Reviews

The Imperial Uncle by Da Feng Gua Guo

jowithtwoiis's review

5.0

Da Feng Gua Guo is quickly replacing MXTX as my favorite author. I thought that Peach Blossom Debt was pretty great but The Imperial Uncle was even better. I was totally captivated by Jing Weiyi and his utterly warped view on the things that were going on around him. Maybe that's why I found him so relatable; a lot of us can be clueless to others motivations and do stupid, thoughtless things as a result. The political intrigue is all of a very personal nature since it involves the viewpoint of a member of the royal family. I really felt it put a very human face on some common Chinese story tropes that I don't always understand as am American.

Anyway, LOVED THIS BOOK. I want to read more by this author ASAP!

sovngarde's review

4.0

this is not a romance. THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE!!

I admit I was going to give this three stars until reading the extras. The first two completely changed my rating

I feel people are going into this with differing expectations than what is actually portrayed in the story and while I’m not out to spoil I will say it’s is not an overt romance but rather more political in nature and character study-esque. While there is a romance it doesn’t pop up in full until close to the end and even when it does it’s subtle and undefined due to the unreliable nature of the narrator.

if you’re looking for straight up romance this isn’t the story for you. I enjoyed this even though I wanted to strangle Jing half the time. The extras - as aforementioned - especially the first two were very good and added a bit of an explanation for the motivations and true intent of one of the characters.

It’s a bit of a slow start. Admittedly it didn’t truly pick up for me until about 50-60% of the way in and also keep in mind that everything gets explained at the end, in a way. So if you find yourself frustrated by some of the choices Jing make then know you’re not alone

cakereads's review

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

i got whiplash from how quickly the main character switches his affections, and i have to say the book only really picks up at the mid-way point.

elisenic's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

ipsita's review

2.0

I got pulled into it because of the title and the cover, it's just so pretty. And the first few chapters were actually going strong, I liked the author's narration so much. It was melancholy; and it portrayed how Prince Huai's character was like very well especially how flawed he was. The whole palace politics and circumstances were by far the most realistic I've ever seen. And the characters, ohmygod Yun Yu is my favourite, ofcourse. It's not your typical romance. You keep second guessing who the real ML is even to the end (my ship sank too). I think that was another reason I was able to finish this because I kinda got confused and lost interest halfway despite the book being so short. But the ending left me feeling bitter sweet cause I kept questioning if Prince Huai really loved the ML or not (the confession was so fast and forced for me)!

The translation was perfect, one of the reason I could finish it. Although this wasn't my cup of tea, I definitely liked the characters a lot. Really hoping Yun Yu got a happy ending of his own too, he deserves that.

nemonade's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

lenci's review

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

bonriki's review

emotional lighthearted sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexism, and Homophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Slavery

lemonaderoses's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

zenlosingit's review

emotional funny informative mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

I had expectations on how this would play out, was proven wrong, was put into a new ride, and now I’m left alone and confused in the aftermath.

Fundamentally, Prince Huai is a guy who just wants to chill and live life on his own terms and is a romantic at heart who wants to be with someone to share it with, yet because of his position on the court he’s always placed in situations where he has to play into assumptions he was born into. I honestly was rooting for him to finally find a way out of it all, then the goddamn twist happens and I have more questions than answers.

Some people say there is a love triangle- there isn’t. For me at least there is a clear cut show of who is his love interest, but there’s gotta be some drama to drive the characters along. If anything I should’ve taken heed that they literally don’t get together until the last chapter- and even then it not that clear cut.

I need to find someone else’s meta-analysis on this cause I don’t know what to make of this book 😭

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Incest