Tearmoon is like a delicious hare stew, every ingredient is appetizing in its own right but the synergy between them is what elevates the meal, the same applies to this novel, I have seen every individual element of what it does before and I've seen stories that look similar to it on the surface, however the polished of its ingredient and the way it combines them is what sets tearmoon apart from its peers, in the following review I'll analyze each ingredient individually so I can explain why every factor works so well:

let's start by talking about a very underrated part of the series, the world-building, although easy to take it for granted, it really spices up the series and helps give the light novel its own unique identity, from simple things like citizens from Tearmon using moon way more own its popular idioms or the fact that the book is pretty grounded with no magic or superhuman moves (the closest thing there is to magic in Tearmoon is a made-up vegetable cake, a tasty fictitious spice and a special pretty wood that is rainbow colored), its setting resembles actual medieval Europe way more than the worlds of "swords and magic" commonly seen in light novels with medieval settings,which is cool beacuse having a more realistic setting not only differentiates the series but also fits this french revolution expired story way more, but still, even if Tearmoon is not a fantasy story its geography is still fictional and needs to be properly flashed out considering the book deals with it's politics quite often (even if it's for comedic effect), thankfully it also does that well, for example, there is a harmful structural stereotype in the kingdom against farmers, so they make sure to give a historic explanation for it and how it's harming the kingdom. yeah everything I said so far is pretty simple and not groundbreaking by any means but it still elevates the series even if just a bit, in conclusion, the world-building in Tearmoon is just good enough to serve as a backdrop for its political comedy and spicy up the series it gets a solid but not great 7/10

I am also happy to inform you that the presentation of this plate is also quite good, the art is adorable and super detailed, the illustrations from the novel always impress me, they get an 10/10

the recipe of this stew is also interesting, although the plot isn't the main focus of tearmoon, it is still good, the arcs are very diverse, cycling between; adventure, school life, and regional politics depending on the arc, which not only helps to keep the jokes fresh (since tearmoon is primarily a comedy book and the main objective of the plot is to serve as a good backdrop for the hilarious jokes) but changing genres from time to time makes the relatively simple plot more engaging since one arc might be a more laid back school life while the other can very well be a shipwrecked adventure, overall the plot of tearmoon is a solid 7/10

when you take a sip of this stew you might think it tastes a bit funny, and you would be right because (contrary to this joke) TEARMOON IS HILARIOUS, ahem, bad jokes aside tearmoon's jokes are genuinely technically competent, with unique setups and unexpected punch lines, not only that but the sacartic narator of the series really sets the comedy apart from other books, even if he can be a little unreliable in the extent of how much he dowplays some charcters in order to make a sassy joke he is still riotous, "but what type of comedy is tearmoon" you might be asking, well, if you asked most tearmoon fans to define its comedy I bet most of them would say that it is a comedy focused on extreme misunderstanding (like gamers, Handa-kun, or school rumble) and honestly they would be totally right, however I would like to expend a bit more on that, tearmoon isn't just jokes about misunderstandings but also jokes focused on humorizing the banal, from just boring politics to familiar tropes in media, tearmoon cames up with extreme misunderstanding for everything it touches, that ability to humorizing the ban*l is present in many great works (from the Japanese kaguya-sama to the American Gumbal) and since tearmoon is a master at that, and never fails to make me die from laughter, I have no qualms about giving tearmoon's comedy a 10/10

err, let's talk about erm... the hares in this hare stew? (the metaphor really fell apart uh... well whatever) most characters start out pretty superficial, but they have incredible hilarious chemistry with each other so they are still likable from the start, and thankfully as the series goes on more and more characters get flashed out, except for Mia, Mia is great from the start and only gets better as the story goes on, she is the funniest character in the series so most jokes involve her in some way (which honestly isn't a bad thing) and she is a genuinely complex character that also gets a great character arc which gradually develops in a very natural way, she slowly improves as a person while still not completely getting rid of her flaws, she stays selfish, but her selfishness stop being harmful and just turns cute, describing it might come out weird but I guarantee you'll also be rooting for Mia and shouting "Sasuga Mia-sama" as you see the girl try her best, tl;dr she is a gremlin but she is OUR gremlin, Mia the protagonist gets a 10/10 but the characters in general get a 7/10

in conclusion, tearmoon is an amazing dish, I highly recommend both the manga and the novel, the novel gets an easy ten and the manga is on the same level, (but I would give the manga just a nine since it has yet to conclude adapting even the first volume and has only 14 chapters so far, it will eventually get a ten after it adapts more material) anyways, tearmon is my favorite book series, for the reason I already listed it gets a 10/10