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🏯🏮🌸 Danmei Book Recommendations 📚🔖🎑

This post currently contains 39 works. Edited on 17 September 2023, will be updated as I go along.

For the uninitiated: danmei=gay Chinese fiction

Wanted to revisit the happiness these books brought me, so I made this spoiler-free rec list. Some descriptions are briefer than others not because the books are worse, but because I read them years ago. I may have forgotten the specifics, but I remember the joy! 🙌

🔂 (If you wish to share the love, prioritise reblogging over liking this post, because only reblogs count towards a post’s visibility on this site.)

‼️ Notes

• Don’t be fooled by ridiculous book titles. Some wacky titles mask deep plots. (And by the end of the books I grow attached to them…)

• I translated most of the titles myself. My translations may differ from other people’s, so if you want to look for fan translations of these books online, copy and paste the pinyin (pronunciation in alphabets) of the title or the Mandarin titles (alongside whatever English key words you choose) into your search bar.

• Many of these books contain elements suitable for ADULTS only.

• Check the authors’ WARNINGS before reading.

• I have complaints about every book. They may be about small things like slightly loose ends or bigger things like gender issues (annoyingly common) and offhanded racism.

Note that: 1) not all my complaints are listed in this post; and 2) a book with cons listed under it is NOT NECESSARILY worse than a book without cons listed under it; it may be that the former book is more memorable than the latter, which is why I remember the former’s cons better! Or maybe I read the book more recently, so I could review it in more detail.

• All these books have happy endings...for the main couple, at the very least.

• Word of advice: if you’re a reader of book translations by fans and you keep scrolling through social media and reading tweets about characters, sooner or later you’re going to come across massive spoilers. If the book is still in the process of being translated and/or you haven’t finished reading it, needless to say, you will ruin your fun. Save yourself and lay off the social media, don’t be a dumb husky (yes I’m looking at Dumb Husky’s fans here). (Being a rec list, this post of mine is safe and SPOILER-FREE.)

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Masterpieces You Must Read To Avoid Regrets In Life

(The pictures at the top of this post are the covers/posters of the following 4 stunners.)

🗑 不要在垃圾桶里捡男朋友 Don’t Pick Up Boyfriends from the Trash Bin by 骑鲸南去 Qijing Nanqu/Riding A Whale South

• Title in pinyin: bu yao zai la ji tong li jian nan peng you

• Key word: REBIRTH (note: it’s deeper than you think)

• Plot: PRIZE FOR BEST PLOT/STORY EXECUTION! Don’t get me wrong, I adore the plots of Dumb Husky, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, and Merman’s Fall just as much as this one. But I’m awarding the prize to Trash Bin because it has 1) absolutely mind-blowing problem-solving, 2) many sub-stories of various genres tied into one overarching storyline, 3) perfect pacing despite its considerable length, and 4) acccumulated the least complaints among my top danmei books. 🏅

• Emotions: 70% humour, 30% heartache. The first time I read the book, I found it jam-packed with fun and witticisms. The second time I read the book, I was stabbed in the heart harder than I expected. The author uses innovative events and metaphors to illustrate sadness.

• Additional points for depicting major real-life problems and blending these mature elements into the plot. The particular issue that personally affects the protagonist enhances the emotions in the story powerfully.

• Genre/setting: Modern, historical, xianxia, horror, apocalypse, sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian...

• Characters: Lovely characters, many characters

• Protagonist: Funny and capable. I’m a huge fan.

• Read my GUSHING PROMO here: https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/190027491153/the-best-book-ive-read-in-many-months

• Physical book published as 入池 Entering the Pool. (Suggestive, given the protagonist’s name...but I swear this book is all about the plot, not 🍑.)

🧟‍♂️ 魔道祖师 Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (that’s the fan translation title; personally I think the title can also be translated as Founder of the Demonic Path) by 墨香铜臭 Mo Xiang Tong Xiu/Fragrance of Ink, Tang of Copper Coins

• Title in pinyin: mo dao zu shi

• Key word: DISCOVERY

• Plot: Amazing plot. Never a dull moment. Major plot twist towards the end, which I think could have been explained better, but it’s fine.

• Emotions: 80% humour, 20% heartache

• Genre/setting: Xianxia

• Characters: PRIZE FOR BEST CAST! Numerous lovable characters with well-fleshed-out backgrounds and distinctive personalities. They’re still stuck in my mind, years after I finished the book. 🏅

• Protagonist: Funny and capable. I’m a huge fan.

• A favourite character who deserves better: Twinkle twinkle little star

• So fun that it made me seriously explore the danmei world for the first time in my life. Now I can’t get out.

• Has an animated series, a live action series (陈情令 The Untamed), manhua (comics), and an audio drama. Physical book published as 无羁 Unbridled.

• Cons: I have gripes about a plot twist and a major plot point towards the end of the book.

🥀 二哈和他的白猫师尊 Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun by 肉包不吃肉 Roubao Buchirou/Meatbun Doesn’t Eat Meat

• Title in pinyin: er ha he ta de bai mao shi zun

• Key words: REDEMPTION; DIFFICULT CHOICES

• Plot: Amazing plot. Major plot twists in the second half—kudos for portraying a gigantic grey area instead of stark black and white! Hooray for shitty situations with no right solutions! I love fantasy with a dash of realism!‬

• Emotions: PRIZE FOR BEST EMOTIONAL DESCRIPTIONS! Evocative and devastating prose; gorgeous imagery. Sensuous, quirky. Immersive experiences of turmoil (due to personality reformation), sadness, love, and lust.🏅

• Genre/setting: Xianxia

• Characters: Lovely characters, many characters

• Protagonist: He’s a jerk and a good boy. I’m a huge fan.

• A favourite character who deserves better: My boy trapped between a rock and a hard place. Whichever choice he makes, he just can’t win. Did he do terrible things to solve a terrible problem? Yeah. Would you have done the same if you had been in his position? You’d probably have had a pretty strong desire to do so, unless you’re a utilitarian saint. Have some empathy, folks.

• 🍑😏 Award

• Extremely simple intro of the main cast that somehow amassed close to 300 notes...: https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/183588840253/im-reading-dumb-husky-and-his-white-cat-shizun

• My critical commentary (contains major spoilers) on character modifications in 皓衣行 Hao Yi Xing/Immortality, the upcoming Dumb Husky drama series: here

• Has 2 audio dramas and an upcoming live action series.

• Con: a major character’s personality throughout the book could have been made more vivid and lifelike.

🧜🏻‍♂️ 人鱼陷落 Merman’s Fall by 麟潜 Lin Qian

• Title in pinyin: ren yu xian luo

• Plot: one heady battle arc after another, skilfully woven together with brilliant themes.

• Themes: PRIZE FOR CONTEMPORARY THEMES! Humanity and the way we justify or fix the horrid parts of it. Self-interested, destructive capitalism that feeds into the arms race. Trying to fit in as an outsider whom many find repellent. Environmental damage. Warped beauty standards and gender expectations. Gods, these are hot topics nowadays. 🏅

• Emotions: 45% “neutral” feelings due to fight scenes, because such scenes don’t usually make me feel happy, sad, angry, etc.; they make me want to know what happens next. 30% humour, 25% heartache.

• Genre/setting/key words: modern, sci-fi, ABO, superpowers tied to different animal/plant/object characteristics, secret service/special ops, combat involving firearms

• Characters: lovely characters, many characters

• Protagonist: Gangster-ish, the mocking, smiley kind of teasing, and vulnerable in the best way. One of my favourite tops.

• Love interest: Merman who can and does eat everything—including metal and plastic—and acts like he’s God.

• Longer review: https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/666482947317202944/danmei-book-recommendation-%E4%BA%BA%E9%B1%BC%E9%99%B7%E8%90%BD-mermans

• Promotional posters: https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/681621939524173824/mermans-fall-by-lin-qian-%E4%BA%BA%E9%B1%BC%E9%99%B7%E8%90%BD-%E9%BA%9F%E6%BD%9C

• Cons:

- Some plot holes

- Significant chunks of the mission scenes are hard to visualise. It would be great to have diagrams of building/submarine layouts to help us understand things.

- I’d prefer shorter fight scenes and more day-to-day activities and relationship-building among the various characters, to put more flesh on their personalities and development as well as the themes of the book.

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Books That Got Me Really, Really Absorbed

🤹🏻‍♀️ 天官赐福 Heaven Official’s Blessing by 墨香铜臭 Mo Xiang Tong Xiu/Fragrance of Ink, Tang of Copper Coins

• Title in pinyin: tian guan ci fu

• Genre/setting: Xianxia but not exactly (gods, humans, ghosts)

• Key words: DIFFICULT CHOICES

• PRIZE FOR MOST PHILOSOPHICAL THEMES! Deep, contemplative themes frequently reoccur throughout the book. On my first read, I wasn’t completely satisfied after I was done with particular story arcs. After reading the book for the second time, I’ve come to realise that a reason why those arcs don’t have supremely satisfying resolutions is that the author wants to convey—multiple times—the struggle of determining the right thing to do, and the hollowness/sense of failure that people feel even after making their choice and trying their best. I like these layers. 🏅

• The main character is a Very Nice Person. He may give off a whiff of Gary Stu, but his niceness has a wealth of backstory behind it. I think that if a person has enough life experiences and has seriously contemplated their life choices, they cannot be a Gary Stu/Mary Sue anymore.

• Has manhua (comics) and donghua (animated series). I found the first episode of the donghua quite lovely; here are my thoughts (a bit spoiler-y):

- https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/633666933824405504/review-upon-rewatching-tgcf-episode-1

- https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/633476984168726528/watched-tgcf-episode-1-sweet-tempered-xie

• Cons:

- The love interest is a tad too smooth/stereotypically perfect in a way that wasn’t to my liking during my first read, but he’s a great match for the protagonist. On second read I got used to him and liked him. Episode 1 of the donghua makes him appear incredibly attractive. Still, his personality, background, and experiences could be fleshed out a lot more!

- I have gripes about plot holes (spoilery details in the linked post: https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/651252145705877504/tgcf-plot-holes) and other stuff. But given 1) how vast and intricate the plot is, 2) how the author had to pop out chapters every day with hardly a break in between (because that’s how authors do things on the JJWXC book website), and 3) how she hasn’t had a chance to do her usual whole-book editing for this book, I’m happy to put my gripes aside.

- Someone pointed out to me a flaw in the way the author wrote the protagonist’s reactions; more precisely, the lack of reaction to some things the protagonist should’ve had a (at least minuscule) reaction to when he encountered them. It made the backstory reveals following the encounters feel improvised, making the reader feel cheated. I personally didn’t find this flaw jarring, but that person’s reading experience is valid, especially since their reasoning makes sense.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed my second read of the book.

🚪 死亡万花筒 Kaleidoscope of Death by 西子�� Xi Zi Xu

• Title in pinyin: si wang wan hua tong

• Genre/setting: Horror, modern

• It sent chills down my spine. Scary.

• But it’s also funny!

• Be prepared to ignore sexism.

• Typos made me almost ditch the book at the beginning. I gave it another chance.

❓ 那个被我活埋的人 The Person I Buried Alive by 反派二姐 Fanpai Erjie/Villainous Second Sister

• Title in pinyin: na ge bei wo huo mai de ren

• Genre/setting: Mystery, modern

• “One Friday evening, a special patient walked into the psychotherapy centre.” (I love this one-line intro by the author. It’s very effective.)

💣 好一朵美腻的白莲花 What A Lovely White Lotus by 钟晓生 Zhong Xiao Sheng

• Title in pinyin: hao yi duo mei ni de bai lian hua

• Genre/setting: WW2, Chinese Civil War

• Personal growth and development in a time of war. A taunting, teasing ruffian and a cowardly, selfish, rich, weirdass young master evolve into big-hearted soldiers, half forced by circumstance and half owed to choices of their own.

⚰️ 挖坟挖出鬼 Dug A Ghost Out While Gravedigging by 君子在野 Junzi Zaiye/Gentleman in the Wild

• Title in pinyin: wa fen wa chu gui

• Genre/setting: Modern, ghosts (not scary to me, but some people find it scary)

• Intriguing

• Powerful emotions

• 🍑😏 Award

💊 解药 Remedy/Antidote by 巫哲 Wu Zhe

• Title in pinyin: jie yao

• Genre/setting: Modern

• Key word: LEARNING

• Man (booted out of his rich family) with the life skills of a baby VS street-smart gang leader

• Has an animated series (nowhere near as good as the book though)

🕺 迪奥先生 Mr. Dior by 绿野千鹤 Lü Ye Qian He/Thousand Cranes in a Meadow

• Title in pinyin: di ao xian sheng

• Genre/setting: Modern, comedy

• 99% of it is humour

🎋人渣反派自救系统 Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System by 墨香铜臭 Mo Xiang Tong Xiu/Fragrance of Ink, Tang of Copper Coins

• Title in pinyin: ren zha fan pai zi jiu xi tong

• Genre/setting: Xianxia

• A favourite character who deserves better: 9️⃣—999 emergency he smashed my heart into smithereens. Facets of good and evil + what-could-have-beens = very nice. I’m obsessed.

• Layers! See this (spoilery!) post for details.

• Cons:

- I found the frequent use of colloquial words/internet slang off-putting at first, but I ended up not minding too much because it fits the protagonist’s character

- Two characters suffer from inexplicably irrational behaviour that I chalk up to plot necessity

�� 今天我又被迫复活 Today I Am Forcefully Resurrected Again by 阿辞姑娘 A Ci Gu Niang/Miss A-Ci

• Title in pinyin: jin tian wo you bei po fu huo

• Genre/setting: Horror-comedy, modern

• This book is about a guy who changes his name to be less “soft”—against the advice of a spiritual master when he was a baby—and promptly gets beleaguered by hauntings. Gets killed by ghosts repeatedly but is revived each time, with the clock getting wound back.

• He cries when he’s scared 👍 Understandable. I would cry too if I were in his shoes.

• Scary, with funny moments. Exactly what I was looking for. Sent some chills down my spine when I read it in the middle of the night. I think it’s a tinge less frightening than “Kaleidoscope of Death” (another horror novel I recommend), so cowards can challenge themselves by reading it in the afternoon.

• Cons:

- A few instances of unrealistic drawing/sketching speed 😂

- The ending feels rushed and there are loose ends. The author could have fleshed out the backgrounds of some characters in a lot more detail (and earlier in the story) in order to tie up those loose ends. But the reading process is fun enough to compensate for that.

• Additional positive thoughts after my third reading experience are contained in the second half of the following post: https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/653237110624714752/%E4%BB%8A%E5%A4%A9%E6%88%91%E5%8F%88%E8%A2%AB%E8%BF%AB%E5%A4%8D%E6%B4%BB-today-i-am-forcefully-resurrected

🦹 忧郁先生想过平静生活 Depressed Husbands Want to Live a Peaceful Life by 青色羽翼 Qingse Yuyi/Green Wings

• Title in pinyin: you yu xian sheng xiang guo ping jing sheng huo

• Genre/setting: Modern, superpowers. This combo usually isn’t my cup of tea, but it had been a long time since I had found a novel (of any genre) to my liking, so I decided to give this one a shot. I’m glad I did!

• The main characters aren’t actually depressed, it’s just that their surnames sound like “depressed” when put together. 忧郁 is worried + gloomy, and the main characters are frequently troubled about stuff (listed in the following point), but the mood is almost always light and/or comedic.

• The story begins with the universe’s most powerful transmigrator, who has left world-hopping behind and is currently living a peaceful life with his husband. However, normalcy is disrupted when his sealed superpowers suddenly start going berserk. This guy now has to juggle three things:

1. controlling his suddenly uncontrollable powers

2. stopping new chaos-sowing superpowered transmigrators—termed “Destroyers” by native inhabitants—from disrupting his hard-earned normal life

3. keeping his husband blissfully unaware of his identity as a superpowered transmigrator. Unbeknownst to him, his husband is an officer in charge of hunting down transmigrators.

• No angst despite the secret-keeping. The main characters are head over heels in love.

• Plotty

• Many characters with vibrant personalities doing hilarious things. I love all the side characters (more than the main characters, even); the picture wouldn’t be complete and colourful without all of them in it. But I have a soft spot for a cunning, pretty, underdog survivor who will take advantage of every opportunity and loophole he can find, with a relative lack of care for morality. His one soft spot is a guy who does care for morality. (The underdog has a similar flavour to someone in another book, Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System/SVSSS 😉.)

• A quick Google search shows that there is an English fan translation of this novel (“Mr. Melancholy Wants to Live a Peaceful Life”, written by “Cyan Wings”, translated by E. Danglars). I can’t comment on it since I read the book in Mandarin, but you can try it out if you read danmei in English.

🎬 跨界演员 Crossover Actor by 北南 Beinan/North-South

• Title in pinyin: kua jie yan yuan

• Genre/setting: Modern, realistic

• This book is about a little-known actor’s journey to stardom and developing relationship with an acclaimed scriptwriter.

• Social anxiety disorder! Tasty. It’s so good to see someone finding love despite their difficulty in building deep connections with people.

• I like how one of the characters’ backstory is revealed. Peel that trauma apart like an onion.

• The romance is slow-burn.

• Opposites (eventually) attract. The actor is not famous at the start of the book, not that bright, and so straightforward that it has a childlike quality to it. The scriptwriter is renowned, has mature, self-possessed vibes, and is reserved. But both of them are good with people in their own ways, which is surprising in relation to one of them because of his social anxiety disorder. No prizes for guessing who. (I don’t consider the disorder a spoiler because 1, it becomes fairly obvious early on in the book and 2, the author put it in the blurb.)

• Excerpt (translated by me): At that, Lu Wen said, piqued: “You only love my face?” Qu Yanting said: “I wish I could love your brain, but I can’t find it.”

• I read the novel in Mandarin, but a quick search shows that there is an ongoing English fan translation online: https://knoxt.space/crossover-actors/

🧝🏻‍♂️ 穿成高危职业之师尊 Transmigrated into a High-Risk Career: Shizun by 一丛音 Yi Cong Yin

• Title in pinyin: chuan cheng gao wei zhi ye zhi shi zun

• Genre/setting: Xianxia

• Off-putting title, good story

• Lively silly unskilled protagonist + possessive love interest with no care for anyone but the protagonist. These personalities are decidedly not my cup of tea, but I kept reading and found that the plot gets better and better. The sense of “mysteries to uncover” gradually builds up and then snowballs in the second half of the book. I was hooked.

• Many humorous moments. Huge fun.

• Interesting supporting characters. The doctor with the laggy response is my favourite.

• There are a couple of loose ends, and a few relationships and some villains’ motivations could have been handled better, but the resolution is still tolerable. I wonder if I should put this book in the section below instead of up here, since my gripes are significant, but I’ll leave it here for now.

👨‍🏫 他们都说我遇到了鬼 They All Say I Encountered Ghosts by 青色羽翼 Qingse Yuyi/Green Wings

• Title in pinyin: ta men dou shuo wo yu dao le gui

• Currently titled 他们都说我遇到了未知生物 They All Say I Encountered Unknown Beings. I guess the change is due to overly gung-ho censors.

• Genre/setting: Modern, supernatural

• Not scary. It’s the human who’s (unintentionally) terrifying the ghosts. But it still has that deliciously creepy undertone of a horror story in some parts!

• Funny

🌱 Being-Towards-Death 向死而生 by 客兮 Ke Xi

• Title in pinyin: xiang si er sheng

• Tags: Modern, depression, healing, school

• The protagonist’s plans to commit su.i/ci/d.e keep getting accidentally disrupted by an unknowing boy who has feelings for him.

• This is a book about clinical depression and love; because of the former, it is permeated by crushing sadness and there is a constant see-saw between the protagonist’s urge to end his life and events that keep him holding on. There are realistic struggles faced by the protagonist and his partner in dealing with society’s lack of understanding of depression, the ramifications of the condition, etc. There is a happy ending!

• You need to be in a particular mood or state to keep reading this book, because the protagonist is in a lot of pain. I read this book when I was sad. It helped somewhat. Not suitable for you if you’re cheerful or devastated.

• The love interest’s devotion is moving.

• One of the extra chapters contains an alternative sad ending, and I want to commend the author for making its final sentence unexpectedly haunting.

• Interesting way of titling chapters

• Con: the reasons why the protagonist’s partner is attracted to him could be made more tangible.

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Books That Also Got Me Really Absorbed*

*I have more gripes about these books but still greatly enjoyed them!

🌸 折枝/阶下囚 Broken Branch/The Prisoner by 困倚危楼 Kun Yi Wei Lou/Drowsily Leaning Against The Balcony Of A Tower* (*this phrase is from a poem)

• Title in pinyin: zhe zhi/jie xia qiu

• Genre/setting: Xianxia

• Beautiful depictions of 1) longing and 2) anguish and regret

• Sly and teasing love interest VS cold and stern protagonist, nice.

• Has an audio drama

• Con: the second half of the book got strange but it’s okay, I enjoyed the book anyway

🗡 每天起床都看到反派在抢戏 Every Day I Wake Up and See the Villain Stealing My Show by 钟晓生 Zhong Xiao Sheng

• Title in pinyin: mei tian qi chuang dou kan dao fan pai zai qiang xi

• Genre/setting: Wuxia/xianxia, comedy

• My introduction: Han Changsheng, the young irresponsible head of the most powerful demonic martial arts sect, boots a guy off a cliff for insulting his beloved sect. Turns out that the guy is the incarnation of a god, Lord An Yuan, who was undergoing a holy trial on earth, in which he was destined to become a hero who would smite Han Changsheng and rid the world of demonic forces in the culmination of his epic journey. The gods of death are livid because Han Changsheng killed human An Yuan before his time was up, disrupting Lord An Yuan’s holy trial. To fix the problem, the gods wind back time to a point before An Yuan’s death and Han Changsheng is coerced to help An Yuan become the fated hero (and his own murderer). But despite Han Changsheng’s best efforts, things don’t go as planned…

• Humorous!!! I re-read it!

• Cons:

- a few icky descriptions

- the ending is wonky but the reading process is fun enough to compensate for that

⚔️ 每天起床都看见教主在破案 Every Day I Wake Up and See the Sect Leader Cracking Cases by 钟晓生 Zhong Xiao Sheng

• Title in pinyin: mei tian qi chuang dou kan jian jiao zhu zai po an

• Genre/setting: Wuxia

• Intriguing

🧸 安乐死 Euthanasia by 风溯君 Feng Su Jun

• Title in pinyin: an le si

• Genre/setting: Modern, entertainment industry (film)

• Introduction (translated by me):

Each day, how many people are born is how many people die. Those who don’t have a right to decide on their birth at least have a right to decide on their death. No one could figure out why young, tremendously wealthy John chose euthanasia.

He was well-prepared on the day of his death, but when he woke up again, he had acquired a legal husband.

• Pros: likeable cast of characters, interracial transnational couple, story interspersed with some humour, pursuit of dreams, mutual support, thoughtful verbalisations of affection and encouragement. John Williams’ expressiveness, quirkiness, and unabashed love of childish and feminine things go well with Liu Zhiwei’s stability (even-tempered, mature, resilient).

• Other tags: LGBTQ+ issues, family, rough personal histories. I excluded spoilery tags.

• Cons: many, many flaws (for example, the lack of detail regarding John’s rehabilitation, an incorrect depiction of how one should treat coral reefs while diving, an interview arrangement that doesn’t make sense), too troublesome to list them all

• Excerpt (translated by me):

“You are a part of my dream,” said John. “God played a prank on me, putting my dream on the other side of the globe. But luckily I found you in the end.”

• Despite the intro, Liu Zhiwei, not John, is the main character in my view. The story is told from several characters’ perspectives, but the book centres on Liu Zhiwei more than John.

• At the start of the story, Liu Zhiwei is a broke background actor with little hope left.

• It’s open to interpretation, but I think John is the top, haha.

• John’s name is not spelled as John in the book. I believe the name in the novel is not what the author would have chosen if their first language were English, because the spelling is unusual, yet it is mentioned in the book that there are many people in the US with that name. Hence, I’ve taken the liberty to use the similar-sounding “John” here.

🌊 水魅 Water Wraith by 樊落 Fan Luo

• Title in pinyin: shui mei

• Genre/setting: Modern, ghosts (not scary)

• Intriguing; dark mysterious mood

• Has an audio drama

• Con: I had a gripe about some powers in the second half of the book, but I enjoyed the story anyway

😤 奴才 Slave by 风弄 Feng Nong

• Title in pinyin: nu cai

• Genre/setting: Historical

• A trashy book. Definitely not most discerning readers’ cup of tea. Trashy books make guilty pleasures.

• Utterly unrealistic, but I wasn’t looking for something realistic anyway.

📕 魔尊也想知道 The Demon Lord Would Like To Know Too by 青色羽翼 Qingse Yuyi/Green Wings

• Title in pinyin: mo zun ye xiang zhi dao

• Genre/setting: Xianxia

• Funny supporting characters. If not for them, I wouldn’t have finished the book.

• Far surpasses most danmei novels in terms of gender equality (though it still doesn’t perfectly meet my standards); see this post for a more detailed description: https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/629254095244558336/currently-reading-%E9%AD%94%E5%B0%8A%E4%B9%9F%E6%83%B3%E7%9F%A5%E9%81%93

• Cons:

- The love interest has no personality except for one key trait + I don’t like him, he’s too cold

- The descriptions of how magical energy works/plays out in that universe can be abstract and draggy

🌨 我乘风雪 Riding the Wind and Snow by 弃吴钩 Qi Wu Gou

• Title in pinyin: wo cheng feng xue

• Genre/setting: Historical

• Moving depictions of survivor’s guilt and longing for people loved and lost

• 🍑😏 Award. As the author says, “If we’re not driving a car [a euphemism for you-know-what], we’re on the way to drive a car.” Trigger warnings apply.

• Longer review (spoiler-free) + book extracts: https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/680151717729468416/danmei-book-recommendation-%E6%88%91%E4%B9%98%E9%A3%8E%E9%9B%AA-riding-the-wind

☀️ 2020年夏天发生了什么 What Happened in the Summer of 2020 by 张迷经 Zhang Mijing

• Title in pinyin: er ling er ling (2020) nian xia tian fa sheng le shen me

• Genre/setting: Modern, slice of life

• Straightforward, casual language

• Life, work, finding love. The more you read, the cuter it gets.

• A relatively short book

🥋 不称职的保镖先生 Mr. Unqualified Bodyguard by 钟晓生 Zhong Xiao Sheng

• Tags: Modern, mixed martial arts (MMA), famous singer, bipolar disorder

• What I liked: MMA is cool, depictions of bipolar disorder, the protagonist’s care and gentleness

• Cons: Relatively straightforward plot, nothing flashy; felt like it ended without a climax; go in with the knowledge that it’s just an okay book. It’s not entirely clear why the protagonist loves who he loves.

🥼 全世界都在等我们分�� The Whole World Is Waiting For Us To Break Up by 不是风动 Bushi Fengdong/Not The Wind Moving

• Title in pinyin: quan shi jie dou zai deng wo men fen shou

• Genre/setting: Futuristic, sci-fi, but it’s not about robots and starships. It’s about data science, statistics, and chemistry.

• Unconventional take on the “you are a mere substitute for the one I truly love” trope

• As is common in danmei, the title style doesn’t reflect the type of content. The book involves academia and sciencey concepts and terminology. Author’s disclaimer: not all concepts depicted in the story are factually accurate.

• I didn’t think I would like a top like this, but I do in this case. The relationship dynamics are interesting.

• Cons: I had high hopes that weren’t fulfilled.

- Some plot holes

- The antagonist’s motivation is rather trite and too weak to support their large-scale machinations

- I think the antagonist could have tried to achieve their goal by a much more direct means

🐣 重生成仙尊的掌中啾 Reborn as a Chirp in the Immortal Lord’s Grasp / 笼中雀 Caged Bird by 一丛音 Yi Cong Yin

• Title in pinyin: chong sheng cheng xian zun de zhang zhong jiu

• Genre: Mythology/fantasy

• Horrendous title belies a decent story

• I found the “what if” extra chapters sweet

• You can try out this book if:

- you’re looking for a love story in a fantasy setting

- you’d be interested in a naïve bimbo protagonist + sui/ci/d.al love interest constantly teetering on the brink of destructive madness in a calm, smiling manner

- you’re looking for something cute, with a lot of cheeping, but not plain sweet all the way

• This book is absolutely not for you if:

- you’re a stickler for excellent writing. This book has a plot that’s tied up satisfactorily by the end, but the execution and writing quality could be better. I read it when I was not in a picky mood.

- you’re looking for a story where the main couple’s relationship is a side dish instead of the entrée

- you’re looking for something brainy

🌬 临时保镖 Temporary Bodyguard by 绿野千鹤 Lü Ye Qian He/Thousand Cranes in a Meadow

• Title in pinyin: lin shi bao biao

• Genre/setting: Modern, mystery

• Witty dialogues

• Warning: shocking racism at some point. I contemplated removing this book from this list, but ultimately didn’t because 1) I managed to swallow the bile and move on with the story, and 2) I did the same when I came across other social issues depicted disappointingly in other books on this list. (Typically, the culprit is sexism; less eye-catching but more insidious.) Read, if you do, with discernment.

• Cons:

- I have gripes about the way some of the cases/crimes were executed

- I have a gripe about a plot twist

- The ending feels slightly rushed

🥢 古董下山 Antique Descends A Mountain by 缘何故 Yuan He Gu/The Reason Why

• Title in pinyin: gu dong xia shan

• Genre/setting: Modern, mythology

• I won’t finish this book (the story, as it progressed, didn’t fit my taste), but the first part was fun

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Short Stories

📱 世界虚拟说 Virtual World Theory by 扇葵 Shan Kui

• A story in the book called 哄你睡觉短篇合集 Collection of Short Stories to Lull You to Sleep (pinyin: hong ni shui jiao duan pian he ji)

• Genre/setting: Modern

• Touching, sweet, sad, happy. The love interest is an undertaker with the personality of a big, quiet, obedient dog (this is a compliment).

😠 室友男友是个渣，我该不该提醒他？ My Housemate’s Boyfriend Is Scum; Should I Warn Him? by 反派二姐 Fanpai Erjie/Villainous Second Sister

• Title in pinyin: shi you nan you shi ge zha, wo gai bu gai ti xing ta?

• Genre/setting: Modern

• A simple and light “bedtime story” (in the words of the author) for when your brain just wants to trundle along sluggishly.

🌔 月光宝盒 Moonlight Treasure Box by 反派二姐 Fanpai Erjie/Villainous Second Sister

• Title in pinyin: yue guang bao he

• Genre/setting: Modern

• A short “bedtime story” (in the author’s words). A bit plottier than the one above. Cute.

📑 将就 Make Do by 河汉 He Han

• Title in pinyin: jiang jiu

• Genre/setting: Modern

• Trite trope, simple, mild sweetness, no brain needed.

🧑‍🎨 潮湿 Moist by 春日负暄 Chunri Fuxuan

• Title in pinyin: chao shi

• Genre/setting: Modern

• Light, 🍑😏 story. Trigger warning. No brain needed.

🏘️ 邻居 Neighbour by 青端 Qing Duan

• Title in pinyin: lin ju

• Genre/setting: Modern

• Very simple, sweet. The main character has social anxiety disorder.

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Others

👁 目杀师 Master of the Killer’s Gaze by 袁依楣 Yuan Yimei

• Title in pinyin: mu sha shi

• Short story

• Genre/setting: Modern, thriller

• Not danmei, but I’m recommending it anyway. Has the potential to be danmei, if it were to be expanded into a novel.

• Gripping. I wish there were more.

• I was tempted to translate the title as “A Killer’s Gaze” as it’s pithier, in line with the spirit of the three-syllable Mandarin title, but I went with the longer translation instead in order to better encapsulate the title’s meaning.

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🗣 Please recommend books for me to read! My reading habits:

• I read danmei in Mandarin.

• Most of the time, I’m picky about writing and plot quality. I’ll tolerate the occasional grammar mistake/typo if the writing is still good overall and if the plot is really interesting.

• The likeableness of the main characters plays a huge role in keeping me interested. I get attached to characters. Most of the time, I dislike constantly cold-blooded protagonists.

• I dislike dry court politics and palace intrigue. In a similar vein, I’m seldom interested in books with a non-magical historical setting, but I’m open to trying out such books if they don’t involve a lot of politics.

• Most of the time, I dislike books whose “plots” largely consist of characters being cutesy and lovey-dovey. Short stories are exempt from this standard, to an extent.

• Most of the time, I dislike nigh unbeatable protagonists who smoothly sail over obstacles and keep winning at life without much effort (金手指).

• I’ve tried many times to read Priest’s books but have never been able to sustain my interest, for some reason.

• I don’t read danmei books about school life. Uni is okay.

• For some unidentifiable reason, I don’t like danmei police stories.

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Thoughts about some nice characters: here

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Thank you if you reblog this; I’m both starving and picky so I really want more good books on my radar! Also, on Tumblr, only reblogs count towards a post’s visibility; likes don’t, so do reblog this post to spread the love.

Let me know if you read a book because of this rec list :3

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