Kdrama Review: Hello Monster aka. I Remember You

Drama: Hello Monster (aka. I Remember You)

Genre: Suspense Crime Thriller

Starring: Seo In Guk, Jang Nara, Park Bo Gum

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

I was in a bit of a drama slump, so decided I  need some Seo In Guk in my life again, and this was the last drama of his I hadn't yet seen, so the choice was obvious. It' called both Hello Monster, and I Remember You. And it's a bit of a heart wrenching thing. 

Our main dude comes back to Korea because of an email hinting at something he's been trying to find for years... namely, his brother. When they were kids, we learn that their dad was murdered by a very bad serial murderer dude who's path they had all crossed. (This bad dude played BRILLIANTLY by D.O. from EXO... the younger version anyway.) And the brother, who was like only 8 or something, disappeared that night. 

Now it's years later, and suddenly our guy is getting the vibe that maybe his brother is still out there somewhere. And yeah. Of course he is. Meanwhile, he ends up helping a fabulous team of cops who investigate murders, and falls for the girl on that team. Only, he is very aloof about it of course. (Ah, I wanted more swoony SIG romance moments, but this drama is not about that I guess...)

Instead, it's about this brother relationship, and once everything gets figured out.. .it's as I said, heart wrenching! This song from the drama and these clips will demonstrate well what I mean:

The brother is played by Park Bo Gum, who is another very famous and top notch actor in the kdrama world. And it was fun to see him in this role, something quite a bit different from what I've seen him do previously. Man, he is good!

Anyway, and all the side characters are fantastic so yeah. It's a good one! I just wanted more romance of course. But it has everything else for sure. 

Here's a trailer:

Kdrama Review: Run On

Drama: Run On

Genre: romantic comedy 

Starring: Yim Si-wan, Shin Sae-kyeong, Choi Soo-young, Kang Tae-oh

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤

Wow, but I've gotten behind in my thoughts on the kdramas I'm watching. I don't even know if I can remember them enough!

Anyway, this one is about a dude who is a runner, also the son of the CEO of a rich company. But he gets in trouble when he stands up for a teammate that is getting bullied, so he finds himself on the outs with everyone. 

And our girl is a translator and their paths cross when she has to translate for him during an event (the one where he ended up getting in trouble) and from there their paths seem to keep crossing and they end up finding a lot on common with the things they are dealing with. And in fact he finds himself without a place to stay, so he ends up on her couch. Ha. Love it when that happens!

This actor was a new-to-me dude and I found him intriguing. Took me a second to get used to him, but he was awesome. The romance in this one was a bit... slower even than normal. I enjoyed the story for the most part, but was bored during some of it. 

The side character dude on the other hand is one of my favorite actors and I LOVED his character and wanted more with him all the time. He's a student painter who falls for the very cold hearted boss of the training company (where the first dude is or was working) and she falls for his paintings. But can she fall for HIM too? Will his adorable personality win? 

Anyway, bottom line a cute fun drama but not one I'm raving about as much as I sometimes do!

Here's the trailer:

And one of the songs by a favorite group named Lucy:

Book Review: Hearts in Harmony by Trish Milburn

Book: Hearts in Harmony by Trish Milburn

Genre: Kpop romance

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

If you've been paying attention, you'll know I've been making my way through my friend Trish's kpop romance series. This is the last one about this particular band, even though the series continues on to highlight another group. 

In this series each member, and their particular love story, have been featured. So much fun! But this is a seven  member group, and this is just the sixth book. I was worried about that! But it all makes sense once you get going in this book. 

And while you may be able to guess what's going on here, I don't really want to say a lot because.. .spoilers.

One of my favorite things about reading this series it that Trish addresses many issues from the the crazy kpop industry, and this one deals with quite a big one. In a sweet, sensitive and positive way.  I really enjoyed that.

But mostly I was happy for these last two remaining members getting their happily ever after. 

In preview reviews I've added a picture of a real life kpop idol who's image I thought fit the characters in the book, but this time I couldn't come up with anyone. Maybe a couple of dudes from OnlyOneOf? LOL! (Sorry that's probably only funny to me and a random kpop fan who might read this....) Anyway, take your pick. Any two would work! 

Meanwhile the next book about the other group is already out, so I'm still catching up! And then I'll be one of those waiting for the next book to drop! But seriously, I'm goin to miss all the boys in this group that I've gotten to know so well. Hopefully they'll show up now and then in the stories of these upcoming books. :) 

Book Review: Moment of Truth by Kasie West

Book: Moment of Truth by Kasie West

Genre: YA contemporary

Rating: ★ ★ ★

After read a bunch of books for projects and commitments, it was time to read something for fun that has patiently been waiting its turn, and that was this book! YES! Another Kasie West book! Also a great comfort read for me no matter what it is. 

In this latest one, we have our girl who gets bugged when her swim meet is disrupted by someone dressed up as the latest popular craze super hero (or something, I don't even know what) and so she makes it her mission to unmask him, figure out who he is and call him out. 

Over the course of the book, several possibilities arise. And while she continues to dig for the truth, she finds out what HER truth is. And how to overcome her own fears and issues, especially the glaring problem of her dead brother that she never knew. 

Yet another fun romance with lots of funny bits, and lots of thought provoking bits. I truly think of her books as a sort of palate cleansing for me! Yeah? Some fun and mostly light, so I can keep going on the other things. And I just realized she had yet another book released this very week! WOOT!