Tags: Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Slice-of-Life, Shoujo

Sub-Tags: Misunderstandings, Cute, Heartwarming

A Mushroom Mad Relationship!

Romance, self-empowerment and… mushrooms! Returning to a series I’m a little late on, my latest review looks at Agnes’ continued romantic endeavours in the second volume of The Dragon’s Soulmate.

Philip’s Control

Opening on the new foundations of Agnes and Claude’s relationship, the second volume still sees Agnes struggle to get from under Philip’s control. As a result, the volume begins with several family-sanction dates filled with fun moments and plenty of blush-worthy flirting.

Yet, these moments are all for a good cause – letting Agnes ease her way out of the inferiority complex created by Philip’s coercive behaviour. Something which slowly disappears throughout the volume.

Philip’s coercive control is highlighted even further in this volume than in its predecessor. Whilst it’s difficult for myself to label whether this series is a good example of how coercive control works, the scenes between Philip and Agnes are nevertheless impactful.

A scene of particular note comes at around the halfway mark. There’s a confrontation between Agnes and Philip (still enduring the effects of the mushroom attack from volume 1). It’s here that we finally see Philip admit to thinking of Agnes as nothing but an object to him and that she belongs to him.

It really messes with Agnes showcasing just how quickly the damage can be re-done.

The Truth About the Crest

On a slightly lighter note, this volume offers more information on how dragon crests work. Those who don’t find their dragonmate by adulthood suffer a weakening illness and death as a result.

This is the case for Claude’s uncle, and there’s a short part of the volume dedicated to showing how the blessing of the spirits can help to undo these effects. I just wish there was more done with this side of the story, specifically a little bit of past on the uncle and maybe hints towards a love interest for him.

What this information on the crest does, however, is showcase to Agnes that Claude isn’t just in it for the mushrooms and that his life without her would be unimaginable. It creates a nice extra dimension to their love and relationship.

Moreover, the joining of crest holder and dragonmate allows the former to access magic abilities beyond the need for spirits. A much-needed power to defeat this volume’s antagonist, if a little coincidental.

Overall, Dragon’s Soulmate’s second instalment is a good continuance of the story told so far. There are plenty of lovey-dovey moments as well as a fleshing out of the world-building – a much-needed addition to the series. I just hope that as the series continues, there’s more of a focus on some of the side characters, allowing them to deepen their characters as well.