Translated stories I like enough to recommend. I review them so expect some spoilers (I try not to spoil major events.)
(Please read the novels on the original translator's site which can be found on novelupdates!)
As a despised assault-type guide, Lin Yuan has a fiancé matched to her by the state. Her fiancé is from a prestigious family, handsome, wealthy, and impeccably mannered, making her the envy of many.
Why would such an excellent partner be assigned to her? She doesn't even meet the standards for tea ceremony, and her cooking skills only earned a "B" grade.
"He'll get tired of her eventually."
"That's right, they're doomed to fail."
After hearing these kinds of remarks so often, Lin Yuan also came to believe that she and Jiang Yangshuo were destined to break up. So, when her fiancé appeared before her with a gentle and lovely young woman, she didn't hesitate to take off her engagement ring and toss it down the drain in front of them both.
From then on, Lin Yuan enjoyed a life of freedom, where the sky was the limit, and the sea was vast enough for her to roam as she pleased.
Who knew that after a few years of living unrestrained, her ex-fiancé would corner her at a royal banquet, his eyes red-rimmed, and declare that he had been regretting his decision all these years, that he was consumed with longing for her.
No, no, no, thank you, please don't. Lin Yuan, who had become accustomed to her wild ways, had not a single desire to return to her previous life.
Her ex-fiancé's face turned livid as he gritted his teeth, "I don't mind your type, and I can try my best to tolerate your shortcomings. You won't find a sentinel who indulges you more than I do."
"Well, you see, I already have a new sentinel." To completely shake off his entanglement, Lin Yuan casually threw out a name as a shield. She quickly reviewed the images of the sentinels she had met on the battlefield, choosing the name of a brother with whom she had shared life-and-death experiences. She figured the man wouldn't mind.
"He just happens to be a receptive type, a perfect match for me, and he likes me a lot. He doesn't care about any of my flaws."
Just after sending off her devastated ex-fiancé, Lin Yuan turned around and bumped into the very man she had just name-dropped.
That man, who had killed countless enemies on the battlefield and had achieved remarkable merit, had a slightly flushed, handsome face. He turned his head and said softly, "You...when did you know I liked you?"
Lin Yuan: "..."
Thoughts:
Hey.. hey.. how y'all doing?
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Sorry for the ghosting. Honestly, I don't have an excuse. It's not like I've been super busy I couldn't find the time to read new novels. It's just the ones I've read recently were either pure dog blooded drama or something forgettable and I didn't want to recommend mid stories just to keep this list going. I've got to protect my reputation as a reliable recommender (kidding).
Anyways, another apocalyptic novel has pulled me back to update. This one is a bit different from others in this list as it involves deviants, mental animals, and a futuristic timeline, which honestly made it difficult for me to imagine how the scenes played out. Unlike with zombies or mecha, where I know what they look like, I had no clue how to imagine things like hundreds of tentacles popping out or mental fight scenes.
It honestly took me a while to get used to the setting. I dropped this about three times without reaching chapter 20, before eventually reading it in one sitting.
Anyways, I really liked how the leads don't have a damsel in distress and white knight dynamic. Yes, FL is mentally stronger as a guide and ML is physically stronger as a sentinel, but their strengths compliment each others weaknesses. There are times ML saves FL and vice versa. They also had solid character developments appropriate for their situations.
The FL is new to emotions due to being trapped and restricted in the white tower her whole life. So her actions, especially in the romance department, is a bit frustrating. Still it wasn't as bad as other dense female leads. I liked how she gradually discovered emotions as well, not just almost immediately.
Her tentacles were also just too funny. Their random comments remind me of the netizens in a showbiz story.
Excerpt from Chapter 73: (with no context)
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ML, on the other hand, is so mentally strong. It's like the author loves hurting him, finding new ways to torture him each arc. It was also funny how different his initial introduction was from how he developed as a character. I honestly didn't expect it, but I'm not complaining. He's so cute, the tentacles comments were so me.
I appreciated how they still had separate lives after missions. Not always attached to the hip. There's a few gender role reversals here, but it wasn't too bad. The side characters were not forgettable either, developing even without the leads presence. I won't spoil who my fave is, just guess after.
Overall, this novel is a fantasy action novel filled with adventure. The description on the settings were amazing and I enjoyed the fight scenes, though it was hard to imagine. The author wasn't afraid of killing people as well. The plot twist was well executed and made me gasp out loud. There is some not-so-subtle romance throughout the novel, but it only really solidifed towards the end, making it feel a bit incomplete.
LIKE, WHERE IS MY DATING ARC!? (╯˃̣̣̥ᯅ˂̣̣̥)╯︵ ┻━┻
I just wish there were more chapters or extras. There were some plot lines that haven't been fully explored. It felt like it also ended quite abruptly, but overall the story telling was good. Atleast 4 extra chapters would have made it perfect tho.
