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Touched by Twilight, Volume 1
“If I don't forgive you... Who else can?”
Shen Feng, the youngest of the Shen family, once vowed to surpass his childhood mentor and first love, the powerful and graceful Xiao Xing.
But when a deadly feud erupts between their families, their bond is torn apart by betrayal and bloodshed. Ordered to destroy the Xiao family, Shen Feng defies fate and spares Xiao Xing—knowing it means losing him forever.
Fifty years later, after his father’s assassination, Shen Feng returns home... only to come face to face with the man he thought he'd lost for good. As past and present collide, can love survive the shadows of loss and regret...?
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CWs : mild fantasy violence
Shen Feng, the youngest of the Shen family, once vowed to surpass his childhood mentor and first love, the powerful and graceful Xiao Xing.
But when a deadly feud erupts between their families, their bond is torn apart by betrayal and bloodshed. Ordered to destroy the Xiao family, Shen Feng defies fate and spares Xiao Xing—knowing it means losing him forever.
Fifty years later, after his father’s assassination, Shen Feng returns home... only to come face to face with the man he thought he'd lost for good. As past and present collide, can love survive the shadows of loss and regret...?
-
CWs : mild fantasy violence
Kindle Edition
Published December 23, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 23, 2025
Really enjoyed it 🫶🏻 every trope I love is in here 😍 can’t wait for the next volume ✨✨✨
Tropes :
- childhood friends (master/disciple)
-age gap
-slow burn / unrequited love
-mystery
- beautiful mc (the bob hair guy he’s so pretty 🥰)
Tropes :
- childhood friends (master/disciple)
-age gap
-slow burn / unrequited love
-mystery
- beautiful mc (the bob hair guy he’s so pretty 🥰)
December 27, 2025
More like 3.5 stars but not quite 4 because I can't get past the weird tone shifts. This is a very sweet, funny story that somehow keeps glossing over the fact that one main character murdered the other main's entire family.
Although this is manga, it reads very much like a traditional Chinese danmei. I think that's probably why there's a 50 year time skip wherein the characters don't age at all - part of the "cultivation" freezing you at the age where you achieve a certain level? It didn't seem necessary for it to be 50 years, particularly when you have elements like Shen Feng being jealous of a guy Xiao Xing has only known for 4-5 years. It should've just been a decade or something in between. I guess 50 years makes it sound more dramatic.
Shen Feng is the fifth and youngest son of a family that's renowned for its physical prowess and martial arts. For some unexplained reason, he's been learning swordsmanship from Xiao Xing, who's part of a family that focuses on the healing arts. Xiao Xing is strong but peaceful and Shen Feng adores him.
When Shen Feng is grown up - or at least at the same visual age as he stays throughout the rest of the story - his mother is killed, and his father blames the Xiao family for it. He claims he has "proof," which is not described at all. Hopefully it's something that's gone into more detail behind the scenes and simply isn't shown in this story, because it's enough for Shen Feng to agree to follow his orders, murdering the entire Xiao family in revenge.
Except for Xiao Xing, because Shen Feng still loves him far too much. He wounds him, mostly on instinct and accident, and lets him go. I think the Shen family knows about this, because he seems to spend much of the next 50 years ostracized from them...although he could've just refused to kill more of the Xiao family if he was really going to rebel...
He's riddled with guilt over it, and apologizes to Xiao Xing when they finally meet again. It's not a sufficient scene, though...Xiao Xing tells him he has to let go of things he can't change, which is fair, but he still killed his entire family. On his own, without even just being a part of the masses of something along those lines. It's just a very, very dark past to be treating so lightly in the present, with so much of the storyline left with bright, funny humor.
The incident that brings them back together is Shen Feng's father being killed. On the surface, it seems like a simple heart attack, but the letters both Xiao Xing and Shen Feng receive tell them it was done by someone from the Xiao family - of whom Xiao Xing is the only one left. Confusingly, the only way to sense the Xiao influence is to be a member of the Xiao family, so Shen Feng himself says it's strange that the note implicated them...but there isn't enough follow up on figuring out who wrote the letter (his eldest brother, now the head of the family?) or how they would know.
Plus there's an added complication of a poisoned needle left at the scene, which wasn't the murder weapon but was carried by someone else who was blackmailed and threatened into killing the Shen family head...and who didn't do anything because he was already dead when he got there.
That guy is the second son of another big family, that deals in medicines and poisons and other secret things, and who is wildly funny and probably my favorite character. He's also openly interested in Shen Feng, which is driving Shen Feng wild. Especially since Xiao Xing seems to be completely oblivious about the fact that Shen Feng is in love with him.
It's a bit of a messy plot. Very engaging and fun, and in need of more thoughtful pauses to deal with massive trauma from the past. But I enjoy the characters. I kind of assume it's the oldest brother who killed both his parents, although I don't know why he'd wait 50 years in between. Not sure how long the plot will be dragged out; hopefully it gets its pacing ironed out a little bit more, but I certainly won't mind hanging out with the characters for a while.
Although this is manga, it reads very much like a traditional Chinese danmei. I think that's probably why there's a 50 year time skip wherein the characters don't age at all - part of the "cultivation" freezing you at the age where you achieve a certain level? It didn't seem necessary for it to be 50 years, particularly when you have elements like Shen Feng being jealous of a guy Xiao Xing has only known for 4-5 years. It should've just been a decade or something in between. I guess 50 years makes it sound more dramatic.
Shen Feng is the fifth and youngest son of a family that's renowned for its physical prowess and martial arts. For some unexplained reason, he's been learning swordsmanship from Xiao Xing, who's part of a family that focuses on the healing arts. Xiao Xing is strong but peaceful and Shen Feng adores him.
When Shen Feng is grown up - or at least at the same visual age as he stays throughout the rest of the story - his mother is killed, and his father blames the Xiao family for it. He claims he has "proof," which is not described at all. Hopefully it's something that's gone into more detail behind the scenes and simply isn't shown in this story, because it's enough for Shen Feng to agree to follow his orders, murdering the entire Xiao family in revenge.
Except for Xiao Xing, because Shen Feng still loves him far too much. He wounds him, mostly on instinct and accident, and lets him go. I think the Shen family knows about this, because he seems to spend much of the next 50 years ostracized from them...although he could've just refused to kill more of the Xiao family if he was really going to rebel...
He's riddled with guilt over it, and apologizes to Xiao Xing when they finally meet again. It's not a sufficient scene, though...Xiao Xing tells him he has to let go of things he can't change, which is fair, but he still killed his entire family. On his own, without even just being a part of the masses of something along those lines. It's just a very, very dark past to be treating so lightly in the present, with so much of the storyline left with bright, funny humor.
The incident that brings them back together is Shen Feng's father being killed. On the surface, it seems like a simple heart attack, but the letters both Xiao Xing and Shen Feng receive tell them it was done by someone from the Xiao family - of whom Xiao Xing is the only one left. Confusingly, the only way to sense the Xiao influence is to be a member of the Xiao family, so Shen Feng himself says it's strange that the note implicated them...but there isn't enough follow up on figuring out who wrote the letter (his eldest brother, now the head of the family?) or how they would know.
Plus there's an added complication of a poisoned needle left at the scene, which wasn't the murder weapon but was carried by someone else who was blackmailed and threatened into killing the Shen family head...and who didn't do anything because he was already dead when he got there.
That guy is the second son of another big family, that deals in medicines and poisons and other secret things, and who is wildly funny and probably my favorite character. He's also openly interested in Shen Feng, which is driving Shen Feng wild. Especially since Xiao Xing seems to be completely oblivious about the fact that Shen Feng is in love with him.
It's a bit of a messy plot. Very engaging and fun, and in need of more thoughtful pauses to deal with massive trauma from the past. But I enjoy the characters. I kind of assume it's the oldest brother who killed both his parents, although I don't know why he'd wait 50 years in between. Not sure how long the plot will be dragged out; hopefully it gets its pacing ironed out a little bit more, but I certainly won't mind hanging out with the characters for a while.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I received a digital copy of the manga to review from Media Lab Public Relations on behalf of the publisher.
The premise is what pulled me into this one. I love stories of betrayal and intrigue, and I love them even more when romance is involved. As the official blurb states, the Xiao family is accused of treacherous doings, and the Shen family, a formerly close ally, is ordered to slaughter them in entirety. Shen Feng, who grew up with Xiao Xing at his side, wounds his mentor, but cannot bring himself to murder him. Years of respect and admiration, plus the stirrings of young love, has prevented Shen Feng from making the killing blow, and he lets Xiao Xing escape.
Shen Feng lives with the guilt of sparing Xiao Xing’s life for decades. In a way, Shen Feng dishonored Xiao Xing by allowing him to live, instead of performing a brave fight to the death. Running away is usually the coward’s option. Thus Shen Feng believes that Xiao Xing only feels hatred for him for letting him go.
Despite that, Shen Feng has always kept his eyes open for Xiao Xing to reappear after all these years, often searching him out. After 50 years (admittedly I do not get this time table), the patriarch of the Shen family is found murdered, and there are some after effects of magic that trace the killing back to the Xiao family. Only, there’s only one Xiao left–Xing. Shen Feng, now a young man, seeks Xiao Xing out because he refuses to believe his former mentor and first love would dare murder his father.
The reunion is unexpectedly calm and devoid of the hatred Shen Feng anticipated would come from Xiao Xing. Shen Feng is even able to share some of his feelings out loud.
Xiao Xing and Shen Feng team up to solve the mystery behind the death of Feng’s father, and we learn more about the two characters along the way. Of course, this is a first volume, so the mystery is nowhere near close to being solved, but we do get some clues, as well as see how oblivious Xiao Xing is to the depths of Shen Feng’s feelings.
I really like the art style of this manga. The background scenes (buildings, environment, etc.) are richly drawn and clearly indicate a Chinese influence, along with detailed clothing and accessories. The characters are handsome but distinct, and I like that the lines feel less heavy and more delicate (dare I say elegant) than some other manga I’ve read. It’s a gorgeous way to illustrate what I think will be a gorgeous story.
The manga drew me in, and I have to admit, it tugs on your heartstrings. It is painful to see Shen Feng run through the gamut of feelings for Xiao Xing, and for his love to go unreciprocated; dismissed, even. My gut tells me Xiao Xing is more aware than he lets on, and perhaps still feels like he is in the mentorship role, as opposed to on equal footing with Feng Shen now that he’s grown up. It is common for mentors and teachers to shut down students’ feelings because of the potential power imbalance and age difference, but in this manga, fifty whole years pass (!!), so you’d think Xiao Xing may be more open to reciprocate Feng Shen’s feelings (if they are there. I think they are, or will grow soon). Just my theory, though!
With an interesting mystery–not just about the family murders, but Shen Feng’s mysterious brothers, and additional parties who disappear in and out of the story–Touched by Twilight feels like a unique entry to the Boys’ Love genre. I read a lot of BL, and not enough historicals (with the exception of Painter of the Night and Steel Under Silk, which are Korean manhwa), so this feels refreshing to me. Its focus is heavily on plot, and lighter on the romance this time, and is suitable for ages sixteen and older. If you are a teenage reader interested in dipping your toes in to historical BL, this would be a good one to try! If you are an older BL reader, don’t look this one over. I am definitely interested in reading volume two to get more clues as to what’s going on with the Shen family, and if Xiao Xing will ever take Shen Feng on as an equal and potential lover rather than a former trainee.
Touched by Twilight will release December 23, 2025 (early next week!). It will be available in print and digital. You can preorder now, or buy directly from the publisher on release to show your support, or purchase online from major booksellers everywhere.
The premise is what pulled me into this one. I love stories of betrayal and intrigue, and I love them even more when romance is involved. As the official blurb states, the Xiao family is accused of treacherous doings, and the Shen family, a formerly close ally, is ordered to slaughter them in entirety. Shen Feng, who grew up with Xiao Xing at his side, wounds his mentor, but cannot bring himself to murder him. Years of respect and admiration, plus the stirrings of young love, has prevented Shen Feng from making the killing blow, and he lets Xiao Xing escape.
Shen Feng lives with the guilt of sparing Xiao Xing’s life for decades. In a way, Shen Feng dishonored Xiao Xing by allowing him to live, instead of performing a brave fight to the death. Running away is usually the coward’s option. Thus Shen Feng believes that Xiao Xing only feels hatred for him for letting him go.
Despite that, Shen Feng has always kept his eyes open for Xiao Xing to reappear after all these years, often searching him out. After 50 years (admittedly I do not get this time table), the patriarch of the Shen family is found murdered, and there are some after effects of magic that trace the killing back to the Xiao family. Only, there’s only one Xiao left–Xing. Shen Feng, now a young man, seeks Xiao Xing out because he refuses to believe his former mentor and first love would dare murder his father.
The reunion is unexpectedly calm and devoid of the hatred Shen Feng anticipated would come from Xiao Xing. Shen Feng is even able to share some of his feelings out loud.
Xiao Xing and Shen Feng team up to solve the mystery behind the death of Feng’s father, and we learn more about the two characters along the way. Of course, this is a first volume, so the mystery is nowhere near close to being solved, but we do get some clues, as well as see how oblivious Xiao Xing is to the depths of Shen Feng’s feelings.
I really like the art style of this manga. The background scenes (buildings, environment, etc.) are richly drawn and clearly indicate a Chinese influence, along with detailed clothing and accessories. The characters are handsome but distinct, and I like that the lines feel less heavy and more delicate (dare I say elegant) than some other manga I’ve read. It’s a gorgeous way to illustrate what I think will be a gorgeous story.
The manga drew me in, and I have to admit, it tugs on your heartstrings. It is painful to see Shen Feng run through the gamut of feelings for Xiao Xing, and for his love to go unreciprocated; dismissed, even. My gut tells me Xiao Xing is more aware than he lets on, and perhaps still feels like he is in the mentorship role, as opposed to on equal footing with Feng Shen now that he’s grown up. It is common for mentors and teachers to shut down students’ feelings because of the potential power imbalance and age difference, but in this manga, fifty whole years pass (!!), so you’d think Xiao Xing may be more open to reciprocate Feng Shen’s feelings (if they are there. I think they are, or will grow soon). Just my theory, though!
With an interesting mystery–not just about the family murders, but Shen Feng’s mysterious brothers, and additional parties who disappear in and out of the story–Touched by Twilight feels like a unique entry to the Boys’ Love genre. I read a lot of BL, and not enough historicals (with the exception of Painter of the Night and Steel Under Silk, which are Korean manhwa), so this feels refreshing to me. Its focus is heavily on plot, and lighter on the romance this time, and is suitable for ages sixteen and older. If you are a teenage reader interested in dipping your toes in to historical BL, this would be a good one to try! If you are an older BL reader, don’t look this one over. I am definitely interested in reading volume two to get more clues as to what’s going on with the Shen family, and if Xiao Xing will ever take Shen Feng on as an equal and potential lover rather than a former trainee.
Touched by Twilight will release December 23, 2025 (early next week!). It will be available in print and digital. You can preorder now, or buy directly from the publisher on release to show your support, or purchase online from major booksellers everywhere.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2026
I like this manga. The time period book is nice. It reminds me of Apothecary diaries a little but since I like that series that is a compliment. I want to know what happened to the dad. I like a good myster. The artwork is really nice.
December 3, 2025
What with the pseudo-Chinese setting, this feels like Japanese danmei rather than plain old BL. If you read both, you know there's a bit of a difference.
December 29, 2025
Rating: 3.5*
I'm intrigued by the plot. I feel like it's pretty obvious who the killer is, but I'm interested in seeing it all play out. Also hoping for more romance in book two.
I'm intrigued by the plot. I feel like it's pretty obvious who the killer is, but I'm interested in seeing it all play out. Also hoping for more romance in book two.
January 1, 2026
A beautifully drawn fantasy boys love manga with an interesting mystery and a compelling cast. I look forward to the next volume!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews