If an author is willing to write about dark subject matters, explore traumatic events and the emotional toll they take, I honestly don't mind. It may be cruel and bleak, but as long as it's no overly dramatic (Romeo&Juliet style), I'm here for the ride. Plus, our heroine is a portrayed as a tough cookie who's got more than the chops to fight for herself. So it definitely made for an emotionally complex and engrossing read at that point!

That bit stopped when the author decided to clip our MC's wings, literally and figuratively, as a plot device to let the ML, the jerk who hurt her in her previous life, play white knight. I'm sorry but that just didn't sit right with me.

There's nothing romantic or swoon-worthy in witnessing our previously strong MC hit rock bottom, and concurrently give in/up to the ML's relentless and stifling encirclement/ advances. And trying to build a narrative where our MC, after seeing little way forward, is slowly falling for her past ab*ser when he himself, as shown by his inner thoughts, barely understands the magnitude and depth of his past wrongdoings is just... disheartening.

I could understand or at least rationalize it if this was intended to be portrayed as Stockholm syndrome but that's not the case. The author seemingly wanted to build a story about love and atonement but gave away all the cards (and power) to the ML for him to deal with, except for the final decision. Yet, with such power imbalance and utter lack of choice on our FL's part, can you really call that romance or even true forgiveness?

Easy answer: nope. But it's portrayed that way. Maybe this is the reason it's tagged tragedy? It could very well be that I understood absolutely nothing of this novel... Or the point of this genre.. At this point, who knows?

why the hell do I have to read about a whitewashed scumb*g? And that s*um became the ML too. Btw, his reborn self is not that good either: his overwhelming hatred at the beginning, turned into a mushy adoration in a sudden is unbelievable. My dear FL deserves someone better. I'm skipping to last chapter and was very nauseous to see Yun Ke managed to be forgiven--he needs to be revenged, TBH.

How do not process that you love someone even after they die in your first life. He died at an old age, so you know he had plenty of time to contemplate. Given a second life, he still doesn't want to admit he liked her in his last life bc his pride/ego. You have the chance to make things right, but then you have a baby on someone you like?? umm, ok. He expects FL to just accept his baggage and if she doesn't as long as she stays by him that's all that matters. He doesn't see her as her own being but HIS property. In a way, he's just like fl's father. It sucks that the FL is stuck with him even in her second life. her situation doesn't give her much options (she needs to save her mother) plus he won't let her go. skimmed a bit of mtl to see what he'd do to win her back but man the bar is so low... (

Her father kinda useless and easily lets the words of others influence him. Instead of being grateful to his main wife's family that helped him climb the social ladder, he uses that against her and hates her for it (thus leads to an affair). I really hope her half siblings grow up to be close to her (fl), but they have a scheming mother (the second wife) who'll most likely manipulate them to hate fl.

I just want FL and her mother to be free and happy. In a perfect novel they'd be traveling together and maybe fall in love again to people worthy of them. Their personalities were not meant to be kept in the boudoir/ back courtyard.

I had hope for this story since her mother divorced her horrible husband and the FL felt sincere disgust towards the man who only mistreated, used, and misunderstood her but as usual women aren't allowed to have any self respect in these types of stories.

In the end they're beaten down and degraded until their pride wears thin enough to fall back into the arms of their ab*ser.

You might think im over exaggerating but the way the male lead thought and spoke about her was worse than trolls comments on social media.

The only emotions he had was possessiveness and jaded superiority, which is laughable because he was 100x worse than the men he & the FL abhorred. It's very odd like the writer meant it to be enemies to lovers but skipped the part where he actually starts feeling love towards her. It just felt very forced and in all honestly I was shocked that the author had the audacity to pair them back together.

P.s. Don't even get me started on the way the ML treated his first life's lover. Hes so hypocritical and loves to play the victim when he literally thrives off of others misery. It makes me sick!

i dont really like the concept given though that the tr*sh people will be forgiven if they just coax you for a longtime.. this happened to not only the FL but also the queen and the FL's mother (who actually lost her life because she was soft hearted), I didnt want the queen to forgive the king too, like man she lost ten years of her youth to follow a s*um like him but got indifference and disgust in return.

Also the greatest tr*sh our ML.....

Yeah he spent a lot of time to ask for forgiveness but still in my opinion he was a complete tr*sh in his last life and also in the start of 2nd life..

I was happy though for the HE but still he deserved to suffer a bit more, also I dont really like the fact that he had a child with someone else, also expects the FL to get along with him.. and yeah since she is the FL so soft heartedness is her biggest characteristic.. yes the child was blameless but still how could she get along with him so graciously when she had lost her own child in the previous life and it was the work of our ML so yeah I am actually reallly disgusted by the ML🙄🙄 that he not only forced her in the corner so had no choice but to marry him also expects from her that she gets along with his son with another women....

the FL's father (he is a 100 steps up from the ML in his tr*shiness)

Duxia is the best man of the whole novel also the one who was unjustifiably dragged in the emotional turmoil, I hated the FL when she was targeting Duxia as her husband candidate, also she gave him false hopes despite knowing that the ML wont allow her to be with anyone other than him... poor boy had a happy life in the previous trajectory but got tempted and thus waiting for him is the fate of the 2nd ML...

love the fact that all of the FL's maids had good endings except for one

Although the ML would say that he loved the FL, he never respected her choice. It was painful reading about her being forced to interact with and cater to his demands becaude he had a higher status than her. Honestlty, I'd rather have the FL return to her time and heal herself.

I absolutely agree with one reviewer about how the author clipped the FLs wings just to give the ML a chance to "redeem" himself. In my opinion, the only way he could have done that is if he had left the FL alone to live freely with her mother.