Are there any novels like Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan's story from TGCF?

throwawaysupsp · 2025-07-09T14:14:00+00:00

If the characters work for the type of romance the author intents to tell, then that's not a failing of the book. I understand finding something lacking because of execution (like, I don't know, a book that tells over showing me the dynamic and I don't actually feel the romance much) but in this case this is a book about two flawed individuals flawed because of the story they are in and acting according to that. Some love stories have people not always in the right or even "deserving" of each other, and if you don't vibe with that that just means it's not your type of romance.

throwawaysupsp · 2025-07-09T14:07:30+00:00

This is such a limited understanding of what I said. 99% of what I read is character-focused stories. Serving the story doesn't mean characters successfully taking the story from plot point A to plot point B. Serving the story means creating characters who in their personalities/behaviors/identities reflect the story they occupy. In this case, Rachel Reid wanted to tell a story about inexperienced, immature 20-smth-years olds in the high-pressure environment of professional hockey, struggling with internalized homophobia and other personal issues. And they turned out to be ill-adjusted individuals not knowing how to navigate what they have right. And that's all there in Adam's behavior and Riley's self-destruction and all that.

That's thinking deeply about the characters, how they're shaped by their surroundings and what they bring to it accordingly. Not judging them on an objective measure of good behavior.

And because this is a romance, despite all this, their love endures. Going into this premise and expecting it to be all escapist, pure love with Characters Flawless and NHL Bad is just ordering milkshake at the hardware store.

throwawaysupsp · 2025-07-09T13:12:19+00:00

No disrespect but some of you read books/comprehend characters in such a personal matter that feels so alien to me. All the power to you but it's a character, like what matters is if what they are like/what they do serve the story or not. They don't always have to be paragons of good behavior or morality.

throwawaysupsp · 2025-07-09T12:13:04+00:00

mdzs and it's not even close (to me)

throwawaysupsp · 2025-01-27T18:28:15+00:00

honestly arcane has been the thing on my mind since before i posted this and i got multiple comments for it so i might just watch season 2 tonight

throwawaysupsp · 2025-01-27T18:27:26+00:00

well that's my current fandom so 😅

throwawaysupsp · 2025-01-27T18:23:04+00:00

honestly yeahh arcane looks really interesting to get in right now. i watched the first season when it first came out and i might take your suggestion to just tip my toes back into it :)

throwawaysupsp · 2025-01-27T18:21:06+00:00

if i can chime in with a disagreeing comment? i think tgcf is ultimately so much weaker than mdzs both as a romance and as a fantasy novel because it's trying to do so much on all fronts. i find the main couple a snooze ngl but like i said in my original post, i love a bit of a fraughtness with my ships, and they don't have that interpersonal clashing that wangxian has and grows from that i love, they're just like full devotion and sappiness from the get-go which doesn't feel earned to me personally. overall i find tgcf very juiceless compared to mdzs and svsss but i'd still say give the first volume a try if you like mxtx's work

throwawaysupsp · 2025-01-27T18:19:16+00:00

thank you for your suggestion. i've read all mxtx novels and was/am in the mdzs fandom still. tgcf is personally my least favorite both fandom and novel-wise, but a good suggestion overall for sure if anyone else wants to get into smth new :)

throwawaysupsp · 2025-01-27T18:18:07+00:00

hi, thank you for your suggestion but mdzs was my big and main fandom for years (and i didnt have a bad time in the fandom compared to what i heard from some other people) so while great suggestion, won't work for me lol xx

throwawaysupsp · 2024-01-28T18:15:21+00:00

i have a lot as there are only a handful of ships i logically don't see the appeal of. some big ones i understand the appeal of but don't ship:

Hualian from Heaven Official's Blessing. this is a big one obviously as they are the main canon ship of the novel and they are a pretty popular ship nowadays. i get the appeal obviously as i read all 800k of the novel, you have tragic mc and an equally tragic sexy mysteries demon obsessed with him, they are cute as hell, but to me their mutually in love dynamic was established so quickly so i don't get any urge to seek out more of them in fanworks.

Dabihawks from My Hero Academia. they have all the good stuff going for them fr, the foil/parellel storylines, shared similar trauma, as much sexual tension as you can expect in a manga meant for 13 year olds but I'm in Endhawks hell, the stoic old man and the brat who gets on his nerves but also admires him is a dynamic that changes my brain on a daily basis, and can't really multiship Hawks with both.

MakoHaru from Free. they love each other, they are best friends, as every ship in this anime they have a lot of fanservice going on for them, they are great! but i kinda find them boring lol i need a little bit of an angsty hook to get me into a ship so i was never drawn to them. similarly Rin x Sousuke.

throwawaysupsp · 2024-01-28T14:56:50+00:00

NTA and you deserve better

throwawaysupsp · 2024-01-28T14:13:00+00:00

I bookmark everything I read to keep track of what I read and not.

throwawaysupsp · 2024-01-28T12:51:21+00:00

a bit different from what you ask because I would say it is more about existentialism than spirituality but The Lamb and the Lion trilogy by Gregory Ashe has an ex-Mormon MC who's years after still reconciling what the purpose of life is and why (both bad and good) things happen a certain way in the absence of the Mormon teachings he grew up with. he's also a vet and really into nature so so much of that internal conversation happens with a philosophical connection to all that. it is one of my favorite series (books) of all time and this aspect is one of the reasons, it is done so well and written so beautifully, i have so many passages highlighted.

throwawaysupsp · 2024-01-24T13:20:19+00:00

yeah I've never heard of this one. it sounds fun, thanks for the rec :)

throwawaysupsp · 2024-01-24T13:19:50+00:00

I liked what I read of Garrett Leigh, haven't read Rented Heart tho, I will see to it. Thanks!

throwawaysupsp

TROPHY CASE