Agents guide for Lady Han's Manual for Matrimonial Mayhem, 91K adult fantasy romcom, revised through SmoochPit 2025 mentorship
Pitch - She planned to be the terror in his life. He planned to ignore her. Neither planned on saving a crumbling empire from a tyrant—or falling in love. Twenty-year-old Wen Anling would sooner commit murder than give up her home and freedom. But with no way out of her arranged marriage to Han Shiyan, the wealthy Lord of Qinglan, she devises a plan: let him be the one to beg for divorce… once she transforms herself into the nastiest wife possible. Shiyan only married Anling to honour his mother’s dying wish. Had he known his new wife would send his simple life straight to mayhem, he would have thrown honour out the nearest window. He struggles to see any good beneath Anling’s heavily powdered face, overly red lips, and shrill screams, but when she continues to get under his skin, he cannot help but grow intrigued—especially after catching his first glimpses of the real Anling beneath her prickly exterior. While Anling wrestles with her desire to escape the prison of marriage and he
Comps The Darkness Within Us - cunning, unlikeble heroine, enemies-to-lovers, drives him up the wall but he can't help falling A Song to Drown Rivers - Chiense history-inspired setting, political intrigue & schemes How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days - romantic comedy, slow burn, lots of banter
Extract & Tropes - Multicultural w/ POC leads - Marriage of convenience - Enemies to power couple - Slow burn w/ a dose of spice The not so meet cute... Shiyan’s eyes widened for a heartbeat before he forced composure back onto his features. Her face was powdered with a thick layer of white, as if she had simply dunked it into a bowl of flour. Her bright red lip-paint smudged at the edges and… Heavens forbid women dab their cheeks with uneven blobs of pink. Even the most senile and stern of his guests held their hands to their stomachs, straining to hold back fits of laughter. He would have gladly joined them, too, if he wasn’t the one with the honour of marrying this… this… buffoon. He swallowed and recited the wise sayings of his forefathers: one should not judge a book by its cover; a woman’s beauty runs deeper than appearances; virtues are lasting while beauty is fleeting. Oh, to hell with wise sayings. An eyesore was an eyesore no matter how virtuous it might be.
A cunning prankster plots against her lord husband and ends up saving the empire in a fantasy romcom version of A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS X HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS
😈 unlikeable heroine
⚔️ enemies-to-power couple
💑 marriage of convenience
🔥 slow-burn & low spice
#questpit #Q #A #RF #agentsguide
