The Villainess Turns the Hourglass

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This is probably one of if not the most interesting manhwa with the villainess/reincarnation theme that I've read. The pace is just right to keep the reader hooked and the author really knows how to build up suspense. My only real complaint would be that the ending of the series seemed a little rushed, and it would have been more beneficial for the author to focus on a fully developed ending rather than adding so many bonus chapters in the epilogue. That's the only reason why I won't give it a perfect 10/10.

The main character, while being labeled as a villainess, is easy to cheer ... for, and I found myself invested in her success while reading to the point where I was a little stressed at the points in the story where her plans have a chance to fall apart. No matter what she did, I always cheered her on. I think the fact that she has plenty of redeeming qualities, but doesn't lose her desire for revenge really sold her character for me. She's a very well written main character.

The male lead wasn't as interesting to me, but there are plenty of aspects to him that would be appealing to other readers. Personally, I was very entertained by the side characters (the main character's maids) and the true villain of the series. The true Villain is extremely well written and so easy to cheer against. This is another aspect of the story that really allows the reader to sympathize with and cheer for the mc.

Overall, I highly recommend giving this a try esp if you enjoy the reincarnation/villainess troupe. Even if you're not fond of that troupe, if you're into a great revenge tale, you would probably enjoy this as well.

[More info about my review style can be found on my profile]

▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
[The Villainess turns the hourglass] was my first Otome Isekai, and I am now writing my review after finishing my second read.

It is a great introduction to the genre, but it does not excel in many areas. It is a power fantasy / revenge story, and if you can find it in you to root for the protagonist (who is most certainly not a saint themselves) you will find both very satisfying.

I usually recommend this to people trying to get into Otome Isekai, but it is far from the best ... the genre has to offer.

▶Story: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The introduction differs quite a lot compared to most Isekai in that the protagonist is a native of the fantasy world, and not from our world. The isekai aspect comes in the form of the main character dying and waking up many years in the past when she was a child, now armed with knowledge of the future.

The protagonist was a former commoner, who is now living in the rigid world of nobles. The rags to riches* story follows Aria. A sly girl who armed with the intelligence of an adult together with her foreknowledge sets out on a quest of revenge against everyone who wronged her. She of course does this through political and economic schemes rather than through ostentatious action.
The manwha does an excellent job in its power fantasy aspect, and the protagonist rarely meets any challenges she can not overcome with ease. To the point of becoming predictable at times.

Where there is contention is the revenge aspect. The villain of the story is a young child who in the present is only a mean child due to her upbringing, but will in the future become cruel and outright evil due to her being easily manipulated by the malicious adults around her.

While the villain is most definitely cruel, our modern real world sensibilities would say that her as a child is not deserving of what is happening to her, making it difficult for many to root for the main character.

There are also issues with the themes of the manhwa. Where some of its positive themes are subverted later in the story.

▶Setting: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The setting is unremarkeable. It is loosely inspired by european medieval fantasy. Geopolitics do not have a big role in the story, and the author didn't put that much thought into making the world seem full and expansive. Just whatever was needed for the self contained plot of the manhwa.

▶Characters: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The main character is intelligent and sly except for when the story requires her to be oblivious to move the plot forward (In particular the romance subplot). She does not go through a lot of character development, as that is not really the point of the story. Rather she is portrayed as a mastermind who skillfully manipulates the board to fulfill her goals. Satisfying if that is what you are looking for.

The side characters are fleshed out, with the reader learning more about them at a very well portioned out pace throughout the story.

▶Romance: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Romance is a huge focus of the story, and unlike many Otome Isekai, this is where it differs a lot from other romances. It is the one field where there are some nuance, and things do not always go according to plan.

The pairing is quite obvious when you see it, but it takes a while to get there though even though it is quite obvious how it will end. Some commenters have complained about the romance subplot being stretched out too much, and there is some validity to that complaint.

There are some oddities with maturity and characters not looking their age due to certain plot devices, that make some of the romance seem off.

▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artstyle is acceptable. It does not stand out in any particular way, but serves the plot well. Character expressions are well showcased through the art, but it does not elevate the story in any way.

This manhwa is appalling and has a very toxic fandom.
First of all, let's talk about the main characters' personalities.
Aria is an insufferable, entitled, egotistical freak who sees everyone else as disposable pawns so much you would think Light Yagami or Lelouch Lamperouge are presidents of the Salvation Army in comparison. You might think she is in love with prince Asher/Asterope Franz, but she even calls him her property in her head. She only treats people nicely not out of general benevolence, but only if they do her bidding, and always expects them to do something for her on return. She is also so ... hell bent on her revenge against Mielle that she does petty, middle school bullying-level things to her and rolls back time to get away with it. It looks so pathetic and childish I wanna laugh. But what is not laughable is that Aria intentionally harms people who have done nothing wrong to her. Take count Roscente, for instance. Aria in all seriousness hates him for the "crime" of loving and prioritizing his own daughter above her, the adoptive one. Everyone, and I mean everyone, are pawns to her.

Prince Asterope Franz is much, much worse than Aria. He uses a fake persona in many of his interactions for some reason. He creates what can be considered a secret police, and personally kidnaps and tortures people he sees as enemies along with his knights. Aria herself barely avoided the same fate, and all she did was mentioning that the corrupted casino is going to be closed down soon. Asher is so wicked he always immediately rewrites the laws if the aristocracy finds loopholes in them to avoid things like double taxation, stages a food crisis, frames people for crimes they didn't commit, is prone to forgery, breaking his word and outright genocide. At some point, Asher explicitly says he doesn't give a shit about the well-being of the people, as all that matters to him is his revenge against aristocracy. He even tried to execute the traitor to the aristocratic faction despite the latter coming willingly and disclosing very important information and all of the conspirators, saying that he deserves death simply for being one of them. And later had the audacity to mock him about the death of his relative right into his face via one of his lieutenants, right after it happened. This, ladies and gentlemen, is our male lead and hero-lover who constantly blushes like a little boy in the presence of Aria.

Mielle Roscente, the main villainess of the series, is a pretty stupid and narrow-minded girl, and is a total pushover. The only reason she won against Aria in the original timeline is because she was led by two smarter people, namely her nanny Emma and duchess Isis Frederick. And that makes her not even a very weak opponent, but a punching bag. In fact, if it wasn't for Emma and Isis, Mielle would have never taken ANY actions against Aria or anyone else. The only act of direct violence in the entire series on her part wasn't even done against Aria. Also, at the end of the day Mielle is in her own right for fighting against an ungrateful duo of a prostitute and her daughter for wasting the money and wealth of her family and wanting to take over the estate from the count and his legitimate children. And that was literally the goal of Aria's mother, Carin, from the day one. Midway through both the light novel and the manhwa, we even have a conversation between Aria and Carin, and they laugh about how they managed to seduce such important and rich people as count Roscente and prince Asterope Franz.

Duchess Isis Frederick is built up as some smart antagonist and a greater scope villain than Mielle Roscente for like half of the series, but she is just another moron. She doesn't have much bodyguards, her entire spy network can be counted by the fingers of just one hand from what we were told and shown. But what's worst is that Isis never even realizes until it's too late that there is no way in hell she can bend prince Asterope Franz to her will and that he is her main and most impacable enemy. She never investigates him, doesn't realize that some of her main allies are Asher's friends or inside men.

The plot is inconsistent and very idiotic sometimes.
Aria's deep knowledge about finances and economics comes out of nowhere, and it's not enough to just read all the books on business available and study like crazy like she did. Believe me, I did that and am still not a second Warren Buffett. It takes a certain amount of natural talent and luck. If manhwa had a situation similar to Gekai Elise/Queen with a Scalpel, in which the FL died, then reincarnated in our world, became a genius surgeon, died again and reincarnated in her original world, then yes, it would have worked if Aria managed to become some kind of successful Wall Street broker. But it wouldn't work the way it was shown in the series. Hell, we never even see Aria testing and failing her knowledge on economics, investment and business, she instantly becomes a pro with a 100% win rate because the plot says so. Laziest writing ever.

The hourglass's existence (as such) is also never explained. We find out that after it is used to roll back time, it takes its toll on Aria's body and she has to sleep for 24 hours or even more. Also, it ages her after each use. So basically, Aria used it so extensively that she looks 25-30 by the age of 15. But we never learn about how much it ages her per one use. Or why did it appear out of nowhere only when Aria was dying.
Also, the hourglass makes Aria almost completely undefeatable, but what's worst is that it makes her a cheater that achieves or gains something mostly through this cheat plot device instead of her own knowledge and skills. It's basically save scumming at its finest.

In the manhwa, it is never explained who was behind the assassination attempt on prince Asterope Franz in the past, only the light novel explicitly names the guilty party, and I hate that such an important information is absent from the manhwa for no explicable reason.

It is said that the aristocratic faction is evil and influential, but we barely see them actually doing anything against prince Asterope Franz and his father who we never even get to see in the manhwa. You might end up thinking that the only people who actually wanted to take over the empire were duchess Isis Frederick and her parents, and also Mielle Roscente. I don't even know why they should be considered villains if all they do is resisting a psychopathic prince with totalitarian tendencies. The only real aristocratic criminal that we know of was viscount Louvre who ran the casino nominally belonging to the prince. And we are fed some crap about other influential aristocrats being just as guilty as him only because they are shareholders of that casino. This doesn't make any sense, but since it's the Villainess reverses the hourglass we are talking about, we the readers simply must take this at face value, otherwise the entire house of cards of high-octane complete bullshit would crumble down and be set ablaze.

The aristocrats are also so hopelessly weak they can't even afford their own guards and troops, and have to rely on foreign mercenaries. And most of their bodyguards are former knights of the prince and still retain some loyalty towards him. From where I stand, the aristocratic party's power and influence are all sham and hearsay. We can't discount the possibility that prince himself created this notion to further his goals and to give himself a carte blanche against them to cary out a literal genocide by class. But they are as weak against him as Liechtenstein if it chose to start a war against Switzerland and Austria at the same time. And yes, the imbalance of power between the aristocratic party and prince's faction is exactly as bad as in the example I just gave.

Also, it's really funny, but somehow very few people among the aristocracy are able to recognize prince Asterope Franz despite him being a prince and all. Even if you take in account the fact he uses a fake persona, it still doesn't make sense. You might end up thinking that only the duchess Frederick knew how he looked like, and only since that party of hers that he crashed to confirm the identity of the girl he met in the town that aristocrats remembered his appearance. Utter nonsense.

Why count Roscente married a prostitute from the slums of all people and not some noblewoman, even the lowest one, is never explained. A true aristocrat would have never, ever done such a thing as it would tarnish his reputation forever. Once again, lazy writing.

The conclusion:
Aria Roscente and prince Asterope Franz are wicked, repulsive villains with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. They are given everything on a silver platter because of their cheat abilities and plot contrivances. They are so boosted with everything that hardly anyone could pose a serious threat to them. And as such, any conflict ends with a curbstomp battle. The designated villains are not shown doing anything truly evil aside from trying to eliminate Aria (but not the prince), trying to protect their businesses and grab the power from an old and incompetent king that is barely mentioned in the series, and prince Asterope "Asher" Franz the psychopathic malefic that is prone to deadly violence at the slightest provocation. Also, these "villains" are laughably weak and stupid. The plot runs only on contrivances and deus ex machinas. The villainess reverses the hourglass is one of the worst manhwas and light novels ever.