Watching this is a choice...
I decided to watch this despite the low rating, which by the way is not nearly low enough,so it's on me, I put myself through this mess and I'm suffering the consequences.I don't want to be entierly negative so first I'm going to list the positives.
1. Hot dudes.
End of list.
Just kidding!! The cinematography is what mostly kept my interest, the locations are so stunning! like I want to climb that tree so badly and the river looks so refreshing just gorgeous. I saw that at of people were complaining about the plot being boring and It's not, not really, it's not good, but it's not boring. Maybe if you were expecting the typical GMMTV fluffy, cute, sound effects filled "comedic" series, yes, but this is supposedly a thriller, and this is where I cannot find anymore positives, oh yes, Book is actually acting like a normal grown-up man!! 👍🏻👍🏻
So, this is garbage, really, really bad stinking garbage. The plot is so confusing and not in a good way. I was intrigued at first, I really wanted to like it, but, it's like taking at least 3 sets of puzzles and trying to put them together to from a coherent image. It's not thrilling, there's a murderer on the loose but it doesn't feel menacing enough, the romance plot starts off so weird then gross, then it's It fine, these two are amazing together so no real complaints there.
The plot is so weird, it jumps from scene to scene randomly with no real sense, I thought there was a point to it, maybe part of the mystery, but nope.
The acting is just atrocious all around. There was a point where I thought it would be funny if a certain character turned out to be the killer but then it was revealed they were indeed the killer and it wasn't funny, not at all funny, in fact it was so annoying, that this person could be so stupid! just stupid and the plot kept getting even stupider beyond that point.
Most of the characters suuuck!! But grandma takes the cake. I wanted to quit but I was already 9 episodes in this mess, I might as well keep watching to see what other nonsense they're going to throw at me, there has to be a reason why there's an episode left.
I really couldn't sit through one more episode of this, I tried but it's unnecessary, I was already exhausted so I skipped through most of episode 10. there's just nothing there but filler.
In conclusion; The series starts out somewhat fine, obviously it's not going to be good but it seems watchable, it drew me in with the beautiful scenery and strong chemistry between the leads, then it threw dumb nonsense twists one after another, getting more and more stupid as it progressed, it has the dumbest villain in existence really! And by the end it left me questioning why I even started it.
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Please give Melody of Secrets a chance.
The Bad: A weird plot and poor storytelling initially.The Good: Beautiful cinematography, fantastic soundtrack, and stellar acting by ForceBook.
The first half of the first episode was terrible, and I can honestly see why so many people dropped it. However, the latter half saved the show for me, and I think those who gave up on Melody of Secrets made a huge mistake. The chemistry between Force and Book was absolutely sizzling.
The story wasn't actually that bad in hindsight; it’s just that there’s a plot twist that makes the first few episodes difficult to follow. Once everything is cleared up, it all makes sense in the end. In my opinion, the best part of this drama is the romance between Tankhun and Botpleng; ForceBook owned every single scene they shared.
While I didn’t care much for the other characters, my eyes were glued to the screen every time Book appeared. My heart ached whenever a tear fell from his eyes. Book did so well, I’m so proud of him. Force deserves just as much credit—he was the hot criminologist I never knew I needed! He usually plays stoic characters, and while Tankhun is somewhat similar, Force showed great improvement in his acting. He did so well during the emotional scenes, that I want to get a hug from him as well. And the kisses! EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE. Oh my god, totally not complaining, keep it coming, ig?!?
Each scene featuring the two of them was shot beautifully. Between the visuals and the overall vibes, the production was incredible, I even found myself taking screenshots throughout the episodes.
It’s great to see a couple like ForceBook branch out. The genre shift definitely added a layer of intrigue that set it apart from the typical BL formula.
I have to give it to them for taking on such challenging roles. While Enchanté, A Boss and a Babe, and Perfect 10 Liners felt somewhat similar in tone, they really showed their potential in Only Friends and Peaceful Property. Now, with Melody of Secrets and their upcoming show Lovers and Gangsters, they are proving they can handle much darker, more complex material. It’s been an impressive evolution to watch. ForceBook’s filmograply is impressive, which can’t be said for many other CPs. I truly think people are sleeping on them, which is a shame. They choose their projects carefully, and they always deliver.
Overall, I think Melody of Secrets deserves to be given a chance. It’s unique, intriguing, and different from the usual BL stories. I didn’t expect it, but it’s now one of my all-time favorites.
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Not Worth It
Melody of Secrets was one of the shows I was really excited for when the original mock trailer dropped because it seemingly had a really unique plot. Unfortunately, the execution of the actual series did not live up to the hype. "Twists" in the story that weren't woven into the plot and were just there for shock value, and a plot that felt all over the place for no reason slapped together for a mediocre show. I don't even think I can give a proper summary, because it felt like the show kept changing directions every episode, and not in a good way.Overall, I think that Force and Book did a decent job acting in this, but the show was so poorly written that it didn't matter. Every plot point felt unrelated to the next, and the overall story just did not live up to any of the concepts that they seemed to be going with. The murders didn't even seem to be all that important after awhile?? And then it was just tragic backstory and random plot twists. If you like mystery, there are much better shows; and if you like ForceBook, I'd still recommend pretty much any of their other shows over this.
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This review may contain spoilers
A melody of torture
I confess I watched this series out of sheer stubbornness because it had been a long time since I’d seen a show this bad and unbearable. How could a mystery drama starring Book and Force turn into something so bland, lazy, lifeless and devoid of creativity?GMMTV urgently needs to stop investing in these adult-oriented mystery plots if they have no real interest in fully exploring those narratives.
Melody of Secrets is a patchwork of disjointed storylines leading to an anemic, incoherent resolution. Serial killer, multiple personalities, hypnosis, memory loss, identity fraud, corruption—this series has it all, yet it still manages to be incredibly tedious.
The direction is terrible and I don't think they knew what they are doing, the editing is shockingly amateurish and scenes start and end abruptly. Things happen out of nowhere and information is thrown at the viewer without any prior context.
The soundtrack, the cinematography and even the color grading are dismal, giving the whole thing a low-budget feel.
The relationship between the leads comes out of nowhere and not even Force and Book’s charisma and chemistry can save such aimless, uninteresting characters.
It’s a shame, too, because they clearly have immense potential to shine in a more serious series.
The serial killer—who only kills two people, so not a serial killer —and the entire reveal play out in such a banal way. It’s just a flood of information dumped on the audience without a shred of genuine interest.
The fragments of Botphleng’s true identity could have made for something fascinating; in the hands of a director like Anucha or a studio like Be On Cloud—even though 4 Minutes was a mess, its visuals and atmosphere were incredible—this series could have been truly magnificent.
The plot called for a creative, dark series featuring an unreliable narrator and mounting tension. All that serial killer nonsense adds nothing and just bloats the story with unnecessary plotlines.
And even with so much going on, the pacing is slow and doesn't work. I kept waiting for the big moment but it never came. Extremely disappointing.
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OMG
I watched until episode 8 4/4 and had enough!It’s not just that the story became, so, confusing and convoluted, but was just ridiculous and made NO SENSE! WTF!? Even if you told me: “oh, if you watch more it will ALL make SO much sense and it will become SO much better”—I would not believe it, nor would I watch anymore of this drivel.
The stupid “Daisy Bell” song, with tied-in bracelet, was just sickening, and along with the rest of the “story,” made no sense. Less than romantic, it was nauseating; striving for, but not reaching, anything close to romantic or touching.
The acting is just average. The story is stupid. The music is nothing special. I wouldn’t watch this again if you paid me.
Well, as you may be able to tell, I HATED the fact that I was sucked into this complete waste of time!
GMMTV needs to do better. Go to manga for inspiration— where BL stems from. We expect better, but it just keeps getting more complex, yet less interesting. And overall—BAD!
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.
I’m just going to be honest… I struggled with this one.
Maybe my expectations were too high because it’s ForceBook. I always get excited when they have a new series, so I think I expected to feel more. But I didn’t.
I kept waiting to get pulled in emotionally, and it just never fully happened. It wasn’t terrible, it just didn’t hit me the way I wanted it to. And that’s frustrating when it’s actors you really like.
I still care about them and will absolutely watch their future projects — but this one didn’t stay with me.
Sometimes even your favourites can’t save the story. 🤍
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Thank you sooo much~ ☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆ 💕🌸
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mid
okay so i was so excited for this series since gmm2025 line up.when insaw the official traler i was surprised but i thought it would be peak.No.Actually i tried to finish it only because of forcebook but i couldnt get through ep10.I tried to like this so but unfortunately couldnt.There were 2 plot twists which i was happy but at some point especially the second one was literally unbelievable and crazy.Like no.The acting was good but the plot was nothing like i had expected from the pilot.itsano.Was this review helpful to you?
Best mysteryXromance series
I overall enjoyed every second of this series and can’t wait for more eps to airThe directing and storytelling is top notch you can never guess what’s about to happen next and I love it when a series keeps me at the edge of my seat without being cliché
Main actors Force and Book did a great job with how they portrayed the characters and handled the emotional scenes so perfectly
Also I’m so happy to have Boun, Jan and Ployphach as support roles bc they’re such amazing actors (srsly so gooood that I don’t trust any of their characters in the show 🤣)
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Cacophony of Nonsense
MELODY OF SECRETS – REVIEWA more fitting title for this series would have been “Cacophony of Nonsense.” Good Gods, I thought I’d seen the lowest point of logic with “Dare You to Death” (aka Bore Me to Death). Cops (Joong/Dunk) who are all lovey-dovey and totally fail as cops, while people are being gruesomely killed around them for utterly lame reasons. At least there was the possibility of a clarifying outside perspective with two cops.
Here in “Melody of Secrets,” that was completely missing, and crime mystery or not, I’ve never experienced such nonsensical confusion as here. I’m going to talk about Book and Force now, because it didn’t help that so many characters with partly similar names were involved in the plot. So, after a disjointed, out-of-context intro, we find Book, who lost his memory at the age of 17, and the series picks up TEN years later—meaning we’re dealing with a main character who, for the past 10 years, has known his mother, his grandmother, and absolutely EVERYONE solely based on the assertion that they are who they are. NOTHING in Book’s behavior suggests this. No, he just lets 10 years pass as if memory loss were nothing more than an annoying mosquito bite. Then Force shows up, and immediately they’re in love and in semi-NC scenes—and this is even BEFORE Book’s diary is mailed to him, where he recognizes his own handwriting and learns about all the happy years he spent with Force as a couple. And this is where it gets funny. If he lost his memory AT age 17, but had a romantic relationship with Force FROM age 17 onward, why does he even need a diary from the time AFTER age 17 to remember anything—that is, the last ten years, during which he actually had NO memory loss?
And that’s just one example. So he spends ten years satisfied with not recalling anything. For TEN years, he doesn’t encounter a single person who happened to know him—a guy in a restaurant who served him time and again, friends, classmates—and he himself doesn’t even notice how strange it is that, apart from his family, no one else seems to exist who knew him before, or how strange it is that the family apparently makes no effort whatsoever to reactivate his memory—on the contrary, they are very keen on him NOT remembering. And that’s when it became clear to me where this was probably headed, and I was right in the end. (Endariel Poirot's little gray cells!)
Before I get to that: what follows is a wildly edited string of snippets, jumping from character to character, from event to event, place to place in a way that’s more reminiscent of a roller coaster ride. The author had presumably written the novel backwards, and now all the events have to be crammed in—and as the series progresses, it becomes clear: the author has completely bitten off more than he can chew here. There are so many motifs and plotlines that they completely overwhelm the writer, director, and actors. Inspector Dao’s “subplot” alone is just confusing, and I never really understood her motive until the end, nor the motive behind the main mystery: Book ISN’T at all who he thinks he is. The person he thinks he is died 17 years ago, and his mother and grandmother hypnotize a stranger to believe he is that person. Purpose? Zero. It never really becomes clear what the point of such an action is supposed to be. But it gets even worse, because Force is also neither the person Book ever knew as a real person nor as a fake person, nor were they ever a couple, and yet they jump into bed immediately. Why? To Book, he’s a stranger who merely comes up in a diary, and as we learn at the end: he has no memories or feelings—perhaps instinctive ones—because Force NEVER KNEW Book at any point. And why is Force even playing along?
And here comes the bombshell. Book’s fake persona, which he assumed through hypnosis, was in love with Force’s BROTHER, who—for utterly preposterous reasons—constantly introduced himself using Force’s fake name. By that point, at the very latest, a significant number of my brain cells had died.
I’ll leave it at that, because there’s a whole legion of illogical plot holes that are more reminiscent of a crumbling suburban road than a story.
I’ll leave it at that, because there’s a whole host of illogical plot holes that feel more like a crumbling suburban road than a story.
As for the acting: unfortunately, after “Only Friends,” my impression is confirmed that—forgive me—Force simply isn’t a very good actor. Whether it’s distress or sexual arousal, anger or determination—somehow it all gets lost in the uniform facial expression of tired eyes and raised eyebrows. As for Book, I’d say “Only Friends” shows he can act—I’d call him middle-of-the-road; they make for a pretty nice ship, but nothing that really blows me away. When Inspector Dao acts with more expression than Force in their scenes, it has to be clear: something’s just not right here.
So when the whole mess finally comes to light, I slap my forehead at having witnessed what is arguably the most idiotic collection of plots I can recall, thereby dethroning “Dare You to Death” in my book—a series I had previously dubbed the dumbest BL of all time. The fact that Book and Force decide in the end to start over as a couple using their real personas might be seen as a consolation for BL fans, but I just found it grotesque—because Force and Book exist as a ship, it just has to end this way. Unfortunately, that’s nothing new in BL series. So the love and NC scenes between Force and Book are the only thing that actually carries some value, which they act out decently – if you pull a mask over the immovable face of Force, that is. It was a punishment to watch, an insult to logic and hence I award this series, solely for the nice romance scenes which were good,
2/10
And now I need a strong drink.
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The Storyline
i don't understand the first 3 episodes as it focuses on the love life between tankhun and botphleng (aka tontharn). though i understand that this is a thriller and mystery and it should be thrilled until the episode 8 but the whole duration of the story doesn't look appealing at all. tbh, I'm close on dropping this series when i reached episode 7 because i don't find catchy on every episode that I've watched (the reason I've got this far is I'm hoping it would change every episode but no, it is not, it is still the same). plus the fact the story in every episode makes me more confused more. even though i know the killer beforehand but i realized that it makes it less appealing to audiences. i don't find this story a thriller/mystery at all. forcebook's acting skills really go to waste because of the plot of this series. i don't like as well the kissing scene on every episode while they're still solving the case, it makes it more irrelevant and their slow minds makes it more weak as even a kid can tell who's suspicious at all.the only worth to watch on this series is the last 3 episodes (8, 9 & 10) because it's a revelation of everything and it's the only episode who has a good execution of the story. I feel bad for forcebook as i feel like they are misfit on this series. they are not a rookie at all but they give this series as if they are new to the industry. it's a shame that i feel excited for this series that turns out it's not worth to watch at all. this kind of mystery/thriller is not my liking... the plot twist is nice but the way their management company give a mystery story to every series has a lamest storyline among all the mystery series that I've watched (especially the reason of inspector dao on why she did it, it feels cliché at all).
next time, I'm hoping for a better plot and storyline for forcebook so that their acting skills wouldn't go to waste at all.
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This wasn't for me....
This is a "jumping all over the place" type of BL. I love Force, but not Book and I just don't think they mesh well together chemistry wise. I think there was a missed opportunity to develop a better story, especially with the cast that was chosen especially since this has a very similar plot to Manner of Death, yet this plot was a bit weak. The actors chosen are good actors, yet I feel all of their talents were wasted on this BL. I feel the director did a so-so job directing this; like he/she felt lazy and threw something together to film this time around. I will not personally watch this again, but I won't suggest no one else watch it as they might like the series. This definitely wasn't for me.Was this review helpful to you?
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Do I need to give up on BL thrillers & Mysteries?
Every one of them has disappointed me.Easily the best thing about this series was the cinematography.
OST was okay, I guess. I didn't pay attention to it half the time.
Watched a lot of it at X2 speed when the talking was really slow (this may have just been me), flashbacks, and when it was just music playing over moments with no dialogue.
Everyone did a good job on the acting, especially Jan (Dao) and Pu (the grandma). I hated both of their characters so much from the very beginning. The grandma was just a right bitch that I wanted to punt in the nearest lake. She was downright horrible to Tontharn for reasons that weren't his fault, and some of the problems she caused. She at least admitted that what she did was nasty, unlike Dao, who, until the very end, thinks she was in the right.
Now, Dao, I didn't like her because she was just shit at her job. I know that it was to spin the narrative, but boy, was she bad at it. I don't for a second think that she was 2nd in her class. Second from the bottom, maybe. I have 1 Forensic Science class from high school under my belt, and I knew more about how an investigation is meant to be run. This wasn't it! What made it more confusing was that the timeline of events was in order, but it was almost impossible to tell when things happened. I blame the writers for that. We start with two dead bodies found on the same day, and we aren't told the time of death, how they died, or if any evidence could be found at a secondary location, or if they were killed where their bodies were found. No one tried to backtrack their movements from the day they were killed, or if they had any other connections other than working for Botphleng's family. No one questions why this person killed and dumped two bodies in the "open" (they weren't really) like they were "playing with the police" and then stopped. I'm not saying killers can't just kill and stop; I'm just pointing out that no one thought it was strange. Did Thunphob die from the head wound or drowning? He was nothing but bones? Get an anthropologist to take a look. Also, his body was found a month before the series started, but how long had he actually been dead? Unless I missed it, no one reported him as a missing person. Then we have the fact that Botphleng could be a target, and she just doesn't give a rat's ass. She literally says, "He's strong, he can protect himself." Whether he can or can't doesn't matter; it's your job to offer him protection. He doesn't have to take it, but you have to offer it.
As a whole, crime investigation and general knowledge needed a lot of work. It would have been nice to see some of it as well, instead of Dao pulling information out of thin air like she was investigating, and not trying to spin the narrative. Honestly, for her reveal, it would have been better if she had been a likeable person who seemed to be trying to help, that way the reveal would have come as a greater shock. Just because most of the hate is going to the grandma doesn't mean that people are just going to think she's the killer. To me, she seemed too obvious a suspect, so I was suspecting everyone but her and her daughter. I also didn't think it was Tanu, Jen, Miles, or Tankoon, so that left very few people as suspects.
I'm going to be honest. I normally don't like Force or Books acting, I liked them in Perfect 10 Lines and nothing else, but they did a really good job in this one, especially Book. Book actually made me cry when he was telling Nim everything that he could remember. Not an ugly cry, but the silent kind that you don't realize is there until it's already fallen. His panic attack was also good.
Why did Thunphob continue using Tankoon's name with Botphleng after they got closer? Seemed weird.
Tankoon pissed me off (this was a script problem) when one minute he would say "I'll help you get your memories back" and then the next say "Your family doesn't want you to remember for a reason". PICK A SIDE AND STAY THERE. Also, who gives a fuck what the family wants? They are clearly hiding something shady if they have spent countless years making this boy forget who he is. Tontharn going back to the house at all after learning about the hypnosis was just wild and one of the stupidest things to do. No one put this boy in a horror movie.
Tanu also pissed me off by saving Botphleng's mom in the fire when his literal son had a large piece of burning wood on top of his unconscious body. I don't know if he knew Botphleng was in the burning building, but if he did, I'm doubly pissed off because what the fuck!? Why save the one person NOT directly in harm's way? Am I the crazy one?
The only surprising, and in my opinion, well-done thing done in this series was Tontharn being Botphleng and the reveal of it.
It would have been really interesting if the real Botphleng had followed Tontharn around as a ghost during the whole series, only to finally be laid to rest once the truth is revealed and his grave is placed next to Thunphob, then they move on together.
I've seen quite a few Thai thrillers, and so far the only one that hasn't disappointed me is Triage. I won't stop watching them completely, but I'm going to be very picky from now on. I went into this with zero expectations, and the only reason my rating isn't lower is because of the acting, and Botphleng's real identity reveal was well done.
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