Review: THE BROKEN RING: THIS MARRIAGE WILL FAIL ANYWAY, Volume 1 is a twisted tale of fate, freedom, and regret

The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway, Vol. 1

Story: Chacha Kim
Art: Cheong-gwa
Publisher: Inklore (Print & Digital)
Translation:
Publication Date: October 21, 2025
Rating: Older Teen (15+)
Genre: Manhwa, Webtoon

This review contains spoilers for The Broken Ring, Vol. 1. I received an advanced uncorrected copy from Inklore for this review.

I received an Advanced Uncorrected Proof of The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway from Inklore, which goes on sale October 21, 2025. Since this was an early copy, parts of the book were printed in color while most were in black and white, and there were numerous typos throughout. It also seemed to be missing several pages at the beginning—but fortunately, I’d already read the webcomic on Tappytoon, so I knew what I was missing. (Again, it’s an uncorrected copy!)

The story follows Ines Valeztena De Perez, the only daughter of Duke Valeztena, who, as a child chose her future husband, Carcel Escalante, the most handsome boy she knew. She rejected the crown prince in front of everyone, declaring she would marry Carcel instead. From that moment on, their lives became entangled in ways neither fully understood.

Carcel claims that Ines’s childhood declaration burdened him with guilt and expectations he never wanted. Meanwhile, his cousin Oscar, the crown prince, resented him for “stealing” Ines—though Oscar never truly loved her. Ines, for her part, never wavered in her reasoning: she chose Carcel simply because she liked his face.

As an adult, Carcel grows into a notorious playboy, freely indulging himself until his marriage to Ines approaches. Determined to live up to societal expectations, he vows to reform—believing “a man must not behold any other woman than his wife.” But Ines doesn’t care in the slightest. In fact, she’d prefer he keep up his carefree ways.

Carcel’s attempts to prove his loyalty only make things worse. At one point, he blurts, “You’re the only one who turns me on like this!” before realizing how foolish he sounds. (His self-awareness is the only saving grace here!) Yet when he tries to rekindle his old habits, he finds himself suddenly unable to perform—a cruel irony that links back to his earlier dream confession.

As the story unfolds, Ines’s tragic past lives are revealed. Once celebrated as a beauty and trendsetter, she endured horrific loss—four miscarriages, public humiliation, and a husband, Oscar, who betrayed her repeatedly. His infidelity and abuse ultimately drove her to take her own life, only for her to awaken years earlier, given a chance to rewrite her fate.

In a subsequent life, Ines finds love with a man named Emiliano, only for tragedy to strike again when her brother kills him. Her forced marriages and repeated suffering underscore the central theme: no matter how many times she’s reborn, she cannot escape the pain imposed by the men around her.

Now, in her current life, Ines is engaged to Carcel. Despite his obliviousness, Carcel seems determined to make the marriage work—though his promises of fidelity only horrify Ines further. During a tense dinner with her parents, her father eviscerates Carcel with biting wit (“You disappoint me with every breath you take. Why don’t you drop dead and alleviate some of my disappointment?”), while her mother chastises Ines for being “ill” simply because she eats healthily and dresses modestly.

Volume 1 closes on a serious exchange between Ines and Carcel as they debate whether their marriage will be a farce or something real, ending just before their wedding day.

When I first read The Broken Ring, I wasn’t sure what to make of Carcel or the flashbacks to Ines’s past lives. New readers may also find the nonlinear storytelling a bit confusing, but I encourage them to stick with it. Beneath the layers of tragedy and irony lies a richly crafted narrative about agency, trauma, and the suffocating expectations placed on women. The art is stunning, the writing sharp, and the emotional payoff worth the journey.

The tentative price for Volume 1 is $20.00 USD / $27.99 CAD, with the official launch set for October 21, 2025.