Very mixed feelings about this one, after it was so passionately recommended to me. The first half of the novel is pretty solid; It's engaging with lots of colourful and intriguing characters, plenty of spectacular fights, and vibrant world-building. It was easy to become immersed in this world. The second half somehow turned into long rambles about history and politics, with an array of characters that were all quite forgettable; It honestly felt like reading a textbook in certain chapters. Shen Qiao is a likeable protagonist, and he's what kept me going when other aspects of the novel were failing to impress, though i do feel his passivity works to his detriment sometimes. Yan Wushi was amusing at first, and he did some truly unforgivable things to Shen Qiao that really expressed how evil he was - However, I do wish his character growth in the end had been more compelling. I was also expecting a slow-burning 'enemies to lovers' style romance, but struggled to find much romance at all in this novel. There wasn't a hint of it even 90 chapters in, which made the developments in the later chapters feel rather abrupt and hard to believe. Overall, i can sort of see the appeal of this novel, but i feel the execution is lacking when it comes to the romance and world-building in the second half.
Liked it!
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