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The Wizard by Shi Wu, published by Tokyopop's LoveLove imprint.

Translations by Denys Hontarenko and edited by Becca Chen.

This book took me forever to read...

Review under the cut

Cheng Jinxi is a young man, having just reached adulthood but found guilty of murder. A dozen or his relatives mysteriously died overnight, and despite officer Liang Yuanfeng insisting it's impossible for Jinxi to commit murder and with proof to back it up, Jinxi admits to the murders and is sentenced for life.

For the following years, Liang Yuanfeng visits Jinxi in prison often. Perhaps it's out of guilt, or because he truly believes in Jinxi's innocence...or perhaps there is more reason behind this strong draw he feels towards the boy.

Years later, a horrifying incident that borders the supernatural triggers Jinxi's release. They need his help with the case, and his unique powers will be paramount in saving the 20 some lives that are at risk. Liang Yuanfeng partners with Jinxi...and feelings bloom.

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Okay so the summary is really hard to write without literally giving away all the twists and turns and going into way too much depth. First and foremost, this book is NOT a murder mystery. There are mystery aspects to it, but it's ultimately a book about regret, redemption, karma, and death.

That might be why it took me so long to read. I was expecting a good murder mystery BL, but ended up with a pretty depressing book where EVERYONE (and I mean every single character in this book without exception) regrets something so deeply it borders on excessive.

Let's start with the good. I love the natural relationship between Jinxi and Yuanfeng. I like Jinxi's niece and her found family with Jinxi, Yuanfeng, and yuanfeng's uncle. At the end, this book is a sweet story about found family and the love that can be found beyond blood.

Now the problems...

So I had a lot of trouble following the story because of the translation choices. One of the biggest problems I found was that the translator chose to keep all of the "uncle" and "brother" honorifics. For example, characters would call each other "brother" or "uncle" and use those honorifics when mentioning their family members and in flashbacks. I understand some people really like this, but this book is an example of that not working well.

I had to literally draw a relationship chart because there were SO many uncles and brothers I couldnt figure out who was who. And in one case (this man is Jinxi's brother-in-law's brother, but Jinxi just refers to him as "elder brother" and his name was mentioned twice in this 300+ paged novel) I was so confused I couldn't tell who Jinxi was referring to at all.

"Not my real brother. My sister's brother, Cheng Jinxi." - Lu Yifang, Jinxi's sister's husband's brother's wife.

I think even the translator might have gotten confused by the relationships. This should've said "My sister-in-law's brother" instead. But throughout the book, sister and brother-in-law were just called "sister" or "brother" making the relationships incredibly confusing.

This is where localizing "brother" to a person's name would help. I even got confused about who is related to who because characters would call another character "brother" (probably a translation of "ge" which could mean blood related brother or just a good friend who is male and older). Before anyone says "well get better at Chinese then," I'm Cantonese native and have taken 10 years of mandarin in school lol. I know Chinese. As a native, I think it would've been better to go on a more localized route.

Sometimes the translator decided to have two different speakers' dialogue in the same paragraph. At times, this can work, but I always prefer when a new speaker means a new paragraph exactly because it gets confusing on who is speaking if you're not clear. Which is what happened several times. If the speakers have a very clear character voice, it could be easier to tell, but with the limited dialogue and the somewhat rigid speech translations, it can be rather confusing at times.

Now for other issues... The narration is translated beautifully. Love the descriptions chosen for portraying a character's regret and the beautiful imagery used. But some lines still ended up being more stilted or confusing. There was a scene where a character turned around twice to face the same person and I was very confused. I had to reread the passage several times.

As Cheng Jinxi climbed the stairs, he stopped after a few steps, turning around to look down at Liang Yuanfeng. "You don't need to come up."

Liang Yuanfeng halted his steps, looked up at Cheng Jinxi, and replied with a serious tone, "I told you: wherever you go, I'll be there."

"I might not be able to ensure your safety," Cheng Jinxi said, and his expression was emotionless.

"I know," Liang Yuanfeng responded with a gentle look. "If I die here, it's something I deserve."

Cheng Jinxi stopped climbing and turned to face him...

(when did he stop looking at Yuanfeng so he could turn around to look at Yuanfeng again?)

Another issue came from stilted dialogue that sounds too rigid.

"Will you keep company with Yingqin?"

That's a rather rigid sentence. "Will you keep Yinqin company?" Is much more natural. I feel like the dialogue was unfortunately weaker than the narration, but at the same time, there isn't a lot of dialogue in this book. Most of the book is expressed in narration and flashbacks.

Oh, the flashbacks. I lost myself in the reading several times because I couldn't tell when a flashback ended and there was so. Much. Of. Them. A lot of background information is given in flashbacks, so a majority of the middle of the book were flashbacks after flashbacks after flashbacks. The story pacing dropped because we kept getting flashbacks jammed between scenes, some happening one right after another.

However, as previously mentioned, the narration is sometimes written beautifully. The scene when Jinxi and Yuanfeng kissed for the first time was gentle, soft, bittersweet, and breathtaking. (I actually held my breath while reading!) Those big scenes really drew me in and was definitely the strength of this book.

Ultimately, despite its flaws, The Wizard is still an interesting book that questions your understanding about the value of a person's life and who has the right to judge who lives and who dies. It's a story about finding a place to belong, creating a familial bond beyond blood, and the power of forgiveness. I think the themes of this book are all very fascinating and the supernatural powers, although not thoroughly explained, gives this world a mystical air. They don't take away from the story, but rather, contributes to it greatly.

Story: 2.5/5 - confusing story because of the writing, but it's a complete story that I feel doesn't need a continuation.

Characters: 3/5 - the strong points of the book are the inner turmoils, the battles inside the characters' morals and guilt.

Writing: 2/5 - it's not unreadable. It's just very confusing at times. Some scenes are described very well, while others left me quite confused.

Overall: 2/5 it was an interesting ride, but not one that I'll come back to visit.

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???

Is my understanding of the word "atheist" wrong???

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Part-Time Partner by Ilyoil and original creator, Cherrymanju

I have so many good things to say about this one. But first, it's a slow burn. There are misunderstandings, but I don't find them ridiculous. Rather, they feel very real and human. And it's an enemies-to-lovers! Somewhat reminiscent of Can't Think Straight.

Kyuho is just your average gay man trying to get through university and juggling his club activists with schoolwork and friends. He has a strong sense of justice and unfortunately for some people, that can be exhausting to be around. Yoongun is the perfect model student--he's hot, kind, and a straight-A demon. But little do people know, he draws a clear line between "his people" (close friends and family) and everyone else. These two start off as enemies who hate each other's guts...until they find out how compatible they are in bed.

But Kyuho and Yoongun are very different people. Kyuho believes dating is like a passing bus. You get together, and when things go south, you break up. Yoongun is a hopeless romantic. The person he dates is going to be someone he devotes his whole being too, with marriage in mind. So to Yoongun, what they have is simple...merely friends with benefits, but that line is unfortunately quite vague for someone like Kyuho who sees relationships differently...

This is a story about different people and different values. What might be important to one person might not be for another. Every time these two get into fights, I find myself agreeing with one side only to quickly go, "wait but he makes a good point..." And then bounce back with, "but it's also understandable why he feels wronged."

There was never a clear "right" side. That's why even in the miscommunications and misunderstandings, it feels so real. I wouldn't even call it straight out misunderstandings...it's just two people with such vastly different values groping in the dark and trying so desperately to understand themselves and each other. Then there's the top trying to redeem himself not through empty words, but so desperately trying to win the bottom back by doing the right thing and proving his feelings. It's a beautiful human drama!

That being said...wtf the ending. It was sadly very abrupt. But the journey to that ending was incredible. This is definitely one of my favorites.

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Cash or Credit by Goodmen (author of Double Trap) on Lezhin

Wow. I enjoyed that way more than I thought I would. The characters have depth and the translations are *chef's kiss* (minus all the typos that Lezhin is so infamous for. Such a shame since the writing is always SO good...but they need a serious QA team...or do more QA...)

Keith, an infamous hacker lands himself in prison and is moved to the notorious C block where he captures the (much unwanted) attention of Della, the brutal and dangerous prison guard who seems to have the whole building under his control. Keith fakes and lies his way to survive, putting out to live another day, while Della toys and plays with Keith, letting him live just to taste his delicious ass. That is...until they realized they've caught feelings.

Della is a legit psychopath. He doesn't understand his emotions, while Keith rides the fine line between actual love and manipulation.

It's thrilling, the art is A++++ the 18+ scenes are drawn so well... And the story is intriguing to keep me reading. The second top is pretty hot too. Definitely a great pickup even for the art alone.

But of course, MAJOR red flags and TW for a series that takes place in a prison.

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There really aren't many people in the world as considerate and loving as Prince Jing.

He adores his wife more than anything in the world and will bend over backwards as many times as necessary just to make sure Li Yu is happy. Ahhhhh!!!! You're perfect, Prince Jing!!!

The two are so, so, so deeply in love. They're so cute...best couple of the year ahhhhh!

The fish babies were also adorable. I definitely teared up way too many times reading this volume.

That's a wrap for Pet Fishy volume 3!! Can't believe there's only one last volume left 😢

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Ye Qinghuan's view of Prince Jing:

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Xiao Yu, are you okay...? I think you broke the narration

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Diving back to fishy danmei (volume 3!)

But uh...I have so many questions o.o

Like...is this considered mpreg? And are they fish or human?

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Gave danmei a bit of a break and went back to reading manhwa

This was surprisingly not bad! Im glad it actually ended up poly! The bottom is also really cute...

A nice, short title 😌

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Three Hundred Years of Longing Volume 1 Review

My first review will be on Three Hundred Years of Longing (But Jian Shang Xian San Bai Nian) by Mu Su Li, an author I absolutely love from their Global Examination series.

My review is based on the Seven Seas publication, with translations by Foxghost and editing by Nikita Greene.

Review under the cut

In short, the story is unique and compelling.

We have Wu Xingxue, a normal man who lived in what seemed to be luxury as an aristocrat. We learn very little about this life, just that he could open his palm and his servants would give him exactly what he wanted without asking. But that life is thrown upside-down when he wakes up in a foreign body, chained by invisible fetters in a foreign place.

His subordinates are here, speaking to him and leaking bits of important information to both Wu Xingxue and to the reader. This body belonged to an archfiend they called "Archon." He was all-powerful and struck fear by simply speaking...and is even scarier when he's quiet. They're in a year that Wu Xingxue doesn't recognize, and perhaps even this world is a foreign dimension away from his home...who knows?

As Wu Xingxue gathers information piece by piece (by urging his little subordinates) the spire he's trapped in suddenly shakes. A flower blooms under him and the vision of a man he doesn't recognize appears before him...before the floor under him is swallowed up and he falls.

At the bottom of the spire, he wanders with the help of his subordinates and eventually finds a sarcophagus. Inside it rests what looks like an empty body of the man he saw before the collapse. The subordinates scream, calling the man the immortal, Xiao Fuxuan, the very celestial who guards the spire and was thought dead.

Xiao Fuxuan awakens shortly after. The subordinates thought Wu Xingxue had turned the celestial into his puppet, but that's far from the truth. Wu Xingxue could tell that the Xiao Fuxuan before him may be a lingering remnant of his soul or the real deal.

The tower fully collapses. Xiao Fuxuan and Wu Xingxue escape with two of Wu Xingxue's subordinates, thus starting a story about adventure, hidden identities and 300 years of yearning.

Story and characters? A+. I love a good story about yearning and longing, one-sided deep, excruciating love. Wu Xingxue is our eyes and ears, learning about this world and about Xiao Fuxuan with us. But at the same time, he seems oddly fearless and upfront, not afraid to ask Xiao Fuxuan for his help. Xiao Fuxuan is the typical stoic top. He doesn't talk much, but seems to have a soft spot for Wu Xingxue. The small snippets about how his eyes follow Wu Xingxue, or linger on his skin, or how he frowns when he gets hurt...it's pretty clear who had been *longing* for 300 years here.

The little bits of romantic tensions between the look in their eyes, the touch that stirs their hearts...these little things really bring the characters to life.

Their relationship is a nice mystery that I'm dying to bite into. This author's pacing is always tantalizingly delicious, offering snippets into the two's past through deep gazes and low grunts.

As the story progresses, we get more mini mysteries and hair-raising reveals. Fiends that lie deep underground an island clan. Statues of acolytes and missing people. It's quite reminiscent of the unlimited flow genre. They face a puzzle that's both equal parts intriguing and horrific, and the main characters piece clues together to reveal a horrifying truth. Except! These are cultivators. An archfiend and an immortal, no less. It's a mix of horrorific mystery and kickass cultivation battles. Honestly? The best mix out there.

Now, the only issue I really had was the writing.

Please note that I did not read the original Chinese novel so I don't know if this is the translator, the editor(s), or the original writer. Also please note that I also read this while I was running on a fever from the gross holiday flu...so take it how you will. I'm also not telling anyone to send hate to the localization team. The writing isnt that bad, it's just a little confusing and I think the loc team might want to consider the audience a bit more...(Also it's entirely fine to disagree with me. Opinions are opinions. No need to send hate anywhere.)

So I had a REAAAAALLY tough time reading this book. That might partly be because of the flu. But I felt like the writing was *too* flowery. (I did a quick look around other reviews that said pretty much the same. It's hard to be immersed in the book.)

The descriptions feel a bit vague or too flowery at times, especially during action scenes, so it becomes rather hard to imagine what exactly is happening on the page.

The sentences sometimes would be rather oddly phrased.

"Yunhai would remember for a long time to come the look Hua Xin gave him in that moment."

I reread the above sentence about 3 or 4 times before I realized what they were saying. It's fancy, but it made me stop reading just to figure out what is happening. It breaks up my cadance while I'm reading and disrupts the flow.

(example: "Yunhai would remember the look Hua Xin gave him in that moment for a long time to come." Would be easier to digest.)

This isn't a bad English kind of issue, but I think using less poetic or flowery grammar will just be easier on the reader.

I will say that I feel like halfway through the book, it gets easier to read. I'm not sure if it's because I was getting more used to the writing or if the descriptions became simpler. But still, a few of these "odd sentences" still stuck out to me throughout the whole book.

The next point is something I've been thinking about a lot.

Mind you, I'm relatively new to Danmei, but I did play a cultivation phone game for a little over a year. My husband is also a fan of wuxia novels so I hear a lot of terms from him.

When translating for a fandom that's familiar with certain themes, there are terms that are more often seen and easily recognized by the fans. (Isekai in a reincarnated in another world title. Truck-kun as the truck that sends them there./Qi deviation, the use of spirit or Qi in a cultivation setting.)

I found it incredibly odd that the translator/editor used words like glamour, thaumaturgy and somniamancy. There's a glossary at the end of the book to briefly explain the terms, but I think the terms may not match their descriptions entirely. (Thaumaturgy being the abilities used by celestials, but a quick google gave me the impression that thaumaturgy is more like anything magical, and the word has a Greek origin) I have no idea what these terms were in the Chinese original, but I definitely had to google what thaumaturgy was... (And I'm not quite sure if somniamancy is the right term when it comes to soul magic, either, when it means dream magic? Though the glossary explained it as soul magic through dreams. Still feels a bit off from the intended definition of Somniamancy based on how it's used in other literature?) (And also, not sure if this was a translation thing or if this was intended in the original, but the Hua "clan" is probably a sect? I might be wrong. But either way, clan and sect are rather similar with tiny nuanced differences.)

I understand the desire to make the writing flowery to match the original tone and setting...but thaumaturgy and somniamancy feel more like western terms being placed in an eastern fantasy, which felt a little off. It definitely kicked me out of the experience while I was reading.

To some, they may prefer using Western fantasy terms. It may be easier for them to understand and digest. And honestly, that's great for them. There is no right answer to this. Translation is not a one-to-one science. I just personally believe that something with an Eastern fantasy setting may benefit from using Eastern terminology, even if it means creating notes and a glossary to explain them. And this is why translation is soooo difficult. Not everyone is always going to be happy.

(I should also add...this is the first time I've had to dig through google for terms while reading because of the fancy vocab the loc team decided to go with. I admittedly never knew what hoarfrost-bitten meant before. Also I would appreciate it if they stopped using "zephyr" and instead just say "wind"...it's fancy, but every time I come across it, it feels unnecessarily flowery.)

I feel like these small tiny things unfortunately really disrupt the reader's experience.

That leads me to...is this a badly translated book?

My god, no!!! This is just a style I'm not particularly fond of. We see every little change of expression, the characters have their own distinct voices and tone, and the world is described beautifully (albeit sometimes in words that are too fancy for me). If you love this type of writing, 100% this is for you!

And I should note, I'm not sure if these choices were made by the translator, editor, or the adaptor. Adaptors go over the script and make adjustments, so anyone who touched the script could've made these decisions. Who knows...?

At any rate, I was just hoping to have something a little simpler when my brain is frying under a fever. And I'm someone who prefers Eastern terminology when reading a book about Eastern fantasy.

(and the translations for Global Examination were perfectly my level. I loved every second of that book, and was hoping this would be the same.)

Overall scores:

Story: 9/10 (good mystery, keeps me engaged. I want to know more. Mysteries overlap and truths woven together very well.)

Characters: 8/10 (Would like to see more character interactions between the two leads and character growth. Though it's probably because volume 1 is quite slow. Side characters are fun and very involved, which is always a plus.)

Writing [Seven Seas edition]: 6/10 (remember, this is personal taste. Please don't hurt me.)

Am I going to continue the series? I'm on the fence. When volume 2 is out, I'm going to the book store to flip through a few pages first before making my decision.

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NGL super glad there are illustrations inside the book cause I'm having a lot of trouble imagining the scenes. Not sure if it's the overly flowery language or my flu-addled mind. Or both.

The story is intriguing, the mystery is compelling, but the writing I find difficult to keep up with. Could be the fever tho, not sure.

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Heard good things... Gonna see how much I cry

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Binged the hell out of volume 2.

I'm going to burst from how cute these two are!!!! Jingjing, just admit you're in love!! Yearning For is literally yearning his life away for you!!!!

Can't wait for book 3.

There were about 7 or 8 typos throughout the book, which isn't that bad really, just thought it was interesting 🤔 the writing seemed better than volume 1. Not sure if I made that up in my head since I read v1 so long ago. My v2 is also from the reprint wave. Not sure if that changes anything

I've pre-orders v3, so just gotta wait for it to come out!

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Naaaah man

Jingjing, that was PLENTY romantic

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Next on the reading list...!

Where Winds Meet but BL.

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Just finished volume 2! Why is it so angsty 😥

I need v3 and v4 just to see them happy again

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Someone give this translator and editor a fricken raise