This review may contain spoilers
Don't waste your time
Just another C-drama that starts out promising and gets ruined around mid-point by forced marriage, palace intrigue, meddlesome tyrants known as emperors, etc. Why, why, why do we always have to get the emperor involved? Can't we just have a drama based on merchant rivalries/mysteries/intrigues? Every time we have an emperor or prince, we get forced marriages, forced engagements, concubines, etc. This is why I'm not crazy about historicals set in the Dynasties. I'll tell you up front that ML is forced to marry another woman so I'm using this review to warn those of you that dislike this type of angst trope as much as I do. I don't care if the MC get together in the end, I thoroughly dislike the leads getting married off to other people. It totally kills my interest. So if you don't mind that kind of plot, go ahead and watch it. If you hate it, don't waste your time. Go watch Marry Me, Under the Power, Arsenal Military Academy, The Sweet Girl, Your Sensibility My Destiny, Truth or Dare, Dr. Cutie or Oh, My Sweet Liar if you like historicals. My Sassy Girl (Korean) and The Tale of Nokdu (Korean) are excellent as well.Was this review helpful to you?
Another Jealous Love Rivals Drama
Frankly speaking, I think I chose the wrong drama to watch right after completing Rebirth For You. There are similarities in both with jealousy being a big part of their plot. The only reason I gave A Camellia Romance a slightly higher score is because the drama is much shorter. As such, it is more tolerable as there is only so much jealous third parties that you can take in a story.I guess if you see this as a filler drama with low expectations given the not so popular cast, then perhaps you might enjoy it better. But if you start hoping for originality and really fluffy romance, this would be a disappointment. It has shades of a rom-com but it is definitely not a angst-free watch like General’s Lady or even Your Sensibility My Destiny. The reason is simple – it uses jealous love rivals to drive the show.
Cliche Plot (Spoilers Alert!)
Basically, A Camellia Romance is about a rich and handsome young man who is a great catch for a husband. However, he only has eyes for one woman who is the love of his life. So, what you will get is 3 jealous women going after our hero with each subsequent one being a bigger threat than the one before. The first woman is the man’s cousin and she appears from Episode 7 to 9. The second one went to school with him and she takes the spotlight from Episode 13 to 17. The last one is a ruthless princess and she wreaks havoc for the main couple from Episode 20 to 24.
On top of that, you will also have a jealous childhood friend of the female lead who can’t stop eyeing her for himself when he appears from Episode 5 onwards. Hence, you can see clearly the focus of this drama. It is all about 4 people breaking the couple apart because they want the man or woman for themselves. These schemes are interspersed with sweet interactions between the leads and the investigation into the male lead’s father’s death.
I think the kisses and sweet moments of the couple do help to make this rom-com more watchable. At least, there are enough of these scenes to balance things out a little because the endless jealousy is annoying to watch. However, it also doesn’t detract from the fact that A Camellia Romance is another rom-com with a cliche plot of jealous love rivals with their wily schemes.
An Independent Female Lead
If there is one good thing worth mentioning about this drama, it would perhaps be the female character, Chun Chun. She is a very independent and assertive lady with an ambition of building her own business. While she is not as matured and smart as the female lead in Jun Jiu Ling, at the very least, she is not someone who is timid and waiting to be rescued. Chun Chun is a woman who knows what she wants and go for it.
As for the male character, he is smart but also tends to hide problems from his beloved in the name of love and protection. You will find this in many romance dramas and the male lead does this a few times in A Camellia Romance. I get why he does it but then, you will also start to feel that all these is yet another romance drama trope that you have watched time and time again if you are an avid Chinese drama viewer.
Chemistry
Guo Zi Fan and Li Mo Zhi have somewhat good chemistry as romantic on-screen partners. To me, it is good enough for a low budget rom-com. If they could feed off each other’s energy better to up the chemistry to a sizzling level, perhaps the drama could be more highly rated. After all, there is no shortage of kisses and hugs for this couple.
Personally, Li Mo Zhi looks slightly more matured than Guo Zi Fan at times in this drama. This is not surprising as she is 4 years older than him in real life. It doesn’t exactly mar the couple’s visuals but you don’t get the feeling that this is a perfect match either unlike the Liang Jie and Xing Zhao Lin pairing in The Eternal Love Season 3 and Dilraba Dilmurat and Leo Wu in The Long Ballad. Simply put, they are passable as a main couple but doesn’t leave a lasting impression once the story comes to an end.
My Verdict – Nothing Special
I have to admit that love triangles and jealousies are not my cup of tea for a romance drama. Hence, I find it annoying watching A Camellia Romance especially towards the last quarter when there have been other possessive love rivals gracing the screen for most of the episodes. So, I’m also thankful that they have kept this short rather than dragging it out for more delusional jealousy and angst for the viewers.
Of course, you might have a different view if you do not share the same bias as me. Furthermore, the ending is nicely wrapped up with no complications or confusion for the viewers. It has a predictable ending but I dare say it is also what most romance drama fans would like to see when the curtain comes down.
Before I end this A Camellia Romance review, perhaps a word of warning would be good. This is not a pure fluff romance drama in case you are looking for one. There will be annoyances and angsts. You might also plough on once you start because you want to see the villains getting just desserts for their evil schemes to break up a loving couple. So, whether you like it or not, you could end up sitting through it because you want the feel good factor of seeing the villains punished even if the story isn’t that great to begin with.
Overall, I would give A Camellia Romance a 6.5/10 score for this review. I don’t think I can rate it any higher give the cliches and a very average production. I guess it is still watchable if you don’t mind the jealousy theme. Otherwise, it is really a waste of time if there are other dramas on your ‘To Watch’ list.
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This review may contain spoilers
Light Drama with arrange marriage
I watch this after "Rebirth For You" and found out this drama is more better story than RFY . Although the story is like another arrange marriage story, but it doesn't took along time until the couple fall in love to each others. The mother of the male lead is very nice and kind woman. The Female is kinda has a strong personality although sometimes she did something dumb, like when she asked emperor to investigate her husband's dad's death and just telling Ye , her husband's love rival that covet her for a long time and very scheming , so easy.The story is more balance between romance and the investigation of the male lead's dad's death. The ending is not rush and very good ending ( I wish to see their children though..but at least i know she is pregnant ..maybe 1-2 months cos her belly is still small).
I like the balance also about Female and Male lead. The Male lead is not weak..he is very good in martial skill.
Many kisses scenes..and the kiss scenes is good enough ..at least not just a dead fish kiss scenes.
You maybe want to rewatch again not directly..but after few months or when you don't have anything to watch.
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I think it was more than I expected
I avoided watching this drama because of the 2 reviews of mdl but I think the drama was so good. Ml being childish and always listening to fl. Their chemistry was so good. Even fl respected ml a lot. No matter how many people tried to ruin their relationship both of them were there for each other. Although there were some misunderstanding but it didn't lasted longer.GOO FORR ITT GUYSS!!!!!!!
Also if you guys like it.. please try writing a review coz the two reviews in the mdl actually mislead people...
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Light hearted historical drama
Same category as:Dr. Cutie
Romance of Tiger & Rose
Romance of Hua Rong
A Girl like me
If you enjoy this kind of silly historical dramas then you will enjoy this one. Started off strong with so many funny moments. I loved the nickname ML called her. "Xiao Jian Shang" Drama also had more than average cuddly kissing playful couple scenes which is quite refreshing. The best friend couple was also a good pairing providing some comedic moments.
Of course the overall plot didn't flow & some of the characters just randomly popped in & out with no rhyme or reason.
The downfall came around ep 20. After so many of the SAME character introduction trying to pull them apart, it got tired out. Previous rivals all were likeable somewhere along the way except the last one was unbearable. They should've just ended at ep 20.
It was still quite enjoyable overall.
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Fun to Watch
This drama is actually not bad, simple and fun to watch rom-com with lots of kissing scenes from a pair of lovey-dovey couple out of an arranged marriage (ML fall in love with FL even before the arrangement). The story evolves from a small town in Fuchun where FL was forced into marrying into a wealthy family by her stepmom with high dowry.ML is the wealthiest merchant in tea empire and is down to investigate the mystery of his father's death and accidentally met FL who lives a living by selling her homemade dessert. The dessert made by the FL is so mouth watering that it later gained recognition by the royal family.
Besides being wealthy and has good martial art skill, ML in the drama is so charm that he attracted many highly obsessive love rivals (3 nobles + 1 princess) trying to win his heart and keep the couple apart.
Believed that if the cast were by some famous ML & FL, the rating for this drama will definitely be somehow higher.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is What Rom-Coms Are
Light-hearted stories with couples that have chemistry, and plotlines you can follow. If you want historical facts and heavy material, then choose that kind of drama. This one was enjoyable, and the ML & FL had a lot of chemistry and if you like the romance (I do), a lot of that too. The SML & SFL also had chemistry although the SFL was a little irritating at times. The villains were convincingly hateful, and even if their actions were a bit repetitive, they were still characters you loved to hate.I choose these kinds of series when I am in-between heavy dramas with a lot of episodes. They are great weekend watching, and they are light on the heart and easy to follow. The comedic moments were cute and funny but not overdone. I enjoyed the series and think the actors did a pretty good job. Don't overthink it - if you're just looking for something to watch and be entertained by this is a good pick.
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Casual Drama
I would say this drama is good if you want to watch something while productively doing something else. There are sweet and funny moments between the ML and FL as well as the secondary couple.Are there annoying situations? Yes. Are there annoying side characters? Yes.
That's the reason why I say this is a drama that you can have playing in the background so you can casually ignore the annoying parts.
I would have scored the drama a bit higher if they didn't drag show on. With its general storyline and the pacing of the episodes, it would have perfectly been fit to finish it between 16 to 19 episodes without adding unnecessary trouble for the lead characters.
I personally stopped at episode 19 and pretended that 20 to 24 did not exist. You'll figure out the reason why if you watch the 19 episodes. Overall, it's a stress-free drama if you skip those episodes.
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Unbearable. Sorry for the actors !
The humoristic tone and too obvious twists are unbearable for this romantic-historical drama with lots of fights and martial arts (abusive use of cables).Could be entertaining if it was more subtle...
The story is incredible:
- woman/wife who wants to be independent (in the 21st century sense) to do business in pastry.
- rivals who are not discouraged even after marriage,
- unbridled behavior without any protocol or good manners (since it's whitin an aristocratic context, at the imperial court sometimes...)
In short, it quickly becomes unbearable.
Dropped at 13th episode
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Ton Comédie et grosses ficelles pour ce drama romantique-historique avec beaucoup de fights et d'arts martiaux (usage abusif des câbles).
Pourrait être divertissant si c'était plus subtil...
La story est invraisemblable :
- femme/épouse qui se veut indépendante (au sens XXIe siècle) pour faire du business dans la pâtisserie.
- rivales qui ne se découragent pas même après le mariage,
- comportement débridé sans aucun protocole ou formalisme
Bref, cela devient vite insupportable.
Arrêté au 13e épisode
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This review may contain spoilers
Good balance of sweet and annoying scenes
The main leads get together quite early on so there are lots of sweet romantic moments. There are several woman throughout the drama who fall for the male lead and try to win him / break up the leads. This causes jealously and some friction but they remain strong and communicate and trust each other. There is a mystery with the ML father's death and bits on FL love of money and her business which breaks up the story nicely. The side characters are fun. Overall I enjoyed the drama, nothing stretched out too long to make it a frustrating watch despite the annoying sabotaging females. I found it pretty light hearted easy drama to watch, good filler while waiting for some dramas to finish airing before I start them.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
messy story of many women liking the male lead
Watch only if you have nothing else to watch! This initially wasnt bad but how the story develops is through the introduction of many other characters! First of all two many ladies like the male lead and he aint even that attractive.Annoying characters like the cousin, then college friend, and princess all fall in love with the male lead.
Male lead has a family business in tea. Female lead is very good at making desserts and pastries. The female lead has an evil step mom and wanted to sell her into an arrange marriage. To get out of it she gets into an engagement with the male lead. Initially they bicker, the male lead falls in love with her first, He helps her open her own store.
The story development is horrible because they kept on introducing new female characters. The overlying story is they want ti find the evidence to prove the innocent of the male lead's dad.
The main leads have a cute romance, but its not believable..
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What am I watching?
A modern day drama about a girl bickering and her uncouth antics in a period drama costume and settings. How wrong can the script writers get? Why bother with the period costume and setting when you don't even know what the customs and cultures of historical period? The writer really need to work harder and researched more on behaviour and culture of the period. I watch 5 episodes of it and still wish I hadn't gone that far! The actors on the other hand are quite decent, I might watch them in other drama, but this drama is beyond salvation or any redeeming quality left. It's bad from the start. I could think of a few dramas in the same category from last year...Writer must remember China in the old days are not China it is today.
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