Dream of the Demon Prince

Rest in a Demon's Embrace, Book 3

De: Tinalynge

Narrado por: Ewan Chung

When Jiang Yao first encountered Luo Xiao, the young boy resembled a piece of white paper; he was pure and untainted by the greed and despair of the outside world.

Even so, the demon was moving forward, little by little and introducing various colors to this unblemished blank piece of paper, and slowly it turned into the most vivid and breathtaking painting.

Luo Xiao's path takes him on a journey across the continent with the purpose of tempering himself through bloodshed and battle. By his side is Jiang Yao, a deadly guardian angel, ready to protect him in times of need, but after understanding the beauty of the diverse world, Luo Xiao is not longer willing to merely be protected and stay away from all approaching dangers.

As the vast world allows Luo Xiao to embrace his future, he now aspires to stand at the top of the world alongside the Seventh Demon Prince, fighting to carve a path forward with relentless fierceness, ignoring fatigue and pain.

This novel is inspired by the Chinese Danmei novels, and the romance is between two men.

©2022 Tinalynge (P)2022 Podium Audio

Very compelling

I stumbled upon the series not long ago and found it to be a very well thought out and well written piece. Looking forward to the next edition to come.

enticing slow burn

I love this series and wish audible would push for book 4 to be added to their shelves.
the story is interesting and the relationship between Luo Xiao and Jiang Yao is beautiful 🥹
I've added all three books to my favorites and will probably listen to them many more times.
this rivals Harry Potter for me. And I'm a HP nerd.

Relaxing

Relaxing story and a relaxing narrator. Like a lazy river ride, I like having chill to listen to.p

more please

I love this series. the hardest part is waiting for the next one. More please.

Ugh

I am so TORN about this series. So let's start with the positive. The author(s) have a vision. They know where the story is going, and the plot has been pretty consistent. There's no real glaring plotholes as far as I can tell, and everything seems to come back full circle. The plot itself is interesting enough. though fairly generic. But that's about where the positives end.

Getting right to the point, the writing is repetitive. Not just a little, but a LOT. Words. Phrases. Descriptors. Actions. It's the same series of actions done again and again in different settings. It makes it feel as though the writer is desperately trying to pad their word count. as though they're trying to fill a quota, and for me that just brings me straight out of the story.

On that same note, the writing is juvenile overall. The author is clearly trying to set a certain tone with their writing style, which is great, but this often leads them to using words that just don't fit. They're jarring, and unexpected. It makes me feel like they're trying to appear older than they really are by using fancier words. For example. The EXCESSIVE use of "embrace." As a reader, that word screams much deeper intimacy than a hug, or simply bringing someone into their arms. It's not a word to be used in abundance. The author drops it every chance they get and it just stilts the flow of the story.

Then there's the constant mention of their appearances. "Handsome man." "Beautiful boy." It makes it seem as though those are the only characteristics of there's that we should care about. Also their age gap. I'm over it. They're different races, so I justify it, but I do not need constant reminders that Luo Xiao is but 16 while Jiang Yao is 100(0?) years old. I understand it's a determining factor in their lack of sex, but it's not necessary to bring it up every single time they kiss, or snuggle. Their relationship is also on the verge of codependency, and I question the health of it.

I'm not sure how many books this author has written, but from my perspective there's a lot of room for improvement. While the story is interesting enough for me to keep coming back, the execution is severely lacking. I think they would benefit from having an editor come through and help them polish it up some. The foundations really are good, but it feels like every building block added is just as crooked and wobbly as the first. I've seen little improvement after listening to all three books. While I dislike to be harsh, as someone with an extremely similar writing style to this author, I feel like I have a good perspective. I hope that they read the reviews and do their best to implement changes where they can so we the readers can continue to enjoy their stories.

We know...

I've liked all of the books so far. But there were a few criticisms that really hold this series back.

The primary one, and perhaps the most glaring, is that the same thing is repeated over and over again. I'm fully aware of the 7th prince's situation, I understand that the young lover grew up held back, and so forth. I really don't need to be reminded every few sentences.

secondary, is that there are some inconsistencies. It was said that with all the herbs the 7th prince had obtained, he'd be more powerful than the demon emperor. Yet after taking them, he is still considered weak. Also, if the Emperor knew of his son's love for the young lover, why would he be against it. There is a number of inconsistencies that just keep nagging at you as you read.

Third, and this is more for the narrator. Please stop stopping in the middle of a sentence. I do enjoy your voice as it fits the story quite nicely, but you keep just stopping at times. Plus your mic audio changes randomly which can be a bit unusual. You've also read sentences twice a couple of times. Still, I like your work. These are meant to be constructive and not demeaning in any way.

My last one was at the very end. Why was there seemingly two pages per chapter at the end? It made me very confused because you'd just be talking, stop half way in the moment to start a new chapter before picking it back up. The names of the chapters also spoiled it at times leaving no suspense for what's to come.

TlDr; I really like the series and glad I kept listening. There is definitely some work that needs to be done but the overall world building is great. I love the fact it's a gay relationship as I've been a dying man in a desert for one in a fantasy, not to mention cultivation, genre. I'm eager to see how things continue!

i really tried

there is so much good about these books but i am finally just done. the plot is so damned frustrating and this one ends on an even more frustratingly stupid note. i can’t stand the human male lead. i thought he was going to develop as a character but all he does is get taller. he’s still deeply unlikable and has zero redeeming traits. also he treats his demon boyfriend like absolute garbage. the only reason we know he evens likes him is because the narrator keeps telling us he does. regarding the most common criticisms i see of this work: yes the writing is stilted and juvenile but i really think this author has a lot of potential if only they had a competent editor

Torn

It's not like it's a bad story. I like the different perspective of the author being as it's a cultivation story along with romance. I listened to all 3 books hoping that something major would happen, but in the end it was just meh. As some others have said, the wording is highly repetitive to the point that the plot is lost because the author decided to remind you that Lou Xíao was from a backwater town and he is a white piece of paper every other paragraph. Or that Gong Yao is a the 7th demon prince who is the 2nd strongest behind the emperor has always been cold to everyone and currently painting Los Xiao in colors.

There were also plot armors mentioned once or twice as part of character building but never or rarely ever spoken of again. Specifically what comes to mind was the dragon; between all 3 books what seemed so important or would be a huge benefit was barely mentioned. In book 2 (if I recall maybe 2 brief chapters) and book 3 maybe 3-4 chapters (and even so barely). Along with that Lou Xiao being an astral soul seemed like it would be a bigger deal and it kind of wasn't.

The series as a whole felt more like an introduction rather than the full story. by end of book 3 everything felt so rushed with no real resolution (One would argue that the it was a resolution) but the story feels very unfinished. that the conflicts that arose weren't taken care of and you don't know if they would be.

Again not a bad story just kind of meh.