My Darling Dark Elf

Very moe like " My Dear Prince ". Simple cottagecore story always relaxes me and I want to headpat endlessly Nienke.

I really enjoyed this VN! Nienke as a protagonist really spoke to me. I related to her being an introvert and a reader, to her struggles with waking up early, and her complex feelings on living with her parents as an adult. The plot itself isn't overly complex, as you might expect for a slice-of-life VN, but Nienke's character and her relationships with the side characters really brought a lot of depth to the story. There's lots to explore in her interpersonal relationships: her budding friendship/romance with Merel, of course (who has a rough-and-tumble personality type that I just adore), her relationship with her parents (who are soooo cute I'd read a whole VN about just them LOL), her somewhat estranged relationship with her best friend Cornelia, and her tough-love mentor, Mrs van Dijk. It was really fun to see how Nienke navigated each of these relationships and grew within them; she's somewhat of a prickly person, but ultimately, she wants to do right by all of the people that she cares about, and I think that's showcased really well from scene to scene, with side characters each getting a turn in the spotlight with her. The art is also super cute! I really loved each illustration. The backgrounds are so gorgeous (Nienke's lovely room, are you kidding me??? I wanna live there), and some beautiful CGs (the wedding dresses.... kyaaaaaaaaa >///<). Each piece of art was light and fluffy, just like the story itself, and the relaxing soundtrack tied in with both story and art for a really chill reading experience. Overall, this is a short but incredibly sweet story, well worth the time if you like sweet yuri and/or slice-of-life. Super recommend adding it to your collection!

petite tsundere x golden retriever dark elf couple that sometimes dresses as maids and sometimes dresses in wedding gowns. nienke doesn't remember her past very well, but regains her memories as the VN progresses. i appreciate that she realizes her feelings for merel before she fully recalls her most important memories, because the alternative would feel a bit contrived. the romance is sweet and nienke's reactions to merel's bold behavior is funny. however, i felt like the worldbuilding was a bit lacking. i liked hearing about mors paravail, and how the elves are in caves or underground or something like that, but the description of why the war between the humans and the elves came about was a bit lacking. i guess the explanation amounted to "the war happened because the elves and humans were different races" but there wasn't much depth to it. it didn't ring true to me the way that economic or religious reasons might. i would've liked to hear about a corrupt and eccentric elf king, if only for a little bit. then again, the reason does have a bit of basis in history, so i guess it's the framing of fantasy racism being natural that rubs me the wrong way. it's not that important though. the war only really comes up in one scene. i also didn't really get how elf lifespans declined from breeding with humans if humans and elves still don't get along very well. i guess there could be peaceful and nonpeaceful reasons for interbreeding, but thinking too much about this would kind of ruin the lighthearted vibe of the vn so I think I'll stop contemplating this. i think it's mostly an excuse for elves to age at about same rate as humans so that, despite the art style, we can feel assured that in-universe nienke looks and acts like a 20 year old. she may be a little shorter than the human girls her age, but the human girls also look kind of young to me. i hope this doesn't come across as too nitpicky or puts people off from reading the VN. it's just good fun.