it's interesting to me that when these books focus on the mind of the male lead, the female lead is just so great: she's been told by her parents that she's middling at best, but every man is a little to a lot in love with her, women admire her beauty alongside her work ethic and kind nature, she never gets too mad, she's forgiving beyond reason until the end. a little unforgivably, this does nothing with the actor-trainee moments. but it's also a nice mild read