Kdrama Review: Doom at Your Service

Drama: Doom at Your Service

Genre: Romantic comedy/fantasy

Starring: Seo In Guk, Park Bo Young, Kang Tae Oh, Lee Soo Hyuk, Dawon

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

So when I saw that my favorite Seo In Guk would be in a new drama, I was all in. Of course! And then Tae Oh is in it too? And Dawon from SF9? And then Lee Soo Hyuk who I thought was new to me but I'd actually seen him before..??? And to top it all off, my favorite girl actor too? Of COURSE I'm going to watch it!

Interesting premise this one is. Our girl is diagnosed within the very first minutes of the drama with a terminal brain tumor. And she goes on to have an even crappier day from there! And at the end of this crappy day, she is angry and upset as is expected and she yells into the void... "I wish doom upon this WHOLE WORLD!"

Well, little did she know that Doom himself heard the call. And before she knows it, he is knocking at her door and when she opens it, he says with that perfect classic Seo In Guk smile... "Hi. Doom.. at your service."

Yep...that's how it starts!

Turns out they end up in a sort of weird contract (I'm actually bit blurry on what and why this contract) And now she is all, what the heck have I done? And he is all, sorry girl, you can't get out it now. And things just get worse for her really. And she has to make a very very hard decision.

Adorable Seo In Guk and Park Bo Young

Man the banter between these two is so perfect. And our boy Doom is so so swagger-y and like he is NOT going to be fazed or touched by anything. But of course he is and he ends up being WAY more human than not. 

And there's a girl who seems to be directing everything. The symbolism in this drama is off the charts and it might make one crazy trying to figure it all out,  but I just didn't worry about trying and enjoyed the story.

You should watch this drama if only to hear this guy's voice.
Lee Soo Hyuk

I love his smile.
Kang Tae Oh

There's also a second side story with the friends our our leads that made it seem like two different dramas going on here. Like not sure what any of that had to do with anything, but it made so our swoony second lead boys could have a love story too. And they were good and I enjoyed it even tough I didn't quite get it. And it was a bit frustrating.

And Dawon? Boy... he can act! WAH.. he's so good as our female lead's little brother. He is absolutely adorable. I just have no words. So good.

And all the heart eyes for Dawon!

Anyway, it was very touch and go and how this one might end. I was very nervous. But I will give you this much of a spoiler for those who also might worry... don't be nervous. JUST WATCH IT!!

Here's a really quick trailer:

And of course this one has amazing music. Here's an example:

Book Review: You're My Star (An Idol in Love Book 7) by Trish Milburn

Book: You're My Star (An Idol in Love Book 7) by Trish Milburn

Genre: Kpop romance

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

While this book is still considered in the "An Idol in Love" series, it feels like a first book because we are leaving our familiar band behind and learning about a new band. Which, actually FEELS familiar because this is what we kpop people do, learn new bands over and over and over again... and continuously add to our list of bands we love. So if we do it for real bands, we can do it for fictional ones!

We have slightly met this band before because they have had some appearances and mentions in the other books. But it's their turn to have their own stories now. They are called Sky High and they are in what I feel like is a bigger company and for sure a company that is much less lenient then the company our SBG boys are in. 

So if these boys all start falling in love, who knows what's going to happen!

In this first book we meet Hoon just as he's coming home from a personal event and he gets mobbed at the airport. It appears someone has leaked his information and the fans have swarmed. Turns out they think our girl, who works for the company as the person who coordinates the band's travel, is the culprit. But of course, we know she is not.

And Hoon is really bothered that she is getting blamed and begins to take steps to help her clear her name. And in so doing.. .well... it happens. He suddenly sees her in a different light than someone who just books their travel. 

And it goes from there!

I continue to thoroughly enjoy these books. Thanks Trish for such a fun series! I love seeing all the different ways that these pretend kpop idols are falling in love and imaging our real guys maybe doing the same thing!

Kdrama Review: Love Alarm Seasons 1 and 2

Drama: Love Alarm Seasons 1 and 2 (on Netflix)

Genre: Romantic comedy/fantasy

Starring: Song Kang, Kim So Hyun, Jung Ga Ram

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

There are 8 episodes in the first season and 6 in the second, which if watched together basically makes a normal kdrama season, so don't let that confuse you! They are all complete now so just watch them all together. I guess it's possible there will be more still to come though. Netflix wants to westernize the familiar kdrama formula of one and done seasons. Whatever.

This one has a great premise in that someone makes an app that dings if someone within a 10 meter range loves you... or... if YOU love someone and come within their range, you will ding their love alarm.

So, what if you can't keep your love for people a secret anymore? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Does this take away something vital we need regarding confessing our love and/or saying "I love you" to people? 

Also, what if some people don't WANT your love and are bothered to be loved by you? What if you are loved by two different boys and those boys are best childhood friends? THEN WHAT?

Oh my word, but this little app causes ALL KINDS of craziness and it really truly does make you think. 

Song Kang

This one stars a dude named Song Kang who I hadn't heard of before this drama, but now I'm seeing him everywhere. He is stunning, but dang I did NOT like his character in this drama and was of course rooting for the second lead dude. Sigh. Second lead syndrome is THE WORST! Anyway, I was hoping to find something Song Kang has done where he plays a nice boy, but I'm hearing that he seems to cater to the bad boy dudes... so I don't know... I might have to wait a bit longer!

The female lead is played be a very popular star too. She is in so many things! She is great in this one too!

Kim So Hyun

As I said the premise for this story is pretty awesome, but it leads to quite a depressing drama. I felt sad most of the time during this one. And frustrated. But is was definitely an engaging and interesting one!

Here's a trailer for season 1:

And for season 2:

Book Review: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Book: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Genre: autobiography/memoir

Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

So I didn't really know what expect with this book, but wow, I really ended up loving it. I know this dude is popular out in the news/comedy world, but I don't really know him... I think I may have watched exactly one video of his. So I was like, hmm... do I CARE about his childhood? Other than it will be interesting to learn about South Africa?

Well, turns out he is a fabulous storyteller ( of course he is... thus the comedian in him!) and he can tell it like it is and with such heart and honesty. I really loved it. 

And at the end when we got to more about the relationship he has with his mom... yeah. That got to me. There was a little weepiness. I am a sucker for mom/son relationships.  

This is basically him telling stories from his childhood and a bunch of crazy memories of growing up in a very turbulent environment that is South Africa. He was still very young when Apartheid ended and we learn that meant things just got worse. But the biggest theme from all these stories is that he really struggled with where he fit in. He describes three groups of people: whites, blacks and coloreds. And he didn't fit in with any of them. So he would pick and choose depending on the situation. He has learned a ton of different languages, so he would pick and choose that also, depending on the situation. 

It's all quite fascinating. And sad. Also inspirational for celebrating the human spirit. 

Anyway, like I said, I really ended up enjoying it and it was quite eye opening to learn about. 

We'll be discussing this one in book club next week, stay tuned for how that turns out!

Book Review: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Book: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Genre: historical fiction

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

We read this book and another similar book (The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek) for book club this past month. We heard that there was a bit of a controversy between these two books, so we thought it would be fun to read them both and compare. 

I managed to read this one and quite enjoyed it. The other one I started, but never finished and sadly it went off my kindle and I don't think I'll worry about getting it back.

Anyway, they are both about a period in history when a bunch of brave and strong women rode on horses through the backwoods of Kentucky to deliver books and magazines to the mountain people. Great premise for a story and one that I am pretty sure both authors came up with on their own!

This one was specifically about an English lady who married a dude from this Kentucky town and came thinking she would have a great adventure. But things did not turn out quite like she imagined and the two of them ended up not really clicking. She ended up doing the job of riding books around the mountains and found her place that way. They other ladies were awesome and became her good friends and she truly become strong on her own. 

Getting to know all these ladies, and then all the other interesting characters was the best part of this story. Very fun. And I've pretty much decided that I'm quite good with the writing style of this author. She is a great storyteller and has a fantastic way of getting you into and engaged in the story. I felt compelled to keep reading this one when I needed to lay it down and that's a great sign, yeah?

Anyway, I guess her book came out a few months after the other one and she was accused of plagiarism, not necessarily because of the main subject, but because some very specific incidences are a bit similar. But after reading up on that and seeing the list... I think they are are so nitpicky that this whole claim was just crazy. And the other book had such a different feel and was more about racial issues and the interesting occurrence of the "blue people of Kentucky" that I really think they are totally different. 

So that's my take on that.

The other book I heard was harder to read and no romance (a big factor for me!) that I have decided not to keep going with it. At least for now. But I am glad to have added this to my have read list. I really enjoyed it!