First off, I'll say that you'll need to sit through the first couple of episodes to give this drama a fair shot. The start was extremely slow; endure it and you'll find yourself plowing through the rest of the episodes with glee.

The story is not unlike a mix of Extraordinary You and W-Two Worlds, as our heroine Zheng Xiao En (Vivian Sung) finds herself waking up in a romance novel. She soon discovers the male lead in the novel, Situ Aoran (Marcus Chang), looks a lot like He Tian Xing, the CEO she admires in the real world, who is in a coma. Vivian Sung did a fantastic job portraying a strong, funny, self-aware heroine, determined to change her role in the storybook. She realizes she is only a side character, possibly a villain, in the story of the romance between Situ Aoran and Ling Chu Chu. I confess I’m a sucker for stories about alpha males paired with delicate female leads. But seeing this trope from Xiao En’s perspective, I also felt the ridiculousness of it all. I lost count of how many times I rolled my eyes at Chu Chu’s damsel-in-distress behavior (and funnily, some of the characters were visibly rolling their eyes right there with me, haha). It was so much fun watching Xiao En try to sabotage the author’s many predictable set ups to get the “leads” to fall in love, change the direction of the story in the novel and catch the attention of the arrogant and childish Situ Aoran in the process. One of my favorite parts was Xiao En's time spent at Situ Aoran's place as his housekeeper and the two of them getting close while trying to battle and outwit one another. I wish this part of the drama lasted longer because it was so entertaining. Case in point: when she chances upon him showering, she tells herself to satisfy her curiosity and enjoy the view. Naturally, she gets caught and when an angry Situ Aoran confronts her, she says "who told you to look so handsome? If you were me, you'd have looked, too." She makes her argument with such conviction that it renders him speechless, and oddly enough, convinces him, LOL. Or that time she blurts out without thinking that she likes him and when he asks why, she says: "money..." Gotta love this girl.

I'm sure there will be viewers who will have a major second lead syndrome here. I didn’t suffer but I admit to being charmed by Duan Mu Qing Feng (Simon Lian). I enjoyed his presence and really appreciated seeing him be there for the heroine in times of need. He is such a gentleman and so understanding. However, Marcus and Vivian simply had incredible chemistry; there was no competition. They took the tag “steamy kiss” to a whole new level. Hands down, theirs is the best “finally, they did the deed” scene in all of dramaland, ha. They look so natural, so real, so good together that I felt as if I was intruding on their privacy for watching.

I didn't want the novel world to end because while the real world is playing out in parallel, I literally skipped every scene whenever that occurs (corporate shenanigans of He Tian Xing's family, yawn). So I thought I would hate it when they inevitably return to the real world. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed that world in the quarter half of the drama. Unlike the earlier episodes, the scenes between the leads are sweet, with a touch of melancholy. Xiao En is heartbroken to find He Tian Xing appears to be a different person from Situ Aoran. Meanwhile, I adored this version of the lead. Compared to Situ Aoran, He Tian Xing is such a gentleman, so mature. He is thoughtful, intrigued by the woman before him with sad eyes. I had no issues accepting the explanation they provided to meld the different personalities of Situ Aoran and He Tian Xing together at the end to confirm they are one and the same. And to be honest, I thought she ends up with the better half of him, so no complaints from me in that respect.

In conclusion, don't expect logical explanations for the whole "I traveled into a novel" premise. You'll enjoy it better if you just roll with it. Come for the meta references and the sizzling romance and you won't be disappointed.