The Sabbides Secret Baby

by Keiko Yamada

[Jane]

**I received a review copy of this from NetGalley.**

Something about this rubbed me the wrong way. I like the secret child trope as a plot device when it includes substantial character development, but in the case of this manga, the gist is a communication error that results in broken hearts and the woman forgiving the man for everything by giving him a chance to prove he's different when ALL he does is continue to repeat the same mistakes, and that is what nearly every woman in the history of women has fought against. I mean, patriarchy, anyone?

I really liked Phoebe and believed her to be a female lead with agency until she abandoned everything she was and began to act like a lovesick teenager again, which doesn't add up for me because she's the mother of a child, i.e. she has real adult responsibilities and accepting a man who forces his way into her life as "love" and "changed" is really crap. Not once does Phoebe engage in the inner reflections of "okay, so, I love him, but his insistent pressuring is not a healthy relationship to have around my child". She vomited his words back at him twice, but never once addresses the real problem of having a toxic man around her son, regardless of him being the father.

I don't know if it went down like this because it needed to stick to the story at hand or because of a page count limit, or a combination of both. I didn't like the story, and it saddens me because AGAIN, I LOVE THIS TROPE because there is so much opportunity for fluff and tugging at readers' heartstrings. Jed is the kind of character that should have experienced major character development, but instead there was zero character development. Generally speaking, the story felt rushed and like the goal of everything was to get these two characters, who have next to nothing in common until their child happens, together. It portrays an abusive man who gets whatever he wants and isn't lectured about it once.

The only thing worth admiring about it is the art.