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@chasing-ephemera
This blog serves as a catalogue, of sorts.
Slowly moving everything over from WP so posts are random and in no particular order.
My rating system (simplified):
★★★★★ Highly recommended
★★★★ Recommended, but with some minor reservations
★★★ Read if idle
★★ Read if desperate
★ Not my cup of tea
Thinking about...
picking up something to translate (CN) considering I have a bit of time and I feel like brushing up on my Chinese.
The trouble is (and has always been) that when I'm busy at work, I'm really busy, and this leaves me with no time for anything else. During peak times, updates would be irregular, and being so particular about what I read, I'd be even stricter about what I translate. I've read a crap ton of webnovels and don't fancy re-reading anything...
Jesus, should I even bother...
Hua zhong jǐn guan cheng / 花重錦官城 By 凝隴
No English translation available?
Thoughts
Sorry, this took longer than I’d expected due to last minute random stuff, but such is life ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . Anyway, enough about that, onto the review.
When I first saw the book cover (not this one), I honestly thought it was another harem or court ladies type of story so bookmarked it but never really gave it a second look. That was until I came across a Chinese blog’s recommendation and discovered it was actually more than that - a lot more! This was the first novel I read from this particular author, and because I really enjoyed it, I then went on to read Lu Men Ge (review coming shortly). Simply put, this was just my kind of novel! There was romance, suspense, secrets, spirits/monsters/demons fighting, and even some noble female fights was thrown in for good measure. The plot was extremely rich, and what I also apprecated was the fast yet solid pace, which was very well thought out. The big conspiracy at the end absolutely wonderful, and the process of unraveling was simply brilliant. The male protagonist is the heir of Prince Lan's mansion. While on duty for the emperor, his crew was caught in an illusion array (I think it’s called a ghost wall?) in some village on a mountain, and were basically trapped. This was where the ML meets our MC, and she basically resolved the predicament and saved him. As the story progresses, they encounter a series of demons and go about their demon slaying, and slowly, but surely, the ML fell hard for the heroic MC!
The MC is likeable and just gets on with things, despite having a weak body since childhood, she has a tough will to live. I thoughly enjoyed reading about the ML trying to reel her in (sad about the guy who missed out though...). Another thing I loved was her relationships with people; whether family, master and senior brother (where she learned her craft!!), fellow classmates etc., they were all a pleasure to read and really added life to the story, even the side characters were enjoyable!
I know I rated it 4 but it’’s more of a 4.5, because while it can be considered 5 stars for the most part, I probably wouldn’t read it again so yeah....despite my stinginess on stars, I whole heartedly recommend this novel to those interested!
P.P.S If I remember correctly, there was some meat in this ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Rating: recommended | ★★★★
Oh gosh
I can’t believe how long its been since I last logged onto this website...yikes!
Well, I must admit I’ve been quite busy with real life stuff, which means I haven’t been as attentive as I used to be, apologies...
Anyway, just thought I’d drop a line to say I haven’t been completely idle, and that I will be back with more random reviews, so stay tuned!
Work has been a piling up so I haven’t had much time to indulge in any novels or catch up on pretty donghuas, so I thought I’d take the time to do a quick rec of donghuas I’ve watched but haven’t mentioned before. Have a great day!!
---
Donghua Recommendations
The Island of Siliang (Juan Siliang) / 眷思量
The story is about the relationship between an Immortal boy and a mortal girl, finding love on the myterious island of exiled Gods. Before you think otherwise, it really isn’t as romantic as it sounds! Watch it and you’ll know what I mean.
This donghua is beautiful. I know I say this a lot about other donghuas but you have to believe me when I say that this is BEAUTIFUL! Every single character whether male or female, young or old look absolutely amazing. The quality is insane, even their clothes and movement look realistic!! I remember watching this one particular scene where some people were just chatting at the top of the tower in daylight and I was blown away by the sheer detail, they almost looked like real people.
If I had to pick out any any flaws, it would be not having wet clothes when the characters have clearly just come out of water. Also, there were a few moments where I felt delays between the voice actor and the movement, but those were few and far between and probably wouldn’t affect the overall experience. As I said, this is an extremely beautiful donghua and not one to be missed!
P.s Xu Ling Long (the little kid) is my fave!
Yuan Long / 元龍
I must admit, when this first became available on bilibili I was deterred by the thumbnail. Why? Because I am not a fan of the war genre and generally avoid anything war themed. However, my friend guaranteed that it was absolutely not a war animation, and that it definitely fell within my preferred wuxia/xianxia genre but most important of all, it had pretty men.
This is why she’s my friend hahahaha...
Yuan Long (I think the English title is Carp Reborn) is action packed! It’s about how Wang Sheng (Special Forces) suddenly transmigrated to another world during a mission. The world he entered is one where cultivation and spiritual powers rule. Unfortunately (or fortunately), his spiritual root was a waste carp yuan soul, the worst and most useless spirit in the world.
While the animation quality is nothing like Siliang, it’s still one of the better ones around (trust me, I’ve seen my fair share of low quality donghuas). While the story isn’t what you’d call extraordinary or new, it is definitely worth the watch. The fighting sequences are simply awesome! Highly recommended to those who like action, adventure and cultivation!
I believe you need to pay to watch season 1 (I’m sure you can find other means if you searched...), and the English subbed version of season 2 is currently available for free on YT.
Wushang (Peerless) / 無雙 (BL) By 夢溪石
I finished this novel quite some time ago but was extremely lazy about writing a review for it. The initial plan was to do a full review but having left it for so long, I no longer recall any of the main events so I’m afraid this will have to be based on my hazy and unreliable memory.
You may recall how much praise I sang for the author’s other popular work Thousand Autumns (if you haven’t read it yet, make sure you do!). Needless to say, I had very high hopes for this novel.
And it is with regret when I say that my expectations were not met.
The MC is a quiet, sickly man who looks like any day could be his last, ordinary in appearance but extremely intelligent and calculative. The beautiful and talkative ML is coveted by all, and is smart and scheming. Both the MC and ML officially work for the crown and country, but underneath their departments are on opposite sides. They met due to investigating a case and from then on, they collaborated together (aka used each other) for respective gains and despite their outwardly friendly facade, they were constantly scheming against each other and that was fun to read.
The world building was superb, the plot was executed quite well, and the characters were also fleshed out and to some extent, even more so than Thousand Autumns. Sadly, the novel just wasn’t that memorable. Relationship wise, I did not, at any point in the story, find myself rooting for them. While the MC and ML were fine as individuals, I really wasn’t bothered about whether they got together or not.
If I had to rate this using stars then it would be higher than a 3 but lower than 4. While it wasn’t for me, I reckon this is definitely worth the read if you like this genre or the author’s style. And if the reviews on NU are anything to go by, this one comes highly recommended!
Rating: read if idle | ★★★+
The Earth is Online / 地球上線 (BL) By 莫晨歡
I started this novel because I’d read one too many rebirth and revenge stories and felt like reading something different at the time. This is a novel about survival through puzzle games and gaining special abilities along the way. The story started off well, the background world setting was actually pretty good but it became rather tedious and boring along the way, and the ending even more so. In terms of romance I’d say this was more shounen ai than yaoi as it was pretty basic and preliminary. I couldn’t tell you if the main CP actually had any real feelings for one another. Sure, I accept that the world is ending and love would probably be the last thing on anyone’s mind but if other novels could do it (and do it well), then why was it a problem here? Unless of course, romance was added simply as a tickbox for the sake of being ‘bl’. Romance issues aside, my main niggle was actually with the author. There were some games/puzzles and rules that made me question my intelligence because they simply baffled me from the get-go. I’m either extremely dumb or they weren’t explained properly - I’m inclined to go with the latter. I often felt that the author gave retrospective explanations to highlight a character’s intelligence rather than make us understand that the character was intelligent to begin with. By doing things this way, it served no real purpose other than to undermine the reader’s intelligence! I can’t really recommend this novel but I guess those who are looking for a filler read, or those who generally enjoy stories involving puzzles, abilities, action, and survival (and death) amidst an apocalyptic backdrop then sure, go for it! Rating: read if idle | ★★★
A rec but not really a rec because they’ve just started airing so I can’t make a proper judgement, but I’m really happy this week so had to post something!!
I mentioned previously how much I enjoyed the first season of Shao Nian Ge Xing, so I’m super excited about the second season. The only thing I want to mention is that they’ve change the appearance of the main characters - only slightly, but to those with discerning eyes...we know. Don’t get me wrong, they still look pretty good, I just hope the differences won’t cause any distraction...
Dinghai Fusheng Lu on the other hand, while I had my reservations when I saw the concept materials, having read the novel and seen the manhua (which is suuuuuuuuper pretty by the way), I had to check it out regardless.
Only 2 episodes are available to view (for free) at the moment (for both donghuas), and so far so good! Eeek, what a great summer it’s turning out to be hehehe
Global Univerisity Entrance Exam / 全球高考 (BL) By 木苏里
Blurb (taken from NU)
One day, You Huo and his famiIy was puIIed into an exam caIIed the GIobaI University Entrance Examination. Going through exams together with other unfortunate examinees, their Iives are put at stake and they can only Iive by passing each exam. However, something about these exams and the system controIIing it didn’t seem right — lt seemed to be trying to trap the examinees with ridiculous ruIes and strange questions…
There, You Huo meets lnvigiIator 001 who seems to hoId a key to the past he no Ionger remembered and, together, they go through the exam, unravelling the mysteries behind their past and the system.
Tldr: A pair of chaotic madmen work together to go against the examination system while feeding the readers dogfood.
Thoughts
You can probably tell from my blog that I mostly read genres like xianxia, cultivation, period romance etc. I don’t mind novels set in the modern world, I just prefer good old Chinese fantasy because to me it feels like the ultimate ‘escape from reality’. So, this novel being set in the modern world and with the horror and sci-fi tags attached to it, I can tell you it was most definitely not something I would consider reading. Ever.
So why on earth did I read it? Well, firstly because my friend wouldn’t stop going on about it and my trust in her knowing my preferences was stronger than my urge to refute. Secondly, I was looking for a quick in betweener that was completely translated and ready. And lastly, because the 1st chapter ws interesting enough to reel me in! I’m really glad I gave it a go because I really enjoyed it, far far more than I thought I ever would.
For starters, the translation was great. Novels that have been translated well do make a difference in the experience so hats off to the translator for doing such a smashing job. At the very least it saved me the pain of reading it in Chinese!
Story wise, it was certainly thrilling! The exams were brutal and disturbing, but in between the dystopia and depair there would be comedic moments, sad moments and implied romantic encounters. Plot wise, while I wouldn’t say this was a particularly ‘clever’ novel, there were plenty of mysteries for our characters to unravel. The twists and turns were, in my opinion, quite obvious and I pretty much guessed most of the plot as I was reading, but they were intriguing regardless! The MC and ML are the definition of OP because they were the type that could defeat the world with their eyes closed, no joke. However, I have no complaints because the story itself was a page turner and I binged the whole thing in a day.
Both the MC and the ML were super hot, super cool, and super clever characters. With stats like theirs you just know they’re made for each other. Their interaction was really enjoyable to read, especially the little hints we get along the way huhuhu. But the author did extremely well to give her side and supporting characters purpose and defining roles, which I haven’t seen in a while. Aside from the main cp, my favourites were Yu Wen and 922 - not the brightest sparks but you couldn’t help but love them.
The romance wasn’t immediate but it wasn’t slow (trust me, I’ve read slow), rather, I found it steady and consistent. As the story progressed we came to understand the complexity of their relationship and yet the simplicity of their love for each other. Those seeking instant gratification should probably look elsewhere because this novel doesn’t contain much sex scenes. At most you’ll get hints, or vague and glossed-over mentions - sorry to disappoint.
There were occasional scenes that would make those who can’t handle gore, mutilation, or ghosts feel slightly uncomfortable or scared, so please be prepared! I won’t deny hugging my pillow tighter and making sure the lights were on during those moments, but I still managed to enjoy the story nonetheless so I’m sure others could too.
If you’re considering this but still can’t decide, I highly recommend checking the comments section on NU to help you make your choice.
Liu Yao: The Revitalization of Fuyao Sect / 六爻 (BL) By Priest
Blurb (taken from NU)
A cultivation story about how a declining sect is restored by a narcissist, troublemaker, meanie, idiot, and wimpy kid.
Thoughts
Danmei novel lovers will no doubt have read, or at least heard of, one or more novels written by Priest. Priest has many popular danmei titles under her belt, many of which have been adapted to audio dramas, manhuas, and even live action. Her writing is smooth and her stories well thought out; the world and characters she paints have always been outstanding. Despite this, I’ve never managed to connect with or enjoy any of them. I’m not sure what it is, perhaps due to there being sombre undertones, or constant melancholic overtones, I find her stories ever so…depressing?
That is not to say that her work is bad, far from it! As mentioned above, her works are actually so well written they rank far above many other webnovels and definitely more so in the danmei genre. But while a popular novel or one that is well written definitely adds to read appeal, ultimately though, I read for enjoyment and the last thing I want to do is subject myself to torture by getting depressed in my spare time!
So yes, much to my surprise, picking up this title and finishing it was a bloomin’ miracle!
Story wise, it started off quite slow and took a bit of time to get into but once I did I found it difficult to put down, if only just to know how it all ends. A ton of (unfortunate) events occur which greatly affects our main characters and leads them through endless destruction, despair and desperation. It was both thrilling and upsetting to follow them along their journey. There were occasions when you really felt their hopelessness and helplessness and wanted to simply send them a hug. Listen, I don’t do too well with tragedy and angst aiiii….
The characters were both annoyingly cute yet frustratingly annoying, but they do grow on you. When we meet our main characters they are kids, then we watch them grow into teens. There was a time skip in between and when we get to meet our main characters again, they’re already adults. Sadly, I did not get the impression that they were older which unfortunately meant that as I was reading, I could only picture their teen selves.
In terms of romance, this was the area I felt was most lacking. I can appreciate danmei with some papapa (why not? lol) but I can also happily do without. For me, as long as whatever is written goes with the general flow of the story, and the development fits well, I really don’t mind what kind of romance it is. That’s why my negative points isn’t about the lack of bedroom action! When I refer to ‘romance’ here, I am talking about the love development between our main cp.
My issue is that the main cp’s romance didn’t really fit anywhere. I did not feel any kind of romantic feelings between the main cp, not even when they eventually ‘confessed’. As a reader we could perhaps tell that the ML liked the MC more than the MC liked the ML, but even that would be pushing it. If the relationship part was removed from the story it would have still functioned absolutely fine without it. Not that the romance was bad, it just wasn’t all that necessary either. It was most likely for plot convenience, but I felt it was more of what I refer to as the ‘danmei tick box’ whereby one must add some kind of reader service to satisfy the ‘danmei’ cateory.
I felt a bit bad for Han Yuan (4th bro) though. He started off as the character everyone loves to hate because he’s pretty dodgy and least likeable. That was until things happened and he became the character I enjoyed reading the most, but sadly, ended up with the short stick. I understand that not every character can live happily ever after, and people will get their just desserts, but it’s just a shame that it had to be him. Nevertheless, the ending was satisfactory because it was a happy ending of sorts.
Would I recommend this? Sure, it’s worth the read and length wise, would not cost you too much life span even if you didn’t enjoy it. Still, I don’t think I’ll be binge reading any of Priest’s novels any time soon.
P.s there’s a donghua adaptation coming out soon which is pretty cool. I’m looking forward to seeing the difference and whether my opinion of the novel will change.
女醫紀事 By 北海喬
No English translation available?
Thoughts
The MC was a doctor in her previous life, who birth transmigrated into the body of a daughter who was sent to the village/side home because her date of birth clashed with her grandma (said some random daoshi/monk who was obviously hired by an aunt or concubine). The novel is about family feuds but nothing too intense. The MC's mother actually cares for MC and the MC's dad, albeit a bit hands-off and isn't at home much due to his job, also cares for the MC as well which is nice for a change. The MC worked her way from being an unknown local girl with medical knowledge, to a respected doctor come medical researcher.
The MC met the ML while he was being pursued by enemies, and the MC was hiding but was caught in the line of fire so both the MC and the ML fell off the cliff as a result of trying to save her. Being a doctor in her previous life, the MC treated the ML’s injuries and pretty much saved his life, that was how and when he started getting interested in her.
The MC was likeable and the pacing was fairly good. What I really appreciated was that the MC showed medical knowledge throughout, which is great because I’ve read a lot of ‘medical’ novels where the medcial part sort of disappears or is never mentioned again once the plot thickens...
Sadly, there were also quite a few shortcomings. While I found the ML decent enough, I was baffled by how he came to like the MC after being saved by her because it was far too quick!! Also, the side charatcers felt like they were meant for something more but then forgotten e.g. the ML’s guard(?), or the ML’s friends...where did they disappear to?
There were also a lot of unpolished or ill-planned plots throughout the novel, including lame explanations for the ML’s poor treatment by his mother, or the king's concubine who hated the MC and ML and schemed against them constantly (shitty and dumb schemes btw) which made her seem like a forced villain.
The ending was okay, I do like happy endings and especially when we get to see cute kids however, I found the ending rather disappointing and rushed? Almost as though the author had had enough and just wanted to end things.
Still, inconsistencies and minor complaints aside, I found it a good time filler.
市井貴女 By 雙子座堯堯
No English translation available?
Thoughts
A rebirth novel where the MC rebirthed at the point of her mother’s last breath. While sad that she couldn’t save her mother, this time round she actually followed her mother’s instructions instead of crying her eyes out (as she did in her previous life cycle) which in turn paved the way for a better life. A rather enjoyable read with lots of family feud and a touch of royalty.
The MC is quite OP, but unlike some annoying OP characters in lot of novels, I found this OPness (is that even a word??) wasn’t so bad that you couldn’t like the MC. I loved the relationship she had with her brothers; her eldest brother who protects her and her twin brother like no man’s business, and her cheeky twin brother with a sharp tongue who prefers making money than being a court official. I loved that every person who met the MC recieved a bit of her luck and also that one small favour or encounter (when they were young and weak), would result in a tenfold repayment later. Basically, very OP!! lol
Unfortunately, I didn’t like the ML so much. He isn’t what I’d consider ML material (not in the genres I usually read anyway) - I just didn't think he carried that aura. As the ML he was weak - he's described as a cold-looking and indifferent person but he did not seem that way at all, in fact, I got more of a ‘guy next door’ feeling most of the time. I honestly thought he was a temporary beau or something because he seemed more like a friend than anything more.
Which brings me to the 2nd ML, who I definitely preferred and found him way more interesting to read. Not only was he kidnapped by the enemy at a young age, but he was also raised to believe that his real dad was the enemy. My only complaint about the 2nd ML would be his 'love' for the MC was a bit weird and forced, I mean, he only saw her once when she was 10?? (he was 15) and she was dancing against a waterfall and looked like an angel (he call hers little angel/deity in his head)...and that's it. They had no interaction so I have no idea where his infatuation for the MC came from and how it lasted until almost the end of the story.
I would've liked to have read more about the tiger and the fox - I felt like they were meant for more?? Also, the extremely useful storage space wasn't really used or mentioned much later.
Still, all in all a decent enough read that me entertained for a while. The MC and her family were what kept me going, and I’d say those who generally enjoy rebirth stories would probably find this okay.
Donghua Recommendations
Beyond The Ocean / 四海鯨騎
This was recommended to me because I am a huge sucker for adventure type stories. And with cultivation and journeying through the seas thrown in the mix, what more could I ask for?
It’s been quite some time now since I’ve watched an animation simply for the story. Over the past few years I’ve mainly been watching animation with semi acceptable storylines but have super pretty looking characters, or because I’ve read the novel so I want to compare the two versions. But with this donghua, I wholeheartedly watched it because I wanted to see what adventures (trouble) they’d get themselves into. I actually binged through both seasons in one go!
Oh but before you get too excited though, I‘m not saying this is perfect or even great - most definitely not! In fact, I did not get attached to any one character (like I normally would do), nor did I find the story overly impressive or unique. There were certain scenes when the animation seemed a bit dodgy, for example, slow movements at weird times or characters showing strange constipated facial expressions (there’s this one expression the MC has that makes me want to punch him but well...) on the whole, it was exciting to watch, especially the fights!
I think this is worth watching if you enjoy One Piece, obviously it can’t (and shouldn’t) be compared but yeah, you get a similar feeling. Kind of.
P.s I know there’s a novel but I probably won’t be reading it, unless there’s an English version.
少年歌行
With the upcoming release of season 2, I thought I’d mention this donghua for those who aren’t too familiar with it.
In a nutshell, it’s about a group of random youngsters (aged between 15-20?) who meet by chance but all share the common goal of wanting to level up whether through martial arts for themselves, their sect or for the country all while crossing paths within jianghu (the martial arts ‘world’). The first season involved a seemingly down and out prince, a not so bright but honest and passionate youth, an evil but not entirely evil monk, a weapons specialist from the infamous Tang sect, an annoying stalker girl, youths with pretty faces and youths with super powers and er, more monks and evil youths.
I watched this a few years back while it was airing and because of this, subbed versions were difficult to come by so I resorted to watching it on bilibili. I couldn’t understand a word at the time but I got the gist (I mean, they talk, they fight lol). To be perfectly honest, I had not idea what this donghua was about when I first saw it but the gorgeous guy on the thumbnail piqued my interest and so I had to click it! Gorgeous guy turned out to be Xiao Se and he certainly was beautiful. It only took a couple of episodes for me get into the series because not only was the story was pretty good, the other characters were interesting and likeable too so it was a win-win situation.
This show was aired back in 2018/19 but didn’t recieve much recognition from western fans at the time, most likely because Chinese animation wasn’t as popular back then (well, not on Tumblr anyway). However, with the increase in interest and availability of so many Chinese donghuas and drama series over the past few years, I’m really hoping season 2 will recieve a better reception than season 1.
P.s before you think it’s danmei, it isn’t. I know it looks like it could be but nope, it’s really just a story about youths and friendship - sorry!! If you’re a novel reader, I highly recommend reading this one! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!
A live action drama adapted from the manga with the same name.
Having never had sex in his life, after Kiyoshi Adachi reaches his 30th birthday he becomes a “wizard”: he develops an ability to hear the thoughts of other people by touching them. One day, he discovers that his popular co-worker, Yuichi Kurosawa, is in love with him. While dealing with the awkwardness of being able to hear Kurosawa’s rather forthright feelings towards him, Adachi comes to terms with how much Kurosawa values him and starts to develop reciprocal feelings of his own (taken from Wikipedia)
I stumbled upon this drama earlier in the year while searching for something random and completely unrelated. But what a gem!! This was so fluffy and cute, it had me feeling all giddy with excitement inside. I found myself screaming like a little girl every time they got close…
Compared to a Taiwanese show I’ve seen recently, this is on the ‘lighter’ side of the spectrum but it’s so darn cute, who could complain? I haven’t watched a Japanese drama in many years so it was nice to get back into it, and with a BL show no less! There aren’t that many episodes (sadly) but probably enough to satisfy my fellow comrades who need a quick fix!
Word of Honor / 山河令
A drama adaptation of the danmei novel Faraway Wanderers.
In all honesty, I started this drama with minimal expectations. I have not read the novel and I don’t like the actors enough to just watch it out of support. I’ve seen some of Zhang Zhehan’s other dramas and yeah, not really my kind of guy and Gong Jun? Never heard of him.
So to my pleasant surprise, the drama was actually pretty decent. I heard the budget wasn’t that big but from what I could see, I think the production team did a great job in making the series look beautiful. You can really feel the pride in their work because so much effort was put into the show. There were also plenty of scenes I deem ‘fan service’ because they were clearly sending out danmei vibes but nope, censorship states we gotta keep it ‘brotherly love’. Yeah, okay.
Zhang Zhehan still doesn’t do it for me (each to their own, eh), but I found his acting here less wooden. Zhou Ye and Ma Wenyuan were the cutest couple and my heart ached for them. Also, have you seen the guy’s eyes? They actually sparkle, no lie!!
The biggest surprise for me however, was discovering Gong Jun. He was the main reason I kept with the series. Not only was he extremely handsome and ethereal, his costumes were gorgeous too. Honestly, he had such a huge screen presence and was such a joy to watch; his facial expressions were top notch especially when going from ‘I’m an angel’ to ‘I’m going to rip your head off simply for breathing’ in a split second - truly as insane as his reputation and I loved it!
I would recommend this to those who watched The Untamed, though I must stress that I do not find them comparable. Just watch it as a normal drama series with a touch of danmei (but not really a danmei) and you’ll enjoy it for sure.
To Be A Virtuous Wife / 何為賢妻 By 月下蝶影
The MC is transmigrator who took over the body of the main wife of a marquis. The original owner was beautiful but extremely meek and shy and basically a pushover (probably why she died) but since the MC took over the body, she doesn’t take crap from anyone. She's from the school of thought that life is short so may as well enjoy it. The ML starts noticing the MC because her aura seemed different and domineering (which he likes). There’s a lot of fighting between the marquis’ women, while we get a glimpse of day to day relationship building between the main couple.
I’ve read most of this author’s works and even though I prefer her other novels, I think the author did well to write this as one of her first fics. Definitely worth the read if you like this genre.
Rating: read if idle | ★★★
Palace full of delicacies / 鮮滿宮堂 (BL) By 綠野千鶴
This novel contains seafood, royalty, cats, and shapeshifters. In short, a seafood chef transmigrated into ancient times and in order to survive in this new world, the MC had to resort to selling fish. Amidst the fishing and money making, the MC was selected as a concubine for the prince.
Yup, it’s as random as it sounds.
This novel is an example of something I wouldn’t normally read, but I gave it a go and it was fairly entertaining, actually. The story was extremely fluffy, cute and funny and a nice change from all the conspiracies, treachery and death I usually come across.
Rating: read if idle | ★★★
錯把男反派當女主 By 程十七
No English translation available?
Long story short, the MC needs to ‘complete’ the story she transmigrated into but her dud system gave her a task to befriend the female lead. Little did our MC know that the so called female lead was actually male! In later chapters we find out he's also not even the male lead, but the main villain!!
While this story features a system, I wouldn’t say that it was referred to much. There were also some inconsistencies here and there but I found the story well written and enjoyable.
All in all, a good light hearted read with not much scheming or revenge stuff going on, which is nice every once in a while. I recommend this novel for those who want a bit of fluff!
Rating: read if idle | ★★★
The Devious First-Daughter / 嫡女有毒 By 簾霜
Ning Xiying (MC), died on the day before her wedding. The groom-to-be married the Ning family’s eldest daughter instead (not related to MC). Ning Xiying was reborn into the body of Ning Xueyan, the Ning family’s unloved and abandoned 5th daughter (not related to MC, but related the woman who married MC’s groom-to-be). Confused yet? Lol...
Step by step, and with the help of the ML, the MC would ruthlessly scheme to seek revenge against the Ning family, her cheap husband that never was, as well as uncover the mystery behind her tragic death and also her family background.
It’s one of those reads that had its moments of excitement, but you could probably say the same thing about the other rebirth stories...
Rating: read if idle | ★★★
Rebirth of a Star General / 重生之女將星 By 千山茶客
As you know, I enjoy works from this author and this one did not disappoint!
The author writes a different kind of MC to her usual and I really enjoyed reading about her. She's not your usual live for revenge type lass, nor was she a girly-girl because she was raised as a 'man', so naturally her actions were more masculine. I found it funny that the ML seemed to be more sensitive than she was lol. And so their dynamic paved the way for many cute dialogues and interactions. I shed a couple of tears when they got together because come on, 'I love the moon, but the moon doesn't know'...oh my god the heartache.
I read this in chinese because there wasn’t a translated version back then. I’m excited to see this title being picked up, and hope to read it once more chapters have been translated so I can binge read (*￣▽￣) A must for fans of this author!
Rating: recommended | ★★★★
Our Second Master / 我們家二爺 By Twentine
A story told from the maid’s POV about her master and their (or his) emotional rollercoaster road to recovery; extremely entertaining yet also quite touching at the same time. I cannot rate this short little novel enough. It’s only 7 chapters, but 7 completely worth all your time chapters. JUST READ IT!
Rating: recommended | ★★★★
A mistaken marriage match: record of washed grievances / 錯嫁良緣之洗冤錄 By 淺綠
The MC is an intelligent chief forensic investigator but due to reasons, time-travelled to another world (ancient times). Yup, that’s all I’ve got…I can’t remember the rest. I believe it was decent enough for me to read until the end, but nothing stood out about it. This was one of three stories, I guess you should read them in order but I’m told that even though they are interlinked, you can read each one as a standalone. As this was supposedly the best of the three, I didn’t bother read the others.
Rating: read if desperate | ★★
Chongfei Manual / 寵妃使用手冊 By 風荷遊月
The MC re-birthed…that’s all I can say with certainty, everything else leaves me baffled. I have no idea why this novel is so highly rated on NU because it really isn’t all that. The MC isn’t a likeable character (trust me), the MC’s brother has a weird obsession with the MC, and the ML has an even weirder obsession…honestly, I don’t know how I finished this novel, nor why!!
Rating: not my cup of tea | ★