4.5/5stars
I LOVED this truly, I don't think I've ever cried so hard at a book (and it wasn't even about the main characters, it was about SIDE CHARACTERS how did this author do that to me????????? I aspire to write a character arc like this in my own books)
This book is such a great combo of absolutely silly and stupid and fun but also intensely intimate character relationships (romantic and platonic) - this book was LONG with lots of dif characters, but they were all so fleshed out and unique I never lost track of who was who (which I do very often with books lmao). It has angst, it has adorable sweet moments, it has spice, truly this book has it all.
I'm obsessed with the MC and I just love how he was so true to himself the entire book. I feel like silly characters usually end up more serious/lose some of their personality when the story gets more intense, but Xiao Yuan stayed exactly as himself even when he was depressed, anxious, in crazy situations, happy, in love - he was exactly himself. He was one of the most consistent and lovably endearing characters I've ever read.
So, Kate, why only a 4.25 star then? tbh where this story fell flat was the ML. Yan HeQing definitely suffered from telling rather than showing his character - we heard so much about him, how he was in the original novel he was from, how XY interpreted him as a character and how XY saw him throughout the story. But I feel like I know NOTHING about him for real - I don't know how he feels (besides being in love with XY), I dont know his motivations, I dont know his plans, I dont know his personality - like if someone asked me to describe him I'd be at a complete loss besides VERY surface level things (he's quiet, he's serious, he loves XY, he's a king - that's all I've got!) which is.... not great for a 1600+ page novel, ya know?
And unfortunately, even with all of the amazing parts of this story, the ML being such a boring grey blob did take away some from the story, the romance, and the overall emotions of the story.
But, that being said, I still loved this and absolutely recommend it!!!