Short reviews of things I’ve read (and remembered). Rating is based on MU’s 10-point system and not NU’s because of preference. Links are to longer reviews on NU, which I usually leave when I complete a series or drop it. List is arranged first by rating, then alphabetically.
If you’re interested in what my ratings mean…
- 10: Perfect
- 9: Great
- 8: Good
- 7: Decent
- 6: Eh
- 5: Bad
- 4: Terrible
- 3: Trash
- 2: Toxic Waste
- 1: help, send brain bleach
This list includes only CN webnovels (JP LNs are… a completely different category to me), and most of these are BL since I’m super picky with GL (and I, uh, don’t really read BG unless it’s an LN…)
You can check out my full WN reading lists over at NU, while I (mostly) keep my LN and manga reading list over at MU.
If you want manga recs, feel free to ask me personally. I read way too many manga to write out generic rec lists, so if you want recs, please tell me what you’re specifically looking for!
Currently Reading
Breaking Through the Clouds (9.5): Police drama. Immediately engaging. Also has some of the best chemistry between the two leads I’ve ever seen. Would love to see a (uncensored) live-action drama of this.
Don’t Pick Up Boyfriends from the Trash Bin (9.5): Best QT ever. Also betrayed me because all other QTs look like shit in comparison.
Liu Yao (9.5): Xianxia. Or, rather, a deconstruction of xianxia. Has actual human characters with flaws.
Thousand Autumns (9.4): Historical wuxia. Main character is cool, but I feel slightly uncomfortable with some of the author’s human nature assertions. Also ML is kind of a slag, but that’s partly the point.
You’ve Got Mail: A Cautionary Tale (9.0): Historical. Porn with plot. MC is super endearing and the audience can’t help but root for him. cw: for some suicide ideation (treated seriously).
I Ship My Adversary x Me (8.5): Modern. Cute as heck. The author’s also really clever with the word puns, and I’m impressed the translator is attempting to keep them.
To Rule in a Turbulent World (8.5): Historical. While I do like this, and the author does equalize the two leads’ relationship, I’m still always iffy when there’s a master/slave relationship. Slavery is not romantic. (Though MC does free ML after, they still have sex before this happens, and while it’s written as supposedly consensual, I’m still… ugh…)
The Villain’s White Lotus Halo (8.5): Xianxia. I like this for some reason, and I have no idea why.
Engraved in Bone (8.4): Historical? Series of interconnected short stories, essentially. Some pretty haunting bad endings to some of these arcs, though there were a few I found underwhelming.
Pulling Together a Villain Reformation Strategy (8.4): Xianxia. Scum Villain and Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation mixed together. What sets this apart is the relationships between the two leads: they actually have chemistry.
Death Progress Bar (8.3): Modern transmigration. I want to like this more, but idk something about it just bothers me. Relationship here is healthy and equal, though, so that’s a plus.
I’m Scattering IQ to the Protagonist (8.0): QT. Not high art but doesn’t pretend to be. ML is a decent human being, and there’s nothing objectionable here. Thumbs up.
The Wife is First (7.5): Historical. It’s… OK? Needs more politics.
As the Minor Gay Rival in Het Novels (6.5): QT. I honestly have no idea why I’m still reading this. Junk food that doesn’t even taste good. The kind of trashy B-movie that almost becomes fun to watch. Almost.
Heroic Death System (6.5): QT. My bar is so low that “not as shit as other QTs” is almost a compliment. Still, there are quite a lot of small microaggressions throughout each arc that’s really adding up (overbearing ML, occasional dubcon/noncon treated as love, lowkey ableism, etc.) and it’s actually starting to make me uncomfortable as I read. Also: doesn’t make me sad at all.
Holding Onto My Man (5.0): QT. Author gets really good at creating pathos later. But also indulges in the worst excesses of QT. Seriously, say no to bestiality. Also, in the (rare) moments women appears in this story, author becomes a full on women-hater, with some truly ridiculous essentialist statements.
The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (???): Xianxia? Fuck, I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it’s written in an extremely engaging way (no wonder it has so many fans). On the other hand… I’ll write a full-fledged review once it finishes being translated so I can articulate all my “ughhh” thoughts.
Finished
Imperial Uncle (9.8): Historical. I love 大風颳過’s writing, and the translator for this one is fantastic. Also, politics. Yay, politics. Warning for huge rollercoaster of emotions, though.
Golden Stage (9.5): Historical. I love politics, and I love fluff. This delivers both. (And the fluff is… really fluffy.)
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (9.2): Xianxia-ish. Needs no introduction. Marred by pacing issues but still good.
Heaven Official’s Blessing (8.8): Umm… Gods & deities novel. Good ideas, but feels like a “first pass” novel. (Characters disappear unceremoniously, things left unanswered, etc.) Main pairing also didn’t interest me. Would love to see a revision of this.
Outside the Law (8.8): Modern. I absolutely loved this. It’s like someone saw all my guilty pleasures and then wrote a story with them. Also: sweet, sweet identity porn. Yum.
After Our Divorce, I Still Wore Your Jacket (8.5): Modern. A sort of spiritual sequel to the author’s previous Tattoo. I really like stories about adults trying to work through relationships, so this definitely ticked all my boxes. Drama also felt less forced than her previous work, so all in all a win.
A President’s Out-of-Body Experience (8.5): Modern. I absolutely adored this. MC is my favorite type of person: naive, innocent, and believes the best in people. Also laugh-out-loud funny, and misunderstandings that actually lead to character growth.
Loneliness (8.5): Modern. Against all odds, I loved this. I also reread it all the time. Hits all my buttons for modern romance, even as there’s (fair) criticism of how one character completely centers his life around another.
Rebirth of a Movie Star (8.5): Modern. Really nice little feel-good romance. Face-slapping got a bit overmuch near the end, but the fluff is super enjoyable.
Tattoo (8.3): Modern. Sweet slice-of-life romance between adults that actually feels like it. The angsty backstory bit was a bit much for me, though, but I like how the two communicated through it.
Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (8.0): Xianxia transmigration. Better written than most of its ilk, but suffers from lack of character development, and a pretty bad main pairing.
The General’s Manor Young Concubine Survival Report (7.8): Historical transmigration. Hecking cute. Slang is way overused though, and I definitely felt bad for the translator. Also, plot made no sense, but the relationship is actually developed relatively nicely.
Like Love But Not (7.5): Scum abuse novel. Eh. Slightly better than others I’ve read, but I still think scum should’ve gotten abused more. Decent if you like this type of thing.
Love Stops Rumors (7.5): Modern. I don’t remember much of this but I think it was halfway decent?
Social Outcast (7.3): Modern. Almost a slag abuse novel but MC forgives ML too easily. Nowhere near as good as the author’s previous Outside the Law, unfortunately.
Spring Trees and Sunset Clouds (7.3): Historical. Beginning is really good. Second half is not. Tries to overexplain a mystery rather than just letting it sit.
Flowers Reflecting the Sky (7.0): Wuxia murder mystery. Murder mystery bit is good, romance is terrible. Wish the author could’ve just not written the last third of this.
Blind Concubine (6.5): I think everyone who read this Missed The Point. Made me angry instead of sad. The Emperor is a piece of shit and I hope he gets torn to literal pieces.
Killing the Same Person Every Time (4.5): QT. Wow, this was terrible, but it’s actually not the fault of QT tropes this time. I have no idea what the author was thinking making the ML a complete asshole while making literally every single one of his love rivals look good in comparison. Ending also made no sense.
My Wife Always Thought I Did Not Love Him (4.0): Modern. I actually don’t remember why I read this, but it’s pretty terrible that I still remember it. Why do people not communicate.
It’s Actually Not Easy Being a Supporting Male Lead (2.0): QT. Starts out decent and then goes completely to shit. 2 points for treating women halfway decently, but -9000 for possessive male lead and also the author completely giving up the semblance of caring in later arcs. Also, fuck bestiality. Second worst QT I’ve ever read.
Dropped
How to Die as Heavy as Mount Tai (???): QT. Revenge is way too excessive and feels like punishments for hitting on the ML instead of actually having done a bad thing. Pass.
The Villain Has Something to Say (???): Xianxia. Main relationship has terrible power dynamics, indulges in some truly annoying xianxia tropes, and recent translations are terribly edited MTL. Hard pass.
Ti Shen (???): Modern. Wayyyy too much dogblood melodrama. Also, the author needs a proofreader because there are typos literally everywhere.
Strategy to Capture that Scum Gong (1.0): Worst QT I’ve ever read. Rape, rape everywhere. And suicide as a form of revenge which is just… yikes. Honestly wish I could purge this from my memory.
Shrimp Chips Translations 