Mini Reviews: This MC Is Kickass; Later, He Became a Royal Healer; Rebirth of a Movie Star

Title: This MC Is Kickass

Author: Early Cloud

Chapters: 217

Publication: N/A

Summary from Novel Updates:

While creating her character, the game’s system randomly generated a “unique” name for her.

To avoid being recognized by her friends in reality, Shen Jingbin went for broke and made her in-game character look as ugly as possible, turning her into the ugliest character in the game.

But who would have thought that these days, even NPCs would judge her based on her looks! What should she do now?!

Thankfully, she had enough luck to overturn that. Hidden quests, amazing pets and top quality equipment were all lined up for her taking.

Even male gods were offering themselves up to her!

3 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

I wish the summary changed because it's a little misleading. The last line made me think that it was going to be about a Mary Sue character who had a bunch of god tier guys chasing after her, which made me hesitant to read this book at first. You know, sometimes you gotta be in the mood for reverse harems lol. Luckily, I was more interested the comedic aspects of her creating a super ugly character in the game lmao. Thankfully, it wasn't a boring reverse harem with a bunch of guys fighting over her and only had one male lead. 

The bickering/bullying sibling relationship was also hilarious. Her brother's a super hot, super popular, flirty player in the game, and he was so ashamed to even admit that they were siblings at first because of how ugly she looked compared to all of the praise that he said about her behind her back before she joined the game lmao. This led to a bunch of misunderstandings at first because other players thought that he went crazy and went after an ugly hag! And even though he grumbles and complains about his sister, he's the first one to message her whenever she logs online to hangout and do quests together. He's secretly a siscon even though he won't admit it lol. I also loved how her brother, at first, was trying to help them get together, but after they got together, he kept on complaining about all of the PDA lmao.

In the end, Shen Jingbin is still a Mary Sue. Due to her incredible luck, she basically stumbles upon a bunch of cheats that helps her throughout the entire novel. Also, I'm not a huge gamer, but I've never heard of a game like this one with so many global hidden quests and secret schemes. However, if you're willing to overlook all of that and stay for the humor, action, and little bits of romance sprinkled throughout, you'll have a good time. :)

Title: Later, He Became a Royal Healer

Author: 艳归康

Chapters: 140 chapters

Publication: 2018

Summary from Novel Updates:

You Liangxing would never open the speech function in game.

That was because his voice was…

Particularly! Kittenish!

But there was one day, he queued up with a teammate who had so much to say that they may as well explode. Vexed to the point of no return, he contributed a voice that was capable of splitting heaven and earth, “Don’t BB.”

The other party who was being scolded stilled. In the ensuing silence, he suddenly let out a long, relishing… moan.

You Liangxing: “…..”

Later —

He realised that the person was a great god,

Much later,

Without him realising,

He became the great god’s royal healer.

…. And also his boyfriend.

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

KK is the most shameless person I've ever read lmao. He constantly pushes You Liangxing's buttons with his shamelessness, it's incredible that he doesn't get beaten up more often lol. I love both leads' contrasts with their looks and personalities. You Liangxing's handsome and manly but has a delicate, feminine voice while KK is tall and beautiful but super lazy. You'd think they wouldn't get along, but they have the best teamwork when it comes to gaming.

Since KK's a popular streamer, and because they first met during one of his streams, his entire online audience constantly witnesses their great gameplay and hilarious interactions together. KK gains even more popularity because his audience want to witness their great online love story lmao, and it was hilarious seeing how his audience noticed all of these details and clues about their relationship lol.

You Liangxing's sister is also pretty hilarious. Even though she a big celebrity, she's a brocon who can't find a boyfriend because she loves her brother too much lmao. Actually, You Liangxing's whole family is pretty interesting.

I would definitely recommend this if you want to read something fun with hilarious characters and a mobile game that brings everyone together.

Title: Rebirth of a Movie Star

Author: J112233

Chapters: 61 chapters + 6 extras

Publication: 2016

Summary from Novel Updates:

In his previous life Bai Lang was a small star. He rejected his boss and s*upidly engaged in a relationship which he thought was true love.

He didn’t expect that he would get betrayed, die of a heart attack and trouble his boss to accompany him on his last journey.

After his rebirth, he decided to give up on true love. As for his boss… since he wants something then just let him have it.

So this little star after his rebirth collected his boss, and then it became a true love story with his boss.

In between there are good friends/love rivals/scum men in the mix. A sweet story with a happy ending.

3 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

I've seen this webnovel recommended multiple times, so I thought I'd give it a chance since it's also a pretty short read compared to some of the other novels I was reading lol.

There were a lot of explanations in the beginning, which got draggy at times. This was mainly to set up the background and explain how and why he ended up dying. 

However, I really liked the characters and how they slowly fell for each other. Bai Long died from his lover's betrayal in his past life, so he decided to take a different route and enter a relationship with his boss instead. He went into that relationship with wide eyes, disillusioned by "true love" and just wanting to have an easy life compared to his past life. However, his boss's kid made them entangled even further, and they slowly grew feelings for each other.

His kid made everything even cuter. His bickering with his dad was hilarious, and I love all of the nicknames they had for each other. I really loved the extras which showed him later in the future with his love interest, which was also super cute. 

There's also major revenge against the ex-lover because even in Bai Long's new life, he still tries to use him.

Overall, it's a pretty good book if you're into rebirth, found families, and slow burn revenge stories.

AUG: Bridal Shower, Succulents, Selling the House, Visiting Parents, Kpop Groups, Free Books

August went by pretty fast. I'm still surprised that more than half of the year's already over. 

Erin's family hosted a bridal shower on August 1st, so of course we, her work buddies, had to show up and support her public shame lol (she hates being the center of attention). Archana and I decided at the last minute that I'd pick her up, so we arrived 30 mins late lol. It was pretty fun. Erin's family really knows her; they unanimously agreed not to play any games or do embarrassing presents because Erin would probably die lol. Archana and I didn't get the memo and didn't wear dresses, but Erin approved because we wore makeup at least lmao.

Her family gave us succulents as thank you gifts for coming, and so I ended up attempting to be a succulent mom. Since the succulents came in tiny pots and were already outgrowing them, I needed to get a new pot for it. But Amazon has too many cute pots and succulent options, so I ended up getting a bigger pot and a set of five pastel pink succulents as well. Unfortunately, the seller lied because only one of my succulents had any hints of pastel--they were all green! Either way, I was determined to grow them. 

I just don't think I'm cut out for gardening in general... The bridal shower succulent is sunburned on some leaves, and one of the other succulents' leaves keep on shriveling up. I also don't want to water it anymore because I think it'll become over-watered.

Two weeks later, we headed down to the parents' house on Wednesday night since we had to close on the house the next morning. Shelle and I took the day off since we weren't sure how long it would take. Fortunately we did, because we found at their office that the signing would be at noon instead of at 10:30am like we were originally told. Even our agent didn't know about the time change. Like wtf? So Shelle and I went to Panera for breakfast and drinks before going back to do the signing. It didn't take long, which was good. 

We spent the rest of the weekend at the parents house and worked from there on Friday. Mom cooked a bunch of food every day, and we helped dad finish building the porch swing for Mom to use in the back porch. I tried to use their massage chair as often as possible because I felt like my back and neck were aching every day. We left Saturday night because Kyle's mom and stepdad were coming over the next day for lunch.

We hadn't seen Kyle's parents since before Covid, so it's been a long while. Kyle's mom's a middle school teacher, and the way they're handling physical classes and online classes sounded pretty bad, so she ended up ranting about it for most of the time they were over lol. We also showed them our finished theater room and watched The Gentlemen, which was really good.

Because of Treasure and YouTube's related videos, Shelle and I have also completely gotten back into Kpop. We watched every English subbed Treasure video available, and I got into Seventeen's reality show called Going Seventeen. It's been running for the past few years, so I decided to watch their more recent ones by watching the more popular 2018 ones and then watching Going Seventeen 2019, which was so good. Because I watched the episodes on the tv in the living room, Shelle eventually got sucked into watching it with me, and we're now slowly catching up with Going Seventeen 2020. 

I'm so glad they have these shows because they're so funny and talented that it'd be a shame if no one was able to see all of their hard work and humor. They even composed, wrote, and filmed their new intro and outro songs for Going Seventeen! I definitely appreciate watching the intro and outro for each episode now that I know that Seventeen themselves made it.

We also got into Stray Kids once we found out that they had two Aussie members, Bang Chan and Felix, and watched a couple of videos of the group. They're also a hilarious group, and we found out that they also compose and write their own songs! Idols these days are so talented.

But yeah, we've spent most of our nights after dinner watching Kpop related videos before going to bed. 

There's this local, independent bookstore called FoxTale's that we always pass by on the way to work in town that we've never been to before but keep on meaning to go one day. Well, the time finally came because Shelle found out from their Facebook that they were celebrating FoxTale's Independent Bookstore Day at the end of the month and that they were giving out free books that day! Obviously, we had to go, and so we did. The bookstore was actually smaller than I thought, so there wasn't a huge selection of books I wanted to look at. Luckily, they had a big kids section, so I bought a lot of baby books for Meethu and Luke's new baby. 

The free books were actually ARCs with upcoming release dates, which were pretty sweet. They came in different bags, so we kind of blindly chose the books. Luckily, after looking through them all at home and switching books around, all three of us have a lot of books we're interested in reading. :)

I guess that's it. I felt like August was pretty busy. Maybe that's why it flew by so fast. 

Mini Reviews: My Son Might Be A Villain, The Rice Pot Next Door

Title: My Son Might Be A Villain

Author: Gongzi Shang

Chapters: 100 chapters 

Publication: N/A

Summary from Novel Updates:

Su Ran, a music prodigy, woke up transmigrated into a book.

At that point in time, the main story arc in the book had already been completed. As a villainess female supporting character, not only did she need to take over the original owner’s pitiful life in poverty, she also gained an instant son right at his rebellious period.

Ten or so more years from then, the son would turn into a twisted, evil villain. He would appear in one of the extra chapters to pick on the male and female lead’s children.

***

Su Ran: Son, you shouldn’t be too outstanding.

Su Han: Why not?

Su Ran: ’cause you will be killed.

Su Ran: Son, would you like to learn music from me and become a zen, little fairy boy who only needs to drink dew.

Su Han: No, I want to go into business so I can support you.

4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

This book was hilarious! I loved her relationship with her son and the male lead. They're always fighting for her attention lol.

I liked her son because he wasn't your stereotypical cute elementary school kid like in most books I've read recently. He's already in high school with his own personality and opinions. He grew up neglected because his original mom spent money like water and could only get a job as a waitress at a bar, so he's jaded and has trust issues with her. He has so many misunderstandings and communication issues with Su Ran in the beginning because he's so used to his mom being selfish and neglectful, and it's sad seeing all of his habits formed because of it.

Luckily, Su Ran does her best to prove to him that she's changed, and their relationship gets much better. Even though she's the adult in their relationship, he still thinks that he needs to be the man in the family, and it's so cute how Su Ran sees right through him but still lets him think he gets away with things lol.

The male lead, at first, is your typical rich, powerful male lead who has people in awe or afraid of him. However, after he falls for Su Ran, he becomes your typical henpecked husband, and it's funny seeing him trying to develop a relationship with his son while also fighting for his wife's attention lol.

The male lead and female lead in the novel (not Su Ran and her husband) were also interesting. You don't read much about them, but the hints sprinkled throughout the story really gets you interested in their story. I honestly wouldn't mind reading extra chapters that talked about them and their kids.

I also MTL read this book, and it wasn't hard to read. You can choose either options of waiting for the translations or just read the MTL. 

Title: The Rice Pot Next Door

Author: Jiu Xiao Qi

Chapters: 95 chapters

Publication: N/A

Summary from Novel Updates:

“Yo, Rice Pot next door. You ate so much of my rice, how are you going to repay me?”

“Money? I do not want money. I want you.”

饭桶    [Rice Pot/Container/Bucket]: – refers to a person who eats a lot (of rice).  Sometimes, the term may take on a negative connotation when used to describe a person is only capable of eating and not anything else.

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT ENOUGH

MY REVIEW: 

I was definitely not expecting the beginning lol. Lan Shan and her friend are certainly bold individuals who know how to have fun wherever they are lol. Because of an incident, Lan Shan, her friend, and the male lead, Qiao Feng, have a huge misunderstanding which only gets worse as they run into each other again and again. Luckily, they eventually talk things out and get over it.

I enjoyed watching their relationship go from enemies to friends to lovers, and the misunderstandings were hilarious as well. There's other clichés like multiple love interests and plotting to break them up, but it wasn't a bad book overall. It was still pretty fluffy in terms of romance.

However, I wasn't interested in the other minor couple in the book. It just felt unnatural, and the situations they found themselves in felt forced.

Weekly Haul 130

My preorder from one of my fav YouTuber's art books finally came. I got some free books from my local bookstore and another Kickstarter book came. :)

Nima by Ross Tran

Smash It! by Francina Simone

My Heart Underwater by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo

The Year I Flew Away by Marie Arnold

Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt

Unf#ck Your Worth by Faith G. Harper

Webnovel Review: My Underachieving Seatmate Doesn’t Need Any Comforting by Long Qi

Title: My Underachieving Seatmate Doesn’t Need Any Comforting

Author: Long Qi

Chapters: 122 chapters 

Publication: 2019

Summary from Novel Updates:

Qiao Shao, who worked hard to stay up all night and study, was first in class — if you count from the bottom.

He Shen, who was able to get a perfect score even when he slept all day, in a rare display of kindness, bought a bottle of drink to comfort his s*upid seatmate.

Then he saw the messages popping up on Qiao Shao’s phone—

Dad: Don’t panic, it’s okay if you didn’t do well in the exam. Dad just ordered a new sports car for you.

Granddad: Grandson, there’s no need to hurry. It’s alright even if you didn’t do well in your exam. Granddad bought a new yacht for you, come and take a break.

Grandpa: Grandson, don’t cry, it’s okay if you didn’t do well in the exam. Grandpa’s billions-worth of properties are all yours.

With a blank expression, He Shen threw his 2.5 Yuan worth bottle of drink into the tr*sh.

Hold your horses! Comfort?

4.5 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW:

Came for the humor and fluff, got invested with the tragic past, and then fed more dog food!

The summary's misleading! You think it's about the antics of a stupid, rich main character and his super smart deskmate, but it's actually about the misunderstandings between all of the characters lol. That and the melancholic, slowly interwoven tragic past revealed that grips your heartstrings and doesn't let you go. The hilarious situations throughout the book highlight the stark contrasts of emotions you feel throughout the novel. It's great. You go from guffawing in one chapter to sniffling in the next lol.

This book is more slice of life comedy with an underlying mystery, so don't expect a high tension action packed thriller. Like I said earlier, the comedy and misunderstandings and fluff sucks you in while the mystery keeps you addicted. But it's really the characters that make the book. 

Qiao Shao is an awesome main character. His confidence in his grades and studying is hilarious compared to exam scores. His sense of justice and loyalty is realistic and admirable. His constant drive to pretend to be an average student and not reveal his super rich background is hilarious. 

He Shen also had a lot of quirks. He's so smart that the school treats him as a god and let's him get away with anything, which leads to a lot of misunderstandings to newcomers like Qiao Shao who thinks he's also a slacker lmao. 

Poor Lou Xiao's constant misunderstanding of the main couple because of his myopia is still the funniest part lmao. I love how he handled things both for his friends and for himself.

I also love Qiao Shao's family. They're so protective and worried about him, but they all show it in different (and often hilarious) ways. His grandpa's are too funny.

I highly recommend this book. You'll laugh and cry throughout reading it!

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

Fall has finally arrived, and did you know Inuyasha has a sequel series about their children?! And that the second season of The King's Avatar started airing?! Lol there's a lot of good anime coming out this season. I'm excited to watch them all!

I'm also looking forward to November and December for all of the movies coming out. Not sure if I'd go to movie theaters yet, but hopefully they'll be available to stream sooner than usual.

Anime:

• Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III
• Jujutsu Kaisen
• Noblesse
• Great Pretender
• The King's By the Grace of the Gods
• Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon
• Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
• The King's Avatar Season 2
• Tian Guan Ci Fu
• Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi
• Kimi wa Kanata

Movies:

• No Time to Die (Nov 20)
• Soul (Nov 20)
• Free Guy (Dec 11)
• Dune (Dec 18)
• Wonder Woman 1984 (Dec 25)

Books I Want to Read This Month

So I'm a liar. I didn't read any books off of this list as I had hoped. September was too busy. I'll try to do better this month since I'll be out for a few days after getting my wisdom teeth out.

1. Wayward Kindred Anthology edited by Allison O'Toole
2. Nima by Ross Tran
3. The Way of the House Husband vol. 1 by Kousuke Oono
4. The Way of the House Husband vol. 2 by Kousuke Oono
5. I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level vol. 2 by Kisetsu Morita & Beniso
6. I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level vol. 3 by Kisetsu Morita & Beniso
7. So You've Been Publicly Shame by Jon Ronson
8. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
9. Tamiko and the Two Janitors by Forthright 
10. Someone Else to Love by Susan Polis Shutz
11. The Rain in Portugal by Billy Collins
12. The Anatomy of Being by Shinji Moon
13. Love Looks Pretty on You by Lang Leav
14. Allison Hewitt is Trapped: A Zombie Novel by Madeleine Roux
15. The Consumption of Magic by T.J. Klune

September in Retrospect

I've been drowning in work this past month. I'm surprised I had time to read, but I think it was mainly on the weekends lol. I also watched some good movies and a drama this month!

I read: 

• Usagi-chan Doshikori Moushiagemasu by Misaka Niumu
• Junai Drop Out by Misaka Niumu
• Transmigrated Into a Big Boss to Snatch Away the Cannon Fodder by I Had A Dream Once
• Seishun Kinema by Sachimo
• The Villain’s Younger Sister by Zhuge Jin
• Kimi ga Kawaii Riyuu by Suzumaru Minta
• The Roommates Were Ecstatic to See Their Roommate in a Dress by Mian Mian Mei
• Chibi Demo Ii yo. by Kurusu Haiji
• I Help the Richest Man Spend Money to Prevent Disasters by Bìxià Bù Shàng Cháo
• Traveling the Villain’s Sister by Xue Mo
• After Brushing Face At The Apocalypse’s Boss For 363 Days by Da Yuan Zi
• Dwarf in the Future by Can’t Play Chess
• The Fox's Heat by Di Shan Li Zhu
• Seeking Good Temptation by 顾楚
• I am the Lucky Cat of an MMORPG by Black Wings
• Reborn into A Slash Game by Long Qi

I watched: 

• Work It (2020)
• Go Ahead (2020)
• #Alive (2020)
• Mulan (2020)