Kind of boring (as nothing exciting happens)

My friend recommended that I watch this drama. She said that it was a sweet show and I doubt her not.

I started on it but eventually, I decided to drop it. I do not detest this show. I do not detest any of the actors/ actresses. The reason why I decided to throw in the towel for this one was because nothing much was happening at all. Another plausible reason could be that I had just watched "Lost Track of Time" which I liked and enjoyed tremendously and so, I could not appreciate the fairly green acting and unexciting plot. I'd say that "LTOT" was like eating Ma La. It was spicy and yet, strangely addictive. I'd say that "Let's Meet Now" is like plain porridge - kind of comforting and easy to have but really quite bland.

Other notes:
I think that the FL lead is quite cute - she reminds me of Sandy Lam.
I think that the little girl, the second ML's sister, is adorable - she reminds me of young Ariel Lin.
I think that the ML is quite handsome.

However, I'm looking for a more exciting and engaging plot!

Although I can probably sit through this drama and I am pretty sure that it'll be a decent watch, I decided not to waste my time on plain porridge but to seek savoury instead! I like my dramas with more taste and meat! :)

[I respect other reviewers and their individual choices. There are plenty of dramas out there to suit every taste. Direct your support or lack of to the drama itself. If you support this drama, good for you and please continue to. Please write your own good reviews. If you do not support this drama, please also write your own review. We are reviewers. Not personal attackers. We review. We do not attack. Reserve your opinions for your reviews and not for the reviewer who is responding to the drama itself and not to other external aspects. I am responding to this drama that I have watched and I am not personally attacking any actor or actress in real life. It is all based on this particular drama only/ this particular reel life only.]

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And Ning Rises Indeed like yeast... like a hot air balloon... She Rises

I decided to watch this drama because of the ML. Having just watched him in "Are You The One", I decided to get another dose of this charming ML. I think I'm gradually becoming a small fan of his. I really enjoyed this drama tremendously and I want to rave a little about it!

What I LOVE about it:
-The plot is exciting, dramatic, suspenseful, engaging, riveting... :o) Everything one wants in an entertaining drama.
-Everything is nicely explained as much as possible and wrapped up in a timely manner. The plot does not drag on and on about nothing. Issues are raised. Issues are resolved and explained to viewers. Lovely, IMO! I am someone who likes to have this 'sense of closure' before moving on to the next issue.
-The cast is generally excellent. Their acting is natural and pleasant to watch. I have to say that I think that the FL has quite a bit of room for improvement as she comes across as simply reciting lines instead of truly being in character. At times, she seems kind of startled by what she is to do or say IMO which comes across as rather awkward. Nonetheless, her winning point is that her character LYN is a feisty and smart lass. I love watching women who can hold their own fort and stand up for themselves despite the injustice and odds. I like her character LYN. She is not the screamy, shouty, air-headed kind of FL. She plots, she schemes, she plans but she has a fairly good heart and does not do things which are too awful. She just wants to find the truth and to have justice returned.
-I like the cast and I think the ML is wonderful in this drama. Again, he nails it! I like Duke Ying in this drama. Some parts are LOL cute e.g. when LYN's awful 'father' shouts, "Who is your father?" when she calls him 'father' and then, LYN's father shows up as Duke Ying. So y'all - that's who her father is, ya? :o) LOL! I like the fairly light-hearted moments which provide relief and humour.
-Diehard lovers in the form of LSY and LJX. LJX, while overly obsessed in a unhealthy way, just really loves LYN. LSY and LYN's love seems gradual and very believable. Lovely to watch them.
-The OST is pleasant.
-The visuals/ costumes are lovely.
-I like that the villains are fairly quickly dealt with.
-Happy ending which is so great. Nonetheless, I found the ending a little rushed.

What I Do Not Like So Much:
-The murderous and hideous villains but well, without them, there won't be much of a plot.
-Qiao Xiao Niang's kids are quite insufferable.

Overall, superb! I wanted to give this excellent drama a perfect 10/10 but FL's acting has room for improvement. In fact, I thought of other better possible actresses who could probably deliver as well as or even better than her.

In essence, this exciting and intriguing drama is lovely to watch. I highly recommend this drama (as well as "Are You The One"). Thumbs-Up!
<3 <3 <3

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Savoury at first and then, like chewing plain hard bread.

As a fan of the FL, I decided to watch Legend of An Le when I found out about this show. I have also watched other dramas starring the ML and he is quite handsome and quite decent as an actor. I had pretty high hopes. At first, the drama started off roaringly. There were shenanigans and the FL was feisty as well as funny. As the drama progressed, things started to water down...

What I Liked:
- The FL and the ML. I think they could have done a better job because I have seen their other dramas which were great. However, I think it's not their fault but more the fault of the scriptwriters.
- The cast was earnest. I could see their efforts in acting out their roles as well as they could.
- Lin Lang turned out to be endearing. She respected and adored Luo Ming Xi but never crossed the line. She was an honorable and dignified woman from start to end. I was sad when she was killed.
- Luo Ming Xi stole my heart in this drama. I saw him in Chang Ge Xing but he did not leave a very strong impression on me. He was good then as Hao Du, but not great IMO. In this drama, the actor who portrayed Luo Ming Xi was awesome. He stole the show and I watched for him. He loved Di Zi Yuan deeply and sincerely but he would not do anything that would hurt or harm her in the name of his love for her. What a charming and devoted man he was!

What I Didn't Like:
- I really couldn't like Princess An Ning. She didn't have much expression through out the drama. She was just anal and exasperating to watch.
- Leng Bei was a traitor and I hate traitors to the core.
- The drama was as exciting as chewing plain hard bread half-way through. I wanted to drop the drama but my partner wanted to complete it and so, we did. The ending was a happy one (more or less), but it wasn't exciting or amazing in anyway. I felt relieved that it was all over.

I'd still rate this as a 7/10 but my partner thinks that 6.5/10 is more appropriate. However, if you have better options out there, you may want to go for those before embarking on this fairly painful and dry journey.

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Sizzlingly Suspenseful

This drama is an excellent watch indeed. Although each episode is quite short at about 12-15 minutes long, each episode packs a punch and ends on a cliffhanger each time. The editing of the drama is excellent. The scenes/ shots are quite breath-taking.

What I liked about this drama:
- Excitement from the get-go. I had to move on to the next episode and then, the next! Intriguing plot.
- The ML and FL had sizzling chemistry and looked good together. It was delightful to see their growing attraction to each other.
- There was a suspenseful story to unravel. I liked the use of clothes/ thread to symbolise "hooking" the other party in. The cinematography was nicely done. Quite artistic and beautiful.
- The acting from the cast was brilliant throughout. Actually, the first wife, Wan Yi, was just all bark and no bite. Despite being a minor role, she played her role very well. Thumbs-up.
- I liked that everything wrapped up in the end. The villains were caught and justice was served.
- I liked that the ending was happy enough. :)

What I didn't like so much:
- Some parts of the plot skipped a bit too much and were not very credible or well-linked but... I was willing to close an eye. Overall, this drama was nicely done!

My verdict: Please watch this excellent drama. :) It is Sizzlingly Suspenseful! It is a great drama. Join the exciting ride! :)

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She carried the show.

I watched this drama because I like both leads although I have not watched anything from Yang Mi. I have a rather positive impression of her. The synopsis sounded interesting and so, I gave the show a go! I quite enjoyed it but there are other dramas which, to me, are more engaging and more interesting than this one. Nonetheless, this drama is truly, to me, good enough to watch and to chase. I wanted to go from episode to episode as the drama was generally fast-paced enough and generally engaging enough.

What I liked:
- I liked Yang Mi in the show. Her character had a lot of sass and was intelligent. She was ambitious and strove hard to get her wants. She looked very charming in most of her clothes. I must say that she's a pretty sight.
- The ML, Xu Kai, was rather "meh" in this drama though. I expected much more from him. He had so much potential from what I saw from his other productions. The chemistry between the leads was okay but not hot and sizzling.
- The acting from most of the cast was stellar. The plot was okay.
- FL had more chemistry with her ex-bf.

What I didn't like:
- I can't stand FL's mentor, Hui Jie. To me, she's a pretentious bitch. So fake in the way that she speaks.
- I can't stand Wu Fei. She spoke haltingly like a retard and I constantly wondered how she suited being a lawyer who is supposed to have the gift of the gab. Everyone else spoke normally but she spoke as though she was somewhat mentally challenged.
- I can't stand Wenyu and Meimei. Their relationship is hard to watch and hard to stomach. They should have split up. It was annoying whenever they appeared on the screen.
- Noble idiocy was somewhat present. I didn't like that as the ML was supposed to be very smart.

Overall, this drama was OKAY and I enjoyed it because in "She and Her Perfect Husband", She carried the show and made it all work. I'd say: Can still watch! Quite good!

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A bit of fluff which was nothing much

The reviews for this drama was generally positive and so, I decided to give it a go since it was just 12 episodes.

I don’t regret it watching this because it doesn’t give viewers heartache and headache. There aren’t villains in the drama who make one’s blood boil.

The drama can be compared to a simmering pot of soup. It just simmers but it doesn’t come to a rapid boil. There is hardly any exciting climax or revelation. The plot is predictable and the acting is mediocre. Nothing very exciting happens although the love between the two couples in the drama is rather sweet. I prefer the second male lead (Ding Man) and the second female lead (Ge Yao) to the first male lead (who is rather ‘meh’) and the first female lead (who is quite okay as she grows on viewers).

This drama is a fairly nice filler when you are looking for another great one to watch.

Overall, this drama is ‘nothing much’ despite the fluff.

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For Hyun Bin

This is a very belated review. I watched it once it was aired and I have since rewatched it a few times. It was on my list because of Hyun Bin. When I knew that he was the male lead, I knew that I had to watch it and of course, I did!

This drama has received tons of positive reviews and I want to add mine! Hyun Bin is an absolute delight to watch! The scene where he was being transformed into a Seoul man was drop dead gorgeous!! OMG!! So very hot and sexy.

This drama has funny elements, touching elements as well as intriguing moments, suspenseful moments! The cast was excellent but my highlight was and still is Hyun Bin.

Pls watch for this very fine actor. I loved him since Secret Garden. These two are, to me, his best best best dramas thus far and I look forward to more of his brilliant work.

Watch - for the love for Hyun Bin.

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Feisty Female Lead + Manly Male Lead

Chanced upon this show and decided to give it a go after reading the positive reviews written by other viewers.

Show didn’t disappoint. Of course, there will be *annoying moments* (my pet phrase already) but the good moments outweigh those irritating moments.

Watch because:
- female lead is spunky and cute in her own way.
- female lead is capable and as the show develops, fondness for her grows.
- male lead is the manly sort - soldier. Strong. Manly. Dependable. My kind of man.
- plot moves fairly fast.
- acting is generally good.

Overall, a very watchable show!! Recommend!

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Draggy... Angsty... Mediocre acting...

This drama was on my list for a long time - years, in fact, considering that it was released in 2017. I wanted to watch it but just never got down to it because other dramas got in the way... After watching the epic "Love like Galaxy Parts 1 and 2" which I loved dearly, I wanted to find something lovely to indulge in once more. I decided to go back to this "old" drama on my KIV list.

At first, I thought that the drama was quite "healing" because of the slow-ish pacing. The actors and actresses were all new faces to me and I thought they were fairly refreshing. However, as the episodes continued, I found the acting rather mediocre and stilted. Later, I read FGV (iykyk) and I agreed with the C+ review for this drama. The points mentioned in FGV's review were the thoughts that I had too.

What I liked:
- Started off quite okay...
- The cinematography is (erm) pleasant.
- The songs are actually nice.

What I didn't like:
- The green actors and actresses in that the acting was mediocre and stilted.
- The lack of nuanced expressions of the actors and actresses. e.g.: The female lead just looked sullen.
- I could not understand the way the female lead behaved. Did she like him? Did she want him? Why did she keep on playing push-pull? I understand that the male lead also appeared like a playboy but he sincerely confessed to her and showed that he wanted to be with her but there was still this push-pull from the female lead which I found rather odd.
- The angst really got to me. I was patiently waiting for the "big revelation" as to why male lead disappeared from female lead's life and why, as adults, she was searching for him. I got to episode 7, going on 8, and realised that drama was "getting nowhere" despite building up so much angst. I could not take it anymore.
- The second male lead just did not have guts to confess until episode 7 and it was, again, very angsty for me.
- The transition from 2007 to 2017 (past to present day) was very abrupt and often, I did not know that they had changed time frame until they started speaking and such. It would have been better if there was "fading in and fading out" or just a small date to indicate the time frame clearly for viewers.

As an impatient viewer, I wanted things to hurry along just a bit more. I guess this drama did not work out for me.

[I respect other reviewers and their individual choices. There are plenty of dramas out there to suit every taste. Direct your support or lack of to the drama itself. If you support this drama, good for you and please continue to. Please write your own good reviews. If you do not support this drama, please also write your own review. We are reviewers. Not personal attackers. We review. We do not attack. Reserve your opinions for your reviews and not for the reviewer who is responding to the drama itself and not to other external aspects. I am responding to this drama that I have watched and I am not personally attacking any actor or actress in real life. It is all based on this particular drama only/ this particular reel life only.]

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On and on about nothing.

I had pretty high expectations of this drama because of the 8.6 rating (at time of post). Also, the reviews were positive and so, I thought that it would be quite excellent. I also think that Liu Tao is a pretty good actress. I’m not a fan of hers but I do think that she’s a talented actress.

At first, it seemed very slice of life and relatable. As the plot continued, it became draggy fast. The issues were the same from episode 1 to episode 10. There was no growth or interesting change in the characters or plot.

Jiang Si Yuan was a spoilt brat. His maternal grandparents were crazily unreasonable and spoilt him rotten. Xi Wang had a voice like a duck and even though I know he’s a child, he was superbly annoying in the drama. Xi Wang’s parents seems very incompetent. The father kept on going against the very anxious mother. It was hard to watch their interaction. Fei Fan’s father was a complete ass. Xin Yue’s father was crazy because of his unrealistically high expectations that he had of his daughter.

After watching 1/4 of this drama, I couldn’t continue. I wanted too but I felt like I was wasting my time and my life on issues that kept on repeating without positive changes and growth.

To each his or her own. For me, I give up on watching their struggles that aren’t going anywhere!

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Became Unbearable

I read reviews before I embark on any drama.

With this drama, I did the same. The reviews were good and the drama seemed promising. However, I ended up very disappointed. The drama didn’t live up to its expectations and I didn’t know why the other viewers enjoyed it because I really could not bear it anymore. (To each his or her own.)

What I didn’t like:
- the leads weren’t that good-looking and their looks didn’t become better the more I looked at them - rather, the opposite happened
- the leads didn’t have good chemistry IMO
- the female lead really became annoying as the episodes continued - I could not stand looking at her act
- the female lead’s sister was even worse as her acting was stiff and she behaved irrationally IMO
- the storyline was fairly intriguing at the start but it became draggy and went on and on about nothing IMO and it became a tiring watch as nothing was moving

Overall, there’s nothing really great about this drama. Nothing shines. I could not stand watching it anymore after reaching mid-point.

My verdict: Please don’t waste your precious time. There are much better dramas out there! Skip this!

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First half - great. Second half - just ok.

The rating was 8.7 and I thought it’d be awesome possum.

The first half of this drama was full of cute shenanigans and was really pretty funny. I laughed quite a bit and enjoyed myself a lot. The drama was very cute when the two leads first got to know each other and before they became a couple. The misunderstandings were not agonizing. Rather, their misunderstandings were kind of cute and engaging. I really had a fun ride for the first half of this drama.

The second half of this drama was not quite as enjoyable and funny as the first half though. There were parts that were rather ‘meh’ and ‘hmm’. The love between the couple was sweet and sincere but it wasn’t sizzling hot and ‘wow-whee’. After the leads got together, they were rather ‘meh’ as a couple.

Overall, this drama is watchable. I just do not think that it’s worth 8.7 / 10. I’d think that it’s more 7.5 / 10 :)

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Watch this!!

I really, really liked this drama and I’d like everyone to give this drama a go!

What I liked:
- both male and female leads
- the supporting cast is great on the whole (other than a few irksome ones, but of course)
- the kissing scenes are wow - so delicious
- the chemistry between the leads
- how cool Lee Min Ki is

What I didn’t like:
- some angst (normal though)
- the supporting actress who just wants to get hitched is, imo, mad and super annoying

Overall, wonderful! I super HEART this show! Watch. Watch. Watch.

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The Rose ... wilted ...

[I respect other reviewers and their individual choices. There are plenty of dramas out there to suit every taste. Direct your support or lack of to the drama itself. If you support this drama, good for you and please continue to. Please write your own good reviews. If you do not support this drama, please also write your own review. We are reviewers. Not personal attackers. We review. We do not attack. Reserve your opinions for your reviews and not for the reviewer who is responding to the drama itself and not to other external aspects. I am responding to this drama that I have watched and I am not personally attacking any actor or actress in real life. It is all based on this particular drama only/ this particular reel life only. I do not hate on any actor or actress.]

Having watched the gorgeous LYF in other wonderful dramas like "Dream of Splendor" and "Meet Yourself", I was looking forward to watching "The Story of Rose".

I found the first few episodes fun and entertaining. LYF was lovely.

However, how she destroyed her boyfriend's home was, to me, unreasonable and "cray-cray". I felt that her actions were uncalled for. Yes, I can empathise with her emotions then but they could have behaved more sensibly and maturely. They could have communicated more calmly and in a better manner.

Thereafter, I felt torn between continuing and not continuing...

In the end, I decided to drop it and watch something else. I know that the actors and actresses in this drama are fine ones and I am pretty sure the show is, in general, all right... but episodes 8 to 10 (there-ish) were "the straw that broke the camel's back".

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It seems much ado about nothing and kind of R&J to me.

[I respect other reviewers and their individual choices. There are plenty of dramas out there to suit every taste. Direct your support or lack of to the drama itself. If you support this drama, good for you and please continue to. Please write your own good reviews. If you do not support this drama, please also write your own review. We are reviewers. Not personal attackers. We review. We do not attack. Thank you. Reserve your opinions for your reviews and not for the reviewer who is responding to the drama itself and not to other external aspects. I am responding to this drama that I have watched and I am not personally attacking any actor or actress in real life. After all, I do not know them at all and have nothing against them. No hate on them at all! It is all based on this particular drama only/ this particular reel life only.]

I was kind of shocked by how cutesy and high-pitched the FL's voice was in another famous series (which made me feel rather repulsed then) and so, I was quite skeptical about this drama. Nonetheless, I just watched "Kunning Palace" and loved the ML as Xie Wei/ Xie Ju An in it and so, I thought "let's go!".

These are my honest thoughts about this particular drama, and I have nothing against any actor or actress in real life.

Upon starting the very 1st episode, it was pleasant to see that FL had a different sort of role in this drama and I thought "seems good". The colour of the drama and the production and costumes ... looked high class and polished. After watching the action-packed 1st episode, I looked forward to the 2nd episode. All seemed quite great and I was quite intrigued.

However, as I continued watching, I found myself feeling less intrigued and more bemused and even bored by the shenanigans of the deadly spies... everything seemed to be going round in circles and was even rather confusing to me. The four factions (can I call them 'factions') on Wu Feng's side as well as on Gong's side were perplexing and rather boring. My thoughts were "this is starting to feel sort of like R&J where we have 2 feuding factions who are just feuding and feuding and much ado about nothing". I felt that there was a lot of posturing going on but nothing much worthy was going on.

Currently, I am in two minds about this drama - to continue or to drop. And so, it is "On-Hold" at the moment. While I recognise that this production is a good one and big budget with good actors and actresses, it did not make me feel invested and keen. It also did not make me feel the urge to continue watching to find out how things would pan out.

Let me see how I should proceed from here ;o)

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