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A Tale of the Secret Saint Light Novel #1
A Tale of the Secret Saint (Light Novel) Vol. 1
The story of a young woman’s quest to become a knight while hiding her saintly power–and don’t miss the manga adaptation, also from Seven Seas!
Born into a long line of knights, Fia is determined to become a knight herself, just like all her siblings. But a brush with death awakens memories of her past life as a Saint–a woman who wields rare, powerful healing and protection magic–along with the ability to use that magic herself! The downside is that Fia also remembers her past life’s untimely death, and the danger she will be in if anyone finds out what she really is. She vows to stay on her knighthood path and keep her powers a secret forever! But how can she resist using her newfound powers when they’re just so useful?
Born into a long line of knights, Fia is determined to become a knight herself, just like all her siblings. But a brush with death awakens memories of her past life as a Saint–a woman who wields rare, powerful healing and protection magic–along with the ability to use that magic herself! The downside is that Fia also remembers her past life’s untimely death, and the danger she will be in if anyone finds out what she really is. She vows to stay on her knighthood path and keep her powers a secret forever! But how can she resist using her newfound powers when they’re just so useful?
189 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 15, 2019
75 people are currently reading
427 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 29, 2021
Okay. Hm. I can see why people would like this book, but it's not for me. I laughed in places. The story is simple, plods along much as expected, and could get interesting. It was, as previously indicated, not unfunny. The problem is the protagonist; Fia is as dumb as a bag of hammers.
I was reminded while reading of a British comedy serious from my childhood: "Some Mothers Do Have 'Em." Known for its slapstick, it was one of the best examples of a British sitcom I can think of. That is, it was humiliation comedy writ large. Some power bloke too stupid to understand the mess he's in each week, does dumb things because he's dumb, and we all laugh. I liked the slapstick. I don't get on well with sitcoms in general, tbh. Being in Fia's head largely involved me screaming "How can you be that stupid!" at my Kindle.
That's a purely personal problem with this (and far too many others) light novel. So, if you like stupid women walking through life oblivious to the chaos they're causing, this book could be for you.
On a related note, however, Fia has flashes of brilliance which just make her character seem inconsistent. Whenever she says something clever, I found myself confused over just what her character is supposed to be. Happily, she generally reverts to bag of hammers mode in short order.
The other thing which bugged me was how short this thing was. The main story (which is riddled with side story chapters) comes to an end at about 83% and there are two short stories tacked on the end to bump up the word count. Finishing on a cliffhanger is never going to endear a book to me, but doing so that early was rubbing salt into the wound.
Overall, yeah, I can sort of see the appeal, but for me this is a solid two stars and I won't be reading volume 2 unless I get desperate.
I was reminded while reading of a British comedy serious from my childhood: "Some Mothers Do Have 'Em." Known for its slapstick, it was one of the best examples of a British sitcom I can think of. That is, it was humiliation comedy writ large. Some power bloke too stupid to understand the mess he's in each week, does dumb things because he's dumb, and we all laugh. I liked the slapstick. I don't get on well with sitcoms in general, tbh. Being in Fia's head largely involved me screaming "How can you be that stupid!" at my Kindle.
That's a purely personal problem with this (and far too many others) light novel. So, if you like stupid women walking through life oblivious to the chaos they're causing, this book could be for you.
On a related note, however, Fia has flashes of brilliance which just make her character seem inconsistent. Whenever she says something clever, I found myself confused over just what her character is supposed to be. Happily, she generally reverts to bag of hammers mode in short order.
The other thing which bugged me was how short this thing was. The main story (which is riddled with side story chapters) comes to an end at about 83% and there are two short stories tacked on the end to bump up the word count. Finishing on a cliffhanger is never going to endear a book to me, but doing so that early was rubbing salt into the wound.
Overall, yeah, I can sort of see the appeal, but for me this is a solid two stars and I won't be reading volume 2 unless I get desperate.
November 5, 2021
Cute story, but the heroine is 100% dumber than a box of rocks.
November 23, 2021
An adorable, light hearted tale about a girl too clueless to understand she actively is making her life harder by trying to be clever and a land so utterly backwards you have to wonder how they've survived.
Fia is too OP for her own good, but its tempered by the fact that even though she very well aware of how OP she is, she hasn't got a flying clue how to disguise the fact.
Its honestly moreso due to the cluelessness and lockstep thinking patterns that have kept her from being found out. Even when directly saved by her OP-ness, her flimsy excuses are enough for everyone to smack their foreheads at their silly thoughts.
The final actual scene (as the book ends with three side stories after the main story's volume ending) paired with the side story relating to the character introduced in that scene promises that maybe someone will finally say out loud what they should all just accept.
I will say it annoyed me that the reason Fia is hiding her Saint status is because a fiend from her previous life made it clear she was suffering because she was a Saint. That coupled with her jerk brothers leaving her for dead did a number on her. That's all fine. Except Fia's utter brainlessness otherwise has me wondering if that's the ONLY reason why. She draws some pretty...odd conclusions at times, so I'm not sure her assessment can be trusted.
Fia is too OP for her own good, but its tempered by the fact that even though she very well aware of how OP she is, she hasn't got a flying clue how to disguise the fact.
Its honestly moreso due to the cluelessness and lockstep thinking patterns that have kept her from being found out. Even when directly saved by her OP-ness, her flimsy excuses are enough for everyone to smack their foreheads at their silly thoughts.
The final actual scene (as the book ends with three side stories after the main story's volume ending) paired with the side story relating to the character introduced in that scene promises that maybe someone will finally say out loud what they should all just accept.
I will say it annoyed me that the reason Fia is hiding her Saint status is because a fiend from her previous life made it clear she was suffering because she was a Saint. That coupled with her jerk brothers leaving her for dead did a number on her. That's all fine. Except Fia's utter brainlessness otherwise has me wondering if that's the ONLY reason why. She draws some pretty...odd conclusions at times, so I'm not sure her assessment can be trusted.
February 18, 2022
****** There are some spoiler but all this happens within the first 3 chapters*******
So I have read both the first vol. of the manga and the first light novel and i belive that the light novel gives way more information then the manga does. Where the manga was funny and easy to read i felt there were some parts the story which had holes. When i read the light novel I felt like those holes were filled. I suggest reading the light novel if you dont want to be beecome slighly lost.
Now about the story itself, its good but know that i find it very stupid that she decides to still try and find 3 nights even though she was previouly wronged by knights (her own family) which got her killed in the first place. There is trama and maybe even some future romance. I cant wait to read the next book so that i can catch up to where I left off in the manga (Volume ends at around the time she meets the monster tamer commander)
So I have read both the first vol. of the manga and the first light novel and i belive that the light novel gives way more information then the manga does. Where the manga was funny and easy to read i felt there were some parts the story which had holes. When i read the light novel I felt like those holes were filled. I suggest reading the light novel if you dont want to be beecome slighly lost.
Now about the story itself, its good but know that i find it very stupid that she decides to still try and find 3 nights even though she was previouly wronged by knights (her own family) which got her killed in the first place. There is trama and maybe even some future romance. I cant wait to read the next book so that i can catch up to where I left off in the manga (Volume ends at around the time she meets the monster tamer commander)
June 25, 2024
I enjoyed some aspects of this book, but overall it was too simple in terms of characterization and plot. It's a fun enough popcorn read I suppose, but I think this would work better in anime or manga format, where artists can add emotion and depth where it's clearly lacking in the novel.
January 22, 2022
Way cuter than I thought it would be. Pre-ordered the next one. 4, looking forward to the next one, stars!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2020
最初の感想はとても楽しくて面白かったです！女の主人ごはフィーアと名前言ってます。彼女は前世は大聖女ですから、治すの力は高いです。しかし、魔獣は彼女に狙いので、命を亡くした。三百年後で、再転生した。恐怖を抱いてので、フィーアは大聖女の能力を隠しました。十五歳時、フィーアを黒龍王に会いました。後で、騎士団に入りました。毎日、楽しい会話があって素敵の戦いがあります。それで、フィーアと団長の関係を深くになりました。騎士団達を彼女の隠し能力を少しに認識にありました。騎士があるし魔法があるし黒龍があるし強い女の主人こがあるので、是非読んでください！
October 24, 2024
It was a geeat book. I especially enjoyed the small foreshadowing n if uk me uk i do love myself an overpowered mc lol
July 17, 2022
I think this story could have been great. The author fills this story with naive and foolish dialogue by the main character, Fia Ruud. Fia is of noble birth, trying to apply to the Knights School. Because she is a "reincarnated Saint", has a lot of "cheat" skills remembered from her past life. The author actually talks about the abdominal muscles of the other knights (whether they had a six pack, four pack or belly...) Fia dressed down her Black Dragon, Zavilia, familiar to look like a Blue Dove/Blue Bird. Saints are extremely demanded in this fantasy world.
Technically it's an isekai fantasy novel series, sin Fia is a reincarnated Saint. It has close to 200 pages, with 18 chapters, 4 interludes and 4 side stories.
I would have really liked this fantasy-isekai story series, if the author would not have made most of the conversations extremely immature, childish and foolish. So far, this novel series has 3 volumes, the third volume published in English in June 2022. In Japanese (original language), there are already 6 volumes released. The 6th. Volume was first published in Japanese on November 2021.
This fantasy-isekai novel series needs plot arcs urgently. Main plot arcs and secondary arcs. This one is a getting into school arc but it is finished. If this story does not gain objectives to achieve, then it will soon flat-line.
Technically it's an isekai fantasy novel series, sin Fia is a reincarnated Saint. It has close to 200 pages, with 18 chapters, 4 interludes and 4 side stories.
I would have really liked this fantasy-isekai story series, if the author would not have made most of the conversations extremely immature, childish and foolish. So far, this novel series has 3 volumes, the third volume published in English in June 2022. In Japanese (original language), there are already 6 volumes released. The 6th. Volume was first published in Japanese on November 2021.
This fantasy-isekai novel series needs plot arcs urgently. Main plot arcs and secondary arcs. This one is a getting into school arc but it is finished. If this story does not gain objectives to achieve, then it will soon flat-line.
May 24, 2025
2021: At work, I started reading this on my lunch break. When I got home, I continued reading this story about an oblivious yet overpowered saint/knight.
2022: I wanted to start reading the sequel, but I had no clue what was happening.... thus, I decided to read the first volume again. I had so much fun reading this because Fia is a riot! Goodness, she is so stupid! She doesn’t really understand what is going on around her, but that is what makes her a blast to read about.
2022: I wanted to start reading the sequel, but I had no clue what was happening.... thus, I decided to read the first volume again. I had so much fun reading this because Fia is a riot! Goodness, she is so stupid! She doesn’t really understand what is going on around her, but that is what makes her a blast to read about.
March 12, 2022
Fia is the densest character I've read in a light novel yet. I think reading this required me to suspend some thought because of how ridiculous the things that Fia says and does. At least the situations she got her self into were pretty hilarious. The cover/insert art is definitely top tier since its by chibi (same illustrator as Unnamed Memory) which is the reason why I picked this up in the first place.
September 14, 2022
I don't like the main character at all. The plot is a good idea but the execution for this story just doesn't feel right. It feels like a stumble in the dark while you view everything through the perspective of a complete air head. The main character's head is so empty...yet...every mistake she makes...somehow magically turns into luck turning to her side.
Like I said the plot is a good idea but the way this is written and the main character just turns me off on this book so hard.
Like I said the plot is a good idea but the way this is written and the main character just turns me off on this book so hard.
July 13, 2023
I read this based on its high ratings and seemingly good reviews. I quite wished I hadn't.
This series has a clumsy and erratic female main character reminiscent of the 90s female manga protagonist who plagued all shonen genre series.
There are frequent fat shaming jokes for comedic pauses.
If you enjoy an overpowered character who can't quite gather her thoughts enough to keep the story momentum going, this is the series for you. Oh, and a dragon. It has a dragon in a bird suit.
This series has a clumsy and erratic female main character reminiscent of the 90s female manga protagonist who plagued all shonen genre series.
There are frequent fat shaming jokes for comedic pauses.
If you enjoy an overpowered character who can't quite gather her thoughts enough to keep the story momentum going, this is the series for you. Oh, and a dragon. It has a dragon in a bird suit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2021
Fia Ruud is a 15-year old girl, the youngest of a family of knights, about to start her test to become an adult. She always wanted to become a knight, and to do so she needs to defeat a monster on her own, but she lacks talent. During the mission she triggers her memories of a past life as a Saint (healers, always women) in the same kingdom, but a few centuries earlier. The Saint was betrayed and killed, so she decides to keep things secretly, and join the knights as a fresh recruit and become an ordinary knight.
The idea of the story was interesting, but the execution just did not click with me. If it was just the the stupidity and memory of gold fish of Fia whom stumbles her way through good fortune, it would be mostly a matter of taste and a few times it did make me smile.
The issue for me is that there does not seem to be much consistency (e.g. why state you always forget your embarrassing behaviour when drunk, when that was the first time you were drunk?) and the odd switches between 1st and 3rd person point of view within the same scene were at times confusing. You follow along characters internal thoughts, hear them make a statement to the public and only afterward explain why even though you were following their internal thoughts when the event happened. There is also no explanation on why people forgot the nature of the power of the Saint, but the author might give that answer in a future book. The characters also feel indistinct. There are many side characters making it difficult to remember who is whom. Finally, Fia herself is just odd. She always wanted to be a knight, but knows nothing about current heroes of the brigade and monsters and when she remembers being tortured to death all it changes is that she thinks it is wise to keep her powers secret (which she obviously is very bad at).
All in all, it was a struggle to finish the book. Definitely not for me, and there are better examples of comedies in which the MC tries to keep her powers secret and fails at it or MCs who lack self-awareness and yet achieve great things because of it....
The idea of the story was interesting, but the execution just did not click with me. If it was just the the stupidity and memory of gold fish of Fia whom stumbles her way through good fortune, it would be mostly a matter of taste and a few times it did make me smile.
The issue for me is that there does not seem to be much consistency (e.g. why state you always forget your embarrassing behaviour when drunk, when that was the first time you were drunk?) and the odd switches between 1st and 3rd person point of view within the same scene were at times confusing. You follow along characters internal thoughts, hear them make a statement to the public and only afterward explain why even though you were following their internal thoughts when the event happened. There is also no explanation on why people forgot the nature of the power of the Saint, but the author might give that answer in a future book. The characters also feel indistinct. There are many side characters making it difficult to remember who is whom. Finally, Fia herself is just odd. She always wanted to be a knight, but knows nothing about current heroes of the brigade and monsters and when she remembers being tortured to death all it changes is that she thinks it is wise to keep her powers secret (which she obviously is very bad at).
All in all, it was a struggle to finish the book. Definitely not for me, and there are better examples of comedies in which the MC tries to keep her powers secret and fails at it or MCs who lack self-awareness and yet achieve great things because of it....
June 17, 2024
When I first started reading this book, I have to admit, I found it a bit boring. But I decided to stick with it, hoping that it would get more interesting. It wasn't until I reached Fiia's awakening chapter that I really started getting into it. Now, don't get me wrong, the author definitely has potential, but I can't help but compare the writing style to an anime with a bunch of filler episodes. The book is made up of 33 chapters, plus afterwords and newsletters, and the fillers start popping up around chapter 28.
Now, let me give you a bit of context. This is actually the 42nd light novel I've read in the past two months, and a lot of them are part of multi-volume series. You see, most of the books I've read usually wrap up the story pretty nicely in the first volume, while still leaving me curious and excited for what comes next. But this particular book just didn't hit the mark for me. It failed to deliver that satisfaction, and I felt like my time was wasted from chapter 28 onwards.
Despite my disappointment, I'm not ready to give up just yet. I'm still holding out hope that the future volumes will redeem the story and make up for the lackluster parts. So, I'll keep reading, fingers crossed that things will improve.
Now, let me give you a bit of context. This is actually the 42nd light novel I've read in the past two months, and a lot of them are part of multi-volume series. You see, most of the books I've read usually wrap up the story pretty nicely in the first volume, while still leaving me curious and excited for what comes next. But this particular book just didn't hit the mark for me. It failed to deliver that satisfaction, and I felt like my time was wasted from chapter 28 onwards.
Despite my disappointment, I'm not ready to give up just yet. I'm still holding out hope that the future volumes will redeem the story and make up for the lackluster parts. So, I'll keep reading, fingers crossed that things will improve.
September 10, 2021
Exciting Read
This is a really good book, worth reading. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that it's about a girl who awakens to her past life as the Great Saint and decides to hide it for various reasons. Despite "hiding her status," she can't resist the temptation to use her powers, and her lack of common sense leads her to give herself away more often than not, to the point where I'd say the only reason she hasn't been figured out is because they think that Saints all have to have manifested their powers by age 3.
It's an exciting story, and the character has a sort of charm to her. She can be clever and read the flow of battle thanks to her past life memories, but generally she's an airhead, completely unaware of the ramifications of her actions, which I think has a lot more "human" a feel than all the super genius trope characters in other similar series.
This is a really good book, worth reading. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that it's about a girl who awakens to her past life as the Great Saint and decides to hide it for various reasons. Despite "hiding her status," she can't resist the temptation to use her powers, and her lack of common sense leads her to give herself away more often than not, to the point where I'd say the only reason she hasn't been figured out is because they think that Saints all have to have manifested their powers by age 3.
It's an exciting story, and the character has a sort of charm to her. She can be clever and read the flow of battle thanks to her past life memories, but generally she's an airhead, completely unaware of the ramifications of her actions, which I think has a lot more "human" a feel than all the super genius trope characters in other similar series.
November 23, 2021
Fun and wholesome
A mostly light-hearted story with a likeable and sorta goofy and sorta oblivious main character.
The character is given overpowered abilities and experience due to memories she received of her past life. However, because of the way she died in the previous life, she wants to keep the powers a secret.
The humour of this novel mainly stems from her talent for misreading the thoughts of people around her and her misguided and inept attempts at being deceptive.
Most of it was fun because if this as the other part felt like 'op mc doing op thimgs' but I personally liked the side story at the end the most as it was very wholesome.
The novel relies on its character as the story itself doesn't really feel like it has a big conflict or anything yet.
A mostly light-hearted story with a likeable and sorta goofy and sorta oblivious main character.
The character is given overpowered abilities and experience due to memories she received of her past life. However, because of the way she died in the previous life, she wants to keep the powers a secret.
The humour of this novel mainly stems from her talent for misreading the thoughts of people around her and her misguided and inept attempts at being deceptive.
Most of it was fun because if this as the other part felt like 'op mc doing op thimgs' but I personally liked the side story at the end the most as it was very wholesome.
The novel relies on its character as the story itself doesn't really feel like it has a big conflict or anything yet.
April 23, 2024
This book was actually really good. It was about this one teenager named Fia who wants to be a knight. Unfortunately, she is not quite cut out to do this. Then she meets a wounded animal in the forest and helps it by using some sort of magic potion. The animal she helps becomes a large, powerful dragon. It says it will help Fia by giving her magic powers. Also, Fia has flashbacks of being a Saint in a past life. She tries to become a knight but does not want everyone to know she has magic powers. This is when the adventure begins.
This graphing novel hooked me in at the beginning. It has everything you would want in a manga book. It has lots of action in it. I was absolutely fascinated by the story the whole time. I loved the illustrations. If you love manga, try reading this book.
This graphing novel hooked me in at the beginning. It has everything you would want in a manga book. It has lots of action in it. I was absolutely fascinated by the story the whole time. I loved the illustrations. If you love manga, try reading this book.
October 5, 2023
Great premise but terrible execution and writing. The characters were cardboard cutouts and they really aren't realistic at all.
I was actually having mantras in my head that 'this was just a light novel' so don't nitpick it too much but after reading one page of it, it became apparent that it's just the issue of writing. Either the author was stupid or he/she was trying to make the MC stupid.
It really makes me wonder why some authors think they're funny and think what they wrote was also funny. You should know that there is a thin line between comical and dumbness.
Rated it as 1.5 ⭐ , .5 for the premise.
I was actually having mantras in my head that 'this was just a light novel' so don't nitpick it too much but after reading one page of it, it became apparent that it's just the issue of writing. Either the author was stupid or he/she was trying to make the MC stupid.
It really makes me wonder why some authors think they're funny and think what they wrote was also funny. You should know that there is a thin line between comical and dumbness.
Rated it as 1.5 ⭐ , .5 for the premise.
September 15, 2021
I enjoyed this so much!
What a pleasant suprise! This book is a hidden gem! I'm so glad I kept reading! The beginning is a bit choppy and was almost hard to follow, but I quickly fell in love with the quirky protagonist and the characters she encounters. Several scenes I could clearly visualize hilariously animated. I am very much looking forward to the continuation of this story, growth of the author's skill, an realization of the hints of foreshadowing dropped by the author!
What a pleasant suprise! This book is a hidden gem! I'm so glad I kept reading! The beginning is a bit choppy and was almost hard to follow, but I quickly fell in love with the quirky protagonist and the characters she encounters. Several scenes I could clearly visualize hilariously animated. I am very much looking forward to the continuation of this story, growth of the author's skill, an realization of the hints of foreshadowing dropped by the author!
December 9, 2021
If I will liken this to anything, this strongly gives me My Next Life As A Villainess vibes by virtue of just how much the main character reminds me of Katarina. Sometimes, a good silly MC is what one needs after reading a few "more serious" isekai series.
It had a rocky start, but it's grown on me closer towards the end. Now I won't be able to stop thinking about that side chapter with the other brigade captain and what will happen next until April.
It had a rocky start, but it's grown on me closer towards the end. Now I won't be able to stop thinking about that side chapter with the other brigade captain and what will happen next until April.
October 28, 2022
I wasn't expecting to like this series as much as I did. I finished it in one day, got the second one the next day and finished reading that, ordered the third one and read that the day it came before I had to go to work. I've already pre-ordered the fourth and fifth volumes.
There's just something endearing about an OP main character who is oblivious to how OP she actually is (granted everyone became incredibly weak compared to 300 years ago).
There's just something endearing about an OP main character who is oblivious to how OP she actually is (granted everyone became incredibly weak compared to 300 years ago).
April 1, 2024
The premise is very interesting, but the writing is absolutely horrible. Fia is so painfully stupid that it is difficult to keep reading. The scenarios are so unbelievably dumb - her former and current sibling’s treatment of her, the knights being crushed by her “horrible” comment, her inability to stop doing Saint like things and giving stupid explanations…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2021
An awesome and wholesome book
I totally loved this author's style! I truly can't wait to read the next installment of this series. A feel good book at its finest! For your own sake, please read this one! I'm certain that you won't be disappointed 😊
I totally loved this author's style! I truly can't wait to read the next installment of this series. A feel good book at its finest! For your own sake, please read this one! I'm certain that you won't be disappointed 😊
January 20, 2022
Das Drama war stellenweise recht unnötig- auch, wenn ich weiß, warum Fia so gehandelt hat, ist es schon etwas nervig von ihr, dass sie lieber irgendwelche Lügengeschichten erzählt, anstatt ehrlich zu sein- besonders, da die Personen, die sie verrieten, schon längst tot sind...
March 17, 2022
Lively
Interesting book, I love the fact the MC is blissfully unaware and self assured she is right with absolutely zero proof. Looking forward to her 'blackish, dragonish, blue dove' familiar in the next misadventure.
Interesting book, I love the fact the MC is blissfully unaware and self assured she is right with absolutely zero proof. Looking forward to her 'blackish, dragonish, blue dove' familiar in the next misadventure.
April 24, 2022
The background and setting looked interesting, but the MC was just too much of an idiot; if she had Charisma and Intelligence scores, they would be in the negatives. My interest in everything else just wasn't enough for me to force through.
April 1, 2023
An interesting and funny book. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, so I took a few chapters to adjust to the humorous mood mixed with only slight seriousness. Once I got used to it, I actually found myself enjoying the story. I may continue the series. Definitely interested in how things develop
January 2, 2024
Cute enough story but the Heroine isn't the brightest in the bunch and there is a lot of 'all these people hate her because she's weak but get intrigued whenever she shows the slightest ounce of ability'. I don't really enjoy stories where half the main characters are mean for no good reason.
January 5, 2025
Has some potential but it's yet another light novel that makes the protagonist really stupid/oblivious and just mines that well over and over for its jokes.
Weird decision to imply torture/rape in the backstory when it's so lighthearted.
Weird decision to imply torture/rape in the backstory when it's so lighthearted.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews