chrisljm's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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booknerd_life's review against another edition

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adventurous tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0


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moodreaderhan's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4 ‘Rolling Dice With Heated Stares And Soft Touches’ Stars! *fans myself again*

My Brief Summary:

Off to the Ghost City we go! Xie Lian is given a task by the heavenly officials, which he is more than happy to go on if it means the chance to possibly see his new/old friend San Lang aka Hua Cheng, who rules over the city and is one of the four calamities and a supreme ghost. The Ghost City (as its name suggests) holds all kinds of ghosts with trouble that may come in between him completing his mission.

Xie Lian has been warned of Hua Cheng, but when the two are together, no one can deny how different Crimson Rain Sought Flower is to our prince than to anyone else. Will Xie Lian be able to complete his mission? What happens when a familiar boy with bandages appears again? What other difficulties will arise? What lies between Hua Cheng’s and Xie Lian’s chemistry and connection?

Thoughts:

Oh my! Our slow burn continues on, and I am obsessed with HuaLian! Just when I thought Hua Cheng would take awhile to come back, he didn’t leave us or Xie Lian waiting for long! Can’t keep these two apart, and I am grateful for it.

Let’s dive into the good stuff.

What we get:
-GORGEOUS GORGEOUS GORGEOUS ART!
-Wacky ghosts
-Sensual gambling (with adorable half eaten buns as a prize for one fine gentleman in particular)
-Oblivious companions
-Interior design conversations (iykyk - just live together!!)
-The reverse Ariana Grande ‘You want it, you got it!’ from Hua Cheng to Xie Lian
-The introduction to a scimitar named Eming
-Low-key High-key innuendos everywhere
-Side character shenanigans
-Fighting scenes
-Shoulder touches/massage
-A heartbreaking and lovely bandaged boy that is basically adopted by Xie Lian and us (readers)
-Moments where those who have a degradation kink might really enjoy :):)
-Tomfoolery everywhere
-Painful scenes
-HuaLian moments too pure for words that are just enough, but never enough!

Characters
>Xie Lian: An angel and a badass rolled into one being! He either doesn’t give an f*ck what others think, will fight his beliefs, is self-sacrificing, or just shooting (unknown to himself) heart-eyes at Hua Cheng. There is no in betweens for me when it comes to him.
>Hua Cheng: The ‘I hate everyone but you’ energy is so strong with him, and I eat up every moment of it. HC is a simp in the purest sense, and I hope you never change! Also I am, respectfully, in love with you.

This story is primarily adventure based, but gets really emotional, funny, dark, mysterious and inspiring! I can’t wait to see what lies in store for our main characters, and for the readers!

P.s. If you can’t find me, it’s because I’m still rolling around laughing on the ground after Xie Lian said he can’t get erect to a random stranger. BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Would I recommend this and to who:
Yes!! For those who loveeee a good slow burn!
And you better love it or fear the wrath of us HuaLian simps (primarily maya and anmol will bring the hellfire)!
Paperback/Hardcover/Audiobook/E-book:
Paperback
How did I discover this:
anmol!! maya, lila and I get to tagalong for the adventure and fall in love with the volumes more and more as we go!
Pace:
Medium
POV:
Xie Lian

Quotes:
”Hua Cheng chuckled lighting” … “Xie Lian’s heart skipped a beat”

“Whether you’re here to see me or not, I’m happy either way.”

“A home has a family. A place where someone lives alone is not a home … if it’s home, then even a small place like Puqi Shrine is a million times better than my Paradise Manor.”

“If you ask, I’ll deliver”

“fight me and you will surely die.”

“Does that mean everytime I roll a two, I can see you?” … “If you want to see me, it won’t matter what you roll. I will appear.”

“The moment Hua Cheng left, Xie Lian immediately sense the void behind him and turned around in a rush, running a few steps after him.”

“Those who are destined to shine, I must let them shine.”

“If one day I ascend, I will surely do all that I said today and become a power to behold!”


Triggers:
Violence, Gore, Blood, Injury, Body Horror, Death, Abuse, Torture, Murder, Grief, Kidnapping, Swearing, War/Battles, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Illness, Bullying, Toxic Relationships, etc.


_______________________________


Here for the “plot” and “story-building” 🤭 yup that's what I'm invested in!

BR with the babes - anmol, maya and lila
 

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zia_c's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

“If that should happen, then the heavens are wrong. I am right. I will stand against the heavens and defy them until the end.”  — Xie Lian
 
Even the devil wouldn't know how happy it makes me when the MC defies the god himself with every step he takes. 🤌🏼❤️✨

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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Since the characters are for the majority hundreds of years old you can imagine that there is a lot of backstory.  It seems that we got a nice chunk of a flashback of it in this volume.

In the previous volume this was handled more as telling history or sharing gossip which was amusing because of the lens it was told from.  For the flashback it was more of a lived experience so not much humor.

I'm still enjoying the story and since it is predominantly character based with some "baddie-of-the-week" elements the previous experiences of a nigh immortal character are integral.

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samugranjo's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

4.25

"To humans, gods are elders, teachers, everlasting light, but they are not our masters. Therefore, we should be full of thankfulness and admiration but never groveling worship. (...) I believe that the correct attitude is thankfulness and shared joy - not fear, not ingratiation, not intimidation, and certainly not putting oneself in a position of servitude."

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atlanticgiantpumpkin's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • 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

5.0


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teagstime's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • 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

5.0

Absolutely devoured this book-- like, what an intriguing and wonderfully crafted story all around!!? 😳  I was on the edge of my seat nearly the entire time... Seriously, it's just SO good. There are so many small details that really stuck out to me, and have given me a lot to think abt concerning some of our favorite characters! I just bought transparent sticky notes so I can annotate All The Things!!! I'm really just in awe of MXTX for this one idk!!!!!!

And like, I simply adore Xie Lian... The fact that he tries so hard to be kind & stick to his morals is awesome, especially after learning more about his past!? And he gets some really emotional + badass moments in this volume (though, the crowning badass scene goes to Hua Cheng at the end of ch21 👀 iykyk) ??
The new characters introduced are amazing too! Big fan of Shi Qingxuan (their friendship w Xie Lian!!), and I can't wait to see more of Jun Wu & Lang Qianqiu specifically...
Even Qi Rong!? He's horrible but soo interesting !!? The relationship between him & Xie Lian is SO complicated and messy.. I can't WAIT to see them interact again omfg


Aaaaa I dunno !!! I loved volume 1, but I LOVE volume 2... This book is just so quality! Like you can just tell it's been crafted w so much love... This shit is breathtaking bro 🤧 I have absolutely no complaints-- I'm out here about to start kickin my feet & giggling bc of just how much I liked this lmaoo 😭 Heartbroken abt having to wait for the next one to come out cause this one has me 100% hooked on this story now ❤ 10/10 fr 

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aardwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Love these weird idiots and their absolutely wild problems. 

In all honestly, Xie Lian is a delightful exploration of character and I would read about him doing his taxes

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