Confusing translation.
This is the first book I bought and read from the 4 Elements novel series. I was curious about the story and how it would eventually be adapted into a series.
I rated this book 2 stars, mainly because of the confusing translation. Many characters are given two different names. I understand this for the main characters, Din and Rose (Kasima and Thipapa), but the same issue appears with the cousins, such as Lom and Wayo, whose names are written in multiple ways while referring to the same person. This made the story difficult to follow. At times, a character would be mentioned, only for it to turn out to be someone else entirely. It felt like frequent typographical or translation errors, which significantly affected my reading experience.
I’ve read many Thai novels that have been adapted into series, so I admit I had high expectations for this one. This is also my first time reading a work by this author, and honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the rest of the novels. I’ll most likely just watch the series adaptation instead.
As for the story itself, Rose comes across as very childish and overly jealous. I think this is largely due to how her inner monologue is written, but as a result, her character lacks depth. Din’s character, unfortunately, also feels quite flat and uninteresting.
I’ve read fanfiction with stronger character development than this. While other Thai GL novels aren’t perfect either, I think my disappointment stems from having such high expectations for this series, which ultimately made the let-down feel much greater.