Review: The Missing Piece by Kun Yi Wei Lou

Your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes, this is my first review after almost seven years and it is for a novel that is from a genre that exploded for the last couple of years called "Danmei" (which is the term used to describe Boys Love stories from China).

And I am starting it off with a favorite!

Title: The Missing Piece by Kun Yi Wei Lou

Release Date: March 6, 2018

Published by: Via Lactea Ltd.

Source: Bought (Kindle)

Buy online: Amazon Paperback | Kindle

Summary:

A look in your eyes betrays you when you fall for someone, even if you don't say a word about it.

As Ji Mingxuan kissed Shen Mo, he suddenly bit down. It was quite a hard bite, almost as if he wanted to mark Shen Mo's body. He whispered, "Shen Mo, you are mine now."

I was in the mood to read something angsty so I decided to finally read this.

And surprisingly it's not that angsty? I was expecting it to be a tearjerker but it's not, though it will definitely make your heart ache.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS FULL OF SPOILERS!

Shen Mo, an art school graduate, was kidnapped three years ago which rendered him unable to paint. Fast forward to now, he's working an ordinary desk job, but is actually the fake lover of the company's CEO, Ji Mingxuan. They've been pretending for so long, until one day, Ji Mingxuan's younger sister, Ji AnAn, came back from abroad with her fiance, who happens to be Shen Mo's ex-boyfriend, Zhou Ying.

Oh boy, this story is so full of misunderstandings I almost couldn't take it. I initially hated Ji Mingxuan because he comes off as a cold, arrogant, manipulative man who only keeps Shen Mo as his secret lover to keep him away from his younger sister, but it's so much more than that. The reason I got hooked is because I wanted to find out what happened three years prior to have Shen Mo and Ji Mingxuan enter that fake lover agreement. And I'm so glad there were flashback chapters because they were a delight to read! All the answers were there. 

I hated Shen Mo too at one point, but he had his own fair share of sufferings and he didn't deserve the ordeal he went through because of someone he barely knew. While I blame Ji Mingxuan for kickstarting the incident that caused Shen Mo to be kidnapped and his hand gravely injured, there was a reason for it. It's selfish, yes, but he was not able to foresee the consequences of what he did. And he did get karma for it. I was happy to see him slowly suffering as Shen Mo mistook him for Zhou Ying, repeatedly, FOR A LONG TIME and Ji Mingxuan finally getting his ultimate comeuppance when he finds himself falling in love with Shen Mo in the process.

I did not like Zhou Ying. He did not have the guts to come out to his parents and kept on leading Shen Mo on that they will have a future together with vague promises and lies. While it took Shen Mo quite a while to move on from him, I'm glad he never gave this scumbag another chance. Ji AnAn is such a sweet girl who had the misfortune of loving such a scumbag. She didn't deserve to be used by Zhou Ying.

Finding out the things Ji Mingxuan did to gain Shen Mo's love, without Shen Mo even noticing even a fraction of it, gets to you as you read. Both small and big things, the numerous gestures of love, and Shen Mo realizes it a bit too late. With all the things that had transpired among the four of them (Ji Mingxuan, Shen Mo, Ji AnAn and Zhou Ying that piece of trash), there was only one logical conclusion: parting. And time skip. Worry not though, because the pacing of the story is quite fast so there's no prolonged suffering or too much drama!

I was holding my breath when a kid suddenly appeared and me, who was silently rooting for Shen Mo's happy ending, died a little inside when the child, Ji Ning, appeared. But once the misunderstandings were cleared up, Ji Ning became my favorite character. He's such a smart, sweet child, his daddy (Ji Mingxuan's) secret weapon to coax Shen Mo when they fight. He even "inherited" Shen Mo's love of art! And it's actually quite endearing how Shen Mo treats Ji Ling as if he's his own son.

DO NOT SKIP THE EXTRAS! 

The ending is a bit abrupt so I'm glad the author stuffed the extras with a ton of sweet moments. Reading the story in both Shen Mo and Ji Mingxuan's point of view will give you a different perspective about what really happened to the both of them, their various thoughts and feelings from that moment on a few years before.

Overall, a lovely read. I liked it a lot! Is it worth buying a paperback copy? ABSOLUTELY! 

The book is just beautiful, and it comes with a few extras: a boarding pass with Ji Mingxuan's name and a holographic postcard.