Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

53 | Don’t You Like Me by Lyu Tian Yi

TAGS: modern, supernatural, ghosts, high school, dorms, clingy MC, possessive ML, doting ML, shameless ML, coming of age, fluff

4.5⭐️

🔗LINKS

NU: novelupdates.com/series/dont-...

ENGLISH PUBLISHER (print only): rosmeihey.top/products/don...

Cover of Don’t You Like Me Vol. 1 (English edition) published by Rosmei. It shows the main characters lying on the bed together, holding hands and sharing a pair of earphones. They’re in casual clothes.

Cover of Don’t You Like Me Vol. 2 (English edition) published by Rosmei. It shows the main characters standing by a barrier (of a roof, perhaps?). They are wearing uniforms (black pants, white short-sleeved shirts and red ties). Gu Kaifeng (ML) has his hand on Lin Feiran’s (MC) cheek.

I do not have much to say besides the fact that I found this novel to be extremely enjoyable (volume 1 slightly more than volume 2, though).

Gu Kaifeng is a perfectly shameless ML and I respect that. It pairs well with Lin Feiran being a bit more timid yet clingy. I loved witnessing the progress of their relationship, there’s a lot of fluff, but there’s a healthy dose of sexuality which they take step by step as well.

If there’s anything sad in this novel, it is the ghosts’ stories. But Lin Feiran helps them with their lingering regrets or resentment.

August 11, 2025 at 7:41 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

52 | Silent Hearts by Jing Shui Bian

TAGS: modern, high school, multiple characters with disabilities (not MC/ML, tho), cross-dressing, caring protagonist, Alzheimer’s disease

3.25⭐️

🔗LINKS

NU: novelupdates.com/series/silen...

ENGLISH PUBLISHER (print only): vialactea.ca/products/sil...

The full cover project of Silent Hearts Vol.1 (English edition) by Jing Shui Bian published by Via Lactea. The front shows Lin Mu, the main character, sowing the ASL sign for "I love you”. The back shows the Lu Rong, the male lead. Both of them wear uniform white shirts with navy collars. The title is in gold.

The full cover project of Silent Hearts Vol.2 (English edition) by Jing Shui Bian published by Via Lactea. The front shows Lin Mu again, while the back shows Lu Rong. Lin Mu is blushing while looking towards Lu Ring On this cover they both wear plain white shirts. The title is in silver.

The story has potential but it was too idealistic and unrealistic. The last chapter of the first volume gave me hope for a better second volume: Lu Rong (ML), a 16-year-old who’s been the sole caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient for four years (his parents died before grandma’s diagnosis, he was taken care of by her and at 12 he started caring for her because of her disease), finally wants, is finally frustrated, shows actual human emotions. I finally felt he was a human being. But the second volume wasn’t better in this aspect.

There’s a ton of cliches, the writing is so-so, the characters are rather flat. But the story has its moments and some beautiful quotes. It is a heartwarming story with a diverse disability representation, but some seriousness and reality would, in my opionion, greatly elevate it.

The translation suffers from insufficient editing. There's less mistakes than in *Limerence*, but these are still perfectly avoidable mistakes. It also suffered from lack of footnotes. If you decide to maintain romanised honorifics, they should be explained somewhere (footnotes, glossary). Also I’m fairly certain nicknames have some culturally bound significance (I’m confused why Xu Yilu is called Little Heron. I’m pretty sure it should have sense, Cao Zhan is called Dopey due to his intellectual disability (yeah…), Lu Rong is called Little Deer because that’s how he signed his name at first).

Dopey. Those who call him that are supposed to be the good, not prejudiced ones but they’re calling him stupid and he likes it because that’s how his friends call him. Even if it comes from a good place, that’s just plainly sad, IMO.

July 22, 2025 at 9:50 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

51 | Limerence by Jiang Zi Bei

TAGS: modern, university, gaming, e-sports, artist, calm protagonist, devoted ML

4.25⭐️

🔗LINKS

NU: novelupdates.com/series/ive-l...

ENGLISH PUBLISHER (print only): vialactea.ca/products/cop...

Cover for the English edition of Limerence published by Via Lactea. It depicts a room with a computer, gaming chair, a headset. next to the desk there's a baseball cap. The colours used are pastel.

Limerence was a very enjoyable read, I devoured it in one sitting.

You can find some weaknesses, such as underdeveloped points, certain clichés and a quite a few mistakes that shouldn’t have made it past the editor… It is, however, a pleasure to read as a modern romance set against the backdrop of gaming and university life with a sprinkle of art and streaming. The descriptions of matches are engaging, the dialogues caused a permanent grin to appear on my face. The relationship between the two main characters is really heartwarming, it’s a shame their story ended so quickly.

One thing that was sad was that the dustjacket led me to believe Pei Ran’s game nick would be “ranbaobei” but in the text it was actually translated as “BabeRan”

June 29, 2025 at 9:44 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

50 | Soul Vibration by Dr. Solo

TAGS: modern, slice of life, music, entertainment industry, disabled protagonist, progressive hearing disability, idol x fanboy/assistant, slow burn

5⭐️

🔗LINKS

ENGLISH PUBLISHER:
print: vialactea.ca/products/in-...
ebook: www.smashwords.com/books/byseri...

Covers of Soul Vibration Vol. 1–3 (English Edition) by Dr. Solo, published by Via Lactea.

Vol. 1: The border is black. In the center, the main characters are presented. Chi Nan (narrator/MC) wears a suit and is showing the ASL sign for "I love you". Lin Sai (ML) wears a black leather jacket and has his hand outstretched towards the reader. In the bottom right corner there is a black bass.

Vol. 2: The border is green, In the center, te couple is presented sitting on a railing. Their hands are touching. The background is a sunrise. Lin Sai is talking on the phone.

Vol. 3: The border is blue. the couple in the center is embracing in a field (possibly of rye). Lin Sai is wearing a motorcycle leather jacket.

Going into this novel, I had no expectations whatsoever, but it was so surprisingly *good*. The narrative style is extremely engaging. It’s in first person, but at times the narrator gives you this introspective feeling (sometimes it feels kind of retrospective). I’m normally not into first-person POV, but it works here very well, it hooks you instantly.

Despite leaning into slice of life, the way it’s narrated made me anxious for what’s to come. It makes it extremely easy to connect to Chi Nan (the narrator) and his struggles that come with him suddenly being hit with a diagnosis that stands in the way of his dream and passion. The anxiety that comes with the progressing hearing loss hits harder with every volume. Chi Nan wants to create and experience music, he also wants to be useful to his idol, but the more he does, the more serious his condition becomes.

The text is filled with the passion for music, particularly rock. And I believe it is the main theme of the text: everything revolves around it, it’s not merely a background for romance. In fact, the romance is intrinsically tied to music – in one way or another. A considerable part of the characters’ emotions are shown through the songs, both lyrically and instrumentally. Many of the sweet, love-showing gestures from Lin Sai (ML) are tied to the music-making process.

The romance itself is very subtle, it’s quite possibly the slowest burn I’ve ever read. It’s all in the small gestures, in the music, and (for Chi Nan’s part) in the narration. We can see the line between admiration and love slowly blurring. We see them fall for each other and secretly love each other, but they stay like this until the very last moment, when the confession actually happens.

The lack of scenes after the confession is actually the only thing that I could complain about. Those small parts of the extra chapters that cover it manage to satiate a minuscule part of my desire for more, but I could read another ten volumes of them just existing in each other’s presence and still yearn for more.

April 22, 2025 at 12:33 AM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

also it’s pretty much impossible to find ANYTHING about the publisher. they have a smashwords page
www.smashwords.com/profile/view... and they sell their ebooks on major platforms. there are even physical ones apparently but these are the title and copyright pages. there’s basically no info on them

Title page text:

The Beauty with Poison 1 Listen to the Dragon's Roar
The Beauty with Poison, Volume 1
Shuang Chenyue
Published by Great Wall Publishing, 2024.

Copyrights page text:
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real
people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
THE BEAUTY WITH POISON 1 LISTEN TO THE DRAGON'S ROAR
First edition. May 28, 2024.
Copyright © 2024 Shuang Chenyue.
ISBN: 979-8227751171
Written by Shuang Chenyue.

February 25, 2025 at 10:02 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

later on the emperor is introduced. his name is christopher harris. christopher harris, the great emperor in the ancient chinese setting, that’s so fitting. here’s an excerpt for that:

Excerpt from the novel (still 1st chapter) TEXT:
Since the Harris family took over the Central Plains, renaming the country Great Alvah, fifty years had passed. And this delicate young man before him was none other than Christopher Harris, the third-generation emperor of Great Alvah.

February 25, 2025 at 10:02 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

Dunno if any of you ever seen a publisher Great Wall Publishing? They published some Chinese novels in English and I was mildly interested in the few danmei titles they put out. Today, I read 1 (ONE!) chapter of one I got a free volume of on Kobo and had to stop because– just look at the names in ss

Cover of The Beauty with Poison by Shuang Chengyue published by Great Wall Publishing. In the corner it states that it is an Ancient Chinese BL

Synopsis of the novel on Kobo. Please note the Chinese name used.
TEXT: "The more handsome a man is, the more poisonous he is."
The affectionate and kind-hearted Zhou Huan, who was destined to be surrounded by admirers, was originally a humble person in the troubled times. Greed for wealth led him to be tricked and taken to the palace by mistake, accidentally ending up in the emperor's bedchamber. Just after indulging in the pleasures of the flesh, he faced imminent danger.
Initially only wanting to escape and survive, Zhou Huan unexpectedly glimpsed the unknown bitterness and helplessness deep within the puppet emperor's heart.
"He stands high above everyone, enjoying the wealth and splendor of the world, surrounded by thousands of beautiful women in the imperial palace. Who would have thought that this vast palace wall is actually just a huge prison?"
Accidentally getting dragged into this world of fierce competition and survival of the fittest, Zhou Huan chose to confront the challenges.
With his shrewd and flexible mind, he maneuvered between various factions, facing opponents like the lonely emperor who was high in position but whose inner loneliness was unknown to all, the general who loved him deeply but found it difficult to express his feelings, and (…)

Excerpt from the first part of the book. Please note the English name used. (It’s supposed to be the same character as Zhou Huan.

TEXT:

CHAPTER ONE:
MISTAKENLY ON THE DRAGON'S BED
On a moonless, windy night, perfect for murder, the cold chirps of cicadas resound through the old
trees.
Timothy Shaw didn't know who first said this, but he thought it perfectly described his current situation.
At this moment, Timothy stood before a pit in the ground. Inside the pit lay a man, head bleeding and face ashen, while Timothy, holding a shovel, was tirelessly scooping dirt into the pit.
The man's face in the pit was gradually being buried under thick layers of soil. From the beginning until now, Timothy hadn't dared to look into the pit. He was a bit superstitious and feared that the man might suddenly open his eyes while being buried.

February 25, 2025 at 10:02 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

49 | Guardian: Zhen Hun by priest

TAGS: modern, supernatural, mystery, detective, ghosts, gods, mythology, reincarnation, obsessive love, shameless protag, power couple, past plays a big role

5⭐️

🔗 LINKS

NU: www.novelupdates.com/series/guard...

ENG PUB: sevenseasentertainment.com/series/guard...

Covers of all three volumes of the official English edition of Guardian.

• Wonderful novel; priest created a whole range of fascinating characters whose storylines are highly engaging.
• I’m particularly in love with Shen Wei’s lore, all of his inner conflicts, and the struggles he had to face all his life.
• The story had good pacing. I feel like the beginning has a good balance of introducing the world to the reader but not over-explaining it.
• The main couple’s interactions are a joy to read. They’re both playful and full of devotion.
• I preferred the first two volumes, it might be influenced by the fact that I had a huge break between the second and third volume, but the entirety was still amazing.

• I feel like I’m missing some of the potential meaning because I’m not that familiar with the mythology. There is a glossary that helps a bit, and the story itself provides some overview of it, but I feel like there must be even more to this story. If I had a more profound understanding of the culture behind it, I would appreciate it even more (even though I find this story absolutely fascinating, even on a purely fantastical level).
• I’ll need to reread it in its entirety without big breaks between the volumes. I’m sure it will be a great journey.

February 21, 2025 at 8:53 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

48 | Film Emperor’s Secret Marriage by Die Zhiling

TAGS: comedy, sci-fi, interstellar, omegaverse, entertainment industry, acting, writing, marriage of convenience, royalty, hidden identity, eventual mpreg, doting

3.75⭐️

🔗LINKS

NU: www.novelupdates.com/series/film-...

• Overall, the story was enjoyable. The writing was a bit clichéd, but I enjoyed the cunning and bold omega and his innocent and shy alpha. It’s a pretty good read when you need something simple and cute to de-stress.
• The lead-up to the proper relationship was interesting; I liked how after a couple dozen chapters we got a true POV of the omega that revealed his true intentions for the whole fake relationship thing.

• It was a bit disappointing that the omega lost his more manipulative side at some point after properly seducing his alpha.
• Also there’s surprisingly little omegaverse-related details. Scent is mentioned only a few times, there wasn’t any significant influence of pheromones on anyone in the story. For the most part, it feels like it’s an omegaverse in name only.
• Not a big fan of the extras for the main couple; I didn’t like the attitude they had towards one of their children.
• I was also disappointed with how little detail we got for the movies and stories acted in/written by the main characters. I know Die Zhiling can do better. I loved the descriptions of movies in Accidental Mark, but it wasn’t as engaging here, unfortunately.

February 15, 2025 at 4:11 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

there’s an attack in titan humble bundle, for anyone interested. it is availabe for 2 more days and costs €23.79

Humble Manga Bundle: Attack on Titan Forever by Kodansha EncoreBook Bundle

A Titan-sized manga library

Journey to a post-apocalyptic world where grotesque giants roam and humanity is on the brink of extinction in Attack on Titan, the award-winning, New York Times–bestselling manga that spawned the hit anime series. This colossal collection features all 34 volumes of Hajime Isayama’s acclaimed series, along with No Regrets, Before the Fall, Junior High, and more. Lose yourself in the saga of Eren, and help support BINC (Book Industry Charitable Foundation) with your purchase!

Pay €23.79 Or More
16 Sold
Use on Any Device
ePUB, PDF, and CBZ

December 6, 2024 at 7:38 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

oh or the secret third thing which is this

A sort of net-like thing that to me looks like a cross-over between sandpaper and aluminium foil

December 3, 2024 at 8:39 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

MY LITTLE MUSHROOM MERCH CAME

Lu Feng keychain (it’s as big as the palm of my hand)

Lu Feng and An Zhe film card set and a thank you card with the characters

showing the sparkles on the thank you card

December 3, 2024 at 4:24 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

well someone is remembering her childhood

My cat, at the prime age of 2 and the prime weight of 6 kg, sitting in an open desk drawer

My cat, at the age of like 3,5 months, sleeping in the same drawer

November 24, 2024 at 11:54 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

now you can also get 19 books by neal shusterman. this time it’s a deal where you get drm-free files (all books for €17)

Scythe and More by Neal Shusterman Book Bundle

Addicting page-turners by Neal Shusterman

Explore the worlds and stories of Neal Shusterman! This 15+ book collection is highlighted by Shusterman’s standout novel Scythe—a gripping depiction of a world free of death. Other top titles include Dry, Toll, Thunderhead, and more from one of young adult fiction’s most renowned authors. Lose yourself in this expansive library, and help support the charity of your choice with your purchase

November 23, 2024 at 10:06 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

if anyone’s interested, there’s a humble book bundle of 30 books by ursula k. le guin. to get the entire bundle you have to pay at least €16.95 and it’s redeemable on kobo

A Wizard of Earthsea and More by Ursula K. Le GuinBook Bundle

Magical titles for your home library

Explore the worlds and stories of Portland, Oregon author Ursula K. Le Guin with another great Humble Book Bundle! This 25+ book collection features A Wizard of Earthsea, Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and more from one of speculative fiction’s most renowned authors. Your purchase helps support Literary Arts, a nonprofit located within Guin’s community. Lose yourself in this expansive library today.

The titles in this bundle are available on Kobo.com. To access them, create or log in to your Kobo.com account. Please note that the content redemption deadline is December 15, 2027 at 11:00 AM PDT.

November 16, 2024 at 8:03 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

second shennyan has just been born

they will vary from piece to piece because i’m fixing the design as i go but am unwilling to redo anything since it takes a lot of time anyway 🤷‍♀️

Two tapestry crochet rectangles depicting a sitting Shennyan (white cat). The background is supposed to resemble bamboo. The cat designs differ a bit, the one on the left has different eyes (one black stitch moved down so they form a triangle rather than an arch)

October 23, 2024 at 8:07 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

just so y’all know as well, i have an ambitious dream of making a bingpup/shennyan crochet blanket (with sleeves) out of rectangles

so far I have 3, the designs and execution on my part are not perfect but here they are

October 18, 2024 at 8:41 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

47 | The Boss of the Escape Game is My Husband by 春风辞 (Chūnfēng Cí)

TAGS: unlimited flow, horror, married couple, amnesia, system, possessive character

2.75⭐️

🔗LINKS

NU: www.novelupdates.com/series/the-b...

The Boss of the Escape Game is My Husband cover

• It’s so short but it took me embarrassingly long to finish simply because I couldn’t bring myself to read more than a few chapters per day
• To pass the words in the game, the MC has to complete some tasks that’s are something like “discover how did X happen”or “find X person”. You’d think he’d have to do some digging, investigate a bit and link some pieces together, WELL not here. The first 2 worlds which has those investigative tasks, the MC and his OP husband just stumble upon something that forces them into an illusion which shows them the past of the place where every info is handed to them on a silver platter

• Regarding the ML’s OPness — despite the fact that he is basically an intruder / stowaway in the escape game (only MC should be there), he’s always given a role that’s massively OP and he does everything for the MC — opening doors, killing enemies, showing what’s where — it’s kinda boring that the MC doesn’t have to do anything
• It’s a shame because the ideas for the worlds are interesting and I love a possessive ML but it’s simply not that great to read

October 17, 2024 at 7:45 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

46 | Why Is It Possible For This Type Of A To Also Have An O? by 图南鲸 (Tú Nán Jīng)

TAGS: modern, omegaverse, transmigration, slow burn, abuse, trauma, inequality, psychological, healing, politics, doctor, age gap, doting

4.75⭐️

🔗LINKS

NU: www.novelupdates.com/series/why-i...

Why Is It Possible For This Type Of A To Also Have An O? cover

• It's really interesting to see because the protagonist doesn't go back in time to the beginning, he's suddenly inserted into the body of an alpha who was extremely abusive so he has to undo years of actual damage, rather than just getting to change the character of the person he's taken over and everyone being like "weird but ok"
• I love the fact that it's not an immediate turn-around and Bai Tang is still distrustful of the alpha and die snot just dismiss everything he's gone through because of sudden good treatment
• The journey of healing is amazing, well-paced and full of tenderness. They are helping each other overcome their traumas and aid in making the cruel world a better place while they're at it

• It's actually so cute how after Bai Tang learns of the switch he tries really hard to overcome his trauma to be able to interact with Jiang Yunshu without being triggered
• Their interactions are all I needed, both of them are doting and I love it
• A MASSIVE heads up tho, the specific omegaverse world is built in such a way that it is extremely cruel, to say there's inequality would be an understatement, really, so check out the content warnings

July 27, 2024 at 1:40 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

45 | Fight the Landlord, Fall in Love by Cang Wu Bin Bai

TAGS: modern, bind dates, professor / scientist, businessman, family conflicts, wealthy characters, past trauma, bickering couple

4⭐

🔗LINKS

NU: www.novelupdates.com/series/fight...

• The side couple from Golden Terrace (AU from the last extra version) makes an appearance!! It was so good to see them
• Given the title, you might expect a lot of playing Fight the Landlord but they only played it a few times, mostly in the beginning and after it reappeared briefly, like 2 times
• It’s cute, the couple has a nice progression and they have fun interactions
• Most of the drama is about family conflicts, it can be a bit tiring, imo

July 27, 2024 at 1:35 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

44 | Golden Terrace by Cang Wu Bin Bai

TAGS: historical, disabled protagonist, politics, schemes, war, military, bickering, power couple, arranged marriage, devotion

5⭐️

🔗LINKS
NU: www.novelupdates.com/series/golde...

ENGLISH PUB: Vol. 1 www.peachflowerhouse.com/store/p/gold...

Golden Terrace (English Edition) Vol. 1 & 2 covers

• Extremely good piece, a must-read for lovers of historical drama, heavy on politics and court intrigue as well as the military and war politics

• Generally, it’s critical of people in power and makes you extremely infuriated with them (in a good way!) but also has a fascinating power couple that really sweetens the journey

• They both call each other wife and I love that for them

• I prefer the first volume, both are well-written and all but the first one really did it for me

• I’m not a big fan of the ending of the main story, it’s not that it's bad but I think I would actually prefer the slightly more bitter (politically, not romantically) ending to which there was a lead-up before the great turnaround. But that's a very personal opinion of mine, the happy ending is still good and rational

• As for the couple, what can I say, they are enchanting. They have their little rivals-to-lovers arc, they are extremely devoted to each other, and sometimes they bicker. Also, Fu Shen is so funny, he can make anything unserious at record speed

July 21, 2024 at 8:37 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

43 | Accidentally Married a Man Full of Vinegar by Yi Mei Niukou

TAGS: modern, comedy, marriage of convenience, doting, jealousy, possessive, wealthy characters, businessman, fluff

4⭐️

🔗 LINKS

NU: www.novelupdates.com/series/accid...

Accidentally Married a Man Full of Vinegar cover

• Lovely fluff, single dogs have been fed well
• It’s a perfect read for the time when you want to read something lighthearted: no angst, simple plot, cute couple, pure vibes
• I really enjoyed the couple’s interactions and communication.
• There were a couple of moments where I raised my eyebrow but in the grand scheme of things they were quite irrelevant. Unnecessary but we'll survive
• Some label the ML as cold but I'd be wary of using that term as IMO he's simply unaware of certain social cues/norms but adapts well when he's clearly told what's up. He's quite warm, actually

April 29, 2024 at 8:02 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

42 | Silent Reading (Mo Du) by Priest

TAGS: mystery, action, psychological, police, (organised) crime, past plays a big role, bickering couple, smart couple, trauma, interconnected storylines, wealthy characters, intertextuality

4.5⭐

🔗LINKS

NU: www.novelupdates.com/series/silen...

• I would like to preface my thoughts with a recommendation. because I feel that if you love Mo Du, you should at least enjoy In the Dark!! Please go read it, I’m begging
• all of the arcs/cases were amazing; they get you very invested and emotional, all that because they are HUGE cases, they span generations and are no trifling matter. The only thing that felt off to me is that sometimes it seemed like the cases ended in media res…? It’s valid given that the cases are interconnected but idk, I just feel slightly unsatisfied
• The workplace dynamic between Luo Wenzhou and his subordinates is probably one of my favourite things, they’re hilarious
• I would love to see more interactions between Luo Wenzhou and Fei Du tho. They are wonderful together

• There are a lot of characters and it’s difficult to remember all the names, never mind what role they played hundreds of pages before. They do come back throughout the arcs, probably most notably in the very last “Edmond Dantès” arc. While it’s impressive that everything managed to be connected and that these great numbers of characters have at least a certain amount of depth, it’s really hard to wrap your head around *everything* (and I had a spreadsheet! 85 characters noted and that’s most likely not all of them)
• Plus given the abundance of characters, I feel like it affected the secondary ones. For example, Tao Ran was an important and frequently appearing character but while more and more characters were introduced he gradually got less page-time. And I get the plot reasons for that but I missed that dude

December 29, 2023 at 9:14 AM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

41 | In the Dark by Jin Shisi Chai

TAGS: mystery, psychological, crime, police, forensic artist, identity crisis, drugs, past plays a big role

4.5⭐

🔗LINKS

NU: www.novelupdates.com/series/in-th...

ENGLISH PUB (ebook): www.peachflowerhouse.com/store/p/eboo...

In the Dark Vol. 1-3 (English edition) covers

• I love this story so much!! The mysteries are engaging and not obvious; the romance-mystery ratio is good
• The main couple is simply scrumptious, bowing down to JSC for creating a great dynamic, writing great banter, heartfelt confessions and good smut that imo really fits into the narrative
• The setting is also very interesting as besides China parts of the book take place in Thailand and Myanmar (there may have been brief scenes in other SEA countries like Cambodia/Vietnam/Laos but now I’m not entirely sure which were just mentioned and which had actual scenes)
• My main issue for Vol. 1 would be that sometimes the switch between the scenes is way too abrupt but it’s no longer the case in the rest of the volumes
• I'd say that Vol. 2 is the best; the plot is the most engaging and it starts off strong with an arc that gives me the vibe of infinite flow. it was glorious, simply impossible to put down; the latter part was still good but slightly less intense

• Vol. 2 and later Vol. 3 delve more into philosophical and moral dilemmas. If you like the questioning of identity often explored in sci-fi, then this one will make you question it all right. Many characters and we as readers are faced with the question of whether the MC is still the same person as before. Vol. 3 is particularly big on the MC exploring it himself and how it is influenced by external factors, which is both fascinating and infuriating (in a good way)
• I feel like the ending may be a bit too rushed
• All of the extras made a lot of sense, they were connected to the story and tied up any loose ends, which was nice as we got proper closure; I just wish there was just ONE sweet one focused on the couple

December 4, 2023 at 11:53 PM

solona rybka

@interlunar.bsky.social

40 | The Imperial Uncle by Da Feng Gua Guo

TAGS: historical, royalty, politics, misunderstandings, unreliable narrator, schemes, death, loneliness

4.5⭐️

🔗LINKS

NU: www.novelupdates.com/series/imper...

ENGLISH PUB (ebook): www.peachflowerhouse.com/store/p/eboo...

The Imperial Uncle (English Edition) cover

• overall, I really enjoyed this book, it's engaging from the get-go and it's hard to put down
• similarly to peach blossom debt, DFGG shows her superb 1st person POV here. The narrator’s funny, witty and can be really relatable (he’s also extremely dense and thus unreliable)
• and the banter!! DFGG knows her banter and I love it
• I think it's also worth noting that rather than romance itself, the main focus is really on the relationship the MC has with 3 characters (including but not limited to his love interest(s)), the political scheme is also very influential in the development
• The first part of the book is hilarious and relatively calm. Our MC is really pitiful and lonely but his interactions with the other characters are glorious, really. AND THEN things escalate quickly and it becomes dramatic, tragic, heart-wrenching, reader-betraying, you name it. Then it calms down for a while to hit you again with intense feelings and anxiety for the future of the characters

• The ending of the main story, well, it's a happy ending but with some serious bittersweet tones, I’d say. The MC is no longer alone but I think he didn’t get proper closure in some aspects (not in a bad writing way!! In the life is cruel way)
• As for the extras, the first two ones are simply fascinating!! They switch the POV from the MC to a ghost (a new character, basically) and it’s like a final testament to the narrator’s unreliability and denseness. He gives us insight into the actual feelings of the ML. Plus we get to know the tragic past of the ghost — fascinating and devastating stuff. The other two extras switch back to the MC, the 3rd one is probably the most romance-forward part of the book

• Generally, I’m extremely intrigued by DFGG, both Peach Blossom Debt and The Imperial Uncle are unlike any other danmei I’ve read. The internal monologues are simply wonderful, easily one of my favourite styles of writing it; the way the author manages to make me doubt who is THE love interest, despite them being on the literal cover!! You know how often when there's a love triangle of any sort, you know that one of them is doomed to lose from the very start. Well, not in DFGG’s books! it's not that simple and I love it, it makes it more real

December 4, 2023 at 11:43 PM

Add to Home Screen

Light up
your news

Add to Home Screen

Light upyour news

Sign in to Lightnews

Sign up to start reading

Connect Bluesky

Connect with Bluesky

Light up
your news