Battle of the Books-MXTX

This week I’m starting something new. We talk a lot of sequels and writing techniques and I thought it would be fun to put books against each other of the same series to see which one is the best. Of course, this week we’re starting with my current favorite author, Mo Xaio Tong Xiu. Since her books follow one continuous storyline (each book being a volume) I’m comparing her series against each other and spoiler alert if you’ve read any monthly wrap up, you probably already know the winner. 

Overall, all three series are amazing. I’m so glad I started with MXTX for my dive into wuxia as a genre. She incorporates humor and drama into really tragic love stories which I just eat up. 

In third place and last overall, I have Scum Villain’s Self Saving System. This is last but it’s not a bad thing at all. This has the most unique premise of the three series, blending ancient Chinese and modern themes that add a lot of humor and silliness to the story. The romance was sweet but there were times I wish the protagonist was a bit more self aware but I still greatly love the ship and the storyline. Of the three I found it the most difficult to keep up with and remember all the side characters. I loved the point system and how it was used to throw conflict towards the protagonist and  the extras were pretty wild. Great series and would read again. 

Second, Heaven Official’s Blessing. My intro to the genre and MXTX. This started from the Donghua (animated) version on Crunchyroll so I went into the novels with a good understanding of the characters and plot which may have been trickier if I’d just read the novel. The first book is unfortunately my least favorite due to the Banur arc but once we got past that, it was a breeze. Which is saying something because there are a total of eight volumes in this series. Overall my favorite volume was probably the 4th, because I loved the tropes used and it just felt very fun (until it wasn’t, but I also love that) and the cover is wild. The story is so unique and I loved the dynamic of the ship and how healthy it was. This one aside from its trauma, is the softest love with a lot of focus on empowering the main character which was just “chefs kiss”. I would watch it again, read it again, I love it so much. 

Finally, in number one, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. It’s my favorite series all all time. There’s a reason I keep mentioning it in my blogs. It’s the best storyline of the three, it has the best character and side characters. The romance, the longing, the angst, the self-acceptance, the happy ending, the “everyone is against them except for you” vibes. It’s just everything I could possibly want. Which is probably why I keep going back to it. It’s my Roman Empire, it’s what I annoy Kamryn with all the time. I love it. It’s not for everyone, but that’s fine. 

So that’s it for the first Battle of the Books. See you next time and comment if you’d like us to do a particular series or author!