Little Mushroom (Novel) Vol. 1 by Yi Shi Si Zhou: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Little Mushroom vol. 1 by Yi Shi Si Zhou

Back when Peach Flower House publishing went bust, I couldn’t get my hands on Little Mushroom: Judgement Day. The publisher had a print on demand publishing model and the books disappeared instantly. I have the second volume, Revelations, but what fun is that when I couldn’t read the first book. But luckily, Seven Seas bought the rights and now the first volume is available again, as an ebook too, with a new translation and illustrations.

Little Mushroom is set in far future where humanity has faced several extinction events that began with magnetic poles disappearing, followed by natural disasters, radiation sicknesses, and finally wild mutations that instantly change a human. Only two human bases are left of four there originally were, those protecting the new artificial poles, one in China and one in the US. Everything outside the bases is left for mutations, but some people risk their lives venturing out to forage materials for the bases.

An Zhe is a mushroom living in the Abyss, the worst contamination area. A human, An Ze, has come to his cave, badly injured, and in his attempt to heal him, An Zhe absorbs An Ze’s entire DNA and memories. Eventually, he’s able to take the man’s form too. When An Ze dies, An Zhe decides to head to the human base. His objective is to find his spore that humans have taken from him. An Ze has warned him not to go there, because humans kill all mutations at sight. The worst of the humans is The Judge who is able to detect mutations others don’t see.

When An Zhe finally reaches the base, after memorable events where the humans helping him either mutate to huge insects or get eaten by those, he comes face to face with the Judge himself, Colonel Lu Feng. But instead of killing him instantly, Lu Feng is unable to decide for the first time and takes An Zhe to be tested, only for the results show that An Zhe is human.

From there, An Zhe sets to survive in the base while looking for his spore. He settles in An Ze’s home, finds himself a job, and even makes friends of sort. But all around him, mutations increase and they’ve reached the base too. And every time Lu Feng is there, killing them. But he’s always there to help An Zhe survive too, and so he decides the colonel must be a good person.

And then comes the Judgement Day. A catastrophic breach lets mutations swarm the base, and the only solution is to save a few humans and sacrifice the rest. Thanks to Lu Feng, An Zhe is among the saved. But humanity isn’t safe. Just as things are looking a bit better for An Zhe, with a new job, budding friendship with Lu Feng, and finally finding his spore, the worst happens. The artificial pole breaks and the world is about to end once more. The first volume ends with that.

This is a good story. Despite all the death, it’s fairly quiet and melancholy. An Zhe observes humans and goes about his days. He comes close to being badly hurt or tricked a few times, but always avoids those in the last moment. Lu Feng remains a distant, scary figure for most of the book, but becomes more of a real person towards the end. This really isn’t much of a romance, even with all the tropes; just a friendship that neither party really understands but which both of them need. Yet it feels like one, and the reader roots for An Zhe and Lu Feng.

At the core though, it’s a harrowing tale. The desperate struggle of humans for survival against great odds, and the sacrifices they make for it. An Zhe, coming from a species and a place where the survival of the whole requires sacrifices of the few, understands where the leaders of the base come from. But individual humans, with the voice of An Zhe’s friend Cole, argue that it’s useless to save humanity if we lose what makes us human in the process. The base isn’t a happy place, but it’s the only place. And at the end, there might not even be that anymore.

The book is fairly well written, with minor inconsistencies and repetitions. Since I haven’t read the earlier translation, I can’t tell if there are changes there. Art is good and the characters resemble those of the manhua, which keeps the visuals consistent. 

Little Mushroom Manhua vol. 1. Art by Yuchi Jinze & Maomao Tou

 

The Wife Comes First vol. 2 by Lv Ye Qian He: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

The Wife Comes First vol. 2 by Lv Ye Qian He

In the second volume, the reincarnated prince Jing Shao sets out to handle war campaigns that almost cost him his life the first time round. And now the war has come years earlier, so he can’t be sure it goes the way he remembers. But this time, he has his gentleman wife, Mu Hanzhang, with him as a strategist, keeping their marriage a secret from everyone.

From the start, things go differently. Mu Hanzhang uncovers a large case of embezzlement that had led to Jing Shao’s downfall in his first life. And Jing Shao is able to recruit a warrior that almost singlehandedly turns some battles for him. The war proceeds fast and the prince is victorious. But he can’t afford to give the emperor a notion that he’ll use his success as an attempt to usurp the throne. So it’s time to strategize with the knowledge he has from his first life. But Mu Hanzhang is starting to become suspicious of his knowledge.

Jing Shao’s generals are impressed with Mu Hanzhang, but they’re wondering why the prince spends his nights at the strategist’s tent. There are some comedic moments as the couple tries to keep their relationship secret and the generals try to uncover things. There are plenty of bedroom moments for everyone to realise what’s going on. There’s also a cute tiger cub Mu Hanzhang adopts that adds to the sweetness, though they could treat him a bit better.

This was a good volume. It’s fast-paced and well-written, and there’s plenty of action. The battle scenes are especially good and not too drawn out. Jing Shao and Mu Hanzhang are very much in love, so the romance doesn’t bring tension to the story. The volume ends at a tiny cliffhanger, but I doubt anything comes of it either. Overall, despite all the wars, the stakes remain pretty low and conflicts are handled fairly easily. A lovely low-angst read.

After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine vol. 2 by Liu Gou Hua: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine vol. 2 by Liu Gou Hua

The second volume of the story of Jiang Suizhou, a modern-day history professor who has transmigrated to past, continues where the first left off. As Prince of Jing, the sickly brother of what he knows to be the last emperor of the current dynasty, he uses his knowledge of what’s to come to change the outcome more favourable for himself.

Jiang Suizhou’s main aim is to try to prevent Huo Wujiu, the enemy general who’ll eventually be victorious, from killing him, as he knows will happen. He’s a bit out of his depth with Huo Wujiu though, because the present reality doesn’t match the history records. Huo Wujiu is his prisoner and his concubine, like a paper he was grading before he transmigrated suggested, much to his anger.

Huo Wujiu is badly injured because of the torture he’s been submitted to. Jiang Suizhou, together with his two advisors, both pretending to be his concubines, have come up with a plan to find a doctor for him. Jiang Suizhou will fall gravely ill—thanks to a poison—and when the imperial doctors are unable to heal him, he can summon his own doctors.

The plan works better than he could believe. The doctor is capable and in no time at all, he can make Huo Wujiu’s legs work again. Not that they tell Jiang Suizhou. And he tells Jiang Suizhou that his sickly constitution is because of poisoning in his childhood and can be reversed.

The second volume was full of court intrigue. Jiang Suizhou is busy trying to thwart the schemes of the emperor’s uncle, the Grand Chancellor. He’s successful, but it brings the chancellor’s wrath on him. Soon, his life is in danger. Luckily for him, Huo Wujiu isn’t as helpless as he appears.

But the best part of the second volume was the development of the relationship of Jiang Suizhou and Huo Wujiu. It emerges during long hours when Jiang Suizhou sits by Huo Wujiu’s bedside when he suffers from the effects of the healing process, and blossoms in their scheming against the emperor. There’s still secrets between them and many misunderstandings of each other’s intentions, but some sweet moments too. And the ending brings clarity to one thing: Jiang Suizhou has definitely caught feelings.

This continues to be well-written and entertaining. There’s nothing unnecessary, no fillers and no repetitions. The characters are well-formed and the plot is interesting. The romance is slow-burn, but worth rooting for. I’ll definitely read more.

After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine Vol. 1 by Liu Gou Hua: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

After the Disabled God of War Became my Concubine vol. 1 by Liu Gou Hua

Continuing with my streak of most recent danmei publications in English. Liu Gou Hua is also a new author to me and they turned out to be a very good writer. The narrative flows without repetition and the plot seems to be actually leading somewhere.

After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine is a transmigration danmei novel with a historical setting. History professor, Jiang Suizhou, has just finished rebuking a thesis by his student that seems to be based on imagination, only to find himself transported to a world that is exactly like the thesis described. He’s Prince of Jing, whom history doesn’t know much about, as he was a frail, chronically ill person who died young. His older brother, Jiang Shunheng, is an emperor in exile, and the last emperor of Jing dynasty. And Prince of Jing is just about to take a captured and tortured enemy general, Huo Wujiu, as his concubine, forced by the emperor to humiliate Prince of Jing and Huo Wujiu both.

Having studied the era for years, Jiang Suizhou is well-versed in who is who and how things work, but now his most important guideline is the thesis, which is based on the marriage that history knows nothing about. And according to it, Prince of Jing will die in three years at the hands of General Huo as a retaliation for the suffering in his household.

Jiang Suizhou’s objective is clear: avoid dying. He needs to treat Huo Wujiu, now Madame Huo, so well the general won’t want to kill him. That’s easier said than done. Prince of Jing has a reputation of a cruel man and compassion is out of character. The emperor is a foolish brute controlled by his uncle and enjoys nothing more than tormenting Prince of Jing and Huo Wujiu both. Jiang Suizhou knows that the empire will fall in three years when Huo Wujiu returns to north, but he can’t just hide and wait it out. But he’s almost powerless in the court and every little thing he tries leads to other people suffering.

On the home front, he needs to help Huo Wujiu heal from the torture without rousing suspicions. Outwardly, Madame Huo doesn’t seem to warm up to the prince, but the reader knows he’s taken an unexpected view of the frail prince and thinks he’s in need of protecting. And that has made him regard the prince’s two male concubines with hostility. He’s jealous even, when the prince spends many nights with them. Little does he know that the concubines are Prince of Jing’s advisors. The volume ends with a tiny cliffhanger of them giving advice that will likely infuriate Huo Wujiu and wipe away the goodwill Jiang Suizhou has managed to build.

This was a very good start for the story. It was a bit slow at first, and the pace didn’t really pick up much, but there was nothing unnecessary, the court intrigue was good, and everything happened in a logical order. Jiang Suizhou was a good character in a tight spot balancing between the emperor’s wrath and Huo Wujiu. The latter didn’t have a large role in the first volume, but he managed to make a difference in Jiang Suizhou’s life already. Despite Huo Wujiu’s budding jealousy, the romance didn’t really go anywhere yet, but it has a good foundation here. Prince of Jing’s head eunuch, Meng Qianshan, was a good comical addition with his constant misunderstandings and good-natured meddling.

I think there might be revelations in the future about a deeper connection between the past and the future. Jiang Suizhou looks exactly like Prince of Jing, he shares family name with the emperor, and Prince of Jing’s real name wasn’t revealed. Jiang Suizhou doesn’t know it, as it’s one of the things archives never mention. I’m looking forward to reading more to see where all this leads to.

The Villain’s White Halo (Novel) Vol. 1 by Hao Da Yi Juan Wei Sheng Zhi: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Villain's White Halo by Hao Da Juan Wei Sheng Zhi

This is a new Chinese BL author to me, and there doesn’t seem to be other books by them translated to English yet. The Villain’s White Halo is a transmigration novel and takes place in a historical fantasy cultivation world with its own geography and timelines of hundreds of thousands of years, so not a secondary earth.

The Villain emerges as a soul into a Rebirth Company of the in-between space, a business that caters to the needs of souls that want to transmigrate or reborn. The Villain has been transmigrating for so long that he doesn’t remember his original name or world, but in all of them he’s been a two-bit background henchman of the main villain, dying after a couple of lines, only to transmigrate again. This time, he wants to be the final boss.

The employee at the company is eager to help and sells The Villain an ultimate final boss packet and a fiend halo that activates at certain triggers, like glaring or saying “I was never good to begin with,” and other villainy lines. The Villain gets to choose the world, but then he’s sucked into it so fast that he forgets the halo. The employee throws one after him, only to realise he sent the wrong one. Unfortunately, the world seals before he can correct the mistake.

The Villain emerges as Yin Biyue, a 19-year-old cultivator. Turns out, he’s in a jail for trying to kill Luo Mingchuan, a fellow cultivator a few years older, and the protagonist for whom The Villain chose this world in the first place. Things look bad for Yin Biyue, but the fiend halo, which is in fact the opposite, though still activated by the villainy triggers, comes to a help, and makes Luo Mingchuan take the blame for the incident. Both go free.

The beginning is a bit confusing, and rather slow. The pace doesn’t pick up much from there, but the story becomes more straightforward and fairly interesting. Yin Biyue settles into his new life as a cultivator. Thanks to all his previous lives, he knows what that entails, and he has a soul much stronger than the OG, so cultivation isn’t a problem for him. His sword is. It won’t recognise his qi energy, a huge handicap for a cultivator and a potential for a disaster, because other cultivators might find out he’s not the original Yin Biyue.

The story leads Yin Biyue, a fellow disciple Duan Chongxuan, who has secrets of his own, and Luo Mingchuan to a cultivation tournament. The plot of the first volume is about the journey there and the tournament, which doesn’t end before the first volume does. There are small conflicts every now and then, but nothing that the protagonist couldn’t overcome.

Yin Biyue is a good and interesting character, but he isn’t much of a villain. The OG was filled with hate, which may have led to him trying to kill Luo Mingchuan, but it doesn’t affect Yin Biyue. But because he’s decided to be a villain, that’s what he sees himself as, but the malfunctioning halo complicates things. At first, he decides that the storyline is the villain befriending the hero, only to backstab him, but as the story progresses, he becomes more and more aware that he might not want to be a villain anymore. And on the side, his friendship with Luo Mingchuan starts to turn into something more.

Despite the rather straightforward storyline, it’s not boring. The author has a great way to describe cultivation process from within, and make fight scenes lively and like the reader is part of it. The tone is fairly cozy and the plot low-key, and not very emotional. Scenes at the Rebirth Company make it a little different from other stories, and I kept waiting for them to intervene with the real halo. Maybe that’ll happen later. This wasn’t the most exciting danmei, but I’m interested in reading more.

The White Cat's Divine Scratching Post (Novel) Vol. 1 by Lv Ye Qian He: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

The White Cat's Divine Scratching Post by Lv Ye Qian He

Since I liked The Wife Comes First, I started immediately another book by Lv Ye Qian He that has been recently published too. The White Cat's Divine Scratching Post is very different from the first book. It’s set in an ancient cultivation world instead of a historical setting, and has fantasy elements to it. But it’s equally delightful and a bit better even.

Mo Tianliao is a follower of the unorthodox cultivation path and a renown maker of artifacts, but now he’s made one that can destroy the world. So, the cultivation world has teamed up to kill him before he can complete the artifact. Mo Tianliao has one more ace in his sleeve, however, a trap that destroys everyone hunting him, including him. He only manages to save his spirit beast, Pawpaw, a little white cat who has been his sole companion for centuries.

He doesn’t completely die, however. To his surprise, he finds his spirit protected by a strange force, and so he wanders around the world for centuries in search for a body for himself. He tricks a divine tree into accepting him, and forges himself a body much like his old one of it, only he’s a little younger looking and without his previous cultivation level.

Since he needs to be strong in case his enemies are still around, he joins a remote sect to start training anew. It’s a curious sect though, that only accepts beautiful disciples. And no one is as beautiful as Qingtong, a divine looking master who chooses Mo Tianliao as his personal disciple, much to the other disciples’ dismay. Mo Tianliao is stronger than he looks though, with knowledge of his first life helping him. Which comes in handy, because his shizun’s teaching method is ‘figure it out yourself.’

To his absolute joy, Mo Tianliao finds Pawpaw there too. But he’s smaller than he should be for his age, and he’s always sleeping, which worries Mo Tianliao. The cat isn’t the only one worrying him. His shizun is also in poor health. As Mo Tianliao settles into his new life, he starts noticing curious things about the sect. And he starts noticing that his new shizun and Pawpaw share remarkable similarities.

This was a delightful start to a story. Because of the title, some comparisons has been made with The Husky and His White Cat Shizun by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou, but the similarities end with the title. This one is fairly cozy, the conflicts small and easily dealt with, and fight scenes are short, though there are actual casualties. Mo Tianliao, despite hailing from an unorthodox cultivation path, isn’t evil or in need of reconciling his past, and his love for his cat is absolute. Pawpaw is an actual cat, self-esteemed and with a tendency to scratch Mo Tianlio for slightest things, which the latter suffers calmly, and more easily now that he can turn parts of his body into a tree. Qingtong is exactly like a cat, capricious and a bit selfish, but affectionate in his own way. The main side characters are funny and all with a secret that I won’t reveal here, because it brought me so much joy.

The plot goes on in a steady pace and gives a notion that the original work wasn’t published as a web novel, because there are no side quests or unnecessary scenes, and the narrative doesn’t repeat itself. It’s not a highly emotional plot, although the romance starts budding here, but it has high stakes, because it turns out that the only way to heal Qingtong is by completing the artifact Mo Tianlio died for in the first place. I’m looking forward to reading how that turns out.

The Wife Comes First: Qi Wei Shang (Novel) Vol. 1 by Lv Ye Qian He: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Wife Comes First by Lv Ye Qian He

My first review of the year is a Chinese historical danmei by a new author to me, Lv Ye Qian He, who is very popular in China according to the back copy introduction. And her work turned out to be delightful, so hopefully there will be more books by her translated to English. 

Prince Cheng is the third prince, he and the second prince being by the empress, with the first prince being by a maid and the fourth prince by the empress consort. All this leads to a muddy succession and any one of them could become the next emperor. As the empress is dead, the empress consort pulls the strings. And she’s made it so that Prince Cheng has to marry a man to make him ineligible to become the emperor. Having male wives for this reason is very typical in the book’s world.

Prince Cheng rebels violently against this, treating his male wife badly and spending most of his life fighting wars. But the scheming empress consort isn’t satisfied and ten years later, Prince Cheng finds himself facing death, accused of many crimes, some of which are made up. And the only person by his side is his male wife, Mu Hanzhang. Moved by this loyalty by the very person who should hate him, he wishes at his death to make amends to him.

Prince Cheng is granted his wish and he finds himself returned to the morning after his wedding night with Mu Hanzhang. It’s inauspicious, because his anger had made him treat Mu Hanzhang very badly in bed and the wife is now very afraid of him. But he sets out to make things better. Armed with the knowledge of how things turned out, he teams with the second prince, who also had turned out to be more loyal in his first life than he’d realised before death. Together they work to remove the people who schemed against them, and to make sure Mu Hanzhang has a loving and supporting husband by his side.

This was a very well written, mostly plot-driven opening to an interesting story. The tone is fairly light, but not comical, and obstacles are relatively easily dealt with, but not so easily that the reader would lose interest. Both main characters are interesting and easy to root for.

There’s a lot of palace intrigue and scheming, not only against Prince Cheng but Mu Hanzhang too. The latter turns out to be a great asset to the prince, and little by little, Prince Cheng’s need to make amends turns into love. Mu Hanzhang takes more time to warm to him. But a war is inevitable. The volume ends as Prince Cheng prepares to leave, maybe for years. I’ll definitely read more.

Peerless vol. 5 by Meng Xi Shi: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Peerless vol. 5 by Meng Xi Shi

Volume 5 of Peerless ends the story of two imperial agents, Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao, from competing agencies in Sui dynasty China. They’ve been on a trail of a secret organisation the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai, and have managed to reduce their numbers to only the leader, Xiao Lü.

The last volume continues from where the previous one left, the aftermath of government officials swindling flood aid. Both men are in poor health, Cui Buqu for his chronic illness and Feng Xiao for his battle with Xiao Lü. But they’re called back to the capital and must haste there. Xiao Lü is ready for his final move and he has new allies with a horrible weapon that causes people to hallucinate and kill each other. To defeat him, both men come close to ruin and death.

This has been a great series. The investigation has been all over the place and at times impossible to comprehend, but the enemies to lovers story of Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao has been absolutely delightful to follow. But the last book wasn’t nearly as good. Too much space was given to unimportant characters and their points of view. Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao worked in the background, and the reader wasn’t privy to their investigations and cleverness until everything was set for the final confrontation. It made for a very unsatisfying and even boring read. Not even the final battle brought a completely satisfying ending.

The love story at least had its moments. There were kisses, jealousy, and attempts to wring confessions from each other. But the story ends kind of mid-scene without proper resolution to the romance, and the several epilogues and a bonus story merely continue with the hunt of the Thirteen Floors and doesn’t really bring anything new to the romance. Definitely no happily ever after moments, or a glimpse to the men’s future.

Overall though, I’m left happy with the series. I can imagine the men continuing as they’ve been, bickering, scheming and one-upping each other in public and loving each other in secret. Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao will definitely remain one of my favourite danmei couples.

Astrolabe Rebirth by Fei Tian Ye Xiang: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Astrolabe Rebirth by Fei Tian Ye Xiang

I’ve read a couple of books by Fei Tian Ye Xiang and they’ve been a hit and miss with me. Astrolabe Rebirth is more of a hit. It’s a stand-alone sci-fi set in a unique world of Astrolabe. The City of Steel is a dystopian place for humans, enslaved by Father, an AI that rules the city with camera surveillance, robots and human clones. It’s a miserable, polluted place, where humans are likely to meet an untimely end for violating strict rules.

A-Ka is 16 and has just begun working as a technician mending robots and clones, a job he has unique aptitude for, but he dreams of freedom. He’s found his way out of the city, and is building a mecha for himself in secret to escape. One day, he rescues a man from the sea, preserved in a sleeping pod. He has no memories, so A-Ka names him Heishi.

The two mean to go their separate ways, but fate intervenes in the form of a clone uprisal, and the two are swept along with it. They find themselves outside the city, fleeing with humans and clones to the other side of the continent where free people live.

As Heishi regains his memories, he remembers his purpose: rebooting Astrolabe to remove everything that has gone wrong with the system since it was initiated. But Father has the same command system, and may get there first, rebooting the system to its liking. Humans and clones must work together to help Heishi to shut down Father before the AI destroys everything. But the reboot requires a special human component, and that’s A-Ka, the only human Heishi has learned to love.

This was a good story. It was hasty, the world-building was shoddy, and descriptions were confusing if they existed, but the core story was interesting. It wasn’t much of a romance, but A-Ka and Heishi learned to love each other through their hardships. It has some sad moments that were slightly weakened through miraculous twists, but the ending was very good.

A-Ka was a great protagonist, downtrodden but resourceful and resilient. He gained a miraculous ability, but it wasn’t overused. Heishi remained distant, but as he gained his memories and learned about humans, he became more interesting. There were some good side characters too, with proper purpose for the story. I would’ve wished for more romance, but the story was satisfying as it was.

The Wizard (Novel): When Words Kill by Shi Wu: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Wizard by Shi Wu

The Wizard is set in a nameless big city in modern China. It begins with a prologue seven years before the main story. Cheng Jinxi, 18, has confessed to killing his entire family and even though the detective in charge of the investigation, Liang Yuanfeng, can’t find any evidence of his involvement, the young man is taken to prison.

Readers learn already during the prologue, that Cheng Jinxi did indeed kill his family, and how and why he did it. He can hurt and kill people seemingly with his thought alone, which he demonstrates the first day in the prison by killing some prisoners. The director of the prison instantly realises that there’s nothing he can do to keep Cheng Jinxi confined if he doesn’t choose to stay. Fortunately for him, the young man has chosen to accept his punishment and stays, though with great liberties.

Seven years later, Liang Yuanfeng, only 32, is already burned out as a detective and on a forced leave to recuperate. Only he and his boss know that it’s because Liang Yuanfeng has resorted to vigilant justice. He’s kept in close touch with Cheng Jinxi, his only visitor in prison, and learned what the younger man can do. So he’s asked him to kill some bad people. He doesn’t regret his actions.

A great evil has taken over an apartment building and people have started to kill each other. When the building takes a special task force hostage and almost kills Liang Yuanfeng’s boss, Liang Yuanfeng is asked to bring in Cheng Jinxi to solve the problem. Liang Yuanfeng manages to negotiate a pardon for him, with himself as the younger man’s warder.

The two settle into the family home of Cheng Jinxi’s sister whose death in the hands of their extended family triggered him to killing everyone. Cheng family comes from a long line of shamans with great powers that women possess. But the family didn’t know that in their generation, it’s Cheng Jinxi who has the power, not his sister or little niece. Cheng Jinxi gets the custody of his niece, now 12, and the three become a small family.

It doesn’t take long for the two to become romantically involved, although it’s fairly one-sided, as Cheng Jinxi can’t really feel any emotions after everything he’s done. They spend their time solving supernatural crimes, and trying to come to terms with things they’ve both done. Atonement doesn’t seem possible, on top of which Cheng Jinxi has a time-stamp on him. Because it turns out, he’s not the one who’s using the power; it’s a demon to whom he’s promised himself as a sacrifice. And the demon is about to collect.

This was a good but gloomy story, with some tear-jerking moments. Liang Yuanfeng turned into a warm caretaker fairly easily for a burned-out cop, but his character remains slightly superficial. Cheng Jinxi has a deeper character and backstory, and he goes through a greater change. Theirs is not a very good romance, but it’s sweet with some tender moments. The story heads slowly but surely towards the impending doom and a happily ever after seems impossible. It takes a great twist for the small family to end up in a good place.

The writing stars as fairly good, but it deteriorates towards the end, with lots of repetition and contradictions in character actions. It didn’t really matter at that point, but it nevertheless managed to lessen the impact of the emotional climax. This is a stand-alone story, and the end is conclusive. While I liked it, it’s not among the great BL stories that’ll linger in my mind.

I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Peerless Vol. 4 by Meng Xi Shi: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Peerless vol 4 by Meng Xi Shi

Volume 4 continues where the cliffhanger ending of the previous book left things: Cui Buqu injured at the hands of Feng Xiao who has seemingly become a member of the Thirteen Floors conspiracy group. But things are never as they seem with the two espionage masters. In no time at all, they’ve created chaos and fled the caves.

They were lured there with the promise that they get to meet the leader of the group, but that person never shows up. All is not lost though, because they learn the leader’s identity anyway, someone they’ve met already, though someone neither of them thought much of.

Safety is fleeting. On Empress’s orders, Cui Buqu heads to a region pestered with floods. He’s accompanying an imperial censor who suspects foul play in distribution of aid. What looks like a simple matter of embezzlement turns out to be more sinister. And once again, the men are in mortal peril.

This was an excellent book. The number of times Cui Buqu almost died is incredible, yet he soldiered on. And Feng Xiao finally decides that Cui Buqu is the only person worthy of his attention. Too bad he has great trouble making the other man take him seriously. But the banter is spot on.

The volume doesn’t conclude the flood case, but it’s not a cliffhanger as such, merely it leaves the wrapping up unfinished. But the men now know who they’re fighting against and the rope is tightening. And of course, there’s the romance to root for. Looking forward to reading more.

Case File Compendium Vol. 5 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Case File Compendium vol 5 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

The series is gearing towards the end with this fifth volume, but the story didn’t slow down at all. The contrary. After the cliffhanger ending of the previous book, the start of this one was a bit of a let-down. It skipped the action scene straight to the aftermath. Unsurprisingly, He Yu and Xie Qingcheng survive. The plotline in the remote village, which was mostly diversion anyway, is dropped and the men return home.

Xie Qingcheng believes that he and He Yu should stay apart from now on. The upset triggers another mental episode in He Yu, and this time he finally tells Xie Qingcheng that it’s caused by emotional turmoil. He confesses his love to Xie Qingcheng who doesn’t believe him. But it has the benefit of calming He Yu. He claims he’ll win Xie Qingcheng’s heart and proceeds to date him. It’s no use.

They still need to find cure for Xie Xue’s illness. A death of yet another actress involved in the movie production points clearly at the producer whose name has popped up several times in their investigation. Convinced that the source of the drug that caused Xie Xue’s illness is the producer, the men set out to break into his compound. They find many surprises there and get unexpected help too. That leads to a great showdown. But the mysterious organisation acts before their secrets are revealed.

Not all is lost for the men though. They have the drug and can create the antidote to cure Xie Xue. And the events at the compound make Xie Qingcheng realise that He Yu might be serious about his declaration of love. The book ends before we learn if it has permanent impact on him. At any rate, it might be too late. Xie Qingcheng is holding several secrets from He Yu—and the reader.

This was a good volume, with the plot advancing on all fronts. There were no sex scenes of questionable consent or otherwise; the men got along, and the impossible, Xie Qingcheng having a change of heart about He Yu, happened. There was a good twist about the identity of one villain, and some good diversion about the identity of another. But they aren’t any closer to catching the mastermind. There are at least two more books to come, but I’m not sure it’ll be enough to unravel the final mystery.

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish vol. 4 by Xue Shan Fei Hu: review

4/5 stars

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish vol. 4 by Xue Shan Fei Hu

The delightful and silly story of a transmigrating fish in a book about ancient China comes to an end in this volume. It doesn’t go out in a bang or with high emotions. It ends with a sweet happily ever after.

The last volume is slightly uneven. The main story about those plotting against the emperor comes to an end already during the first third of the book. There are some surprises in store for the reader and Li Yu both, but thanks to his ingenuity, a coup is thwarted and the emperor survives another day. As a reward, Prince Jing is finally named the crown prince.

It’s what Li Yu had been tasked to do by the fish scamming system, but apparently it isn’t enough. The final tribulation isn’t over. The rest of the book meanders to that goal with small side steps that include people realising Li Yu and the beloved pet fish might be the same.

Mostly, it’s about family stuff. The biggest drama comes from another pregnancy. This time Li Yu accidentally chooses the wrong option and has to go through it in human form. He is not happy, sob, sob. A little girl is born and instantly made a princess by the happy emperor. But it appears she’s not able to turn into a fish like her brothers and fish father.

And then, finally, the last tribulation comes to an end. Li Yu learns that the only reason it hadn’t was because Prince Jing was afraid it would make Li Yu leave. But he promises to stay forever. As a reward, Li Yu is now a human that can turn into a fish, not a fish that can turn into a human. And he’s given an option to return to his life and not remember what took place in the book world. Obviously, he refuses. But he’s given a chance to visit once, and he can take someone with him. It’s a nice side quest, but it could’ve been better.

The book ends with a brief description of the happily ever after for the pair. A prosperous empire and a good rule follow when Prince Jing becomes the emperor instead of the tyranny of the original story. And finally, no family member is left behind when it comes to fishy antics. The end.

This was a delightful ending, but much of it was just fillers to make the required word count. The reader slightly disconnects from the story, and while there are cute moments, they remain a bit distant. There are barely any fishy antics and the children are sidelined from the action. But the love between Prince Jing and Li Yu is wonderful and their happily ever after is well deserved. All in all, a lovely, delightful story.  

Peerless Vol. 3 by Meng Xi Shi: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Peerless vol 3 by Meng Xi Shi

The story really gets going in volume 3. It starts at the encampment of the Western Khaganate where Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao had been honoured guests until the second prince was suddenly murdered at the end of the previous volume. Now the men stand accused of the deed. The way out of the situation is to solve the crime themselves. But instead of Cui Buqu doing the investigation, he volunteers to stay as a hostage while Feng Xiao investigates. Only, the latter has no intention of doing so.

Cui Buqu has an ace on his sleeve though, and doesn’t need Feng Xiao—until he does. In the end, the mystery is solved rather fast, and not in any way I thought it would. The men are now free to travel back home where they are hailed as heroes.

Their adventures at end, they continue their separate lives as heads of their rivalling secret service organisations. But Cui Buqu has promised a rare musical instrument for Feng Xiao as a reward for saving his life. It turns out to be in the hands of Cui clan, and the men travel together to fetch it. But the instrument is all but forgotten when Feng Xiao has a chance to learn about Cui Buqu’s past and his connection to Cui clan. It’s an interesting and sad story, but Cui Buqu has a chance to air old grievances and eventually emerge on the top.

But the men haven’t forgotten the mysterious secret organisation that seems to be behind all their troubles. Going after it again leads to a sudden gut-wrenching twist and betrayal the kind that’s familiar from the author’s Thousand Autumns novel. The end is a huge cliffhanger that leaves Cui Buqu in mortal peril. It’ll be an agony to wait for the next volume.

This was maybe the best volume so far. A lot happened and the men really became their own characters. Cui Buqu especially had a chance to shine. There wasn’t much in the way of romance, only brief teasing moments, and after this volume, the road to a happy ending will be long. The secret organisation and its motives remain a bit over the top, but as an adversary, it’s interesting. Side characters from previous volumes didn’t really show up and new ones didn’t take their place. All in all, an entertaining read.

Case File Compendium Vol. 4 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Case File Compendium vol 4 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

Volume four did something I thought could never happen: reduced the hostilities between He Yu and Xie Qingcheng. Not easily and completely, but it’s a step in the right direction if one wants a happy ending for the men.

The volume continues from where the previous left, with the men about to drown inside an airtight chamber. Since they think this is their last moment, Xie Qingcheng tells the younger man his greatest secret. It’s nothing I had imagined. And then they’re saved at the last moment. Now that they’re alive, the truth completely changes how He Yu sees him. The same isn’t true for Xie Qingcheng.

They agree to stay apart. Easy for Xie Qingcheng, but impossible for He Yu. Even when Xie Xue falls ill, clearly because of the illegal drug He Yu’s been affected with, Xie Qingcheng doesn’t contact He Yu. But He Yu finds about it anyway and decides to investigate. Eventually, he has Xie Qingcheng roped into it too.

But the shady organisation is constantly one step ahead of them. Every time He Yu thinks he’s about to have a breakthrough, the clue is removed, usually with violence. Until he stumbles onto one that even the masterminds haven’t come to think of. It sends the men to a remote village, which turns out to be the home village of many players they’ve come across so far. It can’t be a coincidence.

As they investigate, they find a crime that has nothing to do with them or the case, but which the perp wants to keep secret anyway. It puts the men in mortal peril once again. The volume ends with a cliffhanger, with Xie Qingcheng on his last breath.

This was the best volume so far. Focus was on the men and their relationship, with only brief glimpses of other players, which weren’t terribly important. He Yu is mostly sane, and while he still wants to force Xie Qingcheng to have sex with him, he manages to stop himself. He’s found a new truth about his relationship with Xie Qingcheng and he has no idea what to do with it. For his part, Xie Qingcheng is starting to see He Yu in new light. Not enough to forgive him yet, but maybe he doesn’t hate him as much anymore. I’m eagerly waiting to find out how that turns out.

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun vol 7 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

The Husky & His White Cat Shizun vol 7 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

Volume 7 continues the hunt for Xu Shuanglin who has hid himself in the ancestral burial mountain of the Rufeng sect. Led by Nangong Si who is the only one who can open the mountain’s defences, the entire cultivation world head there, only to face a battle after another. Xu Shuanglin is more powerful than they believed, and he’s managed to harness the entire mountain, including the dragon at its heart, to his help.

It’s mostly Nangong Si’s story. He’s the last member of his sect and Xu Shuanglin—Nangong Xu—is his uncle. Time and again, he throws himself to defeating the mountain to help others reach its peak where Xu Shuanglin is hiding, facing not only the dragon but his most revered ancestor too. In a very moving scene, he has a chance to encounter his long dead mother, reanimated by Xu Shuanglin. But despite his constant sacrifices, the wrath of the cultivators against his sect doesn’t ease, not even at the end.

Mo Ran is having difficult time during the battle. He struggles with keeping the truth of his first life hidden while trying to use what he’s learned during it to help defeat Xu Shuanglin. At one point he’s poisoned with a substance that makes him relive scenes from his past life, trying to convince him he’s never left it, which really messes with his head. But when they finally reach Xu Shuanglin, he’s the only one who can reach through is madness, having gone through the same.

Mo Ran is the only one who realises too, that Xu Shuanglin isn’t the final boss, on top of which there’s a secondary player among the cultivators, who attacks at the worst possible moment. The one who suffers most is Shi Mei. Facing certain death, he gives a speech that I’m not entirely sure how to take. Maybe he wanted to give his piece of mind to Mo Ran and Xue Meng, or maybe he wanted them to act against him to focus on winning the day. Either way, it isn’t dealt with in this volume. (He didn’t die though, in case you’re worried.)

But just as Mo Ran starts to believe he might make it out of the mountain without facing his past, the worst happens. The past arrives, concretely. The last quarter of the book focuses on Mo Ran and Chu Wanning, as the latter finally learns about the other Mo Ran, in a very physical and painful way. But the volume ends before we learn what he thinks of it.

The most interesting twist is saved for the last couple of chapters. We learn where Chu Wanning comes from and it’s nothing I could’ve imagined. He had no idea of it either, but the aftermath of that is saved for the next volume. There’s also a twist about Mo Ran’s connection with Rufeng sect that stems from his past life (if I understood it correctly, which isn’t all that certain.) That’ll have consequences later too.

This was a mixed read for me. First three quarters was an endless battle that focused more on other characters than Mo Ran and Chu Wanning. It was interesting enough with its twists and turns and moving sacrifices, but much too long. The volume was saved by the last quarter though, that focused on the two main characters. The stunning revelations for both of them were enough to lift the volume back to excellent. If (when) the aftermath of that goes sideways, there’s a long road ahead for the two to happily ever after. I can’t wait.

You've Got Mail: The Perils of Pigeon Post Vol. 2 by Blackegg: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

You've Got Mail: The Perils of Pigeon Post Vol. 2 by Blackegg

Continuing with The Perils of Pigeon Post series so more conscientious don’t have to. The basic story remains good. Wu Xingzi, the forty-year-old civil servant who has neither looks nor grace, money nor prospects, continues his relationship with Guan Shanjin, the young, handsome, and vigorous war hero general feared by all.

The start is really sweet. The general accompanies Wu Xingzi to the latter’s home village during the New Year to pay respects to his ancestors. The villagers are baffled to see them after months of absence. Half of them were sure Wu Xingzi would return a dumped man and when that hasn’t happened, decide that he must have used sorcery to bewitch the general. The rest of the village is ready to defend Wu Xingzi with fists and brooms. They win.

Wu Xingzi is prepared to stay home for good and let the general go. More so after the rumour circulating the village reach him that he’s only a substitute for Mr Lu, the general’s beloved teacher. But the general has other ideas. He even becomes violently jealous when Wu Xingzi shows him his treasured collection of dick pictures he’s received through the Peng Society.

In a fit of rage the general tears some of them, causing the old man great distress. The pictures were the only thing that kept him from killing himself for loneliness and he had counted on them to keep him company after the general leaves him. His sorrow was so real that I cried with him for the loss and for his loneliness.

But Wu Xingzi never clings to sorrow, and Guan Shanjin’s genuine remorse mollifies him. After the general replaces the torn pictures, he’s ready to follow him back to the Horse-Face city. But there Wu Xingzi again finds himself ignored for Mr Lu. The teacher’s wedding preparations with miss Yue take the general’s time. At first, Wu Xingzi doesn’t think it odd, but when both Mr Lu and Miss Yue constantly rub it in his face that the general prefers Mr Lu, even someone as slow and goodnatured as him is forced to come to a conclusion that he’s not needed. Problem is, despite his best intentions, he’s fallen in love with Guan Shanjin.

Little does he know that the general has already grown out of love with Mr Lu, and is prepared to spend his life with Wu Xingzi, mostly because he doesn’t bother to tell it to the older man. He needs a distraction while he prepares an attack against the Yue family, and doesn’t want to involve Wu Xingzi. But when he finally has time for the older man, Wu Xingzi is already gone.

The volume ends there. It’s followed, however, by two extra chapters in “alternate” universe that are basically really bizarre rape porn. You’d best skip them completely for the sake of your ability to continue to respect the general and for your mental health.

Like in the first volume, there are numerous long and unrealistic sex scenes. I think the author has based their idea of gay sex on omegaverse BL, because I don’t think men’s bodies behave quite that way. While I didn’t mind them as such, I rolled my eyes a few times. In bed, the general is rather forceful, making poor Wu Xingzi suffer a lot, no matter how much the older man likes it. Outside the bed, he’s caring and loving, looking after his older lover very well. He doesn’t realise it himself that he’s falling in love. I like how he sees the old man as he is, not attractive at all, yet he can’t help preferring him to the supremely beautiful Mr Lu.

For his part, Wu Xingzi is yet to realise he’s not as alone as he believes. He’s made friends who are prepared to go to great lengths to ensure his happiness. It remains to be seen whether the winners are those who think he’ll be happiest without the general or those who think he should end up with him. I definitely want him to find all the happiness, so I have to keep reading on.

Peerless vol. 2 by Meng Xi Shi: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Peerless vol. 2 by Meng Xi Shi

Second volume of Peerless sees Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao, the brilliant leaders of Sui empire’s secret agencies, embark on their journey to west to form an alliance with one of the khaganates there. With them is the khan’s favourite concubine, and Cui Buqu’s trusted underling. But since two women and two men who are not married or related travelling together is seen improper, the group poses as two married couples, though not in obvious kind of pairings.

The journey through the desert is arduous and the small group pauses at Qiemo, the remotest outpost of the empire. They soon discover, that the actual power in the town isn’t in the hands of the empire’s representative, but a former bandit and a descendant of a former king who have divided the town between them. Since they have a bit of time in their hands, Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao decide to do something about it, with their now familiar method of causing chaos and seeing what’s what once the dust settles. What emerges is a discovery of a secret organisation that neither agent had heard of before.

From there, the journey continues to the khaganate. There they discover that the favourite concubine has lost her position and the enemy and the khan’s second son now have the khan’s ear. They’re determined to see the representatives of the empire dead, concocting a scheme after another. The pair prevail, though not unscathed, turning the tides for the empire. But just as they’re about to form the alliance, bad luck—or a hidden enemy—strikes again, ruining everything. The book ends at this cliffhanger.

This was in some ways better book than the first. The story was more straightforward, and the dynamics of the odd pair started to settle in. Cui Buqu wasn’t sick the whole time, so his brilliant mind could shine. Feng Xiao wasn’t quite as obsessed with his own beauty and excellence, and he got to show off his martial arts skills—and his acting skills as a woman, which he made the most of. But the power struggle between the pair wasn’t so prominent, with fewer funny scenes between them, and there were more battle scenes, which paused the story several times. Not as many as in Thousand Autumns though. Nevertheless, the grumpy-sunshine(ish) pair is wonderful and I can’t wait to see how they get out of the latest scrape and where they’ll head next.

Case File Compendium Vol. 3 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Case File Compendium vol 3 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

Volume 3 of Case File Compendium is about the aftermath of the sexual assault in the previous volume. If the reader is hoping for soul-searching, deep conversations, healing and understanding, they will be sorely disappointed.

He Yu plunges deep into his psychopathy, living in a reality of his own, where his actions aren’t his fault, and pushing himself in Xie Qingcheng’s company—and into the older man’s bed. He’s still demanding answers for what took place when Xie Qingcheng resigned as his doctor. The latter isn’t willing to tell him anything, and only gives in to He Yu’s forceful demands to get rid of him faster.

Xie Qingcheng wants nothing to do with He Yu. He’s deeply traumatised by what took place, and he hates He Yu with passion. However, since he bottles everything in, he simply goes on as if nothing has happened, his rage surfacing only on occasion with He Yu. Reader feels both annoyance and sympathy for him, as it turns out he’s coped with hardships this way all his life.

Life keeps throwing the two together, and they end up on the set of a same movie production. Things get so bad that the reader starts believing this will end with either of them killing the other. But before their hatred peaks, a serial killer shows up and the two are caught in his web.

This was a difficult, heavy book. On one hand, I’m happy that the events of the previous book aren’t glossed over here, but there was nothing light to give the reader even a breather. Even the revelation of the source of He Yu’s madness didn’t ease things, as it’s a tragic story too.

We mostly follow He Yu as he descends into his madness. The brief lucid moments are always followed by worse delusions and violence. And Xie Qingcheng’s suffering isn’t any easier to witness. There aren’t even any side stories and plots that would take attention away from the two even briefly. And just as the plot changes a new gear, the book ends in a double cliffhanger, with Xie Qingcheng ready to reveal one of his secrets, and the pair in a mortal peril.

Nevertheless, this was a good book. He Yu’s mental illness is believable and Xie Qingcheng’s suffering relatable. It’ll be an agony to wait for the next book, but I’m invested in the story now. It’ll definitely need all the remaining several volumes before any sort of HEA can be achieved.

Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu Vol. 2 by Tang Jiu Qing: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Ballad of Sword and Wine by Tang Jiu Quing

The second volume picks up where the previous left, i.e. right after the bedroom scene. The book description says the men part as enemies, but that’s not the case. Shen Zechuan simply leaves as if nothing has happened. He’s not affected by what took place between him and Xiao Chiye at all, which irks the latter greatly, prompting him to tempt the first at every opportunity.

But things have changed between them and the men find themselves scheming together. It doesn’t show outward though, and Shen Zechuan even manages to manipulate matters so that Xiao Chiye is suspected of a wrongdoing, with the full knowledge and co-operation of the latter. Shen Zechuan even makes sure that Xiao Chiye doesn’t come to a permanent harm.

There’s abundant of court intrigue going on too. Someone is making several attempts at the emperor’s life, and the heroics of Shen Zechuan in saving him help his star to rise in the court. He can’t become complaisant though, and has to work relentlessly to keep his scheming going.

Both men are busy and it keeps them apart. Whenever they come together, heat begins to build, leading to some of the most erotic non-sex scenes I’ve read in a while. The indifference Shen Zechuan affects is only a show and Xiao Chiye can melt him in moments. The two are brilliant together, in and out of bed, matching each other in scheming and passion.

The story is much more compact than in the first book, taking place during a couple of months. A lot happens during it, and at the end, the men are better off than after the first. And like the first book, this ends in a middle of what promises to be a good bedroom scene. It’s as well written and logical with all the complicated court issues as the first, keeping me entertained throughout. I’ll definitely read more.