Don't be fooled by the synopsis. This isn't a light novel. There are deaths, there are killings, really don't read this expecting it's a fluffy romance story about a single dad and an aloof man who "kidnaps" his son :"

But regardless, this is a very interesting read. Especially if you're starting to feel tired reading about ancient worlds, transmigration/rebirth, and cultivation stories. This novel raises the question of what makes one human in a delicate way. After reading this I can't stop thinking about the MC, the ML, and the... more>> world they're living in for quite sometime.

Also, An Zhe softest, purest, babiest I love love him!!! <<less

The only negative thing I could say about this novel is that they haven't laid yet— so far (Chapter 85).

In terms of adventure, character development, plot, translation, and slow-burn romance— all are satisfying. It was worth rereading— especially that I first read it under the mountainous pressure of school requirements. Anyway, it was worth it.

Here are the things to look forward to:
(I believe it is spoiler-free)

CHARACTERS:
> I haven't been so satisfied with an MC before. An Zhe (MC) was innocent but not s*upid. He may not be as intelligent as Zhou YunSheng (from FOD) but he was understanding and receptive. He may seem overly calm and ignorant in chaotic times but in fact, he knows and decided to just accept everything. Most importantly, he may be a mushroom but he has feelings. I just really, really him.
> Lu Feng (ML) was quickly climbing the ranks of My Most Favourite MLs until... it reached the end of the novel but he hasn't banged An Zhe yet! So frustrating! Also, they have slept on the same bed more than three times yet he still won't make any moves! Where is your dick, Lu Feng?! To borrow the words of Dr. Ji (from this novel), "You (Lu Feng) disappoint me more than An Zhe"— he said that after finding out that Lu Feng and An Zhe didn't slept together after all those chances.
> Characters came and went, it was sad but the dead is impossible to come back. There are many deaths in this novel, however, it just reflects the real life— where people come and go. It is unlike other novels where some seemingly important characters were forgotten by the author. Here, their disappearance is justified.

PLOT:
> The pacing of events are not boring nor fast. Everything may be unexpected but they were narrated in a timely manner.
> The concept was unique and logical. The conflicts were properly solved and twists are something to look forward to.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:
> I truly enjoyed accompanying MC's gradual understanding of human nature. The most enjoyable was whenever he tries to converse with people using his limited understanding during his first month. He was so adorable!

ROMANCE:
> It is already a great achievement when the characters' romance did not overcome the plot. This novel achieved that.
> It is frustratingly slow but satisfyingly sweet.
> The ML, though frighteningly cold, was a— uhm— capable, caring, and a good person (but was sometimes fierce so I'm not sure how to fully describe him).
> The MC is not dense in this department. In fact, he was pretty straight forward. He even once asked the ML, "Do you want to sleep with me?" at the first extra chapter.
> Of course he's not a human so he can be considered not dense.

TRANSLATION:
> The translation quality is great! It was Rainbowturtle who translated it.

Overall, it was a great novel worth cherishing.

Currently rated at 4.9/5.0 stars- likely the highest rated book I've read and deserving of it. So many emotions captured and expertly drawn out. When a story tackles the fate and existence of humanity, you know you're in for a deep-dive of feelings. This one hurts, but I'm so glad I got to experience it.

The majority of the novel feels more like a suspense thriller survival story and is quite dark at times rather than a romance, though that doesn't stop the story from being great. This doesn't mean the romance is bad either. When the two leads are on screen together during the lulls in danger, you absolutely feel their chemistry and eventual care for each other. There is a legitimate sense that they complete each other in ways neither of them imagined alone.

I would definitely suggest a read.

Incredible. Loved it.

The summery seems super cute but don't let that fool you.

You will laugh, You will cry and You will suffer, but you will love every second of it.

Gosh, all those reviews made me not want to read this because I hate sadness. But the summary just looked so heartwarming that I got tricked into reading instead. I kept reading because it felt real.

I really cried for their suffering. When you’re not involved but you get involved. When you’re doing something good but they hate you for it.

And I’ve finally experienced what crying in tears of joy felt.

It's been 3 years since I have read little mushroom. And until now I'm yet to recover. I can't get over this novel. It's like, it has taken roots in my very soul making me unable to move on. Ever since I have read this, I couldn't bring myself to love any other novel as much as this. Even if I did so, this one will always be my number one

Easy 5 stars. I don't even have to write an extensive review because there's so many for this. It's clearly good, just read it.

It's pretty short overall, read it in a single sitting. The ending was pretty emotional but I didn't ever actually cry, so honestly I'm not sure what's going on there. Probably because we are in the mind of a little mushroom and his feelings are not as intense as a real human's? In that sense, perfect characterization.

I am also lowkey in love with the ML he is... more>> so righteous and good, really the best husband material. The romance is very understated but also deep, it's a soul connection the two of them have and it's very wholesome. <<less

Little mushroom is a perfect novel, besides of being short the author just made the story is so well done in such a creative way, you really don't feel like something is missing.

The thing is, the only bad thing here is that it ends.

One of the best story I have read. This is on top of my list.

This story really made me cry. It's s been weeks since I finished it but I only did review today. Hahaha.

It's been weeks yet I still remembered vividly how this story touched my heart.

I hope there would be more chapters though. I was craving more but I guess author decided to finish it at that way so it's fine.

Worth reading. Worth your time.

(2nd review of mine. Hahahha).

Absolutely 5 stars.. it's a gem book.. the writter is amazing.. plz plz give it try... sply those who dont like aplocalypse world, the World building is beautiful. pls read this it's not like other books... I really loved the little mushroom..

Amazing 😭😭😭😭

this story is so painful yet so enjoyable, I loved it sm! 😭

This was sooo good!

When I first started it, after reading a few chapters, I thought it was interesting, but also a little weird and confusing and put it on-hold for some time. A month or so later I picked it up again, got hooked, and binge-read the rest of the chapters within 24h.

This story actually has a trope that I normally don't enjoy: one of the leads is much more innocent, naive and arguably more dense than the other one, and also passive, less experienced and vulnerable. I generally prefer... more>> my male leads to be both very clever and on equal footing in those aspects. But this story is one of those cases that prove, even the most tired trope can be done well in the hands of the right author.

I saw three kind of complaints in the reviews, being:

• • lack of chemistry, not understandable why they like each other

• • flat characterization

• • confusing, plot is difficult to follow

I'm actually often the first person to criticize those aspects in a Danmei novel. But funny enough in Little Mushroom I found just these three aspects to be done unusually well compared to other novels I've read (maybe leaving out chemistry).

First, I'm a super lazy reader and super bad at remembering names. I get confused with the plot and characters all the time. But in this novel, for the most part I had no problems in these aspects. Since our little mushroom can be a little dense at times, the other characters often explain stuff to him in an simple manner, which helped me a lot to understand what was going on. The number of characters is also relatively low, at least compared to those super complex historical/fantasy Danmeis with political scheming and stuff, and I actually found even side characters to be unusually well characterized and memorable compared to almost all other danmei novels I've read up to now.

Regarding the characterization of the leads I also think it was done very well. One character being a freaking mushroom could have been boring and annoying so easily, but it was executed super well. He might not be my favorite character of all time but he was interesting enough and sometimes even a little funny. It was also always reasonable how he behaved, it's really convincing that he is a mushroom. Lu Feng on the other hand is super bad-ass. He has this kind of character type that could easily have been stereotypical and flat but in this case it was really well done and he felt layered and nuanced overall.

For the chemistry? I found it was explained reasonably well how and why the ML developed first interest, then feelings for the MC. It starts subtly but does not come out of nowhere. It's not the most explosive chemistry I've ever seen but it definitely worked for me. I found they complemented each other really well, despite being so different.

Having checked those three points, I lastly want to give a shoot-out to the plot. I'm honestly one of those *cought* superficial people who basically only read for the romance and do not care too much about plot. Yes, I like my romance to be in a cool, epic context and can appreciate well thought out plots because they can make the romance more fun, but mostly I don't care that much. Not so in Little Mushroom. The plot was.... so fun. Especially the second third is super intense and you can barely catch a breath. Every time you think it can't get worse it definitely will get worse and you will furiously jump right into the next chapter to find out how they deal with it. Overall, everything is neatly put together in a mind-twisting plot that flows really well together and never drags.

To conclude, I would say Little Mushroom is definitely worth to check out, even if you are skeptical about the premise. It's well written with some philosophical touches here and there, has an exciting plot, two interesting main characters and is refreshingly different. <<less

3.5/5💫

:::Cute, nice, naive little mushroom MC X Cold, but warm hearted ML❤

This story sort of has a sci fi, extraterrestrial thingy to it. And I'm not a huge fan of that genre. I only read it because of the high rating.

I didn't like it and even regreted picking it up lol! &Lt;====My opinion only. Sorry to those people who love this novel. 🙏 To me, MC and ML lacked good chemistry in here. I feel that ML only liked MC because MC was handsome lol. There was really no reason... more>> for ML to like MC lol. No relationship development at all. The story was interesting indeed, but I think the reason why I didn't like it was because of MC and ML's lack of chemistry. It's like, boom, they just fell in love! Lol. <<less

I didn't expect much from this novel and I let it sit in my reading list for a long time (not my cup of tea, I thought.) ; I regret it now.

The story is full of feels and I like how the ML isn't so OP. In fact, he was full of flaws and the author managed to keep it till the end. The MC is so simple minded and uncaring at times. The story is TRAGEDY after TRAGEDY, I came to a point where I feel the desperation and... more>> hopelessness of their situation and it continued to be like that until almost the end. Even if so, I like it. All my expectations weren't met but I like the unpredictability of it all.

Truly deserves its rating here. <<less

This writer truly never disappoints! Poor me - I had left this little gem of a story in the 'to read' list for quite a while and made a spur of the moment decision to read it without refreshing my memory of the summary and reviews... Queue the waterworks because my little heart was crushed to smithereens here there. I had to keep reminding myself that it was a HE during the last 20 or so chapters!

Honestly, each and every character was very well written and left a lasting impression.... more>> I can only thank my lucky stars that I didn't grow too attached since the death rate was... hehe. I suppose it is expected given the apocalytpic setting.

In terms of the romance aspect, rather than sweet fluff, I felt I was fed poignant slow burn dog food. The dynamic between our little mushroom and the colonel was not skin-deep and their interactions were very well written. I enjoyed how they learnt to understand one another despite their different backgrounds and philosophies. Their relationship was a gradual build-up that wasn't abrupt or superficial. The little exchanges between little mushroom and colonel felt like alms in a famine.

The novel is a short read but packs a punch. There are some loose ends that are left unanswered but I do appreciate that the author didn't drag it on needlessly. Definitely recommended! <<less

Cute, wholesome, interesting MC and ML, excellent story plot and easy to read, I definitely recommend reading "Little Mushroom." It does get a bit dark and gory, but in a post apocalyptic world it's pretty much what you would expect. A lot of side characters get killed off but none was a pointless or unreasonable/unrealistic death.

English is my primary language and at no point I was confused, very well translated and written. Little Mushroom's rating is well deserved.

What I can say is "Don't judge this book by only the description..." Because u will regret it...

Rating: 4.6

I liked how dark this one was, it felt like the apocalypse tag was actually taking itself seriously for once.

The only bright spot in this story is the MC. His way of thinking is straightforward, which makes him seem rather innocent, but I would say that this is less innocence and more so that he is literally a different species from humans. He wants his spore back and always works toward that goal with no particular love or hatred for most of those around him. The MC is by... more>> nature benign, literally a benign mushroom, with hints of kindness. But he is not useless. If he needs to be a bit clever in order to reach his goal, he can do it. Because he sneaks into to the center of the remaining human population, he is forced to learn about humanity in ways that are incredibly dark... but in the end, his personality never blackens or warps like the humans around him. This is what makes him so likeable.

The ML kills for a dubious system that prioritizes keeping the most amount of humans alive in this apocalyptic setting, and you can either believe that it was a necessary evil or think that the ML is actually evil af for following the system in place without question... or just turn a blind eye because who cares about mass mu*der anyway as long as he doesn't mu*der the MC.

Even the BL aspect of this is a bit strange, but satisfying.

Spoiler

Because the MC is a mushroom that stays alive by reproducing asexually, I really never wanted to see s*xual relationship between the MC and ML, and luckily the author only hints at such things at the very very end of the story, in the extra chapters. I was just in it for the sweet romance between dense mushroom and lonely ML who likes to bully mushroom. I know a lot of ppl just scream 'oh I want smuts', but hear me out--the MC (because he is a MUSHROOM), doesn't seem to understand the purpose of things like s*xual interc**rse (kind of like a child when it comes to EQ). Unlike humans, s*xual interc**rse should not be something natural or necessary to him. So even if the MC could feel pleasure from it, it would have felt extremely wrong to me if the ML forced him to have s*x at some point to 'teach him'. So yeah say what you will, but I was glad that it was almost wholly romantic, and that the relationship between them was more about this mind-boggling bond between two different species - human and mushroom.

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It's still pretty romantic. You can easily see why the ML would fall for the MC. The bit of innocence that the mushroom represents is like paradise for the isolated ML who has been covered in the blood and cruelty of humanity his whole life.

This story actually has a very disturbing element outside of the monstrous insects that parasitize humans, and it is humans themselves.

Spoiler

Humans that are pressed towards extinction will use terrifying means to keep the human species from extinction. I mean the part of the story that focuses on the 'garden of Eden', where females and certain children are kept as baby machines and 'mothers'. Very disturbing. Also of note is that the MC is regarded as prime research/test materials for a lot of the story. So... while the human species suffers a lot in this novel, you pretty much feel like humans deserve it

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The ending is where things in the story got a bit messy with extra paragraphs of meta-science, and side characters kept explaining what was happening. Considering that the setting and "science" behind the apocalypse is pretty wack anyways, all the extra dialogue to try and explain that nonsense just made me want to skim.

Still, the story never seemed to drag too much, and it is HE, but bittersweet. A couple of characters don't have their fates explained by the end, which was also annoying, but all in all, worth the read just for the wondrous perspective of a mushroom. <<less

One of the best novels out there and really awesome translation 🙂

So much emotions were invested in the whole story. There are times that you will bawl your eyes out and the next thing you know your gonna giggle from the cuteness of the MC & ML.

The story is phasing is great. Giving a proper time and setting for the MC to develope from a naive little mushroom to being a smart human.

The indifference of ML complements well w/ the mc's naivety and specially when he cutely bullies the MC.... more>> 🤭 Overall this is such a great novel and quite diff from the other post apocalyptic novels w/ werebeast and zombies involved.

It has the right amt of fluff and angst at the same time. 🙂 <<less