Villains are Destined to Die, Volumes 1 - 4

Villains are Destined to Die, Volume 1 - 264 pages

Villains are Destined to Die, Volume 2 - 270 pages

Villains are Destined to Die, Volume 3 - 288 pages

Villains are Destined to Die, Volume 4 - 272 pages

SUOL, Gwon Gyeoeul (Original Creator), Chiho Christie (Letterer), David Odell (Translator), Ah Cho (Translator)

Series Summary (From Volume 1 on Goodreads)

A villain living life in hard mode... whose every path leads to death."

Playing Daughter of the Duke Love Project as the easy mode heroine, Ivonne, makes charming the male characters a breeze. But once you switch to hard mode and step into the shoes of Penelope, the misunderstood villain, it’s nearly impossible to even stay alive! So imagine the shock of suddenly waking up in Penelope’s body―you know right away that your life is on the line. With love interests who will kill you if their affection meters drop too low and the inability to speak without choosing from pre-selected dialogue, it quickly becomes clear that Penelope’s chances have been rigged from the start―and this villain might just be destined to die!

Review

My initial impression did waver a bit, given that some of the "character development" can occasionally feel a little close to Penelope trying/needing to "fix" her abusers in order to make any progress, let alone stay alive.  I am glad I gave it some time, though.  While it can lean a bit heavily on internal monologuing, the pace and worldbuilding are still decent enough, without too much exposition.  What's more, the full-color illustrations are absolutely gorgeous!