A review by erickabdz
天官赐福 [Tiān Guān Cì Fú] by 墨香铜臭, Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

5.0

"Don't be scared."

love exists its called hualian.

I'm honestly not ready to review this book. There's a certain feeling in my heart that, I think, did not exist before I read this novel. I could call it a certainty, certainty in real, endless, love, but that would not be accurate, because there is so much more than that. Hope, I think, is a better word. Hope in love, and hope in humanity, and hope in oneself; hope in thinking that, after all the suffering, there is something good for us. I could keep like this, describing all the things it made me feel and wishing it would transmit how much I loved this book, but it would take some time that you would better invest in reading it.

"To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is 'you' and not the state of you."

I have so much to say about the things I loved. Especially, and undoubtedly, the love story takes the first place. You see, I had never seen this kind of love before, one that was both heavenly and ordinary and is beautiful because of how these two things work together. I think it is important to me to make such emphasis in the love story because it is one of the best things that have happened to me, but also it would be unfair to say it's the only good thing about this story. The characterization of all characters was exquisite, nothing white or black but all different tones of gray, and all the mysteries shocked me and surprised me in a good way.

There's another good thing I wasn't expecting because the two last books of the author were not the best in this aspect but made me happy to find in this one: well-written women. Most of them are somewhat a spoiler so I won't be talking details, but we got to see a great, diverse cast of girls and women with different storylines and different kinds of strengths. Like the other characters, each of them had a very cohesive narrative and a very distinct personality.

Another thing I deeply loved was the humor. I was laughing out loud all the time I didn't spend crying. I really, really loved all the character's interactions (especially Hua Cheng with anyone), and the dialogues and honest reactions made my day.

"Something like saving the world, it really doesn't matter how you do it. But, although brave, it's foolish."

"Yeah," Xie Lian agreed.

Hua Cheng continued, "Although foolish, it's brave."

I talk a lot about these simple things I loved, but I'm sure I wouldn't have loved them that much if it wasn't for the complex plot and intricate world-building. All of this is especially remarkable because you never feel like you're thrown all this much information: it comes slowly, but you never feel lost, and all the details make sense by the end.

All in all, this novel was a delight to read and the 244 chapters felt like little of what Hua Cheng and Xie Lian's story deserved, but they definitely make them justice and I will forever be grateful to 墨香铜臭 for giving us this book.