Romance é um Livro Bônus (2019)

Slow, lovely drama

This drama made me think of lazy days curled up with a good book, which was appropriate because it was based on people that make books. I tend to love the stories that have to do with books, because Korean filmmakers always do such a good job of displaying and showcasing books. They incorporate books into the set design in such a special way. The publishing company that the people worked with was beautiful and each of the characters brought something special to the table.
WRITING: I thought the writing was good. There was some lagging toward the end of the show, mainly because there wasn't big conflict throughout the whole show. We got to see a lot of insights into the characters' daily lives, which I can understand might bore some people, but I loved learning more about each of the characters and what made them the way they were. The book analogies and references woven throughout the story were wonderful, and I loved the way the writers were saying that each of us is like a book and we're waiting for that special person to come along and take the time to read us and learn about us. The passion of the employees of the publishing company was a treat to see, they loved what they were creating, and getting one of their books published was such a terrific achievement, it could almost be equated with having a child. I loved the photos/pictures at the end of each episode that had captions giving voice to Dani-i and Eun Ho's thoughts of each other.
ACTING: Lee Jong Suk (as Cha Eun Ho) was, as always excellent. His look and his voice were perfect for this role. He was a stalwart friend and had hidden feelings that he was afraid to voice. There were a lot of times in the drama that he was doing voice-over work, and he's got the absolute best voice for it. His character was calm and gentle. He cries beautifully. Lee Na Young (as Kang Dan-i) was good as well. I'd have to say it took me some time to warm up to her character, because she was a hot mess. Actually, all of the actors were very good and this felt more like an ensemble show because of the screen time that everyone got.
OST: Beautiful music interwoven throughout.
CINEMATOGRAPHY/COSTUMING: Beautifully filmed. I thought the scenes toward the end of the drama, when two of the main characters were standing by a lake, were especially well done. Both of them in well-fitting black clothes against the darkness of the water and the brown/fall tones of the trees surrounding the lake - very effective for the mood being created at the time. Lee Jong Suk knows how to wear clothes, that's for sure. The costume designers did a good job with wardrobe in this drama, except for the ridiculous pink, red, and gray camouflage trench coat that Jong Suk wore - it was very distracting.
CHEMISTRY: The main couple were cute together, but I'd say that the chemistry for them was more like old friends than anything else. They had a couple of good kisses and a sexual relationship was implied. I just loved the chemistry between all the actors when they were working together.
REWATCH: I must admit that I watched it three times before reviewing it, so I'd say YUP.
So, in my opinion, this is a good show to watch if you want low angst and a slow storyline. A story that will let you get to know the characters and to root for them. Now I want a job at a publishing company!

Leia Mais

This was a real snooze fest for me. With the high rating, I was excited to watch this drama. After I watched the first few episodes, I thought with the high rating, it must get better as it progresses. Boy, was I wrong! I didn’t have the patience to just sit and watch, so I finished it while on my exercise machine. I found myself falling asleep, so to stay awake, I had to exercise. It took me over a month to watch it. I just should have dropped it. But by the time I realized that it wasn’t going to get better, I was too far into it. Kind of like Hospital Playlist was for me. High ratings, but boring to me. With Romance Is A Bonus Book, I felt no chemistry between the Leads at all. The age gap was too big for me. She looked way older than him, and it just didn’t work. Decent acting, but it didn’t help this. Basically, just about a woman falling on hard times, and her determination to succeed. This was with the help of and old friend who always had feeling for her but never expressed them. The end was OK, but I feel like I wasted a lot of my time completing this, but I wanted to give it a chance. I should just learn to drop dramas, but it’s hard when I have time invested in it.

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I was pleasantly surprised by this show. The acting was outstanding - not a clinker in the bunch. I thought the story was pretty good - it kept moving along with enough happening each episode to make me want to watch the next one. If I had a criticism, it would be that the plot stalled a bit during the last third of the series, but it picked back up often enough to regain it's momentum. Happily, it passes the Bechdel test with flying colors - the female characters are well-developed and have moments of lovely "chick" humor and pathos as well -- good insight in many spots as well. It was a good quality series with good writing and acting.

Leia Mais

Lee Jong Suk really knows how to pick roles. I watched this after The Crowned Clown and honestly I'm so glad I did. From heavy historical emotional drama to chill plus realizations about life drama, it balanced out my emotions. The first episodes of the drama were quite different somehow not that enticing in my point of view but as it goes on it keeps getting better. The one that got me hooked more with the drama is the appearance of the second male lead, I got really Second Male Lead Syndrome vibes with the drama. I also like how they make the story progressive in a gradual and neat way. Most of the characters are also endearing and nice to look at, each having their own unique roles.

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No Chemistry

The show does a great job of showing the harsh reality of being a stay at home mom who is returning to the workforce. I like how the friendships between the women on the show are portrayed. But that is about it. The leads just had no chemistry, they were not believable as a couple. The age gap was not a big deal, these are both adults in their 30s who have known each other for a while, so I don't see any need for pearl clutching as far as that goes.

The FL wears her age well but the show goes out of their way to make her frumpy and plain, I guess because she is a mom. The character is too naïve for a 39 year old woman with a past career who has experienced some things. Her awful wardrobe was a real disappointment, especially contrasted against the ML's who was almost always dressed as if he walked straight out of a fashion magazine. She was always slouching in gigantic clothing or in clothing that was too old for her. There was just something very off-putting about her, so the romantic interactions made me cringe.

I have seen some complaints that they didn't show Dan-i talking/worrying about her daughter enough--you know, because once a woman has kids, we are only allowed to exist and act as mothers and never care about anything else. The premise of the show is that the FL is breaking out of her stay at home mom, mistreated wife role. Her daughter is safely at boarding school. This is about Dan-i getting her life back on track and that is what the show focuses on. If it was supposed to be a show about her as a mother, that would be the plot of the story. It is safe to assume that in the moments we don't see, she is interacting with and worrying about her child. I am glad they don't focus on that, because I don't care about that. Nobody needs yet another show where women are only seen as an appendage to somebody else - mother, wife, secretary, etc. Women who are mothers should be portrayed as people who have thoughts not pertaining to their children and who are allowed to exist outside of their children.

Leia Mais

I was very impressed with this drama! I think maybe because it is a Netflix original, it seems a little more progressive than many of the Kdramas that we know of. The female protagonist is strong-willed and independent while still being feminine and vulnerable, the male protagonist is warm and supportive to his love interest while still being calm and aloof in work conditions. It also touches on some of the societal issues like the expectations of women in the workforce/family/marriage, the stigma of being a divorcee, casual sex and even consent.
Kang Dan Yi (Lee Na Young) is a 37 year old divorcee who lies on her resume to get a job after finding herself homeless and without many options. Cha Eun Ho (Lee Jong Suk) is a 32 year old head editor who is Dan Yi's oldest and closest friend from middle school who also is hiding a secret of his own.
There was so much to love about this drama.
- As the story revolved around books and publishing, the feel of the story felt like a book too, with some beautiful prose after each episode. Being a book lover myself, it was fascinating to see behind the curtain of book publishing, the amount of time, care, effort and money goes into the release of a book. The narration of the story from either side of the main characters was really beautiful too, it helped to see inside their hearts with how they saw and felt about each other.
- The relationship between Eun Ho and Dan Yi is one of the healthiest I've seen in kdramas, it's supportive, full of love and affection (both platonic as well as romantic). Though he has been in love with Dan Yi for quite some time, he never forces his feelings onto her, preferring to hide his feelings before jeopardizing their lifelong friendship. One of my favourite lines from this would be where he is having a battle with himself and his subconscious tells him "Love isn't about ownership. Just because you want her, doesn't mean you can have her."
- There was of course, the slight multiple love-triangle trope that we all love hate to love that's so common in kdramas but in this one, it didn't feel forced and neither of the secondary characters were cloying and scheming like so many are. I actually genuinely loved the secondary characters, especially Song Hae Rin (Jung Yoo Jin) Dan Yi & Eun Ho's workmate. She's incredibly intelligent, feisty, ambitious and takes great pride in what she does while also being very sweet and caring.
- My favourite thing about this drama was the portrayal of the older women in the workforce - the female director of the company and the head of the marketing team. One appears to be cold and calculating, She's unmarried and a workaholic. The other is just going through a divorce and can't wait to let her hair out and explore her newly found freedom. Together with Dan Yi, they start a hesitant friendship after a night of drinking, and as most of those kinds of nights go, they bond over shared war stories. That was definitely one of my most favourite scenes!
- I was shocked but mostly impressed with some of the things that were said in this drama. Dan Yi says a few times that it has been a while since she's had sex and how she 'needs to get laid'. It was refreshing to see a Korean woman owning her sexuality like that while not being overtly sexual or vulgar about it. Also another moment of shock/awe came when one of Eun Ho's exes is revealed to be gay and they approached it in such a 'normal' way. It didn't feel forced at all and I was really impressed with how a gay character wasn't made into a stereotypical caricature or as an automatic afterthought.
- I loved how this drama showed the sacrifices that women are expected to make in society: go to school, get a job, get married, have children, the end. However, what happens if life doesn't work out that way? Dan Yi gave up her job to start a family and it was extremely hard for her to get back onto her feet after such a long hiatus. Even other women who gave up their personal lives to focus on their careers felt threatened by Dan Yi because they were scared of losing what they worked and fought so hard for. This had a little bit of a feminist feel to it and I LOVED IT!!!

Overall, I can't praise this drama enough. I loved how they told the story, I loved how they showed a wonderful relationship between two people, how they should be loving, caring and supportive of each other, no matter what the world thinks of them. After the final credits rolled I got the same feeling as I do from finishing a very satisfying book. It felt warm and filled my heart with hope and happiness. I would definitely re-watch this. Hope you love it too!

Leia Mais

IF YOU ARE UNDER 25 YEARS OLD THIS DRAMA NOT FOR YOU SO PLZ STOP WATCHING !!

If you aren't into cozy ,easy and smooth dramas plz stop watching !! If you aren't intoo books , writing or poetry , philosophy dramas plz stop watching !! If you are waiting for crayz story and plots plz stop watching !! IF YOU ARE
BUT If you want an easy story-line drama who focus on real issues with the most smooth way so yeah this drama for you !!
the drama was so easy to focus on the adult who stopped working for any reason and can't find a decent job when they are back again !! it give you a breath of air that if you tried so much it would work at the end just try your absolute best !!!!! and maybe in all the hell you would find a love !! a real one in the way too and everything would be complete again !!

Story !!

it was so smoothing , easy and well written !! the mix between the poetry and philosophy in the script was sooooooo good it's rare to make this kind of mixes in light dramas like this !! i was watching till the end of the EP that little words they put in the end like a kids story was so refreshing to read .. i felt like i read a book not watching a series !!!!!
they focus in divorce , politic , how difficult for adults to make a come back to their work life again and the age gab love too believe it or not it's a big real issue in some countries !! so much stories in the series that it went so easy with each other with no boring feeling !! and again if you aren't into reading or underage plz stop watching you want getting this drama at all !! even the second lead actor or support ones had their story and ending too !! it was complete drama for me i felt satisfying !! i never actually seen a drama like this for so long !!

Acting
all of them were good !! the chemistry between all of them were on point not just the main lead actors no even the support ones killed me !! i came for just lee and stayed for all of them ...
but i can say that Kim Sun Young was so damn good !! man she made me believe her and cry my eyes out with her !! i felt he pain man :(

Music

were good smoothing and makes your soul and imagination fly with the senses all the time !! it was beautiful for me


Re watching

i watch it twice already ^_^

Overall everything was good .. you won't really understand it if you are so young or not into classic !!! so stop bulling my beautiful series plzzz

Leia Mais

The story of Kang Dan-i and Cha Eun-Ho fulfilled me. I used to be a avid reader (not as much anymore), and this just warmed my heart. In the first half of the series, we get to see how much Eun-Ho loves Dan-i. The little remarks and the jealousy (which she is oblivious to) at the beginning just made it feel real. (Eun-Ho was jealous of Mr. Umbrella AKA Ji Seo Joon).
The second half broke my heart and put it back together, from when Dan-i quit to when she was hired again. Her journey is a bonus book in my heart. Plus the line, "The moon is beautiful." Everything has more meaning. Especially at the end of the episodes when they had little recaps or moments written down. This was such a gift. I would definitely rewatch it.

Leia Mais

Realistic, beautiful and admirable

FIrst of all let me tell you the amount of times I’ve tried to watch it and couldn’t get through the first episode then after all this time finally gave it a show mostly because of Lee Jong Suk but was pretty surprised by how good it is.

PROS
*focus on book publishing and creating was brilliantly executed and viewers were drawn to how personal and how much hard work is poured while creating a book the whole process was unique and interesting to see

* Lee Jong Suk has character is really enjoyable and the way the story develops it and the emotions portrayed by the actor are phenomenal

*storyline even though it is pretty basic but it keeps you attached and not get boring I’m the kind of person who skips a-lot while watching but this show was good enough to watch without skipping a second

*initial platonic relation between ML and FL is admirable and their development is cute

*second lead couple development is just awwhh they’re too cute
SPOILER

ever though they didn’t get together till the last episode they were still cute af

SPOILER END
*side characters are intriguing and enjoyable

*the whole stereotype of woman returning to work and facing challenges Initially is catered really well

*cinematography is just beautiful makes my heart fluster at times

*end credit of writing is admirable and beautiful

CONS
*ML and FL romantically lacks chemistry that I had prepared all ready the lead actresses can’t act at times and idk felt pretty annoying I mean Lee Jong Suk has really great chemistry with pretty much all his costars ( well couldn’t stand the FL in Doctor Stranger but let’s talk about that on another occasion) you could feel the love and admirations he had for the FL character but even after they started dating the FL was just blank Idk it’s not because of age gap because many actors with age gap has best chemistry take eg. Something in the rain or it could be because the FL is married she might have felt uncomfortable and couldn’t really get on the character well I could not really feel any chemistry between them should have just kept their platonic relation till the end tbh ( lmao will get attacked because of this but whatever)

*FL having a child was totally useless and ignored and as a mother it felt she didn’t really focused more on her child like if she quit working because of taking care of her child after 10 years suddenly why did she just leave her child completely off the hook and cared more about her job suddenly didn’t really made sense to me honestly one movement she left her successful career for her kid and then boom child is just gone doing whatever the F viewers couldn’t catch up with

*the story felt draggy at times would have been better if it was a 12 episode show then a 16

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