More K-Dramas on Netflix

My review of 2020 wouldn't be complete without some Korean dramas. Kudos to Netflix for getting so many of them. Of the ones I watched last year, I can definitely recommend these (also see this post for more):

It's Okay to Not Be Okay: Utterly gorgeous, with fantastic acting and a heart-wrenching (but in a good way) story of brothers and found family and what counts as normal and who gets to decide what you're going to be.

Mystic Pop-up Bar: light and mostly funny fantasy grounded with some great acting. A pop-up bar is a mini-restaurant in a tent (like a less-portable food truck, with a few tables); this one is a front for a woman doing hundreds of years of penance by saving lost souls.

Start-Up: a not-terribly realistic story of a tech start-up succeeding despite the odds. Fun because of the ensemble cast and the transforming relationships among them.

Strongest Deliveryman: funny, feel-good David vs Goliath story about a big corporation trying to take over mom & pop restaurants. The two second leads might grate on you for the first several episodes, but they have great character arcs so hang in there!

Hyena: two cut-throat lawyers being very clever about cutting each other's throats despite being irresistibly attracted to each other. They are so crazy unscrupulous that you can't help rooting for them!

Memories of the Alhambra: if you fell in love with Hyun Bin in Crash Landed on You (go watch that one first!), you will want to check out this interesting fantasy. He's not as swoony in this one (probably because I wasn't as invested in the romance), but it's a cool plot.

A Korean Odyssey: The ending of this one is terrible, but it's still worth watching for the wonderful characters of the Monkey King and his hilariously amoral immortal compatriots. Definitely watch it long enough to meet the zombie girl and follow her arc—she's fantastic—, and then stop around episode 13 or so when the writers apparently all got their brains eaten or something and decided to introduce a sorceress who has nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the plot and derails it entirely.

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung: if you're in a historical for the costumes and the palaces and could care less if it's remotely true to history. Pretty topical, actually: should a historian edit history because it's inconvenient for those in power? Cute romance is secondary to girl-coming-into-her-own story.

Korean Dramas to watch on Netflix. You're Welcome.

We interrupt this book blog to bring you some Korean drama recommendations in your time of need. If you've run out of things to watch on Netflix, and if you've been curious about the phenomenon known as K-drama but haven't known where to start, here are some suggestions.

Crash Landing On You: come for the cute, sweet and hilarious; stay for the swoon. I guarantee you will fall in love with actor Hyun Bin, but you will also love every other character: they are all adorable ducklings. This is as feel good as it gets.







Because This Is My first Life: superb acting and writing in this funny, insightful look at modern relationships. Has one of the top 10 K-drama kisses. (You will notice that kisses are few and far between in K drama and you learn to appreciate the ones you get.)

Stranger: (Also known as Forest of Secrets.) Fantastic acting and writing. This is a suspenseful character-based drama about a prosecutor and a cop investigating corruption. Love the relationship between the leads.

Signal: if murder mystery/police procedural with a dash of fantasy is your cup of tea this is a must-see. (Actually, it’s a must-see no matter what your favourite tea is.) Interesting twisty premise and lots of suspense. Tunnel and Voice are also supposed to be very good in this genre, but I haven't seen them.

Inheritors: (Also known as Heirs.) This is a high school Cinderella drama with all the tropes. Saved from utter cheesiness by decent acting and writing, plus actor Lee Min Ho is worth the price of admission.

That should keep you going for a while! There's more, so if the self-isolation continues I'll do a follow-up post. Doing what I can to keep us all sane!

2017 Year in Review

Happy (Gregorian Calendar) New Year everyone! (Am I right? Is it the Gregorian calendar? Sounds vaguely familiar, anyway!)

I stayed up until 4am last night re-reading Andrea Höst's Touchstone Trilogy for the umpteenth time while I waited for my son to get home from his party, and in between favourite bits from the books I checked out everyone's Best Of 2017 lists: some great books were read this year! Thanks for sharing (and for adding a ton to my TBR!)

My Year in Review is random, off-the-top-of-my-head, and of necessity includes some Korean drama, because I watched a lot of that instead of reading this year!

Most Anticipated and Didn't Disappoint:
Thick as Thieves, by Megan Whalen Turner. We've been waiting for years, and we were rewarded with a fascinating new character and an awesome bromance, plus a couple of new gods.

Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor. This. Woman's. Brain. Shimmery, deep, delicious, wrenching, utterly original fantasy with the most rootable-for character ever. Serious Cliffhanger Warning.

Fave New-to-me Author:
Katherine Arden. The Bear and the Nightingale was wonderful, and then The Girl in the Tower surpassed it in every way. Loved the wintry world, the Russian-inspired mythology, the stubbornly independent characters (including the magic horse) and a firebird! Review of Girl coming soon.

Fave re-read:
Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison. Oh, Maia, I love you so much!

Fave random discovery at the library:
Noteworthy, by Riley Redgate

Authors that keep doing things I love:
E. K. Johnston: She keeps doing different things and they all keep being wonderful. Spindle was another thought-provoking fairy-tale retelling, and That Inevitable Victorian Thing was thought-provoking alternate history social sci-fi (one has to invent new genres for Johnston all the time!).

T. Kingfisher, AKA Ursula Vernon when she's writing for adults. Summer in Orcus was a lovely folk-tale inspired portal fantasy, and Clockwork Boys was fantastic motley-crew-on-a-quest steampunk, first in a series and I can't wait for the sequel! Review coming soon.

Books that made me grin from ear to ear:
The Invisible Library and its sequels, by Genevieve Cogman
When Dimple Met Rishi, by Sandhya Menon

Books that walloped me over the head (in a good way):
Wolf by Wolf and Blood for Blood, by Ryan Graudin

Sequels even better than the first book:
Traitor to the Throne, by Alwyn Hamilton
The Girl in the Tower, by Katherine Arden
Blood for Blood, by Ryan Graudin

Fave characters:
Vasya from The Girl in the Tower
Irene from The Invisible Library
Murderbot from All Systems Red, by Martha Wells. "As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure." A novella introducing a new series: so excited about it!
(I also really love Lazlo from Strange the Dreamer, Rishi from When Dimple met him. Kamut, of course. All the characters, really, since I don't love a book if I don't love the characters!)

A few of my favourite K-Dramas, for the sake of being completist (also my ulterior motive is to addict you all):

Suspicious Partner/Love in Trouble: romantic comedy/murder mystery/courtroom drama with Ji Chang Wook being vulnerable and funny, Nam Ji Hyun playing another relatably-striving-against-all-odds heroine, and a great supporting cast of goofy-yet-heartwarming friends. (Nam Ji Hyun was also wonderful in the cute-as-a-puppy Shopping King Louis, with an utterly adorable Seo In Guk.)

Because This Is My First Life: romantic comedy/slice-of-life with fantastic writing and acting that had me gasping with laughter and wiping tears in every episode. Best kiss ever.

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: fantasy/romantic comedy with easy-on-the-eyes Park Hyung Sik appreciating Park Bo Young's super strength as she beats up gangsters while trying to be a normal girl. (On Netflix as Strong Girl Bong Soon.) I also really enjoyed Park Bo Young's acting in Oh My Ghostess (on Netflix as Oh My Ghost), as she plays both a painfully shy girl who sees ghosts and the bold, brash ghost who possesses her.

1% of Something: romantic comedy (yes, I like these) with a really great dynamic between the couple. It's a let's-pretend-we're-dating-to-get-our-parents-off-our-backs type plot, which Marriage Not Dating does even goofier.

Queen In-Hyun's Man: time-travel historical fantasy/romance. I enjoyed Yoo In Na in Goblin and she's lovely in this one as well, and Ji Hyun Woo is a treat to watch as the Joseon scholar who has to adapt to the 21st century.

More K-drama, in case I managed to addict you with my last post about it

So, yeah. My Netflix icon is being shunted aside due to lack of use. North American shows just don't seem remotely interesting to me anymore, (sorry Hollywood). (Though I hear the new Anne of Green Gables is worth watching!)

Here is my first post about discovering K-drama (Korean dramas, in case you weren't in-the-know)(I wasn't in-the-know until a few months ago, so don't feel bad).

And here are some more shows I can highly recommend:

Goblin: Love the fantasy premise of this one and the way it's played out. A betrayed general is cursed to become an immortal goblin. 400 years later he's sharing a house in modern Seoul with a Grim Reaper (lovely irony), using his powers for good and searching for the Goblin Bride, the only one who can grant him death. Of course, when he finally finds her, he falls in love with her. Funny and poignant, with great acting, gorgeous scenery (nice use of Quebec City as a romantic backdrop), and interesting things to say about fate, free will and messing with what's meant to be.

Healer: Reminds me a bit of Arrow, except cuter (both show-in-general and lead actor!). Kick-ass martial arts expert does shady deliveries for people who don't like questions, until one job leads him to a girl struggling to make it as a reporter. They are both connected to a wrongful death from the past,  and Healer might be willing to go straight if it means he can protect her. Fun action, adorable romance, and another great performance from Kim Mi Hyung, who was my favourite character in Faith (The Great Doctor).

Kill Me, Heal Me: Fantastic acting in this story of a chaebol (wealthy corporation) heir with multiple personality disorder. One of his personalities falls in love with a girl (who happens to be a psychiatrist), and things start to get complicated. This is one of my favourite dramas I've seen so far. It is a treat to watch Ji Sung play five different personalities, and then play the main persona changing as he integrates each personality. Sounds serious but there's a lot of humour.

Sungkyunkwan Scandal: this one is just so fun and cute I never wanted it to end. Girl dresses up as a boy and gets into the Sungkyunkwan Academy. Hijinks ensue. There's romance (of course) and people plotting against the king (of course), and Song Joong Ki, who is reason enough to watch anything.

In which I discover K-Drama

Still can't talk about the books I'm reading: another couple of weeks before we have to decide on a winner, and it is proving to be a very difficult decision. What I can say is that I highly recommend all seven books on the shortlist for the Cybil's YA Speculative Fiction category. And they're all completely different from each other. Great illustration of how diverse YA and Spec Fic can be.

Back when I talked about discovering manga, I referred to the rabbit hole I was falling into. Well, I found another rabbit hole, and I'm in deep. It started with Nirvana in Fire, a Chinese historical drama that I blame Sherwood Smith for recommending. Have you watched it yet? Seriously, you have to watch it.

I got tired of all the ads and decided to subscribe to Viki.com (which licenses Asian shows for fan translators to subtitle. The subtitles aren't always awesome, but they do the job.) After watching everything I could find with the actors I loved from Nirvana, (you have to watch The Disguiser just to see Wang Kai in a long blue wool coat and Hu Ge being badass. Aiiish! And Ode to Joy so you can see Liu Tao's fantastic wardrobe.)(They're also just great actors.) I decided to try some of the shows Viki was recommending, which led me into the Korean drama section.

Turns out there are a lot of Korean dramas.

Here are a few I've really enjoyed so far (note that I'm using the titles as translated by Viki.com; there are other translations):

Descendants of the Sun: straight-up romance between a soldier and a doctor in a gorgeous setting. So pretty, and cute, lots of witty banter and exciting action. A lot of fun. And Song Joon Ki looks really good in military fatigues and sunglasses!

The Legend of the Blue Sea: romance/fantasy about a mermaid and a man who love each other in two different lifetimes. This one has everything: both period costumes and modern-day setting, sweet romance, a sort of murder-mystery, lots of humour, great side characters. And Lee Min Ho.

My Love from the Star: I loved Jun Ji Hyun so much in Legend that I decided to try this romance/fantasy about an alien who's been on earth for 400 years, and right before it's time for him to go back he very reluctantly falls in love with an actress. This one's just a lot of fun.

The Great Doctor: I needed me some more Lee Min Ho, and I have to say I'm a sucker for these historical settings. This one's basically Outlander in ancient Korea: the king's chief military guy goes through a portal to the 21st century to bring back a doctor to save the queen's life. Lots of political machinations, great bad guys, lovely romance, and I much prefer this haircut on Lee Min Ho. Just saying.