By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

In the ever-growing world of reincarnation stories, it can be tough to find one that truly stands out. Most of these tales follow a familiar formula: a girl is reincarnated as (or transmigrates into) a villainess, meets a love interest, discovers that the original heroine is actually the main antagonist, defeats said antagonist, and eventually finds love and happiness. All good things as the romance progresses to the predictable happy ending after some drama.

To be honest, Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story isn’t much different from this common setup. However, this series brings its own unique flavor to the mix. When I first came across it, I wasn’t particularly inspired by the cover, which featured a red-headed girl and a black-haired, stern-looking love interest—a visual I’d already seen in countless variations. However, after sampling the series on Webtoons, I was hooked.

The story follows Suna Choi, a modern-day woman who reincarnates as Edith Rigelhof, the notorious villainess from her favorite novel. Like many heroines in these stories, Suna is determined to rewrite Edith’s fate. However, unlike other protagonists, Suna can’t rely on the typical deus ex machina of love interests swooping in to save her. Instead, she has to think her way out of difficult situations, using logic and strategy to navigate the world and the people in it—even when they aren’t willing to help.

Suna’s approach is refreshing. She’s not merely trying to survive in a hostile world but actively working to change her life for the better. She starts by treating everyone around her with kindness, subtly reshaping her character’s reputation and fitting herself into her new life as the unwanted bride of Killian Rudwick, the second son of a duke who is set to inherit only a fraction of the main estate.

Killian, on the other hand, is still hopelessly in love with the novel’s original protagonist—a much craftier antagonist who remains largely hidden throughout the story. The confrontation with this true villain doesn’t happen until the end, after Edith has worked tirelessly to resolve the major conflicts and smooth over the drama through her own efforts.

What really stood out to me in this series is how much it makes sense. Suna, now Edith, isn’t the typical foolish protagonist who conveniently gains affection points at every turn. She doesn’t have a supportive male companion backing her up from the start—in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Everyone and everything is against her but because she’s willing to work hard, think things through, and apply logic to her situation, she’s able to overcome family feuds, social ostracization, and petty backlash to make real, substantive changes in her life.

While Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story doesn’t break the mold, it certainly improves upon it. The story is less about Edith’s own growth and more about the development of the characters around her, particularly the true antagonist, who has been stuck reliving the same story over and over without any change—and therefore without any real growth. The true antagonist’s downfall largely stems from their inability to change. They aren’t just vain or ignorant—they’re stagnant and trapped in a cycle of repeating the same story without growth. Their failure lies in not learning to overcome this stagnation, which ultimately becomes their greatest weakness.

It’s a message I really appreciate in this story, and one that stands out to me among the many other villainess romances I’ve been reading lately. So, if you haven’t already, I highly recommend checking this story out. It’s well worth the read and is available on Webtoons.com, linked here: https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/not-your-typical-reincarnation-story/list?title_no=5556&page=1