Setting is interesting. Medieval middle-east-somewhere is different enough from the usual Europe or China to be neat, and the author knows enough about the place for it to work out without coming off as caricatural.
The MC is fun. A lot of these novels either have the protagonist be far too emotional and stupid, or far too "rational" and smart. Having an MC who thinks of herself as rational, and is very rational, but is still emotionally affected when bad sh*t happens, is pretty good. I especially liked the bits where she's like "oh no I'm such an unfeeling monster" while breaking out into random sobs.
The worldbuilding is cool. Mostly the magic system, but the political environment is neat as well. This is kind of a "low fantasy" in that magic exists but is very rare and unknown, and the protagonist is in a place to maybe change that, which is neat-o beans. The actual operation of the magic retains a lot of the physiological nature of TCM while having a cool spin.
I came for weird plants and I got weird plants. Looking forward to more and weirder plants.
Cons:
Needs an editor, but everything needs an editor. Some mistaken word choices, grammatical errors, etc.
Some language choices are a little unfortunate. Having characters say things like "let's f**king go" kind of breaks my immersion. Of course it would be bad to go all the way into pseudo-historical flowery language as well, but a balance could be struck. I think characters' voices could be a little more differentiated sometimes. What comes to mind is Ranni talking about her "f**king" brother from the throne - of course she's angry, but in a setting like that I'd expect some more interesting and perhaps subtle cursing to keep up the dignity of the office a bit as she rages.
Like a lot of these novels, the protagonist spends maybe a little too long by herself in her head. If you are going to do that I think it's good to have them go a little more insane than just talking to themselves. Alternately or additionally these early sections could have been broken up with the political interludes and such more frequently; having too many chapters in a row of the MC examining some plant minutiae can grate even if I generally like that kind of thing.
The anime fanservice stuff again kind of takes me out of it. Obviously there's nothing wrong with doing some titillation, but you can do that without using the particular mode of "aw nads why aren't my tits that big, wow they're like floating watermelons" bla bla bla. Also a little bit of a weird mix with the very seriously taken
Spoiler
s*xual assaults
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, especially in the earlier chapters. Maybe it comes off as extra weird because the protagonist is otherwise not very s*xual and getting less s*xual if anything.
It's kind of grim. That's okay, but if it's just a constant grind that can be hard to read. My preference is for some nice things to happen to the MC, and probably for her to have an actual confidant or two. I like nice stories, but even if things are going to be grim, putting in some nicer moments can accentuate the darkness, like having dynamics in music. E.g.,
Spoiler
the protagonist's mother dies
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, but she didn't have that many on-screen moments with the MC before her death, so the grieving later isn't as potent as it could have been.
It is an overall good novel we see a lot of character development of the MC going from a weak shrewd naive Girl in book 1 to a serpent who learns and schemes in 3 with a lot of nice plot
now for the cons
-some grammatical errors especially in the earlier chapter with his and her
not a con more of a criticism that the MC is not a drug-smuggling villainess and is somewhat kindhearted
-we haven't seen Fikali since around middle to end of book 2 we need more "wroooo"
This story dragged us into its world like very few we have ever read before, kept us up to ungodly hours reading it, made us cry and shattered our heart.
Its one of the best things we've ever read. We adored it from start to finish.
very interesting story with a unique take on cultivation, the power system and world building are very good, the character interactions feel human and the exploration of the mysteries nurture has is fun to read, it does unfortunately get dragged down a bit by the protagonist character and quite a few plot points arent properly resolved, the ending left a bit to be desired as it didnt feel like it properly showed the wieght of the actions the MC commited, but even with that, its worth reading
Follow the story of Tianlian Liu Shu, a tree who didn’t know anything at first and struggles to survive and extend her roots through the cosmos.
The World she lives in is filled with fantastic sights and strange new cultures, and there
After millennia, she returns—uncontained by the system, unstoppable by the world.
——
For millennia, she has remained hidden, sealed within her domain—a vast library, a paradise of indulgence, and an escape from the world’
So, let me get this straight, I die not knowing how, get reborn as a mythical bird, my parents are dragons and this levelling system is crap.
If that isn’t bad enough, I’m also terrified of flying.
I’m never going to
“I’m starting to think you’re the scariest monster in here.” – And that’s just what her friends say about her.
When Emily Coldstone discovers the lightning gem in the smouldering ruins of a crashed airshi
Eridel Domicus was the trash of the Domicus family, an extremely powerful family that had dominion over a large part of the world, having riches upon riches and ways upon ways. However, it was their greatest pride turned biggest shame to have a yo
Pretty good.
Pros:
Cons:
s*xual assaults
the protagonist's mother dies
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Love the book
Can't wait for Aloe to kill the sultanate.
Edit - You'll cry, a lot, but its soo worth it.
Edit - It's just ended and I just wanted to come on here to show my appreciation to the author. Thanks again
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It is an overall good novel we see a lot of character development of the MC going from a weak shrewd naive Girl in book 1 to a serpent who learns and schemes in 3 with a lot of nice plot
now for the cons
-some grammatical errors especially in the earlier chapter with his and her
not a con more of a criticism that the MC is not a drug-smuggling villainess and is somewhat kindhearted
-we haven't seen Fikali since around middle to end of book 2 we need more "wroooo"
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This story dragged us into its world like very few we have ever read before, kept us up to ungodly hours reading it, made us cry and shattered our heart.
Its one of the best things we've ever read. We adored it from start to finish.
Aloe deserves hugs
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very interesting story with a unique take on cultivation, the power system and world building are very good, the character interactions feel human and the exploration of the mysteries nurture has is fun to read, it does unfortunately get dragged down a bit by the protagonist character and quite a few plot points arent properly resolved, the ending left a bit to be desired as it didnt feel like it properly showed the wieght of the actions the MC commited, but even with that, its worth reading
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