lovecoutureflyy

I've been looking for a good dark romance! I'll start with Love & Bid Farewell then and update you on my thoughts! And thanks for the recommendations!

I haven't, but after reading the descriptions for them, I definitely will be watching them! They sound super exciting, especially Love & Bid Farewell, Grab Your Love, and Gemini. Which one would you recommend I start with first?

Thank you! I just started watching them a few months back in the summer, and they have become my addiction. I'm still in disbelief that I've watched over two hundred of them already. They have been a good replacement for lakorns, because I've been having such a hard time finding any good new ones lately.

I would say that about 65% of the dramas I've watched are from them appearing on my YouTube feed (I watch them so much that my whole YouTube feed is practically flooded with vertical dramas). The rest are from me searching through actors' filmographies and looking at big Vertical Drama lists on MDL, like Jwells' Vertical Drama list that has over 3000 listed. I'm just lucky that most of them are good, though I do come across a few boring/bad ones here and there.

You're welcome! Thanks for reminding me that I need to update this soon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWToiQYPIjI

You'll have to do mental gymnastics with these subtitles, but they were the best I could find.

While I was in the middle of watching it, they took all of the videos down. How annoying, especially because it was good. Do you have a link for Dailymotion?

This version was good, and of course, I always love watching Yao Guan Yu, but I preferred the version with Wang Yi Yang and Qian Zhe.

Here's a link with English subs.
https://dramafren.net/watch/a-knife-through-his-love-full/

If you still need the link, here is one.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9807ke

Found a link on Dailymotion.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9807ke

Here's a link with English subs.
https://dramafren.net/watch/a-knife-through-his-love-full/

Link w/ English Subs
https://dramafren.net/watch/a-knife-through-his-love-full/

Thanks so much! I'll definitely be checking it out!

“No Escape From Love”
Starring: Han Jia Hui and Li Zhuo Yao
My Rating: 6.5

Five years ago, he was temporarily blind and couldn’t see the woman he had fallen in love with, but now he is on the hunt for her.

This was a cute short drama, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The reason the female lead continues to hide her past from the male lead is a bit flimsy though, but it was cute how much the male lead was attached to her, even when he wasn’t sure if she was the same woman who had taken care of him five years ago when he was in the hospital. It was like a magnet was attached to her, and he could not stay away from her. I also liked both Han Jia Hui and Li Zhuo Yao’s performances.

By the way, I couldn’t find the official title for this, so this title is the title that was on the website I watched. But that website is notorious for making up titles, so if you’re searching for this, take the title with a grain of salt.

[Good Romance + Good Chemistry = Liked It!]

Update: This is now listed on MDL as Chun Qing Ya Tou Xiu Xiang Tao, and I also added it on my list.

“Hunting Heart”
Starring: Xiao Wen Yu and Qi Yi Wen
My Rating: 6.5

She starts an affair with a younger man to get back at her cheating husband.

From the very first scene, Hunting Heart teases an illicit affair between a wife hurt by her cheating husband’s infidelity and a younger man, who is willing to help her act out her revenge. I do wish their kisses would have matched the passionate nature of their relationship, but I did like the leads together, and I was really invested in the female lead’s personal journey. Her husband had been awful to her, so it was nice to see her be able to take control of her life and win in the end. Her kids annoyed me a lot though because it shouldn’t have taken them seeing with their own eyes how much of a scumbag their father was in order to believe their own mother. Overall, it was a good watch, though.

[Good Storyline + Good Female Lead Performance = Good!]

Update: This is now listed on MDL as Lie Xin, and I also added it on my list.

Unfortunately, I don't have an account. I tried searching the poster to see if I could find it on any other official platforms, but to no avail. It's always so hard to find any official sources with complete information on these dramas, though. You would think by now, with so many vertical dramas coming out every year, that they would make an official database for them.

“The Penny Story”
Starring: Bai Yan and Sa Gang Yun
My Rating: 4

He mistakes her for a prostitute, but actually, she is his wife.

This started off hilarious, and I thought the misunderstandings were funny, but halfway through, what was once funny just became downright annoying. I could understand why the female lead lied at first, but eventually, it just got to a point where it was ridiculous. It felt like they were dragging out the reveal of her being his wife until the very last minute, which technically they did.

I titled this as the Penny Story because that is what it has been coined as by viewers online, and apparently, there are several other versions of this story up. But I have no idea what the real title is.

[Draggy Plotline + Annoying Misunderstanding = Didn't Like It!]

Yes, it's her!

“Love Her Like Life Itself”
Starring: Ma Xiao Yu & Wang Nan Nan
My Rating: 6.5

She sells herself to him to save her father, but now he won’t let her go.

This is a very dark romance. I thought I had seen Ma Xiao Yu play crazy before, but he was definitely unhinged here. This was a rollercoaster ride. We have a very obsessive male lead, hell-bent on keeping the female lead at all costs by his side. It led to some abusive scenes, and at one point, I was ready to drop it. It wasn’t just because of the male lead’s actions, though. But because the female lead faced abuse from so many characters, it became a bit exhausting to watch. Also, I’m just not a fan of watching the female lead be humiliated constantly, even if it’s in the name of love. With that being said, the leads have chemistry, and if you’re into darker romances, you’ll enjoy it. At least here, I could understand why the female lead fell in love with the male lead. Their love for each other was crazy, but they definitely loved each other. I also liked the ending.

Under the YouTube video, where I watched it, it said the title was ‘Love Her Like Life Itself’, but I don’t know if it’s one of those made-up titles or an actual translation of the Chinese title. The drama isn’t listed yet on MDL, though.

[Good Chemistry + Entertaining Romance = Good!]