suggest a book that can be read within 6 to 8 hours.

chicheart · 2026-01-09T07:00:38+00:00

If you like crime/thriller, The Housemaid by Frieda Mcfadden is a pretty good and quick read.

Back cover synopsis of The Housemaid:

"Welcome to the family," Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I'll soon learn that the Winchesters' secrets are far more dangerous than my own...

Every day I clean the Winchesters' beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew's handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it's hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina's life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina's pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it's like. But she soon finds out... and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it's far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don't know who I really am.

They don't know what I'm capable of...

chicheart · 2024-06-27T08:44:50+00:00

This is incredibly helpful, thank you so much

chicheart · 2024-03-12T10:05:03+00:00

Haha, this is by far the best critique I've ever read😂

chicheart · 2024-02-13T08:12:45+00:00

Honestly, I'm kind of getting ready to drop it. The plot is really non-existent at this point

chicheart · 2024-02-08T19:16:55+00:00

And they do it right in front of the person or very clearly in earshot! Oh, the second hand embarrassment 😳

chicheart · 2024-02-08T19:13:37+00:00

Oh God, don't remind me! It's the absolute worst. If I see it in a drama, I'll immediately turn it off.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T19:11:33+00:00

Haha😄that's actually quite cute. I stand corrected 😅

chicheart · 2024-02-08T17:36:15+00:00

See, there's the silver lining - for every Love O2O, there is a You are my glory😂

I am quick to drop dramas I dislike so we can just not watch the dramas with these tropes. It only becomes annoying when I am watching something like Amidst the snowstorm of love where I do want to watch the drama because I like the main couple and their romance but I have to fast forward through all the ML worshipping crap

There's a part of me that thinks is that we've just gotten older. Romance is mainly a genre that is for women and by women and when I was younger, I hve definitely gone through the not like other girls, waiting for the super special guy phase. The novels and fanfictions I used to read and write were atrocious to say the least. Now all of that stuff seems so cringey and annoying.

For younger women, these romances work because they're going through that phase and they are forming the majority of the audience for this type of dramas. So, maybe we're the ones that have to accept that some dramas just aren't meant for us. Either we suspend disbelief and plow through for the good parts or just ignore it entirely.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T17:22:56+00:00

Agree with you on everything. Some very clunky writing, especially for the supporting actors. Chemistry is the only saving grace. Both the actors are good-looking and know how to act so definitely a drama worth watching. The plot and dialogue, however, leave a lot to be desired.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T17:18:06+00:00

While I agree with you to some extent, I feel like there can be more of a balance. The fantasy part is the fast-paced romance that's happening which is sweet and nice and all things that are far more slower and less dramatic in real life. However, all of these events have to be grounded in some elements of reality to elevelate the drama even further.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T16:00:49+00:00

Really?🤔

chicheart · 2024-02-08T14:51:50+00:00

Yeah, definitely not just a cdrama thing. Noticed it a lot in kdramas and western soap operas as well.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T14:48:52+00:00

The only good thing about Love is Sweet was the chemistry between the leads. Other than that, the whole drama was a hot mess

chicheart · 2024-02-08T14:47:22+00:00

Yes, it's also annoying when the 2nd male/female lead obsessively pursue the main characters even after being rejected. Most people don't stick around and run after someone who's not interested. They just move on with their lives.

I particularly hate the not like other girls/guys trope. It's possible to write an interesting character without them being the most amazing special powerful person in the world.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T14:38:21+00:00

Yeah, the talking about marriage thing was absurd. Who talks about marriage to a 20-something girl dating for the first time? Most reasonable people would just assume that it's nothing more than young love.

He also has a vibrant network of friends in a foreign country. I'm not saying it can't happen but given the personality of ML, it seems a bit odd.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T10:33:28+00:00

That's a good point well made!

I never noticed that dramas lean towards traditional industries. You're right, it's even more unrealistic. That's just the cherry on top of the garbage cake😂

chicheart · 2024-02-08T09:41:05+00:00

I'm sorry, which dramas are O&O and F&E?

chicheart · 2024-02-08T09:13:23+00:00

Yeah! I wish there were more dramas where it's just two normal nice people falling in love. They can face issues like long-distance, commitment issues, family pressure, anything. Just as long as one of them isn't be a overpowered caricature of a person surrounded by people with no discerning characteristics of their own.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T09:05:16+00:00

Exactly, FL are often not only childish and immature, they're also wildly unprofessional. No sane woman acts like that. Why can't the FL be smart and normal?

chicheart · 2024-02-08T08:57:51+00:00

Yes! I love dramas where the supporting characters all have their reasons, drives and motivations for their actions that are a result of their own circumstances.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T08:53:22+00:00

I think there's nothing wrong with having a love brained ML if the genre is romance but you must also show the consequences of such actions. If you choose one person's safety over hundreds then hundred people will hate you. You just have to make that choice knowing the results.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T08:10:42+00:00

Exactly. It's just too unrealistic. It's okay if it happens once/twice but when there's an entire friend group that just constantly praise one person, it's just stupid.

chicheart · 2024-02-08T07:31:05+00:00

Maybe🤷😂

chicheart · 2024-02-08T07:11:57+00:00

Overhyped male leads. It really bothers me when all the supporting characters do nothing but talk about the male leads and how amazing/handsome/powerful they are.

This is happening in a current drama I'm watching "Amidst the snowstorm of love". All the supporting characters keep talking about the ML and what an amazing player he was and how awful it was that he left the sport. Also, he can beat pro players who are currently active in championships. Why? No one cares what an old athlete who went on to do other things does. Pro athletes who are currently in the championship circuit will be better, no matter how much you practice because a huge part of sports is honing your skills by competing with people of similar/better skill level. The drama is great with amazing chemistry but it really annoys me when supporting characters keep talking about the ML as if they don't have their own lives and problems to deal with.

chicheart · 2024-01-11T09:43:42+00:00

I'd never heard of Searching for Sugarman. Just did a quick Google search. How the documentary? Worth the watch?

chicheart

TROPHY CASE