Charming

There is so much to love about the k-rom-com series Romance is a Bonus Book: books, copywriting, editing, mystery, the challenge of reinventing yourself as a working woman, and a friends-to-lovers romance that is subtle and slow to build yet delightful. I also fell head over heels with how beautifully the characters were crafted, and how well the wonderful cast depicted them.

Award-winning copywriter Kang Dan-i (Lee Na-young) is at the end of her rope. After taking a ten-year break from her professional career to be a stay-at-home mom, and losing everything when her unfaithful husband dumps her, she discovers no one wants to give her a job. On the verge of absolute disaster she rips up her impressive if dated credentials and applies as an entry-level gopher at her childhood best friend Cha Eun-ho's (Lee Jong-suk) publishing company. She lands the job and does everything she can to become a stellar employee, but her expertise at marketing starts showing through, naturally. She also discovers that Eun-ho, now a successful editor, author and lecturer, has been in love with her since they were kids -- but her old friend also has another secret.

It's very difficult to reinvent yourself; this series could easily be any professional woman/mother's start-over story. I thought the lead actors were very convincing in their roles. Also noteworthy is Kim Yoo-mi, who in particular gave an amazing performance as the director of marketing at Dan-i's workplace. Yoo-mi took on the portrayal of a seemingly cold, hateful woman and slowly developed it into something real, touching and quite inspiring. She also reminds us never to judge someone when we don't know their story.

Available on Netflix in the U.S.