To land safely, you have to catch the wire. But what happens when the fall is emotional—and there’s no safety net in sight?
Zhou Qichen once danced on the edge of danger—flying naval fighters, landing at 300 km/h on the narrow deck of a carrier, trusting a single tailhook to snatch him from disaster. Now, he’s traded the adrenaline of military life for the calm skies of commercial aviation, piloting an A320 for Hainan Airlines. It’s a quieter life. A lonelier one.
That is, until he meets Lang Feng—sophisticated, self-assured, and effortlessly charming. The first Asian pilot in KLM navigates international routes with the same quiet confidence he brings to everything else, but beneath the polished professionalism lies something Zhou recognises all too well: turbulence.
Thrown together by an unexpected connection and shared skies, the two begin a tentative romance tested by continents, competing loyalties, and wounds that run deeper than either man is ready to acknowledge.
Tailhook is a tender, contemplative danmei romance about finding the courage to trust—and learning that sometimes the most dangerous landing is the one that brings you home.
I'm sorry but I will be adding so many quotes for this review because, holy moly, there's too many to pick from!! (ง ͠ಥ_ಥ)ง Also holy spicy! Holy switches!!! (⸝⸝ ♡ᴗ♡⸝⸝)♡(˃͈ ˂͈ )
I haven't flown a J-15 since I left service. But I've now realised that the final carrier landing-the one I thought would stay with me forever-wasn't actually the last. The real final landing was that autumn in 2018, the first time I met you. In those turbulent waves, with the carrier pitching wildly, I came in low, throttle wide open. You were my arresting cable, catching onto my tailhook. Never letting go. Evan. Lang Feng. Let's fly together. Now, and forever.
I didn't ugly cry at this novel, but I did have a few tears come down my face a few times. I came out as if having experienced these things for myself: quarrels that can be fixed with proper communication. How to properly communicate and express your feelings in an gentle, yet affirmative manner. Fears that leads to avoidance (I'm guilty of this), and ways to overcome these fears.
Zhou Qichen was a very lonely, heartbroken, and abandoned— left out in the cold only to emotionally fend for himself. He often shut down any possibility falling in love again. God may have closed the doors for him, but Zhou Qichen was the one that locked them. So, you have an, ironically, Christian man named Lang Feng. "Lang Feng had blown the entire bloody house apart. Peace flooded in. Comfort. Joy. Everything bright and pure as Alpine snow, endless and overwhelming. He had no fear left-none at all."
Though they're literal the opposite and the definition of opposites attract. The only thing they have in common is their love for aviation. Everything from family, countries and how they grew up to communication styles—polar opposite. Zhou Qichen often drove me nuts in how he often avoided confrontation, or would push Lang Feng away. Lang Feng, however, made it very clear that he was hurt, but he had his inner demons. He truly got to eye level and heard Qichen out and gently asked questions, "whilst" openly admitting his faults. (btw, how many times did I read "whilst"? I swear the translator went to town with that word)
Lang Feng drew a deep breath. "You're right-I don't approve. If the choice were mine, I'd rather take you far away, where you'd never have any contact with them again, never be hurt or upset by this again. Everyone has selfish motives, myself included. My disapproval probably stems from my shallow understanding. I can't claim to understand your situation because I've never experienced anything similar, so I have no right to judge you. If my previous attitude made you feel you couldn't speak openly, then I'm partly to blame."
Like... Where else do you find someone so open in danmei? At least, from my experience, not often.
Qichen's family was awful and I've personally had that experience where family only reaching out because they want something from you, specifically money. Talk about shallow!
They were so teeth achingly adorable that that's often times the reasons why I shed a few tears from how beautiful it was. How happy I was for Qichen! ( ˊo̴̶̷̤ ̫ o̴̶̷̤ˋ) you deserve it, boo! Never in my life would I have thought there would be a character with a family that was religious but so open minded! There was no hatred in that family, but sadly, it was in Qichen's family. Lang Feng's family also became his own family.
The sky had darkened. Rain was still hammering down. Traffic at a standstill, wipers cutting red streaks across the glass. In their tiny bubble, Lang Feng watched him with an intensity that caught the last of the light. I'm giving him a flat, Zhou Qichen told himself, but he's giving me a home. "I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from falling for you. I never stood a chance."
Okay and one last quote! About the approach to gay relationships. I don't think I can put it into better words. It's sad Qichen lost his family, but gained another because of the realities and current discrimination of same sex couples.
It made Ivy reflect on what it had taken to reach this point. Loving someone requires courage. Loving someone of the same sex requires even more-enough to allow you to stand against the world. For most people, that solitary bravery lasts through adolescence; adulthood brings too many considerations, too many concerns. But some must sustain it their entire lives before meeting their destined person. Many more have the courage but never the luck. Though there was hateful people, there was as many loving characters who were so supportive!
CONS 1. The main reason I'm knocking off a 🌟 is because there was, surpringly, an overwhelming amount of smut scenes. I was thinking towards the end, "Okay okay! Enough already! Yall love each other so much and fuck like rabbits in heat!" I felt like that's why the last 50 chapters were draggy because of the abundance of smut scenes! They were spicy! But damn!
2. spoiler ⚠️ . . . I know it's realistic that people are cut off from their family because they're queer. But even so, I would have liked to see a scene where Qichen got to see his sister from afar. He loved her so much and she was a product and a victim of her parents manipulating her into hating her brother for being queer. It's sad. ( ;´ - `;) He never got to say goodbye. (◞‸◟)
I think at this point..... I just write long reviews 😅😅
A very mature romance between two pilots. Smexy. 😮💨✈️ And remarkably more emotionally devastating than I expected.
A spinoff of The Approach, but I think it works perfectly well as a standalone, which is how I read it.
This book has SO MANY quotes that I loved, so I’m just going to point you towards V’s beautiful review. (I’m not sure how links work here, so I’ll have to figure that out later lol.)
First of all, because I’m from the Netherlands, I loved that one of the pilots, Lang Feng, has a Chinese-Dutch background and is connected to KLM—a Dutch airline I’ve actually flown with a few times! So I was a bit giddy whenever Amsterdam or KLM popped up.
I’m only going to talk about the two male leads because that’s what grabbed my attention the most.
Lang Feng is also religious, which I found interesting to note. I can’t speak to the accuracy of the religious representation, but it felt like an important part of who he was rather than something simply added for flavour.
I loved the aviation aspect. Flying isn’t just a cute aesthetic backdrop for the romance; it mirrors so much of what these characters are struggling with—fear, responsibility, control, and the terrifying realization that sometimes you have to trust someone else.
The story is told mostly from Zhou Qichen’s perspective, and this man has SO MUCH going on inside that head of his.
His past, particularly the accident, has left him scarred with resentment, guilt, and anxiety that affect both his relationships and the way he sees himself—constantly teetering between rational thought and irrational impulse. The reappearance of past lovers forces old memories and unresolved feelings back into a life he’s spent years trying to keep neatly contained. He tries to maintain control, but when things become too overwhelming, his instinct is to retreat.
And I understood his self-preservation. I really did, because I know what it’s like to cower away from things that are terrifying.
But there were moments when I wanted to grab him by his flight suit and scream:
STOP EJECTING AND JUST STAY IN THE COCKPIT! 😭
His family made this even harder to watch. They view love as a transactional debt to be settled rather than grace freely given, trapping Zhou Qichen in a perpetual cycle of feeling indebted.
You can only keep your eyes on the horizon and pretend everything is fine for so long. Eventually, what you’re trying to avoid catches up with you.
And I think that’s where the real heart of this book lies:
Communication.
Let’s just say this has some of the best communication in a danmei I’ve read. As someone who really values open communication with my family and friends, reading them figure it out felt like rediscovering parts of myself.
Beneath the family baggage and complicated history, it’s the way these two talk—or fail to talk—to each other that determines whether they can actually build something together.
Lang Feng is a great counterweight to Zhou Qichen: rational, direct, and focused on equality. He’s also a very open person, especially when it comes to his feelings. He wants Zhou Qichen, and he’s not afraid to let him know it. There’s a desperation to him too—he’s willing to go very far for Zhou Qichen, even when Zhou Qichen is making it very difficult for him.
One thing I really liked is that Lang Feng doesn’t have some magical ability to understand Zhou Qichen without being told, and I think that’s a critical part of their relationship. He doesn’t simply know what Zhou Qichen needs; instead, he gives him the space to be honest, listens when he finally speaks, and is willing to bear the burden with him.
In a way, Lang Feng’s openness makes Zhou Qichen’s tendency to retreat stand out even more. Lang Feng is willing to say what he wants, ask for what he needs, and put himself on the line, while Zhou Qichen keeps trying to protect himself by pulling away. And I really liked watching those two approaches clash—and eventually finding a way to meet in the middle.
So that's why they have to talk. Zhou Qichen needs someone who provides that emotional safety so he can finally dismantle his barricades.
That means compromising, acknowledging when they’ve hurt each other, and admitting when they’ve gotten things wrong. Neither of them gets to simply retreat into their own version of events; they have to be willing to meet each other halfway.
Their relationship isn’t effortless, but that’s part of what makes it work. They have to figure each other out, learn what the other person needs, and decide what they’re willing to give.
And yes, before I forget:
THE ROMANCE IS HOT. 😮💨
The chemistry between them feels genuinely adult. The spice is uninhibited and intensely physical—no holding back, just raw friction and relentless intensity. But what I really loved is how that physicality gradually changes as their emotional attachment catches up with them. What begins as pure physical release slowly becomes something much more intimate: a way of letting each other in, of trusting each other with a vulnerability neither of them can easily put into words.
My one wish is that we’d gotten a bit more of Lang Feng’s side of the story. While the novel grants us brief glimpses into his mind, his personal vulnerability is largely sidelined to make room for Zhou Qichen’s growth. He never feels unrealistically perfect, but because the story is so focused on Zhou Qichen’s internal world, Lang Feng’s own vulnerabilities sometimes feel like they’re happening just outside the frame. And honestly, I wanted waaay more.
Anyway, I think that’s what I loved most about their romance.
Because sometimes, it’s through the eyes of another person that you finally realize you deserve self-love—and that being kind to yourself is just as important.
Love isn’t about finding someone without flaws or effortless compatibility. It isn’t about fixing each other, or never hurting one another.
It’s a choice between them.
A choice to face the things that scare you. To communicate when it would be easier to shut down. To admit when you’re wrong. To keep showing up.
Love doesn’t clear the weather, nor does it hand you an autopilot key. It doesn’t make the turbulence disappear.
But for Zhou Qichen and Lang Feng, maybe love means realizing that letting someone in doesn’t mean surrendering control—it means trusting them enough to share it.
It means having someone who lets you catch your breath when the turbulence hits, while still giving you the courage to fly through it together. ✈️
beautiful book about an actual switch couple who are both pilots navigating through life and love together and the hurdles that come with it. I dont normally care if a book has or doesnt have smut but I found that I didnt mind it in this book, and theres quite a bit of it. I enjoyed the characters a lot and its a short but sweet read that felt genuine and authentic. This one is technically a spin off of “The Approach” but you can read it as a standalone (as i did)
Long distance relationships present challenges beyond logistics; communication is the key but also all too often elusive. “Tailhook” by La Rive Gauche was written in 2022 but first published in English by Rosmei in 2026. It charts the relationship between two aviation pilots, following their lives as airline pilots and partners. Zhou Qichen and Lang Feng are a remarkably modern couple who slowly learn to open up to each other.
Their relationship begins as a casual relationship that ends up in the bedroom after the third date, but their first meeting was, “a perfect trap – tailhook to heart” (p. 10). A tailhook is the part of a naval fighter jet that snags the wire on an aircraft carrier when the plane lands. In this novel, the tailhook is the embodiment of Zhou Qichen’s life as he moves from a life as a military fighter pilot to the world of civilian aviation. It is a metaphor that follows him through his relationship with shipmates to his life with Lang Feng in Beijing.
Zhou Qicheng is three years older than Lang Feng, but they are essentially well matched. The major difference is in the lives that they have lived before they met: Lang Feng has been blessed with a loving family who support him and bicker in equal measure. He is secure in his attachment to his family and his identity as a gay man has never been suppressed since he grew up in the Netherlands where he could openly wear pride colours on his lanyard. Unlike Lang Feng, Zhou Qichen grew up in mainland China, where his parents cut him off when his preferences for men were revealed and they brainwashed his little sister so that even she refuses to maintain a connection with her brother. Lang Feng lived an open life with three previous relationships whereas Zhou Qichen has essentially only experienced unrequited love. In the end it is their differences that make it work.
However, it takes Zhou Qichen some time to understand that he is deserving of love. He even breaks off the budding relationship. As he says, “It wasn’t that I had no feelings for you – I just thought we weren’t compatible. You’re whole ..., and I’m broken” (p. 93). People who are starved of love take a while to realize fully that they deserve to be loved and that it is possible. “Lang Feng’s care was like a gentle spring breeze. There was no calculation or hidden agenda” (p. 86) “Zhou Qichen’s life was an abandoned battlefield where he’d once fought desperately to survive amid smoke and gunfire.” (p.92)
Amid the many, very explicit scenes the book is written in a lyrical style full of imagery. The tailhook of the title is a literal piece of military kit that Zhou Qichen used in his earlier life as a fighter pilot but more importantly it is a metaphor for him as a person. He spent eight years pining for his commanding officer who never returned his love, because he was straight, and who felt uncomfortable with the situation. Although it is reasonable that he did not return Zhou Qichen’s feelings, it would have been decent to just say so. Instead he married a woman without telling Zhou Qichen and kept the tailhook of the crashed plane. It is only in his second attempt that he returns the momento and his motivations seem coloured by exploitation since he could have returned this meaningful souvenir just after Zhou Qichen’s accident.
The tailhook clearly shows who cares for Zhou Qichen and who is merely trying to capitalize on it. Lang Feng slowly shows him how to verbalize his feelings, which is an especially important skill in an international, long distance relationship. Sometimes love is expressed simply with a few words such as, “I miss you” (p. 114), and sometimes it is shown through small gifts. Lang Feng ultimately makes the decision to apply for a job at the same airline as Zhou Qichen, but asks before he does it. They learn to communicate after a series of near misses and so they can move forward. They proceed from living together to marriage and meeting the family.
Lang Feng acknowledges Zhou Qichen’s past by commissioning a wedding band in the shape of a diamond tailhook, which he uses to propose at the Jungfrau mountain in Switzerland. It is, “a promise to love one person forever: it binds you and sets you free” (p. 282). On the surface, it is Lang Feng who wears his heart on his sleeve but ironically it is Zhou Qichen who harnesses the power of language in his wedding vow when he says, “In those turbulent waves, with the carrier pitching wildly, I came in low, throttle wide open. You were my arresting cable, catching onto my tailhook” (p. 286). Using the semantic field of military language, he uses metaphors to express his journey from a closed-down soldier to an emotionally stable man in a fulfilling relationship with the man whom he loves.
Fair warning: There are many, very explicit bedroom scenes. They are all consensual but there is one scene that is quite rough in chapter 8.
“I’m more rational than you, but you’re braver than me. Sometimes, love needs something beyond mere reason. I don’t think we’re incompatible. Instead, we complement each other with our differences.”
I liked how quiet this story felt, even though I can see why some readers might find it too calm. Since it’s a short novel, there aren’t many conflicts, and the ones that do happen are resolved pretty easily. Still, I didn’t mind that because the emotional parts were what kept me reading. I also appreciated that there weren’t excessive time skips pulling me away from Zhou Qichen and Lang Feng. I enjoyed simply watching them exist around each other, noticing how they behaved, reacted, held back, and slowly softened. There’s something satisfying about a story that lets its characters breathe, and this one gave me enough space to really sit with their feelings.
What made the romance work for me was how adult they felt. Zhou Qichen carries so much from his past as a military pilot, and even when he’s guarded, difficult, or scared to be honest with himself, I understood why he was that way. His pain never felt exaggerated to me. It felt quiet and heavy, like something he had learned to live with. Lang Feng was steady and patient, but he still had his own longing and restraint, so their relationship felt mutual. I really liked that there wasn’t childish miscommunication creating unnecessary drama. They both had flaws, and they both made mistakes, but they still felt like grown people trying their best. Their intimacy felt emotional and physical at the same time, and I especially enjoyed the switch/vers dynamic because it made them feel equal. I’ve been waiting to read a couple like this, and I loved that their closeness didn’t feel one-sided. The aviation setting also added a lot for me because it made their connection feel tied to their careers, their discipline, and the kind of pressure they both understood.
I do wish the story had followed up more on Qirui. After Lang Feng and Zhou Qichen talked about it, I kept expecting it to come back, so that part felt unfinished to me. I was curious, and I wanted a little more closure there. I also loved the cover and dust cover design, but the glossy texture wasn’t my favorite. It looked beautiful, but the feel of it wasn’t something I personally liked. Even with those small issues, I still enjoyed this a lot. It’s calm, mature, and emotionally grounded, with a romance that feels quiet but sincere. It may not be the kind of book that gives constant drama or big twists, but I liked the softness of it. I liked the healing, the restraint, and the feeling of two imperfect adults slowly learning how to trust each other and stay.
Mature romance between a KLM pilot x an ex-Navy pilot with a healthy dose of incredibly tasty smut (reversible couple).
Although the novel is technically a spinoff to The Approach and our couple initially meets there, Tailhook can be read independently. And what a ride it is! I'm not one for slice of life stories, trust me, but this one is just not at all boring. The pacing, the romance, the spice, and the setting combo makes for a very engrossing read, carried along by a really solid translation. This one contains a new extra chapter exclusive to this edition, which was a nice touch.
The paperback is beautiful, by the way! The dust jacket is my favorite.
Tailhook is a rare novel that portrays realistic, mature adult communication. I loved Zhou Qichen as a character and empathized deeply with everything he's been through in his past relationships and with his family, and I really appreciated how he and Lang Feng resolved their conflicts by opening up, being vulnerable and talking it through.
However, I can't say I fully enjoyed it. The pacing was too slow for my liking, the time jumps were too frequent, and there were way too many intrusive, super long, and repetitive explicit scenes. I ended up skipping them.
I loved the romance between characters in this book, and it is VERY spicy. The story flowed smoothly, and though you can 100% read this book on its own, there were a few moments where I read and was a bit confused, but nothing major. (Tailhook is I believe a side couple introduced in The Approach.) Overall, it was an excellent read.
"Eight years is a long time, I know. But we'll have our own eight years. And then another eight. And another."
Despite being only a single volume and being far shorter than what I'm used to when it comes to licensed danmei works, I found Tailhook to be a complete work. It has everything you could possibly want: some light angst and yearning, relationship conflicts that get resolved in mature ways, steamy scenes. The only thing it lacks is length, because I certainly want more of Lang Feng and Zhou Qichen. (And maybe some more explicit scenes of Lang Feng being the bottom, but that's personal preference!)
The one thing I want to specifically bring up is how much I appreciate how Lang Feng's faith was handled. Rather than an obstacle for his and Zhou Qichen's love, it was portrayed as a manifestation of Lang Feng's love for those around him. Lang Feng prays for his loved ones, because Lang Feng believes in a God who loves him and does not shun him. It was such a warm and, frankly, refreshing aspect of the book that I was a pleasantly surprised by, because this is the kind of faith I do personally believe in and yet see so little of in our modern day. It added to the softness of the romance.
I don't think this book reinvents the wheel. But I do think it's the type of romance that will unexpectedly grab at your attention. I'm looking forward now to reading The Approach at some point, because La Rive Gauche seems to excel at writing quiet but still emotionally meaningful stories.
La Rive Gauche’s Tailhook is a spin off story from The Approach, here two very distinctive and contrasting pilots, Zhou Qichen and Lang Feng explore this new connection that challenges them as individuals and couple. I haven’t read The Approach yet and in my experience with Tailhook, you can treat as a standalone, here the author give all necessary information so the reader can understand the story without feeling like something is missing.
The story starts narrating Zhou Qichen’s career change from military aviation to commercial side of the industry, event that has fully driven in self acceptance and embracing this repressed side of his life, he craved freedom and that was implicitly his sexual freedom as a gay man in a restricted space, first in his family environment to then his professional path. Enters Lang Feng, a charming prince, captivating, brilliant young man and very much out and proud.
In this book, we navigate ZQC and LF’s entanglement, the courtship stage loaded with sensuality, mature communication and very much an adult interchange, or what it should look like. The complexities explored in this book were written with a lot of care, there is a load in family issues, past wounds and healthy confrontation. The writing is fluid, easy to read, attentive to the details and it kept me invested in following these two and what would life would bring next.
The mutual admiration between these two had me gushing quite often, as they explore this connection and its turbulences. The overall feeling as I read Tailhook was a constant fuzzy bubbling sensation, I was legit rooting for this to work out. Despite the past wounds to be healed, there were also the fact they were initially in a long distance relationship, both with very busy schedules and that is no walk in the park.
As the novel follows the couple, however, it doesn’t solely gravitates around the romance slice of life aspect, the side cast has a purpose outside the main duo and also bring extra pieces of information outside their little love bubble. I thought it was brilliant how the side cast elevated the story in a manner that it doesn’t feel like a filler.
There is a lot of intent in La Rive Gauche’s story telling, from the relationship dynamics, inner dialogues, personal turmoils but overall a positive feeling, a hopeful tone.
Lang Feng’s emotionally mature curiosity, understanding personality traits and deep admiration to ZQC - that was mirroed and reciprocated by the latter, which was so healthy and inspiring. This danmei is a lesson on how to relationship, viewed through a very pragmatic lens.
Thoroughly recommend this book if you are into captivating cast, a fluid and real romance, incredible smut - THEY SWITCH. It was an absolute joy to read it. Very excited for The Approach and other titles from this queen.
Highlights for me in this read were: thorough mature narrative, not just from sex scenes to the emotional depth, communication and exploration of certain themes. How two men with extremely different coming outs deal with their homosexuality and how this intrinsically changes their outlook on life. Vulnerability explored and strengthening bonds. Portrayed in such a positive manner, not as a weakness but as an intimate act. In this department, Lang Feng surpassed all my expectations, his emotional intelligence and amazing communication skills were second to none, dealing with a partner as complex and wounded as Zhou Qichen was trully beautiful.
Lesbian representation in danmei?! AND even better, a happy lesbian couple, I cried. A particular highlight in how it was touched the topic of women in the aviation sector, misogyny in workplace, real issues were not brushed aside, such an interesting detail and awareness.
The sex was so hot and intense, they really delivered in the switcharoo department and the concessions made during the intimacy were so FINE and meaningful. The smut writing skills were definitely there, present and a constant, which didn’t feel forced or unnecessary porn with plot. My only complaint was that (in my delusions) I really wanted them to do SOMETHING spicy with LF’s cross, but hey, just me projecting.
A bit disappointed regarding the open end regarding ZQC’s sister, especially knowing how much it meant to him and the anguish she represents.
I was very sad to say goodbye to these two but looking forward to see a little bit of them in the approach.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Ooof. I honestly don't know how to rate this one, so I won't.
There were certainly things to like about the story and the characters, but unfortunately the English edition is a fan translation, and that was painfully obvious throughout the entire book. I don't think there was a single sentence that didn't sound stilted, awkwardly formal, or simply off. The prose never flowed naturally, and it made every chapter feel like it took far more effort to get through than it should have.
I ended up skimming quite a bit because I simply couldn't stay engaged with the writing. It's a shame, because I suspect I would have enjoyed the story a lot more in a stronger translation.
i’m not enjoying the way romance building is happening. it’s rushed but also kinda v realistic. also the ml is bland. i feel like the first book did a good job at having three full fleshed out characters that both felt like mcs. this one clearly has a mc and a ml. the ml is like too cookie cutter perfect it’s bland. i don’t need my characters to have trauma but i do wish for them to be fleshed out in like multidimensional and so far he’s just.. bland.