Reviews - Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu (Novel) Vol. 1

453 reviews for:

Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu (Novel) Vol. 1

Tang Jiu Qing

4.39 AVERAGE

nebiesauria's review

4.0

challenging mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

saltedhoney's review

4.0

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

jaysnothere's review

3.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

fadireading's review

5.0

4.5 stars rounded
enemies to/and lovers done right!

hibaxx's review

3.5

can't say i'm fully captivated so far but definitely intrigued as hell and since this is only the very beginning of the novel (literally only 13% in according to my copy of the fan translation), i'd say we're off to a good start.

i really like the push-and-pull dynamic between shen lanzhou and xiao chiye, how they keep antagonizing each other yet are clearly so fascinated by each other. excited to see how their relationship will evolve after that ending. i do think shen lanzhou is being held at kinda too much of a distance from the reader but it's clearly on purpose (we're definitely meant to be a bit in the dark about him right now like xiao chiye is). i'm hoping we get to see more of his inner thoughts and true feelings moving forward.

the court intrigue and political drama plot is also interesting so far - there are some promising side characters i'm excited to see more of.