It’s Friday, so it’s time for the Book Blogger Hop again, hosted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer. I’ve made my own image from a stock photo (credit: Anna Shvets) to avoid adding images created via generative AI to my blog. Feel free to use it too if you would like!
This week’s prompt is about bigging up a book you love and think doesn’t get enough attention:
What book do you think deserves more love but flies under the radar?
This is really difficult! So I’m just going to go with a recent read that I actually had trouble finding other people talking about: Liu Gou Hua’s After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine. It’s a danmei novel in translation, in four volumes (three out so far), and despite the funny title, I think it’s one of the better danmei I’ve read recently.
If you haven’t read danmei before, or come across me talking about it, danmei are gay love stories which often mix in a variety of genres. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s works are set in a variety of fantasy worlds and often features elements of horror (the buried head in Heaven Official’s Blessing comes to mind) and mystery (in both Heaven Official’s Blessing and Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, the protagonists spend a lot of time investigating things), while Priest’s Guardian is modern fantasy/mystery, others are more historical, etc.
After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine is mostly historical in tone, though there’s a fantasy element (one of the characters is a modern professor who transmigrates back into a period of history he’s studied). Once there, he quickly realises that he’s become a certain prince who was forced to marry a prisoner of war who later kills him and hangs his head off a wall, and the professor is very keen for that not to happen to him. He starts meddling in court politics and trying to help the prisoner of war heal and escape, trying to avert his fate — and, because it’s danmei, they end up falling in love. It’s an exquisite slow burn, and I can’t wait for volume four to be out in translation.
For those who are interested in danmei and know The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, there’s a bit of a Liushen vibe to Huo Wujiu and Jiang Suizhou.
But, since I know most people visiting my blog aren’t into danmei, I’ll offer another option as well — if you’re into Arthurian legends, Phyllis Ann Karr’s Idylls of the Queen is a very fun murder mystery and examination of the character of Sir Kay. I’ve been meaning to reread it for ages, since the last time I read it was when I was writing my dissertation chapter that featured it, (mumble) years ago now.
Interesting. I’ve not heard of Danmei before.
I struggled to pick a book. I picked one from last year in the end.
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2026/09/04/book-blogger-hop-what-book-do-you-think-deserves-more-love/
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog recently posted…I’ve Completed My Goodreads Reading Challenge!
Huh, funny; you comment here so regularly, I’m surprised you haven’t seen me talk about them before!
Some of these danmei have the most sus names – very attention-grabbing but also kind of tricky to recommend to someone not already in the know xD
Keira @Keira’s Bookmark recently posted…September 2026 TBR
Yeaaaah. The one I recommended in this post sounds waaaay less serious than it is!
Oh wow! Yeah those are all definitely new to me ones for sure! Sound like quite the intriguing stories though!
Thanks for visiting my BBH!
I definitely think so, haha.
I love this week’s question because it’s such a great opportunity to discover books that might otherwise never cross our radar. I’m looking forward to seeing which one you chose! Happy Reading!
Kat @ Forever Book Lover recently posted…Book Blogger Hop: What Book Deserves More Love but Flies Under the Radar?
Yeah, it’s a fun question!
That sounds really interesting – love the title! Definitely draws you in. Thanks for sharing!
Denise @ Life With No Plot recently posted…Book Blogger Hop – September 4, 2026
The title is a lot less serious than the contents, honestly, I worry it puts people off!
I find that I am often driven to find books others cite as a little known favorite, no matter what the subject. I don’t know why.
(Apologies for being so late to the post—I’ve been having troubles with Blogger this week.)
It can be a lot of fun just looking at the books others pick for this kind of thing! I think you’d probably like Idylls of the Queen, the second book I mentioned, though reading the danmei I mentioned might be a bit weirder (it’s a whole genre with its own expectations/style, which sometimes people bounce off).
I had trouble commenting on your blog on the Friday last week, so I sympathise. It just said “publishing” forever and never sent the message — so I went back and posted it the next day, haha.