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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wanted to like this book more than I did. The idea of it sounded great, however, the execution was not the best.
I definitely enjoyed the spice, but it seemed like it was more of a quantity over quality when writing the spice. I got so bored reading about their “influence.” There were parts that were written quite beautifully but then it became repetitive. (The spice did get better in the second half of the book)
Something about the characters and or how they were written didn’t have me rooting for them. I’m not sure what it was but I didn’t gain any kind of feeling (good or bad) about the characters.
I did like the aspect of trying to figure out who was who in the previous lives. And had a nice surprise when it came to reveal one of them. How the author wrote about the complexity of love was pretty spot on, in my opinion.
There were something’s that I felt were forgotten or the details of how some things fully worked weren’t flushed out.
Overall I thought the book was fine and had an interesting concept. I feel like I may need to read it again to see if I just didn’t pick up on somethings. I am excited about this author though because I do see great potential with his writing so I will continue to check out his work.
I definitely enjoyed the spice, but it seemed like it was more of a quantity over quality when writing the spice. I got so bored reading about their “influence.” There were parts that were written quite beautifully but then it became repetitive. (The spice did get better in the second half of the book)
Something about the characters and or how they were written didn’t have me rooting for them. I’m not sure what it was but I didn’t gain any kind of feeling (good or bad) about the characters.
I did like the aspect of trying to figure out who was who in the previous lives. And had a nice surprise when it came to reveal one of them. How the author wrote about the complexity of love was pretty spot on, in my opinion.
There were something’s that I felt were forgotten or the details of how some things fully worked weren’t flushed out.
Overall I thought the book was fine and had an interesting concept. I feel like I may need to read it again to see if I just didn’t pick up on somethings. I am excited about this author though because I do see great potential with his writing so I will continue to check out his work.
Tried the first couple of chapters, was not ready to be greeted with 3 sex scenes. At least introduce me to the plot first goodness. It just ain’t for me.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
I don’t even know what to say. It was beautiful but what even? Is there a second one?
dark
mysterious
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content
To preface, I always give more leeway to books that address topics that I think more representation, so I’ve never given one star to an LGBTQIA+ romance novel.
The characters are not well fleshed out, and there’s too many names to keep track of with the 3 alternating timelines (between ancient China and modern LA). The plot also didn’t feel anchored before it switched to another timeline, so I was constantly confused. The stylistic choice to alter the dialogue between quotes or italics was also confusing to me. For the parts about ancient China, there were so many names and titles I wish there was more character background to understand their place.
DNF at 20%.
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Justinian Huang’s debut novel is one of those books that, to put it bluntly, would be best to approach where you don’t think too hard about the logistics of everything and just enjoy the ride. Something I appreciated about Huang’s take on the reincarnation trope was how wonderfully unapologetic it was in its Chineseness and queerness. He never catered to the white gaze, and it was clear that this novel was written from a place of love and adoration for queer Chinese men in particular throughout history. I have virtually no experience with the genre and only have a slight understanding of it, but I couldn’t help but get the impression that Huang was giving a nod to danmei but with his own unique spin. I think this was especially apparent with the present-day timeline focusing on a gay Chinese American in Los Angeles. That aside, I think something that struck me about this novel (and I’m not sure if it was intentional or not) was how utterly campy it was at times; there were just one too many moments that had me bust out laughing. Considering all of this, I did get enjoyment out of the novel.
On a more critical note, though, I wouldn’t say that this novel was without fault. I rarely find myself saying this, but I actually wish the novel was a bit longer, only so Huang could have taken the time to develop his characters and their respective relationships some more. I found that there was a lot left to be desired in a story that was pretty character-driven, and I think had he taken more time to flesh these characters out some more, it would have made the reincarnation narrative significantly stronger and more compelling. This didn’t bother me as much as other readers, it seems, but it did take more time than expected to figure out who was who in each life cycle, though this was made clear later in the book.
Overall, an ambitious debut novel that didn’t entirely work, but I think if you just go along for the ride, it’s a rather fun read that’s earnest in professing love for queer Chinese men, and I really appreciated that aspect. I’m curious to know what Huang plans to write next, so I’ll have to keep an eye out for that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol
Moderate: Death
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Suicide
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes