Let's talk about heterosexuality: A Bride's Story

I don't want to do a full review right now, because only one volume out of three has been released thus far, but I will tell you this: buy this comic right god damned now. I can guarantee it's the best romance you'll read this year. Seriously.

Kaoru Mori is probably best known for her sweet-but-excruciatingly-slow Victorian romances Emma and Shirley. A Bride's Story is instead set in an unnamed Central Asian country during the 19th century, and has all the elaborate research of her prior works, but none of the pacing problems. The eponymous bride is a 20-year-old woman named Amir, who was recently arranged to marry a boy 8 years her junior; showing both lovely vignettes of her new family life, along with all the drama such an unconventional marriage would entail.

What's more, this book is absolutely gorgeous. Almost to the point of ridiculousness. Everyone even lounges around in their unbelievably ornate and complex outfits, to a point that almost pushes incredulity; but it's hard to complain when it looks so great. And the amount of action is both surprising, and welcome, giving the whole thing a sense of movement that her prior works really could have used.

Basically, A Bride's Story is the loveliest, most romantic depiction of an arranged marriage I've ever seen, with gorgeous art and a wonderful sense of sincerity. Only the first volume has been released so far. You should absolutely read it.

A Bride's Story is created by Kaoru Mori, and has been officially translated into English by Yen Press. You can buy it at any book store.