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All Novels I've Read Sorted By Rating
All Novels I've Read Sorted By Rating
I have made a review and rating for every novel I've read on novelupdates. Since they don't have the user friendly capability of sorting a user's read list by rank I made one for myself ordered by best/enjoyed the most to least. The ranking within the same number of stars may not be right because it is usually from different genres, too different to compare with each other haha. All in one spot. The bottom of the list that are my lower rated and unranked/dropped novels, I have moved to a new list "All Novels I've Read Sorted By Rating (3 Stars & Below + Dropped)" due to a list only having a max of 100. The other weaker alternative is the Reviews section in my profile but it can only be sorted by likes and date of review not by rank. The reason I want to put my rating and reviews straight in the list is because you can't search for a specific user's review in the novel page if there are too many reviews. You will have to search one by one. Its easier to straight up see why I put the novel in a particular list plus my review in the list itself. Sigh, novelupdates is really not user friendly.
PS: I've made another list to put all the novels I've read rated 3 Stars and below and all the dropped novels because this list is getting long. In the future, this will be basically my Top 100 list. The others will be from ranked 101 onwards.
PS: I've made another list to put all the novels I've read rated 3 Stars and below and all the dropped novels because this list is getting long. In the future, this will be basically my Top 100 list. The others will be from ranked 101 onwards.
Poor to RichAncient TimesKingdom BuildingDoting Love InterestsModern KnowledgeModern DayCookingTransmigrationBusiness ManagementFarming
68 Followers
Created: Sep 21st, 2022, Updated: Apr 28th, 2024
Created Sep 21st, 2022
Updated Apr 28th, 2024
CN (4.5)
57 Chapters Every 74.1 Day(s) 2503 Readers 34 Reviews 06-22-2022
3.7 Stars... more>>
"2nd Chance, Poor to Rich, Business Management, all my favourite things!. It seems to really dive into investing which is novel considering how most web novels treat investments and picking stocks and choosing movies to invest in because of future knowledge and that's it. I've been eyeing Epiphanies of Rebirth becuse of the same tropes and this was one of the reccomendations"
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Writing/Translation: 2.2/5
The translated parts from Miss Lemon’s MTL I read were quite good. All the investment jargon was clear enough. There were no errors that I remember.
The rest I read in MTL using the default browser translation for Google and Safari. Reading only one version of MTL was kinda bad but if I read two at the same time, it's quite readable. I understood the gist of what was happening. All the investment stuff got more dry and maybe a good translation might have helped in that department but I don't think it would have had much effect.
Pacing: 3.5/5
Hmm, the investing were quite detailed. But after the first setup and establishment of initial funds, the start of the main big business and the rest got quite dry and had a lot of telling what was going on. Yes, there are also a lot of show-not-tell parts but still a lot of info dumps haha.
Plot: 4/5
I think people who love this kind of stuff would adore this story. This is a pure power fantasy for someone who has future knowledge and is ambitious enough to fight on the big stage for it. For me, I am not really interested in such things haha. So while objectively, this type of trope is good but I personally didn't enjoy it that much.
Romance: 4/5
The romance is pretty slow haha. Only in the last fourth of the story did it really gain traction. I didn't mind it. It's better than the normal seme uke teenaged fantasy BL romance lol. The two is a bit more realistic or mature?
Setting/Worldbuilding: 4.9/5
The world setting includes the US and various provinces of China. And in each there are different industries and businesses the MC is doing so the world is definitely bigger in this story. Also, lots of real-world history is being thrown around for that time period.
Characters: 4/5
The characters are pretty good. There are a lot of characters here.
Personal Enjoyment: 3.3/5
Not really a fan of these huge, mind-boggling amounts of money being thrown around. Not relatable anymore for me haha.
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CN (4.4)
101 Chapters Every 47.4 Day(s) 4452 Readers 99 Reviews 05-31-2022
3.7 Stars... more>>
Overall
Hmmmm, while I admire and like the complexity of the emotions and what seems to be a commentary on the cycle of revenge and that the writing has quality, I rate stories based on how much I enjoyed it haha. So... I didn't really enjoy my time here. The people and the story were kind of miserable, which I suppose is expected since this is a revenge story. But all the secrets left behind in the past that caused the Mc’s revenge are also ugh. And now, at the end, who should be the target of the revenge actually? That part, I feel like the author could have done better to make a proper resolution for the MC’s feelings then. There wasn't really a conclusion to his feelings of revenge after he found out all the secrets. I think one big reason why I didn't like it is because I wanted a good rebirth revenge plot with satisfying face slapping against villains that are easy to hate. But this one, a major part of the story is finding layers of the past that put into question the target of the revenge. Here, it seems that the bad guys kinda have some reason to be so and the innocent wronged martyr may not be completely the paragon of goodness as remembered.
Writing/Translation
The translation I read is from Xiao YunYun Translations. The translation is quite good. No errors that I rmb. And the sentence structure feels like it was written in English instead of those awkward translated sentences.
Pacing
I felt the time skip abroad at the beginning was too sudden. And it feels unnecessary? 5 years time skip abroad right after he was reborn. It kinda felt like that was just there so the author could say this is why the MC has so much money to get his revenge. Because he did illegal betting that the author doesn't want to detail.
Plot
We start at age 18 as the day the MC was reborn, time skip 5 years abroad, then the MC launches his slow revenge on his family that lasts 6 months ish. Along the way, his cousin, the ML, starts falling for him. The climax is the real evil mastermind accomplishing his grand finale.
Themes/What Story Tried to Achieve
It does serve the revenge part well. The villains, everything really got torn down lol. But it wasn't really satisfying because there were so many doubts about who exactly was in the complete wrong. When it was like generational revenge lol.
The romance part was nice actually. I could really feel that the ML loves the MC. Not the MC side much though haha. Lots of kinda explicit smut fyi. And of course, the in*est tag.
Characters
The MC is surprisingly the shou lol. I didn't realise that because he was so full of hatred towards his family all the time haha. I think he was fine, a normal guy if someone else went through what he went through. One thing I found annoying though, is how many other characters have crushes on the MC. Because we don't really follow up on the crushes. They just seemed to be mentioned a lot but it doesn't add anything to the story so I don't get why the author added them in. The ML is a pretty nice person. He is the source of a lot of good feelings in this story because he is a good person and cares about his family, friends and the MC. Quite doting too.
The other fleshed-out characters are the bad guys, the Mc’s family. Most of the story is the drama about them and also between them. This part was not bad, I liked the exploration of their intentions, thoughts and feelings.
However, the rest of the side characters are kinda missing some parts. For example, the MC’s two friends. I don't know some things like who is Lao K exactly and when did they meet? There was no explanation for his existence or about him. Why does the MC treat him so warmly? I thought all the friends before were from the bad crowd and we don't know if he met LaoK abroad? And we should just assume this spiky, suspicious, revenge-oriented MC is just best friends with this random person abroad? We get so much info on the family but barely anything on this side kick. Next best friend from his past life. The author made him have feelings for the MC. I honestly don't understand what his purpose is in the story. As the best friend, the MC doesn't want to drag him into revenge so he alienated him that way, so there was no deep friendship that I could feel. Then, the author made him have feelings for the MC but the author doesn't do anything with it. There was no misunderstanding or conflict about it for the main CP so what was the point of it? I feel like there would be no difference in the story if you took him out.
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CN (4.1)
124 Chapters Every 28.7 Day(s) 4573 Readers 56 Reviews 06-07-2023
3.7 Stars... more>>
Writing/Translation: 3.8/5
The translation I read is from Konila. Just small harmless errors like a couple of wrong pronouns and names but it only happened like twice or something. My only issue is that sometimes in the beginning, I didn't really understand a sentence. It got way better after awhile.
Pacing: 4/5
The pacing was chill and even the entire way really.
Plot: 3.7/5
It was good to provide this chill farmer lifestyle. The con is that there weren't really many ups and downs haha. Just two people working hard in their own lives to make up for not having a good life previously. This isn't perfect, though. As I can't quite get a solid handle on all their personalities, goals or motives. If you read it, you'll get it. The other characters kind of feel meandering. I can't really understand if they are bad, if they are good, what do they actually want and stuff. Ambiguous and a bit wavy. For example, the MC’s relationship with Mrs. Zhou. I can't get if she likes her, finds her meh or what. Mrs. Zhou too. Is she a weak-willed person to her four sons since they all keep going against her to marry? But then she was super cool when dealing with the separation and was so fair. And then, at the end, our couple kind of broke things off with her or at least wasn't as close as before. All the interactions between our couple and other people feel so up and down lol. But weirdly, I still get the chill slice of life vibe throughout the entire story.
For the money-making part, it isn't the best, despite what everyone is saying. This is because our MC didn't state any plans she has. So whenever they do something money-making-wise, it just feels like going with the flow. So there isn't that satisfying catharsis in buying more assets or making more money. Because there isn't any buildup. But this is still that poor-to-rich rural area type of story and the chill bibes are definitely there. The fact that it is fully translated definitely helps.
Romance: 3.5/5
The romance is sweet when it's there. At the beginning and first half, we don't really understand the ML’s personality. Is he the stoic type? Feeling inferior type? But he's unexpectedly a bit playful. The only con is that we don't get much romance since they kind of act like an old couple who likes to do things together in peace. Which I admit I do appreciate because normally, the couples in CN novels are very cringey to me.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 4/5
Live the vibe very mych.
Characters:3/5
I like that there are so many characters. But I don't like that they are so hard to pin down lol. An argument can be made to say that this is life and people are not static or whatever but I’m here to enjoy reading and it's hard to know if I should root for a character or not when they are so wishy-washy
Personal Enjoyment: 3.9/5
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KR (4.2)
20 Chapters Every 59.3 Day(s) 3140 Readers 58 Reviews 05-03-2022
3.7 Stars... more>>
Writing/Translation
The translation I read is from Wuxiaworld. There were hardly any grammar or spelling errors so I would consider the translation to be pretty good. The only con is that, maybe due to it being a translation, the sentences can get a little bit awkward and there were some parts where I did not understand why something happened or why the character reacted that way. The translation felt a little describy, a bit stiff. But overall, it's better than most other translations.
Pacing
There were some parts that were a little slow and boring to read, basically some of the setup for the new arcs. Also a bit when the MC started, Idk, philosophising? About his feelings. It felt a bit off to me, not sure why. The prologue and the endish of the story were weak.
Plot
The beginning and the setup of the 999 lives chapter were truly bad. I almost dropped the story but I hung on because of some other reviewer's comments. It felt a little rambling, one movie after another and then, kinda stopped. I honestly didn't quite get the direction the story was going, is it a face-slapping thing? Slice-of-life? An underdog becoming a god? It felt like it could have been tighter. I also felt like the ending was a little rushed and had lots of dangling threads like the biological father and grandparents. From the buildup of them it felt weird that there was no resolution or interaction between the MC and them. I was truly just waiting in glee to see how they were going to be handled but nothing came of it. I also thought there would be more involvement from the Wish Baragi in the second half of the story after they took up so much space in the first half. I wanted it to continue.
Themes/What Story Tried to Achieve
I think my slight confusion/dissatisfaction about the plot above is because I wasn't sure what the main themes of the story were. Is this a face-slapping where the MC will ruthlessly beat down everyone in a satisfying way? A redemption arc based on the prologue? Family themed? Slice-of-life? To resolve things with his past life's descendants? To accept his past life as himself? It felt like a mixture of many things and in the end, didn't quite hit any of them as satisfactorily as it could. This is also mostly affected by the rushed ending. Maybe if we were shown more until the big finale ending or something, this area might have been higher.
Characters
The characters definitely feel more real, aren't cardboard cutouts, more three-dimensional than other Chinese celebrity-themed light novels for example. I like the relationships the MC has with his family and new friends. The MC himself is okay for me although I wish we could have delved into his head more. We really only get like one line about his thoughts until we get to the action/meat of the current arc where the story will then detail what is going on in a "this is what is happening" manner. So I don't feel as close to him as I would like to be.
Overall Comments
It was a nice time waster, I enjoyed most of it and do not regret reading it. Only wish the ending felt more satisfying.
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CN (4.1)
304 Chapters Every 40.9 Day(s) 2749 Readers 23 Reviews 09-14-2022
3.7 Stars - On Hold: C116... more>>
I enjoyed it enough as a time killer but I feel a bit like I'm losing interest now. So I'm putting it on hold for a little bit. Normally, there is faceslapping to pull me in but here there isn't. There are lots of heartwarming outings or banquets but they are too short and don't happen often enough. And I feel like the meaningful cultivation of feelings seemed to happen at the beginning ish and no more after that.
Translation/Writing
The translation I read is by A Wandering Potato. At the beginning, the translation was above average but had some typos. Maybe it was because I was still trying to wrap my head around the world, I couldn't understand some of the sentences. But whether I have learnt enough about the world, I got used to it or the translation just got much better, probably all of it, the errors don't appear anymore. The flow is good, and the humour was presented effectively.
Plot
Basically, the MC, as the newly transmigrated Demon King, develops his undeveloped demon realm and neutralises the humans who were the manpower that defeated his people by using human culture to turn them into his realm's fans. After the setup at the beginning, we get movie after movie, food after food, and entertainment after entertainment projects from the MC in between which he restructures and develops the demon world to align with his goals.
Pacing
The first few things he did felt impactful and novel but after that, it felt like the highs and lows felt the same intensity. So it felt a bit slow or like nothing much was really happening. Even though he was clearly very busy. Maybe it was a bit repetitive.
Themes/What Story Tried to Achieve
This is very much a kingdom building story but we mostly focus on the business side of creating and spreading Earth's greatest hits to the human realm. At least up to the part I've read. In between the MC is developing his realm too but he needs to raise money to pay off his debts.
at the same time haha. This part is very detailed and quite interesting. I had read/watched a lot of the things the MC was redoing so it was a nice nostalgia trip and also it felt super relatable to the MC's and the other humans' reactions to the entertainment. For the ones I haven't watched/read, it was interesting to read about something new that seems to be popular in real life too. And the level of detail the business endeavours have is quite satisfactory for me, quite detailed! I definitely loved that. The MC also has all kinds of different business endeavours going on, which is very interesting to read about. The kingdom building/business part is definitely the main point of the story.
This story is quite funny! There's basically no drama or faceslapping. Any faceslapping plot was easily defeated and turned into an opportunity for humour and it is actually funny haha Or just easily turned into a fan. Humour is subjective but it definitely landed for me. I laughed countless times at the interactions of the MC and his followers lolol.
Characters
The MC. My only problem with him is how quickly he accepted his role as the Demon King and accepted the burden/responsibility of the Demon Realm and its people into his heart. At the beginning, he was super scared of their appearances and how they were gonna sell his corpse to pay off the realm's debt. Then he has to find food that is palatable and not gross. And do this among strangers, in a foreign land with people who might kill him if he acts too ooc. This was kinda shown at the beginning. Then, a few chapters later, when there was no reason given for him to care so much for the demons because he didn't really spend much time with any of them except his servant, he basically throws himself into his role. There were some sentences that implied he was being busy so he didn't have time to miss his old world but this happened many, many chapters later. Also, we don't get much info on his specific circumstances in his old life which might have made me more invested in him. Aside from that, I find him to be a hard worker, a funny smartass (haha), and a pleasant person to read from.He's funny lol.
The supporting characters. They are all varied, quite unique and have so many different lives and circumstances. And they are all likeable and the followers are all adorable hahaha Cute. It's just that we don't follow the followers who eagerly support the MC in detail. The time they take up is rare compared to other business activities. They basically appear often but shallowly. They are my favourite interactions with the MC though because they are so funny with him haha.
The human collaborators appear more often and go through changes more frequently. We also get the POVs a lot more but they are a bit more serious and have their own thoughts on what they are doing. It's not for the MC really so it's not as much of an investment for me to read about it.
As for the ML..., the beginning was kinda interesting and he has a personality... We get his past and his beliefs and thoughts which I liked. Then, after he turns into a demon, he kinda appears rarely, and when he does, it's just some short banter and nothing really happens. Also, his cute naively serious side is gone and he kinda becomes a little boring. It's like we won't get any new development from him anymore since he alrd reached his peak of character development.
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CN (4.3)
121 Chapters Every 4.8 Day(s) 3555 Readers 46 Reviews 03-25-2024
3.69 Stars... more>>
Date Read: 20/04/2024
Personal Enjoyment: 3.7/5
I enjoyed the first half-ish until the MC had to stop proactively making money for fear of being reported. After that, it wasn’t bad by any means, just not as enjoyable. I like the beginning translators because they included lots of pictures of the food. It increased the homey vibes. But the last translator didn’t do that, unfortunately. There isn’t much poor-to-rich progression sadly. And the improve quality of life progression was a lot stronger at the beginning but stopped after she moved to the military base.
I enjoyed the romance at the beginning but after the ML’s leg healed, well, he kinda just became a typical military ML lol. After they got married, the romance wasn’t interesting anymore so all the bonding and onscreen romance stuff I skimmed. I’m just not a huge fan of light novel romance so it’s probably just my subjective opinion here. I also wasn’t a fan of the whole have s*x until the FL is in a sad condition lol. The FL’s kids were super cute though!
Short Summary: FL dies and transmigrates into the 70’s. She has a system cheat to be able to eventually buy the items to heal the ML’s disabled legs. She needs to earn points through cooking to do so. The whole story is about her cooking, trying to get close to catch the ML, getting married and moving to the army base and then living her life quietly there. Along the way, dealing with troublesome in-laws and super annoying neighbours.
Plot: 3.5/5
The main objective is for the FL to bring good luck to the ML. And they were done by her cooking and giving chances for the ML’s family to make some money. And also her having dreams of the ML's bad luck so she could change the situation. In the rural area, I loved her actions of finding ways to get the ML to have an impression of her and all the heartwarming cooking scenes. She made money, she worked on getting the ML’s leg cured and the romantic development was mildly interesting because the ML re****** her. Didn’t read that before yet lol.
However, after she reached the army base, I felt like the progression feeling slowed a lot. The only extra thing she did was to get pregnant and make friends whose purpose wasn’t to bring good luck but just to make friends lol. It felt even, that she had some trouble maintaining the level of comfort she could have had in the rural area because there, she could sell things more openly.
A thing that was a major issue with this novel is how arbitrary, vague and unmentioned the prices of the things the FL made and sold were. When the prices were counted, the total of the things were definitely wrong. And then the rest of the time, we don’t know how much money anyone actually had. Like the MIL. There was this whole conflict regarding money and inheritance but we don’t know if the villains really do have a leg to stand on because we don’t know how much the MIL had on hand and how much of it was the new business. Then, near the end when the FL was throwing money left and right to purchase many big things and even mentioned that she was broke, but still managed to buy whatever felt so short and quick. Yeah, the author’s other Makeup Artist story had a far better poor-to-rich progression that felt logical and satisfying than this.
Hmmm, also, I am not a fan of how the story handled the antagonists. Which are majorly, the in-laws. They were fine at the beginning then it felt like the author kept making them more and more annoying. And the brothers. There was really no sign that they cared about the money. So when the MC moved to the army and the mother visited and the fourth brother said the other brothers just let the wives complain to the mum and stare at her money all day long felt odd.
Honestly, the FL was more the ignore them type. So there wasn’t any proper face-slapping. So the antagonists were free to be super annoying without the FL doing anything to vent those feelings. The big bad at the end too. We just kept having them being annoying, the FL giving them the cold shoulder or talking smack to them which weren’t that convincing for me until the next round. Then finally, the anxiety-inducing scenes happened and it wasn’t the FL to destroy them in the end. Kinda meh.
Writing/Translation: 3.79/5
The translation I read is from ISOhungry Translation from C1-C11. I liked it! 4.5/5! The translator did their research and put into things like pictures, extra info, links to the time period, the food, what modern food similar to the story looks like etc. I didn't notice any errors either.
From C12-C29, I read from Blanceboo. Not bad, it was more directly translated than previously but still full of delicious-looking food images. ⅘. From C30 onwards, I read from Moonlight Novel. 3.6/5. And the TL is okay, still pretty readable. Lots of odd translation errors. I would say 7-9% are errors. A few sentences have some spelling errors that made me pause to think of the correct word. Still better than MTL or Flying Lines. Unfortunately, they didn’t include any food pictures like the other translators which was a definite minus for me. And they also had some sentences that seemed to be missing the last few words and period.
Pacing: 3.6/5
I felt that the first half-ish was better but after moving to the army, it felt less exciting. Because she couldn’t sell things openly. And it was more to maintain their lifestyle.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.7/5
It's a generic 70’s rural setting. I think it could have been better if they had added more places and described them a lot more.
Characters: 3.8/5
I liked the characters. The FL is surprisingly forward and knows what she wants. And definitely went for it haha. Like one of the commentators said, we stan a shameless FL hahaha. Too bad she turned into those ugh my waist is sore, my legs are weak, and I overslept because of that villain tossing me every night girl.
The ML is kinda cute. A strong quiet soldier type that blushes his ear red lol. And he quickly becomes soft towards the FL after the obstacle is cleared from the relationship. He turned typical male lead after healing his leg though.
The side characters are okay too. I like the MIL haha. Such a good one. And the fourth brother is cute. I wish we had more of the FL roommates and friends. The antagonists were rather annoying lol.
Romance: 3.8/5
The romance is quite sweet and endearing. I found the FL insta liked very quickly but the ML took a bit longer which I like. They got together a bit after C20+. I am slightly annoyed that the author used the man is so vigorous in bed that the FL will have a sore waist insert FL being angry that this soreness is because of the man etc etc. I just don't get this trope. It just shows that the ML is super inconsiderate towards the FL and that he doesn't take care of the partner's feelings in bed. Why is this a good thing??? Even if it is normal to be sore, s*x is a two-person act through??? Ugh.
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CN (4.5)
98 Chapters Every 59 Day(s) 6460 Readers 75 Reviews 03-21-2022
3.67 Stars... more>>
Date Read: 11/4/2024
*Sorry for the maybe disjointed rambling. I thought I was going to drop the novel at C51 and write this review. Then, I kept rereading the reviews to see if it would get better or if there were more things later on. And decided to keep on reading. So I kinda tacked on my thoughts as to what I already wrote.
Short Summary: This is an ancient china political aristocratic slice of life story. The MC transmigrated when she was a baby but it's not important because she acts like just another character here. We follow the events around the aristocratic families from when she was 10, some mu*dering schemes successfully happened, she grows up, the ML insta likes her, more slice of life of her life, she becomes empress, some political scheming happens, more slice of life, answers of a lot of curious things are answered, the ML has his climactic scheme, the end.
Personal Enjoyment: 2/5
I disliked the first half. I kept almost dropping the story. It was kinda boring actually. The MC didn’t feel like an MC. She didn’t do anything. Half the time we spent with other characters instead of her. I wish she was the driving force of the story as the main character moving things along but nope. She was like the pampered princess where everything was done by everyone else. She has smarts and personality but she doesn’t use it most of the time. At least from where I am, halfway through the story. This story is like just telling what is happening. And the MC is just one of the characters of the story. There isn’t any goal the MC is working hard towards. She’s just going with the flow if it isn’t a problem.
Honestly, I keep swinging and missing with this author’s works. I did not like the majority of them. Even though they are all such highly rated books with everyone loving and praising them. I feel like I’m missing something. The only one I liked was “Don’t Discriminate Against Species”. “The Job of an Imperial Concubine” was okay, not sure if I liked the experience of reading it but I kept thinking about all the scheming and thinking going on. “More Than A Few Blessings” was also okay, did not meet my expectations of a pure work hard, poor to rich story but it was okay. I extremely disliked “To Be A Virtuous Wife”, hated every single character in it including the MC and ML and dropped it. Nothing seems to happen in “Very Happy” that I dropped it. Same with “Doing It Over Again”, the writing for so unemotional like this happened, the MC bought houses and got government recompensation. Where was the effort?? I couldn't sympathise or root for the MC because it was so distant and factual. I keep having pretty high expectations and every time, I was pretty disappointed except for like one novel.
But after the MC became empress, it felt like the story picked up and I kept reading till the end. It was engaging enough I didn't drop it in the end. Not sure if it removed how slow and passive the first half was though.
Plot: 3.9/5
My issue is at the beginning. I feel like everyone loved the MC instantly. She didn't do anything so it felt unearned and unsatisfying. All the rationalisations and reasons people did things for the MC were interesting and thoughtful to give her a solid foundation to live happily in this era.
But I feel it would be far more engaging if the MC actually did something to make them do it. Until now, I still don’t know much about the MC. Does she do anything? The story kept mentioning how all the antagonists to the Gu family and the MC would just fall on bad times and disappear. No idea if the MC did anything to make this happen or if she is just lucky as every single person kept mentioning. If she is lucky, well that is super boring. If she did do it, I wish the story would show it. It’s been 50 chapters already and we don’t see anything amazing that the MC did. The synopsis says this is a tyrant flower. Where is this tyrant??
Also, almost dropped the story at C51 because a woman got mol*sted by a guard from one of the subordinate countries. And everyone was so pretentiously, righteously outraged. Like they were so emotionally angry in public over it. But they do worse things in secret??? Like the deaths. It was likely someone schemed it. And the MC sure wasn't publicly angry about it. Finally. After the MC became Empress the story picked up. Before C51, the story was so slow.
Writing/Translation: 3.9/5
The translation I read is from Dreams of Jianghu. Very good, no issue at all. But the author's writing style. Hmm. I dislike how we only really get to know all the important things near the end instead of as the character does things. Because of this issue, I almost dropped the novel. This might be an author choice I suppose that I dislike.
Pacing: 3.5/5
The pacing was pretty slow for the first half. I find it boring because the MC is so boring. And we only keep getting snippets of all the other characters. It’s not like we are following them and here their deep thoughts or anything. So I’m not invested in anyone.
But after the MC became Empress, we started getting some answers to the questions and things started heating up. More clashes. More conflict. More drama.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 4.5/5
Very good. So complex with a lot of underneath the underneath. You are constantly thinking and wondering about all the character motivations. Very good for the political intrigue of this time era. The mystery is probably a big draw for the story. The details of everyone's thoughts on etiquette and behaviour and their meaning while doing everyday actions are great.
Characters: 4/5
Up to C51, the MC is painfully boring. Because she is so passive. She’s just happily living her life while all these events happen around her, not affecting her. It’s hard to grade this section because the side characters have such variety, their own goals and personalities. But the MC is kinda eh. I think the issue was the writing style. We only get to know more of the characters at the end.
After the MC joins the imperial family, finally things start happening. Plots are happening more frequently and the MC and ML actually start doing things on screen. In the epilogue, we have a chapter dedicated to the ML’s POV from when he was driving to the capitol for the first time. Then we get a sped-up version of his POV until the end of the story. I wish we had them early so I could get invested in him from the start though.
Romance: 3.9/5
The romance is meh. The ML had insta love with the MC from the very beginning so that was kind of dull. It was just a doting love interest thereafter. Kinda boring. No friction. No drama. It’s so perfect it is super dull. Where is the chemistry? There is no banter. Why do they even like each other? I can somewhat understand the MC because the ML treated her so nicely the entire time. But why did the ML like her?? Just because she looks adorable? How shallow for such a deep doting love.
Finally, at C52, we see his reasons for liking the MC. I feel it is too little too late but we did get his reasons. One of the cons of this author's writing. They like to explain things far far in the future. By then, a lot of readers would have stopped reading already.
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CN (4.6)
194 Chapters Every 3.3 Day(s) 7750 Readers 71 Reviews 05-04-2024
3.64 Stars... more>>
Writing/Translation: 4.1/5
For chapters 1-43.1 by Betwixted Translation, I rate as 5.
For chapters 43.2-48 by Pure Love Translation, I rate as 5.
The rest I read mtl using google and safari default translation on mobile. I rate as 2.4
Pacing: 3.7/5
The pacing at the beginning is a bit too quick. But I think that was just an intro arc to give the MC some hidden fame and accomplishment and also to introduce the people close to him. The business parts in the middle were fine but the ending felt a little bit lacklustre because we focused more on the bad end of the various villains that were handled by other forces because the MC didn't care about them anymore. It would have felt more engaging if the MC was the one who did it on page.
Plot: 3.7/5
The plot was objectively fine. All the loose end was tied anyway. I just didn't really feel it or really liked it because the money being made was alrd too big to relate to anymore lol. And I couldn't really get why the MC would want to continue making money when all his and his close people are alrd set for a rich life by then. Also, I couldn't really understand the two friends and their interests. They joined the internet course and one of them got really into it a bit later on. But then both aren't focused on internet stuff anymore.
Romance: 3.5/5
The romance is just there.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.6/5
It was a modern world so I am already somewhat familiar.
Characters: 3.5/5
The characters were okay I guess. I didn't really feel one way or the other.
Personal Enjoyment: 3.4/5
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CN (4.4)
118 Chapters Every 85.1 Day(s) 6842 Readers 85 Reviews 12-30-2020
3.64 Stars... more>>
Writing/Translation: 3.6/5
The translation I read is from Flavourtown. The translation is okay. It has that edited MTL flavour haha. Some sentences were hard to understand, especially at the beginning when you are trying to get into the world. Like the words were slightly wrong. The writing at the setup was also too perfunctory. It felt like many things were missing to help me understand the world. Once the MC starts raising the cubs, it gets way better because you just have to enjoy the cuteness and don't worry about the world lol. The more you read, the easier it is to understand the translation.
Pacing: 3.7/5
The beginning was pretty good. The MC made lots of effort to establish himself in this new world while making sure this baby dragon that is dependent on him can eat. I love the discovery of new cubs and exploring their personalities and relationships. But after they went to the capital, I kinda felt a bit more bored because there were more characters and cubs, so the focus got divided. We lose some of the deep exploration and intimacy. After that, all the renovations happened a bit too quickly and perfunctorily. There and gone haha.
Plot: 3.7/5
This is very cute and heartwarming. Also, have lots of smiles and laughs. The babies also had different personalities that kept their uniqueness throughout the novel which I am happy about. They also appear quite prominently in the story, which is good since this is a story about raising baby dragons haha. It is just after Rhein, (also a character I didn't much like because he's kinda boring. He likes to be idle, so nothing interesting there.), I didn't much care for the other cubs at all. Particularly the Duke. I don't know, I just didn't feel connected to or interested in her. She felt too capable, lol. It doesn't help that the focus didn't really explore in as much detail each individual cub as in the beginning.
Romance: 3.3/5
The romance, when it appeared, felt a bit out of the blue lol. I cannot quite see the signs that the MC liked the ML. It was too well concealed, lollol. So while it took awhile for any progress on the romance front, when they got together, it felt too sudden haha. I do like the ML though. He isn't a lovable idiot, a domineering alpha, a shy maiden or all those tropes that I’m tired about but he's an alpha crown prince that freely adores the cubs, has normal brain circuits but still has no attachments to his face as a crown prince haha. A nice attitude.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
The world is interesting. I like all the different dragons there are. But it wasn't fleshed out as much as I wanted.
Characters: 3.9/5
The characters are cute, haha. I love the first three dragon cubs. They were interesting, adorable and funny. The MC is also a nice person to follow around. The ML, as mentioned above, is refreshing. There was no the alpha male is king and great while the other partner was weak and submissive, so that was a nice change.
Personal Enjoyment: 3.8/5
It was an engaging enough read that I made myself finish it. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, which was to slowly step by step, build up the centre and adopt a bunch of abandoned orphans without the convenience of having rich parents donate expensive stuff to the centre haha.
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CN (4.1)
0 Chapters Every 953 Day(s) 1350 Readers 8 Reviews 09-25-2021
3.61 Stars... more>>
"- getting initially rich from interior decoration for individual and then commercial customers"
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Writing/Translation: 3.7/5
I read everything in MTL because the current translation is even more incomprehensible than Google Translate. The MTL is surprisingly pretty good. I didn't really feel like I missed anything.
Pacing: 3.7/5
It's fine except there are some parts before a time skip that the author kind of glazes over all the events. And the ending was also like this. The author lined up the ML’s achievements after college in one chapter so quickly lol.
Plot: 3.7/5
Well, I preferred the author's other poor to rich works because they really started from scratch and step by step, got so great that it was very satisfying. This one, yes, there is still the satisfying building up but the jump to making big bucks felt too early for me. Still interesting, though. I didn't like all the BL in this backwards era, oh noooo side because I feel it was just a token effort that I was not interested in. I would rather they just skipped it. Now that I think about it, I feel like the author could have made it much longer to give the few side characters a better deal. In their other works, they felt... just more to me haha.
Romance: 3.3/5
The romance, eh. I didn't like the whole, ML had long loved the MC and was a total simp for the MC from the start while the MC, for one reason or another, is mature and holds back kind of dynamic, this author likes to do. There isn't as much to like. My favourite dynamic is the one from the Stone Age Husband Raising Journal haha. Very refreshing.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.8/5
Pretty okay for this type of story.
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CN (4.3)
41 Chapters Every 32.7 Day(s) 2193 Readers 32 Reviews 12-03-2023
3.6 Stars... more>>
Writing/Translation: 3.5/5
I read all the existing translations up to C27 by Travis Translations and then moved to MTL with the default Google and Safari browser translations. The Google one was noticeably better than the Safari one, so I would only refer to the Safari one if something didn't make sense in the Google one. I still lost some details though.
Pacing: 3.8/5
The pacing was pretty smooth except at the end ish. When they started getting three-digit earnings, the detail and impact of any subsequent business idea weren't as powerful anymore. Mostly because for the main characters, they have already reached their peak lifestyle.
Plot: 3.5/5
A pretty standard plot only it stopped at the village level instead of going all the way to develop at the capital. It definitely fit the characters and their goals, though, so I'm quite happy about it. I always hated going to the capital to develop part because it always felt unnecessary and bloated. I enjoyed the beginning half more, though, because everything the characters did created a good ROI in improving their quality of life. Also, all the effort of the business-making can be read and felt. But after they started earning in three digits, meh, there wasn't much excitement left. So I do wish there was more detail in the business part.
Romance: 3.8/5
The romance is okay. There was a progression and the writing was also pretty good. No weird insta love or super typical uke and seme relationship. And the ML also had some development that doesn't usually appear in these types of stories. Also, no in your face disrespecting of the uke here. Not bad.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3/5
Just the typical ancient china ish world. We don't get much outside their land lol.
Characters: 3.8/5
The main characters are okay haha. They are pretty refreshingly gentle, actually. This is quite a peaceful and relaxing type of story and the main characters are a good cause for it. They are just living thteir lives quietly and happily. They aren't calculative, sharp or cunning. But they aren't pushovers.
Personal Enjoyment: 3.8/5
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CN (4.2)
64 Chapters Every 44.6 Day(s) 4280 Readers 87 Reviews 08-08-2022
3.6 Stars... more>>
Overall
I like most of it. It's just that some transitions are a little off like the timeskip from when the ML moved into high school when the book's plot finally starts. I wanted more family bonding before that happened to really cement the changes first. We skipped a year so quickly. Then, when the ML agreed to move to the Wei family and decided to bring the MC along, I wish there had been more discussion with the parts first. The author just made the MC think, huh, they really listened to the ML a lot these past few months and never showed the parents about the whole letting their son follow the ML across the country to live with another family who's super wealthy. It's like, too unrealistic. I also felt that the ML’s whole thing was a little inconsistent. After the injury, the text and the author and even the ML himself kept saying his emotions felt super dull and nonexistent after the injury. But when writing to him, he clearly has lots of emotions, like him being worried about how to make friends, how to talk to the MC, how to talk to people without ruining the mood, how to buy presents, etc. That definitely does not feel dull to me. Another thing is also that I don't like that the ML’s capability all came because of the head injury. Compared to if he just studied and got all these skills from his own hard work and natural talents, it would have been far more satisfying instead of getting a perfect memory after the injury. It feels cheap. I was looking forward to seeing how the MC would help the ML get success and have a good relationship with him because the ML really hated the guy before. In the end, the change in the ML’s heart came from the head injury changing his personality into a more rational, emotionless person. Because he's more rational after the injury, he is able to think through other people's actions properly. Too much of a shortcut and lazy writing.
But, I did enjoy myself. I finished the story after all. I also found the romance kinda cute eventually. The ML is kinda cute from the MC's point of view haha. My only issue is that the MC kept calling the ML Baby to his face before the romance and the ML didn't blink an eye. It is definitely weird for a 14-year-old kid to call a 15-year-old kid, both middle schoolers, "baby" in a slightly coquettish manner.
Writing/Translation
The translation I read is from Chrysanthemum Garden. The translation is pretty good.
Pacing
It was okay, just that the time skip after that part in middle school to high school when the book plot starts was unexpected. I do think we could have benefited more from more family bonding during that period of time. The way it switched to high school made it seem like the author didn't want to care about unnecessary stuff and wanted to move on to the book plot quickly. Then the high school plot happens. It was okay. But the ending was a little open-ended for my taste.
Plot
We follow our MC as he tries to win over the ML despite years of bullying him, helping the ML’s situation during middle school. We also follow the ML and what he thinks is going on and also how he earns money. Then, time skips to high school and we follow them as they enter the Wei family and deal with all the drama over there. Finally, the extra shows what they do at university. It's a bit open-ended though because that is the only extra about the future.
Themes
The execution of how the author handled the whole age thing is not smooth. MC is mentally older but he keeps acting like a normal middle school kid. Even his thinking. He doesn't seem that mature. It feels like a 14-year-old kid has got memories of his older self and then is worried about all the stuff and handles it as a kid. So, whenever he thinks that the ML is his Baby! His Baby has grown up! Let's buy his Baby cute animal pyjamas because he wants to see the Mal in them! This is really messing with me. It's a bit disturbing; either he's a 14-year-old kid calling his 15-year-old friend Baby, wanting to photograph and dress them in cutesy pyjamas, calling them Baby to his face, or it's a 20- or 30-year-old adult doing all that. Either way, it's too weird and a kiiinda pe*verted. I also don't understand why the ML didn't react in any way when the MC refered to him as "Baby" to his face. Before the injury, I would have thought he would be offended. After the injury, surely there would have been some questioning if the MC liked him or something. But nada.
As for how the ML slowly found positive things in life, well, I really love how he collected pictures that mean family and love for him on his laptop. That was just ngawww. I do wish he was more outspoken about the Shu family as his own family though. I would have liked some verbal confirmation, haha
The money-making was sadly unbelievable to me. I really wanted to enjoy it but learning programming in a week? Then learn to invest? The thing is, we don't get to see it grow from zero knowledge to tycoon in detail. It's just mentioned and it quickly grew so fast until he ML could afford a villa, no sweat. However, I do feel like the author used jargon effectively.
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CN (3.9)
127 Chapters Every 18.8 Day(s) 3913 Readers 38 Reviews 03-29-2024
3.59 Stars On-Hold: C822... more>>
"The first 150 chapters or so are really not convincing enough to say that it's a high quality BL. I was honestly annoyed most of the time. But once the royal arc starts, everything starts to go towards the right direction and suddenly everything becomes good. This story focuses on child care, farming, business, medicine, poison, economic development, palace drama, military training, war, weapons development, and so on. Writing is strong, although sometimes repetitive. Nevertheless, the novel is worth reading."
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Writing/Translation: 3.3/5
The translation I read is from Flying-Lines Guy Gone Bad. As expected of a Flying Lines TL, it isn't exactly good. I would say above MTL but way below good. There are wrong pronouns and wrong names that the translator keeps missing. So sometimes, especially when the author does this info dump in a dialogue by someone in the capital, I have no idea who's related to who or what their goals are until a good deal of chapters later when I get more familiar with the new people. I love farming, poor to rich, family-type stories, though, so this didn't faze me.
Pacing: 3.5/5
Most of the time, I thought it was fine. But sometimes, after some long events happen, the author will cram lots of stuff that the characters did in like a couple of paragraphs. It's a little jarring but it doesn't happen all that often. Also, some of the torture stuff the MC did felt a bit too fast to get results but eh.
Plot: 3.5/5
Hmm, how to say? I love the first half when the MC is just a villager and everything is purely about how to get rich for his family and close people. It was heartwarming and I love reading about all the stuff the MC does to get rich. I also liked reading how they designed a big home to live in, all that stuff. Then, well, they had to go to the capital and get thrown into all the political intrigue and all the face-slap scheming. There are still those setting up shops and stuff but it's like 10% of the story now. I still enjoyed it because the heartwarming stuff is still there. But I would still love more farming stuff than fighting lol.
Romance: 3.5/5
The romance is not bad for a BL novel haha. The main romance is surprisingly, the most “healthy”. The couple thinks about each other's views a lot when doing stuff and never force the other to do anything. The development of the romance is a bit iffy where it felt like for a while the MC was in wait-and-see mode and overnight, he suddenly decides that the ML is a good catch and he probably had long-developed feelings for the ML. Kinda out of the blue, I didn't see the building up of feelings but eh. Just roll with it. The other couples are kinda of weird, though. Like the two princes from the Xi kingdom and the MC’s disciple as well as the MC’s nephew and the shadow guard. Wow, kinda toxic relationships in there “side eyes” but eh, just roll with it “laughing face”.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
The setting is typical of ancient China, which I like. I learned a lot of new stuff, like medical things from the MC and stuff like salty land not growing anything XD. All that was fun haha. After we reach the capital, there is a lot less new knowledge and more about the different families and the other kingdom’s movements. Not much detailed world-building, I must say.
Characters: 3.7/5
The main character is definitely vibrant, has a strong personality, is smart and adores kids. So the adores kids part I really like because it adds a lot of family and heartwarmingness to the story. While I am not a fan of most of the Mc’s decisions in how to raise the kids logically (1000 eyes for an eye and ruling through fear than respect, and teaching this to the kids kind of just make them another arrogant bully, well, this isn't that type of fluffy rainbow of a story hahaha). The ML is a typical adoring strong male lead with a powerful background. The kiddos are all noiooce except the big brother when they were still at the village scale. Gosh, he was so annoying then. The whole nagging the MC thing about money got old pretty fast. Luckily, the author mostly stopped it at the capital part.
Personal Enjoyment: 4.1/5
I am enjoying myself quite a bit haha. Especially because it's so long. I completely forgot it wasn't completed after I started it, so now I have to wait hahaha
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CN (3.8)
6 Chapters Every 29.3 Day(s) 3430 Readers 41 Reviews 11-12-2023
3.56 Stars Dropped: C473... more>>
"I like that MC didn’t just instantly get a gold finger & leveled up from 1 to 10, or knew every single plot or happening/ incident. He continued to better & grow himself, while slowly falling in love with ML keeping in mind love is not the be all n end all. ML also offered MC an equal partnership, helping him to improve his martial arts, political power, personal growth etc - things did not end at just the grand wedding.I love that both a loving family (Lìñg) and the atypical nasty relatives family (Yuwen) was both portrayed for contrast, and I actually cared about the side character of the family.The plot was not repetitive and each incident was carefully resolved through smarts not from just depending on knowledge of the plot, and the characters actually needed to do work to resolve it which makes the resolution so much more satisfying.Overall, I recommend giving it a go as it’s a BL that’s satisfying on plot, political intrigue, a lil smut later on & sweetness of a healthy relationship."~0angel0
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Writing/Translation: 4/5
The translation I read is from Flying Lines Translation, DragonRider. The translation is pretty good except the translator loves choosing super fancy words instead of normal ones. Sometimes, they are so fancy, I don't understand them, not even with context clues. Lol. Otherwise, there are some minor grammar mistakes, like singular instead of plural. But it doesn't affect anything.
Pacing: 3.6/5
Seems okay.
Plot: 3.6/5
The revenge part was interesting. Then, in the capital, it was tense. I stopped at the war with other countries after the climax of the capital and I have zero interest haha. Because there isn't a personal stake anymore to carry me through the story. And the fighting isn't interesting for me.
Romance: 3.5/5
The romance is okay for me. I dislike that the MC keeps being super thin skinned and shy and the ML goes on regardless, but it's not too bad because, as the reader, I can feel that if the MC really didn't want it, the Ml would stop. I just prefer enthusiastic consent from all parties in my stories
not this no, but with coaxing, it's a yes type of trope.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.7/5
The setting is actually not bad compared to a lot of other CN novels. I'm just not really interested in it haha.
Characters: 3.5/5
The main characters are okay. They are distinct and different, with their own personas and stuff. And also have some mysteries to them. It's just that we don't spend that much time on them to differentiate themselves. Or it is taking so long to get to the mystery that I kinda forgot them lol.
Personal Enjoyment: 3/5
It was okay at first, but our MC kinda becomes someone from a small town and is not as experienced as the ML when the ML comes in. So the story made it so that he always has to defer to the ML most of the time. When he's not doing that, he's just learning to be stronger. But that is boring and not detailed, so kinda meh. There are some exciting killings that happen but they were kind of interesting only in the moment. After it was solved, I didn't really care about what happened. Then most of the stuff from the beginning got solved so I don't feel any drive anymore haha. Left the mysteries to explore but I don't feel any interest in that so
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CN (4.5)
113 Chapters Every 74.6 Day(s) 4340 Readers 84 Reviews 04-30-2021
3.5 Stars... more>>
Writing/Translation
I read the translation by Pure Love Translations, Serena Love. The writing is a bit off, especially in the beginning. The setup chapters are very inadequate. It's all so confusing with the intro of all these characters, adding in the transmigration (which isn't explained at all, like how did she die, did she get the original's memories, sometimes it seems like yes, sometimes no), all the complicated family structure and who is who in this structure, what their impressions or personalities are etc, too confusing. Lots of the sentences when a character is thinking/talking about another character of the same gender, I get so confused. Like a female character talking about another female character and saying her son dislikes something... I get confused about whose son it is, the person talking or the subject being talked about. However, after a while, either the translation got better or I got used to it, the flow of reading got much better. The explanation of how to cook the food and how it tasted were all mouthwatering. Although after a long while, reading it all got a bit tiresome and a bit samey I skimmed it. I think this is just my food taste and not the translation's fault though. For people who love spicy Chinese food will probably have no issues. The translator also included pictures and YouTube videos embedded into the website for easy imagination of the food, so that was great.
Plot
Since this is slice of life, there aren't really any high conflict points or anything. I personally would have loved more conflict and active conflict resolution by the MC and using food but this is not the case because the MC is just an oblivious foodie haha.
Themes/What Story Tried to Achieve
Honestly, this is just a love letter to good food and what cosiness/closeness + happiness it can bring so in that sense, it achieved it. The flow is a bit rough and there was too much emphasis on the food taste descriptions compared to how food can heal a family but overall it was pretty good. The only missing point for me is that I wish there were more thought by the MC to help the healing or happy side effects that happened with her food. As it is, it is just the MC happily cooking food for herself and other people, chancing on eating delicious food and by chance creating happy side effects. There wasn't any planning or meaningful action except helping her mother feel joy again. I also wish there were more direct impact on how these revolutionary recipes are improving everyone's lives instead of just how delicious they are compared to normal food. I love the relationships made between everyone and the food, from her family to female friends that you think would follow the cat and dog fighting but bonded over food.
Pacing
Since this is slice of life, the pacing is a bit slow, with almost every chapter showcasing how to cook food and what it tastes like. There can be up to 5 or more short paragraphs on how the food tastes so it can get a bit samey. Because we know the formula by then, food is made, delicious smells are smelt and the food taste delicious. This doesn't change at all lol.
Characters
The main couple are both idiots lol. You wouldn't think the ML is in the first like 22+ chapters but yup. The MC is just a normal person who really loves food. She isn't smart or calm or anything like that. The East Palace group can get a little bit annoying in trying to always get her food from the husband but are overall likeable. The MC's family relationship, from hostile strangers to close-knit family, is a wonderful journey to read about. I do wish we had more development with the young twins though. They were heavily prominent at the beginning but were edged out by their mother, Zhou-shi and Zu-shi later on.
Overall Comments
It was an enjoyable enough time spent reading, although it was a bit too slow for a time when there were lots of back-to-back chapters of just the MC making food and eating delicious food. What I really liked the most were the relationship development or how we get to know more about the female characters in the MC's family. They were the most interesting. The romance part was eh, better than average for a CN light novel but not particularly gripping for me. I skipped most of it because cn romances are usually kinda cringy for my taste. But it wasn't bad. You can tell they have chemistry in food and that they really do like each other. I also liked how it was like one-sided enemies to lovers and it was a slow-ish burn lol All this alrd made it not bad. I wish there were more of a main goal for the MC to strive for but I liked it.
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CN (4)
500 Chapters Every 85.8 Day(s) 3967 Readers 104 Reviews 10-30-2020
3.5 Stars... more>>
Overall
Honestly, the extra point 5 star is purely for Kangyao, I think my favourite ML ever? By the end, I was sticking through just to read more of their love. Too bad there really isn't much. But what we do get is so very sweet. The guy is absolutely adorable and all his thoughts and actions are ridiculously cute. The use of emojis with him in the text is brilliant in bringing to life his cuteness.
Okay, for everything else. The beginning was actually not bad, the premise was interesting. I love how it gave a chance for the ML to show off his good traits to us. It was pretty good until the showbiz part where I was completely uninterested. Because the MC did not work hard at all (at least not shown to us), has zero interest in showbiz and has no plans to be in this industry, I also have zero interest in it. I don't understand why the author put so much detail into it. Not the MC’s hard work to be in it (because she's automatically amazing in everything) but the industry details and every single netizen comment which are repetitive and boring.
I enjoyed the studying part at the beginning, where she had to work hard to improve her scores in her first year and part way through her second year. But after she got into the maths quiz thing, all the school-related stuff got boring and dry because we don't get what she is studying really. The author just throws around all the titles of what she is doing but I don't understand so it's just a blur. It's also a bit stale with the netizens commenting on every exam and stuff.
The cultivation part, I thought was an interesting thing to add to a second chance modern world story. If used properly, it could spice things up. But this was really only prominent at the beginning when the MC was worrying about her livelihood and her goals and how she, as a minor, could achieve it. After that, it was only at the end where there was zero detail and only a third-party narration on her life and achievements.
Basically, I agree with all the previous reviews.
Writing/Translation
The translation I read is from wordrain69. The flow is sometimes not smooth. It can feel like I missed a connection from one part to another. And sometimes it almost feels like the chapters are messed up? But none of the commenters for each chapter complained so maybe I just didn't get the sequence of events properly. Like the character left the room and in the next chapter, the character is in the room, like did I miss this character coming back in? Or was the character that went out a different one and I confused them? There are a few parts like this for me. Also, later on, there are lots of quick POV changes that seem like a side tangent to the current scene which is unnecessary and long. But generally, the translation is pretty understandable and consistent.
Pacing
It felt like it was getting more summed up near the 2nd half of the story. And from the last 100 chapters, you don't read from the Mc’s pov anymore. You hardly get her in the scene except as a paragraph. Everything else is just other people's pov commenting on her actions or her family worrying about her actions and then the results come out and the tune changes. It feels like the author has alrd shown the various scenes in the MC and the ML’s pov previously, so there is no need to show them again. Instead, the author decides to show random people's pov on the MC when that is the most boring part.
Plot
We follow 3 years of the MC’s high school, then very quickly into her university life until her death. The first year is quite engaging and detailed, the 2nd is similar with less interesting conflict, then the third year was kinda dry about all the competitions and side characters of other students I don't care about and the university where she sets up her laboratory... but it wasn't detailed like in her first year X (.
Themes/What Story Tried to Achieve
There are 3 main things the author focuses on. Cultivation as the MC’s goal in life, school as her professional legit way to achieve her goal and showbiz as the capital to achieve her goal. The cultivation is there but not really detailed after the start. But it is the driving force of all the MC’s decision-making. The school art at the beginning was also interesting because we followed her from almost zero. She has to do lots of stuff to get good. Sure, it got dry at the maths competitions but it's still low key nice to see her succeed. I only dislike that we get ohhh she has a photographic memory and high cultivation, so she absorbs everything like a sponge no matter what. The showbiz is where I really didn't like it because she was good at it all without seeming to need to work for it. Everything in this part is contributed to "luck" *rolls eyes* That's the most boring reason for me as the reader to read about. We don't even get a target amount of money she needs to save for anything. If that was given, I could at least get that feeling of accomplishment whenever any of her showbiz stuff earns money because it would mean that she is getting closer to her goal. Sigh...
Characters
The MC was interesting and made me sympathetic towards her at the beginning. Then, she got so OP later on that it was kinda stale. After awhile, we don't get her personal feelings anymore because everything gets narrated by side characters.
The ML, Kangyao, is the best thing in this story! He's cute and ridiculously sincere in the most shy teenager way. This was one of the very few web novels where I could really feel and root for the love! The other one I felt so much for the ML’s love was in Bai Su Mei of the 70s.
The side characters are actually distinct and aren't just there as roles needed for the story. They all have their own circumstances, opinions and worries. They feel real even if they don't have much screentime as the main characters. I like the couple's friends haha.
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CN (4.6)
1 Chapters Every 1901 Day(s) 7443 Readers 125 Reviews 01-25-2019
3.5 Stars: Dropped - C67... more>>
Personal Enjoyment/Overall: 3.5 Stars
Stopping at C67 because I am satisfied with where the story is at. The couple have admitted they really like each other to the other person and most of the important mysteries are solved. I'm not really interested in the rest haha.
Writing/Translation
The translation I read is from Perpetual Dreams. The translation is pretty good.
Plot
The plot is a mixture of the advancement of romance and political intrigue with lots of secrets. The first 30 ish chapters or so was kinda eh because there are so many hidden things. You read from a surface level perspective of what is happening right now. Then, we unravel the first few layers of the past for these 2 characters and start to get some interest in them. Then, from the 50th chapter onwards, oof, all the barriers break down and you completely understand their emotions, thoughts and feelings. I admit, it was so full of the feels and angst and love haha. From this point on, the view of the mad and reckless ML kinda changed completely. He's actually really doting and loves the MC like mad. I stopped at chapter 67 because I feel like the romance has reached its peak and I don't feel like it's needed to read to the end. It seems like the rest is political intrigue which I’m not really interested in since we kinda know the ML’s origins now and that was the main mystery. The couple is also together now, so no more suspense there haha. What's left are the Mc’s ongoing effects to get laid which isn't interesting.
Romance: 3.7/5
The romance is okay for me. I admit, the constant breaching of consent everywhere is finally getting to me at this point. At the beginning, I wasn't bothered because of the writing. It was humorous and kinda lighthearted and the definitely didn't not like it so I wasn't bothered. But there are so many throwaway and joking comments to give sleeping drugs wtc that it is starting to bother me. Consent is sexy.
Characters
The main characters are the most well developed. The side characters are kinda just there.
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CN (4.1)
99 Chapters Every 56.1 Day(s) 3805 Readers 39 Reviews 02-09-2022
3.5 Stars... more>>
Overall
It was okay, not what I really wanted but I did manage to finish the story. The story kind of has like two parts. The first and longer part deals with the ger ML’s life while the other part deals with the MC’s life. It was actually okay separately but in one piece, the vibe of both felt too clashing. This is a personal preference though. Basically, I just don't like the addition of the Jiang Hu to the rural village countryside slice of life, farming life. The vibes of both just don't fit together for me. From the synopsis, I thought that the MC left that life and was just going to stay in the countryside for the entire story and that the golden finger of the MC is his martial arts skills or something. But in the latter part of the story there is his past and the Jiang Hu people who interfered with his life.
Anyway, I think it was just a difference in my expectations and reality for me. The ML part in the first part of the story was full of super annoying relatives being ridiculously s*upid and entitled. And the ML was too trusting until he finally learnt his lesson and grew some spunk. Before that, the relatives had free reign. I was so infuriated at them that I skipped a lot of the scenes attacking the ML because I knew the faceslapping wouldn't happen so fast so no need to suffer myself to be angry yet. I find, though, that faceslapping is only satisfying when the person being bullied is the one doing the faceslapping which the ML eventually did at the end XD. It took a while though.
Writing/Translation
The translation I read is from KnoxT. The translation was pretty good, not perfect but the translator really translated. Basically, if a sentence is weird when direct translate to English, they will change the sentence to something similar in English that makes sense to English audiences. They worked hard adding footnotes too.
Pacing
The pacing is okay.
Plot
The plot is that a new, unknown, mysterious rich MC comes to the village, encounters a Cinderella-like pitiful and beautiful ger, takes a liking to him, falls in love with him, marries him in 10+ chapters and then deals with the ML’s horrible relatives’ drama. Like a smiling yandere. Then, very obviously, after all the MC’s villains were dealt with, all kinds of people from the MC’s Jiang Hu past started coming to interfere with his quiet life when it felt like the story had finished its climax. Lol Then, the Jiang Hu portion of the story begins where there is some sect drama and hidden secrets are revealed.
Characters
The MC was interesting in that at the beginning, your first impression of the MC is really as some young master whose of a smiling, gracefully avoids issues type of person but over the course of the story, realise he's quite capable of killing enemies in cold premeditated mu*der lol. But the majority of the time, he's that smiley, graceful and very doting to his Fu Lang.
The ML is a typical downtrodden, bullied uke. But, over the course of his arc, he grows a spine and stands up and even does some literal faceslapping of his villains haha. Just by living with the MC, he also grows a taste for teasingly bullying other people into blushing states lol. But is still a cute and determined uke.
The other good side characters in the village are all nice, interesting and different from other rural farming stories I've read. They have personalities lol. Are likeable and feel mostly real and not just as props for that rural village life.
The bad guys are super infuriating :)
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CN (4.4)
232 Chapters Every 43.3 Day(s) 10555 Readers 109 Reviews 08-31-2022
3.5 Stars - Dropped: C111... more>>
Overall
Well, the beginning when the MC was stuck in the forest and had to rely on herself to survive was a pretty good start. Even until they all started building their houses, it was nice because they were learning and developing their feelings for each other. And the whole embroidery was interesting too. Then, well, it got kinda boring because it felt like nothing was happening anymore. From some reviews, I thought there was a chance they would be selling some stuff because they said everything they did would succeed XP. The MC becomes someone who just lies in bed or goes to the room to embroider or casually read books. The ML will go and do everything else. But we don't really get the details of everything else. Usually, we just get a narrative that he does this and this and this daily. Even the bad guys don't get a satisfying faceslap on screen but off screen. We only know this after the fact. The main face-to-face isn't completely shown and concluded. Then, because the ML doesn't want the MC to do any kind of labour at all, the MC became the most useless character in the story. Sigh. She's no fun anymore. Her only skill, embroidery, doesn't get used anymore except as a hobby and so we don't get any interesting knowledge about embroidery anymore because it's just shown in summary that she embroiders for fun every day and that's it. Then, the MC’s body background is too OP. I find the mew characters kinda annoying because they are just pushing their own ideas without considering whether their presence is even wanted. I mean, since the body has run off to this quiet place and never went back, isn't it obvious she likes it there and doesn't want the complexity of these rich people? Gosh, when all those servants kept coming to their house, that was annoying. And then, I stopped at this part because I'm just not interested in this new direction of the story. Not interested in the new family at all, zero. I would be interested if there was some family drama but the faceslapping isn't really satisfying so even if there was some drama, I’m not really motivated to continue sigh. I wish they had worked harder for money to do things with the land instead of conveniently having a large amount of money to do all the things. Then, all these cool things being done would feel more earned and fulfilling.
Writing/Translation
The translation I read is from Pure Love Translation. I think it's pretty good. Very minor errors that I can see. Lots of enthusiasm in providing footnotes and links to images of culture.
Pacing
It's slice of life so it's a little slow. Lots of lovey-dovey in the middle scenes too.
Plot
The first 100 or so chapters are just their life in the village, plus lots of romance between the couple. Have some farming, normal villager relationships and some embroidery. Then, some drama with the assassin part of the ML’s life. After that was mostly solved, then there was the past of the MC’s body and her old relatives came to find her. After that, I stopped because it seems to be some country battles which I’m not interested.
Themes/What Story Tried to Achieve
One of the selling points of the story is the setting imagery right at the beginning! We follow our cheerful and innocent MC from the 1920s back to an ancient era. When I see all her reactions to the environment and how pretty it all is, I just can't help imagining beautiful oriental fantasy-like surroundings, something like from Okami haha. I think it's because the body she transmigrated to was in the middle of a large forest, then she lived in a cave for 3 months and finally travelled to the village to live. This gives me time to appreciate the beauty from afar. In other stories, the MC directly appears in a dilapidated house in the village and we are thrown into the setting right away. Sadly, after this, it just goes back to a normal web novel story. Not much pretty imagery happens after that. Maybe during the house renovation only. After that, nothing.
I was actually looking forward to how they were going to make an income because I find that the most satisfying part in these types of stories. Sadly, after an interesting start, it fizzled out to barely a mention to none at all :)
As for the village drama and relationships, ehh, kinda average for this level. Which means, not really good. Actually, since they live further out and are more isolated, there isn't much drama at all to spice things up. And since the MC doesn't farm and stays at home all day, it's kinda boring at her end. The farming part is all done by the ML and not much detail is there either. We just know he does it all, but we don't feel it being done if you know what I mean.
Characters
Sigh, they are all kinda meh for me. No one is particularly likeable. The ML had some potential because he blushes and is a little shy with his wife... but he uses martial arts to prevent blushing so most of the time the MC doesn't know so what's the point? Then, when the MC realises how he really is later on in the marriage, well, she's too weak to do anything about it. This novel follows the typical old-fashioned and outdated boy-girl dynamics. This is the other extreme of dote on the girl so much she doesn't have to do anything. And have s*x like bunnies! And show the next day how "injured" the girl is because of the activities! Or that the girl doesn't want the boy to "suffer" from not doing it, so how can she "help". Ugh.
The other point is the MC. She's supposedly 20 years old but she's so innocent, pampered and treated and also acts like a little girl with the MC. He doesn't allow her to do anything so it's like she doesn't do any adulting. It doesn't help that her attitude is to always yield to the ML because she doesn't want his "punishment" *blushes shyly*. Ugh. She had so much potential at the beginning too. Especially in regards to embroidery where she gained so much experience during that 3-day session. Too bad we never went anywhere with it. The ML treats her like a pet in a cage and she just goes along with it.
The side characters feel kinda flat, especially the villagers. Just like a normal village friend prop for the MC to propel the story. The rest are varied but they don't feel particularly real. No depth to them (at least I don't feel anything for them) either. I also have an issue with the disciple of the ML, they keep mentioning him as mentally 9 instead of 13 and all that jazz but I honestly thought he seemed like a perfectly normal kid. No idea what they're talking about. Then after the blood clot dissolved, he supposedly became mature and sensible but for me, it just felt like a complete personality change instead? It just seems like before he was that mischievous, witty kid and after, he's a mature, filial kid. No mental disability stuff that was there and fixed or anything. There was such huhaa about it too.
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