During the Snowstorm (2024)

sweet romance story

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love (2024) - 9/10 -cdrama

this drama is somewhere between 8,5/9 at least for me I decided to give it 9. Its for example very alike by vibe and story to drama Love Me, Love My Voice (2023) but I liked Love me .... more.

Drama is full of cute and romantic scenes + friendship and sportmanship got big space here too.

picking pool/nineball/snooker etc as sport around which will this drama go was good and bad choice at once. Firstly its good since story-setting of washed of pro player, training and playing at pubs in foreign city is interesting and quite realistic. At other hand this sport isnt very entertaining for watchers. At least better than watching others play chess or such.

Male lead character is on more unique side and makes this drama quite enjoyable if I had to describe it he seems :tough on outside, tender on inside:. As for female lead character she is more inverted :cute/tender on outside and tough in inside:

plot- Former professional snooker genius ML met the popular nine-ball player FL on a rare snowstorm night in city of foreign country. ML fell for FL at first sight and decided to do all he can to pursue FL and make her his girlfriend. As wheel of fate is quite fickle he finds out that FL he fell for is sister of his former snooker rival.

genre - romance, sport

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Love is evident from the beginning

I really like the progression of this slow love story. From the first time he saw her he has been smitten and slowly wanting to enter her world. First series ive watched that the ML fell hard first, as in eposide 1. Anyways, will probably post a progression review later on. We shall see.

Their chemistry is so on point. The small gestures and the FL reactions are reminiscing of ones first love.

I also loce how thier both foodies.

OST so far is perfect! The acting, well its so good and convincing that made me watch on repeat after the 6th episode

Cant wait!

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Not for me

Oh, this was not it. Everything that worked in “Love Me, Love My Voice” did not work here, I fear. This was not for me, and I feel like everyone was doing too much and nothing at all at the same time. Why does the male lead immediately care so much for a girl he doesn’t know? To the point that she literally moves in with him, like? Girl, he could be a freak, aren’t you scared of getting offed?? LYY was also just too intense for me. Bro loved looking at Yin Guo like this 👁️👄👁️, it made me uncomfortable😭😭. When she put that band aid on his leg… I thought I was going to 🤯 because why were they doing that much over a scratch?? I thought I could push through to get to their dating era, but the episodes just drag and drag – the leads just looking at each other wide-eyed, doing too much and yet nothing at all. It wasn’t for me, moving on to the next drama.

Update October 2024: I kept thinking of this show, and picked it up again. I admit that I skipped episodes 23-29 and most of episode 30 to finally get to the end. Overall, this was alright - I guess -, but my initial thoughts are still the same. Again, small situations were kind of presented in such an over-the-top way that I just rolled my eyes👀👩🏻‍💻. Bro has a sore throat, and Yin Guo acts like he's on his death bed. When she visited him while he was ill, she kept bumping into that stupid box in his apartment, which pissed me off so bad BECAUSE IT WASN'T EVEN THAT DARK TO MISS IT?!👹👹 Like, if I can make out every piece of furniture, then it ain't dark enough for her to trip over her two feet. Again, bro was doing too much because her leg was slightly red from bumping into a box twice. Pleaseeeee. Also... Zhao Jin Mai was adorable in this show, she gave me black cat energy, however, her whiny voice was a little annoying sometimes because it made her sound like a 16-year-old 😭😭😐 Anywho, episodes 8/9-15 were quite enjoyable though, once she got back to China... I lost interest again 😐🚩. Anyway, I did it, I watched the show, and had an okay time!

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It’s a big yes!

It’s official. I’ll definitely watch again. The story is so unique and the acting is great. The chemistry between the leads is definitely 🔥🔥. The build up, communication, relationship and showmanship were amazing.

The series revolves around more than just the leads but their community. When I say community I mean the people that share their common interest. What I enjoyed about the series is that it shows how friends can become family after spending so much time together. They all appear to be able to celebrate each other successes whether they were from the same club or not, and that to me spoke volumes. It was played in such a way that was very heartfelt and encouraging.

The relationship of the leads felt pure, genuine and swoon worthy. It just felt right.

I didn’t find one boring episode. The male need really knows how to intensify his expression and gazes.the supporting cast were all the best. No one fell short.

In summary you’ll get sweet romance, slight drama, good billiards scenes, heartfelt moments, laughter and more. Definitely a good one.

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Ling Buyi is still Ling Ling yi yang

I find little distinction between Lin Buyi’s character in Love Like the Galaxy and his portrayal of Lin Yiyang in this drama.

In Love Like the Galaxy, his character comes across as emotionally stunted, seemingly unable to express himself beyond blank stares directed at the female lead. (This isn’t meant as a critique of the drama or the actor.) While I understand that those blank stares are meant to convey love at first sight, he essentially repeats the same behavior here.

As Lin Yiyang, he once again falls head over heels for the female lead at first glance, yet his expression mirrors that of his role in Love Like the Galaxy.

I’m only on episode 10, but I can’t help comparing his portrayal in both dramas. So far, I’m not seeing much of a difference, and I’m not impressed. However, I’ll continue watching in case my opinion changes later on.

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Not sugar free....

My daily overdose of sugar... i can´t watch it all time, otherwise it´s to much but, it´s incredibly sweet to see how you get closer day by day without mega sneaky tyrants and dramas....
Even if i haven´t yet after watching to the end, i´m looking forward to the next episodes. I love seeing the ML in a non-historical role, it is and remains attractive and the FLalso fits wonderfully. The chemistry between the two is perfect.
Every now and then there are moments when you want to shake the ML in his less talkative way, but hey, somehow it´s completely taken from life and fits perfectly :)

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The absolute sweetest thing

Oh this drama is such a happy pill. It's one of those you'll reach for again now and then. My favorite thing about this drama is that although there were old wounds to be healed, there was no 'great danger' or villain to overcome. It was mostly a story of two strangers who met and fell in love and that is such a breath of fresh air. Such a relief to have sweet, compelling characters just living life, doing their own thing. The career aspect was just as engrossing as their love story too - I loved that part. I've never played billiards nor do I understand the rules of the game, but every competition Yiyang and Guo participated in had me on the edge of my seat.

Also, the friendship between the Donxingchen boys was a pleasure to watch. They knew each other in and out no matter how much time passed, and they supported each other without question or malice. It was great to see such brotherhood.

I may be late to the party but Wu Lei's performance here absolutely floored me. He was SO good as Lin Yiyang the billiards genius. His chemistry with Zhao JinMai? Off the charts. Incredible.

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Love and Billiards: An Engaging Journey through Amidst a Snowstorm of Love

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love is a captivating tale of love and resilience against the backdrop of a beautiful winter. The drama takes the audience on a wonderful journey. The storyline progresses at a steady pace, keeping the viewers hooked until the end.

The characters are well-developed, each having their unique traits and arcs. The actors have done a commendable job, bringing their characters to life and making them relatable to the audience. This is a romance drama without annoying secondary couples, focusing mainly on the main couple. The only secondary couple slightly focused on didn’t annoy me, who usually skip secondary couple parts in most of dramas. They made me want to know about more of their story.

The visuals are stunning, with the snow-laden landscapes providing a perfect setting for the unfolding drama. The costumes are well-designed, reflecting the characters’ personalities. The soundtrack, with beautiful melodies, complements the drama’s peaceful and calming mood.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed watching “Amidst a Snowstorm of Love”. The drama’s exploration of billiards made me keep searching the internet about pool games and players, a game I was never interested in. The tournament part was well done. Overall, the balance between romance and sport was well maintained; we got enough of both sides.

In conclusion, “Amidst a Snowstorm of Love” is a drama that keeps you engaged until the end. I liked its peaceful and calming atmosphere without villains, and the bromance between the three players. It’s a drama to watch when you want peace in your mind, which you can watch when you are stressed.

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Top tier tomance, but the rest is increasingly not great nearing the finale.

The romance in this one is about as good as it can get within the constraints of Chinese TV. The leads not only have great chemistry with each other, but the romantic plot flows very nicely and realistically throughout the entire show. There are no love triangles or needless complications either & yet they have so many touching and emotional scenes, it's just insane!

The drama is not just romance though, there is plenty of billiards related content. In the early episodes I was amazed by the camerawork & by all the effort taking & recording these shots must've taken. Though the games themselves were really really strange to my non-expert eyes. (but I have seen snooker played at the highest level & Ronnie O'Sullivan would be jealous of what's happening on screen in this show)

The first thing I disliked in this drama is fake Finland. Even if we ignore the strategically inserted homeless guys the whole environment is incredibly weird. To me it feels like the the studio shipped all the blonde white actors -based in China- to Finland (assuming they filmed there, I think so~) to act in this show. To add insult to injury the dubbed English is weird too, not because it's bad like in Kdramas, but rather educated Chinese dubbing actors just cannot sell this, every time a white guy opens their mouth on this show it sounds incredibly fake. (Though maybe I'm overreacting. It's just a Finland like imaginary country, not Finland after all.)

The bigger problem I had with this is that the final 7 or so episodes are incredibly boring. The romance in them is still fun, but the focus shifts to various educational topics involving sports, patriotism & self improvement. The sports drama parts, games played were all extremely skippable in this period as well. Having only this much in a 30 episode cdrama would be quite normal in the current era, but pushing most of it into the final episodes made it very difficult for me to finish the drama.
Despite how much I enjoyed at least 2/3rds of this, it's difficult for me to rate this very highly, since it was really and I mean REALLY difficult to reach the finale.

If you are reading this review before watching the show, my suggestion for you would be that after ep20 as soon as you start feeling bored, just straight up jump to the final episode.



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Now that I think about it, I also find it odd that the Cousin had a distinct second couple plot, but the creators forgot to wrap that up.

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A treat to audiences who like romance

I absolutely loved the couple. They give butterflies in my stomach! Sizzling chemistry. I loved how Yiyang looks at her. He really has the look of a man in love. Loved how he thinks she's perfect and too much for him when he is Wu Lei. Loved that first awkward-getting-to-know-each-other phase they had. Loved how they felt comfortable with each other almost instantaneously after they start dating. Loved their skinship. Loved how they were super affectionate with each other. All of their scenes together were just pure romance.

Liked the turn the drama had in 15-16~ ep. It was heartbreaking but important for their development. Actually, there is not much of narrative in this drama. It's all basically just the couple, their love for sports and for each other. But that's not bad. It's the highlight of everything. There were no unnecessary dramas and no annoying characters trying to break up the leads. It all went smooth and without big troubles. The side characters are good. Specifically Xiaodong and Jiang Yang. It was so refreshing how Xiaodong, as FL's big brother, was the n°1 fan of the couple. And Jiang Yang too was a really supportive friend. Wished he had more screentime and Xiaodong's story with Linlin had closure. But we can't have everything :(

The production of this drama was superb. Really! Besides shooting in Finland and France, which is huge in itself and they did it beautifully, the games were well portrayed (at least from an outsider's pov) I understood most plays and the direction of them was good. The romance scenes were very well done. It was so delicate and swooning and passionate. Ofc they had good actors doing a good job but they explored them and their chemistry really well with the locations and situations. It could've been cringe and ridiculous some interactions they had, but instead they were cute and lovely together.

If I had to point out smth negative, I would say that the geographical and cultural inaccuracies and vagueness bothered me a little. Not one non-chinese player had a name that made sense with their nationality. Besides, we don't get to know where exactly they are. Where is Hel and Helsin? I assumed it was in Finland bc that's where the drama was shot. But it was confusing how they flew from Finland to France like it was just there. I just think that these details make the overall more real, if explained. But that wasn't big enough to annoy me.

So, anyways, I basically loved it. It was full of what I always like in dramas. The leads go through few difficulties which they work it out together. The drama doesn't feel cliché in how it is written. Good OSTs, good visuals, good acting. It's a treat to audiences who like romance just like me.


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EDIT: ok, so months after watching the drama, and after some reflection, I came to the conclusion that I changed my opinion on some things in the drama. Although I still stand for most of what I said above, I think this drama wasn't as perfect as I made it seem in this review.

I still love the leads' romance. They have amazing chemistry and are great together. However, after they become a couple they have little to no relationship development. They go from flirting as singles to flirting as a couple. But their interactions remain superficial. He doesn't talk with her about his life decisions, his feelings and problems. Even when he talks about his past is because she had to insist on it. And the fact that there's no real plot here makes it worse. Because we don't get to see them evolving as people. There are no hardships. He had to overcome his past with billiards but other than that it's all shallow and not explained. She has no personal story or anything. That would be ok cuz she could be there to support the ML. But he never shares his feelings with her to begin with, so she has no part in his decisions. These are actually some questionable relationship behaviors that he has. He doesn't speak his mind and he wants to provide for her like she needs someone to support her. As a matter of fact, she is portrayed almost like a child or a crystal. She must be taken care of and pampered. She is not that convincing as a fierce and strong billiards player precisely due to that. She seems much too delicate and fragile for the role.

I made it seem in the review above that I didn't really mind that Xiadong's story with Linlin is not closed. Actually I do mind. It's weird to introduce a plot point that won't come back or be given the deserved conclusion. It gets weirder as the drama is 30-eps-long, which means they had a lot of time for developing whatever they want. But wasted it all showing only the couple. The first 15 eps, although personally very enjoyable, could be far shorter as few things really happen. After that, it begins the development of ML's past, which could also be told in fewer episodes. Furthermore, I didn't like the fact that ML has a masters in something AND he owns a billiards place, but he's said to be poor and not being accomplished for his age. In what world do people live in where studying hard and having a business, at the same time, is not something to be proud of?!

At last, that's my opinion. I still like this drama despite all that I said here. I felt great watching it but it's undeniable that it has a lot of flaws that need to be addressed.

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