First things first: this book is gorgeous. There has been a recent surge in decorative volumes, typically bestselling romantic fantasies. While they can't quite compare to the lavishly illustrated decorative books of the early 20th century, they're still a book collector's dream. Inklore's physical edition of Suji Kim's vastly popular historical fantasy Under the Oak Tree is no exception. With its brushed edges decorated with oak leaves and one of Riftan's more romantic lines (although your mileage may vary on that front), the book also comes with an exquisitely painted cover with silver embellishments and a ribbon bookmark. The end pages are decorated, and although the pages are a bit thin, they feel good under your fingers. Even if it wasn't a good story, the book would be worth buying just to display.

Fortunately, Kim's novel is deeply engrossing. I realize it doesn't always translate to “good,” and this is very much a story where your taste in both romance and historical fantasy will affect your enjoyment of the text. Set in a recognizably Medieval world, the story follows Maximilien Calypse, the abused and neglected daughter of Duke Croyso, who finds herself wed to powerful knight Riftan, leader of the famed Remdragon Knights. Three years before the story begins, Riftan was promised Maxi in exchange for taking on Duke Croyso's responsibilities in a dragon hunt; Croyso spent the next three years berating and beating his daughter while convincing her that Riftan would almost certainly want a divorce should he survive. That's what she's prepared for only to be shocked when Riftan wants no such thing – and is upset that she spent the last three years at her father's home rather than going to Anatol, his lands.

This is where we begin to truly understand Maxi's emotional issues and what drives her as a character. Maxi has a stutter (audible disfluency, where she repeats the first letter of a word), and from the moment that revealed itself, her father deemed her a disappointment. Her childhood was spent being whipped and beaten, with all of her wounds healed by hierarchs so that no physical evidence remained. Therefore as far as Riftan knows, Maxi is the spoiled and/or pampered daughter of a wealthy and powerful nobleman, and his treatment of her is based on that. But Maxi is always waiting to be hit or hurt, and she can't accept her husband's kindness or desire to please her as genuine. The only place where they seem to be able to communicate fully is in bed.

If I'm being fully honest, while this does make sense given Maxi's background, it also reads like a bit of an excuse for the novel to be filled with explicit sex scenes. They're certainly not the worst ever written, and it's made very clear that this is the only way they can relate to each other without pretenses. It eventually helps them interact better outside of the bedroom, and Riftan's infatuation with his wife comes across to us clearly, although poor Maxi can't seem to see it. But this is a romance novel in the sense that it has a lot of sex scenes, which is either an attraction or a deterrent to potential readers.

It's also worth mentioning that the novel is far more explicit than the webtoon based on it, which is also available from Inklore. This is in terms of not just the sex, but also the violence: violence perpetuated by Maxi's father and in the battles and fights Maxi witnesses during her journey from Croyso to Anatol. Kim provides a content warning at the beginning of this edition, and it is warranted. The plus side is that this edition also smooths out the translation from the previously released English digital editions, which includes combining the many shorter chapters of the web novel into twelve longer, more natural chapters. While the web novels released in seasons by Manta are still good, this feels like the definitive edition, especially since the smoothed-out translation helps Maxi and Riftan's miscommunications look more like the product of two very different people trying to relate to each other than two idiots who could resolve everything if they just talked to each other.

Mind you, that element is still present, but Maxi's trauma is better presented, so it makes sense why she'd be reluctant to tell Riftan the truth about what her life at Croyso Castle was like. One of the most rewarding pieces of this volume is how Maxi grows into herself as a character throughout the nearly 500 pages. She begins as a timid, fearful young woman who doesn't believe she deserves anything resembling happiness and becomes someone who, if she's not fully accepting of her new lot in life, is at least beginning to realize that she's worth something. Her interactions with Riftan certainly help, but also her friendship with Ruth, the Remdragon Knights' sorcerer, and young squire Ulyseon show Maxi that she's more than the bundle of insecurities she believes she is. Ruth is instrumental in Maxi's growth; the acerbic sorcerer's pointed remarks force her to stand up for herself, and his praise, when offered, is plainly deserved. It's Ruth who recognizes that Maxi can become a mage, and it is difficult to overstate how important this development, which comes in the latter half of this volume, will be going forward.

Under the Oak Tree is the sort of series that can consume you, and this hardcover edition allows that to be on full display. It isn't perfect – we rarely get inside Riftan's head (though there is a volume of the web novel that retells the start of the story from his perspective) and Maxi's downtrodden nature can be hard to read about. Still, the character growth and interesting world are well done, and Kim has done research into Maxi's disorder and at least the basics of Medieval European knighthood and armor. Whether you've read the webtoon or not, this is an excellent read, and even if you've read the digital editions of the web novels, it's worth double-dipping.