This blog will be much less active soon ✌️ orv is special to me but it’s been over 5 years since I finished it.
List of other novels I recommend:
Longer reviews after this TLDR;
Return of the Mount Hua Sect — Martial arts novel. 100 years after he died to stop the end of the world, Chung Myung reincarnates to find his sect in ruins. This novel is hilarious, thrilling, and heartbreaking all at once. I also like it because Chung Myung is insane and his personality sucks.
Debut or Die — The OG idol novel. Ryu Gunwoo wakes up in the body of Park Moondae and must debut as an idol, else his System will kill him. I like it because Moondae is an intelligent but unreliable narrator who doesn’t realize people care about him.
Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols — Kim Iwol, an exploited office worker, wakes up as the next member of his manager’s daughter’s favorite idol group. I love it because the more you learn about Iwol, the more you realize he’s a Freakk. His pre-transmigration life is so horrible it’s funny, and his System is mean to him too 😭
The Trashy PD Has to Survive as an Idol — Seo Hoyun, an unethical TV producer who “evil edits” idol shows for drama and ratings, transmigrates to a parallel world and needs to debut to return home. I like it because Hoyun is petty asf and straight up a bad person <3
normal reviews:
1. Return of the Mount Hua Sect
Summary (Shortened):
The 13th disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, one of the greatest third generation swordsmen, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint: Chung Myung. After defeating the Heavenly Demon and ending his reign of chaos, Chung Myung breathed his last on the summit of the Heavenly Demon Sect's mountain.
Hundreds of years passed, and he was revived as a child.
But... What was that? Mount Hua Sect has fallen? What kind of bullshit is that!?
Why you should read it:
it's my goat 🐐
Chung Myung is a real freak. He's got a bad personality. He's been compared to a rabid shih tzu.
It’s not a power fantasy, and it doesn’t just follow an OP protagonist around. The biggest regret of Chung Myung’s first life was focusing on his own strength instead of ensuring his sect’s survival, so there’s a lot emphasis on the supporting characters’ growth.
It's SO funny. Again, Chung Myung has a personality that makes everyone want to throttle him at all times.
It's touching. This is what I love most about RotMHS, apart from Chung Myung's personality. Given how funny and batshit insane he is, you tend to forget that he watched everyone he loved die in front of him. His grief hits when you've let your guard down and is all the more effective because of it.
It has great prose and some of the best action sequences l've read in a translated novel.
The female characters are incredible and actively resist historical gender roles. Sexism is the most common sin of wuxia novels, but ROTMHS is very respectful of my darling girls Yu Iseol and Tang Soso. I wish they had more screen time though
The webtoon is INCREDIBLE. Incredible character design - no two characters look similar, down to the silhouettes. Not everyone is deathly pale, and monolids exist!! The composition, especially for fight scenes, is striking. It also stays very true to the novel. You can tell the artists love it.
my rotmhs blog is @tangsoso :3c
The remaining recommendations are for idol novels. I don't even listen to kpop, they're just really good.
2. Debut or Die
Summary (Shortened):
A student who had been preparing for the Civil Service examination for 4 years suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar body, 3 years in the past. Along with it came a status window displaying a threat right before his eyes!
[Outbreak!]
[Status Abnormality: 'Debut or Die' occurs!]
A diary about the transformation of the main character, who was suddenly challenged to be an idol even though he had never been in the industry before, due to the sudden threat of death.
Why you should read it:
This is the OG idol novel. If you want a story about idols, people will always point you towards DoD first, and for good reason.
Park Moondae is a fascinating character and unreliable narrator. He cares a lot about others even if he thinks he doesn't, and doesn't realize that people care about him too.
Later on, there's an interesting mystery surrounding how and why he's in Park Moondae's body, what happened to the original Moondae, and what happened to his past identity, Ryu Gunwoo.
It has a good webtoon adaptation too!
3. Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
Summary:
Not only does he have to fangirl on behalf of the manager's daughter, but now he has to debut as an idol himself?
Assistant Manager Kim really hates idols.
Why you should read it:
The more you learn about Kim Iwol, the more insane he seems. He's not normal.
He lived such a HORRIBLE life ong.... His job was hilariously, cartoonishly abusive. He’s the poster child of labor abuse. He thinks working 22 hours a day, 7 days a week, is normal, and he's GOOD at it.
Everything you learn about his past is heartbreaking. The more you learn about him the more you go. oh honey... this explains so much about you.
He's the single most unreliable narrator I know of.
He’s so funny he’s so funny he’s so funny
His System is so mean to him. please give him a break 😭
4. The Trashy PD Has to Survive as an Idol
Summary (Shortened):
[Congratulations Seo Hoyun! You have been selected as a player in the Unknown Idol Tycoon.]
The good-for-nothing PD, who is criticized by everyone, becomes an unknown idol in a parallel world. Only his younger sibling remembers him. To return to the original world, he must become a top idol and clear the game!
His specialty is blackmailing, his hobby is persuasion. The survival story of the unscrupulous PD-turned-idol who will stop at nothing!
Why you should read it:
Seo Hoyun is, above all else, a petty bitch. He's a straight up bad person. I love him.
I see people comparing him to Cale from TCF because they're both schemers, but l disagree. Hoyun is an intentionally bad person. If being a gaslighting male manipulator was an Olympic sport, he would be the gold medalist.
The fact that his brother remembers him from pre-transmigration is intriguing and unique for this genre.
He's very protective of people he considers his own, which at first was just his brother. It's sweet to see his group members slowly be added to that list.
A webtoon adaptation is coming out on March 8th!!!
anyways @tangsoso has become my non-orv webnovel blog! i might also post on my main blog every 3 months
