And heavy on good feels.^*

*this review contains minor spoilers*

On the surface, baihe novel I Became Love Rivals with My Crush seems happy to cruise along to familiar tunes. But its willingness to preserve a light and warmhearted relationship between its main leads helps it stand out amongst its darker peers in the fantastical xianxia genre.

When protagonist Qu Panyan returns home to her family, the influential Qu Clan, after completing her training at the Cangnan Sect, she encounters powerful sect leader Su Lingyu for the first time…and experiences love at first sight.

But Qu Panyan is forced to give up her burgeoning crush on the spot, as Su Lingyu is only visiting the Qu family to formally invite them to her marriage union, and her fiancé, An Cheng is even accompanying her on her journey.

Luckily, Qu Panyan has already resigned herself to a life of loneliness. Ever since she was reincarnated, she’s been cursed with an unfortunate buff: Any man who fell in love with her was destined to be scum.

But then to Qu Panyan’s shock and disgust, An Cheng confesses his intention to pursue her out of wedlock.

In a surprising turn of events, Su Lingyu doesn’t blame Qu Panyan for An Cheng’s inability to keep his dick in his pants and instead permanently disposes herself (and the world) of him. And unfortunately for Qu Panyan, this also has the unintended side effect of intensifying her crush on Su Lingyu.

It may come as a surprise that I Became Love Rivals with My Crush is Re Dao Hun Jue’s first foray into online publishing. And since I Became Love Rivals with My Crush, she hasn’t shown any interest in returning to a fantasy setting.

Despite this, Re Dao Hun Jue utilizes I Became Love Rivals with My Crush’s worldbuilding to great effect, allowing the magical elements of the genre to infuse the narrative’s external conflicts.

Whether it be misogynist creeps or women who can’t stand other beautiful women, these plot arcs also serve to highlight the difficulties Qu Panyan faces as someone who constantly draws attention from men.

And while the plot “twists” are…fairly predictable, I still loved the moral (and almost fable-like) tale surrounding the Heavenly Flame and minor antagonist A Yiduo, which I found striking for its simplicity and effectiveness.

But this isn’t to say I Became Love Rivals with My Crush is free of criticism: Fairly early on in the novel, one of the side characters orchestrates an attempt at SA on one of the protagonists, and the narrative handles it with all the grace and insensitivity of a bumbling elephant.

Rather than clearly denote the wrongdoings of the side character and the assailant, the novel instead seems to imply that the main character could be blamed for “letting” the assault happen.

Other characters and even the victim’s reactions toward the event seem much more concerned with the stupidity of the assailant (since he was caught) rather than the monstrosity of the attempted act, save for a paragraph or so of reflection.

My stance on the subject has always been that if you’re not going to do it justice, just don’t include it. If I Became Love Rivals with My Crush wanted to keep its lighthearted tone, it didn’t need to introduce such a tactless plot point.

The chapters that cover this event leave a terrible taste in my mouth, and it easily drops a whole star from the plot (and my wholehearted recommendation) that it would’ve otherwise deserved.

Which is a shame, because I otherwise admire I Became Love Rivals with My Crush’s dedication to calling out men’s (and women’s) bad behavior. It didn’t hesitate to eviscerate An Cheng or (eventually) A Yiduo or even Su Lingyu’s obsessive stalker, Yuan Qijun.

And I even adore Qu Panyan and Su Lingyu’s simple but empathic love for each other. I’m a huge fan of romances which don’t feel the need to rely on dramatic stakes or melodramatic plot beats or—god forbid—miscommunication and instead focus on showing the strength that comes from having a loved one at your side.

I Became Love Rivals with My Crush is a brilliant gem in this department, even if its name would indicate otherwise. (The “rival” in love rival is actually emblematic of Qu Panyan’s poor reputation to outsiders—something she has to battle repeatedly with the aid of Su Lingyu.)

If you’re looking for a cozy baihe fantasy which still manages to be thrilling at the right moments, I want to say you can’t go wrong with I Became Love Rivals with My Crush.

—And really, you can’t. If you’re willing to turn a blind eye at the right time.

Plot: 3.5
Characters: 4
Romance: 4.5
Translation: 4
Bias: 4

Overall: 4

Link(s): [Original Novel] [Fan Translation]

^[*] Oh no, why is there an asterisk? 👀