I was having fun with this, just mindless reading to pass time. The translation was okay, as was the writing. There are cute moments, but they are just that. The plot isn't really believable, like how she might "do great business" with a stationary store in front of an academy for aristocrats. I expect these kids to already have everything they need supply-wise, so why not just a candy store or something... But I think the world is really easy to overlook because as long as the relationships between the characters, their stories, and their actions are alright.
Characters... yeah, all antagonists are pretty awful and that's just that. But, at least they are hateable to some extent. The male leads, nothing really makes them stand out, but Dominic was cute. I don’t know much about Isaac because I haven’t read that far, but he seemed like he would be alright. To me, this series was fun to read because of the energy and dreams of the female lead (FL). I wanted to see what she would create and how she would succeed, even if it all wasn’t believable. But her optimistic spirit and Mary Sue-ness were going overboard, and I got bored. As I read on, the story felt like:
Hmm? She needs these people? Bam, here you go, FL, here’s the most talented bunch I could find. What? She needs these skills to make whatever? Bam, skills for you <3. What? An obstacle in your way??? *waves hand* What do you mean? There isn’t any... It all felt like this while the FL just remained happy all the way, while being mad from time to time...
It was fun, knowing and anticipating how the awful people who treated her like shit would eventually get fucked over, but nothing seemed like a major threat. There isn’t much variation in emotions that the FL feels throughout the story. Basically, there were no stakes. And, with the FL, being a transmigrator doesn’t really add much weight to the story. It’s the usual "I’m a transmigrator just for the sake of me knowing the plot and cool stuff these peasants don’t know." Though her dream and fondness for kids are related to it, there isn’t much else.
This is a cute, fun, and easy read, but it does get repetitive. It isn’t an emotional journey where the FL finds herself. But it is a journey for the FL to just achieve her dreams. And I think that is alright. It’s not entirely bad, but it could be better with a little more polishing.
Well, I enjoyed the author's previous works, but this particular book didn't resonate with me. The main characters and their supposed profound love connection didn't strike a chord. The story leaned more towards a slice-of-life approach, which could be appealing under different circumstances – perhaps if it were filled with sweetness, suspense, or intriguing elements. Unfortunately, I found it rather dull and unengaging. I would give it a 2.5-star rating.
I also saw the manhwa and I don't know why but I feel like it's mid at best it's 7/10. But I haven't caught up on it tho so maybe it gets good or worse later on?
I got to chapter 65 of the manhwa and I just couldn't wait
Someone said that chapter 65 of the manhwa is around chapter 64 of the novel
so boring its not even funny. the mc never works for himself, and uses his knowledge to make himself out to be the worlds saviour. he just hops from one place to another fixing things and doing mini boring quests. f*ck*n hell so boring
Nah, I am still recovering
I hope this story would give me a 'WOAH COOL' vibe
The best novel I read is Lord of Mysteries it is just amazing I can't explain in words and the MC is smart and no harem (thank god) the MC doesn't waste his time chasing girls or dating/fooling around with one and the world is really unique it's one of a kind
After reading several novels, I confess I've been lurking around Chestnut’s novel page. They are an author with varying degrees of success in my eyes. Let me share my experience, as I’ve finished all her latest works, including this one.
I’ll partially use my review from my personal blog, but let’s go! I’ll put this here (with spoilers), because I didn’t like the final payoff, so if you don’t want to read, it basically summarizes it.
To be honest, at first, when I read the summary, I was thrilled because it’s a rebirth story set in the future, and there was a promise to solve the mystery of why and how she died. But my expectations were set too high, and the novel did not deliver. Even though I’m well aware that Chestnut doesn’t write dramatic plots—everything is nice and easy—there was no real investigation. The reason for the murder was too over the top and a bit full of loopholes. This question of "who and why" dragged throughout the entire novel, and the answer we get is right at the very end!
One note, though: I read the last part of the novel with a splitting headache because someone in the house was renovating and they drilled for half a day, which triggers headaches for me. So my overall impression was even worse than it should have been. I’ll talk about a few spoilers here to illustrate my point.
**Storyline: The Career Path.**
The novel didn’t have the best start for me. Personally, I don’t like when the original host, meaning the original Meng Canran, is described as a thoughtless idiot who chased a male idol, lacking in talent both in singing and acting. Sure, these things work as a springboard for Jin Mi herself, but I don’t like when the original host is almost laughed at by everyone. Sure, when Jin Mi acts, it’s Meng Canran who becomes popular and shines, not Jin Mi herself. But still, that need to write such beginnings is not for me. But we continue.
Because she was confused at first, she signed as Jin Mi and later changed her tune, refusing to continue calling herself Jin Mi to avoid trouble. She and Xie Chi (the male lead/husband) were on the verge of divorce, but this signature put the process on hold, which is explained later as Xie Chi suspected Meng Canran was sent by the Wang brothers. Who are these Wang brothers, and their involvement in Jin Mi’s case, is explained much later.
So we start at such a low point in her career. Jin Mi is part of a girl group, but she doesn’t want to stay, and singing is not her forte. It helped to divert attention from her when it was revealed that the male idol and the C position girl were dating. But because the company wanted to shift blame and did nothing to solve the PR crisis, Jin Mi took it as a chance to terminate the contract. Because she needed money and didn’t want to contact either the Meng family or her husband, she thought of her own wealth. She had a lot of money when she was at the peak of her career. She found their old house and coincidentally was found/recognized by her mother. The two of them covered their relationship as if she now became Aunt Pan’s goddaughter.
Mind you, Jin Mi did not start any investigation of her own case, probably because it felt too fishy and would alert people, especially with her new identity. After all, there was an intruder that night, but her death was ruled as an overdose. Here, I want to ask if the murderer was too prepared. I mean, you barge in, but what do you do if the person wakes up? When I read the final chapters, I thought to myself that things could have been different, and the way the author wrapped it up was a bit of a ‘no’ for me. But otherwise, we wouldn’t have the romance, okay~
Getting the money helped her terminate the contract and set up her own studio with the help of her previous agent, who had a bit of an unfortunate fate after Jin Mi died. Because it was a frame-up, only her parents and agent believed in Jin Mi, but there were others who used money to accuse her of taking drugs, though I think I understand why her parents didn’t start suing for defamation. The case was strange, and at that time, hardly anyone believed it; rumors are a horrible thing. Her agent is now 20 years older and a mother of two, her husband openly cheats, and she acts a bit bleak. Jin Mi’s return put her old character of a resolute person into action again. By the way, her agent didn’t guess that Meng Canran is Jin Mi, many people felt she had the spirit of Jin Mi, but nothing more. Though I’d find it weird if one person changes drastically one day :)
With the two of them, they started from an acting show where, because of the previous comparison to the spicy acting of Meng Canran, she received a great deal of attention. At least it opened the door to her favorite acting. She refused the chance to star in some big production due to friction between her and executives during a dinner, but instead, she chose a low-budget mystery drama titled **Amnesiac Queen** (it is one of Chestnut’s novels released earlier, now used as a script). So, nice homage there~ Despite the young crew, it didn’t bother her, and this show later became a huge success.
This show and Jin Mi’s hot search physique opened doors for other projects.
The variety show actually helped her connect with an actor who played with Jin Mi before, but now he’s a senior. He also helped to promote her, and she starred in a movie right after the show. By the way, the director also has a connection to the old Jin Mi. What a small world :) So while others wanted to see her ending badly, she got better and better, and the bad past was slowly forgotten. Well, at least in such cases of changes, the network starts to make theories if her original actions were a cover-up, etc. You know how the internet works.
There were a few stumbles, but because Chestnut loves a laid-back storyline, they were not critical. First was an actress who was supposed to be promoted in the acting variety show, but because of unfair judging, it cast a shadow on the show, and many shady things were revealed later. The other one was the second actress from the same company as the previous one (belonging to the Wang brothers), whose agent is Jin Mi’s previous assistant, who also accused Jin Mi of taking drugs after her death. At this point, if you haven’t guessed that the Wang brothers had a hand in it, then I bless you to open your mind. They cut off Jin Mi’s magazine resources, but in the end, they chose another magazine, which was on the edge of bankruptcy. But because Jin Mi came into contact with the Xu family’s grandson, Shangshang, she was allowed to wear an award-winning necklace for the photoshoot, and the sales were amazing in comparison, so 2:0. K.O., b*tches. The last stumble was not serious, as it happened when her and Xie Chi’s marriage was exposed. They already had a good relationship and did not want to divorce; on the contrary, they became stickier, and the dog food was fed left and right.
Jin Mi, who had a great career in front of her, was the winner of it all :)
**Storyline: Xie Chi.**
Xie Chi actually has a deeper connection to the original Jin Mi, as we find out later. At first, it feels strange why such a person investigates Jin Mi’s case, as he was quite young when things happened. But around 30+ chapters, it becomes evident that Xie Chi was one of the few who was in contact with Jin Mi before her accident. He saw her and also saw a strange waiter who sneaked around her room. So after reading the news, he tried to report it, but no one believed him. With no influence and power, he could do nothing. The two met on a cruise ship; Xie Chi hurt himself when he fell and refused to call his parents, but Jin Mi offered help, and this is how they got to know each other. But don’t follow strangers, kids.
Jin Mi couldn’t connect the two together before she saw photos of the young Xie Chi. And at this moment, it hit her that unlike several other men who considered themselves her biggest fans but still either believed the report or did nothing to save her reputation, this small encounter made the young boy grow up with the idea of getting her justice. So you can guess that at this moment, Jin Mi was incredibly touched.
In the beginning, Xie Chi’s marriage was nothing more than a business marriage, although he didn’t mind having a good relationship. But who asked for Meng Canran to have such settings and act like a monster? Honestly, anyone would be repulsed by her actions of not even wanting to be in the presence of her husband, but he was the one who helped her debut. After the accident, when Meng Canran took pills and waved goodbye to the world, Jin Mi arrived. Of course, Jin Mi is different; she is more open-minded, humorous, positive, likes to bicker, etc. She became friends with the Samoyed dog Coconut and acted differently from the original Canran.
At first, Xie Chi thought it was some type of scheme, after all, they and the Wang brothers had enmity, and they tried to investigate Canran again, but things were unpredictable. She had no connection; it was as if a person was reborn. But this Canran attracted him much more.
Considering that the entire Chestnut universe is a shared universe, Xie Chi diluted the market of cool, handsome CEOs. He is quite a reliable guy, also generous, and if the original Canran did not act with such open disgust, things might be different. But otherwise, there’s no destined romance, so we wish Canran a better love in the next life. On the contrary, maybe Xie Chi saw what attracted him to Jin Mi originally, which is why things turned from having a casual good relationship to love. Although I still think the setting is a bit weird. Not to mention the past, but also their connection started from Xie Chi’s only very CEO-like trait, his insomnia, and Jin Mi just sleeping next to him cured it. Ahahaha
**Storyline: Romance.**
I suppose what initially attracted Xie Chi when he saw Jin Mi was her beauty and a glimpse of her character, that she was kind despite her high position in the entertainment industry and blinding glamour. So I suppose this is what pushed him to find the truth. But because he only caught a glimpse, he did not guess that the original Jin Mi was now in front of him, so he fell in love with the woman who was next to him before the mystery of Jin Mi was revealed. But basically, it didn’t matter who; it was the woman in front of him who made his heart beat.
Also, I personally do not agree when people criticize whether there is a solid base for romantic feelings or not. IT DOESN’T MATTER. People can start feeling affection towards the other person without any strong event in life. For example, if the male lead saves the female lead. In this case, I can argue that her feelings are nothing more than the thrill at that moment. You can rule it out either way; this is not even an argument, tbh. So the feelings between the two just came around. If you call it shallow, then what is deep? :) Many relationships do not need to be too profound to be reliable. Here is such an example. At first, to Jin Mi, her husband was just a handsome guy, and she could do with it or without, but seeing that he is the only one, besides her parents or agent, to believe and fight for her, she knew about his righteous heart. And the **Good Guy Card** goes to... XIE CHI! *cough-cough* You can discover many good traits without spending 300 pages describing them, and Xie Chi was reliable.
Like previous novels, this one has a more casual approach to relationships where two people just come together with mutual attraction, nothing hardcore. Also, this falls under the category of slow burn, as things develop in this direction by the last third of the book.
**Storyline: Murder Mystery.**
The biggest spoilers, folks.
Although when you read a bit, you understand that things are inevitably connected with the **Wang brothers**, as they are mentioned in connection with Jin Mi too often. When Jin Mi herself remembers the events on that cruise ship, the suspicion grows stronger.
This mystery stays a mystery for the entire novel, so only at the very end do we find out WHO, but we don’t really get an explanation of WHY. And this is why I say they’re not really cut out to write mysteries.
At first, Jin Mi remembers the cruise ship in connection with Xie Chi. Later, when she hears more about the Wang brothers, she remembers that she had dinner with them on a cruise ship, which she couldn’t shirk from, but she still left early.
Next, Jin Mi remembers that for protection, she had a voice recorder in her bag, which she completely forgot about. When she came to her apartment, the recorder was missing, so she ruled out that this recorder was taken away. Basically, it solidified the motive, but to me, it wasn’t enough. Why? Because compared to the Wang family back then, Jin Mi might have been a big star, but her background was insignificant. They could have simply threatened her, and that would be it. This is why I say that otherwise, we wouldn’t get the destined romance. This reasoning is a bit weak to me.
Jin Mi had no idea that she might have recorded something, so she was mainly a victim. Thus, we find out who did it by the end, but the why is not fully answered. Like, yeah, there was a recording, but the contents were not explained, which is a bit of a bummer and a letdown.
The one who was mentioned a lot in the novel was the Wang brothers’ crony who escaped when they thought they might deal with him too. But when Jin Mi saw him, she knew it wasn’t him. When the perpetrator was finally arrested, the Wang brothers were taken away, and the one responsible for the murder was on the loose for a moment. Was there a need for this episode or not, but because they met coincidentally, this is more like a moment of liberation that now Jin Mi could protect herself, unlike that fateful night where she fell victim to the same man.
I still put the last fig leaf on this big spoiler :)
So, the motive that was not explained in greater detail was a bit of a letdown for me, as the mystery was kept until the end. The next part, which I think was unnecessary, was Shangshang’s ability to predict the future. Shangshang is a boy belonging to the Xu family, a smart 5-year-old. He was sent to Xie Chi and Jin Mi when they had a quarrel. This kid can predict the future, and Jin Mi thought it was a system too. But I saw no need for it because, in two scenes, it was "crucial," but to me, it was questionable why put it there. After all, these two scenes could be rewritten with the same result. The first was the ex-assistant, the one who grew in power under the Wang brothers' protection, and Shangshang saw him badmouthing about his godmother, Meng Canran. The last one was the prediction that Jin Mi would meet the guy on the loose. But honestly, to be on the safe side, she could just have something to protect her, btw, after all, for some reason, she had a utility knife which she used, so I saw no need for this prediction ability. It was weird and unnecessary. You could just leave the boy who managed to bring the two together. Because his role in creating an opportunity for the two to be parents for some time allowed them to imagine if they liked such a picture. If it wasn’t for these things that stuck as a thorn in my side, I would have enjoyed this novel more, tbh.
Also, it is not the first and maybe not the last time when Chestnut used this sort of mystery where the victim has no idea why they were implicated.
I haven’t seen if her other latest works were picked up, but I can say for sure that **False Love** I didn’t like; it was very flat. It follows after the queen, and Chestnut showed a tendency to flop. But then they released **Three Days of Spring**, and it rehabilitated in my eyes. I loved this one.
This has promising potential. The storyline is captivating, and the main character (MC) displays resourcefulness rather than being a pushover. Unfortunately, it seems to have lost momentum. I wish someone would continue it. Nevertheless, the story stands on its own. The male lead (ML) doesn't have any romantic or sexual involvement with the king's concubine; it's actually the concubine who develops feelings for him. The MC, uninterested in the ML, solely focuses on amassing wealth, as the title suggests. She's intelligent and strategizes to achieve her objectives. The witty banter between them adds an intriguing dynamic, without resorting to instant love. I'd definitely recommend giving it a read – it's worth your time. <3
I rarely read novels with more than 150 chapters. However, my interest in the amnesia trope and positive reviews convinced me to give this one a try. The synopsis can be somewhat misleading, though. While it does mention certain elements, they don’t significantly impact the plot until the very end of the novel, when she finally recovers from her double amnesia.
What I enjoy about ancient-themed novels is the political backdrop. This one offers some unpredictable, if not entirely mind-blowing, plot twists, similar to many other ancient Chinese novels.
The first 50 chapters are quite slow-paced, nearly making me give up, but it becomes much more engaging afterward. Perhaps it’s because the romance starts to build, and I had grown tired of the male lead’s behavior in the early chapters. Finally, there’s progress on both main characters’ sides.
It’s a nice, long, and fulfilling read if you enjoy ancient Chinese novels, especially those with an enemies-to-lovers trope. ?
4.4. He Yan is indeed exceptional, quite unique in historical novels. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I must admit that the romantic focus towards the climax left me slightly unsatisfied. It was well-balanced, but there was still room for improvement.
Additionally, I deducted a few points due to the reliance on battle tactics commonly found in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" or Records of the Three Kingdoms. Although I'm unsure which parts are fictionalized, there's significant overlap in the strategies employed. Although I adore ROTK, it was disconcerting to see these tactics repeated and praised. Since the events are based on, if not entirely accurate, real history, using them in the novel can be seen as a nod to Zhuge Liang. Given its popularity and familiarity among Chinese readers, it's not a major issue, though I would have appreciated more original strategies instead of direct adaptations.
One example of such borrowed tactics includes sending decoy figures to deceive the enemy for arrows, utilizing small boats loaded with grease to ignite the enemy's chained ships during a predicted wind change, and a variation of the empty city tactic where He Yan's mentor employs his Qin arrays to intimidate the enemy while the city is mostly deserted.