B-tier... more>>

It's not boring but it's also not the best. It's a very serious story between 2 men, who both have the preferences of loving men. So there's no "I don't like men but I only like you" troupe in this story. The MC, Shen Xun, is a timid but intelligent person. The ML, Meng Yuan Cen, is more flirtatious, like to joke and tease, and also someone who knows what he wanted and will strive to achieve it. This novel is really serious, and it reflects the reality so I can understand why it's not for everyone.

I actually like the story itself. While the ML's job was never really explained greatly, but the MC's job is touched throughout the story. I'm not forensic expert, but I love that at least it's included in the story and not just used as convenient plot line. It was there, loud and clear. 

What makes me can't rate this higher is due to the Shen Xun's family problem and the result of his coming out. I can see why the author ends it like that, but it feels so not satisfying, especially because Shen Xun had been so timid for almost 68 chapters, and suddenly he turned around at the end and we were not given any satisfying conclusion of him coming out. What happened after? The parents cut him off? Even if it's just a mention in the paragraph somewhere, I wished the author would include it. But I can also understand why they didn't, as it's like saying: "The future is still long." The end of novel doesn't mean the end of the story for the people involved. But it's still very not satisfying to me, so I end up have to give it lower rating due to this point. <<less

B-tier, but mostly low B-tier... more>>

To be honest, I'm not sure how to rate this one. It's not awful, it's not boring, but there are many problems I couldn't give it higher tier. The entertaining part is the interaction between the 2 main characters. Mu Ye and Song Jianchu are entertaining, both individual and as couple, which is actually very rare to happen in BL novels. Usually, one character stands out than the other. But in this novel, they're actually equal. Both equally powerful, both equally doting to each other, both equally love each other.

But there are also a lot of problems to the novel, and I'm not going to talk about the poor translation in the beginning (around 6-10 chapters) and then the many glaring inconsistencies throughout the entire novel. Despite that, I still find it very entertaining and enjoyable. The problems located in:

1. The side couples. Too many side couples. It's like this novel trying to say: Being gay is nothing. It feels so weird to see so many BL couples in the same novel. Maybe this is part of a universe, but since I only read this one, it feels weird to me. The extra side chapter with Pei Shinian and Jing Si really cut through me. Like, what is that ending? Maybe they would get their own story, but that extra side story is just cruel and unnecessary.

2. Confusing timelines. There are times when I'm confused with the timeline. Maybe it's due to the confusing translation, but there are times when I'm not even sure how much time had passed in the story.

3. Too OP couple. Both the leads are really really really OP. They're just too powerful. One is the most rich, and the other one is the most popular idol. It feels too redundant to me.  <<less

B-tier... more>>

As most of the entertainment BL novel, we will always have a very powerful ML (or MC, depends on the situation), being rich, handsome, can do anything, great lover, and amazing in bed. That's Jiang Liushen. In the entire novel, I can say that I love Jiang Liushen more than Xia Xi'ai. Whether it's due to the bad writing of Xia Xi'ai's character, or Jiang Liushen is just that easy for me to fall in love with. He's rich but not arrogant. He's not the usual "ice-cold" ML. He's very easy to talk to, and also very pe*vert. His ever move and thoughts really fun to follow, and I love him for this.

On the other hand, in making Jiang Liushen to be this perfect ML, Xia Xi'ai is very lacking. I have problems connecting to him in many area. It's like he's being outshined by Jiang Liushen, and might not even have personality if it's not for Jiang Liushen. I feel like it's quite wasted since he's not written as the usual MC. He's a bit naive, but not really the "innocent" type. The first few chapters where he's being badass and even argue with Jiang Liushen was the best part of his entire arc.

The story itself moves very fast. There's not really much angst or troubles. There's a misunderstanding, which is very understandable that it could happen, but I think it's unnecessary. The author could scrap that part and it won't even affect the entire story at all.

It's still very entertaining to read, so I give it for this reason. It will be a higher <<less

B-tier. ... more>>

Okay, good enough. It's very funny <<less

C-tier. ... more>>

It feels like many things are happening, yet at the same time, it feels like nothing is happening. Story was really bland in the beginning, and the two leads change too much throughout the whole story. It makes me couldn't connect with them. <<less

C-tier. ... more>>

Not very exciting, but also not bad either. Quite draggy in some parts, and the celebrity's attitude is hard to swallow most of the times. <<less

B-tier. ... more>>

Quite funny. It was fun and okay, and it's also quite entertaining. <<less

B-tier. ... more>>

I find it boring at some parts, but the other parts are really brilliant. <<less

S-tier. ... more>>

One of the best. Simply a masterpiece. Loving all characters as they didnt just exist, but they have their own personality, which is truly wonderful. The story is also complex and the journey to find the answer is so satisfying. The bad guys are not there just to be bad, but they also have their own reason and personality.

What makes this good is the way the characters interacted with each other. As the main characters, both Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou know the boundaries. They won't push each other too much, they know when to step back, but they love each other so they will work hard to make that happen. 

Ending is very satisfying. <<less

B-tier. ... more>>

Very funny. Each chapter makes you laugh so much. Good reading <<less

B-tier. ... more>>

Good story, though the set-up is kinda cliche. Some parts are really sluggish <<less

B-tier. ... more>>

Beginning was okay enough, it was intriguing. The longer it goes, it becomes a little bit repetitive. In the end, it was quite boring to me. In overall, it was still very enjoyable read. this novel is also light-hearted, so it's a good read. <<less

C-tier. ... more>>

To me, it's quite boring. <<less

B-tier. ... more>>

Solid storyline with solid characters. The goods live a happy life, and the baddies got their Karma. Though I think the extra on parallel world is unnecessary, as I think extra about them having babies would better, but it's still a very good story. <<less

B-tier. ... more>>

It was okay in the beginning, got repetitive in the middle, and quite boring in the end. But the relationship between the two leads are really good, which is the only highlight for me when reading the novel. <<less

B-tier... more>>

It's ABO setting, and like any other ABO setting, it wouldn't be complete without drama. In this novel, the drama is abundant. The story about their friends who become a couple (which is very redundant in this novel, as they have their own story, so it feels like it's just there to add to the chapters to this story), the divorce, the child, and the big misunderstanding between the two leads, Xu Jiale and Fu Xiaoyu. 

The plot story moves in a way that's very convenient for the characters, and didn't really care on whether it's logical or not. It was kinda wild, but in a way it's a decent one. The child's sickness is so convenient, being used when the plot says they need them, and then abandoned when it's no longer needed. And it feels like the post-partum story of Fu Xiaoyu in the extra felt like the unnecessary part. The plot says: A-rank Omega can give birth easily, can take care of children easily, and in the end it was conveniently shoved under the rug when they needed to bring the Alpha's past to the front. This kind of inconsistency happened throughout the entire story, which sometimes very glaring. 

It was fun reading them though, but I'm not invested in any of the characters. Not Xu Jiale, not even Fu Xioayu, or to Wen Ke and the highly confusing man Han Jiangque, who is the most contradictory of all. Like, what's your purpose in the story? Almost none, except being the guy who punched the Alpha when their Omega friend is sad. Again, it's just the convenient plot story to be used for the purpose of creating some tension or angst. 

The smut is wild though, and I actually love it. The author sometimes spend more than 2 chapters just describing the smut, and that was pleasant to read.  <<less

A-tier... more>>

At first, I thought I wouldn't like it. The first 6-8 chapters felt like the usual and cliche story of two people getting into this Friends With Benefits situation under the convenient circumstances. But starting around chapter 15 and onwards, the story flows nicely and we get to see the two sides of the coin. We didn't only get one side of perspective, we get both of them and we learned about both of them slowly throughout the entire novel. And I must say, I love the two of them. 

I love that no one is better than the other. Fu Wenshan and Xie Wanxing are equal in their relationship. No one is below the other. That's what I love. There's no family drama, which is a little bit weird, but seeing that they're not the heir to the family, I can still accept that the parents wouldn't make a fuss about it. The world setting is very good, and the entertainment industry story actually quite okay, though Fu Wenshan's career was touched briefly and was not really mentioned. For a 55 chapters, I think it's decent story, and it's highly entertaining.

I also love the other supporting characters, especially Fu Wenshan's 4 ABCD brother friends. I almost laugh at that nickname, but that's actually awesome calling your friends like that. I would love to have a friend like them, who is so supportive towards each other. No judgement, just care about each other properly.

It's quite entertaining to read the first time, but I don't think I will be as excited reading them the second time. <<less

A-tier... more>>

Could be one of the best Entertainment-based danmei. I read this with no expectation at all, and ended up reading this for the whole day, sacrificing my rare holiday from work. This story is just that good.

The beginning of the story between the two main characters, Lu Yiyou and Ran Lin, didn't start in the best way possible. Actually in the first few chapters, I don't really like how the story started. But I decided to stuck with it. After it entered around chapter 16 onwards, I can feel the charm of the story. Ran Lin is not the usual naive main character. He knew what he wanted, he knew who he is, and he will stand by his principle, not going to look for unnecessary trouble. It's also the same for Lu Yiyou. He was never described as someone who is "cold" or "unapproachable" like other ML, but he is awkward with people, not good with direction, and very slow to warm up. Once he did, he is your friend for life. 

I really love the approach of the characters that the writer take. It was never one above the other. They're going on the relationship equally. When Lu Yiyao decided: "I like him" then he go all out in this direction. His careful confession, his thoughts, and his approach to Ran Lin really show the gentleness of a man in love, not the perfect gentleman, but just a man. Ran Lin is also amazing in his approach to his feelings towards Lu Yiyao. He handled it beautifully. I really love both of them.

This story is also very serious. It's so serious it talked about many bad things in the entertainment industry. Stabbing each other in the back to get a role in drama, sleeping with the big boss, making and creating scandals to gather clout, everything included in this story. But I love it, as it gives a touch of realism not just the glory of the entertainment industry. I also love how realistic the "coming out" of the two main characters. Their story didn't just magically end up happy, but they did hard work to make sure their coming out ended up happy. 

It's an amazing read, and I would like to recommend it to everyone who would be willing to spend their time reading it. <<less

C-tier... more>>

90% of the case in ABO stories, there are 2 types: 

1. Sweet and has decent story

2. Crazy, weird, and not so good story

This novel is in the later category. Is it bad? Not really. Is it good? Definitely not.

I get annoyed with the main character, Xiao Can, the omega who hated the male lead Alpha, He Xingzhou, for stating the truth. He had a valid complaint about the supposedly "music comedy" Xiao Can released. It's not music, it's comedy. And in the beginning of the story, He Xingzhou commented on this. Yet, this becomes the main dispute between the two characters, and the main reason why Xiao Can thinks He Xingzhou is not good. Really? Instead of actually reflecting on why you get such harsh comment, you decide to hate the person who said the harsh truth to you? 

Not only the main character, mainly Xiao Can, that's annoying, Xiao Can's friend Mu Nianwen and the other "villain" character, Tan Zhen, also quite crazy and bad. There's also another person who somehow pursue Xiao Can, though it's a little bit redundant by this point. 

The conflict and drama single-handedly created by Xiao Can, with He Xingzhou not even knowing why he got the cold shoulder most of the time. Yes, there's the accidental mark. Yes, that's a bad behaviour. But He Xingzhou did explain about it quite early in the beginning of the story the reason behind his behaviour at that time. Yet, somehow instead of coming clean, Xiao Can decided that not telling He Xingzhou the truth is the best option, and then ended up just hating him more throughout the entire story. Even when they got together, it felt like the author NEED to put them together. I didn't feel anything at all throughout the entire story. 

It's been so long since I last feel bored to even read one chapter of the story so this get pushed back many times. In the end, I just have to brave it and read them so I could complete it and be done with it. 

This novel is also the reason why I don't really like to read ABO novel, as most of the time, it's complete nonsense <<less

S-tier... more>>

Among all the entertainment-based novel I've read so far, this one takes the lead in making me feel all kinds of emotions. I'm happy, I'm shy, I'm hopeful, I'm sad, I'm angry, and at last, I'm in love. I can't really describe my feelings, and that showed that the feelings I have throughout the novel is that hard to determine. I can't just describe it in one word, because it was never just one word. It's all at once, it's everything. I love it all, from the first chapter to the end, which is really rare for me feel like this for an entertainment-based novel.

The reason I love this novel is really simple: the story. It could be one of those rare moments where I do love the entire story, including all the characters, rather than just the characters itself. Usually, I would love one or two characters, but in this novel, I love them all. It by no means perfect; it has its own flaw but that flaw makes me love it even more.

From the two main leads: Xu Luoyang and Qi Chang'an, then to the cute muscly assistant Lu Di, both the managers; Zheng Dong and Liang Qiu (though the later kinda disappear after a while, sad, but I can understand why), then to all the supporting characters. I love even the villains. They're not just villains for the sake of being villains; they're the villains because they're human. They become villain because they fear something, and this fear make them become greedy, and their greediness actually turn them evil. That's what I love from a villain in the novel. 

The story itself actually simple: two people meeting and they fell in love. It was not so special, but what makes it special is the way their relationship change. It was never by force, it was never sudden, it was always step by step. The actor's job is explained well, and we get to see the hardship of the actors filming the drama. 

And the confession! Making the song album's name his boyfriend's name, the last stop his boyfriend's name, and the final confession in the concert! Every step, both Xu Luoyang and Qi Chang'an make me shed tears, and I thought it wouldn't be possible with this kind of novel that's focused on selling sugar. But I did, and I didn't regret the tears I shed. 

Giving this the perfect mark. <<less

B-tier

I would love to give this a higher tier, but my conscience didn't let me. It's not that the story is bad, it's actually quite good. Xue Xiao, as our main character, is the typical "raise from the ashes" type of person, from the bottom he climbs up to the highest place in the entertainment industry. The male lead, Shen Tingyan, is the usual "cold, aloof, and only warm with you" type of character. He's also the best of the best in the entertainment industry, which is very convenient as the partner of our main character. ... more>>

The plot of Studio Superstar itself is very simple. It's the cut throat entertainment, but instead of idols it's the unnamed or unpopular actors, including background actors like Xue Xiao. The concept was entertaining, but most of the executions fell short. It's clear that Xue Xiao is the most powerful, so his part is the most exaggerated. I had hope, that even though this is the "rise from ashes" type of story, that Xue Xiao wouldn't be too OP. But he did. 

Though this in itself is not really that surprising. Most of the novel had OP main character, OP male lead, or both. It's the usual and standard novel plot, and that's why to me, I can't give it a higher rating.

Another reason why this novel is stuck in B-tier for me is due to the main character itself, Xue Xiao. In the beginning of the story, around 30-40 chapters in, it's explained that he was the little fan of Shen Tingyan. When he look at Shen Tingyan, he blushes. He prioritize his idol over everything else. He even dreamed about him, and draw the picture of Shen Tingyan in his notebook, unconsciously. And because the character is explained as "naive", Xue Xiao didn't understand that his feeling is love, not just simple adoration to an idol. Really? As someone who is old enough to understand that feeling, someone who loves to read books, someone who even writes his own novel (Yes, he's really that OP), and can understand the mindset of the characters he plays, he can't understand what he's feeling is love towards Shen Tingyan? He didn't realize this until later in the chapters, and by that point, I've given up on logical thinking for this character. Yes, his journey is good. Yes, his acting is good. But no, his naiveness is not very logical considering his state and his mindset. To me, this one flaw makes this story less believable for me to follow and that's why I can't give it a higher rating. <<less

B-tier... more>>

I have a lot of problems with this novel. 

1. Too damn long. It's like long for the sake of being long. There's no point in making it that long. And I know I'm repeating, but it's just too damn long. It's 15% their first meeting until they get to know each other, 80% the competition story, and the other 5% is the random things they throw at us, whether it's drama between VA, the family drama that was dragged on for far too long, and even mention of other couple. I might not have the best impression on this, because when I read them around a year ago, I gave up. I pick it up again, thinking I might feel different, but it just makes me feel fatigue.

I don't mind complex novel. But this one is just not it. Yes, there are family problems and drama. Yes, there's healing time between the two main leads. But no, the story is not even about that. It's mostly about the competition that didn't even really matter. What's the purpose of the competition? To make Shen Yan, one of our male leads, the chance to be who he truly is, to reconcile with his mother, and also for us to listen on why he went into radio silent for 2 years. Rather than giving us early look into the story, we were told only almost at the end, which feels like we're being cheated. Or maybe the author just don't know what they wanted to write and delay it until the end. Because the reveal was not even shocking, it was just lazy.

2. Characters. Too many characters. I can barely keep up with the aliases as the VA, and then we got bombarded with a lot of names along the way. This might be part of the universe, but suddenly introducing us to another couple right in the middle of story felt like lazy storytelling to me. It's like the author don't know how to make their characters interesting, so they have to borrow other characters to shape the story.

I often said I dislike it when 1 character stands out than the other, but at this time, I wanted at least 1 person stands out. Maybe that's why the reading experience is bland to me.

By all means, it's not a bad story. It's a decent story and decently write with a decent plot. Is it super good? No. But it's also not bad either.  <<less

Higher B-tier... more>>

To me personally, the first 20 chapters could be the best part of the entire novel. I love the story between the two main characters, Lin Ting and Shen Chuhan, who are two broken people healing each other. Lin TIng is blind and Shen Chuhan had scar on his face from his traumatic childhood. They both need healing, and they found that in each other.

I actually can believe the instant attraction they felt to each other. It was not forced or even felt fake. It felt really natural. The two of them experienced bad things in their lives before, and when they met each other and felt that their souls connect, they fell in love with each other. It's as simple as that. And I wish the story stay that simple.

The problems with the rival for Lin Ting, though not in romance but in professional world as painter, really felt so abrupt and out of place. Cen Yu felt like last minute addition to the story. If he's not there, and the story focused on the two leads budding romance, solving their problems together, then it would have been better. The summary itself also a little bit misleading. They didn't know that they're not each other's supposed blind date until the middle of the story, and that was resolved in only 2 chapters. If there's no Cen Yu situation, I think this could be explored further, which will make the story deeper than what it is now.

Near the end story with Lin Ting suddenly able to get the miracle to see again also felt really abrupt. It felt so sudden. Even if he stay blind, nothing will change. He's able to teach no matter his condition, and Shen Chuhan will still love him no matter what. It just felt like the author wanted to give them happy ending, but that happy ending felt so cheap compared to the earliest chapter, which felt more raw and also felt more real.

All in all, it was not bad. I really really enjoy the first 20 chapters. I was so invested in their love story during that time. But I still can't give it A-tier. But high B-tier should be enough, as the story is really warm and touching. <<less

High B-tier... more>>

What is good about this novel? Everything is good.

Maybe because it's short so there's no unnecessary drama. Everything is solved properly. The two main characters are very mature in their own way. What I appreciate is Shen Zhi. Like in one of the paragraph said about him, he might be shy, but he's open to the intimacy between him and Xi Yu. There's no naiveness. He fell in love with Xi Yu ever since he was young, and he understand the implications of that love, including what will happen after they got married.

The smut itself is not very smutty, but it's actually much more arousing than any "smuttier" type of novel. To me, their every little action is the entire smut.

Due to the length of the novel, there's no time to expand about the character's background. Amazingly, there's no sob stories or sad background. It's mentioned that both Xi Yu and Shen Zhi not really close with their parents for some reasons, but it didn't affect them growing up. Shen Zhi grows up to be a well-behaved guy, while Xi Yu grows up to be a capable guy. There's no OP-ness. 

Though the novel length also prevent it from being very clear about the setting. A slightly longer, maybe around 15 chapters, would have been better, so it wouldn't feel so rushed. This is the only reason I can't give it A-tier. But it's definitely up high there in the rank. <<less