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Immortality Starts with Generosity #1
Immortality Starts with Generosity
Live generously or die trying.
A lost soul from Earth transmigrates into a world of cultivation and finds himself in the body of a playboy noble who is wasting his life.
Except Chen Haoran doesn't have any memories, can't let anyone know he's not the same person, and is immediately involved in a conspiracy with another powerful noble family involving the downfall of a prominent young genius.
Luckily, he came to this world with a power: Whatever he gives to someone as a gift he'll get it back 100 times better.
His first target?
His new wife. The former top young genius.
A lost soul from Earth transmigrates into a world of cultivation and finds himself in the body of a playboy noble who is wasting his life.
Except Chen Haoran doesn't have any memories, can't let anyone know he's not the same person, and is immediately involved in a conspiracy with another powerful noble family involving the downfall of a prominent young genius.
Luckily, he came to this world with a power: Whatever he gives to someone as a gift he'll get it back 100 times better.
His first target?
His new wife. The former top young genius.
482 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 12, 2024
766 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
June 12, 2024
The title is CLICKBAIT. The main character is exceptionally dim witted and has the arrogance to accompany it.
I was hoping for a kind, smart MC that forges his own unique path …. But I just got a really bland, stupid and selfish character. How disappointing.
DNF
I was hoping for a kind, smart MC that forges his own unique path …. But I just got a really bland, stupid and selfish character. How disappointing.
DNF
March 28, 2024
I've recently started exploring the litRPG, progression, and cultivation fantasy subgenres, and I would highly recommend Immortality Starts with Generosity to those who are looking to dip their toes into this genre. I had a really fun time with this one: our MC has mysteriously awoken in the body of a rich playboy jerk and quickly finds himself enmeshed in an arranged marriage, city politics, family feuds, and more, all while he has to learn how to leverage his new powers and level up to stay alive. The setup of the story and the dynamic between our MC and his wife makes for a very humorous story that flips a lot of tropes on their heads, and it was so much fun to experience. All this may sound a little out there for some, but here are some reasons to try it
- the humor and character interactions are super engaging
- the author writes in a really approachable way and explains the system of cultivation along the way so you never feel lost for long
- fast paced plot that doesn't skimp on the character moments
There were a couple of things that weren't quite as successful for me, primarily that the worldbuilding (not the magic system) is a bit nebulous and some vocabulary choices were quite odd and/or anachronistic.
But if you're looking for a fun(ny) romp, Immortality Starts with Generosity is a great read! I'm excited for more!
I listened to the audio narrated by J. S. Arquin, who was superb! He really brough the story to life!
Thanks to Dreamscape Select and Negalley for an audioARC in exchange for an honest review.
- the humor and character interactions are super engaging
- the author writes in a really approachable way and explains the system of cultivation along the way so you never feel lost for long
- fast paced plot that doesn't skimp on the character moments
There were a couple of things that weren't quite as successful for me, primarily that the worldbuilding (not the magic system) is a bit nebulous and some vocabulary choices were quite odd and/or anachronistic.
But if you're looking for a fun(ny) romp, Immortality Starts with Generosity is a great read! I'm excited for more!
I listened to the audio narrated by J. S. Arquin, who was superb! He really brough the story to life!
Thanks to Dreamscape Select and Negalley for an audioARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 11, 2024
Simping for benefits
Another reincarnated-in-the-body-of-a-bad-young-man-in-a-wuxia-world story. Once again the "hero" has cheat abilities. The idea of instant kharma is fresh but handled rather excessively. Furthermore, the "good but absolutely not selfless deeds" only affect one person and one animal throughout the entire story..
In the first half of the protagonist constantly acts as a mere support character in his own story.. The plot about the intrigue against Lan Fen seems overly contrived - her family pays a horrible man a big sum to marry her, despoil,break and return her to her family. The fact that she is supposedly helpless and well aware of the machinations of her family make the whole affair even more bizarre. Her obsession to kill everybody of her family plus all employees for a failed! intrigue commited by less than a hand full of family members is absolutely excessive and makes her resemble a modern female Disney hero, ergo a manic sociopath.. She is selfish and has absolutely no regret about killing her entire - mostly innocent - family and handles it like some form of female liberation.. In short, she is an awful, self centered person.. The story could have been way better without her..
Cultivation grades while stated to be sheer and almost unsurmountable cliffs of might seemingly don´t matter at all for the heroes which kills the immersion.. The author´s habit of using "whatever realm" instead of "whatever realm CULTIVATOR" is really aggravating.
Another reincarnated-in-the-body-of-a-bad-young-man-in-a-wuxia-world story. Once again the "hero" has cheat abilities. The idea of instant kharma is fresh but handled rather excessively. Furthermore, the "good but absolutely not selfless deeds" only affect one person and one animal throughout the entire story..
In the first half of the protagonist constantly acts as a mere support character in his own story.. The plot about the intrigue against Lan Fen seems overly contrived - her family pays a horrible man a big sum to marry her, despoil,break and return her to her family. The fact that she is supposedly helpless and well aware of the machinations of her family make the whole affair even more bizarre. Her obsession to kill everybody of her family plus all employees for a failed! intrigue commited by less than a hand full of family members is absolutely excessive and makes her resemble a modern female Disney hero, ergo a manic sociopath.. She is selfish and has absolutely no regret about killing her entire - mostly innocent - family and handles it like some form of female liberation.. In short, she is an awful, self centered person.. The story could have been way better without her..
Cultivation grades while stated to be sheer and almost unsurmountable cliffs of might seemingly don´t matter at all for the heroes which kills the immersion.. The author´s habit of using "whatever realm" instead of "whatever realm CULTIVATOR" is really aggravating.
July 4, 2024
4 People Like Dogs Stars
Immortality Starts with Generosity is the first book in the cultivation progression fantasy by Plutus.
I truly enjoyed the interactions of Song Yuelin with all other characters. He brought humor back into this tale of death, revenge, and confused possession. It was also a relief to see the rat-faced manager be forced to leave. While he is but a servant of the Chen family, I do wonder if there is potential for his allegiance to shift? Especially given the foreshadowing into his background and the circumstances surrounding his current role.
I do find myself intrigued to discover where Chen Haoran will branch out to now that his story no longer revolves around residing in Clearsprings City. Plus, how will his new pet be accepted on his upcoming journey? Will his path and that of Lan Fen cross again? Will Song Yuelin succeed in defeating the 13th prince of the Empire?
There were some grammatical/spelling errors, and enough that it negatively impacted my enjoying and thus rating of the overall experience. Outside of that, the plot was truly enjoyable. Along with the depth to characters. I can not wait to further explore the world building, it does feel shallow at this point.
Immortality Starts with Generosity is the first book in the cultivation progression fantasy by Plutus.
I truly enjoyed the interactions of Song Yuelin with all other characters. He brought humor back into this tale of death, revenge, and confused possession. It was also a relief to see the rat-faced manager be forced to leave. While he is but a servant of the Chen family, I do wonder if there is potential for his allegiance to shift? Especially given the foreshadowing into his background and the circumstances surrounding his current role.
I do find myself intrigued to discover where Chen Haoran will branch out to now that his story no longer revolves around residing in Clearsprings City. Plus, how will his new pet be accepted on his upcoming journey? Will his path and that of Lan Fen cross again? Will Song Yuelin succeed in defeating the 13th prince of the Empire?
There were some grammatical/spelling errors, and enough that it negatively impacted my enjoying and thus rating of the overall experience. Outside of that, the plot was truly enjoyable. Along with the depth to characters. I can not wait to further explore the world building, it does feel shallow at this point.
March 13, 2024
A great story for fans of cultivation
Fun and fast paced, this story has a lot of promise. The tone is perfect. I highly recommend picking it up. I'm looking forward to book 2.
Fun and fast paced, this story has a lot of promise. The tone is perfect. I highly recommend picking it up. I'm looking forward to book 2.
March 28, 2024
This story isn't good
MC is really dumb. He covers for his ignorance by being a horrible person, which has you wondering why nobody beats him up. Most of the drama consists of folks not communicating and it never gets better. His cheat power doesn't have a drawback and I got tired of the story about 60% through. I'm only making this review so that I don't accidently forget I read this trash. On the bright side, the spelling and Grammer were done well.
MC is really dumb. He covers for his ignorance by being a horrible person, which has you wondering why nobody beats him up. Most of the drama consists of folks not communicating and it never gets better. His cheat power doesn't have a drawback and I got tired of the story about 60% through. I'm only making this review so that I don't accidently forget I read this trash. On the bright side, the spelling and Grammer were done well.
February 20, 2024
First of all thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media for this advance copy of this audiobook. Immortality Starts with Generosity was a really great story. This work is a cultivation progression fantasy. At first I wasn’t sure what that was but after a quick search this story is about meditation/martial art effective technique to achieve a long term goal (‘ost often enlightening or immortality). Once I understood this aspect of the story I really really enjoyed the overall plot. Our main character transmigrates from his mortal life into that of Chen Haoran. Right off the bat the story starts with Chen walking into his arranged marriage. From there the story revolves around Chen learning his new world and cultivation techniques. All to learn in this arranged married his first enemy is his new wife.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and loved the character charisma and charm that each one had. I will for-sure keep an eye out for the next installment.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and loved the character charisma and charm that each one had. I will for-sure keep an eye out for the next installment.
April 4, 2024
In the book Generosity Starts With Kindness book one by Plutus we meet Lord Chin right when he is being inhabited by the main character whose name is I DK he marries his new bride needless to say it is not a marriage born of love but one of duty when he comes clean to his new bride and explains to her that he isn’t the person she thinks him to be because clearly she believes him to be lower than scum a man who isn’t even worth a response she ultimately believes him because no one bungles daily life the way he does and he didn’t take it vantage of her the night they were married. In order to get ahead of the game he’ll need to learn what the game is in for this he hast to depend on his wife and learn different ways to live this includes sword fighting political intrigue and much much more I found this book entertaining I’d love the authors writing style I love books with people or taken over by other people and this one did not disappoint I was a little confused but as the author explains everything as the book goes along it all became clear this is a great book with great narration I can only hope there’s a Book2 in the works as this one is called book one so I’m assuming so, I looks so forward to that I will definitely be looking for the audiobook to drop. I want to thing the author dreamscape media and net galley for my free or copy please forgive any mistakes I’m blind and dictate my review.
April 2, 2024
struggled a bit
It takes a while to really develop narrative force. Mainly because the MC’s OP power has some pretty limiting rules and it isn’t easy for him to figure out how to make things work.
I think I’ll buy the sequel. It’s not *amazing*, but it was interesting and occasionally amusing.
It takes a while to really develop narrative force. Mainly because the MC’s OP power has some pretty limiting rules and it isn’t easy for him to figure out how to make things work.
I think I’ll buy the sequel. It’s not *amazing*, but it was interesting and occasionally amusing.
March 24, 2024
Interesting
Really not as much use of his power as I was hoping for. Nevertheless it was a good story. Little better explanation on cultivation than you usually get. Well thought out in context of the story.
Really not as much use of his power as I was hoping for. Nevertheless it was a good story. Little better explanation on cultivation than you usually get. Well thought out in context of the story.
February 1, 2025
I'll admit, this isn't my cup of tea but I can see how others might like it.
I've only read a bit past the start and I have no real want to continue.
The author seems a bit indecisive. They seem to want the MC's wife as the protagonist yet for some reason, did not do so.
We start out with the MC trying to figure things out, then he gets married, and immediately hands over all of his agency to his wife. Tells her about his memory loss, hands over all of his legendary techniques, even the ones he gains nothing from giving her, aswell as all of his money, while giving her complete command over his estate.
Mind you, he has no reason to believe, or even think, that his wife is a good or trustworthy person, or that she will stay so.
At this point, I thought it would turn into a romance about two vulnerable people lifting eachother up and learning to trust and depend on one another while doing so. But this is definitely not what the story seems to be about.
The MC is a pathetic, passive baby with an incredibly overpowered ability, yet whose only active action so far was to squander his entire situation by handing over all of his agency, powers, wealth, secrets, and weaknesses to a woman he barely knows.
Said woman seems to be a bit of an arrogant, self-centered, and thankless a-hole (pardon my french), who took all of his agency and resources before immediately getting him involved in a conspiracy to destroy a neighboring clan, completely uncaring about how it might effect him.
In other words, two very unlikable people.
I liked him until he started allowing her do whatever she wanted, with absolutely no boundaries.
I didn't mind her until she started doing whatever she wanted, uncaring about his boundaries or general well being.
- 1 star because I can't route for these unlikable characters especially not when the MC's only active choice in the story so far has been to help his unlikable wife completely outshine him in all ways.
- minus 2 stars from my one star rating because the MC is not generous, nor is the title a funny joke on how he acts like a saint but is actually just self-serving.
I've only read a bit past the start and I have no real want to continue.
The author seems a bit indecisive. They seem to want the MC's wife as the protagonist yet for some reason, did not do so.
We start out with the MC trying to figure things out, then he gets married, and immediately hands over all of his agency to his wife. Tells her about his memory loss, hands over all of his legendary techniques, even the ones he gains nothing from giving her, aswell as all of his money, while giving her complete command over his estate.
Mind you, he has no reason to believe, or even think, that his wife is a good or trustworthy person, or that she will stay so.
At this point, I thought it would turn into a romance about two vulnerable people lifting eachother up and learning to trust and depend on one another while doing so. But this is definitely not what the story seems to be about.
The MC is a pathetic, passive baby with an incredibly overpowered ability, yet whose only active action so far was to squander his entire situation by handing over all of his agency, powers, wealth, secrets, and weaknesses to a woman he barely knows.
Said woman seems to be a bit of an arrogant, self-centered, and thankless a-hole (pardon my french), who took all of his agency and resources before immediately getting him involved in a conspiracy to destroy a neighboring clan, completely uncaring about how it might effect him.
In other words, two very unlikable people.
I liked him until he started allowing her do whatever she wanted, with absolutely no boundaries.
I didn't mind her until she started doing whatever she wanted, uncaring about his boundaries or general well being.
- 1 star because I can't route for these unlikable characters especially not when the MC's only active choice in the story so far has been to help his unlikable wife completely outshine him in all ways.
- minus 2 stars from my one star rating because the MC is not generous, nor is the title a funny joke on how he acts like a saint but is actually just self-serving.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2024
Not bad for the first book of a new series
I tend to take it easy on the first book of any new series. In my experience the beginnings can be rather shaky Endeavors sometimes even from tried and true authors. I've never come across this author prior to this book. I do tend to go back and forth between the audio version and ebook version if both happened to be available. The narrator is a person who I'm also not familiar with their prior performances. I think the narrator did a fantastic job. Perhaps he works under other names as well as he sounds familiar. Back to the story we find ourselves introduce to a character who in my opinion is not a good person. He is awoken in the body of a person who has arguably even worse. It is a cultivation story and yet there's not a lot of cultivation in the story. For a while there it appeared that we might get some sort of romantic thread but that fizzled out. The character seemed to vacillate between we can uncaring at least for anything other than himself to trying to help out and honestly becoming a bit of a murder hobo. I will say that what got me to pick up the book in the first place wasn't audio sample that cut off just as it was revealed at the very beginning of the book that this person had possessed was engaged. The book definitely did not end up being in any way, shape or form the store I thought I was going to be reading. Overall it was okay, but I don't think it's to my personal taste or that I will come back for a sequel.
I tend to take it easy on the first book of any new series. In my experience the beginnings can be rather shaky Endeavors sometimes even from tried and true authors. I've never come across this author prior to this book. I do tend to go back and forth between the audio version and ebook version if both happened to be available. The narrator is a person who I'm also not familiar with their prior performances. I think the narrator did a fantastic job. Perhaps he works under other names as well as he sounds familiar. Back to the story we find ourselves introduce to a character who in my opinion is not a good person. He is awoken in the body of a person who has arguably even worse. It is a cultivation story and yet there's not a lot of cultivation in the story. For a while there it appeared that we might get some sort of romantic thread but that fizzled out. The character seemed to vacillate between we can uncaring at least for anything other than himself to trying to help out and honestly becoming a bit of a murder hobo. I will say that what got me to pick up the book in the first place wasn't audio sample that cut off just as it was revealed at the very beginning of the book that this person had possessed was engaged. The book definitely did not end up being in any way, shape or form the store I thought I was going to be reading. Overall it was okay, but I don't think it's to my personal taste or that I will come back for a sequel.
March 3, 2024
A thanks and shout out to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Before starting this review I must confess I’m a progressive fantasy (and all the sub genres under that umbrella) junkie. Therefore I tend to be a bit more forgiving on the writing and characters. However I’m more aware of current tropes and tend to be a bit more critical when a book falls into this.
This book doesn’t necessarily do anything to reinvent the genre but also maintains originality. The world seems interesting. The book avoids info dumps so plenty of system and world building to be done. At this point I’d say the cultivation system is fairly generic but because it’s not spelled out could be more. I’d personally prefer a little bit more information but the lack of this fits the narrative. The MC is a little flat. I wouldn’t have a clue how to describe his personality. Upside/downside the side characters have more personality. The story was fairly unpredictable and I’m interested to see where it goes. Hopefully the MC gets a bit more of a personality and the reader gets more insight into the world and develops a richer cultivation system.
This book doesn’t necessarily do anything to reinvent the genre but also maintains originality. The world seems interesting. The book avoids info dumps so plenty of system and world building to be done. At this point I’d say the cultivation system is fairly generic but because it’s not spelled out could be more. I’d personally prefer a little bit more information but the lack of this fits the narrative. The MC is a little flat. I wouldn’t have a clue how to describe his personality. Upside/downside the side characters have more personality. The story was fairly unpredictable and I’m interested to see where it goes. Hopefully the MC gets a bit more of a personality and the reader gets more insight into the world and develops a richer cultivation system.
March 13, 2024
Imortality Starts With Generosity is a story that sounds a lot better than it is. You'd think from the description that the character would do everything they can to offer help/items to everyone they can. Not the case. In fact, only a single person benefits from his generosity, and one animal. That's it. Yep, another story that doesn't live up to its' title.
I personally didn't mind the story, it was ok so far as stories go, and it even had some interesting aspects to it. The problem is: the entire basis of hiss cultivation falls way short, since he has to give away things to gain points used for cultivation. But, then he finds a way to skip all that, and advance anyway. What's the point?
Perhaps the title of the book should have been cultivation by bypassing generosity.
I give this one 2 stars, for squandering what could have been an excellent idea.
I personally didn't mind the story, it was ok so far as stories go, and it even had some interesting aspects to it. The problem is: the entire basis of hiss cultivation falls way short, since he has to give away things to gain points used for cultivation. But, then he finds a way to skip all that, and advance anyway. What's the point?
Perhaps the title of the book should have been cultivation by bypassing generosity.
I give this one 2 stars, for squandering what could have been an excellent idea.
March 19, 2024
This book was quite a surprise and one i think I will continue to follow into the next installments in the series. There is a sense of role playing for the main character as he finds himself in the body of someone who was previously wasting their life. He Is also on the verge of getting married and someone has left him a note to make her miserable. Yet, the more the new Chen Haoran lives in this new body, the more good he feels he can do. The previous inhabitant didn't care much for generosity and giving, but the more Chen gives, the more he receives 100 fold of what he gives thus making him more and more wealthy.
I want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the pacing and the characters. I thought it was well flushed out and had good action and humor. It was a fun read and I want to explore more cultivation fantasy as I am not incredibly experienced in the genre, however, I think this gave me a good foundation to start.
I want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the pacing and the characters. I thought it was well flushed out and had good action and humor. It was a fun read and I want to explore more cultivation fantasy as I am not incredibly experienced in the genre, however, I think this gave me a good foundation to start.
April 6, 2024
Interesting concept but the story got bogged down in mumbo jumbo and incomprehensible asian culture
Good concept, but with some flaws. There was no explanation of how the MC came to inhabit the body of Chen Haoran, nor what happened to that parasite. It was pretty unclear how Lan Fen got to be in the prediciment she found herself in, though it seems that her grandfather was really into pruning people like plants and Lan Fen found herself in the compost pile.
Regarding Fen and Haoran's relationship, it was very unsatisfying. I know that its not in every instance, the guy gets the girl or vica versa. Still they developed a tsundre relationship that ended with Haoran walking away with plenty of unfinished business between them. Also the ranking system became confusing with higher ranks defeating lower ranks and Xie Jin beating Lan Jia twice even though he's a high rank yet a scrub.
Worst thing is that Im just not sure I want to read another installment since this story got bogged down in cultural thought proccesses that I just couldnt comprehend.
Good concept, but with some flaws. There was no explanation of how the MC came to inhabit the body of Chen Haoran, nor what happened to that parasite. It was pretty unclear how Lan Fen got to be in the prediciment she found herself in, though it seems that her grandfather was really into pruning people like plants and Lan Fen found herself in the compost pile.
Regarding Fen and Haoran's relationship, it was very unsatisfying. I know that its not in every instance, the guy gets the girl or vica versa. Still they developed a tsundre relationship that ended with Haoran walking away with plenty of unfinished business between them. Also the ranking system became confusing with higher ranks defeating lower ranks and Xie Jin beating Lan Jia twice even though he's a high rank yet a scrub.
Worst thing is that Im just not sure I want to read another installment since this story got bogged down in cultural thought proccesses that I just couldnt comprehend.
March 18, 2024
Solid, but not perfect.
Come back this if you've not read other cultivation stories. There are a number of assumptions on the reader that they are familiar with cultivation fantasy and it's tropes.
This book was quite enjoyable and I look forward to more from this author/series. The premise is that the main character gains from giving. However, the power that gives him this ability limits who he can give things to based on technicality as opposed to merit. So the whole idea of generosity is mildly subverted since he's not actually being kind or thoughtful, but just trying to game the system.
Moral quandaries aside, this was a really enjoyable read. I loved the depth and scope of the world. Also the antagonists aren't dumb, and have their own well thought out plots and schemes. This just further enriches the world/story as it makes it feel more real.
Come back this if you've not read other cultivation stories. There are a number of assumptions on the reader that they are familiar with cultivation fantasy and it's tropes.
This book was quite enjoyable and I look forward to more from this author/series. The premise is that the main character gains from giving. However, the power that gives him this ability limits who he can give things to based on technicality as opposed to merit. So the whole idea of generosity is mildly subverted since he's not actually being kind or thoughtful, but just trying to game the system.
Moral quandaries aside, this was a really enjoyable read. I loved the depth and scope of the world. Also the antagonists aren't dumb, and have their own well thought out plots and schemes. This just further enriches the world/story as it makes it feel more real.
April 13, 2024
Fun
Most cultivation novels have unique names. That's why I picked up this one, I was curious. Getting stronger while being "generous," what's the catch?
Chen Haoran is not Chen Haoran. He is a soul who transmigrated from Earth. Now he has an angry wife to deal with, and oh, he has to try and survive.
I enjoyed reading this, I liked that Chen Haoran is not immediately overpowered, and he is genuinely confused as to what is going on and how much damage his predecessor caused.
I liked the side characters a lot and I hope we get to see more of them as the series progresses.
This book looks like the first ARC, in which the main aim is to deal with the Lan family. I'm curious to see what the next book would hold.
If you are looking for action and fun and adorable killing pet sloths, try this one.
Most cultivation novels have unique names. That's why I picked up this one, I was curious. Getting stronger while being "generous," what's the catch?
Chen Haoran is not Chen Haoran. He is a soul who transmigrated from Earth. Now he has an angry wife to deal with, and oh, he has to try and survive.
I enjoyed reading this, I liked that Chen Haoran is not immediately overpowered, and he is genuinely confused as to what is going on and how much damage his predecessor caused.
I liked the side characters a lot and I hope we get to see more of them as the series progresses.
This book looks like the first ARC, in which the main aim is to deal with the Lan family. I'm curious to see what the next book would hold.
If you are looking for action and fun and adorable killing pet sloths, try this one.
July 10, 2024
LITRPG
Not bad, but I wasn't really feeling it. I generally quite like litRPG books and love that they feel like a video or tabletop game that I don't have to plan or run. This was apparently not like the games I've played.
The MMC has a gift giving perk but doesn't seem to know how to use it, which is fine, but he doesn't seem to learn either. Like, oh, I gave them a gift but got nothing. We can try later. Oh, I gave them something and got a bigger reward? Awesome. Let's try giving them a little bit of everything we have. No, instead, he seems to want to throw money at the problem, and that's about it. Come on. Get inventive with it.
I understand that it's a slow grind to level up, but they just seem like taking all these magical supplements just to go nowhere. It feels like substance abuse to me. Take a larger dose and more powerful drugs to chase that high.
Not bad, but I wasn't really feeling it. I generally quite like litRPG books and love that they feel like a video or tabletop game that I don't have to plan or run. This was apparently not like the games I've played.
The MMC has a gift giving perk but doesn't seem to know how to use it, which is fine, but he doesn't seem to learn either. Like, oh, I gave them a gift but got nothing. We can try later. Oh, I gave them something and got a bigger reward? Awesome. Let's try giving them a little bit of everything we have. No, instead, he seems to want to throw money at the problem, and that's about it. Come on. Get inventive with it.
I understand that it's a slow grind to level up, but they just seem like taking all these magical supplements just to go nowhere. It feels like substance abuse to me. Take a larger dose and more powerful drugs to chase that high.
July 15, 2025
I could not finish this. I got to 30% and skipped to 40% and this wasn't what I thought it was. The concept is interesting, but the main character is off putting. I don't mind his anger, but he flip-flops quite often which is quite frustrating. He sounds like a kid who's gotten a gun and waves it around stupidly.
The whole name thing gets a bit annoying. I know C-Drama tend to do the whole name thing but referring to others by their entire name gets quite annoying after a while. "John Fitzgerald Kennedy, do you understand what I am saying?" Dwight David Eisenhower asked.
Hao Ran is perfectly fine to continue referring to the main character instead of Chen Haoran. He'd most likely refer to his wife, Lan Fen, as "furen" or wife, or at the very least "Lan Xiaojie" or Miss Lan, rather than her entire name.
The whole name thing gets a bit annoying. I know C-Drama tend to do the whole name thing but referring to others by their entire name gets quite annoying after a while. "John Fitzgerald Kennedy, do you understand what I am saying?" Dwight David Eisenhower asked.
Hao Ran is perfectly fine to continue referring to the main character instead of Chen Haoran. He'd most likely refer to his wife, Lan Fen, as "furen" or wife, or at the very least "Lan Xiaojie" or Miss Lan, rather than her entire name.
May 23, 2024
Well my webnovel reading friends said thus was good for the genre.
I hope the publisher had this work professionally proofread, and didn't just transfer it from webnovel directly to book.
I saw many publishers do that before, and the work was filled with errors and unneeded repetition.
This is different. I think it was edited, either that or the author used better word selection than his Asian webnovel peers.
This seems to have mixed a few of the cultivation tropes. The protagonist isn't the one with the cheat ring ad spirit guide leading them to greatness.
This first book so far also seems to be the laying of the foundation.
I enjoyed this and will be reading the sequel.
I hope the sequel is more entertaining.
3/5 Stars
I hope the publisher had this work professionally proofread, and didn't just transfer it from webnovel directly to book.
I saw many publishers do that before, and the work was filled with errors and unneeded repetition.
This is different. I think it was edited, either that or the author used better word selection than his Asian webnovel peers.
This seems to have mixed a few of the cultivation tropes. The protagonist isn't the one with the cheat ring ad spirit guide leading them to greatness.
This first book so far also seems to be the laying of the foundation.
I enjoyed this and will be reading the sequel.
I hope the sequel is more entertaining.
3/5 Stars
July 2, 2024
Less good than you think
I continued reading the series where it's hosted. It actually gets much worse. This is the best part of the book series. On its own I would give this book at least four stars. However, the chapters to come impacts all the small things from this novel. It's really disappointing and meandering. Because everything happened so fast in this novel, you don't realize that the main character doesn't have any goals and doesn't have any drive. You do see that when he basically mentioned he doesn't want to go to the magic university. But he doesn't have any agency and just feels like a sidekick character and everybody else's stories going forward. He could exploit and explore his cheat much better as well. Had to give it three stars.
I continued reading the series where it's hosted. It actually gets much worse. This is the best part of the book series. On its own I would give this book at least four stars. However, the chapters to come impacts all the small things from this novel. It's really disappointing and meandering. Because everything happened so fast in this novel, you don't realize that the main character doesn't have any goals and doesn't have any drive. You do see that when he basically mentioned he doesn't want to go to the magic university. But he doesn't have any agency and just feels like a sidekick character and everybody else's stories going forward. He could exploit and explore his cheat much better as well. Had to give it three stars.
August 10, 2024
At first, I thought the main character had a very OP skill and things would just be too easy. But the restrictions and other difficulties in taking advantage of the ability was good to see. I especially liked the sloth familiar and how it paid off at a critical juncture.
I'd say most of the important characters were done well. However, I wasn't a fan of the revenge plot against the Lan family - if everybody in that family was irredeemable, how does this world even survive?
The starting chapters seemed a bit better edited than what followed - lots of typos and many instances where the writing was a bit too confusing to understand what was happening.
Overall, I enjoyed the book despite the flaws and looking forward to see how the story shapes up.
I'd say most of the important characters were done well. However, I wasn't a fan of the revenge plot against the Lan family - if everybody in that family was irredeemable, how does this world even survive?
The starting chapters seemed a bit better edited than what followed - lots of typos and many instances where the writing was a bit too confusing to understand what was happening.
Overall, I enjoyed the book despite the flaws and looking forward to see how the story shapes up.
March 18, 2024
fun
Guy wakes up in a playboy’s body in a cultivation world. Worse still he’s to be married! He uses his innate special ability to multiply gifts he gives his new wife to make himself more powerful. His wife has an agenda and is looking to take down a family that wronged her. The plan gets upended and they divorce. He escapes his bodyguard turned kidnapper sent by his family and enters a realm that makes him more powerful. He reunites with his now ex wife and finishes off the family she was after. They split again. End.
A fun read and wonderful world. I enjoyed the humor and the pacing. I’m really looking forward to the next one
Guy wakes up in a playboy’s body in a cultivation world. Worse still he’s to be married! He uses his innate special ability to multiply gifts he gives his new wife to make himself more powerful. His wife has an agenda and is looking to take down a family that wronged her. The plan gets upended and they divorce. He escapes his bodyguard turned kidnapper sent by his family and enters a realm that makes him more powerful. He reunites with his now ex wife and finishes off the family she was after. They split again. End.
A fun read and wonderful world. I enjoyed the humor and the pacing. I’m really looking forward to the next one
September 17, 2024
interesting
Honestly, this is a story that is a bit hard to write for me. The premise was definitely interesting, the writing was well done, and the character was even rather likable. I think my main issue was just that it wasn’t my cup of tea for whatever reason. I can’t tell you anything bad about it, it just wasn’t as enjoyable for me as I thought it would be.
I think others would undoubtedly enjoy the story if they have a different taste of mine, because like I said, there was nothing wrong with it. I think it’s worth giving the first book a chance at least to see how you like it, and checking out the other reviews to see if it’s your cup of tea as well.
Honestly, this is a story that is a bit hard to write for me. The premise was definitely interesting, the writing was well done, and the character was even rather likable. I think my main issue was just that it wasn’t my cup of tea for whatever reason. I can’t tell you anything bad about it, it just wasn’t as enjoyable for me as I thought it would be.
I think others would undoubtedly enjoy the story if they have a different taste of mine, because like I said, there was nothing wrong with it. I think it’s worth giving the first book a chance at least to see how you like it, and checking out the other reviews to see if it’s your cup of tea as well.
March 23, 2025
Pros: The characters have moderate depth and their motivations are believable.
Cons: Everything else. The writing starts awfully and degrades into atrocious. There are too many missing words to count. Tenses are mixed repeatedly. The wordplay and metaphors are baffling. The world building is shallow and lazy. Time skips constantly rather than showing us any depth. The MCs superpowers rely on "blue boxes" with no explanation why. The MC is dumb as rocks, doesn't question how anything work, but instantly understands how to cultivate somehow. Add in the pervasively problematic themes of might makes right, patriarchy, and misogyny from cultivation/litrpg, and this thing is just a giant mess.
Cons: Everything else. The writing starts awfully and degrades into atrocious. There are too many missing words to count. Tenses are mixed repeatedly. The wordplay and metaphors are baffling. The world building is shallow and lazy. Time skips constantly rather than showing us any depth. The MCs superpowers rely on "blue boxes" with no explanation why. The MC is dumb as rocks, doesn't question how anything work, but instantly understands how to cultivate somehow. Add in the pervasively problematic themes of might makes right, patriarchy, and misogyny from cultivation/litrpg, and this thing is just a giant mess.
May 17, 2024
Well, the other book is over, let's go to a small review
1:The story has no good plot and the character revolves around himself
2:By not having a second POV, I mean that the main female character played a lot in the story, but we didn't have any good POV from her
3:Sometimes the story was comprehensible to me, I felt like a child putting a number of letters together that has no meaning😭😭😭😭
4:Let's go to tell one good thing that this book has that pulled me to the end of the book;It is very fast paging, I finished it in 3 days
1:The story has no good plot and the character revolves around himself
2:By not having a second POV, I mean that the main female character played a lot in the story, but we didn't have any good POV from her
3:Sometimes the story was comprehensible to me, I felt like a child putting a number of letters together that has no meaning😭😭😭😭
4:Let's go to tell one good thing that this book has that pulled me to the end of the book;It is very fast paging, I finished it in 3 days
March 4, 2024
Chen Haoran is not who people think he is. His body is occupied by a lost soul from Earth but he has no past memories. A fantasy adventure where when Chen gives a gift and it is accepted, then he will be rewarded 100 fold. So Chen will gain power and skills.
Really enjoyed this well written novel (I listened to the audiobook). Loved the main characters and the adventure they will undertake. Plenty of intrigue, fighting, adventure and fighting. Exciting start to the series.
Really enjoyed this well written novel (I listened to the audiobook). Loved the main characters and the adventure they will undertake. Plenty of intrigue, fighting, adventure and fighting. Exciting start to the series.
April 30, 2024
ok world building, everything else fails.
Ok world building everything else fails. Somehow in a progression novel with a cheat the MC manages to have the slowest progression I’ve read in years. The tenses change every other sentence. The MC has literally no agency, everything happens to him, and this continues well into the next 2 books from what I’ve read.
This is a very rough first draft that doesn’t really compare to the Chinese equivalents that it’s copying.
Ok world building everything else fails. Somehow in a progression novel with a cheat the MC manages to have the slowest progression I’ve read in years. The tenses change every other sentence. The MC has literally no agency, everything happens to him, and this continues well into the next 2 books from what I’ve read.
This is a very rough first draft that doesn’t really compare to the Chinese equivalents that it’s copying.
August 9, 2024
Waking up in the body of someone who was still alive would be the biggest head fcuk! Who can you trust? What do you do when you realise the guy before was a massive bellend? I like seeing the gradual change in how Chen Hoaran treats the servants once he married Lan Fen. That dramatic change can be blamed on the marriage.
I wonder if Hoaran and Fen will reunite? I kinda think they may a great team. I love Phelps and I can't wait to see what Hoaran and Phelps get up to in the next book.
I wonder if Hoaran and Fen will reunite? I kinda think they may a great team. I love Phelps and I can't wait to see what Hoaran and Phelps get up to in the next book.
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