A review by par4phrasing
Silent Reading 默读 by priest

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

“He wanted to love him, wanted to take care of him, wanted to slowly unwrap his convoluted, unknowable heart like opening a beautifully wrapped package.”

I have to admit, I’ve always been a bit more critical about novels set in the modern time, simply because i always enjoyed fantasy settings more and too many references to our modern culture sometimes actually threw me off a bit. HOWEVER, priest handled the world building and the cases in this novel perfectly and that made me fall in love with the modern setting again. 

Now, to the main characters, I’m gonna say what i think everyone is thinking, Luo Wenzhou seriously is the biggest green flag I have ever seen. He doesn’t leave conflicts unresolved, he acknowledges when he does things wrong, he is in tune with his emotions, he is funny, he can cook, he has a cat…. do I have to say more???

GOD and the development from rivals to lovers between him and Fei Du?? Incredible!! I’ve always been a big fan of the rivals/enemies to lovers trope because you can really watch their relationship develop from beginning to end, you get to see how they slowly start to trust each other, how the bickering charged with anger turns into something affectionate, how much they change each other, I just love it. 

With Fei Du especially I felt this development in his character so deeply. Thanks to his upbringing he carries so much trauma with him that he barely, if even, acknowledges and that has such a severe impact on his personality. He sees himself as such an evil person, with no empathy, who feels no fear, but in the end he is just as human as everyone else and he has so much kindness in him. 

Fei Du never shows his true self to anyone and imitates the people around him, but Luo Wenzhou was the only person who he could be himself around, even though he tries to push him away several times. 

Their relationship just means a lot to me, the way they understand each other so well without even having to speak and how much they care for each other in their own ways!! Priest really did such a good job balancing the development of their relationship and the overarching plot!!