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sovngarde's review against another edition
5.0
I dont generally write reviews that are fleshed out beyond perhaps flailing or whatever but wow this book shocked me and I think got me back into reading
This was my first danmei and it is A LOT. I was thankful for the glossary of names and pronunciation at the back but dont let the host of characters or unknown words deter you as this story, while dense, is so full of wonderful characters amidst a beautiful backdrop of places. (there are a lot of beautiful and adorable illustrations peppered throughout the novel too to highlight this) The culture is richly woven into the story and while I felt like a dumb nunce half the time trying to understand who was who I'm glad I persisted.
I will say if you read this that it is obviously translated to English and the first third or so of the book does suffer from jilted and awkward writing. I'm not sure whether thats the translation's error or the fact that perhaps the story wasnt fully realized at that point and the author was unsure of where to go. Either way it stopped being apparent after awhile not only because the story is so engrossing but also because the writing did get much better.
This story is a slow burn to the max. S L O W. I'm very excited to see where this goes into book two. I adore Xie Lian; what a delightfully captivating protagonist. And I won't say much on Hua Cheng other than AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *flails*
This was my first danmei and it is A LOT. I was thankful for the glossary of names and pronunciation at the back but dont let the host of characters or unknown words deter you as this story, while dense, is so full of wonderful characters amidst a beautiful backdrop of places. (there are a lot of beautiful and adorable illustrations peppered throughout the novel too to highlight this) The culture is richly woven into the story and while I felt like a dumb nunce half the time trying to understand who was who I'm glad I persisted.
I will say if you read this that it is obviously translated to English and the first third or so of the book does suffer from jilted and awkward writing. I'm not sure whether thats the translation's error or the fact that perhaps the story wasnt fully realized at that point and the author was unsure of where to go. Either way it stopped being apparent after awhile not only because the story is so engrossing but also because the writing did get much better.
This story is a slow burn to the max. S L O W. I'm very excited to see where this goes into book two. I adore Xie Lian; what a delightfully captivating protagonist. And I won't say much on Hua Cheng other than AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *flails*
tardislibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
linelopes's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I can’t possibly give it less than 5 star
A reread
A reread
hedonsgaybookshelf's review against another edition
hard for me to follow what’s going on, maybe due to insufficient world-building foundation and very fast pace
Moderate: Transphobia
ktame001's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
soupylove's review
5.0
Thoroughly enjoyable and a slowburn! Xie Lian is so earnest with bad luck, but Hua Cheng will protect him (in a princess carry). 😉 I can't wait to read more of the series.
pluto7063's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Love this!
cmvorra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
radikaliseradgroda's review against another edition
4.5
This is shaping up to be my favourite MXTX series.