A review by mal_eficent
The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong (Novel) Vol. 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is one of those books that is satisfyingly difficult to read. If you enjoyed the end of the first book, the first third of this volume might be a struggle. From the first page, everything is difficult for Shen Qingqiu, miscommunication abounds (not just between the main couple, but every character), and everyone is an idiot. It's deeply, deeply frustrating. But I can respect that the author intends it to be, and it does drag you into the story desperate to see how things sort themselves out. 

Thankfully, the humour and meta nature of the narration is still so much fun and it's an absolute ride from start to finish. The romance is, er, incredibly weird and the illustrations make it more obvious than the text that's there's tension going on, in my opinion. 

If you're on the fence about continuing, this might be the book that puts you off, but I promise the third book picks straight back up after this one if you are invested with the series and are struggling through book 2!
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