Manhwa Review: My Life as an Internet Novel Vol. 1

#review #manhwa November 22, 2025

by Andrea Tran

My Life as an Internet Novel, written by Yu Han-ryeo and illustrated by A Hyeon, is a manhwa that puts a clever spin on the familiar isekai trope. We had the chance to review Volume 1 it as it gets a new life in print from Ink Pop. For readers like me, feeling a bit burned out on traditional fantasy-world transports. Don't get me wrong, I still love the classic. This story offers a refreshing and instantly engaging alternative, plunging its heroine into a world that is hauntingly familiar yet completely different.

Dani is transported into a fantasy novel not as the main character but as her gorgeous best friend’s plain sidekick. Stranded without a return ticket and caught up with four boys who were never intended for her, Dani's strategy is straightforward: live by being unnoticed. Nonetheless, the story gets in the way of her plans. In this review, I will discuss the narrative differences from your typical “isekai" plot and consider my perspective as an avid manhwa reader.

What happens when you’re thrown into a fictional world…not as the main character, but as the main character’s best friend? This Korean manhwa puts a twist on romance and proves that falling in love is more than just a trope.

Every internet novel has the usual cast: a gorgeous heroine, handsome boys vying for her attention, and a unremarkable best friend at the heroine’s side. Dani, an ordinary student and avid reader, is all too familiar with these tropes. But she never imagined that one day she’d wake up in one herself!

But how did she get here?

Her new fictional world is complete with a beautiful best friend named Yeoryung, and four impossibly good-looking boys who all happen to be in her class…and are possibly love interests. Love interests that weren’t originally meant for her.

Dani knows that nothing good will happen to her as the side character, so she is determined to stay out of the way! But what happens when this fictional world ends up leading Dani to the first real friends she’s ever known? With no idea how to get back home, Dani decides she’ll just have to play her part—no matter what plot twists come her way.

Plot Review

If you're feeling a bit burned out with the typical "isekai" format, My Life as an Internet Novel takes an interesting spin on it. Rather than waking up in a historical fantasy world, the main character, Dani, wakes up inside a novel that is in the same universe as her life. The environment is familiar; she has even seen her mom, but her friends, school, and social situations are all different. This clever idea makes her transition into the story seem more personal and instantly engaging.

It's the characters that stand out. Rather than presenting as a wall of stereotypes, their individual personalities are fleshed out, but there are still small stereotypes of course. Rather than the characters spending their time telling you all about themselves in great detail or requiring you to read a whole lot of exposition, you learn about them from watching how they treat one another. Their affection for one another is simply wonderful to watch, and it's the kind of bright and lively group of friends you'd want to be a part of.

This is a reverse harem, so be ready for an assortment of interesting male characters. Don't get too focused on one specific outcome too quickly because this book is designed to keep you in a chokehold.

The use of time skips and flashbacks is done well by the authors. Although I generally do not like time skips, here they are done to create suspense and curiosity. The narrative begins in the "present" with an insinuation of what happened earlier that you do not understand, and then employs flashbacks to gradually disclose what transpired. It's a good puzzle that leaves you curious to fit everything together.

The conflicts throughout the story are managed nicely. They are rational and character-based, never dragging out a good thing too long or appearing to be there simply for the drama. Each conflict makes you learn more about the characters. Since the story easily switches between Dani and her friends' narratives, you've got a good, multi-leveled story that's easy to follow despite so many characters.
its
For example, Dani's internal conflict surfaces in her behavior as she starts to question whether she is living in the story she had read. She did not welcome her new life but instead gets stressed and withdraws from her best friend, Yeoryung. Honestly, I would too as an overthinker. Dani does not want either complication or to be in the in-crowd, and she does not think Yeoryung is a real friend. This character-based decision creates an external riff that others notice, including the boys she is attempting to avoid, allowing a smooth transition into their perspectives and depth to the whole situation.

Also, the story is able to wrap up its central conflict understandably. Unlike in other stories, where the character might take a whole volume to come to terms with their new reality, Dani's internal conflict is well-written. Essentially, the progression from denial to acceptance runs from the beginning of volume one onward, keeping the story's momentum engaging without overwriting the resolution.

You can buy My Life as an Internet Novel Vol 1

Physical print of *My Life as an Internet Novel* Vol 1

Cover Review

I think the cover goes really well with the story. When I review books, I like to compare the original design to the English licensed version. As a collector, I want to own a copy of a story I love that I can actually read, but I also want it to be close to the original design.

I like the use of different fonts in the title to convey meaning. Many translated stories just use one basic font, but this one did something different while still keeping the original's feel. For example, they kept the curly decorative parts for the English title, it's in the words "My Life," while for the Korean version and on Tappytoon, it's in the word "Novel." It still looks great.

The arrangement is impressive because it's hard to keep a design familiar when Korean and English texts are so different. I also like how they kept the blue stars. I'm glad they included them, as many English prints often remove the cool effects from the original.

Honestly, I don't have anything negative to say about the cover. I feel like it's a really good one.

Anime Atelier a review copy of the book.