Bali

This is a great revenge romantic drama set in a historical era. It is well written and the cast did a very good job bringing their characters to life. Li Zong Lin (as Su Jing Yuan / Cheng Yu Yang / Xiao Shu Shu) and Jiang Zhi Nan as Cheng Xi Nian gave a wonderful performance as the leading couple. They were both smart, strategic thinkers, intense and have a fantastic chemistry, whether they are planning their revenge, being childish, or just expressing their romantic feelings , they were really natural and lovely; during conflict of interests or when one thought the other will be in danger, they showed empathy and steadfast support while trying to reason about their actions. This is a wonderful and entertaining miniseries, enjoy it!
The drama can be found on YouTube under the caption: Full Version | The sweet and painful forbidden love with fake uncle | [Rise From the Ashes 小亭台] or Full Version|Cinderella want revenge, but she accidentally got pregnant with her uncle's child- on this one, the beginning is taken from a scene that happens later on but it is the same drama.

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Mistaken Love (2024) is a great romance revenge miniseries set in historical times. The leading couple, Mo Jin (played by Li Dai Kun) and Li Cong Huan (played by Shao Yu Qi), did a wonderful job bringing their characters to life. Their story is as beautiful as heart wrenching; they both loved each other dearly and became estranged and hurt deeply by the conniving antagonist which carefully planned to frame Mo Jin and make him Li Cong Huan’s object of revenge. Mo Jin and Li cong Huan are both passionate, whether it is loving or hating someone, so the drama is full of murder attempts and palace antics, but everything is done for a reason and the leading couple was a force to be reckon with. This is a well written and casted miniseries. The cast did a great job carrying out their characters and the leading couple had great chemistry. Both Li Dai Kun (Mo JIN) and Shao Yu Qi ( Li Cong Huan) masterfully displayed the use of gestures, facial expressions, and eye gaze to communicate their emotions and intentions. Overall, this drama is excellent and very entertaining. Enjoy it!

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This drama is a masterpiece! It tells the story of Xue Fang Fei, a woman that, after undergoing betrayal at the hands of her beloved, gets a second chance in life as she is saved by Jiang Li, a woman who suffers a wrongful death after been abandoned by her family. After impersonating Jian Li, Xue Fei, together with Tong Er ([Jiang Li's maid), embarks on a journey towards revenge and seeks justice for her and Jian Li. This drama is a suspenseful story of second chances, revenge, justice, and a steadfast love that grows out of respect and mutual understanding. This is also a star studded drama in which the cast masterfully brings forward complex characters and situations. The leading lady, Wu Jin Yan as Jiang Li / Xue Fang Fei / Xue Li and the leading male, Wang Xing Yue as Xiao Heng / Duke Su, are a force to be reckoned with. Both have smart, powerful, passionate, and influential personalities that make this riveting drama so entertaining to watch. Although there are not many intimate romantic scenes between the leading couple, their romance and the way they interacted with each other was soulfully satisfying and mesmerizing as they teased each other and worked together to exact revenge, help stabilized their country, and find a great love at the end.
As mentioned before, the performances by the cast, main and supporting, was stellar. Apart from the leading couple, there is the flawless representation of the cold blooded, selfish, eccentric antagonist Princess Wan Ning adeptly played by Li Meng.
There are many lengthy and detailed reviews about this drama that could give away some details as spoilers. Read as many as you want but the viewers only need to know that this drama has it all, action, revenge, great costumes, beautiful cinematography, a well written story, and a love that will definitely leave the audience completely satisfied. Enjoy it!

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Destined is a great historical romantic “comedy”. It is a drama with stellar actors that did a great job bringing their characters to life. There are usual twisted palace antic, great action scenes, striking cinematography, remarkable friendships, and a strong, beautiful and steadfast slow burned romance for the leading couple. Although their great romantic scenes are at episodes 27 and 28 only, the leading couple oozed phenomenal chemistry every time they were together, even when they were bickering, just looking at each other, or planning their next strategic move. This drama might seem not well done for individuals that were looking for a great factual based historical drama with no plot holes, but for those looking for a drama on a leading couple who are perfect match in mind and spirit with great values and deep love for family, friends, and their countryman, this drama offers all of that in a very satisfying way and entertaining way, Enjoy it!

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Night of Love with You is a great miniseries about the always antagonist manga character Qi Qi/ Luo Qing (played by Liu Xie Ning) that by a glitch enters the new comic "Night of Love With You" and becomes the heroine Luo Qing. The comic’s male lead suffers an accident at the hands of Luo Qing and get into a comatose state that gives way to the story between Luo Qing and the male antagonist Leng Ye Han (played by Guan Yue). The former leading lady, Song Ruo Yun (played by Pu Yu Tong), becomes the antagonist who does everything possible to get rid of QiQi to be able to be with the comic’s main lead Mu Nan Chen (played by Liu Ya Kun). The drama is well written and the cast did a great job bringing their characters to life. Mu Nan Chen’s demeanor is quite passive and stoic which is well done by the writer because that way the character of the antagonist Leng Ye Han takes center stage. Song Ruo Yun (played by Pu Yu Tong), the character that Qi Qi was supposed to play, really nails the antagonist role, she is selfish and vicious trying to get Qi Qi/ Luo Qing out of the way. The plot is well developed, there’s great character growth, and the lead couple has great chemistry, Even Luo Qing brother, Luo Cheng (played by Zheng Peng) nails his character as he is constantly used as a pawn to by the antagonist to get Luo Qing. He provides a comical relief to the drama as well as Luo Qing constant monologues that provide insight into the factual aspects of the comic’s plot. Overall, this miniseries provides an interesting story and it is entertaining, enjoy it.

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Dong Lan Xue (found on YouTube as “East Column Snow”) is a great revenge miniseries with the right amount of romance. Even if it is a miniseries, the plot and the leading couple did a fantastic job bringing their characters to life. The tale of revenge is well thought out on this drama and the leading couple has a slow developing mesmerizing chemistry that is sensual and beautiful to watch. There is a good amount of decently done action and bloody killings as they exact revenge and protect themselves or others in their quest to bring light to the injustice suffered by both leads and impose punishment on the vicious powerful antagonists. This is a well done miniseries and is very entertaining. Enjoy it!

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Review for Season 1 & 2 together!

This review is for seasons 1 and 2. Both seasons are fantastic. The cast did a great job bringing their characters to life and the leading couple has a splendid relationship that develops into a beautiful, steadfast, and heartwarming romance with very good chemistry. It is refreshing to see He Lian Xuan (played by Wang Zu Yi) and Leng Li/A Qi (played by Wen Mo Yan), two very intelligent characters, as they get closer and stronger to become a devoted power couple. Since it is a miniseries divided into two seasons, it is best to see one right after the other to appreciate that, although the production is not perfect, the both seasons are well done in matters of production value. These miniseries have a substantial plot that could have been better served if turned into a long format drama. Overall, both seasons are worth watching and entertaining. Enjoy it!

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This is a fantastic romance/revenge miniseries in a historical era setting. The series is fast paced with a well developed plot, great cinematography and choreography, The OST is nice and it complements the drama well. The cast did a great job bringing their characters to life and the leading couple complemented each other very well and had passionate, tender chemistry that got better and better as the drama progressed. Although minidramas have the tendency to show marked jumps from one episode to another, this drama did quite well in trying to maintain the flow within its complicated plot. Overall, the drama is great and entertaining. Enjoy it!

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This is my third rewatch since I saw this drama in 2015 and I decided to write a review now. This is a very good romance drama that, although not perfect, it has a beautiful romantic story that started in college, suffers a 7 year hiatus, but remains strong and steadfast in the hearts and souls of the leading couple. The cast did a great job bringing their characters to life and the leading couple has great chemistry. I must say that the leading young couple [Luo Yun Xi (as He Yi Chen) and Janice Wu (as Zhao Mo Sheng)] at the beginning of the drama did a phenomenal job playing the leading characters and beautifully paved the path for Wallace Chung (as He Yi Chen) and Tiffany Tang (as Zhao Mo Sheng) to continue the wonderfully played love story. The supporting cast did well also and Viola Mi (as Xiao Xiao) and Eric Le Yang (as Lu Yuan Feng) were fun and refreshing to watch. The OST is great! Overall, although there are some annoying and not so well develop issues in the drama, mostly the invalid divorce and English “speaking” characters, the drama excel in the romance plot execution. Enjoy it!

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This drama is fantastic; a more realistic interpretation of modern perspectives on relationships and marriage. This is a star studded drama that is not only well written but also excellently executed by the main and supporting cast. The drama is full of insightful and meaningful conversations that harmonize perfectly with the raw and thoughtful emotions of the three main couples in the drama. Each couple handled and performed their story in a very realistic and emotional way even when the real emotions were not easily perceived by their loved ones. The drama has a lot of wounded souls that got together, loved together, and healed together to become a strong support for each other. The development of each couple’s journey was sometimes heartbreaking to see but it was also the process that culminated in a better understanding of each other and a more profound and steadfast love. One character that is insightfully written and fantastically performed is Kim Hyun Ja [Ji Ho's mother] played by Kim Sun Young. Overall, this drama is insanely great and entertaining, enjoy it!

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The Princess and the Werewolf is not a Beauty and The Beast remake; it is a fantasy similar in topic but it really tells its own story. The drama is a comedy, it has satire flair. There are some really funny and some warm moments but it seems grotesquely exaggerated for the most part. The drama is set in a historical era shadowed with a knack for the use contemporary effects such as: English language usage, the statue of Michelangelo’s David (1501-1504)-(covered by a cape, of course) that the Princess’ mother sent her from Europe, mention of abstractionist art, costumes with a modern flair, cocktail shakers and bartending tricks, a tango dance (a dance that originated in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century), and the character Chun’er which is the equivalent of a social media application, which indicates that this drama is not meant to be taking seriously for its content. For those that are expecting a great romantic story between the lead couple, it will lead to a great disappointment. The leading lady is supposed to be independent, smart, and “mischievous and lively” but, for most of the drama, her character is insufferable and she spends most of the drama been conjectural and manipulative. The leading man also comes up as only a deceitful person in her eyes even though he is constantly risking his life to save her. Also, for been a comedy, there is a REALLY unnecessary occurrence close to the end of the drama that leaves an overall sour feel by the end. The happy ending is rushed and uneventful.

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Royal Rumours is a nice fictional comedy set in historical times that features action, palace politics and revenge plots, a good amount of funny people and moments, and a light romance between the lead couple. Romance is not the main plot on this drama, so the leading couple’s romantic feelings develop after they started to trust, understand, and support each other. Their romantic scenes were much better carried out when they were not intimate since they really lacked chemistry while kissing; for the rest, it was great; their banter and their developing feelings were nice to watch. The rest of the cast also did a good job bringing their characters to life and the parents, to include the emperor, were a breath of fresh air. Overall, this is a nice lighthearted and funny drama to watch if the viewer is not expecting a blazing romance. Enjoy it!

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This is a super fun drama to watch. The plot of the drama is centered on a group of four friends, their struggles and achievements within the setting of the high fashion industry. The drama is a romantic comedy as much as it is about the friendship and the steadfast love and support among the four friends as they put their utmost efforts to succeed in their chosen careers in the competitive and, many at times, cruel manipulations of the people in power within the industry. The drama touches these aspects but it is kept a lighthearted drama about this group of magnificent friends and how they pull together, also with the help of other friends and family, on their way to find success. There is also a very nice romance story between Ji-eun (Chae Soo Bin) and Woo-min (Choi Min Ho) who display some heartbreaking moments, some heart lighted moments, and a beautiful romantic chemistry as they try to love and understand each other. This drama, as a comedy has some over the top flaunt of erratic emotions but it is so well done that it doesn’t lose the essence and solemnity of love and friendship. Overall, a great and very entertaining drama, enjoy it!

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This is a drama labeled as romance. It is more a romantic comedy that failed in the romance department. First of all, although there is a great character development for the leading characters, it takes forever! The leading male, Li Tang (Jerry Yang), portrays a man with “Peter Pan syndrome”, an adult who is socially immature, and supposedly unreliable. Jerry Yang does a great job delivering this character but his childish demeanor is overloaded with weird facial expressions and tiring playful attitudes which diminish his high level intelligence and problem solving ability. On the other hand, the leading lady, Fu Fang Si (Maggie Jiang), is a fashion designer with low emotional intelligence who mostly cares for her fashion label because of its attachment to her deceased father. For most of the drama, she is constantly bickering with Li Tang and blaming everything on him. Granted that he keeps a lot of things from her, but she is impulsive and quick to condemn him while she is very understanding and forgiving of everyone else that has stab her on the back. By the very end of the drama, and having been through thick and thin together, they grow to understand, love, and appreciate each other; but the journey only gives the viewer great playful interactions between the lead couple, masterminded business antics with conniving antagonists, and a flat romantic chemistry between Jerry Yang and Maggie Jiang. Although, most of the time, the leading couple’s story is full of banter and misunderstandings, they get their happy and successful ending. The rest of the cast did very well bringing their characters to life. Ron Ng (as Yin Hao Ran) and Viola Mi (as Cheng Xiang Nan) were also excellent portraying their heavy laden and complicated antagonistic characters. Overall, with patience and tolerance of some over-theatrical acting, the drama is entertaining enough while waiting for a great one to come!

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