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listette's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
10/10 characters
8/10 plot
I have always the same issue with romance books: they don’t have enough in-depth characters. Everything circles around the main leads. With such length, there can be compelling sub-plots that don’t take away from the main story.
I like how in this story we got, at least, a glimpse to other characters and their complex relationships (Prince Su and Fu Tingxin anyone).
Golden Terrace subverted tropes a little and I enjoyed it immensely. There is often the ridiculous babygirling of adult men in mm romance and I absolutely hate it. Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan’s relationship and characterizations were a bit more in-depth than that. It is nice to read every once in a while how both leads take equally care of each other and embrace their nontoxic masculinity.
A million points for the fade to black sex scenes! Nothing pleases me more than not needing to skim through useless thrusting and groaning.
The ending is really confusing, though. Or there is a part of it Retired Emperor’s edict So confusing and I ponder but I don’t understand their literal meaning.
All in all a great, comforting read with a ton of historical battle tactics and noble men being dicks!
P.S. 10000/10 to the translation! It is a work of art
8/10 plot
I have always the same issue with romance books: they don’t have enough in-depth characters. Everything circles around the main leads. With such length, there can be compelling sub-plots that don’t take away from the main story.
I like how in this story we got, at least, a glimpse to other characters and their complex relationships (Prince Su and Fu Tingxin anyone).
Golden Terrace subverted tropes a little and I enjoyed it immensely. There is often the ridiculous babygirling of adult men in mm romance and I absolutely hate it. Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan’s relationship and characterizations were a bit more in-depth than that. It is nice to read every once in a while how both leads take equally care of each other and embrace their nontoxic masculinity.
A million points for the fade to black sex scenes! Nothing pleases me more than not needing to skim through useless thrusting and groaning.
The ending is really confusing, though. Or there is a part of it
All in all a great, comforting read with a ton of historical battle tactics and noble men being dicks!
P.S. 10000/10 to the translation! It is a work of art
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Chronic illness, Infertility, and Torture
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
shevydw's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse
furthestaway's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i love this book more than i love myself, seriously. it's my comfort book, i have read this three times alone in 2021. it's mainly focused on the relationship and the developments, then the plot, the characters themselves d not change much. yanfu best husbands
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Torture, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Ableism and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia and Suicide attempt
the suicide attempt is stopped before it can happen, it's non graphic and made under special cicrcumstancesveronikav's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
“I pray that you’ll have a swift victory and return in triumph.” Yan Xiaohan’s hands never shook and he smiled as always, his voice soft and even. “I hope that you will hate me all your life.”
Golden Stage is an incredibly well written fake historical romance novel. Despite the focus being mainly on the couple, the plot of the book doesn't lag behind in the slightest and offers an intriguing story of court politics, manipulation and even murder mystery. The author comes up with a really good premise - a lot of arranged marriage novels are mostly nonsensical and have big plot holes but here the main character is forced into this arranged same-sex marriage to strip him of political power after a failed assassination attempt. By not having heirs his title is bound to be returned to the throne after his death and he is therefore less of a threat. Meanwhile the male lead has his own reasons to accept the marriage - his own status is being raised and he can now exert his influence over the Northern army. Not to mention he's been secretly pining for our main character for the last seven years. They navigate their married life together but mostly try to survive in the ever-changing dangerous climate of the court.
The text is thankfully not overflowing with literary references (meaning: they are kept to an acceptable minimum). Despite this the whole book has a genuinely dignified tone, the scenes are tasteful and the romance while sweet doesn't inhibit the plot. I wouldn't be ashamed to recommend this novel to people who are completely disinterested in danmei or romance novels in general.
The text is thankfully not overflowing with literary references (meaning: they are kept to an acceptable minimum). Despite this the whole book has a genuinely dignified tone, the scenes are tasteful and the romance while sweet doesn't inhibit the plot. I wouldn't be ashamed to recommend this novel to people who are completely disinterested in danmei or romance novels in general.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Torture
Moderate: Ableism, Death, and Miscarriage