Fav (plot/overall) (any pairings)

Fav (plot/overall) (any pairings)
For personal reference/rereading. Mostly plot focus & serious favs, with solid writing/characterisations/overarching plot. Any pairings (mostly bl/het), but not many harem/stallion novels. Mostly CN/KR novels for dialogue. Roughly sorted, many genres, no/low spoilers.

I prefer wuxia over xianxia, tragedy over fluff, etc. Some less serious/non-plot-focused novels included/marked for their definitive traits.
Personal genre/trait favs: comedy, tragedy, historical, mystery, psychological, scifi, realistic, mature, bittersweet, wuxia, delinquents, strategies/war, empire building, betrayal, food.  
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greenHills
Created: Jul 1st, 2022, Updated: Dec 17th, 2023
Created Jul 1st, 2022
Updated Dec 17th, 2023
CN (4.5)
492 Chapters Every 7.1 Day(s) 8387 Readers 90 Reviews 04-28-2024
I thought this would be really tacky because of the name, but it's surprisingly good. Elaborate plot, reasonably readable via MTL. Currently at around ch430. MC is much more enjoyable than all the fluffy doe-eyed shous in unlimited flow BL. Respectably crazed. ... more>>
CN (4.2)
130 Chapters Every 36.5 Day(s) 1994 Readers 40 Reviews 11-20-2022
non plot/writing quality pick: food, unique cultivation system. the gold finger is way too OP, but it's a fun junkfood read with an unconventional cooking... more>>
CN (4.7)
113 Chapters Every 532.1 Day(s) 13497 Readers 358 Reviews 02-06-2019
got baited into reading this and it was great! except the part where this is the first book out of a series and the second one isn't even out yet. haha. lol. I am not laughing.... more>>
CN (3.7)
149 Chapters Every 26.7 Day(s) 1908 Readers 15 Reviews 02-08-2024
4.5 for biopharma. Lab research wet dream. Magical otherworldly fantasy novel for grad students trying to get published and praying to Nature and Cell. This is not a romance novel. This is not a romance novel. Important things should be said twice. Don't read if looking for romance or picky about nationalism. This is like reading about a blissful or/gy with your thesis and a research grant. ... more>>
CN (4.1)
1 Chapters Every 2000 Day(s) 732 Readers 5 Reviews 09-20-2006
non plot/writing quality pick: Xiao Ao Jiang Hu is a classic within its genre. hesitated to put it on this list since I don't actually like it that much personally, but it's interesting. I added Golden Stage, though, which also isn't a top fav of mine, so I might as well. I think xiao ao is worth a read, but mildly disappointing overall; some of the plot threads come to mediocre resolutions, and it might be relatively tiring if you've already read a lot of wuxia or xianxia. There are some tropes within it that I assume were much fresher at the time, so it's better to read with less genre experience. for a better... more>>
CN (4.6)
11 Chapters Every 56.9 Day(s) 1045 Readers 14 Reviews 05-03-2024
CN (4.3)
251 Chapters Every 9.7 Day(s) 1037 Readers 10 Reviews 04-12-2024
Ignore the plot summary. Ignore the title. I'm serious, ignore all of that, it's not the petty dogblood family drama novel it advertises itself as.... more>>
CN (4.6)
214 Chapters Every 24.9 Day(s) 8320 Readers 52 Reviews 09-10-2023
Poyun (this) is better than the sequel tbh(Tunhai) 
CN (4.8)
191 Chapters Every 64.1 Day(s) 12270 Readers 239 Reviews 10-21-2021
CN (4.4)
CN (3.9)
496 Chapters Every 1.1 Day(s) 645 Readers 12 Reviews 04-29-2024
Completed. Near 5. Not your average palace intrigue struggle. Not "black-bellied MC faceslaps braindead harem and falls in true love with the Emperor" either, because... more>>
CN (4.2)
260 Chapters Every 1.3 Day(s) 1389 Readers 10 Reviews 05-06-2024
4.4 ish. this is a supernatural horror + taoism novel very thinly disguised as an entertainment-circle system rebirth novel. my main issue is pacing/exposition dumping;... more>>
CN (4.1)
60 Chapters Every 10.7 Day(s) 610 Readers 5 Reviews 11-29-2023
semi-plot pick: the individual arc plots are actually pretty decent, but the overall plot is like...lol, whatever, kind of. basically, it's 10+ farming novels wrapped... more>>
CN (4.4)
270 Chapters Every 4.1 Day(s) 1773 Readers 23 Reviews 03-14-2024
CN (4.5)
57 Chapters Every 74.2 Day(s) 2502 Readers 34 Reviews 06-22-2022
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Comments (8)
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  1. warspite
    warspite· Sep 25, 2022 01:33 PM
    I know some of your recommended novels and they are all gold! I'm so happy that I saw your list! Another bunch of novels to spend my time for!
    Reply · 1 Like · ·
  2. sibyl97
    sibyl97· Jul 31, 2022 07:09 AM

    BL is not my favorite genre nor romance in general clear.png but tbh u have solid recommendations here, good taste clear.png

    I just finished ‘I’ve transmigrated into this movie before’. Very good clear.png , do u have recommendation of something similar, if possible not so romance (sub plot is ok but not main plot). I like that this story has great character development, rich in emotional scenes, great plot twists!

    Reply · 1 Like · ·
    • greenHills
      greenHills· Author · Jul 31, 2022 10:39 AM

      Thank you! Romance isn't a priority when I'm searching for novels, either -- although I do like some of them, I'm generally ambivalent about the genre itself.

      To be honest, I'd really like to find something similar to ITITMB too, hahaha...especially if it's also mystery/horror/etc. Unfortunately, I haven't really got anything, and most of the unlimited flow/quick transmigration novels I've read are BL. Still, here are some recs that fit a few (if not all) of the conditions you're looking for, perhaps? They're not that similar to ITITMB overall, merely on a few points here and there, but nonetheless. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

      "Low IQ Supporting Female, Waiting for Death Online" has some decently emotional scenes, some twists & developments with the overarching plot, and while there's some one-sided affection from the various male characters towards the FL, the FL never develops feelings and consistently makes an effort to be a villain. The "real ML" (if any) shows up at the last chapter for a couple of paragraphs, and that's it. However, it's not horror or thriller, and the character development isn't nearly as good.

      "I Was Admitted To The Villain School" has some very neat twists towards the middle-end, although most of the novel is less serious and more comedic. There's some romance, but I think comedy takes priority. 

      And two novels I haven't read yet: "The Chronicle of the Oriole Island", which is a rather short, apparently well-written mystery that is allegedly romance-free, and "A Hint of Spring" is another mystery/crime novel that's apparently low on romance.

      Reply · 1 Like · ·
    • sibyl97
      sibyl97· Jul 31, 2022 06:11 PM

      @evileye23 thanks for the recommendations! I just finished reading apocalypse lord and came back to the list to read more from your recommendation list clear.png

      I already read the villain school one but I’ll check out the others. Tbh I was really surprised when I found ITITMB, that was a real hidden gem. I think the title doesn’t do the work justice clear.png, it sounded like a second rate novel title clear.png but it was definitely a masterpiece *chef’s kiss*

      Reply · 1 Like · ·
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    • greenHills
      greenHills· Author · Jul 31, 2022 07:53 PM

      @sibyl97 Np, hope there's something that's to your taste! Happy reading.

      I totally agree lol, it has one of those really generic and rather lame names that made me expect an extra cliché B tier novel, but it's actually really good (altho I didn't like the ending so much). clear.pngclear.png

      Reply · ·
  3. Alex Woods
    Alex Woods· Jul 20, 2022 11:13 AM
    All i see is yaoi
    Reply · ·
    • greenHills
      greenHills· Author · Jul 20, 2022 11:35 AM

      Not to underestimate your undoubtedly profound degree of literacy, but there's an "all pairings" note in the title of this list, as well as the "mainly BL/het" note in the description. 

      One would hope that you, a literate person on a site for aggregating novel information, would know to read a list's title and basic description before clicking on it. 

      Of course, I'll be assuming the best of you. As such, thank you for agreeing with my choices. I hope you enjoy my novel recommendations, especially the BL ones, which seem like your favourites, since your comment is so focused on them (despite the variety of other novels on my list).

      Since you love BL so much, if you're looking for more BL recommendations, feel free to let me know.clear.png

      Reply · ·
    • greenHills
      greenHills· Author · Jul 20, 2022 12:19 PM

      Also, if you're looking for "het male MC x solo FL", there are already specifically harem-free MC lists. The ones I've read tend to not have any substantial romance, but romance isn't nearly my favourite genre, and seeing as this is a list of my favourites, it's not all that personally relevant. 

      As for actually romantic ones, idk, good luck, gotta be somewhere out there. Unfortunately, A Harem Of Cardboard Beauties is a lot more popular with straight male MCs compared to 1 on 1 romance and a FL with personality. 

      Edit: come to think of it, here's a non-BL rec. The most recent work I've read with decent writing, engaging plot, and a male primary MC that ends up with a girlfriend at the end is Snow Crash. 

      (No harems! Not BL! Girlfriend endgame for our charming male MC! Perfect for the picky reader ignoring others' list criteria!) 

      (The next sexy romantic novel with a male MC on my to-read list is Dream of the Red Chamber. Not BL! I've even heard that it's full of fascinating tales of love, life, and romance.) 

      Reply · ·