Drama Review: WEIGHTLIFTING FAIRY KIM BOK JOO

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

Original Title: 역도요정 김복주
Language: Korean
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Watched On: Viki
Number of Episodes: 16

Overall: ☆☆☆☆☆

Summary: What else could there be to life than barbells and heavy weights? Kim Bok Joo (Lee Sung Kyung) is a weightlifting phenom who has only focused on barbells her entire life while growing up with her father, Kim Chang Gul (Ahn Gil Kang), is a former weightlifter. She attends Hanwool College of Physical Education, a university full of top-notch athletes who are driven to succeed in the hopes of representing their country in national and international competitions. She went to the same elementary school as Jung Joon Hyung (Nam Joo Hyuk) but reunites with him in college. He is now a competitive swimmer who is having trouble recovering from the trauma of being disqualified for a false start in his first international swim competition. Song Shi Ho (Kyung Soo Jin) is a fiercely competitive rhythmic gymnast who won a silver medal at the Asian Games when she was 18, but the pressures of her sport drive her to break up with Joon Hyung. Bok Joo’s tunnel-vision life starts to change when she falls in love with Joon Hyung’s older cousin, Jung Jae Yi (Lee Jae Yoon), a former athlete who became an obesity doctor after suffering a career-ending injury. Will Bok Joo learn that there is more to life than weightlifting? “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo” is a 2016-2017 South Korean drama series directed by Oh Hyun Jong. The story is inspired by the life of weightlifter Jang Mi Ran, who won the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics, the gold medal in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, and four world championships.

I'll try to write this review without being completely gushy... but let's be real here! I honestly didn't know how well I would like this drama, I only went into it because of Lee Jae Yoon--who isn't even a lead--and Nam Joo Jyuk. But dammit if every single character wasn't just 👌!!

My first issue with this drama was the casting of the female lead; she does not look like a competing weight lifter, and I thought that would annoy me the whole time. But Lee Sung Kyung's acting made up for it on so many levels. The writing of the drama made up for it. Bok Joo is a kind, caring and hard working person. The lead male Joon Hyung does nothing but support her and their friends throughout the entire drama. The family dynamic behind the drama is A+ as well.
I can only find one thing to fault this drama and that's the lack of actual schooling considering they're college students...but everything else is just so so good that there's no point!
I cried so many times in this drama, laughed, squealed and just felt the intense feels! One of my favorite parts of this drama from any drama ever is the portrayal of someone being depressed--what that feeling is really like. And the fact that the people surrounding this character didn't shun her for it, but supported her so much was absolutely beautiful! That's the best way to describe this drama...beautiful. I highly highly recommend it!

I looked into the other dramas that this writer has worked on and two of them are also some of my all time favorites (Oh My Ghostess and High School King of Savvy), so it's no suprise that this drama was as good as it was. I cannot wait to see more from Yang Hee Seung.

Have you seen this drama? What is one of your recent faves, please let me know!

Book Review: PAPER PRINCESS by Erin Watt

Paper Princess by Erin Watt

Published: 4 April 2016
Genre: YA Contemporary
Format: Paperback, personal copy

Overall: ☆☆☆

goodreads | amazon | barnes & noble

Summary: From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.
These Royals will ruin you…
Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone.
Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.
Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.
He might be right.
Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.

With the amount of positive and raving reviews on Goodreads, I knew I had to get this book. Firstly, I read this book in two days; which doesn't happen very often. But it's not because I was loving it. It was because I just wanted the book to start. For something to happen. 

There are so many characters in this book that I feel like our lead Ella never really got to develop a relationship with any of them. Including Reed. They went from hating each other to almost boning each other and I never even understood where the chemistry came from!

Another reviewer on goodreads stated that Paper Princess reminded her of Boys Over Flowers--one of my least favorite Korean dramas ever. And I can totally see that. This book frustrated me for those same reasons that Boys Over Flowers did. Reed is an ass, they're all asses and yet we're supposed to like him. We're supposed to feel for him.

With all of the frustrating parts of this book, there were some things that I did like about the book. Callum, he's a confused, lost man who just wants what is best for his sons and Ella. Valerie, as little as we got with her, I liked her spunk and positivity. Gideon, yet another character we never get to see in this book, but he seemed to be the only brother who wasn't a complete ass hole and female degrading douche! (Seriously, the amount of degrading and disgusting things said in this book.) And even though Ella annoyed the hell out of me a lot, I liked that she never apologized for the life she had to live, the things she had to do to get by in life. It's what she knew and that's all she cared about. Even though she did some seriously questionable things I was always rooting for her. 

I plan on reading the next two books in the series to find out what happens next because this one is quite a cliffhanger! I'll just be getting them from the library and won't be purchasing the books. 

Erin Watt can write some sexy scenes, and this felt more like a NA book than YA, so I hope she delves more into that drama and leaves the ass hole boys out of them!! Jen Frederick, Elle Kennedy, Erin Watt... whoever she is. I should probably read more from her. Recommend one!

Have you read Paper Princess? Am I the only one who thinks this!? Let me know!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are You Reading? Each week we spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading or just finished reading.

Currently Reading:
» Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Recently Finished:
» Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid [☆☆☆☆]
» Paper Princess by Erin Watt [☆☆☆ - review will be posted at 10am on Wed the 18th]

Up Next:
» The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
» One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid


Have you read any of these books? Let me know what you think, or what you recommend!

Have a colorful day.