First, I'll just admit I'm a total romance fan. I like lighthearted, fun, easy to watch romances with good kisses and a happy ending. At the beginning of this series, my rating was probably close to a 10. It was funny, with quirky characters. Then we hit the midway point - it felt like they threw the standard tropes in just to move the show along. Arranged marriage, evil controlling family, jealous co-workers, it had it all, but each difficulty was so short-lived and easily resolved, that they just seemed pointless. As I watched, I could feel my rating lowering. Then came the last two episodes. These episodes had a lot of heart and I'll address some of them below.
LOVED:
1) Lee Jun Ho. Call me superficial, but man, he is a beautiful hunk of eye candy. Seriously, I think he could probably have chemistry with a rock. Watching him relate to the FL was such a treat. And my romance meter was on high alert through all the stares, I laughed as he tried to figure out how to date, and those kisses? Yes, thank you. That's what they should look like! His character arc was such that he moved from cold, impersonal and not caring about anyone to thinking highly of his employees. I loved that. He and the FL were absolutely adorable together...lots of sweetness to go around.
2) Two of my favorite actresses, Kim Young Ok as FL's grandmother, and Han Mi So as ML's mother.
3) No evil ex-girlfriend or wanna be girlfriend to muddy the waters.
4) Did I mention the kisses?
5) Kim Sun Young as ML's older sister. Loved to hate her. Early on, I kind of wished that a white truck of doom would make an appearance, but in the last few episodes I just felt for her so much. I wish that someone would have told her that she was allowed to let others in.
6) The "six siblings". Friends that you want to have. I also liked the storyline of the two flight attendants. Cute.
7) A non-rushed happy ending with a wedding. Thank you very much!!! I get so tired of watching a show that's billed as a romance where the couple spends more time apart than together and the ending is rushed in the last 10 minutes. That was a beautiful wedding venue!
8) No time skip.
9) Breaking the fourth wall at the end.
10) Loved the nods to The Red Sleeve and Squid Game.
COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
1) Im Yoon Ah as the FL. There was something off about her to me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. She was beautiful, to be sure. The couple was cute together, but there was just something missing from her. One thing, her character was just TOO perfect, she kept getting ahead no matter what people threw at her. Her facial expressions often seemed "off" to me. I understand that the "fake smile" was a plot device, so I had to let that go, but she looked terrified during the wedding scenes, which made no sense whatsoever. I felt a lack of energy in her acting, that's the only way I can describe it.
2) Da Eul's husband - that was a waste of storyline.
3) This show had more product placement than I have ever seen in any other show, and it was extremely irritating.
4) When she was in the countryside, she mentioned that she had sent him pictures of the food when she initially went to the restaurant. How could she have? He didn't know she was in the countryside.
5) Who thought that Love Hotel was a good name for her hotel? I think maybe it's because I'm American, but unfortunately that name makes me think of places you rent by the hour.

So, overall, I was treated to the romance that seems to be so sorely missing from the "romance" shows. I just wish they hadn't tried to make it more melodramatic in the middle. I'm certainly glad I watched it, and I can recommend it. It's not one of the best I've ever seen, but it's definitely re-watchable to see Jun Ho fall in love.