atlanticgiantpumpkin's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Wow, I’m taken aback for words. This series has given me everything I could ask for: transformations, reveals, a hero’s villain origin story, villains just for the sake of evil, slow burn romance, a good mixture of smut and fluff, great plot and story and characters, it’s all there. It does get a bit confusing if you’re not familiar with how naming goes in this book, but once you catch on it gets easier. This was such a great read. Thank you, Alicia, for holding me hostage and keeping me from watching its show equivalent until I finished this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, War, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Sexual content, Cursing, Alcoholism, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Self harm
Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Child death, Outing, Sexism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship
It’s pretty dark, not gonna lie, but it’s worth it.purrfectly's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Obviously this is a translated work. Atm the only completed translation I know of is exiled rebels, which is a decent and understandable translation and I think conveys the details of the world and plot without error while still being an easy read. The translation I think does assume a certain familiarity with translated danmei and xianxia that the popularity of mdzs/cql has made this a less certain assumption. I would recommend the in progress translations of mdzstranslation.wordpress.com (more idiomatic and slightly more cultural referece) and tamingwangxian.wordpress.com (focused on retaining the original intent). For people more interested in the romance I would recommend reading mdzstranslation -> exiled rebels, for people interested in engaging with the cultural elements I would recommend reading all three. Regardless I recommend taming wangxian's meta if you plan to engage with the text at all beyond the romance.
Other reviews I think speak to the well done world building, characterization, and central romance. Any translation you read will have will convey these elements and all of them are worthwhile.
Other reviews I think speak to the well done world building, characterization, and central romance. Any translation you read will have will convey these elements and all of them are worthwhile.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Genocide, Homophobia, Incest, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Suicide
MXTX tends to have heavy themes in her books but her POV characters never dwell on them. Nothing is sat with for a super long time or dwelled on imo.
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