nmcannon's reviews
1091 reviews

Love Burns Bright by Rien Gray

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fuller review to come, but rest assured: I would read a million billion entries in this series. Wow!

Love Bleeds Deep by Rien Gray

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

After dragging my feet to read Love Kills Twice, I'm blazing through the series now. Justine and Campbell are OTP material. Love Bleeds Deep is, appropriately, a bloody deep dive into the heart of the characters: where they are now; what they have been. Victor is a truly terrifying villain, and it was fun to share a name with a Gray character, haha. Godspeed, other Natalie. You've been touched by greatness. 

Love Kills Twice by Rien Gray

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As a long time fan of Gray's game writing, it's an utter treat and exquisite delight to have their words in highlight-able book form. And A LOT of this book is highlighted, as Gray's wordcraft is stunning. I dragged my heels reading this book because romantic thrillers aren't my cup of tea, and the premise sounded very thriller-y. Imagine my surprised pleasure when, despite the high-octane premise, the characters shine above all. And what characters! Justine and Campbell are fantastic, and this book proves that murder can be a love language. Even the husband Richard was given depth, which made him understandable (though not sympathetic: eat maggots, dillweed). The sex scenes are worth more fire emojis than I can type. This story is so captivating I finished it in 2 sittings, and I'm onto the sequel. 100% recommend to all who want their romance with the delicious agony of danger. 

A Love so Dark by Rien Gray

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I will likely write a fuller review later, but for now: savor A Love So Dark like a fine bloodwine! Fatal Fidelity is SO GOOD, y'all. From book 1 to now book 4, I adore the characters, the poetic language, and the feminist knife twist on classic noir. Reading Gray's works reminds me of the beauty of the written word and inspires me to continue crafting. Fatal Fidelity is utterly gorgeous to the last page. Justine, Campbell, Sofia, and Enrico deserve the world. 

How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

How to Excavate a Heart was a holiday read for our sapphic book club. Our members come from a variety of faith traditions, and one lived with a family obsessed with the Hallmark Channel. How to Excavate a Heart’s blurb offers a refreshing perspective on the cliche winter holiday tale. Arlow’s work delivered.

The saving grace of Shani’s winter break is a paleoichthyology internship at the Smithsonian. The rest of her life feels tattered: her first college semester was rocky at best, her relationship with her mom has some serious growing pains, and her girlfriend broke up with her. What was supposed to be a mini-new start immediately sours when she runs over someone walking their dog. That someone ends up being May, a prickly lost soul with her own family troubles. After some initial tension, the pair get on like a house on fire…which is not what this winter break was supposed to be about!

How to Excavate a Heart is a great, realistic queer teen romance. Often I feel out of step with YA, but Arlow found me. Both Shani and May are their own individuals, and they grow in organic ways. By novel’s end, they’re not out of the woods, but the path forward is clearer. Some of our book club members were put off with how Shani flirts with a younger barista in order to get free coffee. The recurring schtick is treated as a joke. While I wasn’t bothered, even I expected Shani to show character growth in this area. 

If that’s the only quibble I can muster up, trust that How to Excavate a Heart is a good book. I want more Shani/May. I want more fun fish facts. I honestly want to read a book about Shani’s grandma and her friend–they’re incredibly vivid on page, despite the grandma being dead. Where is the cute-tastic sequel?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

女将军和长公主 by 请君莫笑

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

While my love of danmei endures, I wanted to explore modern Chinese lesbian novels as well. What we might call wlw or f/f in the West, China’s bookish audience classifies as “baihe.” Every single baihe rec list I found pointed me towards 请君莫笑’s works and Female General and Eldest Princess specifically.

Lin Wanyue lives a peaceful life with her family until the Huns slaughter everyone and burn her village to the ground. Vowing revenge, she takes on her dead twin brother’s identity so she can join the army and murder as many Huns as possible. In the same year, miles away, the First Princess Li Xian vows to her dying mother that one day crown prince Li Zhu will be Emperor, no matter the cost. When Lin Wanyue’s unstoppable force meets Li Xian’s immovable object, sparks fly, and the empire will never be the same.

Female General and Eldest Princess has a much more straightforward tone than other novels set in lightly fictionalized historical China. The simpler, more streamlined politics make it much less unwieldy than say, Thousand Autumns. Some real historical events are touched upon–the building of the Great Wall, the incessant Hun attacks–but the dynasty is fictional. The overall vibe was heavily reminiscent of Mulan, like a war epic with a lesbian villain romance. You read that right–this is a villain romance. Not knowing that going in seriously marred my reading experience. Characters don’t need to be heroic, but I like a little warning before reading passages evaluating the pros of genocide. People die and die and die so Li Zhu can have that Emperor seat, and it’s unclear if he’s worth it. 

That’s my only quibble with the book. The rest is praise. The battle sequences are exciting and excellently written. Every knife twist, every political turn had me scrolling faster and faster, trying to get as much of this novel into my brain as possible. Though I was surprised by the lengths they were willing to go for their goals, I adore Lin Wanyue and Li Xian, and I reveled in their HEA. Queer people can thrive in ancient times! In a chapter end note, the author comes out as a lesbian, and that made my heart warm all over.

While Female General and Eldest Princess wasn’t what I expected, the great character work, beautiful romance, and engaging plot indicate 请君莫笑’s high skill. I’ve set my sights on her other works set in modern times with a death god roommate. 

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong (Novel) Vol. 4 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Volume 4 is all Extras! We made it, folks!

For those unfamiliar, “Extras” are bonus stories after the novel proper. They’re shorter and tend to be softer in tone and content. Some are downright silly or alternate universe scenarios. The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, Volume 4 treats us to stories filling out side-characters and establishing Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe’s new life together—which was sorely missing last volume. Our main pairing explores the intimacies and teamwork necessary for a functional relationship. I ate that shit up. Yue Qingyuan, Shen Jiu, Mobei Jun, Shang Qinghua, Zhuhzhi-lang, and Luo Binghe’s parental units all receive time in the spotlight. Everyone’s worthy of a story. Like I said in my review of the first volume, I read a different translation before, and apparently one of the Extras was missing! The wine extra was completely new to me, and a delight.

Though the stories may be called Extras, do not skip this volume! It’s a plethora of treats, a hard-won dessert, and a fantastically good time. I love The Scum Villain Self-Saving System from start to finish.

Review of Scum Villain Vol 1: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f797e4a5-9dc6-4810-bedd-0b2704a871b0

Review of Scum Villain Vol 2: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/64a2b986-fd86-4f98-9d8e-b680ad6e9e5a

Review of Scum Villain Vol 3: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/a3156dc1-eaa9-45ef-8a33-96febcee9cf2

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong (Novel) Vol. 3 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It was pure joy to pick up Volume 3 right after finishing Volume 2! Here we finish the story proper.

After finally realizing that Luo Binghe is his own person (and not a book character), Shen Qingqiu flails. Both living in Huan Hua Palace, the pair tip toe around each other, unsure of dynamics and standing. The strain is exacerbated by Xin Mo’s increasingly ominous glow. Shen Qingqiu barely gets his footing when he’s suddenly whisked away to the Holy Mausoleum, a demonic resting ground riddled with traps…and Luo Binghe’s dad??? For reference, the remainder of the arcs are Tianlang-Jun kidnapping, the hilarious “three-in-a-bed” scene, LBH & LQG inn stay, Zhao Hua Monastery reveal, Shen Jiu’s backstory, defeating TLJ, VERY unfortunate sex, and HEA.

Volume 3 completes MXTX’s elegant reversal of the stallion novel genre. Shen Qingqiu unwinds the internalized homophobia part of the genre’s toxic masculinity. Thank God. The remainder of the review is spoiler-heavy.

My memory of this section has a hazy quality; punctuated with scenes I remember in surreal detail. For example, I completely forgot ZZL died, but I sure as hell remember that coffin scene. As a writer, the Holy Mausoleum felt like a fascinating cross-stitch, with MXTX showing both the final product and the backside stitching. When a reader begins a politics-heavy novel, they are presented with a neat, tidy picture, each stitch in place. Rarely are we privileged with such extensive backstory: to learn how such conspiratorial knots were formed; how and why the needlework is the way it is. I haven’t read Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation yet, but if The Untamed is anything to go by, MXTX is very interested in this theme. What is often the widely-accepted story is not the true one.

In Scum Villain, this theme dovetails nicely with MXTX’s critique of transmigration and stallion novels. All with a flair of good humor too. In one stroke, MXTX has Shen Qingqiu perform the classic transmigrator/stallion protag trick of pre-knowledge, ties it into making Proud Immortal Demon Way better, makes it hilarious, and lampshades it. Then, Shen Qingqiu’s flush of victory pales as the Old Palace Master dumps years of unexpected backstory. Puzzle-solving is clever, but Shang Qinghua thought deeper, into human nature and motivation. As stated above, long knots of conspiracy inform a finished character—threads barely fondled in the novel proper. Readers don’t often get to see (or sometimes refuse to see) the intricacies woven into a novel and its characters. Transmigrators and stallion protagonist may think they know everything because they’ve read the book—but they often fail to input humanity into the equation. As a writer myself, the Holy Mausoleum sequence is probably my favorite.

And the coolness doesn’t end there! Through the Holy Mausoleum sequence and the Mai Gu Ridge battle, MXTX nimbly pivots to a cliché battle with the Big Bad. Fantasy novels often end with a big battle against the revealed evil-doer. The martial arts world and Tianlang-Jun are sucked up in this “good vs evil” cliché. The fight happens, but it feels far from epic. Shen Qingqiu notes it’s like fighting the elderly and the infirm. The real danger is actually Xin Mo. The “gold finger” on Luo Binghe’s back, the ultimate weapon and hallmark of a Chūnibyō—that’s what’s destroying the world and Luo Binghe’s (mental) health and relationships. This is your brain on toxic masculinity, kids.

The next scene is of course, the worst sex scene I’ve ever read with my own two eyes. Okay’s maybe that’s not true. I’m sure I’ve read worse. Intellectually, I know sex scenes are very difficult to write, and no author is good at every skill. Please don’t ask me to tell a story in 3rd person omniscient—it will suck. Intellectually, I also know that MXTX wrote this scene as a rebuttal to the “magic dick” trope. Yanno, that one where a guy offers sex as a cure-all when his partner is angry, upset, and generally at their most vulnerable. Scum Villain’s sex scene more than accomplishes this goal and presents the true horror of such a scenario. The act ties with Shen Qingqiu’s character growth. He finally admits his feelings for Luo Binghe, and he stops making decisions for him. Shen Qingqiu listens to what his partner wants.

However, these thematic and character perks don’t compensate for how the scene makes Scum Villain fail as a kissing book. It’s like MXTX drilled so hard on the stallion genre reversal that she forsook the other half of the equation: to make it a gay romance. Yes, Scum Villain has the requisite happy ending, but the ending is unsatisfying to the romance reader. Shen Qinqiu spends a huge page count thinking of Luo Binghe as a not-a-person, and he undergoes tremendous character growth on the subject. The novel ends before we reap the fruits of his labors. We’re left wondering what Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu’s romantic relationship will be like. Where will they live? What’s their dynamic in public and private? What about their responsibilities to the Cang Qiong Mountain sect and the demonic realm? Will they figure out their intimacy issues? Without the Extras, we wouldn’t know. Near the end of Volume 4, Shen Qingqiu mentions that “this is the beginning of you and I.” While a nice sentiment, it barely papers over what I consider the most glaring flaw of the book.

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System is a fantastic novel. I don’t think it should be tossed out because of one scene. I enjoy the series immensely, both as a fan and fellow writer. If you have a chance to read it, seize that chance.

Review of Scum Villain Vol 1: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f797e4a5-9dc6-4810-bedd-0b2704a871b0

Review of Scum Villain Vol 2: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/64a2b986-fd86-4f98-9d8e-b680ad6e9e5a

Review of Scum Villain Vol 4: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/4426ae1a-2105-4c8e-b4ce-94e2793b5501

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

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

We’re back with the second volume of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System! The boys are fightinnnnngggggggggggggg, hahahahaha.

After Luo Binghe’s fall into the abyss, Shen Qingqiu thinks he has five years to prepare for the worst. He sets his scholarly affairs in order, tends to his mushroom, and grieves at Luo Binghe’s grave. The other sect leaders worry about their colleague and friend, and eventually hit upon something he likes: weird ass monsters! A plague has hit Jin Lan City, and it’s a demon’s doing. Off they go on an adventure, not knowing that Luo Binghe eagerly awaits his reunion with his shizun. Miscommunication and disaster dog the footsteps of our heroes at every step. For reference, this volume also contains the water prison “first date,” the plant!zun rebirth, playing with Sha Hualing in the borderlands, being captured as a vessel for Binghe’s monthy qi release at Huan Hua Palace, witnessing Binghe’s Bedroom Battle with Liu-shidi (featuring SQQ’s corpse), dream kiss.

Like I noted in my Volume 1 review, re-reading Scum Villain provides an all-new experience. I really felt bad that everyone had to constantly adapt to such a willful SQQ-shaped ping pong. The remainder of the review will be full of spoilers while I gush.

I was breathless when Liu-shidi held out his hand:

“Shen Qingqiu, what’s the meaning of this?" Liu Qingge asked suddenly. He stared at Shen Qingqiu as if he’d suffered some enormous disgrace. "The Bai Zhan Peak Lord is here, yet you throw yourself at another’s feet before him?”

Goddamn, he’s in LOVE love. Deeper into the angst meter, Luo Binghe brought tears to my eyes when he asked Shen Qingqiu if he was strong enough—a moment I totally missed the ramifications of previously. The deepest heartbreak was Shen Qinqiu’s suicide. My first reading experience was utterly absorbed in Shen Qingqiu: his disassociation with his body, his confidence that committing suicide was unavoidable and the best option, and his assurance that he would survive. On re-read, I much better understood the gravity of what was happening. Shen Qingqiu literally chose to kill himself instead of have a conversation. From an outsider’s perspective, Shen Qingqiu’s antics are contradictory, cruel, and devastating.

Towards the end of the volume, Shen Qingqiu finally, finally realizes that the people surrounding him are flesh and blood. On a thematic level, Shen Qingqiu’s growth here digs into a major criticism of the stallion and transmigration genres. Authors and fans don’t treat characters remotely like people, just as Shen Qingqiu refuses to treat Luo Binghe as his own person. Instead, characters are objects—often sex objects—for the overpowered protagonist to manipulate and consume as he wishes. Fandom even refers to love interests as “capture targets.” This tendency comes down hard on female characters, though we don’t see it in Scum Villain. Smarter people than me have written essays on how novels can reinforce real-life harmful cultural narratives and systems, so I won’t get into here. More relevant to Scum Villain and MXTX’s point, objectification makes boring storytelling. Proud Immortal Demon Way may have been popular in its moment, but not all of Shen Qingqiu’s fanboy critiques seem unjustified. From what tidbits we get, PIDW sounds like an erotic pulp that’s dime a dozen online, with stale plots and forgettable characters. It failed to add anything noteworthy to greater cultural conversation. It was created to put food on Shen Qinghua’s plate and that’s what it did. Because of all this genre baggage, Shen Qingqiu’s recognition of Luo Binghe’s personhood was incredibly cathartic. We love character growth in this house!

Speaking of serotonin, I got a huge dollop picking up Volume 3 immediately off my bookshelf. See you there!

Review of Scum Villain Vol 1: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f797e4a5-9dc6-4810-bedd-0b2704a871b0

Review of Scum Villain Vol 3: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/a3156dc1-eaa9-45ef-8a33-96febcee9cf2

Review of Scum Villain Vol 4: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/4426ae1a-2105-4c8e-b4ce-94e2793b5501

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

After finishing The Bone Witch, I borrowed The Heart Forger audiobook ASAP.

WE KNOW WHO LIES IN THE GRAVE.

Hahaha, that reveal was incredibly satisfying way to end The Bone Witch, and the identity of the dead kickstarts The Heart Forger just right. I expected Chupeco to stop using the parallel timeline technique and was surprised when the format continued. That’s not a criticism—Chupeco uses it to great effect. In lesser hands, knowing the destination would decrease narrative tension, but Chupeco layers it on thicker than ever. The plot holes from the last book are addressed, and it turns out that’s what Tea wants to fix about her world. Nice.

Everything I adored about The Bone Witch is repeated and taken a step further in The Heart Forger. The themes, motifs, and characters are meticulously plotted, taking one logical step after another to achieve their goals. Certain characters come out as queer, and I love them. Chupeco again created a book that contains everything I admire about Young Adult high fantasy, and I urge you to read this series if you’re a YA high fantasy fan!