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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This series has me so conflicted. The beautiful prose has me in its clutches, the main characters are compelling, and they get more developed with each book, and the plot (as slow as it is) has me hooked.
I have moments when I deeply despise He Yu, but then we get some beautiful glimpses of his humanity that make me understand him, even though his behaviour is unacceptable. And whenever I see his humanity he manages to do something that flips the table once again. Xie Qingcheng on the other hand is so elusive, we barely get glimpses of him, but they hint at such hidden depths.
On the other hand, the side characters have very little screen time, and it feels like the barely have any impact. The main plot didn't advance too much during this book as it focused on the romance a bit too heavily for my taste. Hoping the next one will get us some more answers.
I have moments when I deeply despise He Yu, but then we get some beautiful glimpses of his humanity that make me understand him, even though his behaviour is unacceptable. And whenever I see his humanity he manages to do something that flips the table once again. Xie Qingcheng on the other hand is so elusive, we barely get glimpses of him, but they hint at such hidden depths.
On the other hand, the side characters have very little screen time, and it feels like the barely have any impact. The main plot didn't advance too much during this book as it focused on the romance a bit too heavily for my taste. Hoping the next one will get us some more answers.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The plot twist wasn’t that unpredictable, I already had a guess that Xie Qingcheng also had that Ebola illness but he seems to just have an another mental illness but who knows? Maybe we’ll find something in the next vol. About He Yu I really like him but he was super annoying in this vol, he pissed me off multiple times. Xie Qingcheng my boyyy, he reminds me a lot of Chu Wanning maybe that’s why I adore him. This was my least favourite vol till now but I’m pretty excited for the next, we’ll finally get to read about Xie Qingcheng backstory.
Fav line:
"He Yu, do you know where you're sick? It's not your head. It's your heart, you're sick in the heart."
Fav line:
"He Yu, do you know where you're sick? It's not your head. It's your heart, you're sick in the heart."
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"I really hate you, Xie Qingcheng," he said. "Now that you hate me too, tell me, wouldn't it be great if you'd never bothered to help me in the first place and just left me to die? If it weren't for this illness, if it weren't for meeting you, we'd both have one less enemy in our lives, and we wouldn't have suffered so much. You and I wouldn't loathe each other so deeply."
He Yu's world is broken. He's decided to destroy himself and destroy Xie Qingcheng alongside. After the events of the nightclub, He Yu starts struggling with acknowledging and rationalizing his attraction to Xie Qingcheng. He still thinks he's a straight man, he still believes he is homophobic (the hints of childhood trauma connected to this that we get are super interesting) but somehow not only does he still crave Xie Qingcheng's body, he realizes he also longs for his company, his acknowledgement. Generally this plotline that focuses on the sexuality (of mainly He Yu, but also Xie Qingcheng) invokes some age-old tropes without following the conventions: yes, He Yu and Xie Qingcheng identify as straight and insist on this even as (He Yu) feels attracted emotionally and sexually to Xie Qingcheng. He goes through the typical self-denial of 'you're the only exception' but it's interestingly countered through Xie Qingcheng, who blames He Yu for not being able to accept reality and his own sexuality (funnily it's not as if Xie Qingcheng here is blameless). Even as a supposedly homophobic man, Xie Qingcheng accuses He Yu of being a shame to the gay community for this closeted delusional behavior.
(While He Yu's homophobia has its roots in an inferiority complex and trauma of sexual harassment , Xie Qingcheng's is rather a result of the strongly patriarchal straight man persona he has adopted after being orphaned and having to raise his sister all by himself. He truly doesn't associate his aversion to heterosexual sex and disinterest in it with anything consequential.)
This volume is the toxic and spiraling pit of despair between the club incident andtheir near-death experience by the end - He Yu is slowly realizing everything he does makes Xie Qingcheng hate him even more even as he himself starts craving more approval from him. With every attempt at communication, He Yu's illness rears its head and pushes them even further into this twisted hatred and loathing. Only by the end is He Yu finally near figuring out that the 'lies' that had destroyed his entire sense of self-worth might not be entirely what they seem to be. Just as he's on the precipice of figuring out the truth about Xie Qingcheng, they get trapped in a situation that is most certain to end with both of their deaths.
A great volume, I cried my eyes out, loved the illustrations by Boki and Danke.
He Yu's world is broken. He's decided to destroy himself and destroy Xie Qingcheng alongside. After the events of the nightclub, He Yu starts struggling with acknowledging and rationalizing his attraction to Xie Qingcheng. He still thinks he's a straight man, he still believes he is homophobic (the hints of childhood trauma connected to this that we get are super interesting) but somehow not only does he still crave Xie Qingcheng's body, he realizes he also longs for his company, his acknowledgement. Generally this plotline that focuses on the sexuality (of mainly He Yu, but also Xie Qingcheng) invokes some age-old tropes without following the conventions: yes, He Yu and Xie Qingcheng identify as straight and insist on this even as (He Yu) feels attracted emotionally and sexually to Xie Qingcheng. He goes through the typical self-denial of 'you're the only exception' but it's interestingly countered through Xie Qingcheng, who blames He Yu for not being able to accept reality and his own sexuality (funnily it's not as if Xie Qingcheng here is blameless). Even as a supposedly homophobic man, Xie Qingcheng accuses He Yu of being a shame to the gay community for this closeted delusional behavior.
(While He Yu's homophobia has its roots in an inferiority complex and trauma of sexual harassment , Xie Qingcheng's is rather a result of the strongly patriarchal straight man persona he has adopted after being orphaned and having to raise his sister all by himself. He truly doesn't associate his aversion to heterosexual sex and disinterest in it with anything consequential.)
This volume is the toxic and spiraling pit of despair between the club incident and
A great volume, I cried my eyes out, loved the illustrations by Boki and Danke.
Dnf at page 212.
Is this still written by the same meatbun??
The writing style is so much more novice than her other books.
The character dynamics are boring. Also ever since the sexual assault, I don't buy their building romantic storyline any longer.
This reads like a bad fanfic from the early 2000s tbh.
Is this still written by the same meatbun??
The writing style is so much more novice than her other books.
The character dynamics are boring. Also ever since the sexual assault, I don't buy their building romantic storyline any longer.
This reads like a bad fanfic from the early 2000s tbh.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Man, this volume emotionally drained me! I strongly disliked He Yu throughout it all and were he a living breathing human, I'd run up and tussle with him. He deserves a good ass whopping. Not once did he admit he was wrong nor did he beg for forgiveness. XQC maybe mean AF, secretive, and his words cruel, but he did not deserve to endure all that.
I keep choosing books and media that downright torment me days after finishing. So I'm praying the author doesn't leave me in anguish that much longer. Not that I think a cute little happily ever after bow would do this story justice, I just need my faith in kindness restored.
If you're not a fan of cliffhangers you're gonna be pissed. Another reviewer I think on here and Amazon gave a great synopsis of this one. If you're on the shelf, start. If you're dragged like me, keep going. Heard volume 4 gets it right.
Too many trigger warnings to list it all.
I keep choosing books and media that downright torment me days after finishing. So I'm praying the author doesn't leave me in anguish that much longer. Not that I think a cute little happily ever after bow would do this story justice, I just need my faith in kindness restored.
If you're not a fan of cliffhangers you're gonna be pissed. Another reviewer I think on here and Amazon gave a great synopsis of this one. If you're on the shelf, start. If you're dragged like me, keep going. Heard volume 4 gets it right.
Too many trigger warnings to list it all.
That ending was diabolical 😭😭😭
Omg I'm ready for them to kiss and make up tbh this is sad 🥺🥺🥺
He Yu is still so so so dumb actually 😩😩😩
I was wondering when that blood toxin was gonna show up again 😏😏😏
Omg I'm ready for them to kiss and make up tbh this is sad 🥺🥺🥺
He Yu is still so so so dumb actually 😩😩😩
I was wondering when that blood toxin was gonna show up again 😏😏😏