如果给你寄一本书 | If I Could Mail You a Book

by 一盏夜灯, hazevie (Translator)

Thirty year old Liang Xinhe broke up with her lover of seven years because the other cheated on her. Thirty-six year old Ning Xi finally broke up with her partner who had broken up and gotten back together with her several times.

When they first met, they were both in poor states of mind. They both thought that the other was going to be another person who had brushed past their shoulder, not knowing that their affinity had started.

Liang Xinhe: “So I press down the snow in my heart time and time again, as they are too white, too close to spring.”

Ning Xi: “These emotional affairs of the mortal world flash by like a sparrow suddenly swooping past.”

– Yu Xiuhua, from the poem “I Love You”

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[kay! ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I don’t have many merits, and I have a lot of bad habits,” Ning Xi said, her throat tightening. “I actually don’t know how to correctly spend time with another person, and I’ve always struggled with learning it. But I like talking with you, eating with you. I find that I’m really relaxed when you’re with me, but I’m afraid that I will do something wrong and let you down or make you sad.”

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎︎ ｡ ✧ ⋆ ★ ★ ★ stars 🍓｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

this baihe felt like drinking a warm cup of tea. it was so soft but also very bittersweet at the same time

the mc & fl are both well into their 30s and have loved and lost, and at the start of the novel both of them are coming out of different relationships, so this was undoubtedly a slow burn. the author took their time letting liang xinhe (mc) and ning xi heal and grow together which was just so…it was so sweet. right from the start i wanted to wrap liang xinhe & ning xi in a warm blanket because they just kept on going through it

but the pain they went through was worth it. it was also worth reading about since the two of them made such an endearing couple

however, i enjoyed this but i can’t say i loved it because the slice-of-life sfuff felt draggy at times? imo the translators did an amazing job with this so even if i struggled through certain chapters, the writing stayed consistent and good

kind of sad this isn’t longer though. i wanna see more of liang xinhe and ning xi together continuing to live in domestic bliss

[Ash(eaux) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mostly positive feelings about this story. Nothing much happens for the most part the protagonists are just living their lives, meeting and slowly falling for each other and then beginning a relationship. I actually appreciate this aspect a lot, this is like the part of the life of someone u could run into in the streets, I like the fact that there wasn't any unnecessary drama or nonsensical beating around the bush before the relationship starts. Also liked that the leads both came out of long-term romantic relationships with women, like don't get me wrong I like self discovery coming of age stories too but it felt nice to see grown women who know what they want for once without any internalized homophobia or comphet involved. It's great that we get to see what did not work in their previous relationship, how they handled the break up and how they've both grown because of it. Overall got very chill and homey vibes from this book.

What didn't really do it for me : I wish we got more into details about some things, like their professions, their life before meeting each other in general, their platonic relationships, I found it kind of odd when Liang Xinhe was like I feel like everyone around me has someone special and I'm all alone, bcs to me even if we didn't see that much of it she felt really close to her two friends from the company, I don't really like how it kind of diminishes the importance of these friendships, especially when her example with Ning Xi is her ex like..why would u consider her relationship with her ex more important than urs with ur friends damn.

Another thing is abt the little drama that happened while they got together, I feel like it could have been executed much better. I don't see why Ning Xi constantly has this pressure to do better (bcs she's not the outgoing type ?? ) because she's older and got out of a longer relationship ? Maybe this is a cultural difference issue but I simply could not grap the criticism of her behavior. What I'm also confused about is while I understand that Liang Xinhe has insecurities which I think are a great thing to portray, I don't understand why the start of this relationship was kind of treated like a one time chance at romance again, idk maybe it was supposed to feel romantic but all I kept thinking was u just turned 30 why are u talking like u are 55 and got divorced from ur partner u got two kids with like 😭.

Anyways those small issues aside it was overall an enjoyable read that put a smile to my face

[lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i felt that it was almost too slow paced at the beginning but reading it genuinely felt nice. it was a comfortable read in the way that it didn’t make me feel too strong emotions but still always touched me

the characters felt so real, nothing was over the top and i liked that. it was unique in its simplicity and honesty. it truly feels like what a healthy regular romance is like.