• Published: 27 Sept 2022 (originally published: 2017)
• Pages: 419
• Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy, LGBTQIA+ Romance
• Series: Heaven Official’s Blessing #4

Heaven Official’s Blessing Vol.4 starts where Vol.3 left off, continuing on with the search for the ‘Reverend of Empty Words’, a monster who’s continuously endangering the life of the Wind Master, Shi Qingxuan. Xie Lian will do all he can to protect his friend, and all those he holds dear. However, there is more to the story than meets the eye, and un-earthing the truth means facing a potential new enemy.

I have to be honest; I first started this book sometime earlier this year and only recently decided to finish it. I do love this series, however the flashbacks and time jumps can sometimes become quite confusing. Having said that, I picked it back up this week and read it within a few days. This series is stacked full of everything you could ask for – a romance spanning centuries, copious amounts of pining, an extensive and diverse cast of characters, humorous and emotional scenes, and so much more. This is one of those series that has so much room to grow and it’s difficult to predict where it could go – it really keeps you on your toes.

Coffins, Betrayal, Meatballs, and more …

• This book had so much development in Hualian’s relationship – iconic scenes such as the coffin scene, so many innuendos and allusions to their relationship, and Xie Lian finally admitting to his feelings!!!
• The amount of betrayal in this book had me on edge the entire time – from Ming Yi’s identity reveal and Ling Wen’s ulterior motives exposed, it had some truly shocking and emotional moments.
• The humour in this series feels so silly and I love every moment of it. The re-curing joke of Xie Lian being a bad cook gets me every time (its only fair that he’s bad at something), as well as the constant disguises and awkward moments that occur between characters – I enjoy every bit of the humour.
• I live for the vast cast of characters and I do truly love every one of them, however sometimes it can be hard to keep track when some of them keep disappearing and re-appearing seemingly out of the blue.
• Alongside the last point, the only downfall that I have with this series is the lengthy flashback scenes that can last for pages at a time. I saw this more with the previous books, however it can sometimes take you out of the book as you try to differentiate between time and place.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I gave this book a 4.5 stars out of 5. I loved this book and I would put it above the others in the series so far. However, I think the interval that I took between starting and continuing the book did not benefit my reading experience (which is definitely my own fault). I absolutely adore the relationship between Xie Lian and Hua Cheng (they are the cutest!) and that is my absolute favourite part of this series – and there was a lot of their relationship development in this volume in particular. I would definitely recommend this book, I feel like it could be an acquired taste and might not suit some people, but lovers of fantasy and queer romance in particular would enjoy! (p.s, these books have the prettiest covers I’ve ever seen, so that is 100% a bonus)

Song: TEARS! by 5SOS