Mini Reviews: Rebirth of MC, Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me, Record of the Missing Sect Master

Title: Rebirth of MC
Author: 夕鱼
Chapters: 206 chapters 
Publication: 2013
Summary from Novel Updates:

The MC died during the apocalypse and then he was reborn 1 year before the start of the apocalypse.

He then suddenly opened/found out a heirloom’s secret, he possesses a magical space, a guide book to cultivation, a magical lake and a magical peach tree (immortality peach tree).

His goal is to live a relatively nice life during the apocalypse, hence he started a mad shopping for goods before it began.

But, how in the world did he end up meeting​ such a person?…

ML is A city’s senior officer in the military, his 3 distinctive traits are:

1. Rifle
2. Cigarettes
3. Bastard-like aura

ML: Wifey, don’t go, as a husband I will treat you right~

2 STARS - IT WAS OKAY

MY REVIEW: 

Remember how I said that I am the Lucky Cat of an MMORPG felt like it was written by an amateur fanfic author? Well, this book was written very similarly, complete with over-describing scenes, blatantly pointing everything out, and including self-inserted author's notes throughout the story in multiple chapters. Very much in line with an amateur author who feels like they have to point out everything to you in case you miss their very obvious scenes. 

However, just like reading newbie fanfics, I still couldn't stop reading this book lol. I was really interested in figuring out the whole reason for the apocalypse and the zombies' origin. I just didn't realize that there are two arcs to the story and that only the first arc is about the zombie apocalypse. Like the first translator's notes said, if you only want to enjoy a zombie apocalypse story with a nice enough ending, you should stop at the end of the first arc. 

The second arc is a quick cultivation arc has a new cast of characters other than the main couple and two other people. It really wasn't what I was expecting, but I stuck it out because I was almost finished with the book. This arc was pretty fast and didn't have much impact because of the MC's golden fingers and innate talent helped him cultivate quickly. The ending really came out of nowhere... It was too abrupt and random honestly.

Title: Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me
Author: Qing Duan
Chapters: 80 chapters + 8 extras
Publication: 2016
Summary from Novel Updates:

Transmigrated into the body of a cannon fodder villain, Chu Yu has three major worries:

1. How can he help the protagonist turn into a real harem master?
2. How can he develop a good relationship with the protagonist?
3. How can he live properly without holding on to the protagonist’s thigh?

The protagonist has three major worries:

1. Eldest disciple brother has changed
2. Eldest disciple brother has really changed
3. How can he marry eldest disciple brother?

System: Congratulations! ~ Sprinkle Flowers ~ Grow Old Together Happily!

Chu Yu: … Wait, what about the harem novel?

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

I started reading this book a year or two ago and forgot about it while waiting for it to finish updating. I was surprised by how much I remembered while I reread the first half of the novel. 

Back then, I hadn't read The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System yet, so I hadn't noticed the similarities between the two books that people always mentioned in reviews. After reading both books, I can definitely the similarities, especially in the beginning. However, this book also reminded me of Transmigrating into a Mob Character to Rehabilitate the Villain Plan. All three books deal with painfully insecure yandere male leads and straight male readers who started off only wanting to help the tragic male leads. If you liked any of these three books, you'll probably like the rest lol. Sometimes, you inexplicably have the urge to read yaoi cultivation novels about reborn yandare male leads and their airheaded masters.

Title: Record of the Missing Sect Master
Author: 一世华裳
Chapters: 115 chapters + 5 extras
Publication: 2016
Summary from Novel Updates:

A major event happened recently to the demonic sect – their powerful sect master suddenly went missing.

Everyone comforted each other: “Don’t worry, the sect master must be out pursuing fun, and so on.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

They waited.

Waited and waited.

Waited and waited.

Waited and… Everyone slammed the table: “We’ve waited so long! The sect master must have met with a mishap! Look for him!!” Numerous disciples therefore ran rumbling down the mountain.

On a certain day of the month, a certain sect master opened his eyes and thought in confusion: Hey, who am I?

4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

Imagine waking up injured and with amnesia. You don't know who to trust, and all of a sudden, there's a conspiracy occurring throughout the country. What's left is a huge reveal that shakes everyone's hearts to the core. 

There were so many layers and schemes to this book that I was caught unprepared most of the time! The author left so many foreshadowing hints throughout the book that I'm really debating on rereading now that I know what to look out for. 

Also, there are a couple of really shameless characters who love to pull aggro and piss people off. That, or they're so shameless that they make people suffer from their antics, which made the book hilarious. I felt so bad for all of the trouble the elders and underlings went through because of them lmao.

Mini Reviews: Please Confess to Me; Slowly Falling For Changkong; Ascending, Do Not Disturb; This Omega is Immune to All Abilities

Title: Please Confess to Me 
Author: Grumpy Crab
Chapters: 52 chapters + 8 extras
Publication: 2017
Summary from Novel Updates:

Before getting married, Shen Xi knew that her fiance had a girl he was secretly in love with for years.

After the divorce, she found out that the girl was her.

Before getting married, Shen Xi knew that there was going to be no love in her marriage.

After the divorce, she found that her ex-husband had married for love.

Before their marriage, her husband had a lot of money.

After the divorce, her ex-husband went bankrupt paying for the huge alimony.

Then, Shen Xi was reborn to the day of their marriage.

Shen Xi would just like to ask, would it kill you to say “I like you”?!

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

I should have expected that I would be addicted to reading this novel knowing that the author is Grumpy Crab. I've really enjoyed every other novel of hers that I've read so far, so I should have expected myself to slack off of work to read this novel within a day lol. 

This novel was sweet and hilarious but heartbreaking. So many misunderstandings occurred during their marriage that it left such a huge scar on both of them. When Shen Xi had a second chance to start their marriage over again, it took a lot of effort for her to understand Su Hang and get him to open up more. 

Also, their dog's interactions with them was adorable. I loved how Su Hang was always jealous of Chu Wu because he could actively approach Shen Xi for hugs lmao. If you've enjoyed any of Grumpy Crab's books or just romances in general, you're sure to like this book.

Title: Slowly Falling For Changkong
Author: Ban Li Zi
Chapters: 66 chapters
Publication: 2018
Summary from Novel Updates:

Recently, Xiang Changkong has been making food deliveries to Xu Lian. After delivering takeout after takeout, he eventually becomes the delivery.

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

You know, right when I was  getting tired of reading those overbearing CEO novels, I end up accidentally reading another similarly tropey novel. Luckily, this time, the roles were reversed! Xu Lian is the cool, rich owner of an aromatherapy store, and Xiang Changkong is a poor but handsome delivery takeout guy. And that's about the only similarity the characters have to the typical overbearing CEO novels lol. 

Xu Lian is cool and distant with people because she's hates troublesome things. It's not until she gets together with Xiang Changkong that she starts changing, and her frankness is both refreshing and hilarious lol. Xiang Changkong is so pitiful you can't help but feel bad for him. He's shy and feels inferior because of his circumstances, and it's not until Xu Lian encourages and supports him that he start changing his mentality and changing for his future. 

Their relationship (and how they initially get together) was pretty surprising, but with Xu Lian's character, I don't know how they could have gotten together any other way with how slow Xiang Changkong was lol. 

Xiang Changkong's mother's arc reminded me of a family drama I watched last year called Go Ahead. Xiang Changkong's mom and how he handles her situation reminds me of one of the drama's male lead's mom and how much of a selfish asshole she was . The mom's arc ended kind of abruptly, and it's because the author said that she was losing readers because they hated the arc. This made her sudden change a little hard to accept. 

Overall, a good book with a different spin on an overused trope! 

Title: Ascending, Do Not Disturb
Author: Yue Xia Die Ying
Chapters: 156 chapters + 2 extras
Publication: 2018
Summary from Novel Updates:

You think too much, cultivation is not like this…

When Kong Hou stepped on the path to cultivation, she learned that all xianxia stories are full of lies.

A relaxed cultivation story.

*Kong Hou: a traditional musical instrument like a harp. Also the protagonist’s name.

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

Like the summary states, this is a relaxing cultivation story that uproots a lot of common tropes in cultivation stories, which made it pretty funny to read about. 

The biggest difference is Kong Hou's sect. If you've read any Xianxia or Xuanhuan novels, you'll know that even though sects appear unified against outsiders, the disciples and even sect masters plot and scheme against each other to get better resources or acknowledgement from their peers. There's usually a lot of politics involved in not offending people in higher power. However, Kong Hou's sect is like one big family where they all care about each other and sincerely praise each other's accomplishments. They're more like one big, uncomplicated family. 

A foodie family actually lol. Typically, cultivators don't need to eat after they reach a certain level, but Kong Hou's sect loves food so much that they inevitably influenced the surround town they protect into becoming a foodie central that attracts lots of visitors. 

The story's pretty fluffy and funny. This is a very slow romance, but there are so many cute and funny interactions between the leads that you're always hooked.

Title: This Omega is Immune to All Abilities
Author: Green Plum Sauce
Chapters: 100 chapters + 3 extras
Publication: 2020
Summary from Novel Updates:

Yi Jiamu was a patient with the ‘Ability Deficiency Disorder’ and he inadvertently attracted Gu Yesheng’s attention.

The yandere beauty avoided by the entire school pinched his chin: Child, I will cover you in the future.

Yi Jiamu thought for a moment: In fact, it isn’t necessary.

At first, Gu Yesheng thought he was just shy. Later, he discovered that it really wasn’t necessary…

Yi Jiamu had a secret. He wasn’t lacking an ability, he was immune to all abilities.

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

I liked the role reversals in here. You have the cute white rabbit protecting the big bad wolf.

New Anime and Movies This Spring That I'm Excited For!

There's a lot of anime and movies I'm interested in coming out this season! I really need to catch up with My Hero Academia... And I'm looking forward to The World Ends With You since I never finished playing that game on the DS lol. Black Widow has been pushed back since last year, so I'm really curious if it'll actually be released in May. 

Anime:

• My Hero Academia 5th Season
• The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
• To Your Eternity
• Fruits Basket: The Final
• I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
• Hige wo Soru. Soshite Joshikousei wo Hirou.
• The World Ends with You The Animation
• Dragon, Ie wo Kau.
• The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent
• The Way of the Househusband
• Cider no You ni Kotoba ga Wakiagaru

Movies:

• Raya and the Last Dragon (Mar 5)
• Mortal Combat (April 16)
• Black Widow (May 6)
• Free Guy (May 21)
• Cruella (May 28)
• Luca (June 18)
• F9 (June 25)
• Venom: Let There Be Carnage (June 25)

Webnovel Review: Intense Love by Liu Mang Xing

Title: Intense Love
Author: Liu Mang Xing
Chapters: 61 chapters 
Publication: 2016
Summary from Novel Updates:

Su Jinbei’s life motto used to be high heels and fresh meat (pretty boys) above all else.

Then she met Zhou Shiyun.

Her life motto was quickly changed to:

High heels are indeed too expensive, fresh meat has become more expensive.

Both can be thrown aside for Treasure Zhou.

Little theater:

1. Reporter: What’s your husband’s biggest strength?

Su Jinbei: Superior looks, rich and great performance

Reporter: G-great performance..?

Manager: Yes, she means he has superb medical skills!

Su Jinbei: En? I was talking about the male-female – umph!

Manager covers her mouth and drags her away: Today’s interview ends here, thank you everybody~

2. A friend: What do you like most about your spouse?

Zhou Shiyun: She’s beautiful

A friend: What do you dislike most about her?

Zhou Shiyun: She’s too beautiful

3 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

Su Jinbei is a confident, bold, and hilarious main character who once she sets her sights on someone, will go after him with everything she has. Because she's a popular celebrity, everything she does is documented on the internet, which usually makes situations worse lol. 

Zhou Shiyun is a cold iceberg that gradually melts and becomes as passionate as Su Jinbei after he realizes his feelings. Their whole romance was cute and funny. 

I was actually surprised that there was smut later in the book because most romance books just do the whole "fade to black" scenes instead lol. However, they were still pretty funny just because of Su Jinbei's character in general lol. 

The book was pretty short and sacrificed a lot of great potential side stories. For example, both of their siblings' relationships could have been expanded on. Also, the noble and arrogant cat, Wutong, is adorable! I love his interactions with everyone lol. 

This book is in the same world as Pampering My Cute Pet, so you briefly see the main characters appear. The author is writing another book in the same world and also briefly introduced one of the characters in the book in Intense Love as well. I haven't seen any translating group pick up that book yet, but I'll probably read it since I enjoyed the author's previous books. 

This was also made into a drama last year, so I'm interested in watching it. I can already tell that it's different from the book because there's another couple in the movie poster lol.

Book Unhaul 25

Went to my parents' house and decided to unclutter some more and sell some more books that I've lost interest in.

In the Belly of the Bloodhound by L.A. Meyer

Under the Jolly Roger by L.A. Meyer

My Bonny Light Horseman by L.A. Meyer

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee by L.A. Meyer

Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

Webnovel Review: Let the Villain Go by 龚心文

Title: Let the Villain Go
Author: 龚心文
Chapters: 85 chapters 
Publication: 2019
Summary from Novel Updates:

Legend has it that Ye Peitian’s blood has the miracle effect of saving the almost dead. The strong human beings swarmed like ants and insects under the banner of justice, just to achieve their ulterior purpose.

Using Yellow Sand to crush all the coveted people, Ye Peitian let his broken body soak in the pool of blood.

A woman appeared on the edge of the battlefield and approached him quietly.

Ye Peitian lightly pulled the corner of his mouth with a little effort, drawing a sneer. Even a low-level saint dared to take the opportunity to take his blood and flesh.

He closed his eyes, however, the woman stooped down and put a warm coat on him.

Ye Peitian:? ? ?

When Chu Qianxun was dying, she saw what happened in another parallel world.

In that world, the big demon that made the world fear him was not a demon, but smiled softly and shyly at her.

For that smile, she stepped on the bloody sea of ​​corpses and carefully approached the brutal bloodthirsty demon.

But she heard the person say: Go away. If you get closer to me, I will make you die badly.

When she really turned around, the corner of her clothes was pulled.

Even if the whole world spurns you, I will hold your hand.

If everyone is afraid of you, then let me love you.

5 STARS - I LOVED IT

MY REVIEW: 

This was so good! I felt so sad and pitied Yu Peitian. He had such horrible things done to him since the apocalypse occurred, and he had to become a notoriously evil person called the Human Demon just to protect himself. Someone who is originally soft, shy, and kind had become the scariest person on the continent. His life was so depressing that he had basically given up on his own life. Luckily, Chu Qianxun came into his life, and they both changed for the better. 

I really liked Chu Qianxun's character. After seeing how she lived so freely and confidently in her dream, she decided she didn't want to live so indifferently and fearful of life anymore and actively strove to become stronger. Lol, the funniest part is that after she became stronger by constantly going out alone to fight demons, everyone thought it was because she was raising a pretty boy who could only cook delicious meals. 

I actually really like how the roles were reversed in their relationship. We rarely get an active female and shy male dynamic in a relationship. I loved how Chu Qianxun was the one mainly initiating any physical parts of their relationship because Yu Peitian was too shy and embarrassed to do it instead. 

Maybe it's because I've mainly only been reading romance novels recently, but the action scenes were so good! So much tension and blood-pumping moments. The last few chapters were a thrilling whirlwind! 

I wish there were some extras that talked about their future, but I just found out that this is technically the alternate story/sequel lol. The dream that Chu Qianxun had at the beginning of the book is actually Apocalypse Arrival, the first book about the apocalypse occurring. I thought this book ended really well, so I'm not sure if I want to read Apocalypse Arrival now... We'll see.

JAN: Voting History, Stimulus Check, Get Togethers, Another Covid Scare, Seventeen Online Concert

January was a historic month for Georgia. For the first time in decades, Georgia officially turned into a Democratic state. There's hope in this formerly conservative state!

There's just no hope for Trump who implicitly approved of the "protesting" at the Capitol. I'm still mad about the how they whitewashed the whole thing. First of all, it was a riot, not a something peaceful as a protest, and even the police handled it differently. If it was a Black Lives Matter protest, the police would have reacted vastly differently. I think this article from the Washington Post described it perfectly: Lafayette Square, Capitol rallies met starkly different policing response.

We also got our second stimulus check, which was $600 at max. This laughable amount created a bunch of memes, so there was one bright side lol.

Since we had to self-quarantine around Christmas, Shelle and Kyle didn't see a lot of their friends over the holidays to give them their Christmas presents. Due to timing, their friends came over on Saturday. Alex and Dom came over in the afternoon, and we had lunch and played games in the theater room with them. Then, Lance and Sam came over with their dogs near dinner time, where we ordered Chinese food. Overall, it was a fun and eventful day.

However, a few days later Lance called Kyle and told him that his dad tested positive for Covid, and we already knew that he had come over to our place right after spending the night at his dad's place that weekend. So Lance and Sam went to schedule a Covid test while we scheduled our tests for that weekend. Luckily, we all tested negative, but it still sucked because I was originally going to hangout with my friends that weekend.

But I guess it was just bad timing because Ebony and Jack were sick that weekend, so we cancelled plans lol. This was the second time we had to cancel our plans, so I wasn't too surprised lol.

We still decided to self-quarantine for two weeks again to make sure that we weren't carrying it, so we didn't visit the parents that weekend even though it was Dad's birthday. 

Seventeen also announced their first online concert, so Shelle and I had to support them since we became their fans last year through watching Going Seventeen lol. Plus, it was super easy to buy tickets through the app. The only downside was that there was no streaming option, so we had to hook my laptop up to the tv using a HDMI cord. Other than that, the concert was great! They had so many great performances! I definitely want to go to one of their concerts in person when this pandemic is over.

Other than that, I spent a lot of time this month reading manga before going back to reading webnovels. I just can't get out of the addiction lol.

Webnovel Review: Rebirth Plan to Save Leader by Zhong Jin

Title: Rebirth Plan to Save Leader
Author: Zhong Jin
Chapters: 84 chapters 
Publication: 2019
Summary from Novel Updates:

Even more shocking than the fact that Li Wei won the world’s highest prize in theoretical physics at such a young age was the fact that he was found dead at home the day before the award ceremony, having committed suicide at the age of 35.

In his letter to his student Jackie, he wrote: “All these years I had been crazy doing one thing, Physics is my whole life. The day it ends, the darkness will completely engulf me.

Many years after graduation, Zhang Man saw a love letter in her physics book, signed by Li Wei, when she was sorting things out. After his suicide, she couldn’t eat or sleep at night, until one day she woke up and found herself back at the age of sixteen.

–Later, Li Wei, who became a figurehead in the world of Physics again, said in an interview with global media, “There are two most important things in my life, Physics and her. Physics gave me the ability to think in the dark, and she, gave me light.”

4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

I teared up so many times reading this. Zhang Man and Li Wei's misunderstandings in the previous life led to such miserable endings. I was so sad when I finally read about how Zhang Man ended up back in the past. 

You see Li Wei's circumstances first hand, and it's so heartbreaking seeing much effort Zhang Man goes through to earn his trust because he's so wary of people and stuck in his own world. But, like Zhang Man knows, Li Wei's love and trust is worth it because he's so SOFT and GENTLE. Their interactions after they got together were so sweet! 

Zhang Man also changed a lot because of her love for Li Wei, and it was awesome seeing that change. She went from a wallflower who hated attention to a decisive person who didn't care about others' opinions and was willing to step out of her comfort zone to be with the person she loved. She also cleared up her misunderstanding with her mother and fixed their relationship, which was also very heartwarming. 

Then, things got serious again because of Li Wei's Schizophrenia, and everything became sad and heartbreaking again. Luckily, there's a happy ending. 

I also really liked the ending when ChenChen talked about them though. It was a nice hilarious end to the book. Be prepared for all of the feels. If you liked My Husband With Scholar Syndrome or Guide To Raising the Sick Villain, you'll probably like this book.

Books I Want to Read This Month

Looks like I didn't read any books off of this list last month. I'm gonna try to do better this month!

1. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
2. Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal
3. Saint Young Men vol. 1 by Hikaru Nakamura
4. Saint Young Men vol. 2 by Hikaru Nakamura
5. Saint Young Men vol. 3 by Hikaru Nakamura
6. The Way of the House Husband vol. 1 by Kousuke Oono
7. The Way of the House Husband vol. 2 by Kousuke Oono
8. The Way of the House Husband vol. 3 by Kousuke Oono
9. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? vol. 12 by Fujino Omori
10. I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level vol. 2 by Kisetsu Morita & Beniso
11. I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level vol. 3 by Kisetsu Morita & Beniso
12. The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
13. Euphoria by F.S. Yousaf
14. Love Looks Pretty on You by Lang Leav
15. The Consumption of Magic by T.J. Klune

February in Retrospect

I read a lot of manga and webnovels again this month and watched a couple of movies with the parents. One day I'll read the True Beauty webtoon when it's complete, but I think watching the drama gave me enough feelings for a while lol.

I read: 

• Low IQ Supporting Female, Waiting for Death Online by Wei Ke
• Quick Transmigration with Female Lead Aura by Wei Ke
• Stuttering Big Boss’s White Moonlight by 南陵一别
• The Villains I Raised All Died by Mo Shu Bai
• I Just Want to Freeload on Your Luck by Ming Gui Zai Jiu
• The Struggles of Being A Mother of Villains by Da青蛙
• Love Me Or I'll Kick Your Ass!!! by Minomushi Momonoki
• After Being Transported into a Book, I Adopted the Villain by 甜腻小米粥
• Our Adorable Asahi by Yuumi Imai
• My Husband is Suffering from a Terminal Illness by Can’t Play Chess
• My Fake Brother Is In-Love With Me Again by Ming Gui Zai Jiu
• Give Me to Bai by 小八老爺
• Life-Saving Days by the Husky’s Side by 一世华裳
• Fuuzokugurui Desu ga Toshishita Danshi ni Kokuraremashita by Pysche Delico
• No More Mr. Nice Guy by Azutaka
• The Villain’s Contract Lover by 萌堂
• Mr. Cinderella by Yuuki Hinase
• Misplacement Game by Teng Yuan Xin
• My Artist Is Reborn by 薄荷貓
• Noble Wife Wants No Love by 公子闻筝
• The Young Wolf That Can't Learn to "Stay" by Machi Kanna

I watched: 

• Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
• Hero (2002)
• True Beauty (2020)