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tiredtori's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Classism
stroop's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Violence and War
dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and War
strrygo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Bullying
drtx_bwt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide, Torture, and Suicide attempt
ruby_the_gem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This was my first book is either of the danmei or wuxia genres, so I wasn't too familiar with certain aspects of Chinese culture or Daoism prior to reading this book. Thankfully, there are guides and a glossary in the back of the book that helped explain different concepts and helped me keep different characters straight with all their different names and titles.
I loved Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's world building, writitng style, use of suttle foreshadowing, and use of number or color associations to provide greater insight. She balances the plot and characters connections pretty well. I especially loved seeing the suttle ways in which character's emotions were shown, particularlly the use of "...." or character silence. However, some points in the book felt slow which is why I didn't give this book five stars.
Be aware that this series is a very slow burn romance with a lot of tragedy. This book also ends on a cliff hanger, and the english translation of this series won't be finished until next year. However, there are five elnglish books out, one season of the donghua both subbed and dubbed, and about 80 english chapters of the manhua to help fill the void.
Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror
ts_anne13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Blood
blacksphinx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The only way I know how to describe the prose is to say that it's like a fanfic. It is quite jarring to see such things in an original story I paid money to read - for example, characters' dialog consisting only of "..." or "???????". If you had never read fanfic before, I cannot imagine how this would come across!
The other is something the many fans encouraging me to read it or the discussions I've seen about the book never mention - the transphobic and Islamophobic elements in the plot. It was extremely uncomfortable to hear characters say things like "if I kidnapped someone I thought was a woman and they turned out to be a man in a dress, I'd kill them!" or
Overall, my feelings are really mixed...
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
ashriverrrr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Violence and Blood
imspaceman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood