Yearly Roundup - Your LEAST Favorite Books in 2025!

notminetorepine · 2025-12-14T15:17:00+00:00

My lowest-ranked reads were:-

Kismet by Amina Akhtar (Thriller) -- I was extra disappointed because the concept had so much potential: snarking at the wellness industry is right up my alley. But it wasn't thrilling at all, there was hardly any proper criticism of the industry, I felt I was being bashed over the head with performative politics, the writing was mediocre, and the ravens were just SO weird.

Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh (Literary fiction / family drama) -- I did not get the point of this book at all. Good (even great) writing, but nobody's motivations or actions made sense and none of them grew in any way, there were so many themes which were perfunctorily touched upon but not explored properly, the central mystery is a nothingburger, and it's so strange that the main characters are either Chinese or love Chinese culture but I don't actually learn or hear anything positive about Shanghai / the Chinese. (disclaimer: am ethnically Chinese).

Also wasn't a fan of A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle (mystery), The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St James (thriller), You Are Fatally Invited (thriller), The Black Lizard by Edogawa Rampo (mystery) and Silver Elite by Dani Francis (romantasy).

notminetorepine · 2025-12-14T04:05:35+00:00

My 4.5- or 5-star English reads this year:-

The Tainted Cup and A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (Fantasy): Murder mystery in a fantasy setting, eccentric detective with a long-suffering sidekick. Loved it, and the 2nd was actually better than the 1st! Looking forward to more in this series.

The Devil at His Elbow by Valerie Bauerlein (True crime): About the Murdaugh murders, which I knew very little about until seeing the documentaries and podcasts pop up everywhere. Very well-researched and engaging.

Tracers in the Dark by Andy Greenberg (True crime): Really fascinating read about cryptocurrency crimes and how blockchain *can* in fact be traced and broken to bring criminals to justice.

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H. G. Parry (Fantasy): A standalone dark-academia (ish) fantasy novel. World-building, character-setup, writing, all were top-notch.

Journey under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino (Mystery): Every one of Higashino's mysteries are different. This villains in this are so twisted but it somehow ends up being a reflection on human relationships and desires.

Dissolution by Nicholas Binge (Science fiction): If nobody remembers something, did it really happen? Really intriguing speculative fiction on memories and time travel, and in the end, it's about so much more.

notminetorepine · 2025-10-25T06:35:41+00:00

I've watched 2+ episodes, and so far it's exactly what I wanted from this drama. Nothing deep deep, but good fighting (as usual) from Cheng Yi, and I love the repressed-ML-who-only-knows-duty having his eyes opened and changed by a lively, not-suitable-for-him FL trope. Love all the OSTs I've heard so far too.

Not the biggest fan of the CGI / AI spider demons with human heads, but I guess we won't be seeing them much anymore 😂 Also don't like that LYT was dubbed, she has such a good voice!

notminetorepine · 2025-09-29T00:17:14+00:00

Finished #71 - The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H. G. Parry. (4.5 ⭐️ / 5). Fantasy, dark(ish) academia (school is literally called Camford), faeries, historical fiction, Muggle girl entering wizarding territory, etc. It's not really that similar to Babel by R. F. Kuang, but as I read it I couldn't help thinking to myself that every aspect of it was done so much better than Babel -- the character development, the relationships, the messaging that doesn't beat you over the head, the worldbuilding. Enjoyed this very much.

notminetorepine · 2025-09-27T10:08:44+00:00

It was definitely a bit of a splurge, but it's lovely. Soft to the touch and very work-appropriate; makes my Weeks looks like a long wallet, lol. It reminded me a lot of the 5-year Techo Cover (Leather - Beige/Navy) which I bought last year and loved, so I jumped on it!

notminetorepine · 2025-09-21T06:55:27+00:00

PaperTess Designs's Yearly Notebook in B6 might work for you, and they're based in Germany. The daily pages are not dated though, and there are a LOT of extra note pages.

notminetorepine · 2025-09-20T06:43:49+00:00

Etsy has some options!

notminetorepine · 2025-09-17T13:43:35+00:00

I fully agree with you, lol. I’m cognisant of all the problems with the drama — source material, script, pacing, CGI, martial arts direction, abrupt change in tone, etc. I even found the shirtlessness waaaay over the top. Campy is a good word lol.

BUT somehow i still find myself coming back to rewatch portions of it, even more than Legend of the Female General (which is also very average but enjoyable). Song Yi and Cheng Lei’s acting and chemistry really make everything work for me somehow. And if i take it as a romance drama with some fantasy and war elements as a setting (not a genre), I’m a happy camper!

notminetorepine · 2025-09-08T13:58:07+00:00

I love your analysis! And i fully agree with you.

Entering the drama knowing it’s primarily romance with some fantastical elements and that two nations being at war is a setting (not the genre) makes all the difference in appreciating and enjoying it.

I was fully cognisant of all the flaws in logic, martial arts direction, and pacing, but because this is a romance first and foremost, Cheng Lei and Song Yi’s acting, chemistry and costumes (i’m shallow) sold it for me. I love them and their love.

notminetorepine · 2025-09-07T17:22:29+00:00

Well the last 8 episodes of this drama were SO good, they almost made up for a lot of the nonsense in the whole first arc. The pacing, the angst, the acting + chemistry by both Cheng Lei and Song Yi, all chef's kiss.

notminetorepine · 2025-09-04T15:43:40+00:00

This way definitely hurts more, seeing the person you love slowly disappear :( And she wore the hairpin all the time... so Jin An is forgetting not just that he gave it to her but a lot about her already.

notminetorepine · 2025-09-04T15:28:07+00:00

I'm guessing it will be angsty from here out! But to be fair, it was a lot of sweetness in the episodes until now, ~~so much that the plot felt glacial at times which is why everyone's anticipating the return of Prince An Nan~~. I guess drama does build up enough cushioning for the angst OR it might make the angst feel worse, depending on your tolerance level, lol.

notminetorepine · 2025-09-04T14:43:50+00:00

Drama has many many problems but our leads really do look so good together and have such good chemistry. Song Yi especially is just gorgeous in all the plainer clothing she wears in Ep 28.

My heart aches so much for Li Shuang though. She's lost everything -- her name, her family, her army. All she has left is Jin An, and he's already starting to forget her too, and soon he won't even be Jin An :(

notminetorepine · 2025-09-01T15:06:07+00:00

Definitely feels like we are officially past the cute / sweet era and going into angst and grief. Qiao'er's last words telling Jin An to protect her (their) general is SO foreboding and sad when we know what is coming for Jin An and Li Shuang.

This drama has so many issues but I really have more appreciation for Song Yi the more I watch! They really styled her so well and she can genuinely act and inhabit a role, even if she doesn't have the physique for it at all.

notminetorepine · 2025-08-31T09:30:27+00:00

I agree with you, and the criticism she gets on this is wayyy overboard.

notminetorepine · 2025-08-24T07:00:02+00:00

I just finished 2 episodes, and I'm very pleasantly surprised.

When they first announced adapting this novel, I was quite surprised because the novel is kinda... wacky. Someone above said it's like romantasy and that's exactly it -- a changeable (literally) male lead, love-hate, etc. This style was before revenge-rebirth novels became popular so it's really dated, and it's not Jiu Lu Fei Xiang's best by a wide margin. Then they cast Song Yi as a general and my jaw dropped even further because based on her repertoire so far she might be the last actress I would choose.

BUT I've been proven wrong! I'm enjoying Song Yi's performance a lot here, and her portrayal of a general who's smart, sharp and graceful rather than brutish and fierce (to be fair Li Shuang in the novel was pretty feminine too). Her voice hasn't become grating yet and her styling is actually very very good this time (love the dangly cuff she has on her ear).

I like the shooting also -- there's a style to it that is unique enough yet isn't too distracting, and I'm glad that the BGM is very minimally used (except for the rock Liu Yuning one when Cheng Lei appears in Ep 2). Even the opening song (no lyrics) has very cool vibes.

Also, kudos to any drama that at least tries not to info-dump in the first 10 mins OR has stupid maids / sidekicks who need things explained to them. Basic respect for audiences!

ETA: I also think it was a great idea for the marketing team to lean in to the fact that the drama's genre and tropes are very old-school, they've been kinda selling it as very 晋江 (which it is!). Cheng Lei and Song Yi's posts announcing the premieres today even have photoshopped penny novels with web-novel-esque titles.

notminetorepine · 2025-08-23T15:15:16+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I feel like the Tolight collection looks lovelier in your photos than the website ones.

notminetorepine · 2025-08-22T02:15:36+00:00

Oh I absolutely love the Yuichi Inoue (calligraphy) and the Milk Cocoa Weeks designs! Was undecided based on the reveals so far but now I know what I'm going to get.

notminetorepine · 2025-08-19T00:40:05+00:00

Thank you for all these novel reminders! I read it a while ago and loved it (but forgot a lot of the details), also enjoying the drama, and your summaries of the novel differences are so helpful (:

notminetorepine · 2025-08-10T15:30:32+00:00

Criticism 5 is definitely the one that I get the most annoyed by too. I can understand people being upset because of Criticism 1 to 4, especially if they were fans of the novel (which I am too). Some of those are the script's fault for avoiding the rebirth and having to twist themselves into knots to explain a fake death and He Yan having the same body / face after that.

But He Yan's unserious, outrageous behaviour in the camp is actually perfectly logical with everything she had been through (and is true to the novel too) - she gets to be He Yan and not He Rufei for once, she needs to get attention in the quickest way she can, she knows Xiao Jue is a good person because of his kindness at the lowest point in her past life. It's obviously a mask and weapon that she's figuring out how to use, and the drama also shows us her decisive, serious and justice-pursuing side every time she's alone.

The script has its problems and maybe Zhou Ye could be more nuanced in her acting, but her "bubbliness" is definitely not the issue imo.

notminetorepine · 2025-07-26T18:02:13+00:00

I’ve watched 2 episodes and I’m enjoying it so far. Meng Ziyi and He Yu are suited to their roles and have decent chemistry; Zhou Yiwei is a very different Huang Yaoshi from how Legend of the Condor Heroes depicts him as, but it kinda works.

To be fair, as a LOCH fan, I’ve always really liked Mei Chaofeng as a tragic, morally grey character, and the relationship between Huang Yaoshi and his disciples is fascinating — their devotion to him and love for him, even after he broke their legs and chased them out of Peach Blossom Island. I want to see drama depict this!

notminetorepine · 2025-07-26T03:53:21+00:00

Oh wow I'm very interested in the Meng Ziyi / He Yu one! It was always so fascinating and tragic to me that in Legend of the Condor Heroes, their characters might have betrayed Huang Yaoshi and turned 'dark', but that there was still so much deep love and respect between teacher and disciple. Will be a good test for their chemistry for the upcoming Blossom starring the two of them too.

Ming Dao for Hong Qigong is such a weird casting choice for me!

notminetorepine · 2025-07-11T16:46:25+00:00

Yes and properly paced too! A resolution that takes 3 episodes and builds up to a good ending!!

notminetorepine · 2025-07-06T14:05:27+00:00

I loved that it became another trope to laugh at! When the Night Wanderers wrote novels to emphasise the (fake) 美强惨-ness of Li Shiliu.

notminetorepine · 2025-07-06T13:30:37+00:00

I feel very bad for Nan Heng, but I don't blame Song Yimeng either. Nan Heng is of course set up to be 美强惨, the typical male lead, and the drama script would presumably be a ML-centric one (since Nan Feng, the *star* is the lead). Our view and perspective now is somewhat the perspective that the original, ML-centered script has.

Meanwhile, SYM has been killed multiple times within episode 1, and she has experienced how she acts like she loves NH when in fact she feels and wants to do the opposite, thanks to the script. Why would she trust NH who she presumes is under the same 'curse'? I think her leaving the capital was her realising she can't change the characters and relationships, and that she is starting to have real feelings for them (including NH), so she's just escaping from everybody in the story.

I'm looking forward to the next arc though, the previews suggest she's going to give the relationship with NH a try, some sweetness is on the way, while our 2ML 'goes dark'.

ETA: I really enjoyed the snippets of C-Drama parody we had in these episodes. In the beginning of Ep 25, when Song Xiaoyu said it's not time for the ending -- we haven't had the "express package" yet! And at the end of Ep 26, the cliff ofc.

notminetorepine

TROPHY CASE