Ariane

A drama I genuinely wanted to enjoy more. A lot more.

**DISCLAIMER: my review may contain minor spoilers**

The breathtaking landscapes, the warm summer atmosphere, the stunning cinematography, the interesting premise, and the strong cast created such a solid foundation.
The first few episodes felt promising, with a storyline that seemed ready to explore family dynamics and unfold into something meaningful.
And I have to admit: I completely fell in love with the FL’s family house and her glass cabin in the middle of the fields — maybe that was just my architect’s heart speaking. 😉

But as the episodes went by, I found myself increasingly disappointed and frustrated.
The narrative pacing stalled early on, circling around the same situations without moving forward. The repetitive conflict scenes became exhausting, and the constant family shenanigans ended up overshadowing the characters instead of enriching them.
Characters who were already — and purposely — annoying gradually lost all sympathy and became downright unbearable. By mid‑drama, I honestly couldn’t stand the ML’s caricatural father or the FL’s two aunts anymore. Instead of adding depth, their scenes slowly drained the story of its charm. Because of that, their emotional progression in the end felt like a case of “too little, too late” for me to truly savour it.

For a character who gives her name to the entire series, Xiao Fang remains surprisingly “inaccessible”. She’s fun, strong, joyful, smart, level‑headed, decisive, kind without being naïve… almost too perfect, in a way that leaves very little room for emotional texture.
I personally didn’t see or feel much of her emotional conflicts. Even major life decisions (like breaking up with her boyfriend, childhood friend and father of her future child) are portrayed with almost no emotional development. She doesn’t seem sad, conflicted, or shaken; she bounces back within "minutes" and moves on as if nothing happened. Was she even in love with him to begin with?
Her emotions do indeed appear briefly on her face (Wang Ying Lu is a wonderful actress), but the script rarely lets her sit with and process any of her feelings. That lack of introspection in THE main character of the story makes her journey feel strangely hollow.
And on top of that, as a new mother she recovers incredibly fast. Xiao Fang regains her energy and her slim figure in the blink of an eye, and she’s suddenly ready to launch her small business and lead a team just a few short weeks after giving birth. It felt very unrealistic, unfortunately. A more grounded portrayal could have added real emotional weight to her journey.

Ironically, I felt far more emotional turmoil and character development from the ML. His arc shows genuine conflict, vulnerability, and growth — especially compared to the (almost always) perfectly composed Xiao Fang.

The final episodes, which almost felt like they belonged to a different drama altogether, focus on Xiao Fang building her small business. Just like the main character herself, the story shifts to something else with surprising ease.
At least these last episodes brought some much‑needed calm after all the loud and repetitive family shenanigans. But again, it felt like “too little, too late” for me to fully enjoy that final stretch.

Don’t get me wrong, Xiao Fang is a decent drama — it’s visually gorgeous, very well acted, and occasionally touching. But it remains a work with more promise than payoff: beautiful to look at, yet narratively underdeveloped and emotionally underwhelming. Sadly.

Final rating: 7.5/10

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What a simple yet wholewome little gem !

What a gentle, heartwarming little show !

Across its 4 short episodes, we follow the kind ML, a travel and food writer who wanders from region to region with his camera and an open heart. Guided by the cats he meets along the way, he discovers small local eateries and regional dishes that he tastes with such visible delight that his enjoyment becomes almost contagious. Every meal is savoured slowly, lovingly — as if the show were inviting us to taste it with him.

Alongside these delightful culinary moments, the series offers a handful of touching encounters with the people and their cats he crosses paths with. Each time, our ML listens, helps, or comforts them with his natural softness.
Food, photography, and these gentle connections blend into a wholesome, soothing and uplifting - but way too short- journey.

Thanks for the rec, https://mydramalist.com/profile/toxicbybritneyspears/feeds/b3vWPZtd !

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Interesting premise but oversweet, bland and repetitive.

** DISCLAIMER: my review may contain slight spoilers **

The premise was genuinely engaging and the first 3–4 episodes were enjoyable.
Then, somehow, what began as a cute, quiet slice‑of‑life romance quickly turned into something oversweet, repetitive, and almost aggressively conflict‑free. Ironically, that’s exactly when the story lost whatever charm it had.

The leads are good actors and look nice together, but their interactions soon become too steady and too unrealistic to take seriously. Their conversations remain uniformly soft, their dynamic never shifts, and the romance settles into a loop of “overly cute moment + friends teasing.” It gets old very fast.

Even as someone who loves slow burns, the pacing felt stagnant. Both leads remain exactly the same from start to finish — perfectly calm, perfectly polite, perfectly predictable. Their relationship is essentially a long, smooth, unchallenged line.
The ML is the greenest flag imaginable: good at everything, always composed, never frustrated, never wrong, impeccably dressed, endlessly attentive and patient. At times, he feels more like a father figure than a partner.
The FL, despite being a smart and energetic university student, turns into the shyest, softest 13‑year‑old version of herself whenever he’s around. After a while, it stops being cute and becomes simply cringey.
I eventually resorted to fast‑forwarding (which says a lot, considering how sacrilegious that is for me) just to find scenes with other characters because I desperately needed a break from the main pair.

The story itself doesn’t help: no stakes, no disagreements, no character growth, no meaningful conversations. Mostly an endless sequence of looooong sweet moments between the two leads.

I was also hoping to learn more about the Chinese dubbing industry. The dubbing scenes were indeed interesting and the traditional songs were lovely, but there was no real narrative thread — just scattered projects here and there.
The many cooking scenes, while appetizing, added nothing to the plot or the characters. Just another area in which the ML excels. And the combination of these two themes felt random at best.

There were several missed opportunities:
– the supporting cast and other couples barely develop
– the second couple is cute but essentially a copy‑paste of the main one
– the third couple — the only truly interesting one — is rushed into the last two episodes
– the vacation arc focuses almost entirely on the main pair (and the stunning scenery)
– the ML and the FL’s grandfather (both doctors) never have a meaningful exchange
and yes… nobody in this drama seems to get enough sleep.

Overall, I understand why many viewers enjoyed how gentle and unproblematic this show is. But for me, the lack of nuance, the absence of character development, the overly sanitized tone (borderline propaganda‑like), and the never‑ending loop of sweetness made it a genuine struggle to finish.
In the end, the sweetest thing about this drama was the relief I felt when it ended.

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This could have been a PERFECT unforgettable little gem...

Realistically, I should have rated this a maximum of 8/10 but this short BL drama was so well acted by the 2 MLs, they alone deserved this added bonus point.
The cinematography (lighting and colours, especially) was beautiful and the angst (unsaid words, looks, touch...) absolutely top-notch.
I appreciated how the storyline was very focused but found this series unfortunately WAY TOO SHORT (1hr 20min in total). This short drama definitely lacked "breathing" between scenes. Also those 2 talented actors' chemistry deserved more screen time together but I'm not sure that would have been enough to save the sadly underdeveloped and rushed ending.

Btw, the comic relief of the girl's mother was a welcome fun touch.

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What a disappointment ! Such an overhyped drama !

It started so well (that "plot twist" ending of episode 1 was especially interesting and intense - I was seated !) and I was quite entertained until about halfway through where it rapidly started going downhill.
As the show progressed, the storyline became more and more unrealistic and the characters' development stayed too superficial. I could barely understand any of their (nonsensical) actions or relate to any of them.
The plot also became so predictable in a very chaotic way (like they were desperately trying to make each new episode more exciting).... until the most RIDICULOUS and UNNECESSARY (and politically shameful) last episode ever.
Btw, have you ever heard of the Republic of Argan... in Africa (obviously) ?!? ;-D

During airing, most viewers were talking non-stop about the main leads' fiery chemistry. Well, I'm not so sure about that, sorry, but I'm pretty certain the only thing that saved this drama is the ML (Yoo Yeon Seok) great acting.
PS: sadly, the second couple (was there even a second couple, really ??) had ZERO chemistry.

At the end, I was relieved it was a short drama.

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Came for the MC's chemistry... but stayed for the 2nd couple's actual one.

DISCLAIMER: This review may contain (very) mild spoilers

I quite enjoyed the first 2/3rds of the series, but the last 6–8 episodes drifted a bit too far into makjang — or gǒuxiě, in this case — for my own taste. The tone suddenly became heavier and more exaggerated as some conflicts were pushed a bit too far just to create drama.

Personally, I found the final stretch of the narrative overly centered on the ML’s family, which made the story lose some of its charm. At that point in the story, the family drama overshadowed the romance and slowed down the pacing, especially compared to the much more engaging earlier episodes.
Frankly, I couldn’t have cared less about the ML’s mother and her backstory. She was mean through and through, and her villain arc wasn’t even remotely interesting to watch. Her motivations were inconsistent and unreasonable. And, honestly, compared to her unrealistic toxic character, the other “villains” were at least entertaining.

On the brighter side, the second couple (and the too-wise-beyond-his-years child) was genuinely delightful. Their scenes were sweet, funny, warm, grounded, and surprisingly moving. Their dynamic added a softness and emotional sincerity that I really appreciated, and I honestly wish they had been given (a lot) more screen time. THEY’re the reason this drama ended up with a high 8.5/10 from me.

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This Cdrama started well but, unfortunately, quickly disappointed.

I was so excited to start this Cdrama as I usually love a slow burn romance. Unfortunately, this series was quite disappointing.

It started well: good acting, good premise, good pace.
Certainly cute at the beginning, the constant misunderstandings between the 2 MLs became excessive. This mainly ruined the overall pace of the show as the episodes started to get quite repetitive, overly slow and, sadly, uninteresting. And when the 2 MLs finally get together, they keep failing at communicating properly (I don't remember them once really talking honestly to each other). Regrettably, from then on, the unnecessary subplots didn't add any value to the rest of their story.
This series could have been smartly wrap up in 12 episodes which would have been way better.

For some reason, as the show progressed, I also started to appreciate the endearing ML more and the FL (a lot) less. She had the most unnerving attitude towards the ML during the whole drama.
Am I the only one who thought they had barely anything in common ? At some point, I even found the SECOND main couple much more interesting and emotionally connected as their characters developped.

By the way, the FL's mother kept getting on my nerves until the very end. Such an overbearing and borderline inappropriate character !

Despite the good performance of the cast (against such a weak plot), I personally thought this series lacked the charm of other similar Cdramas like "Hidden Love", "When I Fly Towards You", "My Secret" and "Wait, My Youth".

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Visually stunning but bland show

At first glance, this Thai drama is undeniably beautiful: the production, the costumes, the atmosphere, and the leads’ performances all have a classic lakorn charm. But despite its elegance and interesting premise, the drama suffers from several issues that keep it from reaching its full potential.

The pacing and editing are the biggest problems. Instead of deepening the romance or developing the characters, the story moves slowly, with many repetitive and unnecessarily stretched family scenes.
Throughout the drama, numerous mini‑scenes are inserted here and there without clear narrative continuity. Rather than enriching the plot, these abrupt transitions break the flow of the story and make certain emotional beats feel disconnected or unfinished.

The family dynamics are also overwhelming. The ML’s mother is written in a very old‑fashioned lakorn style: exaggerated, loud, and exhausting. Most of her scenes tend to overshadow the main plot rather than support it. On the other side, the FL’s brothers are overprotective yet quite dull, and they mostly make the story feel crowded.

The romance itself, while sweet, lacks intensity. The main couple has good chemistry, but the relationship remains gentle and overly restrained, never quite reaching the emotional depth or passion that the setup promises.

Characterization is another mixed point. The FL is adorable, but her immaturity can be frustrating, especially when it slows down her (limited) growth. The ML, meanwhile, is so rigid and emotionally reserved that his development feels delayed and incomplete.

The soundtrack also feels inconsistent. While the main musical theme is lovely and fits the tone perfectly, much of the background music falls oddly out of context with the scenes it accompanies.

In short, My Cherie Amour is visually polished and well‑acted, but its slow pacing, choppy editing, repetitive conflicts, uneven soundtrack, and overly restrained romance prevent it from becoming truly memorable. It’s a pretty and safe drama; just not a fully satisfying one.


PS - "MAJOR CRIME" made by the Prop Team:
At the end of episode 5, the FL is helping tidy up the ML’s bedroom, and there’s a stack of books on his desk.
The one right on top? The Copper Beech by Irish author Maeve Binchy… published in 1992. Meanwhile, this lakorn is supposed to take place around the late 1940s - early 1950s! 🤦🏻‍♀️
Looks like the prop team had a very long day. Yup… a more than 40‑YEARS long day!😅
And this happens again later, in episode 8 (those books in drawer were published in the 1970s) 🙄

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