notti

魔道祖师 / MO DAO ZU SHI (GRANDMASTER OF DEMONIC CULTIVATION) (LINKS)
personal notes: This was my first danmei and I absolutely love it! The CP dynamics consist of a poised and supposedly cold Lan Wangji (but he's actually really passionate) and Wei Wuxian, a talented troublemaker. I like the plot and the nuances thrown on filial piety, family, & society vs the individual in the Asian (CN) lenses. [xianxia]

人渣反派自救系统 / REN ZHA FANPAI ZIJIU XITONG (SCUM VILLAIN'S SELF-SAVING SYSTEM) (LINKS)
personal notes: This was the first work of the MDZS author (MXTX) and one of the funniest. Shen Qingqiu finds himself transmigrated into a novel he's been dissing and ends up in the body of the supposed villain who was tortured by the protagonist, Luo Binghe. This novel does a lot of meta as we examine closely how misconceptions affect the characters' lives & us as readers. [disciple x shizun]

天官赐福 / TIAN GUAN CI FU (HEAVEN OFFICIAL'S BLESSING) (LINKS)
personal notes: Another work of MXTX. So much background on the side characters are shown here (and my favorite character is one - SWD ilu). I love how the author develops Xie Lian's character (from human to god and in-between) as we see how life experiences for the past 800 years have honed him to be an amazingly, strong individual. There're lots of life lessons as well.

镇魂 / ZHEN HUN (GUARDIAN) (LINKS)
personal notes: This is hands down my favorite CP dynamics - Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are so intense together which is a given since they're not humans in their core and their dynamic only works on each other. Shen Wei's 5,000 years of yearning & pain as he experienced one-sided separations to his one (1) god + Zhao Yunlan debasing his god self to enter the suffering of multiple reincarnations to give his ghost king a chance and a future. (ZYL is a good looking hoe & so thirsty while beautiful af SW is so dramatically in-love & devoted)

黄金台 / HUANGJINTAI (GOLDEN STAGE)** (LINKS)**
personal notes: In terms of overall (plot + cp dynamics), this has got to be one of my favs. The story of Yan Xiaohan (a ruthless court official) and Fu Shen (a decorated general) starts in the novel with them getting an arranged marriage despite being publicly known as "enemies". The reveals in the middle on their real past & dynamic makes me so soft. They invented sugar coma and communication.

残次品 / CANCIPIN (IMPERFECTIONS) (LINKS)
personal notes: This is the "most difficult" and somewhat the longest I've read but definitely one of my favorite novels when it comes to themes & plot (society, individual, relationships) plus the cp dynamics are great as well! The setting is sci-fi in space where Lu Bixing is a sunny genius idealist (fav char devpt!!) and Lin Jingheng is a cold captain (he's my fav!!) navigates the stars, saving the galaxies, and learning faith & love with each other. My favorite character was Lin Jingshu and I just want to say that the other characters were written really well and fleshed out too. more here

异世之万物法则 / YISHI ZHI WANWU FAZE (LAWS OF THE OTHER WORLD) (LINKS)
personal notes: Overall (plot's worldbuilding + cp dynamics), this is one of my top favs! I'd love to see an encyclopedia of all the creatures in Nibelungen because the text's visualization of the world is superb. The CP dynamic starts off as adorable and then later being intense -- when at first, Mo Ye takes the form of a cute creature and attached himself to the capable & practical Zhou Yu but in reality, he's an S-class creature. Great reflections on human's chase for knowledge & the like. Lots of action scenes and I love how BAMF they both are while being in-love.

杀破狼 / SHA PO LANG (LINKS)
personal notes: Steampunk in Ancient CN universe. If you like court setting (with all the scheming and battles) and well-developed characters, then this is for you! Gu Yun is a marquis & commander of the elite army of Great Liang who takes in Chang Geng, the previously missing fourth prince. There's a lot to dissect but that's going to be too much spoilers so I just suggest to try and give it a go.

幻想农场 / HUANXIANG NONGCHANG (FANTASY FARM) (LINKS)
personal notes: This gave me the same satisfying feeling as the animanga 'Natsume Yuujinchou' perhaps because of the slice of life, fantasy elements mixed with a bit of horror and wrapped with situational comedy. Lu Qingjiu leaves his city life and goes back to his provincial hometown and ends up with a family of supernatural creatures and among them is Bai Yuehu who insists he's a "fox spirit". This has got to be one of my fav when it comes to character relationship dynamics and overall was a light, fun novel to read.

论如何错误地套路一个魔教教主 (THE WRONG WAY TO A DEMON SECT LEADER) (LINKS)
personal notes: Zhao Jingui (MC) and Ji Han (ML) have no braincells and the amount of unholy cackling I let out when I read this was noteworthy! The chapters are super short but it was able to successfully set up the comedic tone despite the xianxia setting especially that the two are supposed to be enemies (the best swordsman in the righteous side and the new demon sect leader). This is best as a light read where you just want to feel happy without thinking way too much. I recommend this specifically for the extremely cheesy pick-up lines that Zhao Jingui throws around despite not knowing wtf those are and saying them with a clueless straight face.

丑娘娘 [重生] / CHOU NIANGNIANG [CHONGSHENG] (THE UGLY EMPRESS) (LINKS)
personal notes: Finally, a somewhat legit 'enemies to lovers' trope between Teng Yun (MC) who is the best general in Teng country and the biggest thorn to Xue Junliang (ML) who is the ruthless emperor of Xue country. I love the way their individual selves and couple dynamics were developed realistically side by side and I would have really loved to see extras about them once they were on the same page already. There are a lot of side cps and I'm not really into them haha but hey, others might like it. Anyhow, good plot pacing and interesting main cp with the court politics & war but wasn't dragged out at all.

prequel: LIVING TO SUFFER (活受罪) // sequel: TIL DEATH DO US PART (長相守) (LINKS)
personal notes: The prequel murdered me multiple times from the stabbing pain because you get the idea as you read along that the pair was doomed and yet at the end despite already getting clues, it still wrecks you. The sequel starts off as a continuous pain as you get "easter eggs" from the prequel that drives the knife deeper because you know their history; what they went through but thank the universe it's a happy ending. This isn't my usual cup of tea but it's a short read for both plus the abundance of nuances and all those details that'll clench your heart were delivered amazingly!

山河表里 SHANHE BIAOLI (LINKS)
personal notes: I love how SHBL touches on the aspects of culture (language, outsiders vs insiders, etc) and the concept of "reality". Chu Huan (MC) who despite being capable af as an agent carries that mental health burden where he's looking for a reason to continue living. Upon his chance meeting with Nan Shan (ML), he rediscovers a flame within him that he long thought was extinguished. As expected of Priest, the novel has amazing world building and well fleshed out characters which adds flavor to the foundations of the story. I think the easiest way for me to describe this is that it's a modern fantasy tethered on the characters' perception of reality.

欢迎来到噩梦游戏 (WELCOME TO THE NIGHTMARE GAME: A TRILOGY) (LINKS)
personal notes: I was looking for a danmei with a legit horror + thriller theme and was nudged to this trilogy. I went in blind and I'm still so blown away with how amazing it delivered to exactly my taste that I can confidently say that this is my "personal favorite novel" right now. Qi Leren (MC) ends up in a new realm where it's like a game system and that's where he meets Ning Zhou (ML). The scenes were really intense and while I wasn't expecting much to this slowburn CP (literally bc the ML doesn't appear until much later or most of the time tbh lol), the ending of Book 1 has me in pieces - how Ning Zhou represented destruction of his entire self and how Qi Leren represented rebirth/creation of his life AND both of which has the reason for the love they chose for each other. more here

当年万里觅封侯 (THOSE YEARS IN QUEST OF HONOR MINE) (LINKS)
personal notes: I love how there's a lot of humor primarily because of Zhong Wan's (MC) kinky self for Yu She (ML) and yet the knives on how they both experienced tragedies in their lives that almost broke them were balanced well. The story is about Yu She who's a royalty & is somewhat unhinged, Zhong Wan who's a very intelligent scholar & has forgotten what being the recipient of kindness was like, and how their pasts converges and now their choices paved the way for their happy ending. more here

杀青 / SHA QING (THE LAST KILLER) (LINKS)
personal notes: I was lured in because of the UST offered with the FBI x Serial Killer dynamic and it does have some dark themes (39 chapters locked lol) plus it's my first time to read canon reversible couple. It was interesting albeit I felt some things weren't really built up to my standards but then again, it's all on me and my high af expectations on settings like these. It has a HE much like all the novels I read haha so despite the fear for this dynamic, they do get their both alive and well happy ending as they deserve.

二零一三（末日曙光） / 2013 (DOOMSDAY) (LINKS)
personal notes: I haven't read a zombie apocalyptic setting yet so I took up 2013 especially since the main cp is a power couple and were exes haha Liu Yan (MC) and Meng Feng (ML) are the literal bickering couple trope that while they'd die for each other, they'd also sell the other to the devil for one (1) corn chip which made their interactions really fun to read. I like some of the questions raised in the novel regarding humanity, choices, and how the cycle of rebirth plays a role in every individual.

我嗑了对家x我的cp (I SHIP MY ADVERSARYxME) (LINKS)
personal notes: Wei Yanzi (MC) and Gu Yiliang (ML) are actors whom their fans believed are adversaries; until Wei Yanzi discovers that they're being shipped together by the Niangzi Army group of fans. I was wheezing the entire time because the author captured how the RPS community in weibo is like and I personally got attacked haha It's a super light and short read that's enjoyable af bc of Wei Yanzi's monologues and the rabidness of the fans. In the end, weibo user @WilLiam is the ultimate winner.

全球高考 / QUANQIO GAOKAO (GLOBAL UNIVERSITY EXAM) (LINKS)
personal notes: One of the best and fav when it comes to worldbuilding + CP dynamics! You Huo (MC) enters a world where there is an System that forces them to undergo a "university exam" aka it's a farce bc it's always a death sentence and there he meets one of the exam's invigilators, Head Invigilator 001, Qin Jiu (ML). Sparks fly between them in both the hostile and UST way (they're in my top 3 fav CPs lol). But then, is that really their first meeting or a reunion? I love the setting and the BAMFness! The System has 99 problems and it's all bc of these 2 monsters who keep on "violating" its rules.

**有药 / YOU YAO (ARE YOU OKAY) ** (LINKS)
personal notes: I would recommend watching the 12 episode donghua first before reading because the writing style does a lot of timeline and perspective jumps which may be confusing in the beginning. The story revolves around A LOT of characters wherein their storylines diverges with one another in the middle. It's a different take on the popular trope of "transmigration" where a lot of transmigrators end up in Ancient CN, conspiracies are found out, and the merging of the lives of these "foreigners" and "locals" become the heart of the story. I did a more detailed take (here)~~ Shout out to Prince Yu and Li Ke the most!

**在黑暗中 / ZAI HEI'AN ZHONG (IN THE DARK) ** (LINKS)
personal notes: The story (crime, action, mystery) involves Xie Lanshan (MC) who has changed in a way after he was undercover for a large drug organization. Upon his return, he then meets Shen Liufei (ML) who's a painter and the new analog portrait expert of the police. They work together to solve cases (warning that the cases can be heavy) and we later uncover secrets buried from when Xie Lanshan was still undercover that involves identity crisis (what makes up a person?), loyalties challenged (what to do when people you've kept safe do not trust you anymore), and a complicated relationship spanning beyond the past and the future (who can accept you in your entirety). (Here's a more detailed review) - and note that no one deserves Xie Lanshan except the neighborhood cats.