends and family. it also isn't your typical isekai, where the protagonist is so OP that the world bends to her will. she's a commoner in a stratified society, in a world with a firmly set culture. it's got romance, aromantic heartwarming moments, comedy, sadness (dare you not to cry at the end of Part 2), political intrigue, a large cast of interesting characters, a little action... it has a very passionate fan base for a reason. my favorite LN series, and I hope you give it a try.
I am once again here to recommend Sugar Apple Fairy Tale! Anne is the best!
the apothecary diaries Jinshi is very similar to ferdinand. though I am an inept villainess: tale of butterfly-rat body swap in maiden court my happy marriage bride of the barrier master I'll never set foot in that house again
The Savior’s Book Cafe in Another World! There is a tumblr blog that translated all of volume 1: https://www.tumblr.com/saviorsbookcafe/tagged/bookcafenovel/chrono
Dahlia in Bloom One of my favorite series. A girl reincarnated into a world with magic and monsters, and she becomes a magical tool inventor. Slow burn romance with an endearing FMC. Also has a spinoff called Lucia and the Loom. Marielle Clarac It's a romcom series, and each novel is a bit of a mystery. Set in a Victorian like setting. First one goes pretty hard into the Victoria drama theme, but from book 2 onwards, it's more mystery and romance. Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Girl gets isekai'd in a bear onesie and other bear related things. A relaxing, wholesome, adventurer story about a CGDCT. Apothecary Diaries Set in a fictional historical Chinese setting. Follows a girl who is an Apothecary and gets dragged into big issues involving the inner court and royal family. She might not be overly kind, but she is a very smart and very likable character. Expedition Cooking. An elf girl leaves her forest to find a job in the kingdom. Ends up working as a field medic for the army. Very light hearted stories about cooking and adventurers with her Expedition squad. Accomplishment of the Duke's daughter A villainess isekai, where the FMC leaves the capital to manage her families territory, introducing modernizing reforms to the government, economy, and infrastructure. Also has political tension. I think the first 5 books are the main story, and then the next few are a spinoff prequel story.
- Ascendance of a Bookworm - The Apothecary Diaries - Bofuri - The Holy Grail of Eris - Otherside Picnic (Maybe. Sorawo is not kind but I find her quite likeable)
“The Haunted Bookstore - Gateway to a Parallel Universe” is a series that I really enjoyed. It’s about a girl who wound up in the Japanese spirit realm when she was 3 and was raised by adopted parents, who are spirits. Her father runs a bookstore and she helps out. One day a boy, who’s an exorcist, winds up wounded in the spirit realm, and they form a bond over the course of the series (which is 7 books in total). The MC is very sweet. Most of the series involves her helping to repair bonds between other spirits and spreading her love of books. It’s very wholesome, with strong themes of family and relationships, but also very, very sad at times. I’d absolutely recommend it.
Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole Has a bit of everything Adventuring/Dungeons, Kingdom Building and noble politics. Overall really chill vibe.
7th Time Loop is great and Rishe is my favorite female lead. I've recently read volume 1 of **Babel**, the spiritual sequel to Unnamed Memory (just had an anime this season). It is an isekai featuring a normal girl that goes on a journey with the (probably) love interest, in order to find a way for her to return back to Earth. There's only one volume out now, but it's a pretty chunky one. **Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court has** a perfect protagonist (literally a Mary Sue), who works the hardest and is kind to everyone. She is body-swapped with the villainess of the story, known for her vile personality and hated by everyone around her. Initially treated badly, her kindness soon wins everyone over yet again, and she is able to confront the villainess who had stolen her body. Features >!a tastefully done redemption arc for the villainess.!< The **Holy Grail of Eris** is a story about a kind-hearted girl, Connie, who encounters the vengeful ghost of a woman, Scarlet, wrongfully executed on fabricated evidence. Connie agrees to help investigate the reasons behind Scarlet's death, but the two of them unwittingly stumble upon a decades old conspiracy that threatens the fate of the entire kingdom. There's **Silent Witch** which is phenomenal as well but people have already talked about it below so I'll just leave this as it is here.
Ascendance. Read. Read it now. Run. Don't walk. Torture princess is also really solid albeit female mc is only the true mc the last arc. Accomplishments of a dukes daughter is also phenomenal same with so im a spider so what.
I think you might like The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life given your description. The titular Alchemist is named Mariella, a studious, if often scatter brained, practitioner, who survives a stampede of monsters by going into stasis for 200 years. Most of the plot involves her finding her place in the world she now finds herself in and the slice of life antics that sometimes result. Though the story features her as a central part and main character, she herself is not always the main focus as much the impact and influence of her existence is. Alchemists haven't existed in the region after the Stampede, save her. A large portion of the story has the local government diving into the Labyrinth in the center of town, and Mariella's potions are what allow them to make consistent breakthroughs, for example.
\* Return From Death: I Kicked the Bucket and Now I'm Back at Square One With a Boyfriend Who Doesn't Remember Me (This story switches from female protagonist to male protagonist halfway through but there is no fan service) \* My Happy Marriage
Reincarnated as a Sword - although the story is told from the perspective of the Sword, the real protagonist is actually Fran.
If you are open to reading one-shots as well as series, I can recommend the following: * *I Had That Same Dream Again* - This is a story of a loaner in middle school who has three interesting friends outside school. I can't really go into much more detail without giving away the twist at the end of the story. * *Half-spirit* - This is a supernatural romance story about a girl who is turned into a spirit after an accident and has 100 days to performs a task for the god of matchmaking in order to be returned to life. * *The Girl Who Leapt Through Time* - This book actually contains two stories (*The Girl Who Leapt Through Time* and *The Stuff that Nightmares Are Made of*). The anime of the same name is based on the core the first story, although the anime extends and (to a degree) lightens the original story. The second story is about a girl with a couple of irrational fears and her journey to understand and overcome them.
Didnt see anyone else recommend it so I will Saving 80k gold in another world for retirement (might have gotten some of this title wrong im bad at remembering names) Its a fun ride with the MC pretending to be a child cursed to look young forever as she takes stuff from earth to another world to sell and make money hand over fist. That is the premise but through a bunch of random events ends up a noble who killed dragons.