Fav (plot/overall) (any pairings)

Fav (plot/overall) (any pairings)
For personal reference/rereading. Mostly plot focus & serious favs, with solid writing/characterisations/overarching plot. Any pairings (mostly bl/het), but not many harem/stallion novels. Mostly CN/KR novels for dialogue. Roughly sorted, many genres, no/low spoilers.

I prefer wuxia over xianxia, tragedy over fluff, etc. Some less serious/non-plot-focused novels included/marked for their definitive traits.
Personal genre/trait favs: comedy, tragedy, historical, mystery, psychological, scifi, realistic, mature, bittersweet, wuxia, delinquents, strategies/war, empire building, betrayal, food.  
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34 Followers
greenHills
Created: Jul 1st, 2022, Updated: Jun 27th, 2024
Created Jul 1st, 2022
Updated Jun 27th, 2024
CN (4.3)
48 Chapters Every 693.9 Day(s) 20023 Readers 343 Reviews 08-05-2015
Somehow, this is a lot worse than I remember. Might remove it, since my mental rating of it is dropping. After currently rereading my former... more>>
CN (4.2)
571 Chapters Every 43.7 Day(s) 4784 Readers 68 Reviews 10-30-2023
Non-plot/writing quality pick: plot is a little out there but interesting themes and creatures 
CN (4.3)
916 Chapters Every 181.1 Day(s) 13977 Readers 243 Reviews 03-16-2018
Personal favourite (crafting, side disciplines, empire building) but rubbish ending. rounding to 5 for side-discipline bias without the ending, but the ending is about a... more>>
KR (4.3)
20 Chapters Every 150.5 Day(s) 24033 Readers 470 Reviews 07-09-2019
KR (4.4)
830 Chapters Every 19.2 Day(s) 20148 Readers 237 Reviews 10-25-2024
KR (4.6)
KR (4.5)
1147 Chapters Every 3.5 Day(s) 41791 Readers 613 Reviews 08-05-2025
KR (4)
23 Chapters Every 155.2 Day(s) 7391 Readers 86 Reviews 08-07-2022
CN (3.9)
58 Chapters Every 186.4 Day(s) 954 Readers 18 Reviews 11-18-2018
not tagged 'romance' for a reason. about a 4. 
CN (4.7)
199 Chapters Every 107.5 Day(s) 10929 Readers 193 Reviews 03-19-2021
CN (4.6)
CN (4.6)
156 Chapters Every 102.9 Day(s) 15979 Readers 323 Reviews 07-18-2021
CN (4.6)
0 Chapters Every 1316 Day(s) 4236 Readers 40 Reviews 01-01-2022
Non-plot/writing quality pick: mystery
CN (4.1)
150 Chapters Every 101.9 Day(s) 2785 Readers 20 Reviews 11-05-2024
rounded up to 5*, but only enjoyable if you like deductive reasoning games focused on solving mysteries. Slightly niche, perhaps, and not tagged horror or thriller for a reason; many chapters are less about "exciting things happening!" and more about "calmly finding gaps in alibis to pin down the crime". fans of deception/bluffing board games may like this. ... more>>
CN (4.6)
131 Chapters Every 77.1 Day(s) 21084 Readers 440 Reviews 06-22-2023
CN (4.3)
346 Chapters Every 7.8 Day(s) 5125 Readers 48 Reviews 07-20-2025
CN (4.5)
612 Chapters Every 79.2 Day(s) 10660 Readers 150 Reviews 05-12-2022
CN (4.7)
184 Chapters Every 5 Day(s) 6836 Readers 41 Reviews 08-03-2025
CN (4.6)
CN (3.7)
104 Chapters Every 321.5 Day(s) 4835 Readers 49 Reviews 01-11-2022
Non-plot/writing quality pick: food... more>>
CN (4.5)
113 Chapters Every 105.3 Day(s) 4920 Readers 93 Reviews 04-30-2021
Non-plot/writing quality pick: food
CN (3.8)
321 Chapters Every 116.1 Day(s) 4366 Readers 64 Reviews 11-20-2020
Non-plot/writing quality pick: food
CN (3.5)
20 Chapters Every 204.4 Day(s) 1104 Readers 16 Reviews 08-16-2020
Non-plot/writing quality pick: kingdom building... more>>
CN (4.5)
206 Chapters Every 134 Day(s) 10756 Readers 173 Reviews 02-20-2020
Non-plot/writing quality pick: kingdom building (sort of)
CN (4.6)
128 Chapters Every 116.1 Day(s) 10115 Readers 137 Reviews 11-12-2020
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Comments (8)
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  1. warspite
    warspite· Sep 25, 2022 01:33 PM
    I know some of your recommended novels and they are all gold! I'm so happy that I saw your list! Another bunch of novels to spend my time for!
    Reply · 1 Like · ·
  2. sibyl97
    sibyl97· Jul 31, 2022 07:09 AM

    BL is not my favorite genre nor romance in general clear.png but tbh u have solid recommendations here, good taste clear.png

    I just finished ‘I’ve transmigrated into this movie before’. Very good clear.png , do u have recommendation of something similar, if possible not so romance (sub plot is ok but not main plot). I like that this story has great character development, rich in emotional scenes, great plot twists!

    Reply · 1 Like · ·
    • greenHills
      greenHills· Author · Jul 31, 2022 10:39 AM

      Thank you! Romance isn't a priority when I'm searching for novels, either -- although I do like some of them, I'm generally ambivalent about the genre itself.

      To be honest, I'd really like to find something similar to ITITMB too, hahaha...especially if it's also mystery/horror/etc. Unfortunately, I haven't really got anything, and most of the unlimited flow/quick transmigration novels I've read are BL. Still, here are some recs that fit a few (if not all) of the conditions you're looking for, perhaps? They're not that similar to ITITMB overall, merely on a few points here and there, but nonetheless. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

      "Low IQ Supporting Female, Waiting for Death Online" has some decently emotional scenes, some twists & developments with the overarching plot, and while there's some one-sided affection from the various male characters towards the FL, the FL never develops feelings and consistently makes an effort to be a villain. The "real ML" (if any) shows up at the last chapter for a couple of paragraphs, and that's it. However, it's not horror or thriller, and the character development isn't nearly as good.

      "I Was Admitted To The Villain School" has some very neat twists towards the middle-end, although most of the novel is less serious and more comedic. There's some romance, but I think comedy takes priority. 

      And two novels I haven't read yet: "The Chronicle of the Oriole Island", which is a rather short, apparently well-written mystery that is allegedly romance-free, and "A Hint of Spring" is another mystery/crime novel that's apparently low on romance.

      Reply · 1 Like · ·
    • sibyl97
      sibyl97· Jul 31, 2022 06:11 PM

      @evileye23 thanks for the recommendations! I just finished reading apocalypse lord and came back to the list to read more from your recommendation list clear.png

      I already read the villain school one but I’ll check out the others. Tbh I was really surprised when I found ITITMB, that was a real hidden gem. I think the title doesn’t do the work justice clear.png, it sounded like a second rate novel title clear.png but it was definitely a masterpiece *chef’s kiss*

      Reply · 1 Like · ·
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    • greenHills
      greenHills· Author · Jul 31, 2022 07:53 PM

      @sibyl97 Np, hope there's something that's to your taste! Happy reading.

      I totally agree lol, it has one of those really generic and rather lame names that made me expect an extra cliché B tier novel, but it's actually really good (altho I didn't like the ending so much). clear.pngclear.png

      Reply · ·
  3. Alex Woods
    Alex Woods· Jul 20, 2022 11:13 AM
    All i see is yaoi
    Reply · ·
    • greenHills
      greenHills· Author · Jul 20, 2022 11:35 AM

      Not to underestimate your undoubtedly profound degree of literacy, but there's an "all pairings" note in the title of this list, as well as the "mainly BL/het" note in the description. 

      One would hope that you, a literate person on a site for aggregating novel information, would know to read a list's title and basic description before clicking on it. 

      Of course, I'll be assuming the best of you. As such, thank you for agreeing with my choices. I hope you enjoy my novel recommendations, especially the BL ones, which seem like your favourites, since your comment is so focused on them (despite the variety of other novels on my list).

      Since you love BL so much, if you're looking for more BL recommendations, feel free to let me know.clear.png

      Reply · ·
    • greenHills
      greenHills· Author · Jul 20, 2022 12:19 PM

      Also, if you're looking for "het male MC x solo FL", there are already specifically harem-free MC lists. The ones I've read tend to not have any substantial romance, but romance isn't nearly my favourite genre, and seeing as this is a list of my favourites, it's not all that personally relevant. 

      As for actually romantic ones, idk, good luck, gotta be somewhere out there. Unfortunately, A Harem Of Cardboard Beauties is a lot more popular with straight male MCs compared to 1 on 1 romance and a FL with personality. 

      Edit: come to think of it, here's a non-BL rec. The most recent work I've read with decent writing, engaging plot, and a male primary MC that ends up with a girlfriend at the end is Snow Crash. 

      (No harems! Not BL! Girlfriend endgame for our charming male MC! Perfect for the picky reader ignoring others' list criteria!) 

      (The next sexy romantic novel with a male MC on my to-read list is Dream of the Red Chamber. Not BL! I've even heard that it's full of fascinating tales of love, life, and romance.) 

      Reply · ·