All hail the Queen of writing the most toxic male leads known to literature to c-drama adaptations. Fei Wo Si Cun, you did not come to play. Who hurt you??? Because the way every single one of her male leads is the walking, talking embodiment of the reddest flags I’ve ever seen?? Li Chengyin is no exception.

It’s been years since I first watched the TV adaptation, and I’ve never truly recovered. Goodbye, My Princess remains one of the most soul-crushing C-dramas I’ve ever seen. It’s the story of two lovers drawn together by fate but doomed by the harsh realities of duty, deception, and politics. This is not just a romance. This is trauma. This is pain with a side of heartbreak and poetic injustice. It’s a “stabbed in the chest then the knife twisted for good measure” kind of experience.

I’ve never read the original novel cause I’m basically bye-lingual in my own native language. But I’ve checked with authentic sources (my parents lmaoo) and have confirmed that the translations are very accurate and respectful to the original prose which is a nice bonus!

Reading the novel after having seen the drama gave me a whole new layer of appreciation. The book expands on the characters’ inner dialogue, especially side characters who didn’t get as much development in the adaptation. Certain events hit way harder when you realize the hidden motivations behind them. The sorrow just deepens. It’s one of those rare cases where the book actually enhances the show and vice versa.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the way the book began. It throws you right in with no warning, and you’re just as disoriented as Qu Xiaofeng. Also, the chapter lengths??? Wild. Some of them went on for over 90 pages, and there were long stretches where not much happened. A bit of better pacing or formatting would’ve helped a lot.

I appreciated the references to Chinese poetry, idioms and the explanation in the footnotes. As well as the translator’s note on Chinese history, culture and the inner workings of the royal family relating to the crowning of an heir to king. That was well done and was such a nice touch!

Li Chengyin. I want to hate him. I really do. Then I remember Chen Xingxu’s amazing heart wrenching performance and suddenly I’m at a crossroad with my feelings. Li Chengyin is the product of his environment; he’s had to be cunning and manipulating every day in the palace just to stay alive. Conspiracies and plots around every corner, with a life like that, it’s no wonder he’s become a cold-hearted person. But in a place where having a weakness can place everyone close to him in danger especially the one person he loves. His attempts to protect Xiaofeng ends up being the very thing that destroys her and ultimately himself in the end.

Qu Xiaofeng, on the other hand, is a light in the tunnel for him. A brave, headstrong girl with a heart that sees the good in everyone. She comes from a land of warmth and love, and to see her caught in the web of palace schemes is devastating. If only in a lifetime where he was just a tea merchant and she a free-spirited princess.

Please, I beg of you watch the drama first, then come back to read this book. Peng Xiaoran and Chen Xingxu FULL ON embodied Qu Xiaofeng and Li Chengyin. Their performances tore me apart INSIDE AND OUT. And don’t even get me started on the OST and the fact that the leads sang their own songs?? God-tier T_T
This story is a wound that won’t heal for me but in the best, most haunting way possible. Prepare your tissues and your heart. You’ve been warned.

Thank you to Simon Teen for this ARC!

Goodbye, My Princess is an immersive English translation of a Chinese romantic tragedy full of politics, love/pain, and an unwavering princess consort. Qu Xiaofeng, princess of the kingdom of Xiliang, has been married to the crown prince of the Plains, Li Chengyin, for three years. However, they hate each other viciously, nearly to the point of murder. Qu Xiaofeng is unaccustomed to all the flowery expectations of the Court of Spring so she sneaks out to drink and interact with the people of the city. One day, she's startled by a man who claims they knew each other in a past life, but she has no idea what he's talking about. Meanwhile, back at court, Qu Xiaofeng is harassed by accusations from her husband's exalted favored lady. While she's the crown princess, she has to watch her every step. She also misses home, and while she doesn't realize it, but there's a huge chunk of her memory missing. To go after the truth would lead to certain tragedy.
I was sobbing by the end. This is the devastatingly complex story of a girl who can't truly speak up. The politics of the court were so complicated, I lost track of alliances all the time, so I can't even imagine what Qu Xiaofeng had to go through. She can't defend herself, even when she's wrongly accused, and when she is caring, she is rewarded with poison. She's also a true unreliable narrator. I love unreliable narrators; they make readers work for conclusions, and you're still left bereft at the end. My favorite character has to be either her or A'du. A'du is the fiercest and so resilient. She's a huge inspiration in life. I fell in love and felt the characters' pain as if it was my own. Qu Xiaofeng is so girlboss. Even when people are trying to get rid of her, she's still a good person. She's also not dainty. She's nearly as fierce as A'du, unafraid to spar, physically and mentally, with Li Chengyin.
Honestly, I don't think I'm able to appreciate this book to its full extent at my level of maturity right now. This book sucks you in just like a high fantasy novel, crafting a world to get lost in, and boy did I get lost. I may be growing up in Taiwanese culture, speaking Chinese, but I'm definitely American. I'll be revisiting this book, and perhaps watching the TV show, to truly understand the context and culture of this novel. It's just so beautiful and engaging, I don't want to leave. I'm still galloping through the plains.

This was an interesting story to read. I will say, while I understand that it was translated, the writing style was a bit hard for me to reach. It felt like it should've been chopped up into more chapters.
I thought the main character was honestly annoying in the first 20%. I understand that she was forced to be the crown princess but she didn't really do anything to try and better her circumstances such as learn the empress's language or even run her household properly. She does get better as things progress but it was a struggle with the first 20%.
We also find out that our main lead is missing memories but with the jumping back and forth in timelines, I was kind of thrown off of what was trying to be remembered and what was the present.

Thank you to Simon Teen for the eARC. I knew nothing about this book when I requested it. I have been trying to explore translated books and thought this would be an interesting one. I enjoyed this book but man did it cause my stress. Themes of loss and romance, a must read.

WOW. this one was absolutely amazing. the story broke my heart again and again. impeccable writing, tragic characters, and the "side story" material at the end really contextualized it all. would give it 6 stars if i could, but since the ranking only goes up to 5, 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

S is likely one of the most painful and conflicting reads I’ve tackled in the last year. I can’t even decide how to classify it. Is it a romance with fantasy elements, is air a horror if it story of gas lighting and abuse? I think it’s both, but poor Xiao Feng! To fall in love with the same horrid prince twice only to realize both times he is borderline inhuman in his ability to slaughter everything she loves and twist the truth in his own obsession for power and control is just overwhelming. I know this contains spoilers but I don’t know how to review this book without touching on good points and bad ones. First off, the good. The elements that are romantic are truely lovely. Catching a hundred fireflies, winning the kitten that was about to be drown, Li Chengyin jumping after her into the River of Obvion without a second thought, ready to die rather than be without her. Their complete and utter forgetting of one another yet somehow being drawn together against against all odds. Beautiful. What is NOt beautiful is the fact that he invades her country, destroys her family, kidnaps her and essentially forces her to marry him, then treats her as a lower life foam, insulting her, physically abusing her, manipulating her. Left and right, putting her in danger to further his own ends, giving her a kitten that drowning it in order to frame another for it, his disregard for A’dus life and existence despite it clearly being vital to Xiao Feng even if he only sees her as a servant,his violent tantrums and shutting her out one moment then romantically assaulting her the next. I only give him credit for the fact he never forced himself on her, but other than that how you can see him as a romantic male lead by the end rather than a villain who happens to have one redeeming feature of loving the hero of the story is beyond me. All I can say is beware if you are unprepared to have your heart and soul shattered. I truely feel there could be no ending other than the tragedy that unfolded.

oh my gosh, this book!!!! i haven't watched the c-drama yet, but based on how much this book ruined me, i might have to. it took me a while to get into it, but i loved the reincarnation and the court/palace dynamics and EVERYTHING about this. the romance isn't what comes to mind when i think of classic YA fantasy couples where the romance is mainly a sublot — so i can't judge it based on that, but rather based on the story it's telling. this book really did feel like i was watching a c-drama in my head, and i'm absolutely obsessed with it now!

I've never watched a C-Drama before, so I had never heard of this show, but I was pleasantly surprised! And then I cried a thousand tears because this was a tragedy of the highest regard, a la Shakespeare. I can't recommend this enough- it will break you!

I’ve never seen the show inspired by this book but if it’s as devastating as this was, no thanks!!

Talk about a romantic tragedy, my chest HURTS

Thank you to Simon Teen for an arc of this book!

I had no idea that there was a C-Drama based off this book, but I was interested in reading a translated book. I've always been intrigued by history, and this seemed like a book that would meet those expectations.

This is a high fantasy novel set in what I believe is a fantasy world based on Chinese history. I was intrigued about this book at first, but at some point I was just kind of...lost? And that might be because I don't understand the background of the story. What I didn't struggle to understand were the court politics. I felt that it was all explained very well, or shown well enough that it wasn't all that confusing. And I do honestly like some of those portions, I found it fascinating.

This book is told in first person, but it is not quite in chronological order. Part of the problem comes in not only because we're already partway through the story, but the heroine is also missing memories as we learn further into the book. Once this becomes clear the parts that I was struggling with made a bit more sense.

This makes some aspects of the book hard to follow at the beginning, but by the time you reach the end, you have an understanding of what is going on in the book, and can follow along more easily.

I enjoyed the aspects of the supernatural that were included in the book; I felt that it was done well and made the whole thing believable.

If you're looking for a romantic tragedy then try this book, I think you'll find what you are looking for in it!

I had a really long, detailed review written and then my phone somehow deleted it. Im not sure I’ll be able to rewrite everything and recapture just how much I enjoyed this book, but I’m going to try.

Going into this book, I knew it was going to be sad and tragic. but omg this book broke me. It had me crying in bed at 2am. I couldn’t believe what I had just read!! I was just staring in shock (which doesn’t happen often to me when I read books).

The romance in this book is also crazy. It’s full of power struggles and deceit. Neither character trusts each other, and they’re always trying to outwit the other. But yet they still love each other.

If you’re even thinking about reading this book, READ IT. It’s so good!!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of Goodbye My Princess! I absolutely love Asian focused literature. The majority of my favorite books lhis year have been Asian focused. Goodbye My Princess didn't quite live up to my expectations. Of course, that isn't the authors fault. The story is absolutely beautiful. The C-Drama is dramatic, fast paced, and lovely. The issue for me is the structure of the novel. Again, I love Asian focused literature. So the names and setting are not new to me. Court intrigue is my jam. Goodbye My Princess has all of the makings to be excellent but it just slightly missed the mark for me.

Goodbye My Princess definitely wants to be enjoyed on the big screen. The pacing in the novel is long and it introduces characters too rapidly. An index of characters and names would be incredibly helpful! Overall, the tragic love story is a good one. But definitely takes a bit to get through. Three stars because the story is good, I just think the execution in novel form could be better. That being said, I am so happy this is translated for English readers and I hope the publisher licenses more Chinese novels!! Thanks again for the chance to read this novel!

If you thought Romeo and Juliet was the greatest tragedy ever told, buckle up! This book will have you gasping for air and clutching your heart at every turn and reveal. For Qu Xiaofeng, life was simple in Shangjing. Sure, she’s married to the crown prince and can never return to her homeland, but that doesn’t stop her from sneaking out to have some fun with her trusted bodyguard and confidant. One night out drinking, she meets someone from her past, or so they tell her. She has no memory of the last three years. That is, until she finally sees her long lost love once again. Then it all comes flooding back.

I have to admit, with my unfamiliarity of the original story, I felt the translation was a little hard to follow at times - But I have no regrets reading this book. Gu Xiaowu is officially my new fictional boyfriend. I hope one day someone catches me one hundred fireflies. The twist was something I did not see coming and it was definitely a surprise - I stared in shock for a good amount of time. I would definitely recommend this book to any true romance lovers out there.

Wow, this was sad! I went into this book only reading the description, and I really enjoyed it. I'm always a little nervous about books that label themselves as a 'tragedy,' but this book certainly earned that title.

I'm unfamiliar with Chinese politics and their history, but I never felt lost while reading this and was able to figure out the basic structure of the court. I loved getting to learn more about everything and had fun learning all the terms and what they meant.

The romance is where I got a little mixed up in everything. I would have better enjoyed focusing more on the politics, but I feel like once the romance becomes apparent, that becomes more of the story's focus. This might have been a personal preference in my case because I'm sure others would devour this aspect. I always had a looming sense of dread hanging over my head when it came to the romance elements and it took me out of focus.

The main characters were well written, and I thoroughly enjoyed Qu Xiaofeng! The ending wasn't my favorite, but it does make sense in the grand scheme of things. Overall, I did enjoy this book and found it very interesting. My only recommendation is to have a box of tissues on standby.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love this with my whole heart, and it continues to stab me repeatedly the more I read.

This story is one you've heard before. It has a prince and princess, and a royal court where lies and betrayal rule above all. Being in a position of power is a treacherous thing, and being princess consort in a foreign kingdom is a death sentence.

Qu Xiaofeng is married to crown prince Li Chengyin and she doesn't love him. QXF not loving LCY is exactly why I love her. Reading about her actions and reactions to LCY's behaviour was so entertaining. To not fall at the feet of the crown prince is snubbing him in the most enjoyable ways for me. QXF is also a main character that has more than just romance on her mind. Even when the romance seems to take ahold in her, it doesn't deter her from her goals, from her being princess consort of a foreign kingdom. She remembers who she is.

Their romantic shift is not so subtle and yet, I couldn't tell you exactly what it was that flipped the switch. I usually dislike when the change is so abrupt and obvious, but with LCY's actions, I found myself digging my grave deeper, faster.

The politics of the novel aren't hard to grasp and neither are they convoluted; I think it's pretty straight forward even if you have no prior knowledge of how the court works. Even though I prefer more intricate plots when it comes to court politics, this was still engaging. There were moments of suspense that had me reading like my next breath depended on it.

This is not my first Chinese novel with court politics, but I do appreciate the notes at the beginning, and the footnotes about some of the lines' origins.

Even though I wanted more out of the side stories, I understand why the main story did not delve further into an epilogue. I'm still crying real tears though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC!

Although I am no stranger to ARCs or book reviews, Goodbye, My Princess by Fei Wo Si Cun is the first ARC that I completed for my new account on NetGalley. I had no idea what to expect from this one. It is an English translation of a Chinese story, so I was hoping for some fun Chinese mythology revolving around immortals and spirits in the vein of Ashes of Love or Love Between Fairy and Devil. This book contained very little of that lore, and the characters are quite human. There was one supernatural element, but it was more dark and depressing than fantastical. For those who enjoy Chinese dramas, it looks like there was a 2019 TV series inspired by the book. Overall, this book is a cautionary tale about trust and sacrifice.

The first thing that threw me off about this book is that it is published by Simon & Schuster's Children's Publishing, which led me to believe that it would be a quick and easy read. It is neither of those things. Although there are no explicit scenes, I do not think this book is appropriate for children due to the complexity and maturity of the content, which includes elements like forced abortion, innuendo, and assassination attempts. I even hesitate to say it's appropriate for a high school audience. Goodbye, My Princess is quite long and difficult to get through. Most of its chapters stretch over 50 pages, which makes it hard to find a stopping point or catch up across multiple devices. Although the translation is accurate, the story is told out of order, and it is not always clear what point in time is being narrated, which left me scratching my head trying to put the pieces together.
Qu Xiaofeng is a princess trapped in a loveless marriage alliance with a prince named Li Chengyin. The book does not follow the current fantasy trope of postmarital love and instead leans toward infidelity. The book references Chengyin's concubines and two potential love interests for Xiaofeng outside of her marriage, but neither of those relationships go in a romantic direction. The most interesting character in the book is A'du, Xiaofeng's mute bodyguard and best friend who would give up her life for the princess in a heartbeat. Xiaofeng is every bit as protective of A'du as A'du is of her. Their relationship was the strongest and most interesting in the book even though it was not based on romance.

Although this book is not poorly written, I had a hard time following it. There were so many isolated events that I kept scratching my head trying to determine the main plot. Maybe someone smarter than me would have an easier time enjoying it, or maybe it helps to watch the drama series it inspired before diving into the book. The main character is missing some of her memories, which contributes to some of the confusion and causes it to read a little like the movie Memento, which was also told out of order. Once I figured that out, it became easier to follow, but I still found it hard to grasp the main theme. It appears to be a dramatization of a toxic relationship between a prince and a princess along the lines of Frozen.

Goodbye, My Princess by Fei Wo Si Cun is a complex and challenging read that defies expectations. Despite its publication under a children's imprint, this book tackles mature themes and features a non-linear narrative that demands close attention. While the story's exploration of toxic relationships and the bond between Qu Xiaofeng and her bodyguard A'du are compelling, the book's convoluted structure and isolated events may deter some readers. Ultimately, Goodbye, My Princess is a book that requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to piece together its fragmented narrative.

4.5 ⭐️

This book is tragic and heartbreaking but also, so beautifully written. It did a good job with showing how some monsters are made. The romance in this book is more hurt than anything else. The palace in this book was such a cruel place, everyone was against the main character, Xiaofeng had so much against her and it only got worse.

The romance was far from kind, filled with power games and no trust. One character using the other, playing games and hurting those involved even though in some twisted, messed up way, this character did love the other.

While I don’t know much about Chinese customs or the monarchy mentioned in this book, it didn’t make a difference, this was such a good read even with how sad it was. I will say while it was nicely structured and each part of the book was broken up well I didn’t care for how long the chapters were.

Plot: 8/10
Pace: 6/10
Ending: 5/10
Characters: 8/10
Enjoyability: 7/10
Writing Style: 5/10
Would I Recommend? Yes
Favorite Character: Qu Xiaofeng

Favorite Quote: ❝I thought then that I would never forget that night, with its thousands of fireflies, the way they circled us, fluttering into the distance to break up the dark.❞