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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I think the premise of the book was interesting; however, there are some tweaks i believe that couldve made it better. I felt the story wasn’t fleshed out enough and couldve benefitted from more exposure in regards to the different timelines. I think Shican’s left me the most bewildered and felt very disjointed compared to the other two. Also i feel like the story wasn’t fleshed cheapened a bit with the miscellaneous use of drugs as well as some of the sex scenes. Right when i felt like I was going to get some interesting bulk of lore, i felt like there was a fleshed out sex scene that felt disjointed.
River’s and Calvin’s relationship also felt very hollow. I didn’t get a meaningful relationship between the two. I kinda didn’t want River to end up with any of them honestly.
The lore between the emperor and dong xian was the most cohesive and straight forward which was endearing to see their relationship blossom.
This style of book wasn’t really my cup of tea but i can see why someone would really like it. It had sex, mystery, ancient lore of emperors and magic but it didn’t quite hit it home for me. I felt it had pieces of all of those but lacked a stable standing any in particular.
River’s and Calvin’s relationship also felt very hollow. I didn’t get a meaningful relationship between the two. I kinda didn’t want River to end up with any of them honestly.
The lore between the emperor and dong xian was the most cohesive and straight forward which was endearing to see their relationship blossom.
This style of book wasn’t really my cup of tea but i can see why someone would really like it. It had sex, mystery, ancient lore of emperors and magic but it didn’t quite hit it home for me. I felt it had pieces of all of those but lacked a stable standing any in particular.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
😭😭😭😭😭
Painful and tragic. I loved the tension and build up. The betrayals hurt each time. I do wish there was a HEA, but I also think having things nicely tied up at the end would undermine the story and mystery.
Painful and tragic. I loved the tension and build up. The betrayals hurt each time. I do wish there was a HEA, but I also think having things nicely tied up at the end would undermine the story and mystery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Did I need this book to absolutely blow me away? No. I needed a queer story starring Asian men and, damn it, that’s what I got! Sure I had my issues with it, but I’d still mark it as a fun, exciting read and completely worth it if you’re looking for a gaysian romance.
I don’t know if this was the intention of Huang when writing, but I definitely felt like River was given the most attention as a character. Even though all the POVs were first person, River seemed the most real to me. That said, though, I did appreciate that each character still had their own distinct personality. I like that Huang balanced the overall conceit of the story with actually taking the time to consider some smaller traits that could set the characters apart from other counterparts. Not huge things that would fundamentally change them overall, but bits and pieces that really worked in the reincarnation aspect. They are the same and yet different! And I really admire how Huang was able to set them apart from each other.
I’m honestly quite delighted with the villain characters in this book. They’re good villains to be sure and I also appreciated how they were set apart in the lifetimes. Like with the leads, the villains had their own way of appearing in the story that still carried a strong through line without being exact replicas. There was a proper menacing energy they both gave and I like how insidious both were.
I’ll admit that I found some aspects of this all quite contrived. Like, the story itself plays into a few noteworthy tropes of the genre, but that didn’t really bother me. Because I went into that expecting those things. It was more the discussion of the feelings the leads shared and some of the poetry. Sure I get how it plays into everything and, with the poems, I’m sure they come across better in Mandarin (I’m assuming Mandarin since there’s a brief mention of River not knowing Canto), but it just felt like it was trying too hard to be deep. I didn’t want to be taken out of the story, but I did have to role my eyes more often than I liked.
I will say, and probably this is extremely my problem as an asexual who teeters between extremely sex neutral and somewhat sex repulsed, the sex scenes were. Very much not to my taste. Word choice and description just weren’t working for me, it didn’t feel at all titillating. In fact, I said ew multiple times out loud as I read some of the scenes. I’m sincerely hoping that wasn’t Huang’s intention because that just seems like a weird choice to be off putting in sex scenes in a romance book, but that’s how it came off to me. It also, and this sounds so mean even as I think it but I haven’t a better way to describe it, read sort of like the stereotypical fanfic sex scenes that my friends and I make fun of… There was a tangle of tongues and everything (iykyk) 😬
That aside, I did still have a good time with this book. It frustrated me a little bit at a few points — general writing style that sometimes made me feel like the author didn’t trust his audience, some plot beats that made me go “really?” — but, like I said, I wasn’t looking for this to blow me away. I wanted something fun and queer and inescapably Chinese and I got it. I got exactly what I needed from this book and I had a cozy, relaxing time reading it during a snowstorm and it gave me the tropes I like in the exact right amount. It met my expectations and I’m not disappointed.
I don’t know if this was the intention of Huang when writing, but I definitely felt like River was given the most attention as a character. Even though all the POVs were first person, River seemed the most real to me. That said, though, I did appreciate that each character still had their own distinct personality. I like that Huang balanced the overall conceit of the story with actually taking the time to consider some smaller traits that could set the characters apart from other counterparts. Not huge things that would fundamentally change them overall, but bits and pieces that really worked in the reincarnation aspect. They are the same and yet different! And I really admire how Huang was able to set them apart from each other.
I’m honestly quite delighted with the villain characters in this book. They’re good villains to be sure and I also appreciated how they were set apart in the lifetimes. Like with the leads, the villains had their own way of appearing in the story that still carried a strong through line without being exact replicas. There was a proper menacing energy they both gave and I like how insidious both were.
I’ll admit that I found some aspects of this all quite contrived. Like, the story itself plays into a few noteworthy tropes of the genre, but that didn’t really bother me. Because I went into that expecting those things. It was more the discussion of the feelings the leads shared and some of the poetry. Sure I get how it plays into everything and, with the poems, I’m sure they come across better in Mandarin (I’m assuming Mandarin since there’s a brief mention of River not knowing Canto), but it just felt like it was trying too hard to be deep. I didn’t want to be taken out of the story, but I did have to role my eyes more often than I liked.
I will say, and probably this is extremely my problem as an asexual who teeters between extremely sex neutral and somewhat sex repulsed, the sex scenes were. Very much not to my taste. Word choice and description just weren’t working for me, it didn’t feel at all titillating. In fact, I said ew multiple times out loud as I read some of the scenes. I’m sincerely hoping that wasn’t Huang’s intention because that just seems like a weird choice to be off putting in sex scenes in a romance book, but that’s how it came off to me. It also, and this sounds so mean even as I think it but I haven’t a better way to describe it, read sort of like the stereotypical fanfic sex scenes that my friends and I make fun of… There was a tangle of tongues and everything (iykyk) 😬
That aside, I did still have a good time with this book. It frustrated me a little bit at a few points — general writing style that sometimes made me feel like the author didn’t trust his audience, some plot beats that made me go “really?” — but, like I said, I wasn’t looking for this to blow me away. I wanted something fun and queer and inescapably Chinese and I got it. I got exactly what I needed from this book and I had a cozy, relaxing time reading it during a snowstorm and it gave me the tropes I like in the exact right amount. It met my expectations and I’m not disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gaslighting
Minor: Chronic illness, Murder
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There are 3 storylines, that follow our 2 main characters, who are also lovers. The first half of the book starts slow but it does a wonderful job of laying down the foundation for the second half. The second half was quicker. And I enjoyed how all the 3 stories did end up tying together. Overall it was a perfect tragic love story.
⚠️Spoilers⚠️
However, I was surprised by how the author ended the story. And I was disappointed my main question of “How did the curse happen?” went unanswered. My other questions were “What role does the emperor’s seal play in the curse?” “Can the curse even be broken?” “Did the Dowager Empress play a role in the curse?” Or “Was it the emperor’s own doing & cause the curse?”
⚠️Spoilers⚠️
However, I was surprised by how the author ended the story. And I was disappointed my main question of “How did the curse happen?” went unanswered. My other questions were “What role does the emperor’s seal play in the curse?” “Can the curse even be broken?” “Did the Dowager Empress play a role in the curse?” Or “Was it the emperor’s own doing & cause the curse?”
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes