khyie's Reviews (267)

I got bored with it.  The main couple weren't terribly interesting and the story was heavily into talking about everything going on in the village and pairing people off left and right.  It didn't engage me at all.

What do you do if you've been forced to watch someone else living your life, sleeping with your husband, wrecking your child's future for 16 years before it all seems to start over again and then suddenly you're set free?  Can you forgive your husband for not realizing it?  What about your friends and family?  What if some of it was a lie?  But which parts?  And most of all... why?

On the flip side, what does your husband do if suddenly you've been replaced by someone who looks exactly like you but clearly isn't?  What does he do if the imposter is able to fool your friends?  Your family?  Even the genetic testing comes back saying the imposter is you.  What if the imposter has stolen your body?  How does he get you back?

The emotional fallout of all of these questions is really well asked and developed.  The emotional drama is excellently done and I really enjoyed the struggle of both of these characters as they tried to reconcile what they knew with finally having their lives back and figuring out where to go from there.

Honestly, the only reason it's knocked half a star is because the transmigrator and the villain system are so epically stupid that I almost wish they'd been written out of the story entirely.  They weren't really necessary and there were other ways to eventually answer the questions of how both of them dealt with the 16 years they spent trapped apart.  I get it in a way and their stupidity was even given a reason in the story but their bits were the most annoying, especially in comparison to how good everything else was.

It wasn't bad per se, but it felt so much like the author was trying to say something but also wasn't really committed to the message she was trying to send.  It was weird.  I probably would've enjoyed it more if they hadn't focused so much on the environmentalism or if it didn't feel so wishy washy.  It's not that I don't know that a lot of people look at environmentalism as "I support it as long as it doesn't inconvenience me" but to have that be the focal message of the story was just... weak.  Especially considering the background of both characters.

Look.  I don't normally do this.  I do not normally base my rating and review of a story solely off from the last chapter but in this case... in this particular case, I couldn't NOT.  Because the thing is, I was really jamming with this story.  Solid three stars, at least, and then there was the shift.  Plot threads that the author had introduced just in the chapter before were suddenly getting wrapped up in a matter of paragraphs.  All the plot points were suddenly getting resolved and I realized that something must've happened with the author.  Maybe they'd grown tired with the story or something had happened in their life where they realized they couldn't continue and they wanted to at least give their readers an ending and I can respect that.  My review might've mentioned something about the sudden ending but my rating would've been based on the overall story itself.
But then I read the last chapter.
When I say that I was not prepared... that I did not in any way, shape, or form see that coming, I fucking mean it.  It was entirely out of character, cruel, and as the authorial equivalent of dropping a fucking nuclear bomb in the main relationship and then peacing out.  Story's over!  Bye, guys, hope you enjoyed!
Like, all I can think is that something went horribly wrong on the webnovel side and the author wanted to punish her readers for something.  Which is possibly the one thing I genuinely hate about web novels.  Because they're published chapter by chapter, the fandom can have an influence on how the author writes the story.  But I was completely out of that and now I'm collateral damage because I fucking read it.  And boy do I regret.  I literally have not been able to finish a Chinese novel SINCE I read it.  I keep starting and quitting.  I've been betrayed.  

So you know, tl;dr the story is pretty good but spare yourself and don't read the last chapter.  You won't actually be missing anything you can't guess on your own and the one thing I sincerely doubt you wouldn't guess, you don't need to know.  Trust me.

Secretary Cha is the real MVP of this whole series and it's likely the main pairing never would've gotten together if it wasn't for her.  She deserves a raise.  Maybe three.