Love Is Sweet (2020)

This is a really good drama that, if not episodes 31-33 and the “tear effect”, if would’ve been a GREAT drama. The storyline flows nicely and the lead couple has good chemistry but, sometimes, the leading lady appeared emotionally challenged due to the fact that she could not cry or she would faint. Although her allergy to tears is an interesting element to the story, it took away from the opportunity to have great interactions and emotional expressions throughout the drama which the male lead compensated quite nicely. The romance progressed in a good pace and it is quite realistic. Although there are some misunderstandings, they were resolved quickly and the couple’s intimacy was believable and refreshing. The OST is beautiful and there’s also great cinematography. The supporting cast and their stories were nice to watch. Overall the drama is entertaining. Enjoy it!

Leer más

Did not meet expectations

I was looking forward to this drama after reading the positive reviews. However I am sad to say that it did not meet my expectations. Overall plot was simplistic and the characters of the FL, Jiang Jun and ML, Yuan Shuai were bland. The second ML, Du Lei was more interesting with more depth in his character development. In fact I was rooting for him to get the FL instead of Yuan Shuai. The FL's allergy to tears formed the basis of the story but this sounds bizarre and I am not sure that it is medically correct. The first part of the drama was focussed on the relationship between the ML and FL but the scenes were mainly of them fighting each other and there was little sense of chemistry between the both. Although many reviewers mentioned the chemistry between the FL and ML , I did not get much sense of this. The second part of the drama was more interesting as it moved beyond the romance to the politics in business. Like mentioned by some reviewers, the drama could have successfully stopped at episode 30. The subsequent episodes 31-36 where the second ML reverted to being a villain seemed to counter the good effects of the earlier episodes.
Overall, the drama is watchable but it is nowhere comparable to some others which I have recently watched eg You are My Glory or Dine With Love.

Leer más

Really Sweet...

To this day, the second best marriage proposal I've seen in a drama.
Only surpassed by the marriage proposal from the drama "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim" - The best!

Well.. The whole drama is very cute. Both main characters are adorable. I would say that the only flaw in the drama, and for me, a BlG flaw is that they gave a happy ending to all but the most wronged and luckless character in the drama.
Despite having made a mistake, he really had a good heart and deserved to be happy. I'm talking about Mr. Du...
I really felt bitterness that he didn't have a happy ending as he deserved.
She needn't have treated him so badly after all...

In addition, the relationship between the two male main characters could have been used more. It really would have yielded funny and even sweet moments. They loved to compete and it would be a really cute brotherhood. That brief moment when they both struggled to unmask the villain to protect their beloved women, when Mr. Lu, he himself named their beloved women as "our little sheep" was one of the highlights moments of the drama.

Too bad they separated those 3... my vision xD

Leer más

Main Couple steals the show

Ah, where do I start? Like strong and charming female leads? Like respectful, consistent male leads? Like a bickering couple with good communication and comprehension skills? Well, then you're going to love this one. I haven't watched a 10/10 C-drama in a hot minute, and I am truly delighted that I watched this one.

I had my doubts when I first saw the poster. Being very honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of Luo YunXi. He certainly did not make me fawn in Ashes of love, and I hadn't seen him in anything else. I have watched Bai Lu have palpable chemistry with Xu Kai, so naturally, I was a bit dubious. Rookie mistake. This man is an absolute charmer, with perfect comedic timing, a gorgeous smile and sizzling chemistry to boot. As per usual, I drooled over Bai Lu throughout the show.

The first point to make is that I absolutely adored the female lead. She was fiery, stubborn and independent. I loved that despite Yuan Shai's protests, she fought her way into the company and proved her mettle to him. Even in a relationship, she does not lose her head and remains grounded and true to herself. Seeing her become a career woman by her own capability was refreshing to see, as opposed to the usual trope of the male leads, helping female leads achieve their dreams. Even when Yuan Shai did her wrong, she wouldn't forgive him easily, stood her ground and made her points, ensuring he understood what he did wrong. I do, however, think that her tear allergy could've been used to move the story more. In the beginning, I thought her allergy would build the crux of the story, but I was completely wrong. I'm not mad though because it became just a part of her character as opposed her entire character. Despite her potentially life-threatening allergy to tears, I'm pleased that they didn't write her to be completely cold and emotionless.

At the beginning, I wasn't fond of Yuan Shai. He tended to think that he knew the female lead just because they were childhood friends, a personality she completely outgrew. Along with the usual "I know what's best for you because you're too stupid to think for yourself so I have to make decisions for you," he also did, "I'm hurting you to protect you, but you don't need to know why so I'd rather you just hate me." As much as I loved Yuan Shai, I'd be a pathological liar if I claimed this didn't turn me off. But thankfully, Jiang Jun sets him straight. And thankfully, he redeems himself. The highlight of this show is undoubtedly the palpable chemistry between the leads. Dare I say; I enjoyed them more than Bai Lu and Xu Kai (I bring this up because this seems widely discussed among the audience.) I enjoyed their banter, but I enjoyed their dynamics even more. Yuan Shai being her boss, one would expect him to be more dominant in the relationship, but surprisingly it's her. It was also refreshing how Jiang Jun wasn't shy or timid when it came to skinship. Their kisses were phenomenal!! Not a single fish kiss in sight! I like the nonchalant manner in which they portrayed sex. Unpretentious and natural.

If not for the adorable main couple, there were several reasons to have docked points.

1. Du lei is far too unpredictable and far too frivolous. For a fraction of an episode, I imagined that I found catch second lead syndrome. He put aside his bitterness towards Yuan Shai and worked together with him for the sake of Jiang Jun. But then he takes such a 180 after the time skip, to the point of becoming unrecognizable. And just like that, the minuscule amount of affection I had for him evaporated. He becomes creepy and delusional, still pining after a woman long gone. If anything, I think he received way little resentment from Jiang Jun for the part he played in her father's death.

2. The second couple was not nearly as interesting as the first. Nuff said. I found myself skipping their scenes. Not even my irrational crush on Riley could save their love story. I respect that Xu Li was brave enough to give up her career and youth for Xiao Chuan. Couldn't be me, but I respect it. There's often some scorn towards women wanting to settle down quickly, and start a family, when there shouldn't be. I enjoyed that this show portrayed the female leads as on two ends of the spectrum but equally happy.

3. Some might argue that the 6 episodes after the villain was defeated was unnecessary, draggy and pointless, but I beg to differ. It establishes Jiang Jun's growth as a person and as a career woman and establishes the growth in their relationship. It asks several important questions about the profound sexism in the corporate industry, with women often having to choose between their careers and their relationship, due to societal expectations of "stability" being defined by the marital status of a woman. I would gladly have watched 30 more episodes of this. However, I see where they're coming from, and I see why one would think that those 6 episodes were unnecessary. I DO, however, agree with those who felt like the first 30 episodes and the last 6 were written by two different people. In fact, it was. And it's very evident.

BUT I enjoyed the main couple too much to dock points. I, personally, did not find the show draggy. I felt that most, if not all, the characters were well written, with their own variety of issues. I, unexpectedly, found myself enjoying the relationship between Qiao and Yuan Ji. This is definitely a show to rewatch.

Leer más

Great CP chemistry and romance but questionable values did not sit well with me

So many c-drama are set in the corporate world that is itself a trope. Sometimes it works but a lot of the time the plots are filled with jargons and then a bit of magic drama dust to create a company collapse or save the company in the nick of time. This show is heavily business focused and there was no ends of "intrigue" and dirty tricks.

The basic story is straightforward. Two old school mates met up again after many years apart and found love. The twist here is that the ML was in love with the FL since their school days and he tasked himself to protect her. The reason is because she is allergic to tears and it could kill her if she is not treated quickly. He tried to toughen her up so that she won't cry but it was seen as bullying. He was going to confess to her before he went aboard to study but circumstances made them part in bad terms and he missed that chance and lost touch for years. This misunderstanding lasted well into their new working relationship as he became her boss in her new job.

There were no doubt that the pairing of Bai Lu and Leo Luo was a masterstroke. They looked great together and have bucket load of chemistry. They did not shy away from the touchy feely stuff either so there were lots of skinship. The 2OTP was cute and they tried hard to tell their story but there were a number of plot holes. In the end, it was underdone as their romance felt contrived. The 3OTP (noona romance) came out of nowhere and it was a stretch. 2 other pairing of fellow workers overflowed the CP quota.

The romantic story of the OTP would have been good enough to sustain a shorter run but they had a lot of business subplots to get through and it is here that the tone and plots did not sit well with me.

Most of the early episodes have the OTP investigating various companies as part of due processes before the company goes public or are bought out by another company. However, instead of doing the sums and highlighting dodgy transactions so that the authorities can follow up, they (including junior analysts) behave like private investigators and some kind of corporate crusaders riding out to right wrongs. That would be ok if the message is clear but again and again, the punishments do not fit the crimes. We are talking about someone who embezzled a lot of money as well as a manager who drugged and raped a young worker. That is a criminal offence, is it not? This type of moral greyness ran right through the whole show. The FL was drugged and dumped in a hotel room (unharmed, thankfully) and even though it was obvious who did it, there was no retribution. Other people who did wrong were just spoken to or cut a lot of slack. With that, what appeared to be a righteous stance soon turned into a mess of confused messages. It speaks volume about the business environment in China if it is even partially true.

I also have issues with the SML storyline. There was little chance of a second lead syndrome from the start but he was given a lot of screen time in the last few episodes. Once that subplot started, there was little doubt how it would end. It did little to progress the main plot but managed to turn the SML into a despicable character.

There were funny moments and lots of swoon worthy moments. I did liked how they set up the OTP as competitors after the time skip and their interactions were cute but it ended almost as soon as it started. If they did the time skip and just have them working in their own small company or even in competition, I'd ship them even more. The ML's proposal short movie was clever and the doggie is so cute throughout. :D

Production value is high but there are gaps. OST was fine. If I ever want to rewatch this, I would start at ep.20 and then watch the next few episodes where the OTP was white hot then skip to the last episode just for the feel good fan service.

Leer más

Love is Sweet - The Best Chinese drama

Someone recommended this to me and boy good thing I've checked it, I do not regret it at all watching this!
* Totally agree with the title, the love story is so sweet!!
* Love the chemistry between lead is on/off-screen - they're so good together
* Bai Lu is my favorite, have seen her other dramas too.
* First time to watch *Handsome LEO* and I'm totally Impressed. I didn't like him before in Ashes of Love but when I saw him in here, I was so addicted/hooked on it straight away
A DRAMA YOU WILL MISS AFTER ENDING It and definitely want to repeat it again.
* Can't wait to watch Leo's other dramas, I can see there are more upcoming, I will definitely keep an eye on them!!
I strongly suggest this drama to everyone!!!!

Leer más

It's a very sweet show. I almost go diabetes. I was swooning over the lead couples again & again. Every male character of the show was attractive & among the female characters I'd say only the female lead. I really wasn't interested in the story. I was just watching the leads &I skipped all the other things. The 2nd leads were annoying & boring. The chemistry between the main leads was the life & everything of the show. It's the best chemistry I've ever seen in a cdrama. Their talking. fighting, flirting, romance everything felt so real, I was sure they're couple in real life (but then I saw they're not ?) This show is the rom com couple goals.

Leer más

No better love

It is the most amazing cdrama ever... Atleast one of them in my list
The chemistry is amazing
Both the actors look damn good
One of the few girls who looks cute and has facial expression that can be understood by a non Asian person
The story line goes as the bickering friends, enemies and lover,.
The main lead is protective but not controlling. He helps the female lead be a better version of herself which I think is one of the key points in a good relationship.
I mean the character of the male lead is something I would personally like in a guy....(not talking about the handsome face of this actor)
Anyway its an amazing drama in which every minute is a good scene not just a few but all of them.

Leer más

A sweet love story

Must-watch if you watched "Till the end of the moon"
Introduction: I started this drama only because i wanted more of Bailu x Luo Yunxi after seeing "Till the end of the moon". Even if the two dramas are really different, i enjoyed this couple in both of the dramas and i think that they have a great chemistry. I hope they will cast them together again!
Story: The story is pretty cute and simple. I loved the enemies-to-lovers and the fact the two mains reunite after a while. But, I liked the episodes until episode 24-25. After these two episodes, the story became too boring and plain. They could have made this serie less boring with just 25 episodes, leaving out unnecessary storylines. The main flaw of this show is the plot and the ambience: we see for 36 episodes the life of some workers in a finance entertainment. I personally found this ambience a little too boring and repetitive. But the show is a great mix of law, finance and economy if you like them. Another thing I didn't enjoy the fullest is the second couple: i disliked the actress and compared to the main couple the second one lacked a lot.
Acting/Cast: As I've already said, Bai Lu and Luo Yunxi are wonderful in my eyes. Their couple scenes really make your heart flutter. They're perfect for this role. Other cast was good enough.
Music: I loved the OSTs, really much. They go well with the drama. My favourite songs were: "Things I do for love" by Sunnee and "Blue Bird" by Della J.
Rewatch value: I probably will not rewatch this show any soon because the episodes are too many for my taste.
Overall: 8
I recommend it if you watched Till the end of the moon, if you like Bai Lu or Luo Yunxi, and if you like office romance.

Leer más