Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 1

The beginning was a little on the slow side but it picked up and quickly became engaging and I didn't want to put it down.

I think the main deterrent I have might be with the style of translation. I am used to translated works using footnotes for quick reference so having one chunk at the end describing all the nuance that is otherwise lost in translation interrupts the flow. I chose to discern by context and then read through the glossary and such after so I think it will improve the experience for reading the next book in the series. I admit that this is a personal preference.

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blacksphinx's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious 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

2.5

I am really conflicted about this book (hence the middle rating). On one hand, I really like our protagonist and his love interest. Hua Cheng is charming, and I have plenty of theories about his backstory I want to see play out. The arc format of the story is appealing, with each arc having a ton of many wild plot twists, and I'm going to continue on with the series. But there were also grating things I just can't ignore.

The only way I know how to describe the prose is to say that it's like a fanfic. It is quite jarring to see such things in an original story I paid money to read - for example, characters' dialog consisting only of "..." or "???????". If you had never read fanfic before, I cannot imagine how this would come across!

The other is something the many fans encouraging me to read it or the discussions I've seen about the book never mention - the transphobic and Islamophobic elements in the plot. It was extremely uncomfortable to hear characters say things like "if I kidnapped someone I thought was a woman and they turned out to be a man in a dress, I'd kill them!" or

"the warmongering, brutish, Middle Eastern coded country was going to send civilians wearing bombs into public places to blow them up in acts of terror" as justification for genocide.

It makes me wonder what other harmful stereotypes of minority groups I'm going to have to grit my teeth through in the future.

Overall, my feelings are really mixed...

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cait's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny lighthearted 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

5.0

"'Crimson Rain Sought Flower' evokes quite the imagery. Do you know where it came from, my friend?"

"Nothing major, really. Just that, there was once an incident where he cleaned out the nest of another ghost, and a shower of blood rain poured down from the skies. He saw a flower was getting battered by the bloody rain, so he tilted his umbrella and shielded it."

I don't think I'll ever be capable of writing a coherent review for an MXTX novel, because I genuinely love every single one of them so damn much. Her ability to write such charming characters and compelling relationships is unparalleled and Heaven Official's Blessing is no exception.

In this novel, we follow Xie Lian, a former crown prince, who ascended to godhood at 17, only to botch a war effort and be cast from the heavens in disgrace. Years later, he ascended again, for just under 15 minutes, during which he went on a murderous rampage before being expelled once again. So imagine everyone's shock when, seemingly out of the blue, Xie Lian suddently ascends a third time! However, with his past failure still haunting him, Xie Lian is only barely a god - very little spiritual power, no worshippers, and no money to his name - so finds himself accepting any and every task sent his way. But when he meets a mysterious stranger trailed by silver butterflies whom the other gods seem to fear, Xie Lian starts to wonder what exactly it is he's missing and why such a dangerous creature could have been so cordial to him.

I had previously read this section of the story as translated by fans of the story and struggled to truly connect with it due to the clunkiness of the interpretation. (This is in no way a criticism of the translators, just a comment on the difference the resources afforded to professional translators can make in official translations vs. fan translations.) I fell absolutely head over heels with this story this read. Although I still struggle to differentiate between Fu Yao and Nan Feng's masters, I have learned to deeply love and understand the two martial gods in their own rights.

So happy I read this and so excited for book two to come out in a couple of weeks!

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yuuzel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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