"If you don’t count the days when Phra Phloeng helped him in the past… The warmth of the same person’s deeds is like raindrops falling on dry land."
After Sundown or ดับแสงรวี (2022) is a gothic romance that is enticing, emotional, funny, and very tense. I watched the movie starring Zee and Nunew before reading this so I already knew what was going to happen. The movie is almost identical to the book which is shocking. The way some people talk about the film made it seem like the it went left from the essence of the novel which isn't the case.
Of course, the book is better than the film in several ways because we get time to adjust to the introduction of the characters, the supernatural mystery, and the developing relationship between Phra Phloeng and Saeng Rawee. This book is slow paced with a slow burn romance that is actually enemies to lovers. While reading, it was very easy for me to imagine the actors playing their prospective roles since I've seen the film a few times by now.
Rawee is such a precious character and I loved how CEO. showed how both Phloeng and Rawee grow throughout the book. Even though the book is long, it didn't necessarily feel that way. By the time I got to the final page I was so disappointed that it was over. I honestly didn't expect to cry reading this, because I've seen the movie three times, but somehow I cried even harder. That's probably because I have a deeper bond with the story after reading it.
If you love ghosts, romance, and Thai culture, I think you'll thoroughly enjoy this book.
NOTE: It was hard finding a English Translation for this though. I found someone's translated the book on Scribd. There are a lot of confusing parts because of the issue with pronouns being translated from Thai to English. But if you're learning Thai or just spend a little time understanding the language structure before reading, you should catch on pretty quick.