[Contemplation] Conversations Between Us by SolAngel
*major feels alert*
*major spoiler alert*
*These are the exact words I commented on the thread of the story found at Soompi. So this isn't a review - it's a reaction post. Haha
UPDATE (November 2016):
This is to tell you that Conversations Between Us by SolAngel has been published as a book! *hooray dance* Its title was changed to First Impressions (April Loves Black Coffee). You can buy the book and/or ebook at https://www.createspace.com/4106114 - It has extra scenes and revised scenarios so you'd enjoy it better. And yes, I already bought the Books (this is split into two parts) that's why I'm immediately recommending this to ya'll. Ppali ppali!
Conversations Between Us is by far the best fiction I've ever read. Though I have read it a years ago, I still can't forget everything. Even though I feel like WTTU was better than CBU, still, CBU is my most favorite because it was the first story who inspired me a lot. And it made me continue loving people as much as it made me continue writing. In the following words, you will see how affected I was when I wrote this. I wrote it over a year ago but when I became nostalgic for CBU, I would read it over and over again.
Here's the synopsis of the fiction:
In a world where money powers morals, loyalty challenges sins, and the pursuit of happiness requires individual revolutions there is little hope for young and naïve Maybelline Lee when she encounters the dark and dangerous underground social order. May finds herself initially drawn to the brooding and charismatic gang leader Crist after serving his clandestine table. Convinced that she's met the nostalgic gang leader before, May elicits Crist's help to repay a debt she owes his entrepreneurial rival-the enigmatic, enthralling, and precarious-Mayhem. Spellbound yet vigilant, May soon discovers the hidden agenda behind Crist's amiable and romantic pursuits. When the tables turn, and the game of cat-and-mouse sets off a domino chain, May must fight her fears and accept the possibility that her most unlikely ally is none other than the dark and angelic Mayhem. But in a society where gang lords are more influential than the command of fate, May faces the challenge of escaping the treacherous and absorbing underworld where Crist and Mayhem preside and rule with iron hands. As May learns to let go of her harrowing past and damaging memories, she discovers her intense attraction for Mayhem may change the course of her life forever. (cr. goodreads)
Unless you want to know why April loves Black Coffee -- you should at least read my reaction. ;)
I don't know how to start, and how to end this conversation. But I appreciated every single letter in this story. To tell you the truth, I never cared on reading this until later on, I was bored and I landed on your (soompi) thread. I actually was glad that I did. I was very delighted when it came to the point where I squeal and shout in happiness. It was funny how Maybelline Lee started. When I though of it, it really reminds me of its original brand name!
At first, I thought Choi SangWoo was too good to be true -- handsome, muscular body, kind and mostly, the leader of Crist! What can I find more inside him when he almost have all? I love every chapter with him in it and May and SangWoo were always drunk and the next day they're a sober. I was broken-hearted when they broke up. Spilling out the whole truth about MiSun. I also cried about May's childhood. She was tortured by her sister-- who is like her mirror. I hate it when MiSun always accuse May for her wrong done and it instantly made my blood boil.
And there he was. Yoon JaeWon -- whom I thought was the antagonist. 'He is the bad guy!' I yelled in my head, keeping my love for SangWoo in my mind. But then, after May and JaeWon got drunk together and knowing that this JaeWon is the leader of Mayhem, I had a second thought. Who is better, SangWoo or JaeWon?
But then, imagining that graffiti JaeWon made and noted us that: April loves Black Coffee. I didn't hesitate loving him back. His charms struck me down to my heart. I love him being so stubborn and always ended up having an argument with May (April). They were still sweet even though they continued insulting each other to death. It was fun having them around. And on the other hand, my likeness for SangWoo disappeared in mid-air.
And after everything, there goes the revelations and complications. The rise of conflict indeed. Every chapter was so intense. Your diction was so great that I can feel everything that was happening. For the moment there, I feel like I was May. Being trapped and tortured. I also love those parts that May and JaeWon would cal themselves April and Black Coffee.
And well, I also love the comedy parts. The Pig Latin, the chasing with the coffee, the insults, Bryan's 50-cent rap and even their conversation game! They gave out so much euphoria in me.
But then, why do you have to end it so soon? Why do you have to cut it when inside of me, everything collapsed? Why did you let HanSuk kill the mighty Mayhem? Why does SangWoo have to be the betrayer and the one who set them up in the end? It hurts me the most: Black Coffee -- dead. But hey, I can't blame you for everything. I am also a writer, and I don't believe in happy-endings. It's just that, it's really a tear-jerker that I have to carry that pain in my sleep and also the next day. I finished reading this yesterday and yet I still keep that pain. Telling myself: all I read were fiction -- all an imagination. I think I am having a heart attack for that moment I read about his death.
Sigh. Everything has to go away for the better, right? ^^ Conversations Between Us inspired me a lot. It inspired me in continuing what my heart wanted to let out in the best of writing. Your fiction kept me stunned for a one whole-week! But my syndrome is not yet finish. It may reach up to months.. and who knows? Maybe even years! And I won't forget this because, I disliked coffee from the start. But when I read Conversations between Us, I became a coffee-freak. I am always looking for coffee every now and then and I always love the plain Black Coffee. It reminds me of JaeWon and April. Oh, and don't worry, I'll still recommend this to everyone! PINKY PROMISE!!!
This was my longest reply ever. But you deserve it. Your words left me dumbfounded and your skills in writing were out of this world. I will consider you as one of the best author of all time! So I better be off before I cry reminiscing JaeWon's death. Anyway, I'll read your other works and I will wait for Conversations Between Us 2 to come out in the future! Good luck and stay healthy!
April loves Black Coffee.
And I love them, too.
Thank you for reading again. I hope this didn't waste your time and this will serve as my recommendation to Conversations Between Us.
Very well then... Goodbye Maybelline Lee, Yoon JaeWon, Choi SangWoo, Lina, MinSu, Bryan, JunJin (Feet), HanSuk, and most especially -- April and Black Coffee. Because I still miss them now.
Farewell, Conversations Between Us (a.k.a. Conversations between a Gentleman and a Lady)
My Rating:
Plot: 9.5/10
Characters & Dialogue : 9.5/10
Structure & Pacing: 9.3/10
Theme: 9.0/10
Style & Tone: 9.4/10
OVERALL RATING: 9.3
NOTE: This review came from my old soompi and facebook account and was posted in July 2009.