Firentia has had a tough life. Spurned since birth for being an illegitimate child of the noble Lombardi family, she was helpless to do anything but watch as her once great clan fell to ruin and her father died. However, a carriage accident that seemingly spells her end is actually a second chance, as she wakes up in the past as her kid self! Now armed with knowledge about the future, Firentia resolves to save her family from ruin. But to do that, she'll need to shed the shackles of her status and rise to master her family!

I Shall Master This Family has a story and art by Mon (ANT Studio), based on an original story by Roah Kim. English translation is done by Ciel. Published by Ink Pop (October 13, 2026). Rated 12+.

Erica Friedman
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Volume 1 of I Shall Master This Family starts with violence against a young woman, a shorthand for “these guys are stupid fuckers, let's hope she gets revenge” in K-comics. I can't help but wish there was a less gross way of indicating this shorthand, especially as the story then backs way up for a double-dose of rebirth, so that our protagonist, Firentia, ends her life twice in quick succession before the story even begins.

But once past this rushed prologue—and needlessly violent—opening, which was not originally part of the webtoon, the story slows down, and we're able to see Firentia reshape hers and her family's history from scratch. This is supposed to be a story for middle-grade readers, and as a romantasy, one assumes a majority female audience. I know Korean media regularly includes psychological and physical violence against children and women, but I find it grotesque that it is being normalized here in a story for and about children. I long for a story that takes the brave tactic of just NOT beating up children as a plot driver. Please, I am begging adults to stop including abuse as a handwave for “these are bad people.”

Once past all this, the story focuses on Firentia using her intelligence and her knowledge of the future to change the events that ended up with her dying a second time because of an accident, after having been thrown out of the family. In this, we're seeing a mix of a revenge narrative with a helping of time travel/knowledge, on a foundation of isekai. The narrative is simple and will presumably be satisfying as Firentia makes her way up the hierarchy into a future that treats her as she deserves to be treated. We know it will give us a happy ending; we've seen it already.

I hope for better for a mid-grade reader who wants to experience either K-Comics, isekai, or romance fantasy. By trying to be all of these things at once, I Shall Master This Family, Volume 1 isn't quite any of it at all.

Rebecca Silverman
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Some girls just can't catch a break. Firentia died once in a car accident back in Korea, then again in a carriage accident in her new pseudo-Renaissance world after the downfall of her family and years of abuse. But don't worry, because she's been reborn again, or rather, revived as her seven-year-old self – and this time, our girl isn't going to sit around and let fate trample all over her. No, little Tia is armed with two lifetimes of knowledge, and the third life will definitely be the charm for her, come hell or high water.

And believe me, both of those things will come to pass, because I Shall Master This Family is from the Extreme Drama School of Korean media. It's a good thing that the pre-prologue shows that things will turn out fine for Tia, because the actual prologue is grim: Firentia is physically and emotionally abused by her rotten uncles and cousins due to the fact that her parents weren't married and her mother was a commoner. She does her level best to save the family fortunes, but after her grandfather's death, everything quickly goes wrong. And then she dies.

Fortunately, like many a reincarnated heroine in her position, Tia does quickly rise to the occasion upon reawakening. She already knows the problems lying in wait, and she's not going to let her age stop her from tackling them. Some, like her father's looming death from an illness, seem like they'll be more of a struggle to rectify, because she needs to ensure that the cure for his disease is found earlier. But others, like gaining her grandfather's attention and recognition, are well within her wheelhouse. It's the little things that keep tripping her up, because Tia is so laser-focused on specific issues (like the family finances) that she forgets that actions cause reactions. Standing up to one of her bullying cousins has the unexpected result of two other cousins suddenly adoring her, for example, and she has no idea how (or possibly even that) this will change other aspects of the future. I do like this, because it indicates that Tia is far from infallible, while also reminding us that this may be her third go-round, but she was young at the times of both of her previous deaths. Her life experience is limited in ways she's unaware of, and that gives this a different edge than, for example, Doctor Elise or Who Made Me a Princess, the series' two closest cousins.

Much as I love the Renaissance outfits and art and think they would appeal to the late middle grade audience Inkpop seems to be marketing this to, I would still recommend it for older readers. It's shaping up to be a good story, but I think the plot itself is more of a mid-YA level, so I would hesitate to put it in, say, a middle school library. But it's still a good albeit dramatic read, and I do think it's work giving a chance.