A little dull but overall good

The first few episodes I found a little slow. Some parts were meant to be funny but i didn’t find it humorous.

What I liked was that all 4 main leads had a distinct history and character. They all came together by staying at the same guesthouse. I also liked the history between Dan O and Kang San, how they met as kids, and how he remembered her but she didn’t until later.

I liked the character of Si Yeol- a carefree scholar by day and a dark watchman sworn to protect the deposed / future heir to the throne by night. I would have preferred more of his “dark side” with more sword fights scenes.

The King was annoyingly spoiled. If he had been wiser, I think he could have killed all those who opposed him much sooner lol.

The romance was not too bad. One kiss scene only, and we didn’t even get a wedding scene of the main couple, but of the 2nd couple. It’s like a PG-13 historical drama, so nothing too gory or raunchy haha.

A pleasant watch. I did ff here and there but overall it was good.

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Gripping and yet disturbing

Gripping? YES!! It’s one of those where you have to binge watch. I waited for quite awhile to watch both seasons at one go. Also, you have to be in the right frame of mind (ready to watch a revenge drama) to fully appreciate it.

Disturbing because the scenes are quite graphic. It’s rated 18+ and has lots of vulgar language, sex scenes, and multiple violent scenes including using hot curling iron and domestic abuse. Most of these scenes I had to fast forward, because I myself couldn’t stand to watch. I couldn’t understand why and how those bullies could get away with it; plus the home room teacher who just slaps the victim multiple times in the staff room! I read that this drama was based on a true story. I’m not sure how justice was carried out, but if it was not, the police and education system in Korea need to buck up!!

The two actors that stole the show imo were Lee Do Hyun and Shin Ye Eun. LDH played the ML, a young doctor who lost his father in a very tragic way. Haunted by the perpetrator, he was living in hell and wanted to help the FL (song Hye kyo) with her revenge plan. He managed to pull off a variety of personalities in this drama- the professional doc, the caring and protective man and (this is the best part!) the devil in him who will seek revenge and dreams of killing the murderer. His acting was top notch!

Shin Ye Eun played the teenage Park Yeonjin, who is the ring leader of the 5 person bully gang. I read that the director chose this actress because of her smile, and man was he spot on! Her eyes and smile in the most eerie and condescending manner gave me the chills just watching her! Her acting was just right, unlike Lim Yi Jeon who played the adult Yeonjin, whom I felt overacted wayyy too much. In fact the 5 gang bullies were quite ridiculous and overacting most of the time imo. Too much cursing, shouting and throwing rich kid/ can’t get my way tantrums.

Another character I liked was Ha do Yeong, the husband of Yeonjin. He in all his sophistication did everything right- gave her many chances to repent, and be remorseful of her past actions- but all he saw was the devil in his wife. I’m glad he had a happy ending.

The production and music background was just fantastic! Very modern and updated, chic and sophisticated. The music is like those you will find in US dramas, extremely compelling and draws you in. There were times where the plot became quite predictable, whereby the good guys “always win” and even when it seems they were losing, they were somehow one step ahead. Haha..

It’s a very good recommended watch. Again, be in the right frame of mind when you start this. The first episode is the most difficult as it has 90% of the bullying school scenes. :)

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Could have been better :(

It’s one of those storylines where the two leads meet, there’s an attraction; then some teasing and bickering; and just when you think their romance is progressing - the “love rival “ appears. Continued bickering and lack of communication.. then progressing again- we have a drunken kiss! Next episode- another “love rival” appears! More misunderstanding and lack of communication ;0 Gosh.. the writers just dragged it out wayyyy too long. The main couple only gets together in episode 18 ;)

I honestly preferred the 2nd couple. They seemed to have more chemistry and visuals lol, but not much screen time was given to their budding romance. So sad :( The other side plots were about friendship, growth and some aspects of robotics and technology advances.

The production itself was quite good- no dubbed voices and some memorable characters. But no real memorable songs and unfortunately I started FF quite a bit in the second half. It’s a 6.5/10 for me

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Watched at 2x speed ;)

All the usual tropes and cliches!! Love rivals✔️ Bitchy backstabbing ✔️ serious lack of communication ✔️ loads of misunderstandings and lies✔️ and the list goes on

But somehow I got to the end lol. At 2x speed and lots of fast forwarding as well. The ML kept a huge secret from FL. We all knew it was going to blow up in his face eventually and surely it did. FL was rather annoying and too self righteous, didn’t like her. They broke up a few times, and even trying to make up they were not honest and didn’t communicate openly. Typical

Some mediocre kiss scenes; their romance lacked passion and depth. Side couple was nothing great. The ending was unclear on how or whether the ML was cured of his disease; and it was very abrupt. Not great

Wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. Unless you have nothing else to watch like me :)

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Messy plot but good acting from ML

This is your typical ‘old school’ Chinese drama. Cold rich super capable ML, who can fight, save the damsel and merely get a small scratch on his face ?

The storyline is complicated. As usual, there is the power struggle from within the family to gain the majority shares and ultimately power of the family company. A lot of past history intertwined with missing persons and death. Somehow, the history of the ML tragic accidents involves the FL’s family as well! The FL’s character is bright and cheerful, but she loves too easily and emotionally unstable. In the first few episodes, the ML has his hand around her neck choking and threatening her in that manner. Not Cool. But of course towards the last few episodes, she becomes his pillar of strength.

Many holes in the plot. Many things don’t make sense. Very over dramatised ? Especially the final episode! Third parties- yes. A very annoying female rival Tang Lin who is rich but so spoilt and just cries when she cannot get the man she wants.

The romance between the main couple is quite nice. A short break up and he said very hurtful things to her, but we all know it’s not the truth ? Some nice PDA scenes, and yes it’s a happy ending. ML Fan Zhi Xin’s acting is really good in this one. It’s my first time watching him, and was impressed. Also very good looking ?
Give this a try, but don’t expect too much.

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Not as bad as you might think

First few episodes might have you cringing.. typical spoilt rich boy acting up and pulling pranks on this new female teacher. But somehow in the process, he falls in love w her.

Our ML is 17yo going on 18, still in high school. He’s doing all these rebellious acts to spite his mom, who is the chairwoman of the parents association in the school. The mom of course is super rich, donated loads to the school and abused her power with the school principal. Enters our FL, who is a new teacher at the school, and she’s 30 yo.

The first 5 episodes were questionable : HE was obviously crushing hard on her, but SHE was gracefully holding back, but slowly falling for him as well. It wasn’t anything pedophilia but it was difficult to watch the budding romance between teacher and student. Thankfully, the explicit scenes at this stage were merely a fragment of his imagination ;)

Then comes Epi 6 with a huge plot twist, which made the story turn quite interesting. Here the drama and angst intensifies, and emotions are running wild. I must say I didn’t really like our ML’s acting. He seemed wayyyy too childish to handle a relationship w a much older woman. As the story unfolds, it gets more gripping and more and more plot twists, especially the final episode! Never saw that coming! It is a happy ending for our main couple, and somehow by the end, their relationship doesn’t seem so “wrong” anymore.

Watch this with an open mind. Yes definitely there were some steamy scenes, though it seemed a little forced lol. Bear in mind this is a Taiwanese drama ;) and good thing it’s only 12 episodes :):)

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A veryyyy sweet one :)

You don’t have to worry about love triangles, bitchy exes, nasty parents etc… it’s light, fluffy and oh SOOO SWEETTT!! It’s raining sugar!! I came from watching Hi Venus, which is also another light hearted drama- but with that one I felt was quite boring.

The story starts off with Lin Xi finding the ML Ji Junxing and giving him a hug! She’s a stranger to him so he finds it odd. She’s a transfer student from another school, so of course fate has it that she gets to sit with him in class. Long story short they become friends and with a few others become a group of good friends. In the initial episodes I did find the FL a little off putting in how she is so spineless and always so accommodating to him- but I did suspect that there was an underlying factor to it (won’t spoil it for you).

So as the story goes, they become closer as friends and then off to uni and finally get together, start working , get married and have a kid! Yep, your typical evolution of a story from youth to adulthood, but with added sweetness. The ML is really REALLY good looking, and the height difference is very cute. He is completely devoted to her and waited for her a long time to get together.

Episodes 10-17 are a little dull- a lot of talk and college exams preparation. It gets more interesting with more drama from epi18 onwards. Yes there were issues with misunderstandings, jealousy, love rivals etc.. but it was all resolved easily and within a few episodes, hardly any angst! The ending is very cute and sweet, nice and short 25 episodes in total.

The side couple was a little annoying, always bickering and quite immature. And then there was a slight hint of a boy love couple, but it did not develop at all (I suppose they couldn’t in a cdrama?) A few kiss scenes towards the last 5 episodes. I believe the actors are quite young and new, so not very steamy lol.

Enjoy this one because I certainly did!! :):)

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Light, fluffy… & boring ;)

Not a 10/10 for me. Yes the love relationship was very healthy and matured… too perfect imo lol.

So the ML and FL leads meet by chance in a remote village- she was working there as a doctor, he was stranded without a car in heavy rain. She thinks he is a swindler trying to sell fake medicinal wine and makes him do all sorts of menial work around the centre- taking care of farm animals etc… not knowing that he is the new president of the hospital she works for!

It started off quirky - I liked the idea and plot of the misunderstood character, however I found the FL in these few episodes rather annoying. Later on when they return to the city/ hospital, it gets better. The romance development was somewhat lacking the tza tza tzing/ butterflies in stomach kind of chemistry. Seems rather mediocre and calm… quite dull at times. And I skipped most of the scenes with the FL and her best friend.

There were too many life philosophies and “lessons” to learn and live by, too many monologues and just not enough… excitement haha. Oh well, I guess this one was just not for me.

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A little slow and dull

Choi siwon and Lee Da Hee have visuals! So they look good together. Their chemistry was not sooo steamy.. they were good friends for a long time, were involved in other relationships and were always there for each other. How they transitioned from good friends to lovers was a bit blurry, not so clear cut. But he fell for her first.

I liked the concept of the reality show- Kingdom of Love. In fact I liked the couple chef John and Park Ji Wan more than any other couple- they had good chemistry and a good storyline. I did FF a bit here and there. A little dull and slow, but cute and an interesting watch. :)

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Get your tissues ready!!

A great movie for a rainy night snuggled under your blanket!! Haha… yes.. good one to binge watch (well it’s only two hours)

Loved the main two leads- the attraction was real and both had good visuals together. The storyline is simple enough- best friend asks to find out stuff about Guy A, so girl starts “stalking” him, unknowingly Guy A’s best friend Guy B starts liking her. But he thinks she likes Guy A so gets jealous. Then FL starts falling for Guy B but her best friend who thought liked Guy A , actually turns out likes Guy B!! Ok- it may sound confusing, but when you watch it it’s not :)

There is one very light kiss scene. Other than that it was pure face to face attraction/ standing close to each other, giving each other glances etc ;) Very sweet and tear jerking- cos it’s not a happy ending. It’s a teen movie but I thoroughly enjoyed watching it! Definitely recommended :)

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Not your happily ever after

Starting this off was very interesting. It’s real life drama intertwined with animation of cells that are within Yumi, and what makes Yumi unique and individual.

Each cell is introduced one by one, and there are many cells to remember, but there are the few main cells which you will see more often- primarily Love, Reason, Sensitive, Hunger and later on Lust/ Naughty (lol!) and each have their own shape and size and unique style- oh don’t forget Fashion cell! Kudos to the writers for being so creative with this!!

Now regarding the relationship element- Gu Wung was a red flag from the beginning to me. They met on a blind date- and he was immediately captivated by her. He came across aloof and somewhat disorientated, but eventually they started dating. What I couldn’t agree with was his lying, continued lying with the ruse of not wanting her to worry or overreact. Both were not completely honest and open with each other, which resulted in many misunderstandings. Wung also did not draw boundaries with his long time ‘girl’ good friend which is a major red flag for me. So in a way- the storyline is very realistic and relatable.

Kim Go Eun was commendable in her role, but the hair cut and style... uhmm no. Sorry. Uh uh. Don’t expect a happy ending :)

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AMAZINGLY GOOD!!!

As all good stories go, it all started long ago when a woman, a court maid was jilted and scorned by her lover- the king, who chose another woman instead of her. The king was treacherous- he killed anyone who got in his way. He is also quite a dumb and temperamental king who lashes out in anger when he doesn’t get what he wants. He’s dumb because when something goes wrong, he doesn’t even know how to investigate properly. Lol..

Then you have the Crown Prince, who I suppose is still young and naive; what wants to do good and help the people. But he does not yet have the power and authority, therefore he is trapped in his own prison having to succumb to the will of the palace.

The road to the throne develops quite interestingly with a good steady pace. It wasn’t as evil- deceitful-betraying as Scarlet Heart Ryeo, and our crown Prince turns out to be a very good King. But as Lady Court Seo points out to the ever-lovable Royal Head Guard- “A good king does not necessarily make a good husband”.

First one third of the series had its funny moments, we learn that the FL Sung Deok-Im is a free-spirited, bright, intelligent woman who knows how to earn her keep. She and the ML crown Prince Yi San cross paths when they’re young, and then meet again 10 years later. Initially he is taken aback by her arrogance and boldness (because she didn’t know he was the crown Prince) but soon he starts to fall in love with her. Towards the middle, the story focuses more on the evil plots to prevent the crown Prince from advancing to the throne. And there’s one great fight scene(only one!) in episode 7. Then the last 3 episodes are all about the love and relationship between FL and ML.

How do I start to describe their relationship? It was doomed from the beginning? Either one party would not be truly happy because both had different destinies and both wanted different lives. HE loved her so desperately.. wanted to keep her by his side. SHE rejected him many times because she wanted her freedom, she didn’t want to be confined to the palace and not having him all to herself. It was truly truly very sad... The chemistry between both leads were very very good though, some sweet and gentle PDA scenes.

I did wish we could see more of their happiness towards the end. The last episode was just tragedy after tragedy.. my gosh. My heart couldn’t take it sob sob. [SPOILER: It was unclear though how both of them succumbed to illness and died?? I’m still trying to figure that out. And to lose their son as well... heartbreaking. END SPOILER]

Definitely a highly recommended watch. A tad too melodramatic for me... too much crying. Maybe a few more fight scenes and conspiracies would have been better lol. Well done to all the actors- they did such a good job! The OST was not as memorable for me... it didn’t have that one or two particular songs that moved my emotions.

I will end my review with a quote from the Queen Dowager- “The palace is a dazzling..... prison”.

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Very unique, quirky and a definite MUST WATCH!

From the first episode, I completely adored Jin Moo Hak (ML). He’s not your typical dramaland CEO - he comes off unrefined and undignified; he speaks his mind too abruptly, he likes to shout lol and his dressing was a tad too loud for me haha.. BUT everything that comes out from his mouth rings so true! He has such wisdom and a heart of gold- although his general knowledge of the world is quite atrociously bad!! Loolllll.. Hats off to Kim Min Jae who acted the role so well!!!

The storyline is a good one- a very well blended mix of humour, conspiracy, romance/ love and family relationships. The funny parts are really funny... I haven’t laughed this much since ... ?? What’s wrong with Secretary Kim?? The romance and relationship development between Kim Dali and JMH was SO GOOD! They are completely opposites- in terms of personality, background, family and simply they way they project themselves. Even all her close friends and colleagues couldn’t believe that she would date him! [the scene where they tell Won Tak about their relationship- it’s the funniest ever!!]

The only thing I didn’t quite like was how the writers always tried to “trick” the audience into thinking something else. And how the scenes would flashback so very often to reveal the truths. After awhile it got predictable and a little cliche. Other cliches would be the overbearing loud stepmother and the unnecessary kdrama crying sensations ... lol.

All in all it was very quirky cute and unique! A definite definite must watch!! :):):)

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It’s raining sugar!! :)

Starts off with Ding Xian moving to a new school at 16 years old, and her desk mate is none other than Zhou Si Yue. Initially they don’t get along (of course!) but soon you can see he starts to like her and gives her special treatment - like helping her with her homework, giving her his notes, protecting her from embarrassment etc... they don’t actually confess their feelings yet, and just say they are desk mates/ classmates.

Soon he enters university first, while she struggles with the entrance exam. She has to work extra hard to get into the same uni as him (he’s somewhat of a genius ) so she’s quite stressed and exhausted. When she finally succeeds, they haven’t kept in touch for almost a year and he was going through some struggles. He decides he doesn’t want to start any relationship (because he feels he’s not good enough- typical) but ding dong ding dong, he finally realises he really likes her and starts to pursue her. After that it’s all raining sugar :)

The concept is nothing new, you have the usual love rivals/ third parties; the best friends starting their relationships; the competition trying to backstab them etc... Ding Xian’s mother is rather overbearing (instead of the overbearing CEO theme); very controlling and quite ridiculous in my opinion.

I think the writers spent a bit too much time on the high school segment- Episodes 1-15? It would have been better to spend more during the uni days and maybe when they start work.

Anyhow, the love story development is very sweet, very understanding and supportive. Not much kissing or PDA if you’re looking for that ;) It is a youth drama so gotta keep it PG13?? Lol...
Chen Zhe Yuan as Zhou Siyue was pretty good, he played the character well. As for Xu Mengjie aka Rainbow Xu who played Ding Xian... umm I didn’t really like how she carried herself. I felt she mumbled a lot, and her acting was rather sluggish. I’ve seen videos of her dancing and doing tik toks, which is very different from her character as she was a member of Rocket Girls 101.

All in all, it’s a beautiful drama and a definite recommended watch. Check out my Instagram profile for video clips. Enjoy :)

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