I'm honestly stunned by this book, but not in the good way. In comparison to Vol. 1, this one's focus is put more on the relationships between the maiI'm honestly stunned by this book, but not in the good way. In comparison to Vol. 1, this one's focus is put more on the relationships between the main characters than on the action which automatically should make the book better, but it didn't. In the contrary.
Because my soul is naturally good and pure, I will start with the good things before going to the bad ones:
~ Guo Changcheng I liked him in the previous book and I like him in this one, despite the fact that he isn't as present in the story like he was before. The author still makes fun of him in every situation possible, but there were some redeeming scenes of GC being praised and loved like she should be. ~ Chu Shuzhi Despite not being much in the focus and not being impactful on the story in any way (like every other character than the main ones), I found his character very interesting. ~ Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi This is something I did not expect to like, because GC was clearly afraid of CS (rightfully so) which isn't a great start for any relationship. But despite all the issues between them there was some kind of spark there. I don't know if they will become a couple or become friends or nothing at all (I will not be there to witness it), but I liked their scenes in this book. ~ Sangzan I did not expect to like such a person, but he was so adorable in this book that I couldn't help, but swoon wherever he had shown up. ~ Wang Xiangyang's case When I was reading vol. 2, I wished for the romance plot to be more in focus than the action. My wish came true. But now I wished that the action was more in focus than the romance, because 1) I had issues with the main relationship of the story (more about it below) and 2) in the contrary to vol. 1, the action was much more interesting to me than the romance.
Okay, now let's go to the bad things. My main issue with vol. 1 is the romance part, so I will start with it.
Read these two quotes and tell me who did you think about, okay?
He occasionally slipped into Zhao Yunlan's home at night but never dared to stay for long. Zhao Yunlan was very alert. But in a stroke of good fortune, Zhao Yunlan recently had many dinners to attend, and he would arrive home half-drunk. Only at such times could Shen Wei risk drawing a little closer.
"My very existence is inauspicious," he said. "I can only bring you harm."
Did you think about Edward Cullen maybe? Because if so, welcome in the club, because I thought the same thing! I had to double check the title of the book, because I genuinely felt like I had picked the Twilight book by mistake. It was so bizarre. I didn't think that anyone writes like this thinking that it's romantic, but I guess, I was wrong.
For me it's not romantic. It's NOT. It's just CREEPY and makes me incredibly uncomfortable.
"In this lifetime, whether dead or alive, I won't let you go again. Even if one day you've had enough or tire of me, even if you want to leave me, I'll never let you go."
ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!
RED FLAG! RED FLAG! RED FLAG! RED FLAG!
These words belong to Shen Wei, Zhao Yunlan's romantic interest. And this romantic interest, who was supposed to stay away from his "love", not only very quickly decided to become a couple with him, but, what is the worst thing that happened in this book, HAD SEX WITH ZHAO YUNLAN WHEN KUNLAN WAS IN CHARGE OF HIS BODY AND WHEN THAT BODY WAS DRUNK OUT OF HIS MIND.
ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!
RED FLAG! RED FLAG! RED FLAG! RED FLAG!
Again, how could this sound romantic? Just how?! How is Zhao Yunlan just smiling hearing this instead of packing his bags and running as far away as possible?!
I guess, it's because he's not better than his lover. Okay, he's not as bad as Shen Wei, but he did do some things that I didn't like (and neither should Shen Wei, but they both are dumb). First of all, he basically tried to force Shen Wei to move in with him by calling the moving company to his house. I have to point out that there was no talk about it with Shen Wei. It was purely Zhao Yunlan's decision. And it was Zhao Yunlan who bought a house for both of them, took Shen Wei there without a word to him about it, and gave him the keys. And it was Zhao Yunlan who had gone through Shen Wei's stuff at his home without Shen Wei's knowledge. This is how we come to the topic of Zhao Yunlan's paintings and oh boy, this also made me incredibly uncomfortable (as it should make Zhao Yunlan, but it didn't).
Except for the romance plot point problem, I had another issue. With the writing. I didn't like the author's writing style when I read vol. 1 and I didn't like it while reading vol. 2. There is no progress, it's the same kind of writing with stuff constantly being repeated, for example: Shen Wei was on the verge of losing his mind and once again Shen Wei didn't know how to react. I could ignore it a couple of times, but there was just too much of it. And what is up with throwing all the names and words at the reader like the reader is supposed to know what they mean? Don't get me started on the big history lesson that happened on the end of the book. My mind had completely shut off when I tried to get through it, so I have no idea what happened there. I tried to get through it a couple of times, but I understood nothing. I'm sorry, I'm so dumb.
Anyways, I am giving up on this series. There is only one book left, but I genuinely don't care what will happen there. Both Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan don't interest me. None of them are characters that I could cheer up for, neither individually nor as a couple. I'm ending my journey with this series, but not with the danmei stories. Maybe I will pick some again in the future with hopes that those stories will be more enjoyable....more
Loading...
