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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
If I had to pick a danmei to introduce cultivation themes to a friend, it would be Liu Yao. Even though I've read many novels, sometimes I feel like I lack full comprehension on what goes into cultivation and daoist beliefs and having characters that also don't know bullshit makes this story more acessible, since you learn alongside them.
Seeing the characters slowly grow together and become a community makes everything even more special, and it's impossible to not get attached to their personalities. They're all unique in their own ways and Priest never tries to make any of them "perfect", having as many flaws as a human being would. I adore all of them.
The main couple was beautifully handled. Yan Zhengming only realizes his feelings after they're both grown adults, which eased my heart because of the age gap between them in their childhood. All the mental steps he had to take to come into terms with this love - which he considered wrong, thinking he was taking advantage of his shidi - were really realistic, and I'm glad they were addressed. Cheng Qiao's behavior is so consistent throughout the plot that at some point I feared he wouldn't fall in love with Yan Zhengming back, but the way he realizes his own feelings is so cute and innocent (and fitting to his character!!) that makes you warm.
I'd say this is, from what I've read, Priest's couple that starts the relationship with the least amount of communication, since Yan Zhengming is always trying to shoulder everything by himself. Yet the beauty is how he starts to grow and rely on the other little by little.
I personally love how not all the main characters are god-tier cultivators. Even though Yan Zhengming and Cheng Qiao are way above the average, Li Yun being their tag-along nerd guy makes everything more fun. Han Tan being childish, with the potential to be a goddess but still in her early stages brings a fun dynamic between them.
Han Yuan's redemption is also well written, and I like how Priest made their generation also have a demonic cultivator - but not Cheng Qiao. Yan Zhengming and Munchun constantly worried about CQ's temperament, yet he showed to be strong willed and dedicated to his path. I worried that he would, as a protagonist, fall into the trap (since it's reocurring one of the protagonists in the couple to be into) but being a secondary character was really refreshing.
I love Liu Yao and hope many people read it too! It's a great story, much like all Priest's works
Seeing the characters slowly grow together and become a community makes everything even more special, and it's impossible to not get attached to their personalities. They're all unique in their own ways and Priest never tries to make any of them "perfect", having as many flaws as a human being would. I adore all of them.
The main couple was beautifully handled. Yan Zhengming only realizes his feelings after they're both grown adults, which eased my heart because of the age gap between them in their childhood. All the mental steps he had to take to come into terms with this love - which he considered wrong, thinking he was taking advantage of his shidi - were really realistic, and I'm glad they were addressed. Cheng Qiao's behavior is so consistent throughout the plot that at some point I feared he wouldn't fall in love with Yan Zhengming back, but the way he realizes his own feelings is so cute and innocent (and fitting to his character!!) that makes you warm.
I'd say this is, from what I've read, Priest's couple that starts the relationship with the least amount of communication, since Yan Zhengming is always trying to shoulder everything by himself. Yet the beauty is how he starts to grow and rely on the other little by little.
I personally love how not all the main characters are god-tier cultivators. Even though Yan Zhengming and Cheng Qiao are way above the average, Li Yun being their tag-along nerd guy makes everything more fun. Han Tan being childish, with the potential to be a goddess but still in her early stages brings a fun dynamic between them.
Han Yuan's redemption is also well written, and I like how Priest made their generation also have a demonic cultivator - but not Cheng Qiao. Yan Zhengming and Munchun constantly worried about CQ's temperament, yet he showed to be strong willed and dedicated to his path. I worried that he would, as a protagonist, fall into the trap (since it's reocurring one of the protagonists in the couple to be into) but being a secondary character was really refreshing.
I love Liu Yao and hope many people read it too! It's a great story, much like all Priest's works
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Before I give my opinion I'd like to make it clear that is put the book aside for about two months (for a good reason too) before finally setting forth and finishing the novel.
Liu Yao is a ravishing novel about chosen family. This was also what allured me. It's packed with beautiful character development, fluffy relationships and a bittersweet love story. The connections between the main characters are incredibly touching. All they have been through is all so well written. Although it's a danmei, you don't really get much out of it.
Onto why I took a break. It's plainly because I began to lose my interest from how LENGTHY everything was. Priest, I'll give it to her, CAN WRITE, there were scenes that had entranced me by how she went with her words, everything she portrayed was so unique. It was like candy to my mind. However this novel felt like the slow burn of slow burns. Halfway through (literally) it felt like I had read all the plot. However more just kept pouring in. After picking it up again, the plot began to interest me once more. That was until the last 10 chapters were nearing. In my honest opinion she should've made everything past them re-entering Fuyao sect extra chapters
Liu Yao is a ravishing novel about chosen family. This was also what allured me. It's packed with beautiful character development, fluffy relationships and a bittersweet love story. The connections between the main characters are incredibly touching. All they have been through is all so well written. Although it's a danmei, you don't really get much out of it.
Onto why I took a break. It's plainly because I began to lose my interest from how LENGTHY everything was. Priest, I'll give it to her, CAN WRITE, there were scenes that had entranced me by how she went with her words, everything she portrayed was so unique. It was like candy to my mind. However this novel felt like the slow burn of slow burns. Halfway through (literally) it felt like I had read all the plot. However more just kept pouring in. After picking it up again, the plot began to interest me once more. That was until the last 10 chapters were nearing. In my honest opinion she should've made everything past them re-entering Fuyao sect extra chapters
This is the second novel by Priest that I couldn’t focus on while reading. Why? I’m not sure, it just puts me to sleep. I’m sure it’s a great story—I was very intrigued by the first few chapters and felt connected to Cheng Qian. But when the focus shifted to other characters, I just... lost interest. I have volume 1, and I’ll continue the series when the other volumes are released. I might give it another shot later, but for now, it’s just not working for me.
I dropped this at 12% (chapter 20).
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I think I would give this a 3.8/5.
Liu Yao is about found family, wanting to go home but finding that you can't, and deconstructing what it means to follow the path of cultivation. I liked the themes that Priest decided to tackle and enjoyed reading about how the kids were able to grow into their own. The bonds between everyone were very sweet to read, and they are ultimately the strongest relationship in this story. Cheng Qian and Yan Zhengming's relationship was kind of whatever for me; Priest had some really good, sweet moments written between the two, but for the most part I was not moved. I did not quite enjoy Yan Zhengming's personality that much, which is a shame. I think Cheng Qian and Yan Zhengming's relationship comes off really stiff when they get together, and I only really liked their interactions when they had just reunited after the time skip. Nevertheless, I had a fun time reading and really enjoyed the found family <3
Liu Yao is about found family, wanting to go home but finding that you can't, and deconstructing what it means to follow the path of cultivation. I liked the themes that Priest decided to tackle and enjoyed reading about how the kids were able to grow into their own. The bonds between everyone were very sweet to read, and they are ultimately the strongest relationship in this story. Cheng Qian and Yan Zhengming's relationship was kind of whatever for me; Priest had some really good, sweet moments written between the two, but for the most part I was not moved. I did not quite enjoy Yan Zhengming's personality that much, which is a shame. I think Cheng Qian and Yan Zhengming's relationship comes off really stiff when they get together, and I only really liked their interactions when they had just reunited after the time skip. Nevertheless, I had a fun time reading and really enjoyed the found family <3
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-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:
No
I absolutely loved this book. Unfortunately my reading experience was a bit ruined due to the translator who translated from Vietnamese to English, their English was not good and they often translated chinese terms that should not have been. This has nothing to do with the quality of the story and I still loved it, it just was quite unfortunate