Something happened to me at the beginning of this year. I went on a danmei novel reading binge. I still haven’t stopped. It has been wildly entertaining, so I thought, at the very least, I should share the books I have read. Most of the books in my list have been translated and published by Seven Seas Entertainment. Many are available in public libraries.

Before I go to the actual list, I should add that writing danmei in China is fraught with danger. China has strict censorship laws against pornography and LGBTQ fiction. Danmei novels with sex scenes are classified as pornography. Last year, over 30 writers of danmei, nearly all young women, were arrested for writing gay erotica. This followed an arrest of nearly fifty writers in the previous year. They had published their work on Haitang Literature City, a Taiwan-hosted platform. Writers of heterosexual erotica do not face this kind of censorship. And all of these arrests appear to be overreach by local police beyond their jurisdiction.

All of which is to say, when I read these novels, whether in the traditionally published format or as fan translations, I am aware of how thin a line the writers walk between what is safe and what is not, and how the fact that what is tolerated today might not be tolerated tomorrow. If you do happen to read translations online, please support the writers to whatever extent you can.

And now, the list! Most of them are in multiple volumes. They were first published on web platforms, and writers are paid by word, so they can be extremely long indeed. There are generally ‘extra’ chapters after the official ending of these novels and I am all for it. Extra chapters are full of sweetness and light.

Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu
by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù
My favorite! The only series I have read twice, first as a fan translation before the official version came out, and second the officially translated version. This is a bestselling xianxia series spanning 800 years that follows the (mis)adventures of the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Xianle, Xie Lian. It begins with him ascending to the heavens – for the third time – and solving a series of mysterious cases involving demons, immortals, mortals, and ghosts. Accompanying him is the mysterious ghost king Hua Cheng. What starts as an adventure deepens as the pages reveal the depth of suffering the characters have undergone in the past, how much they have sacrificed, and what they mean to each other. Xie Lian and Hua Cheng are my favorite fictional couple. I love the absolute trust they have in each other. At over 800,000 words, well worth your time. If you want to try out the danmei genre, start here.

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong
by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù
I came to this series via the donghua – the animated version. Sadly, only the first season has been released. The second season was produced but ran into censorship issues. So of course, I turned to the novel instead. It is available in four volumes published by Seven Seas. It is framed as a parody of a fictional novel called Proud Immortal Demon Way in which the hero Luo Binghe rises up against challenges to become the most powerful cultivator in the world, amassing a harem of over 300(!) women. The novel’s biggest anti-fan is Shen Yuan. Unfortunately, Shen Yuan dies of rage and falls into the novel, becoming the villain who is supposed to die horribly at the hero’s hands. You can guess what will happen. No, you cannot guess. I will give you a hint. There will be no harem, hahahaha. I plan to re-read this one. It is hilarious and sweet, as well as action-packed. The extra chapters are a must-read in this series.

Devil Venerable Also Wants To Know
by Cyan Wings
Hands down, the funniest danmei novel I have read so far. Also the shortest? The Devil Venerable, feared leader of the demonic sects, mysteriously obtains a book called Abusive Romance that describes his world and future happenings from the point of view of Baili Qingmiao, a naive disciple of one of the so-called righteous sects. The problem? In the book, the Devil Venerable is a secondary character who will apparently fall in love with Baili Qingmiao (aka the female lead) and sacrifice himself for her, leading his second-in-command Yin Hanjiang to go mad, and try to kill Baili Qingmiao. In this he will fail, and will be destroyed. The male lead is a certain Hè Wenzhao, who has harem-collecting tendences. Why should such a person be the lead? And can the Devil Venerable change his fate as well as Yin Hanjiang’s fate?

Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu
by Meng Xi Shi
Shen Qiao, a devout and gentle martial arts sect leader, is set up during a duel and falls off a cliff to his near-death. He wakes injured, blind, and with memory loss in the hands of Yan Wushi, the cold and ruthless leader of a powerful demonic sect. Yan Wushi is determined to make Shen Qiao lose his faith in humanity and turn him to the demonic path. Time and again he tests him, rescuing him only to throw him to the wolves. But despite Yan Wushi’s betrayal and the hurt he causes, Shen Qiao remains steadfast and true to himself. Full of epic battles, plot twists, and a memorable cast. I particularly loved the growth in the characters and their slow burn relationship. It was hard to forgive Yan Wushi’s betrayal, but the story made it believable as Shen Qiao grows to become the most – the only – important person to Yan Wushi.

Married Thrice to Salted Fish
by Bi Ka Bi
Because of a divination, 18-year-old Lin Qingyu is married to the sickly noble-born Lu Wancheng as his male wife – the first such instance in the kingdom. As his dreams of becoming an Imperial Physician come crashing down, Lin Qingyu is prepared to hate Lu Wancheng to death. But he soon realizes that Lu Wancheng is not the mere spoiled son of an atristorat. He is, in fact, a transmigrated soul. The two soon become allies, and more. Before Lu Wancheng dies, he leaves Lin Qingyu with a secret code that will enable him to recognize Lu Wancheng if he transmigrates again. The title should give it away – Lin Qingyu marries thrice, each time to the same soul in a different body. It is a beautiful story of how two people keep losing and finding each other, surmounting every obstacle to be with each other. Highy recommended! Note: ‘Salted fish’ is a Chinese slang for someone who is lazy and without any ambition. But the meaning is somewhat different here, as per the interpretation of the two leads. It means someone who is unperturbed by external forces, who makes their own fate.

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun
by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou (aka Meatbun Doesn’t Eat Meat)
The tyrant Taxian-jun aka Mo Ran kills his way to the throne and becomes the emperor of the mortal realm. Yet, he is unsatisfied. When his shizun (teacher) Chu Wanning dies, driven to death because of his torment, Mo Ran takes his own life…only to be reborn in his fifteen-year-old body. Tbh, this is not my favorite on the list. The story is interesting but the main lead Mo Ran is extremely dumb with zero self-awareness. He is also very cruel to his shizun, Chu Wanning, who is the other male lead and also the love interest. The first four books are dogged by the misunderstanding trope, which I hate, and there is a sort of forced love triangle. It takes until Book 5 for the minsunderstanding to clear. I am currently in the middle of Book 6, and while I will definitely keep reading till the end, this is not a series I will re-read. CW: Rape, torture, confinement.

Mistakenly Saving the Villain
by Feng Yu Nie
Medical student Song Qingshi dies of a chronic illness and wakes up in a historical fantasy novel with a mission: save the protagonist from a life of slavery. Song Qingshi is delighted at his new lease of life and promptly sets out to fulfull his mission. Unfortunately, he saves the wrong person. Or was it the right person all along? This is a delightful and endearing story with a deep mythological twist at the end. I love the relationship between the two leads and the secret of their true identities. But be warned that the beginning of this book is a hard read. CW: Rape, torture, slavery.

Peerless: Wu Shuang
by Meng Xi Shi
Two heads of rival spy agencies in the Sui dynasty compete, clash, collaborate, and eventually fall in love. I have yet to read the fifth and last book in the series, but I adore this story and the banter between the leads. The romance is understated, and the emphasis is on politics, scheming, and duels. Feng Xiao is a handsome peacock with unrivalled martial prowess, and Cui Buqu is a brilliant but sickly beauty with zero martial arts. These two will never say I love you, but they will put their lives on the line for each other. Which means more than any words could.

Golden Terrace
by Cang Wu Bin Bai
The great general of the Northern Yan Army, Fu Shen, is seriously injured in an ambush. Recalled to the capital, he learns that the emperor has arranged his marriage – to another man. Even worse? It is to his political nemesis, Yan Xiaohan, the emperor’s lackey. But there is more to the relationship between the two men than anyone knows. Can they set aside their political differences to navigate the treacherous waters of the court and the conspiracies behind the attack on Fu Shen? I enjoyed this series a lot. I love how powerful these two are when they stand together. Not even the cunning and selfish emperor can match them.

That’s it for now! I read a few others as well, but I did not enjoy them as much. I still have plenty on my TBR, so may update this list in the future as I read. You may have noticed that I did not add the famous Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation to this list. That’s because I already talked about it years ago when I fell in love with The Untamed. Yep, that’s the drama that got me into danmei. Oh, and I must mention Faraway Wanderers by Priest upon which the drama Word of Honor is based. I read that book before watching the drama. And now I’m thinking of all the live action dramas we will not get because of Chinese censorship – most notably the 50-episode Immortality based on the novel The Husky and His White Cat Shizun and the 60-episode Eternal Faith based on Heaven Official’s Blessing. These were very expensive dramas to make, and it’s just too bad they got stuck because of ridiculous, unfair, arcane, draconian BL censorship. Perhaps one day they will see the light of day. Fans can hope!