First off, these slow, poetic K-dramas are generally not my cup of tea, and this one suffered like the others. After the initial well-done aesthetics, and 'cozy' feel are established nothing ... happens. Plus, the romance was very immature for one woman divorced and one man with an established dating history. If you are familiar with the U.S. show Younger that this is based on, this doesn't have the crazy hijinks and cliffhangers, it is quiet and not much happens.
What kept me watching, was the ideal of work that you love, doing it with integrity, and adding value and well-being in the world. If only we could all work like that! It seems like an ideal from another time, and it moved me a lot. Also, the care the show put in to actually portraying the publishing industry with detail.
Acting was competent, music matched the mood, I absolutely will not be rewatching. I grade on other criteria:
Complex Themes - 7.5
Putting in the time and work to create and bring art into the world is a responsibility and a lifelong passion. Behaving with integrity may cause pain in the short run, but pays off in the long-run. A minor theme on how hard modern capitalism is on mothers.
Character Growth - 4
No one meaningfully changes or grows, they are the same as of episode 2 as the end. Perhaps, the most disappointing part of the show.
Complex women and relationships between women- 7
There's plenty of screen time between the women in the publishing house, them interacting, mentoring, helping and hurting each other. They are all a bit of a stereotype. Dani, it must be said, is a bit of a blank slate - apparently has no friends or family besides what goes on in the publishing house.
Production/Cinematography - 8
I loved all the different outerwear/coats. The clothing and settings really fit the characters. There was a soft, warm feel to the cinematography that suited the show, and I liked how they shot bookstores and books, but it did not attempt to be very creative cinematically.
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Love is so strange yet so Beautiful
You can read this this is spoiler freeBefore starting this review I want to tell that this is a noona romance so don't start this if you don't like the genre I saw many people hating this show just cuz of that stupid reason. The difference isn't that much here either. ML is 32 and FL is 37 just 5 year gap and both are adults. Don't start this if you're not gonna continue. Cuz you know every book got its own charm some may like it and some may not. This is a simple Slice of Life story showing us the daily lives of some people. So don't expect that there will be bloodshed and everyone will be at gunpoint. This is a whole different genre by Lee Jong Suk. So now that you've got a clear picture of the drama continue if you are going to complete it or else don't start there are plenty of other shows you can watch go ahead......
So now that I completed Romance is a bonus book I am in love with this show and I already miss it so much.
So let's talk about the plot as you've read this story revolves around the daily life of a divorcee Kang Dan I who's struggling to find a job despite of having a successful career and Cha Eun Ho a famous, kind, young Author, Chief Editor and Profesor who doesn't believe in love.
Cha Eun Ho is a really lovable character he cares about the women whom he loves and admires. He always gave his shoulder to her when she needed and they always believed that they will stay for one another even if the whole world is against them
Kang Dan I is a single mother who was divorced by her husband. She's now unemployed and doesn't have money. She somehow gets a job in a company where Eun Ho is chief editor. Her character is like a warm cup of tea. She's so good to everyone throughout the series despite having problems. I don't get why people don't like her I mean she's just a simple human what else can she do She's working hard to earn so that she could pay for her daughter's education who's in Phillipines.
Overall I'd say that if you're looking for something that can calm you down and you want to get out of your stressful life and want to take a break this drma is for you. Give it a chance you'll really like this. The acting,cast ost everything was just so perfect. Don't look for much of a story just continue and you'll fall in love with show and the characters shown here.
If you read it till here thanks for reading and I hope you'll have a good time watching this.
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Lacking
I loved this series—warm, tender, deep love story. Lacked to show intimacy though considering the length of time the lead guy has loved her - 20 years. They live together too so they should have had more intimate scenes like passionate kissing at least. And it doesn’t have to look distasteful. Secretary Kim’s bed scene was artfully not lustfully executed. The fact that this was lacking in this series, diluted the love story for me. It just does not make sense to not show an intimate, passionate scene given the circumstances: his enduring love through all the years and them cohabitating now. It’s just unrealistic that nothing physically passionate is shown. And it didn't explain why he didn't know that she has fallen on hard times for a whole year without him knowing, given the fact that he always drives to her house when he gets drunk. He didn't get drunk for a whole year I guess (???!!!) But they didn’t meet for lunch, even once, in that one year after her divorce? That’s odd considering how deep their friendship is. Hmmmm.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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It starts off compelling, but loses steam, lacking anything interesting to focus on
Fresh off watching strong recent performances for Lee Jong Suk in "Big Mouth" and Wi Ha Joon in "Little Women", I decided to check out Romance is a Bonus Book, curious as to some of their characters they played in their previous works. I figured it couldn't hurt to watch RIABB since both of them were in it and I was looking for some lighter fare to watch.Boy was that a mistake. I'll try to keep the plot points at a high-level, if you're still curious to watch this.
The show starts off fine enough. Dan-Yi's journey of rediscovering herself as a working woman after spending time away to be a housewife is relatable and admirable. We can appreciate her struggle, her sorrow and what a bad situation she finds herself in. Especially in Asia, where women are still expected to be the sole the caretaker of the house. This is all good. She is determined to find a new path in her life, work through the garbage tasks given to her at her new job and find new love.
Once the story turns the corner to her relationship with the male lead, the story goes all downhill. I don't know who comes up with these ideals that if you wait for someone for over *checks notes* "TWENTY, TWENTY years" that somehow you will be rewarded with an opportunity to shack up with them. It's almost bizarre how his character basically ignores her problems initially and swoops into the save the day later on.
Why would a man so perfect be single? He was waiting his whole life for the girl that got hit by a car for him? Sure, even if I accept that backstory as plausible, he basically says every girl he dated after she got married didn't work out because it wasn't her? I'm supposed to believe that too? It's no wonder why everyone has this made up fantasy in their heads that there is only ONE person in the entire world for them.
In addition, we also given our sad sack second placers to complete the love triangles with Wi Ha Joon and Eugene Jung, who in typical fashion, are generally far more compelling then the lead couple. I probably would have had more fun with the series had they focused a little more on these two, rather than all the middling side stores of the less important characters they added in for some reason. Did we need all the screen time for Park Gyu Young (who was actually kind of funny at times), Kang Gi Doong, Jo Han Chul and friends?
It's just time wasted that could have been better spent elsewhere. When the main couple's relationship advances, why is there no talk of the daughter? What happened to her? She was so important to Dan-Yi initially. Is the ML going to be her father? Is there no such thing as co-parenting with the ex-husband? Where even is she? Dealing with these actual issues would have been much better than the made-up issues they came up with to pad the run time.
The last few episodes were a drag and made no sense. They sure went to a lot of trouble to make-up issues for Dan-Yi just to have an magical ass-pull fix to remedy the situation that didn't even need to happen in the first place. What for? Because they really had nothing left to tell. Wi Ha Joon's closing arc is not worth noting either. It was a weak attempt to play at emotion to close the story.
In the end, they gave everyone a happy ending. Was anything learned? Not really. The book closes with a happily ever after. I don't think you'll be happy after watching it though.
Suggestion: PASS
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PLOT: I thought it would solely about the romance(and how it blooms), but it was so much more than that. This drama (in my opinion) is about growing as a person, finding yourself even when people say you are too old for that. For me, the publishing house was the real star of this drama and the staff of it was the perfect “backdrop” for our heroes to grow. I loved how books were the center of some plots and the big “plot twist”.
THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN OUR MAIN COUPLE: I felt like Lee Jong Suk who played Cha Eun Ho was much more confident and relaxed, then Lee Na-young who played Kang Dan-i, when they acted the love scenes. But despise that the chemistry was good, I “believed” in this couple and that’s the whole point, isn’t it?
OUR SECOND LOVE INTEREST: Wi Ha-Joon who played Ji Seo Joon is our second love interest and weirdly the “only” love interest that is going somewhere for like the first 5/6 episodes, it was unexpected, to say the least. I liked him sometimes more than our main love interest.
HOW IT ENDS: The ending wasn’t rushed and I appreciate it, but was it satisfying? Yes and No. All the plot wholes we did see resolved in the last episode but I don’t know, didn’t feel satisfied with the ending. Felt like something was missing.
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No entiendo porque el publico joven necesita ver series dramáticas y exageradas. Que tengan una gran velocidad. Yo disfrute cada detalle de esta.
No entiendo porque no aceptan una madre que se aleja de su hija para resolver su vida, pero aceptan una protagonista que deja que todos la maltraten, en otras series. No se dieron cuenta que toda esta trama pasa solo en 6 meses, nada mas.
Yo la recomiendo 100% y seguro volveré a verla, cuando necesite adéntrame en los libros de esta historia
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Nothing happens here
It's amazing how creative one can be to produce 16 hours of drama that contributes to nothingness.Noooo chemistry in this romcom.
The problem is that k dramas have such excellent serials that even if one is mediocre, it leads to disappointment.
The office setting is boring, the interactions between colleagues is mundane, yawwnnn.
The FL character was different and interesting, but instead of playing on those strengths they focused on mediocre traits.
Just did not click.
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Wholesome and gorgeous
This is my first 10 across the board! Such a special series.I adored it, plain and simple. It was really sweet, really wholesome; it has top tier acting, an incredible OST, as well as really unique characters and pairings. I don't normally vibe with love triangles/squares but this was done so well I had absolutely no issue with it here. It also has some absolutely hilarious moments. I can't give you a single reason why you might not enjoy it.
I'm very new to K-dramas but wow... "Romance Is A Bonus Book" was one hell of a way to start getting into them. I'm not about to forget this one anytime soon. It was also my introduction to Lee Jong Suk and, yes, I've fallen for him hard. Jealous Eun Ho was a highlight for me. Eun Ho just in general is going onto my favourite characters' list in my brain, he's so soft and gentle, but also really funny and confident. And his outfits! Anyway, everyone is a gem in this. I could easily see "Romance Is A Bonus Book" becoming a comfort show for me in the future.
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Generic and forgettable
This is not a show that will change your life. This is background filler until you find the next drama to obsess over. This is the equivalent of junk food that doesn’t really even taste good, empty calories and a dissatisfaction of having eaten something bad you thought might taste better. Trite and by the end I was waiting for it to be over. There’s nothing overall that I hated about it but I really did not love it and it felt like a chore to watch. The secondary characters were far more interesting than the main ones.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Comment retrouver un travail quand on s'est arrêté des années ?
Ce qu’on ressent à regarder ce drama se rapproche du confort agréable et chaleureux d’une tasse de thé en hiver, au coin du feu, dans un fauteuil profond et confortable avec un bon livre et un chat qui ronronne à côté. On suit avec plaisir la relation amoureuse qui s’installe entre Dan Yi et Eun Oh, relation qui se construit paisiblement, sans crise, sans « je t’aime mais je te quitte » qui s’accepte et qui se manifeste ensuite au quotidien, ce qui est bien sympa : en effet, dans les dramas, le plus souvent, les héros s’avouent leur amour, s’en suit un baiser et (parfois)une nuit plus ou moins passionnée et ensuite… plus rien ! plus de bisous, plus de gestes de tendresses, comme si on avait dit : « l’amour, c’est fait, passons à autre chose ! » pas ici, Eun Oh n’arrête pas de montrer ses sentiments et si Dan Hyi a quelques instants de surprise, elle les accepte plutôt facilement et y répond avec bonheur ! Bref, ça ressemble aux débuts d’une vraie relation amoureuse.Mais heureusement il n’y a pas que ça dans ce drama ! Il y a la maison d’édition et son équipe de direction, composée de personnages pittoresques et très attachants, autant les hommes que les femmes, qui ne sont pas que des faire-valoir et c’est bien agréable ! Les liens qui se créent, les personnalités qui se découvrent créent un univers chaleureux et prenant. Et il y a tout ce qui concerne le travail de l’édition depuis le manuscrit jusqu’à la sortie et l’attente du chiffre des ventes, des commandes de réédition et le passage mélancolique au « pilon » où les livres retournés sont détruits. Et quel plaisir de voir et d’entendre des personnages qui aiment les livres, la littérature, les auteurs et qui en ont fait le centre de leur vie !
Autre aspect intéressant du drama, le rapport entre le travail et les femmes en Corée du Sud. Dan Hyi se trouve dans une impasse totale : elle a arrêté de travailler pendant 11 ans, et elle se heurte à la muraille invisible car elle ne rentre plus dans aucune des cases qui correspondent à la hiérarchie du travail en Corée du Sud. C’est plus qu’un plafond de verre, c’est une boîte en verre et c’est ahurissant à voir tout en étant plutôt anxiogène !
Tous ces fils s’entrelacent dans une intrigue harmonieuse, légèrement pimentée par le mystère de l’auteur disparu;
Les décors sont beaux, les images aussi, la garde-robe de Lee Jong Sun est une incroyable collection de manteaux !
et c’est pour ce genre de détail que j’aime les dramas tournés en hiver. De jolies trouvailles de réalisation, comme ces phrases aux changements d’épisodes, qui donne à entendre les pensées des personnages… Et quelle très jolie conclusion avec la citation de Sôseki : La lune est magnifique !
Les acteurs sont parfaits, naturels et chaleureux, touchants, ou drôles ou les deux. Un bémol pour le couple de débutants, surtout la fille, qui collectionne les clichés de la gourde de service dans les dramas ! Mais c’est un détail !
Donc, en conclusion, on n’en sort pas bouleversés, mais confortés, charmés, et c’est bien agréable.
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I started watching Romance is a bonus book Not only because of LJS, but also I’m interested in books and reading.So from a readers point of view I was satisfied with the office part that was shown. The drama managed to give a quick tour of what goes in a publishing house, enough to make someone interested to work in a publishing house.
However the problem I found with this drama was, Dani, the female lead is supposed to be a divorce with a kid, who’s studying abroad, the story would have been much better if they showed the kid at least in the last few episodes, how the kid will adapt to the male lead, and if the male lead is up to being a good and responsible father to the daughter. That is the only reason I gave it 7.5 or I would go with the majority and rate it 8/10 , because of this I found the ending a bit unsettling.
The acting was ok this is my first time seeing the female lead and I don’t think her character is complicated so her acting was good and fair, LJS brought his cute charm with him as always and his good acting is a given .
Overall I would recommend it if your looking for something light hearted and soft.
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Wonderfully satisfying
Not sure if it's just me, but I'm just not gelling with a lot of the current crop of kdramas and so over the past few months, I've been watching older dramas (2016-2019) and found myself falling in love with the genre each time.So Romance is a Bonus Book was on the list and it was it's time last week.
Long story short, I absolutely loved it - the characters, the relationships, the story, were all great. On top of that, I felt that all the secondary characters got enough screen time and a complete story arc to leave you feeling really satisfied at the end of it.
Our main leads had a great story and our protagonist (Kang Dan-i played by Lee Na Young) had such a relatable story of a single mother trying to get back into the workplace after taking time out due to looking after her child and the difficulties that caused. The prejudice she faced to try and get work was really interesting.
Definitely give it a go if you haven't watched it already - it really is lovely and a really satisfying watch. The romance is good and not without the classic triangles - or maybe a quadrangle in this case - that we know and love. It has enough of the Kdrama fantasy without being fantastical and while there may be a few knight in shining armour moments with the mail lead relationship but it's wholesome based on their lifelong friendship, it's more about a strong independent woman and what she needs to do to succeed and provide for her child.
Negatives? Very few. The soundtrack is nice but ok - I'm nitpicking here :)
Go watch it.
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