I want to start off with the poTrigger Warnings: Arson, blood, drugs, gore, mental illness, murder, explicit sexual content/assault, self-harm mention
I want to start off with the positives of the book before I go into the negatives. One thing I liked about the book was the prose/translation. There were some parts where the longer sentences were translated without structure, which led to confusion while reading, but it was few and far in between; It didn't ruin the flow. Other than those small things, I was able to follow along and see how well everything flowed. From what I read before from them, the main POV is usually the main character and then in other volumes the POV changes up. In this one, the POV was evenly split between He Yu and Xie Qingcheng and it flowed perfectly. You can tell which POV has been read and when it switched.
I also liked how the usual romantic tropes of seeing the love interest at the lowest, only one bed, being stuck somewhere alone was done by enemies. Usually at any of those points, there'd be a point of having feelings they can't explain and then it's pushed to the side. In this, the main leads hate each other and made it their mission to poke and prod at each other during those moments, which was funny. Each moment made them hate each other a little more and that amused me. This is my first time reading an enemy to lovers where there's not even a flicker of love, so it was refreshing to see something different and subverting the tropes. I'm not sure how I feel about them being homophobic (more on that in the dislikes section on the characters) but something about then trying to prove to the other they are worse and having an essential contest was amusing. It's amusing they want to prove how much they hate the other.
In terms of characters, I love Chen Man and Xie Xue. They both deserve the world and to be around better people.
Now, onto the negatives. I hated the two main characters. None of them were likeable enough for me to care. If they were to show how devastating and damaging toxic masculinity is, they certainly did that right. If we were supposed to like them despite it, then I certainly don't. They both kept saying they were straight and yeah; I can believe it. He Yu and Xie Qingcheng have zero chemistry. Yes, this is an enemy to lovers, but even though there are enemies, there needs to be just a tiny deep-down sense of caring. Even during their past, it seemed they didn't even like each other. The Joker and Batman are enemies but even they seem to care more about each other as enemies than He Yu and Xie Qingcheng are. In 2HA, the Mo Ran and Chu Wanning are enemies to each other, but they are both likeable. Chu Wanning is a cold character done right in terms of Meatbun's works (I haven't read Yuwu so I can't say if there's a cold like character there). To me, it seems Meatbun is more comfortable in a cultivator setting, at least in terms of characters. While their little contest to one up each other was funny, the comments on being homophobic made me feel a bit weird. Maybe it's because I've never read or seen any BL content where there's a grey area of homophobia in the relationship, but this really didn't work for me.
The plot is. . .well thin. I really don't know how to describe the plot. I know there's going to be a murder mystery side plot that seems more interesting but in terms of the main characters, as of now, I can't really say. It could be that since it's a slow burn, this volume is more getting to know the characters before going deep into it.
The mental illness aspect has left me. . .conflicted. The main character, He Yu, has a degenerative mental illness called "psychological Ebola" and he's one of 4 cases because it's that rare. There are descriptions of monster, deranged, psycho, madman toward He Yu and the disease and those are definitely derogatory but do show how dehumanized those with mental illness are. Mental illness, as well as sexism and toxic masculinity are put under a microscope and shown how devastating it can be so in that regard, it is good that it's there. On page 161 of the Nook eBook, there's a question on how mental illnesses arise and Xie Qingcheng's answer is a more humane approach: That "the vast majority of mental illnesses are normal people's responses to abnormal circumstances. . ." and that they shouldn't be locked up unless there's no other option is definitely a minority thought, but one that humanizes those with mental illnesses. In that regard, I think it was well down. I may hate Xie Qingcheng, but he sees He Yu as a human, an annoying one he hates, but one nonetheless and I give him a point for that.
However, it all goes downhill with the reveal that the psychological Ebola (which is a name I really hate; It could've been called anything else than that) also has a supernatural element to it. It's that supernatural element I don't really like and seems ridiculous. If the whole setting was an urban fantasy with a healthy mix of fantasy to a modern setting, I think that would be better. But the work tries hard to be grounded in "reality" that the sudden element was jarring. It was mentioned there was sci-fi elements, but that element was thrown halfway in with no lead up (at least, I don't remember a lead up) and was placed in a background of real illnesses (i.e. the psychiatric hospital). It could've been done better.
I fought hard between 2 star and 3 stars, but ultimately, I ended up going for 3. Despite of the big and small flaws, the murder mystery plot I did enjoy, and I was able to pick it up again after breaks. In my opinion, Meatbun does better in cultivation works but I do want to see if the other volumes recover and get better....more
When I was a child, this anime was one of my favorites! I wanted to travel with Holo and Lawerence so badly. Seeing the cover brought back memories, sWhen I was a child, this anime was one of my favorites! I wanted to travel with Holo and Lawerence so badly. Seeing the cover brought back memories, so I had to buy and read it. Even though I saw the anime, I will review it solely on how it's written, not on childhood nostalgia. I will also try not to compare the anime to the light novel because there will be similarities and differences and more cohesive and concise reviewers to analyze. However, I'll leave a link to one video from YouTuber Mother's Basement that compared this volume to the first six anime episodes. The link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaODUqK1UEw&t=488s
For those who haven't seen the anime or heard of Spice and Wolf before, it's about a traveling merchant named Kraft Lawerence (or just Lawerence), who, while resting during the night, finds a naked girl wolf girl (meaning she has the wolf ears and tail) named Holo and from there they travel together. This volume involved a merchant company trying to con Lawrence out of a profit dealing with a drop in the silver purity of Trenni coins. He realizes it's a scam and goes to reach out to the merchant company's rival, but during all that, Holo gets kidnapped and held as ransom because it turns out she's Holo, the Wolf Goddess that watches over the harvest and is seen as an abomination by the Church (which in the anime they leave the religion generalized because seeing the corruption of the Church and how it's the main antagonist throughout could offend).
While I need to be better versed in macro and microeconomics to see if there's a basis in truth or just entirely made up, it was interesting to read and didn't get shoved down my throat. You can tell that in the light novel, the battles are done through money and finances, and that's interesting. I am trying to remember if I read anything based on that, so it felt unique. It also mixes well with some supernatural and dramatic action. It's so smoothly integrated that you can believe, yes, a world of economics can also host the supernatural.
Lawrence is the readers' guide to this medieval-based society. His lectures on silver purity and bargaining, among other laws of the land and commerce, teach Holo and the readers. Once you understand these lectures, it makes the story enjoyable, and you learn something new (or at least inspire you to see if this can relate to this time). Lawrence is also a reader who is inserted into Holo's magical antics. He reacts to what we, the everyman just traveling along to survive, would respond to pairing up with a harvest god. He's intelligent, amiable, charming, savvy, yet easy to trust. He's experienced in the world but also wants to believe all people are inherently good. He's also lonely. Through the writing, we can read his inner monologue on how lonely the traveling merchant life is, something both the anime and light novel do well but differently. In the anime, we see subtle hints of Lawerence traveling past couples and watching friends interact. In the light novel, we have the monologue to read his feelings outright.
Next, we move on to Holo, the self-proclaimed wise wolf. She's haughty, demanding, and just as lonely, if not more than Lawerence. She's also afraid, feral, and angry at her time of loneliness. She spouts off wise saying at Lawerence and uses the things she learned from her experiences and observations to help Lawerence. One significant and funny example was cleverly selling the furs at a higher price. She is all this but also vulnerable; she doesn't want to be alone and wants a friend again. When she transforms, she wants Lawerence to look away so he won't look at her differently and run away, like so many others did. In the prologue, we read that she leaves because she feels she no longer has a place. Imagine holding onto that feeling for hundreds of years and then stewing on it with no one in sight.
What makes their relationship so interesting (which will end up being romantic but going slow burn) is that they depend on each other, even if neither refuses to admit it. Lawrence depends on her for her quick thinking and company; Holo depends on him for her amusement and to ground her, as well as transportation, nourishment, clothes, and the like. There's also an attraction to them. They dance around it, but regardless, they are connected. If you look past the fact that the form she takes looks like that of a 15-year-old, it's rather sweet. Holo is considered a demon, sinful in the eyes of the Church, whose influence is felt and mentioned throughout. The fact Lawerence puts his own life on the line for someone who popped into his wagon in the night shows that he cares, regardless of their occasional bickering.
If you wanted to check this out before or after watching the anime, there's just one thing to note: Lawerence's friend. In the light novel, Yarei is a friend from Pasloe Village; in the anime, a farm girl named Chloe has a crush on Lawerence and sees him as a mentor. For some reason, the anime felt the need to add an unnecessary romantic subplot. It would've been better without that subplot, but it's there.
Overall, this is great for those who are just getting interested in anime and manga and need a stepping stone from novels to manga. The world is an entertaining blend of humor and excitement. I give this 4.5 out of 5 stars and am ready for nostalgia to take over in the second volume. ...more
My emotions were all over the place. While there was a whole lot of exposition dumping in this final volume, I was already way too invested that I didMy emotions were all over the place. While there was a whole lot of exposition dumping in this final volume, I was already way too invested that I didn't mind it so much. I'm not going to lie, I almost cried near the end. I now feel empty that this series is over. At least I can reread this whenever I want. I can't relive my original emotions, but I can look back on this like meeting an old friend....more
Disclaimer: I have seen the C-Drama, so I know the basis of what this series will entail. It is also fun to compare what I remember of the C-Drama to Disclaimer: I have seen the C-Drama, so I know the basis of what this series will entail. It is also fun to compare what I remember of the C-Drama to what I've read here not sure if this is a spoiler, but the C-Drama is hit with censorship). I'm putting this little disclaimer to get the bias out of the way as I will describe and review this in terms of just this translation and this translation alone.
Guardian: Zhen Hu is an urban fantasy set in the fictional Dragon City in modern China. This first book deals with two stories, or arcs, which we'll explore later. First, I want to go over two characters before mentioning what the stories are about.
Guo Changcheng is a recent graduate and a shut-in who has to learn his new job at the Special Investigations Department (SID). Knowing that some of his coworkers weren't human or alive was too much for him. After the initial shock and blackout, he promptly and timidly sets out to work. He can be considered annoying because he spends most of the book fainting, screaming, and crying. But he's naturally empathic and less hopeless than his boss initially feared. We even learn more and discover that he is a pure, good boy. . just socially anxious. I grew to love him. Sure, his scared moments can be over the top and almost like a forced comedy. . but he also has good moments and needs more time to grow after being thrown into a situation he had no idea of. The more I think about him. . .the more I believe he is a precious boy who will grow and develop more than being scared of everyone.
Zhao Yunlan is the Director of Special Investigations. He's in his early thirties and is a handsome, temperamental chain smoker who's a bit of a flirt. He can also freely move in the Heavens, Mortal Realms, and the Netherworld and interact with the inhabitants there due to being a Guardian of the Soul Order. A bisexual l who's a bit messy yet extraordinarily competent and good at his job? Sign me up. We also find out there may be more to him than meets the eye, more than Zhao Yunlan knows himself.
The book consists of two stories. In Arc 1: Reincarnation Dial, Guo Changcheng and Zhao Yunlan investigate the murder of a university student who's supernatural in origin. At Dragon City University, they meet Professor Shen Wei, a handsome, mild-mannered young professor who gets pulled into their destination, mainly because Zhao Yunlan lusts after him at first sight. However, the professor isn't what he seems; as you read more, there's more to him than meets the eye. I loved this story! I adored everything from the creepy atmosphere to the build-up and reveal. The bickering between Da Qing, a thousand-year-old talking black cat, and almost everyone was hilarious, and learning a snippet of Chinese mythos from story one was also fascinating.
Arc 2: Mountain River-Awl takes place in the mountains after an earthquake (which, due to spoilers, I can't mention). A SID ghost employee, Wang Zheng, wants to rebury her bones. By coincidence, Shen Ei also goes there with his students, and both groups travel together. But things aren't how Wang Zheng has led them to believe, and now Zhao Yunlan needs the help of the Soul-Executing Emiss Ry, a powerful being many are fearful of, to get everyone home safely. Ultimately, it's time for Zhao Yunlan to confront Sh and Wei about who he is. The first two chapters could have been faster. It was mainly to let up the slow burn of Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan and even set up more in Rogue. The slow burn is relatively slow, especially on Shen Wei's end. There were a few moments where I questioned how it jumped from one conclusion to another, but it didn't do enough to stop my enjoyment. It means I have questions the next book will have to answer or set up an answer for.
Overall, I loved this book! The stories were suspenseful and had me hooked. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei were exciting characters with whom I wanted to interact more. Shen Wei has a history with Zhao Yunlan that we, and Z ao Yunlan, don't know, and I like to see how the book goes through it. The side characters were fun, especially Daqing. He's my favorite side character who cares more for Zhao Yunlan than meets the eye. There was a lot of information about Chinese mythology that I found fascinating. While answering some of my questions, the ending opens up many more, including what is up with Zhao Yunlan's past and what memories are missing from him. I can't wait for the second book to come out in March!...more
The first chapter (Chapter 89: This Venerable One's Past Affair with You) threw me for a loop. Granted, it's titled Past Affair, and I don't want to eThe first chapter (Chapter 89: This Venerable One's Past Affair with You) threw me for a loop. Granted, it's titled Past Affair, and I don't want to explain too much due to triggers; it wasn't a trance, and somehow, I wasn't expecting that flashback to occur.
Other than that, this would be the part where I try to review correctly and give my thoughts in very long paragraphs. However. . .I can't with this one. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, and the misunderstanding trope was at its peak and finest form here. The chapter titles changing from This Venerable one. . . to Shizun. . .after a certain point makes me weep. It was a wild ride from start to finish, leaving me feeling so many things I couldn't even begin to put together coherently and cohesively. I will say this. . .I feel many emotions; Rong Jiu is messy, and I keep repeating my feelings....more
Oh, my god! This book! I loved this one so much more than the previous volume! The first one was amazing as well ! But, we're diving way more into theOh, my god! This book! I loved this one so much more than the previous volume! The first one was amazing as well ! But, we're diving way more into the story plot and character wise so it left more for me to obsess over and to get into more.
Heaven Official's Blessing Volume 2, as a quick summary, picks up right where Volume 1 left off. Xie Lian now knows that San Lang is indeed the Ghost King, Hua Cheng. Upon going back to the Heavenly Realm, the Heavenly Emperor, Jun Wu tasks Xie Lian with traveling to Ghost City to investigate a distress signal made by an unknown Heavenly Official. From there we learn so much about Xie Lian's past before his first ascension near the end.
I was super excited that I finally got to read the Ghost City Arc and Xie Lian finally gets to see Hua Cheng in his true form. And when Hua Cheng showed Xie Lian his armory Xie Lian was in his own little world! And Hua Cheng offers to give Xie Lian his entire armory! How romantic. I don't know about you, but I'd want to date him in a heartbeat and fall in love right then and there. There were just so many moments of love between them that. . .I can go on for hours talking about them. But ! I can't do that and now I want to talk about characters: Both new and old ones that were expanded upon.
Jun Wu, the emperor. . .I know a spoiler about him so. . .I don't want to give it away but I do love how they make you think he's fair and just. It's so believable that when the plot twist later comes (which I spoiled myself with for excitement so I won't mention until later volumes), you'll be shocked. The Wind master aka. Shi Qingxuan was just pure love! Such an entertaining character and I'm so happy that Xie Lian has someone in his corner now and so glad to have them expanded on more. Feng Xin and Mu Qing are back; my beloved idiots. I loved seeing how they interacted during Xie Lian's past. And Feng Xin's fear of women ? Wasn't expecting it but found it so funny. Now we are at Qi Rong. . .oh Qi Rong you garbage boy stink rat man. . .was not expecting him and Xie Lian to be related. I don't know if I love to hate him or hate to love him. . .this is what happens when you spoil and don't discipline a child, they may turn out to be insane in life and even worse in death.
This paragraph will be about the man himself, the softest boy, Xie Lian. We get a completely different side to Xie Lian along with a shocking revelation that I absolutely didn't want to believe, but alas there's more to the story than meets the eye. I think of Xie Lian as such a kind and gentle person, but underneath that all is possibly an utter badass and I can't wait to know more. Appearances truly can be deceiving
Towards the end of this volume, as I mentioned before, Arc 2 is heading toward learning about Xie Lian's backstory, which I love a good backstory and so far I loved what I read. I'm excited because after this volume, I'm really intrigued to know more about Xie Lian and what exactly happened that led him to have ascended three times. I did hear it's so depressing (and after reading his wiki, I can agree) but bring it on ! I got tissues, I got snacks and I'm ready to be destroyed.
In summary, I love this book so much and Hualian invented love. Yes I've seen it mentioned a lot as a romance, and I don't want to deny the romance because it's there and it makes me wish I had love like that or something close to it, but it's so much more. I don't even need to ask if I'd read this again because I would. I might just read it while waiting for the third volume to come out....more
The actual rating is 4.5 but since there's none of that, just giving it a 4. Regardless of that. . .I loved this book ! Yes, you can tell its her firsThe actual rating is 4.5 but since there's none of that, just giving it a 4. Regardless of that. . .I loved this book ! Yes, you can tell its her first book, but I don't really think that detracts from it, at least to me. For this review, I'm going to separate it into aspects and give my thoughts on that.
The love story- It's extremely slow burn with no overt romance other than the master/disciple affection. . .and Shen Yuan's own thoughts on the matter. I don't mind it. Personally, I prefer my romance to be slow burn and build up to it, so I don't mind it planting the seeds if you will in this volume. However, there's plenty of subtext to amuse the slash reader, a lot of it being extremely hilarious to me, so it's not utterly romance-less.
The setup and characters- Hilarious. I love how it the satirical feel it; It can resonate as well if you even have a basic understanding of what it's parodying. You get that it's a parody and just roll with it. Also Shen Yuan. . .relatable. I know if I transmigrated into a world like Shen Yuan did, I'd be the same away. I do wish we knew more about his life before he transmigrated. Not that that detracts from the story, just would've been nice to see more about his life and see if any of that helped influence his actions as Shen QingQiu (other than the influence of having read the work previously). In regards to Luo Binghe, I feel like we didn't really get to know him. Of course, there's a lot less from his point of view compared to Shen's, but also, Shen's interactions with him are pretty brief. This could just be a only one volume issue but I hope we learn more as the volumes progress. Not a big deal because it's only one volume and there's more to go but still wanted to mention.
Footnotes/Glossary- Definitely useful and helped add to the story. However, I wish there was more footnotes there that gave a basic summary then went more in detail in the glossary. Having to go back and forth, like I did with Heaven's Official Blessing, detracted and got me out of it just a bit.
MXTX's style- Like I mentioned in my Heaven's Official Blessing review, this style can be a hit or miss. In this case. . .it was okay. Not a miss but, being its her first book, it could be better. Sentences! With! An! Exclamation! Point! After! Each! Word! weren't needed and the paragraphs ending "okay?!" in that matter was just odd. Thinking back on it while trying to write this review, sometimes it seems it leans toward the style of an online comment section. It fits and I can tolerate it. . .but at least in Heaven's Official Blessing (I didn't read The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation yet so I can't say in that regard) it got better
Overall- Would I read this again ? Oh most definitely. I am most definitely going to preorder the second volume and I can't wait to continue this adventure. I definitely enjoyed it and I felt connected to the characters and when I tell you I screamed near the end, I screamed to myself and felt like Shen Yuan. And now I have to wait for the second volume ? And it's far ? I can't. This definitely shows how invested I am. ...more
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