This may be a little piecemeal because I actually read book one last year. (I don’t think the rest were out yet.) Then, last week, I went and bought books 2, 3, and 4 so that I could finish up the series and count them as my X-author for my yearly author challenge. However, I didn’t know the last one is a short story collection. I haven’t actually read it yet. But I want to keep them together. So, I’m including it here anyway.
Half-demon Luo Binghe rose from humble beginnings and a tortured past to become unrivaled in strength and beauty. With his dominion over both the Human and Demon Realms and his hundreds-strong harem, he is truly the most powerful protagonist…in a trashy webnovel series!
At least, that’s what Shen Yuan believes as he finishes reading the final chapter in Proud Immortal Demon Way. But when a bout of rage leads to his sudden death, Shen Yuan is reborn into the world of the novel in the body of Shen Qingqiu—the beautiful but cruel teacher of a young Luo Binghe. While Shen Qingqiu may have the incredible power of a cultivator, he is destined to be horrifically punished for crimes against the protagonist.
The new Shen Qingqiu now has only one course of action: get into Luo Binghe’s good graces before the young man’s rise to power or suffer the awful fate of a true scum villain!
You can go here to see the review I initially wrote for book one on its own. But here, I’m going to review the first three books together. (I’ll come back and add a word about the short stories later.) I initially thought the beginning of the series was a bit of a sloppy mess. This was in part because it is, but also because it took me a little while to fall into the style of the writing. I don’t know if it’s a feature of Danmei in general, this author in particular, or a deliberate narrative choice. But I didn’t immediately love the style. But either I got used to it, or the writing and pacing smoothed out. It stopped bothering me after a while.
I liked these characters a lot, and I appreciated that the author took on some heavy topics. This is not the light, fluffy read you might expect. Part of me wishes it was, though, or at least that we were given a little more conversation between Shen Qinqiu and Lou Binghe. The lack of closure, even as we’re given a happy ending, is my biggest gripe. I really wanted some of the tragedy to be discussed and dismissed.
All in all, however, I have several more Mo Xiang Tong Xiu books on the shelf. I’ll for sure be reading them.
Other Reviews:
italicization, then no one read this book after the first draft, not even the author, and that’s unforgivable. Thank god it was free. I’d be incensed if I’d paid for it.
