(There's a second list, just add a 2 to the name of this list and you'll find it) ... more>>

There are too many novels with cliché romance and harems with annoyingly useless girls. Reading them gets extremely tiring. There are too few novels with absolutely no form of romance or harem. Here are some novels I've found to not have romance/harem or have an harem/romance theme that didn't affect the plot of the novel to the point of it being annoying. 

Feel free to recommend novels that fit the criteria, arigatou^o^

P. S. I haven't read all the novels in this list so I might not be accurate in judging them. And there are some I've read but didn't finish and the novel ended up having romance or harem elements in a later chapter, please feel free to correct me anytime you see that I wasn't accurate. Arigatou minna-san <<less

Here some of my favorite novels, i tend to like novel without romance, harem, ecchi, or tragedy tags. I also like stories with great side characters rather than just focusing solely on MC. So if you look for those harem seeking protag and usual face slapping novel then sorry~ this isn't for ya...... more>>

P.S (edit 12/21) i removed all novel with romance hints, enjoy~ <<less

these novels aren't ranked. all are good and i recommend all of these for you guys to read. there's no (or some may have a little) romance here,  but no harem. ... more>>

♡ contains action, adventure, fantasy, horror, mystery, cultivation, supernatural, slice of life, world hopping etc...
♡ cn, kr, jp <<less

No romance, no harem. Just MC with their brotherhood/sisterhood or found-family ^^~.... more>>

Novels with adaptations are noted.

Recommendations are appreciated! <<less

Chinese Edition that I've read and am able to give some comments for. The list numbering is random. I'll classify it with EASY, MEDIUM and... more>> HARD to divide the focus needed to read these novels.  <<less

Stories with a close friendship/relationship between two male characters that is not romantic in nature.

These novels has no clear love interests, nor any future romance that I expect, and had given me the chance to ship anyone as I like, or enjoy the non romance relationships that I like, and enjoy the not romance related plot.... more>>

* most of the novels are on going, if not all of them

* this list is in progress

* I read all of them. But not to the end of the translated chapters for some of them <<less

2nd List -
https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/50277/... more>>

3rd List -
https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/61691/

I am doing this list for people like me who enjoy family and friendships or gets entrained by MC building there organizations directly or indirectly—
(Unedited) They are all in alphabetic orders, # or A-Z

There will also master-follower relationship or master-disciple relationship being recovered or building up between them…

And some overstate themselves even though they are OP or haven’t released their power-

There are no romance nor harem but there might be people around them having favorable impressions on them or bad reputation trying to be fixed or just leaving it…

I will try to put on novels that I’m sure there isn’t any romance nor harem and have already read them so to be double sure and some are recommended to me and had told me there isn’t :>

Any that are involve with the tag romance is explained in the bottom ^^*

Loving family for the beginning, knowing, and get transmigrated in a novel or another world ✌️

MC - Main Character
OP - Over Powered
OG FL - Original Female Lead
FL - Female Lead
OG ML - Original Male Lead
ML - Male Lead
BL - Boy’s Love
GL - Girl’s Love
GB - Genderbend <<less

A bit psychological. All Chinese novel

Vomiting blood? Overworking yourself? Self injury? Always choosing the self sacrificial route as plan A? Misunderstanding? Of course.... more>>

Anyways, here's a compilation.

PS: Self sacrifice that I mean in this list doesn't necessary mean it's for other people. Can be MC just constantly putting themselves at risk. <<less

Read Lord of the Mysteries and fell absolutely head over heels for it. these are some novels i think have similar elements: lovecraftian/occult horror, steampunk/victorian vibes, themes of humanity fighting against fate, etc.  A mix of read and TBR, as well as BL/GL/gen.... more>>

Recs from outside of Novelupdates:

- Mother of Learning on RoyalRoad, TBR. time loop f*ckery babeyyy. apparently there’s a good magic system and some character development. I’ve heard nothing of good things about this one!

- The Forsaken Sovereign on Webnovel, TBR. LOVECRAFTIAN THEMES AND ELDRITCH GODS I AM SO EXCITED. 

(feel free to forum message me to gush about any of these novels!) <<less

I will only include the one's that made me stick through thick and thin. Mostly no romance, if it's harem then you should expect that the MC is just using them for greater benefits. I don't like DUmb characters so you should also expect that most of the Male leads here or Female leads are smart or sharp. half of my list also include survival and teaches you some bitter reality lesson unlike those cliche novels that makes you scared or dream about nonsense fantasy stuffs.... more>>

I JUST RANDOMLY PLACE THE NOVELS AND I WON'T RANK IT. ( for me, they're all the best on their own way and techniques) 

[disclaimer: as I said, ‘mostly’ no romance- what I meant is in the survival stories, and if the protagonist is a man. But if the protagonist is a girl, they’ll be really romance. Book like that (top tier books with Female Mc w/ no romance) are very rare. I myself having some troubles finding them.] <<less

Novels which I've enjoyed or I plan to read. ... more>>

I care a lot about characters, plot and overall translation quality/writing so some of these should look interesting to any picky reader out there like myself.

They're all from a variety of genres.

Not in any order. 
Open to recommendations :) <<less

I have a hard time reading novels, as I say in all my reviews lol. I really love to read, but I can't seem to... more>> find the right ones easily. So here are some that I could read with ease, without feeling the need to drop. <<less

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Edit: I will no longer update this list. For more recommendations, please refer to my other list “golden collection”... more>>

Books I found  good enough to be called fantastic. Warning: Some books may have triggering/disturbing content. Please read the tags before reading. 

In no specific order. Ratings: 1-6 <<less

Brief description of my recommended list will be that it's mostly randomized in genre and not in ranking. I prefer to read action, adventure and camaraderie. I read BL but you'll also be able to see het pairs. I will diligently try to make small comments on the novels that I will put in here as well as my status and how many times i drop and reread the series until completion or latest update.... more>>

Also, the ADHD mention is Undiagnosed but possible cause my attention span is really bad...

Some terminologies I might use while making small comments (will be updated if needed to be):

-FuwaFuwa = stories that have elements, characters, or pairing that are lighthearted or I cheer for them while I read them.

- LR = "Last Read" chapter. |  #oHT = "# of head turn or how many times I actually dropped this to read another story"  |  TiTtR = "Time it Took to Read" |  #oRR = "# of ReReads" 

This list won't be for you if you're looking for wuxia and xianxia. Mostly cause my head can't grasp the terminologies rather than disliking the plot. There would be stories that brush upon them but none that focuses on them so far. <<less

For the bestest novels I've read, almost all are comedy, and many are bl

- No harem ... more>>

- MC is not an idiot

- Big plus for bromance (or just wholesome friendship in general that makes sense)  <<less

it's exactly as the list name says. the bromance/close friends (who are coincidentally pretty strong/good-looking) is prominent in these novels and romance is non-existent or... more>> at a minimum (i'll mention it if otherwise). these are largely strong mc in some manner and action-y (there's always some aim imo) <<less

Novels I need to read !!! ... more>>

This list is made up of completed and non-completed novels. <<less

I'll get to these... at some point.

Action-packed and plot-heavy novels. No romance.... more>>

Love is temporary, EXP is eternal. <<less

all the decent novels i've read that don't fall (entirely) into the fluff list

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