Alice > Recent Status Updates

Not a good sign when I'm thinking "Is it too early to DNF this already?" I swear the first two chapters have made this book sound like Infodump: The Novel.

Ngl I'm so freaking booooored by the relationship between Zetian and Qin Zheng

I don't know what is up with Goodreads, but no matter how I try fiddling with the settings, I can't get notifications to show up when people comment on my reviews. If I miss a comment, I'm so sorry! Hopefully this is just a glitch that will get fixed eventually 💀

Pro tip: Harassing BIPOC readers for their opinions on how their own culture is represented in a fantasy novel is not the allyship you think it is. If that’s you, I hope you sit and reflect on your life choices.

You know what this book should have been? It should have been the story promised by the summary: a rivals-to-lovers romance. Instead, it's "two guys who are forced into a rivalry but don't even bother to fake it and already know they like each other anyway so there's basically no conflict in their relationship" and it's SO. DULL.

God I'm so bored with this book. I'm also side-eyeing everyone who claims this is a good romance HARD. This is one of the blandest yet also simultaneously most problematic romances I've read in a long while.

I enjoyed the first two chapters but now I'm getting annoyed with this book. The MC is too similar to Wei Wuxian for me to overlook the comparison to MDZS, but also far more annoying than WWX to read about. :/ The magic system also feels eerily like it was inspired by cultivation but with a European coat of paint slapped over it and it bugs me.

This book has an amazing premise and yet something about it is really not working for me. Maybe because it's the dialogue sounds unnatural for teenagers, the first-person narrative voice sounds like it's trying too hard to be snarky, and the characters feel extremely shallow despite their witty banter.

Looking at the books I've read in 2023, I haven't given many high ratings to Chinese fantasy novels. T_T Hopefully that changes in 2024!! Here are some Chinese fantasy novels I'm looking forward to:

FATHOMFOLK by Eliza Chan
DARKER BY FOUR by June CL Tan
HEAVENLY TYRANT by Xiran Jay Zhao
OF JADE AND DRAGONS by Amber Chen
THE LAST DRAGON OF THE EAST by Katrina Kwan
DESCENDANTS OF DRAGONS by Katie Zhao

Daughter of the Moon Goddess was a 5-star read for me, but so far this is hovering in the 3 star range. I just feel very distant from everything that's going on, and the plot doesn't have an overarching direction (like DOTMG did); it just feels like Xingyin dealing with one short-term crisis after another.

Currently a 1-star read for me, for multiple reasons. Not sure how far I'll be able to make it through this book.

I find the pacing of this book quite odd, and I've been trying to put my finger on the issue. It feels like each time I get sucked into the action, the scene/chapter ends, only to start a new one with a block of description that kills the pacing.

I wish I could blow through this book but I'm finding it bogged down by too much telling of random information about the world or about Jamie's life. It's a lot of detail that feels like it could be summed up more quickly, or cut entirely.

I am INCREDIBLY grossed out by the fact that not once, but TWICE, the book has Oliver bonding with his siblings as a reason for Gavin to misunderstand and get jealous because he thinks he's seeing Oliver with a LOVER OR EX-LOVER. Like I get this trope in general, but NOT WITH A SIBLING!!!!

Currently thinking this is a 3 star read. It's...fine, I guess? But I expected more considering the hype, tbh. The idea of the world is cool, but I have zero attachment to any of the characters, and I'd probably DNF this if I wasn't listening to the audiobook.

Very mixed feelings so far...I love the narrating voice, and I usually don't have an issue with pop culture references, but 90% of these references are going over my head. And the fact that we don't understand Kian and Hudson's past makes it very hard to understand/empathize with their current emotions.