i dont actually like melons

What I Liked

double transmigration 👍👍👍

the dynamic is very golden retriever gong and black cat shou, it actually sort of reminds me of after marrying the evil star general which is a very good thing. they're really really sweet, i love how chi ke is the first to realize his feelings and gives ji qian time to think it through. like ji qian is so obviously head over heels from the very beginning but he's just so dense. like shonen mc levels of dense. at the same time he cares for chi ke so so much so it's just like... god... you love him so much already why don't you realize it??? anw after getting together they're also really sweet. i like how they communicate like adults as they navigate their new relationship. like chi ke is very particular about his lifestyle and habits but he very clearly considers ji qian to make sure that both of them are comfortable and he makes it clear to ji qian too. and ji qian overthinks things... a lot... but chi ke really isn't as intolerant or difficult to figure out as he assumes, and anw a lot of chi ke's bottom line is like lowered and lowered just for ji qian, his only exception.

lowkey i also like how ji qian shamelessly calls chi ke husband and gege (despite being older). this is the kind of guy who doesn't mind being a trophy wife. he's the wife but he's also the top, it's that kind of vibe.

unironically i like the wack soap opera plot points and i wish there was more of them

i like the way chi ke handled the original owner chi ke's "will". he took care of chi ke's little brother just as the original owner wanted, and tried his best to discover the real circumstances behind the original owner's death, but didn't take credit for what og chi ke did and refused to take his place and assume what og chi ke would have thought or said to the people left behind because it wasn't his place to do so.

the extras were cute, i appreciated that the author took the time to write 3 what if scenarios abt the main ship and also their life post-canon. may chi ke and ji qian be happy forever, for this lifetime and the next.

What I Disliked

the beginning was a bit weak but this is a perception that might be affected by my own expectations and assumptions, like i was hoping for more of a parody of soap opera tropes... but chi ke and ji qian were like. hella op transmigrators. so i was kinda shook.

i was today years old when i found out that mist has more translated extras

it's only 3 chapters but it's a lot of happiness😭 reminds me of why mist is one of my top danmei

that childhood friends to lovers au that i wanted? yeah authornim gave it through 2 of these extras which was super satisfying like ofc they'd still fall in love...

and future ji yushi time traveling to meet himself in the past (present?) and therefore making present ji yushi realize he can only get happier from now on... i like that it's shown how ji yushi still takes his meds bc it's surely difficult to stop right away and love doesn't fix all traumas immediately, but he throws the meds away which is like another step towards healing. and anyway song qinglan will always be with him every step of the way.

What I Liked

its soooo sweet and sour, perfectly like a lemon soda candy. basically checks off all the tropes im craving right now: mc and ml who are sweet to each other, no conflicts between them ✅ broken mirror reunited (kind of) ✅ yearning and pining in spades ✅ wife-chasing ✅ mc fell in love first and has been keeping a secret one-sided love but then ml reciprocates and starts chasing mc ✅ heartmeltingly cute romance ✅

god i love that it's like 70% sour 30% sweet in the "lemon" phase of their high school days then transitioned into 30% sour 70% sweet in the "soda" phase when chen luobai was chasing zhou anran and then 5% sour 95% sweet just like candy after they got together.

no but for real it's so cute and sweet and sour, the author has such a way of describing their daily life that it feels so vivid and interesting. it makes this grandma feel youthful again (lol) i was reading until like 3am rolling around and kicking my feet just going ohh my goddd because i love everything about it. the way zhou anran is so shy and introverted but also has very specific bottom lines, how chen luobai is the stereotypical popular guy but he's so upright when it comes to dealing with girls he's not interested in so it feels extra special when he does become interested in zhou anran. and even the side cast like i was way too invested in zhang shuxian and lou yiqi's drama, it's just so...oddly realistic i guess. the seemingly fickle female friendship but also zhang shuxian integrating into zhou anran's friend group was also really sweet. and also zong kai like bro that was soo foul and so stupid of him. i actually like that what he did was below zhou anran's bottom line and she didn't want to forgive him because that shit's like. actually traumatic man. a shy introvert's worst nightmare for real.

i love that chen luobai basically made up all the moments with zhou anran that he missed in high school when he chased her in college. catching her in a near hug, the lemon candy, the basketball game, etc etc and even the love letter... the wife-chasing was exquisite for real and it's also especially sweet and sour because they both did nothing wrong and they're victims of circumstances but also the chasing was sooo satisfying because in this sort of story the mc is in the more "vulnerable" position for falling first so it's especially cathartic to have the ml do the chasing and "making up" for the mc's feelings so to speak

zhou anran loves chen luobai so much man she's nervous but she would actually want to be intimate with him the first time he asked (and then backed off because he's still a gentleman)

the second male lead he mingyu was kind of pitiful but i like that the author made it clear that he basically had no chance from the very beginning. zhou anran never saw him as anything but a friend and the dude was also lowkey kind of... too lowkey. the narrative gave enough hints that he's into zhou anran but also never pretended that he had a chance lmao

the delicious irony that lou yiqi dropped zhang shuxian as a friend in favor of cozying up to yin yizhen to get into chen luobai's inner circle but yin yizhen, zong kai, and her by extension got kicked out of the group instead and it's zhang shuxian who became close to them because she's besties with zhou anran. can u tell that this subplot really entertains me

i also like the peaceful au. but also it works as an au bc the main story's drama is also delicious

What I Disliked

this is so nitpicky but i really was so invested in the zhang shuxian and lou yiqi drama, i wanted the author to spill the tea so bad like what did yin yizhen do to make lou yiqi stick to her and so fast that she forgot about zhang shuxian's birthday... did lou yiqi actually like zhu ran......

ngl i wish it was r-18 because they would have the sweetest seggs scenes ever but i also kind of understand that the vibe is also not that lewd

Notes

got desperate for cute love stories so i also started digging into BG novels. like im so tired these days, enemies to lovers lowkey stresses me out. it's delicious yes but this is not the time for enemies to lovers and i am very much in the mood for what's basically "sweet couple who solves problems together"

What I Liked

hell yea omegaverse

it's a pretty simple, straightforward story of healing. kind of tropey but it did execute things well.

the r-18 scenes were good, i liked them a lot. choi muhyeok and ji yeonwoo are both comfortable with each other and choi muhyeok would never do anything that would make ji yeonwoo uncomfortable. even their first attempt (which failed) was also really sweet, when choi muhyeok noticed that there wasn't something right and comforted ji yeonwoo after. it's also telling just how comfortable ji yeonwoo is with him because after that he's always comfortable being intimate with choi muhyeok and is just as enthusiastic.

the evil ex got his just desserts, there's nothing as cathartic as him getting his glands broken tbh

What I Disliked

the ending was kind of rushed? like from ji yeonwoo feeling his pheromones come back until the ending was like. narrated and fast-forwarded. the conflict with choi muhyeok's family? glossed over. the wedding? implied.

Notes

i finished this over saturday and sunday lmao it's such a quick satisfying read

What I Liked

i already yapped about the manhwa so in the interest of not sounding redundant and repeating points i'll link it here

the manhwa itself is already amazing but compared to the novel it's only about like 80% of how good the novel is. a few things were changed in the manhwa adaptation that was pretty questionable, things like the implication that sa hyeon and jeong yiseon slept together in the main story (they did not. but mindblowing blowjobs happened) and some scenes got cut/altered probably in the interest of speeding the pacing. anyway the novel went super in depth in regards to their feelings (understandable bc it's the source material after all) and i love how much it makes me feel in turn.

sa hyeon has basically the most toxic "i can fix him" mentality ever but he fails to fix yiseon lmao

the aftermath of the seventh dungeon is way more detailed in the novel which i really really appreciate. both sa hyeon and jeong yiseon's quiet contemplation, each of them lost in their own thoughts---sa hyeon dissecting just why exactly is he so worried about jeong yiseon, why is he so rattled, why exactly he has such a desire to possess him; jeong yiseon still grappling with the reality that he's still alive and that he wants to live, utterly confused at sa hyeon's overprotective hovering; and finally their long-overdue conversation that sparks the beginning of their relationship.

reiterating this here i love that the author specifically mentions that sa hyeon signed yiseon up for therapy even though he gives off vibes that he doesn't really do it because he personally believes in it but it's because what most people seem to do. sa hyeon might be arrogant and controlling but above all he's practical and efficient and isn't afraid of admitting his mistakes. also love his aegyo moments towards yiseon lol

i can write a 10 page essay about sa hyeon honestly he's one of my fav gong for real. i like that he has such a shitty intention and dubious methods but ultimately some things he does are for yiseon's own good (like asking him to think about what he likes and helping him move on) but his emotional screws are all loose so he's totally okay with baiting yiseon with what's basically flirting but also isn't willing to take responsibility for yiseon's feelings because it's not like it's his fault he's being nice and yiseon likes him? (anyway it all boomerangs back to him which is like. terrible. but also lowkey he deserved it) but he's warm and real and yiseon likes that he's objective and practical. sa hyeon is manipulative and sketchy but he's also so painfully straightforward and that sort of contradiction is so fascinating to read about

and ofc yiseon the sun himself. i speak a lot abt sa hyeon but honestly sa hyeon is able to shine precisely because he has yiseon as a counter. the best way to counter a manipulative gong is a su who can't be manipulated, even better if the su can manipulate him back. yiseon might seem "weak" but honestly he's really strong. his mental health is always teetering at the edge and only held back by a deathly mix of survivor's guilt and responsibility for his friends, but that in itself is a form of determination, i guess. not a good sort of determination, but understandable after knowing what exactly he's gone through. despite his depression, at the core, yiseon still cares---he worries when sa hyeon gets hurt, he likes the chord team and does want to spend time with them even though he feels guilt crawling all over him when he feels even the slightest bit of happiness. i hope yiseon has nothing but happy days ahead of him, with sa hyeon and the chord hunters.

their first time is lowkey so crazy but also so sweet

i also really love the last extra, when yiseon accidentally started talking about his friends and then stopped, thinking it'd upset sa hyeon, but sa hyeon prompted him to continue instead, in a very matter of fact way, as if he's just "gathering information". it's a scene that expresses their relationship well---yiseon probably can't ever move on fully, and that's not a bad thing in itself to continue remembering his parents and friends because it's all a part of him. but it's unhealthy to wallow in grief forever, and he doesn't exactly need excessive coddling or pity. sa hyeon finally understands too that yiseon can't just let go, and instead, he wants to know more about the yiseon from the past, about these people who are so important to him. the last extra made me cry lol it's so sweet but the topic yiseon and sa hyeon discuss is so bitter as well. and yet it's a heartfelt, honest conversation that shows just how much they love and cherish each other.

it's also nice to know that they each have their own lives outside of each other. sure it kind of revolves around the HN guild considering sa hyeon is the leader and yiseon is employed there, but sa hyeon still takes his leadership duties seriously and yiseon is free to voice out what he wants to do as he slowly starts to discover himself. it was especially sweet (?) when yiseon said he wanted to restore for non-HN-related incidents and sa hyeon was like sure and then started to analyze how it would also benefit HN's reputation and yiseon was like should i be proud that i passed sa hyeon's efficiency standards lol these one-off moments are so sweet

another thing about yiseon and sa hyeon that made an impression on me is this... ship "checklist" thing? that the author did on twitter and i desperately mtl-ed and i couldn't really decipher most of it but one of the points was "do they believe in reincarnation/a next life" or some form of it... yiseon's answer was "yes" and sa hyeon's is ofc "no" but there's a note that if there is reincarnation/a next life, then he would like to meet yiseon again. and somehow that really tugged at my heartstrings (?) that this guy who lives adhering to his own sense of absolute efficiency and so realistically is willing to believe in something so vague and uncertain if only he could be with his beloved again

traces of the sun is one of my favs man it hit me with So Many Feelings All At Once, once when i read the manhwa and now again and even more intensely with the novel. 10/10 read for real will reread someday i love it so much

What I Disliked

the yiseon glazing gets a bit crazy at times ngl like it's understandable but also the only s-class restorer in the world for real?

Notes

gonna keep this one short and informal because it's a short story (and also mid)

like for a 37-chapter long story it took me 2 days to finish it which is... kind of a long time for something so short

i guess it's sweet enough? but the "blind date" coincidence part didn't sell it to me like there really were 2 shen chuhans???? i am expected to believe that??

also kind of wack that apparently lin ting's mom was trying super hard to find a doctor/cute for lin ting's eyes but all doctors she found said there was no cure but suddenly there's this godly retired doctor who can cure lin ting like. there is no way all those other doctors didn't know about this super famous godly doctor. it's one thing if lin ting couldn't contact him because he's retired/too expensive/not doing surgeries anymore but that no one ever mentioned him and only when shen chuhan's friend conveniently came by and was conveniently this godly doctor's mentee that lin ting found out about this doctor????

What I Liked

i love omegaverse

saw duan jiayan getting mentioned in chapter 1 and i was immediately locked in lmao i didn't check the author so i didn't know this was set in the same universe as i like your pheromones

this author has a way of writing alphas who are possessive but at the same time respects their omega a whole lot, and also omegas who are way too trusting of their alpha. like the trust is romantic but just like in ilyp there are times when i agree. so much. with the side chars whenever shi qi goes running to shang sui and they try so hard to warn him but shi qi trusts shang sui a whole lot anyway

it's not explicit but it covers all the spicy parts of shang sui's rut accompanied by shi qi and their permanent marking, of which shi qi is very very enthusiastic and it's sooo good. so spicy and sweet. i love it

ngl im prob biased bc i also like ilyp a whole lot

i like non-aggressive alpha pheromones like lu xingci's lemon and shang sui's honey

it's good that shang sui and shi qi are put on "equal footing" in that their permanent mark basically binds them to each other and only each other

i really really love shi qi's family, they really care about him. his omega dad is kind of pushy abt the marriage but ofc what parent would let their kid die? it's also sweet that each kid takes one parent's surname.

another moment that rly stuck w me is how shi qi's bestie just wants him to live because he still wants to hang out with and play with shi qi even when they're old and wrinkled. that's also something normal between friends but this sort of friendship isn't usually really depicted in romance-focused stories so i appreciated that

shang sui's alpha besties side ship was also cute lmao disastrous but cute

in general i like that they both have their circle of friends

the other duan jiayan and lu xingci jumpscare near the end, it's good to know they're still as lovey dovey and sweet as ever

What I Disliked

shi qi's alpha-hating omega celebrity friend side plot was quite ??? like i get that it's supposed to be a plot device to expose shang sui's special rut but it was so...out of left field

Notes

waiting for the extras to be released

What I Liked

i like sweet older mature doting gong who's careful to treat his younger lover and also a cute puppy dog shou who's super loyal and protective over his gong. the age gap was kinda big but at that point i was pretty desperate for something good to read and at the very least i trust this tler's taste

it's a pretty short read, doesn't really overstay its welcome. it does what it does well and i appreciated it. chi zhao and fu nan'an's relationship was handled well---i was initially a bit ??? bc the age gap was p big and also workplace romance but fu nan'an is utterly a gentleman and chi zhao is just so earnest and sweet

felt a bit sweet and sour in the middle when chi zhao got rejected (for valid reasons) but it just makes their romance after very very sweet

What I Disliked

the rando dude who tried to pursue chi zhao when he was studying abroad. like ??? i hate this sort of pushy annoying "second male lead" and also his existence literally did nothing else but serve as a(n unnecessary) plot device to show how much chi zhao loves fu nan'an

Notes

another short read because i wanted something fluffy and cute with mutual pining and a sweet mutual pampering, i guess it's... okay? it's pretty mid. ngl shi cha was too op like what do you mean he dubbed a whole movie just by himself... lowkey felt like there were too many things going on in a 40 chapter long book but it also kind of doesn't have a strong enough plot to really go on for longer

What I Liked

the plot is objectively pretty trashy but i like trashy. that scene where amos tried to force his mark on tang li and izz came in right on time and saved him and then tang li felt all safe and secure and then they proceeded to mate for like 10 days? peak trashy romance trope i ate it up

it's such a brainless short read full of the tropiest tropes ever

What I Disliked

the plot hole where izz apparently only cared about the zerg queen because he wanted to unseal his power but then the plot got derailed to revenge against tang li's trashy family and this sealed power was just never brought up again??

What I Liked

the premise is pretty interesting, it's basically a "quick transmigration" setting that focuses in one world that yu han accidentally enters due to a system error

yu han is very truly born to shounen forced to makjang, he's like...the very definition of bro. he's super dense but not even in the typical "i used to be straight but i am bent by the ml" no he just hasn't fallen in love even once and doesn't care about romance at all because he's a long aotian who's focused on becoming the top of every world he visits... it's quite refreshing.

meanwhile the "villain" ml xie sixing is kind of your typical omnipotent ceo ml but he's often left speechless because he's fallen for a shounen protag whose brain circuit doesn't quite match the mindset of a "regular" modern setting. it's super sweet to see him become increasingly more doting, more curious about yu han, and how he fell in love simply because yu han is such a bright ray of sunshine

What I Disliked

i swear the lin family has a younger daughter but she basically disappeared once her very very tiny relevance in the story doesn't matter anymore

i do wish there were more extras, at least a crumble of what happens after yu han takes xie sixing to the book transmigration division. like the author made it very clear that they were going to be together forever past xie sixing's world so show a bit more of it... please...

work is a pain these days and i'm in that strange mood where i want to read but somehow also being really picky, so anyway i came back to this and i have come to the conclusion that it really is my ultimate comfort book. this is my third read/second re-read and i'll definitely revisit it again in the future.

objectively it's nothing groundbreaking, subjectively i love it so much. it's a sweet healing story, the mutual salvation of two scarred souls who have unknowingly helped each other in the past and now meet again in a twist of fate.

i also love their dynamic so much. they're the classic "cold gong who's sweet only to his shou" and "cute, soft, sweet shou" combination but the author makes them extra sweet. mu hanfeng as the "cold gong" loves to tease tong che but never goes overboard, and he always shows his sincerity towards tong che. and tong che, as a "stereotypical" cute and shy shou is actually pretty bold... he responds to mu hanfeng's teasing with such straightforwardness that it always ends up with mu hanfeng repressing his horniness lmao

another thing that i really love about them is that they're super into each other, tong che is just as enthusiastic as mu hanfeng when it comes to bed activities and it's so good. he's still a sweet and shy blushing kitten but he never says no or even fakes being reluctant (and it's not like mu hanfeng will do anything that he will dislike). there's no hot and cold between them, no unnecessary miscommunication or misunderstandings. their love story is sweet from the beginning to the end.

also i like the reasoning for their perfect pheromone compatibility. it's quite rare for this "medical miracle" to actually have a scientific basis in the omegaverse world.

again my only gripe with this book is that they fall in love and get together all in the span of like. one month. speed dating to the max? but then i just kind of justify it like i guess i can just consider it an "arranged marriage" plot...

hmm of the 40 chapters it has i read like 30 of it so i'll just note here that i didn't finish it. the beginning was pretty good and fun but everything after the confession just wasn't it.

the shou was really so hot and cold towards the ml, like he's stringing him along, and even after the ml confessed properly (twice) he kind of stalled and didn't give the ml a proper position or answer.

What I Liked

it's just a very cozy healing story. i blitzed through the main story in 2-3 days while feeling stressed bc of work lmao it's really a no brain, slow-paced read

orange is a cute cat. sooo cute. i also want a cat like orange.

qin shu's parents are nice and supportive

it's really just a simple read, there's nothing too crazy or wild about it. song yunhui isn't the type to take revenge and just wants to live his life quietly.

What I Disliked

the plot holes r very ?????? song yunhui had amnesia (?) specifically regarding qin shu and it was never explained why or how. the what-if extra is also basically mandatory reading because it gives more explanation to song yunhui's seemingly random assortment of skills (genius at programming genius at math genius at acting and songwriting...?) well to be fair it didn't really explain anything, but it's good to know he and qin shu were basically super op already from high school

What I Liked

i am a sucker for the premise of "shou falls first and has been pining for gong for years but gong has never noticed until they meet again years later and gong now notices the shou in the periphery of his world"

it's sufficiently bittersweet because shen li just loves quietly without expecting anything while lu changting gets his gay awakening. it's nice that lu changting thinks over it properly before deciding to pursue shen li, it shows how serious he is.

"similar to andersen's fairy tale" it's little mermaid. when lu changting walked in on shen li soaking in the hot spring and likened him to a merman and the incident when they were in high school, when shen li was the one who tried to give lu changting chocolate but lu changting's eventual ex was the one who fed it to him and shen li couldn't say anything... it was very little mermaid.

What I Disliked