not going to lie, if it weren't for the series, I wouldn't continue past chapter 2 here. but because i was interested in finding bits and crumbs of things i could have missed in the series, i did push myself to finish it.
it wasn't bad. it was just...pretty bland. the words just...felt emotionless.(dunno if i have to put the blame on the original or the translation.) at first, i thought it was because i already knew what was going to happen, that's why i felt pretty bored with it. and while that might be one of the reasons, i'm pretty sure i can handle going through things that ive already experienced. since the reason why i read this book was solely because i love the series so much i have already rewatched it so many times. in fact, im literally rewatching it right now, lol.
i enjoyed spotting differences between the book and the series though! and i loveed when i found out little intentions that i definitely missed in the adaptation! hopefully book two will be a better experience. i will have to try to get used to the writing style here so i can enjoy it more. i love sang yan and yifan so mooch. my babies. AND YES. the fact that there is no supporting couple here!!!!! i didnt like their story in the adaptation btw.
Read an eng translation but I did buy the book (it came with cute swag too!) and wanted to read it in prep for the show because I loved the last two cdrama’s by the same author. I ran into these when I was browsing a bookstore in Thailand and looked up the books to see it was the follow up series to Hidden Love which I loved. Super grateful to the translators who put in the work so international readers can enjoy as well. The books, for many native English speaker, may seem too light or written in a style that seems…immature? For adults. I can’t think of the word because it’s not as grubbing and detailed as normal English novels. But I’ve noticed it’s a theme for translated work and I care more about the characters and story and am forgiving when it comes to reading stories translated to English. But the light fluffy style is another thing that I like about the stories. And the translated versions by this author are pretty close to the dramas, compared to English novels later dramatized that can be drastically different. So it’s reading and getting a few more details to the characters thoughts and expressions I enjoy taking away from reading the trilogy. This was a sweet, light-hearted read full of romance and misunderstandings but ultimately two characters that end up working towards figuring out life over the course of years from high school on. If Sang Yan was real guy….there’d be some discussions with the way his “cold” personality handled things with Wei Yifan but after things were discussed between them he warmed up. Yifan’s backstory was so heartbreaking. And I wish there was more form Sang Yan’s pov from that time, though his pov was shown from time to time but not often enough. Super cute and I’m a fan and wish there was a published Eng physical book. I’ll probably do a review of the whole trilogy and info for the translated chapters on my blog soon once I finish the final book~
It pains me to say this because I like "Hidden Love" so much.
I dislike this book.
I have 3 reasons why I detest it.
1. The main female character had once appeared in "Hidden Love". The pain point is that she was different. In "Hidden Love", she seems to be talkative and extroverted. She is lively and full of self-confidence. That is how I perceived her. Fast-forward to this book, she is quite shy and does not talk much. She keeps most of the things to herself and seems to be an introvert.
What??? She is the same character, yet somehow, she is different.
The writer's inability to keep things consistent annoys me so much that I would like to give up reading this a lot of times.
2. I do not like the personality of the male leading character. He is also annoying to me. He did not upset me this much when I read "Hidden Love". I think his character is consistent, but when the writer focused the story around him, I found that he is a bit of a jerk.
3. The translation feels off to me sometimes. It makes the storytelling strange in my opinion.
This book has a great score on Goodreads and I enjoy "Hidden Love", so I thought that I am going to like it too. Unfortunately, no, I do not like it and I do not re-read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.