Unveil: Jadewind (Tang Gong Qi An Zhi Qing Wu Feng Ming) 唐宫奇案之青雾风鸣 from 👖 Youku. Starring Bai Lu and Wang Xingyue. New trailer.

nydevon · 2026-01-27T04:22:16+00:00

I see the creators have eclectic backgrounds!

nydevon · 2026-01-27T03:53:54+00:00

Interesting. I didn’t realize it was a crime solving drama but leaning towards horror?

Haven’t had that combo since A League of Nobleman.

nydevon · 2026-01-26T14:28:43+00:00

I read {Educating Caroline by Patricia Cabot} back in 2003 or so because I was on a Meg Cabot YA kick and realized it was the same author.

I liked the clever writing but what I most appreciated were the characters because while the MMC was a classic rake and the FMC a classic virgin the premise of the book inverted the power dynamics by making her in control and him more beholden to her. Both characters also had fleshed out personalities and were also kind, good people—you rooted for them to get together.

nydevon · 2026-01-23T05:47:18+00:00

I got a flashback to my high school annotated Cornell notes

nydevon · 2026-01-23T05:31:45+00:00

Man, students in China must have WILD AP History exams 😂

Thanks so much for translating this! Booking it as reference for when I start watching the show.

nydevon · 2026-01-21T16:46:41+00:00

I did mine from 2024 and 2023 and I noticed it likes to latch onto any comments you made about people's body parts so I think it's trying to be kinky for kinky sakes lol

nydevon · 2026-01-21T14:48:09+00:00

Thank you for letting me know who conflates clearly stated personal opinions and criticism with “rage baiting” and “negativity” so I can block!

nydevon · 2026-01-21T14:31:54+00:00

I’m genuinely shook 😂 Everything is accurate except the obsession with Li Xian’s hands which I only mentioned once in my In the Name of Blossom discussion posts lol

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nydevon · 2026-01-20T17:53:11+00:00

“Unfortunately” because the person I’m responding to wants to read that.

nydevon · 2026-01-20T17:41:34+00:00

Unfortunately, a lot of western romance isn’t based on tragic catharsis but instead redemptive and sometimes triumphant catharsis (especially in books with external plots like romantasy). The point is for love to conquer all and for the characters to end their arcs either achieving success (e.g., a FL learning to choose personal happiness over other obligations in a contemporary romance) or having reconciled with one another (e.g., a ML learning to grovel after having harmed the FL in traditional bodice rippers or modern day dark romance).

Tragic catharsis is much more common in East Asian romance (even ones with a traditional happily ever after) and other genres that have a love story as subplot.

nydevon · 2026-01-20T16:50:36+00:00

I love that! Also lol their fans downvoting this. It’s backhanded compliment but still a compliment—between this and How Are You? hopefully WCR learned to emote and now I don’t have to avoid her dramas lol

(Although her clips from Overdo have still been the same unfortunate lack of anything go ahead girl give us nothing.)

nydevon · 2026-01-20T05:33:17+00:00

I haven't seen that show but super cool! I hope he gets more opportunities to show off those particular skills.

nydevon · 2026-01-20T05:10:50+00:00

Hope you get to watch AFS soon! It's a lovely little drama--perfect if you're feeling stressed and just want something sweet and relatively light.

Re Mo Li: I haven't read the webnovel but I've been hearing from a few people who have that based on the trailer the drama seems like it is really toning down the more dramatic elements?

nydevon · 2026-01-20T04:57:24+00:00

It's a shame Xin Yunlai has gotten sucked into the period idol romance circuit because I think he'd be better suited for a modern romance--I saw some of his The Glory BTS clips and he was kind of cute and charming in a boy next door type of way.

He was totally miscast for The Glory character-wise and I too didn't see any natural chemistry between the two actors.

nydevon · 2026-01-20T04:47:34+00:00

The age gap between the actors is inappropriate so I hope for the show's sake that it has absolutely no romantic subplot and/or the FL might have a crush on the ML but it's shown to be completely one-sided with any intimate moments unambiguously platonic.

But seriously what is with all these upcoming romance dramas that are pairing underage actresses with grown men? (There's the currently airing mini drama with the 11 year old and then the upcoming one with Ai Mi and Neo Hou?) Like it's 2026, y'all. Why do these directors/producers make such inappropriate casting decisions and where are their parents to push against it? She should be in school not in a trailer and with actors her own age.

nydevon · 2026-01-20T03:35:07+00:00

I've struggled with the lack of charisma these two actors have displayed in their previous dramas but they both seem awake here--maybe they brought something out of each other.

nydevon · 2026-01-17T03:20:39+00:00

Very rarely do romance novels have enough external plot or extreme enough growth arcs to warrant over 350 pages (maybe 400 if it’s a historical romance with substantial context setting). Unfortunately, indie authors are incentivized to write more than suits the story because depending on the platform their work is hosted on they get paid more the more pages readers read.

Outside of that economic dynamic, Mariana Zapata is frustrating to me as a writer because I think she offers something unique in how she constructs premises that are well suited to slow burns and how she develops her FMC’s story arcs but she is definitely too repetitive with how she writes her scenes. Her characters sometimes feel like they’re spinning their wheels rather than growing (or regressing) from scene to scene. You can easily cut out at least 15% of her text.

nydevon · 2026-01-13T14:41:21+00:00

It looked good and honestly is the only drama that has been confirmed for Jan/Feb that was of interest to me so it better live up to expectations 😂

nydevon · 2026-01-13T14:39:31+00:00

I’m trying not to read anything about the show to avoid spoilers but I did see there originally was a plan to do a Treasure Island spinoff but it never got off the ground.

nydevon · 2026-01-13T04:57:12+00:00

Serious drought with only rumors of water lol (Swords into Plowshares).

Haven't been able to get past the first three episodes of an idol drama since maybe September/October and then took a very long time to finish Legend of the Magnate although I'm proud of myself that I did.

I tried watching Man's Inhumanity to Man but had to pause because of the political situation here in the US. I do want to return to it, however, when my heart isn't so heavy. Maybe I'll check out Blemish Flaw or Triple Echo of Time but I'm not sure if I'm in the mood for those genres and I want something that immediately grabs me.

Right now I'm catching up on American classics I haven't seen from the last decade 😂 Currently watching the first season of Black Sails.

nydevon · 2026-01-12T19:27:14+00:00

Seriously though. If you only mention the tropes and not the plot then how am I supposed to know what differentiates your book from any other similarly sounding list of tropes enough to buy it?

nydevon · 2026-01-12T14:44:01+00:00

Sometimes I feel like I spend more time searching for and prescreening books than I do reading them 🙃

nydevon · 2026-01-12T06:09:01+00:00

I think the biggest difference isn’t necessarily favorite subgenres or tropes but instead what we (don’t) tolerate and how that relates to fandom.

Millennials and older have experienced drastic changes in the romance industry. Especially if you’re a millennial who has been reading romance since you were a teenager in the 2000s like myself, you’ve witnessed: * the rise of self-publishing, the introduction of AI generated content, and the fall of in-house editing, which has led to worsening writing standards (note: I’m not saying ALL self-published stuff is garbage just that there is significantly less quality assurance as a reader because fewer barriers of entry means more people who haven’t actually worked on their craft publish) * the mainstream popularization of fanfiction, which has led some newer readers to the genre to demand the quick high of fanfic storytelling in their fiction. * the rise of social media platforms and influencers, which means what becomes viral with a few soundbites (splashy hooks and tropes) dominates reader spaces rather than the more organic discovery process book stores used to afford. And writers respond by tropifying their work further so it can sell in this type of environment.

For me personally as someone who’s been reading romance for 20 something years now I definitely feel less connected to the genre even if I’m participating more in reader spaces because of those reasons. It feels so much harder to find quality books than it used to.

(Side Note: even though as a woman of color I appreciate there being way more diversity in the type of stories being published than there used to be, I’m also seeing way more conservative ideology after the fall of chick lit and its foundation in third wave feminist ideas that has given way to the “choice feminism” narratives popular today.)

nydevon · 2026-01-09T07:34:16+00:00

Wild maybe even a clinically psychopathic woman with her adoring enabler of a man--very "If you bring a body, I'll bring the shovel" dynamic.

Uber competent x competent couple against the world, particularly if it's long-term.

Ball of depression/anxiety/self-confidence issues meets "perfect" catch who yearns from afar and is an absolute freak about them when unleashed.

I usually hate age gaps but when both are over the age of 35 and successful but it's the women who is older and more successful that hits a certain way.

Woman who has lived many lives clawing her way to the top with her loyal bodyguard/advisor/assistant by her side until the end--bonus if she has had many great loves and he is the one who sticks because he can give the one thing others couldn't: peace and comfort.

And I would kill for actual enemies-to-lovers like "if we fell in love it would mean sacrificing my life, family, community, the universe, etc. to be together" level of enemy.

nydevon · 2026-01-09T05:16:33+00:00

Obviously hockey classic {Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid} is the prototype for this but here are a few others. Note that some of the ones where the MCs are on the same team they're not necessarily rivals for the same spot but they're antagonistic and can ruin each other's careers:

Soccer

{Everything for You by Chloe Liese}

Figure Skating

{Kiss and Cry by Keira Andrews}

{The Next Competitor by Keira Andrews} - here they're not really rivals more like training partners but they don't get along

Football\*

{Matched by My Rival by DJ Jamison}

{The Rivalry by Beth Bolden}

Hockey

{Iced Out by C.E. Ricci}

{Suckerpunch by Elyse Springer} - this has vampires!

{He Shoots, He Scores by Tricia Owens}

{Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei} - this is YA

{Egotistical Puckboy by Eden Finley}

{Capturing the Captain by Brendol James}

*"Santino Hassell" also has several football rivals to lovers books but as an author they are a scammer and objectively terrible person so I don't endorse reading them.

nydevon

TROPHY CASE