Dawning III

Dawning #3

by Ice, K. Alex (Translator)

Alternate cover edition of ASIN 177408337X

Vol#3: It's a big world.

No matter where, no matter when, no matter what - anything is good.

As long as it's with you.

You're truly talented at seducing me.

That's because I'm truly serious about loving you.

Genres: Contemporary

358 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2023

Reviews

[࣪ ִֶָ☾.⋆˚࿔ ִֶָ. Althea ᥫ᭡. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was about halfway through the 2nd volume and got bored but I decided to stick with it. Managed to finish to the end but when it got to the extras, I was heavily debating on just dropping it there. Overall, when they get together it’s just fluff and rainbows, they’re very lovey-dovey. A fun read when you want to binge something and switch your brain off :)

[Ky ! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the most fun extras i’ve ever read.

I just fell so in love with this series 🥹

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very satisfying and hard earned ending after SO much angst and miscommunication. I wanted to scream at and hug both Li Luo and Duan Mingyang
throughout this story. I really loved their relationship in this last book and we learn some really endearing things about both of them ❤️ The story is resolved pretty early in this book with over half of it being extras. There are *some* editing errors as it’s a translated novel but nothing so bad that it takes you out of the story.

✔️Exes/enemies to lovers
✔️Miscommunication/midunderstandings
✔️Angst
✔️Rich and powerful family rivalries
✔️🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Deana · Rating 5 out of 5]

After some proper communication (finally!!), the 2647837 misunderstandings from vol 1+2 were resolved and sweetness descends in this volume. Kudos to the author for the bed scenes in the novel, really well written 🥵

Also loved the amount of screen time for Li Luo’s hair ™ ; practically its own main character

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sad to see Li Luo (MC) & Duan Mingyang (ML) go ngl. I usually avoid contemporary romance like the plague but this series just worked for me.

I would recommend it as a good summer or holiday read as it's very melodramatic and fast paced plus there's plenty of 🌶.

Can't say I'm a fan of the extras though as there was noncon sex which I hate tbh. But the ending to the story itself was great.

[Iulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did end up giving 5* to the whole series after all. As a person who values enjoyment above anything when it comes to books, this was all I could wish for.
Somehow I finished the entire series in 24h. Thankfully I chose to read this while having a few days off or I'd probably think about it and get frustrated because I can't read it continuously.

Their story finally concludes here. Actually half the volume is extras but they're really cute so I do recommend reading them. The books were full of symbolism, every little thing meant something for them and I was giggling, kicking my feet, screaming in frustration, dying of embarrassment...etc etc

Now I can declare myself as a fan of this author and I'll definitely read more of their work in the future, starting with our side couple's book.

[Heather’s Reading Bubble · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t have much to say. What I liked about Dawning I liked, what I didn’t I really didn’t. I could’ve done without the unnecessary scenes where the lines of consent were muddled due to alcohol. Those scenes weren’t necessary. For me personally I would say this series was just ok. It wouldn’t be in my top danmei that I’ve read but it’s also not the worst I’ve ever read.

[Dilushani Jayalath · Rating 4 out of 5]

And just like that, I’ve finally finished Dawning. After all the negative buzz about Via Lactea’s translations, I was honestly nervous to pick this up. I expected clunky language and distracting errors, but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the translation isn’t perfect and the pricing is on the higher side, but the issues were minor — definitely not as bad as people made them out to be.

Now, let’s talk about the story itself. I wasn’t expecting it to be this spicy! But what really worked for me is that the book doesn’t rely on the steam alone — there’s an actual plot here, and it keeps things moving in a way that feels satisfying. It’s not just well-written smut; it’s a story with heart (and heat).
This was my first time reading this author, but it won’t be my last. And honestly, this gave me the push I needed to branch out from just sticking to Seven Seas titles. Indian imprints deserve more attention, and I’m glad I finally gave one a chance.

All in all, Dawning was a fun, fiery read — and a reminder not to let bad reviews scare you off completely.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5! My new comfort read :) good romance, with a tiny bit on angst. Those extras brought it to a new level. And the smut is definitely smutting in this one lol

[delanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly just dumb, the characters were stupid, the plot was half baked and how could I possibly support them as a couple after all that domestic violence 😭 Duan Mingyang if u were really about that self-sacrificial shit you wouldve just killed yourself

[Queens Love Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I didn’t know how many minutes and seconds we’d have, but I wanted time to forever pause in that minute and that second from back then. I wanted myself to… forever stay the way you love.”



Just finished Dawning III, and wow, what a satisfying and hard-earned ending after all that angst and miscommunication! I wanted to scream at and hug both Li Luo and Duan Mingyang throughout the story. Their relationship really shines in this last book, and we finally learn some sweet things about both of them.
The first half wraps up the main story nicely, giving us the resolution we've all been waiting for. Duan Xingye and Duan Tianyou get their comeuppance, and we see how Li Luo and Duan Mingyang will move forward in their relationship and careers. It’s a nice change of pace after all the emotional turmoil, with plenty of adorable domestic moments.
And the extras? They're about 150+ pages of pure fun! The first extra offers Duan Mingyang's perspective on their college days, adding depth to his character. The second extra features all our favorite side characters in a lighthearted scenario that’s just a joy to read.
While the story is melodramatic and filled with misunderstandings, the payoff is definitely worth it. Li Luo and Duan Mingyang go through so much growth, making them sympathetic even when they mess up.
There were a few editing errors, especially in the extras, but they didn’t ruin my enjoyment. Overall, Dawning III is a fantastic wrap-up to a series that has kept me entertained from the start. If you’re into contemporary romance with lots of drama and a bit of spice, this one’s a must-read! I can't believe it's over, but I’m so glad I picked it up!

Date Read: 2024.10.06

[tatterpunk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dawning I
Dawning II


Excellent series.

This is one of the plot-heaviest contemporary danmei title I've read, and as soon as the warring families/business feud aspects wrap up you can see Bingkuai'er struggling a little bit to find the same relentless drive and captivating rhythms her leads had when they were more at odds/more in cahoots. There's a bit of a lull where everything wraps up super neatly, the romance is super sweet, to be honest it's kind of dull... and even BK starts fading to black in her sex scenes, like, you can TELL she's just going through the motions.

But then she finds her rhythm again! Listen, golf claps for a danmei author who picks up on the charged, over-the-top power dynamics of sex scenes in most danmei, as an outlet for women in a sexually repressive culture, and goes: "Hey, now that they're not actually fucked-up and toxic... what if they were just overtly into kink?"

It works like gangbusters. In fact, I was shocked to discover that BK has possibly been developing Li Luo's brat routine this entire time, because it is PERFECTED by the time they're actually on honeymoon. There's not so much on-page negotiation to detract from the dirty-bad-wrongness that characterized their earlier, charged scenes full of emotional misunderstanding, but there is SOME and I'm grateful for it. (Some of it is more retroactive, like the scene in Li Luo's dressing-room... listen, it's a romance novel, so I'm fine that it's three parts fantasy to every one of realism, ymmv.) So in that vein: warnings for repeated scenes of consensual non-consent, where BK treads the line with impunity because it's clearly what she loves about this couple. Idk, I was convinced they are exactly the kind of people that would play and fuck like this, so it was fine for me. (I'm never convinced that non-fantasy assholes self-lubricate, JUST HAVE THE CHARACTERS BUY LUBE jesus christ.)

It helps that Duan Mingyang is, again, one of my favorite flavors of dom that I very rarely get to see in fiction, where he's into degradation sexually, but emotionally is very very very into service. It's not played as kink, because I don't think BK is knowledgeable about kink outside of penetrative acts, but the scene of him washing Li Luo's feet is very much the flip side of their sex scenes, very clearly stated to be the other side of that coin, and......... Again, it's just a very thoughtful portrayal: Duan Mingyan's discomfort with emotion subverted into acts both forceful and reverent, Li Luo's hyper-confidence in his own feelings becoming clear and welcome communication but also frequent self-contradiction and play. It makes me forgive a lot of the usual danmei silliness, like the constant insistence that they're only gay for each other.

(Although here there's a bit more grace here because they're also only sexual for each other; at least they lack experience with other male OR any female partners. Is that weird? Yes. Not that demisexuality is weird; weird in the sense that this is clearly an emotional kink of supposed straight women reading/writing romances between men but not wanting them to actually be gay outside of that romance.

It's a weird genre. I roll with it.)

So my only real criticism of this volume is that the side story of their college years until breakup from Mingyang's point of view is long, and unfortunately pretty boring. It doesn't cover anything we couldn't already guess had been going on with Duan Mingyang from Li Luo's POV... but then, okay, I say that, and then I immediately have to acknowledge I vibe with Mingyang's character type in a way I have seen for myself isn't always shared among other people in the same fandoms. Well, at least BK is consistent in her characterization? It was always clear to ME Duan Mingyang was insane over Li Luo, but the story is there for people who don't get that character type on the same level. I still wish we'd gotten his POV of the discovery of the blackmail tape. THAT would have made the entire volume for me, and I'm still kind of mad BK didn't deliver.

(I mean, I can guess why: easily the blackest moment in Duan Mingyang's life, and yes I would include the breakup call; the breakup hurt HIM, he could deal with that. Realizing how much and just how deeply his family had hurt Li Luo would have been insanely devastating. Like, genuinely painful, awful, there's a reason that's the moment he thinks he has to give up Li Luo entirely.

..... cut to: me clawing at the window, drooling at the mouth, GIVE IT TO ME BINGKUAI'ER, I WANT TO SEE HIM BLEED OUT FOR LOVE OF LI LUO.)

I try to make it clear when I leave reviews for danmei titles that I'm here for a Good Time. Dawning really delivers: high drama, tropes and cliches all thrown into the stewpot, a breakneck narrative pace and satisfying ending. But it's elevated to something rather special in the depiction of the relationship between its two leads: unexpectedly complicated and thoughtfully nuanced, shockingly tender and attentive, and surprisingly real-feeling in its negotiation of sex and romance, desire and yearning, the base and the elevated... it integrates all those things in a way I rarely see done in this particular kind of romance novel. I'm still working out my very complex feelings about danmei as a genre, but I'm not ashamed to have Dawning on my shelves.

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What kind of life can I not put up with, as long as I have you?"

At last, we have the long-awaited romance part of this romance series! The last few chapters of the second volume contained the climax of this series, and this third volume directly starts after the confrontation with Duan Xingye and Duan Tianyou. We finally get all the good things that we've been waiting for, such as the villains' comeuppance and the resolution to our external conflicts, and lots of domesticity between Li Luo and Duan Mingyang. We also get significant appearances from some beloved side characters as an added treat! I almost didn't want to read this volume because I didn't want it to end.

The first half of this third - and last - volume is the conclusion to the main story. Duan Xingye and Duan Tianyou are jailed, the issue with Li Zhenghong gets a neat resolution, and we also get a glimpse of how Li Luo and Duan Mingyang will proceed in the future with both their relationship and their careers. It's an easygoing volume, overall, and I think it's well-deserved after the extraordinary amounts of drama we got in the other volumes. Now that the main conflict is over and our couple is together again, we see more of their true personalities come to the surface. We get to witness Li Luo's cheeky side, and Duan Mingyang's indulgent side, among other things.

The latter half of this volume contains the extras, which feel quite plentiful since they're about 150+ pages. We get one final flashback as the first extra of the series; this is Duan Mingyang's own perspective of his and Li Luo's college days. I thought that this was a good addition as it tied up some loose ends about their past and also gave more insight into Duan Mingyang's own character. The second extra, though, felt like the highlight of the latter half of the book. We get a fun little scenario involving Li Luo, Duan Mingyang, Jiang Liushen, Xia Xi'ai, and even Lin Cheng and Su Zhi! It breathes more life into the cast of characters around our main couple.

Overall, I really enjoyed the series! It's definitely an acquired taste, or something that you only read when you're in a very specific mood, because it's melodramatic as hell and our main couple's actions - towards each other and towards the people around them - can be questionable at times. It's not very easy to like them in the beginning. But if you can suspend your disbelief every once in a while, and have it in your heart to forgive the things that Li Luo and Duan Mingyang do and say to each other out of their mutual hurt, then the payoff in this last volume can be very rewarding.

Aside from that, I can't attest to the quality of the translation since I don't read Chinese, but I found the language easy to read, and the writing itself wasn't too bad. It does emulate the fanfic style of writing in the third person present tense, which might not be everyone's cup of tea. I thought that maybe the proofreading got a bit more sloppy towards the extras, since I noticed there were more errors there than usual, but overall I think this is on the better side of editing and proofreading from Via Lactea. (At the very least, it doesn't insert translation notes in the middle of the story unlike in The Missing Piece.)

Having licensed contemporary danmei is a breath of air, since the most accessible licensed danmei right now are mostly wuxia and xianxia. If you enjoyed The Missing Piece, which is another contemporary danmei title licensed by Via Lactea, then I would say that this series is worth a try. That is, if you ever manage to get your hands on copies.

[Miele ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.25 ★

Dawning III closes the trilogy with a blend of revenge, tenderness, and passion — though not without some frustrations. The opening revenge scene gave me everything I wanted (justice, catharsis, and sheer satisfaction), but afterwards the narrative mellowed out. I kept wishing for more detail about the fallout: the court felt too lenient, the Duan brother’s punishment too easy, and certain threads that had been building since Book II wrapped up far too quickly.

That said, the extras elevated the whole experience. At first, I was overwhelmed (the first two were 40+ minutes each to read, almost like novellas!), but once I dove in, they rewarded me with warmth, domesticity, and closure. Honeymoon (Extra #5) was my absolute favorite — a perfect mix of tender intimacy and unapologetically steamy passion, crossing off many of my favorite tropes and kinks while showing the couple at their most vulnerable and most in love.

Compared to the rest of the trilogy:
• Dawning I (4 ★): a solid start, weighed down by endless miscommunication.
• Dawning II (5 ★): the emotional crown jewel — heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, unforgettable.
• Dawning III + Extras (4.25 ★): softer, slower, not as sharp as Book II, but still satisfying, with the extras giving it the sense of closure I wanted.

Do I wish the conclusion carried the same emotional punch as Book II? Yes. But am I satisfied with how it all wrapped up? Also yes. With heartbreak, reconciliation, sass, and top-tier smut (the author never once held back), this trilogy delivered everything I wanted in the end.

Final verdict: Dawning is a trilogy worth reading if you love angst, second chances, messy miscommunication that finally gets resolved, and romances that crawl out of darkness into light. Book II will live rent-free in my heart forever, Book III tied the bow (with a few frayed ends), and the extras reminded me why I fell for these characters in the first place.

[Shyam]

this book reminded me of a book 'Reset' and Little about, 50 shades of grey. It was going so well, but later I felt they were more or less 'what if's and 'blame game'. this story has lots of push and pull literally and figuratively. Why did they stay together even after this much break ups. Anyway, the good this is that the way their relationship got stronger as the story moves on. The character's development.

[Asya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece! Literally probably one of my favorite Danmei like the character dynamic everything was perfect. I didn’t even realize when the extras started.

I feel honored to be the first ever review even tho it’s quit sad more people need to read this

[Cheibby · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quick, fun read for me.I kind of predicted how the things will go, but still, I found myself enjoying the dynamic between Li Luo and Duan Mingyan.

[Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Def my fav of the 3! It was pure sugar and spice! No angst!!

[molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved the conclusion. the extra where they did the show at the restaurant was my favorite part 😭🫶🏻

[ranmao · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5☆

[Jie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5, highly entertaining dogblood read with two characters who, through a series of misunderstandings, have compelling reasons to hate each other but are also down bad for one another despite it all and learn to rebuild their relationship starting with trust. I found both Li Luo and Duan Mingyang to be very sympathetic. They're also really horny. Felt like the author was writing in all of their own kinks (which is great!).

Side note: Considering that this is a professional translations, it needed a bit more polish. Consistent misuse of 'would' was distracting.