Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love Review

Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love (在暴雪时分) is definitely going to attract a lot of interest because of the male lead. Sometimes, we choose to watch a drama not because of the story but because of the cast. This production is one of those that will make viewers look forward to its screening because the male lead is none other than Leo Wu. But is this drama just all about him or does it have more than just a pretty face? Personally, I’m surprised by the enjoyability of it all despite the simple story. My Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love review below will have more to say on this drama.

My rating: 8.5/10
Episodes: 30
Type: Romance
Aired: February 2024
Images Credit: WeTV English Facebook

The Cast Of Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love

• Leo Wu Lei as Lin Yi Yang
• Zhao Jin Mai as Yin Guo
• Wang Xing Yue as Meng Xiao Dong
• Chen Jing Ke as Jiang Yang
• Dong Zi Fan as Wu Wei
• Wang Jia Xuan as Meng Xiao Tian
• Ding Xiao Ying as Lin Lin
• Wang Run Ze as Li Qing Yan
• Dai Si as Cheng Yan
• Li Jian Yi as He Wen Feng / Coach He
• Jiang Hong Bo as Wu Qian
• Amy Sun Yi Ning as Zheng Yi

Main Characters

Lin Yi Yang

Yi Yang is a postgraduate student in Finland. He is a good-looking guy but is a very private person with a lot of pride in him. He is helpful and knows a lot of people but never opens up about his past. Yi Yang was an orphan and also a snooker prodigy who has given up on playing competitively.

Yin Guo

Yin Guo is billiards player and was a youth champion. She is young and has just begun playing professionally under her cousin brother’s management. Yin Guo is a sweet girl who is also smart and cautious. She can also be shy with a tinge of innocence when it comes to love.

Supporting Characters

Meng Xiao Dong

Xiao Dong is Yin Guo’s elder cousin brother. He was a snooker world champion and is still a top ranked player in the game. He also heads a snooker training club called Bei City. Xiao Dong is a serious guy and has a stern look that makes others fearful of him. Xiao Dong and Yi Yang were peers and rivals during their younger days together with Jiang Yang.

Jiang Yang

Jiang Yang is a top snooker player and Yi Yang’s old friend from the past. They used to train under the same master. Jiang Yang is also managing his master’s snooker club called Dong Xin City.

Wu Wei

Wu Wei is Yi Yang’s good friend from Dong Xin City who has joined him in Finland. He used to be a snooker player as well but is no longer a serious competitor. Wu Wei is a friendly guy and an understanding friend. He also shares a sibling-like relationship with Lin Lin.

Meng Xiao Tian

Xiao Tian is Yin Guo’s younger cousin brother. He and Xiao Dong are siblings. Xiao Tian is about to begin his studies in the same city as Yi Yang. He is a young and playful guy.

Lin Lin

Lin Lin was a snooker player but has quit playing competitively to become a referee. She is attached with Dong Xin City and is like a sister to Wu Wei. Lin Lin has a history with Xiao Dong.

Li Qing Yan

Qing Yan is a snooker player and Yin Guo’s friend since childhood. He is signed up with Bei City and guided by Xiao Dong. He has interest in Yin Guo but is afraid to confess his feelings.

Cheng Yan

Cheng Yan is a billiards player from Dong Xin City. She has feelings for Yi Yang and used to pursue him but it was a one-sided affair.

He Wen Feng / Coach He

Coach He is a respected snooker teacher and mentor. He started Dong Xin City and has contributed much to the game’s development in the country. He accepted 6 disciples including Jiang Yang and Yi Yang who was his youngest and last disciple. Yi Yang is like a son to him and his family.

Wu Qian

Wu Qian is Yin Guo’s mother. She works for the Sports Bureau but used to be a snooker referee. She is committed to the sport. Wu Qian is a serious woman who has her principles.

Zheng Yi

Zheng Yi is Yin Guo’s best friend. She is Yin Guo’s confidante when it comes to her relationship with Yi Yang.

Synopsis

Yin Guo and her cousin brother meet Yi Yang while taking shelter in a bar from a snowstorm. They have just arrived in the foreign city and Yin Guo is there to train and participate in a billiards competition. Yi Yang falls in love with her at first sight and helps her and her cousin to get to their hotel. This leads to more opportunities for them to meet and get to know each other.

As Yi Yang pursues Yin Guo, she also learns from others more about his background. She discovers that he is a talented snooker player but has chosen to go back to his studies than playing competitively. Yin Guo accepts Yi Yang as he is and falls for him as well. They become lovers but have to separate when Yin Guo finishes her competition and has to return home.

However, Yin Guo’s love for Yi Yang and her presence in his life make him reconsider his future and rediscover his life direction. As his passion to compete is reignited, Yi Yang also has to face up to his past and overcome his pride that made him quit the game competitively.

Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)

Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love has a happy ending. Yi Yang is chosen to be the captain for the national team for the Asian Games Indoor Sports tournament in Episode 27. Yin Guo, Jiang Yang, and Xiao Dong are among the members of the national team. They manage to capture gold medals in the snooker and billiards individual and team events in Episode 29.

After the tournament, Yi Yang surprises Yin Guo with a marriage proposal in Episode 30. He plays the guitar and sings her a song before moving her to tears with his touching words. He thanks her for appearing in his life and giving him the courage to compete at the highest level again. Yin Guo accepts his proposal which is done in front of their friends.

3 years later, Yi Yang wants Jiang Yang to take over the management of Dong Xin City again. Both of them are now married and Yi Yang is Jiang Yang’s son’s godfather. Jiang Yang agrees to helm the snooker club again on the condition that Yi Yang takes care of his son during the winter vacation so that he has the time to work. So, Yi Yang and Yin Guo bring Jiang Yang’s son to Finland. Xiao Dong is also there to meet Jiang Yang’s son who likes to play snooker with him. While the boy is with Xiao Dong, Yi Yang brings Yin Guo back to the bar where they first met to bring the drama to an end.

When Did The Leads Get Together?

Yi Yang actually falls in love with Yin Guo at first sight while she gradually becomes drawn to him as he pursues her. In Episode 6, he texts her to ask if she has a boyfriend and if she can sense that he is chasing her. Yin Guo is too shock to reply due to the suddenness of his confession. But she texts him back later to say that she is single which basically signals her agreement to be pursued. Yin Guo also didn’t object when Yi Yang holds her hand in Episode 7.

Yi Yang tries kiss to Yin Guo in Episode 8 but gets interrupted. They share their first kiss in Episode 9 when they have to separate for a week as he needs to return to his classes. Yi Yang also reassures Yin Guo that he is serious about her and asks her to trust him as they start to date.

Is There Any Love Triangle?

No, there isn’t any love triangle in Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love although both Yi Yang and Yin Guo have their own admirers. The love rivals don’t stand a chance because Yi Yang and Yin Guo aren’t interested in them at all.

Is There Any Breakup?

There is also no breakup between the leads. They only need to separate when Yin Guo finishes her tournament in Finland and has to return home in Episode 15. So, they embark on a long-distance relationship for 1.5 years until Episode 17 when Yi Yang returns home for good. During that time, Yi Yang starts competing again with the aim to open up his own snooker club back home.

The couple also has a minor disagreement in Episode 18 when Yi Yang is upset over Yin Guo’s mother’s cold attitude towards him. Yin Guo then feels that Yi Yang is taking it out on her. Both of them become miserable for the night but they kiss and make up in Episode 19 when Yi Yang takes the initiative to coax her back.

Why Yi Yang Quit The Game

Yi Yang quit playing competitively because he argued with the referee in his match and stormed off for disagreeing with the referee’s decision. He was at risk of being suspended for a year and was ordered by his coach to apologize. However, Yi Yang refused to do so. In a fit of anger, Coach He told him to leave if he is unwilling to listen. So, Yi Yang packed his bags and left. He has too much pride in him to return to his coach and to compete again. There are flashbacks to this in Episode 12 and 13 while Yin Guo learns about his past through Jiang Yang and Wu Wei in Episode 14.

Yi Yang is willing to let go of his pride and step into the arena to watch a billiards competition in Episode 12 because Yin Guo is playing. He decides to enter a snooker competition in Episode 16 and receives full encouragement and support from Yin Guo to play regardless of the outcome. He begins to climb up the ranks and reunites with Coach He in Episode 20 when he plays in the China Open. Coach He has always cared about Yi Yang even though he has left the club for many years.

In Episode 24, Yi Yang receives news that Coach He has passed away. He agrees with Jiang Yang to take over the management of the snooker club as per Coach He’s wish.

Meeting Yin Guo’s Mother

Yi Yang meets Yin Guo’s mother for the first time in Episode 18. However, she is cold towards him. She doesn’t have a good impression of him because of his past quarrel with the match referee and she was one of the officials for that tournament. But Yin Guo’s mother has a change of heart after seeing how Yi Yang has matured and respectful towards Coach He. Furthermore, Coach He also calls her up to put in a good word for Yi Yang in Episode 21 after learning that his disciple is dating her daughter.

Hence, by the time Yi Yang goes to meet Yin Guo’s mother again at her home in Episode 27, she didn’t give him a hard time as expected. She has accepted him instead. On top of that, Xiao Dong has also smoothen the way for them earlier by telling his aunt that it was him who brought Yin Guo and Yi Yang together. Xiao Dong gave Yin Guo the heads-up about it in Episode 25.

Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love Review – What Falling In Love Feels Like

Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love is actually a very, very simple story. In fact, 80% of the time is taken up by nothing more than a couple’s interactions with each other. There is a bit of mystery to the male lead’s past in the beginning but that is not the focus of the drama. It merely serves as a backdrop for change to happen when the female lead shows up in his life.

So, what is so special about this drama then when it doesn’t have a great plot like Rising With The Wind or melodramatic like South Wind Knows? Well, the magical thing about this drama is its ability to evoke the feeling of falling in love and all the accompanying emotions that come with the experience. I think this is one of the rare ones that could really bring forth what it feels like to fall in love in a viewer. From the shyness and awkwardness before the leads start dating to the sweetness and tenderness of first love, the romance simply comes alive through the screen.

Every gaze, touch, and gesture between the leads is directed in a way to make you feel exhilarated by the romance. The tenderness of the guy’s gaze towards the girl, the gentle caresses he makes when he holds her hand, and the longing that bursts forth when she is in his arms are some of the little details that are effectively utilized to project the essence of the romance to the viewer. Hence, you can feel the magic of being in love for the first time and you don’t feel bored as a result until perhaps the last few episodes when the freshness of their romance has begun to fade and there is really not much to the story.

Thin Plot

As mentioned, Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love doesn’t have much meat to the plot. It is like Road Home whereby sweet scenes and the romance take up the bulk of the drama. Therefore, if you are looking for a more substantive story, this is not a good choice. But where it shines is its ability to take a very simple plot and turn it into something warm, tender, and romantic for the viewers.

Even the subplot that revolves around the male lead’s past is well-executed although the screen time devoted to his relationship with his peers and coach is actually pretty limited. The friendship among the guys is not always blatant as they respect the male lead’s decision to keep his distance but you can feel the ties that bind them together. The relationship between the first and second male leads is also uniquely interesting. They are more like rivals on the surface but there is also something more than respect beneath it which is successfully conveyed in the story despite their limited screen time together.

No Toxicity

If you like to watch dramas that have no toxic characters, Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love is one of them. Annoyances are kept to a bare minimum. So, forget about toxic third parties to add more drama for the couple. The love rivals are barely there to even make a small dent to your enjoyment. And neither would you have to put up with toxic parents like in Fireworks Of My Heart. While the potential is there to go down this route, I think doing so will just erode the feel good factor and sweetness level of the overall story. So, it is good that things are kept light all the way to the end.

In short, this drama is a stress-free title that will just make you feel heady by the love and romance. There could be a few teary moments to make you ache for the couple but generally, it is not a heavy drama to digest. It is a perfect drama to curl up in bed for on a cold winter weekend which coincidentally is when the couple met in the story – on a snowy, stormy day!

Acting & Chemistry

Kudos to both the leads for a job well-done in Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love. There is really very little to the story for the leads to display their acting prowess unlike Love Like The Galaxy and The Long Ballad which are Leo Wu’s earlier projects. But somehow, Leo Wu and Zhao Jin Mai managed to make it work. They knew what to do to tell the story of 2 people falling in love. His gazes and stares can make you feel intoxicated by the love he has for the girl while her ability to act shy and awkward while being drawn to his attractiveness would make you relate easily to her embarrassment.

Both the leads are able to draw out the best of each other as lovers onscreen. I guess it is their natural chemistry that gives off the sparks in their scenes together. They certainly look very natural as a couple who are deeply in love with each other. Not many romance drama pairings can leave a deep impression on viewers like the ones in You Are My Glory and Lighter And Princess. I think we can now probably add this couple in Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love to the list.

My Verdict – Watch!

It is not often that a simple romance drama is done right. So, when one comes along, just enjoy it! Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love is certainly one that you could sit back and watch with a lot of pleasure. You will chase after it because you would not be able to get enough of the couple. The way the guy falls for the girl and she for him will make you crave for more. This is a love at first sight romance that is effectively conveyed with the right location and cast. The beauty of the location setting where the leads first met already automatically emits romantic vibes from the very beginning.

This is also a story with no unnecessary drama. The leads get together very naturally for no other reason other than simply having fallen in love and they stay in love. So, this is a drama that will make you feel very single if you have no significant other in your life right now! Perhaps the only weaknesses are the thin plot and the little bit of propaganda towards the end as the leads are Chinese national players. So, of course, they have to be the winners to bring glory to the country. Unexpectedly though, there is still plenty of kissing in the drama although the story’s protagonists are national athletes. However, they are not really steamy kisses that will make you hot. They are mostly of the sweet and tender kind that are cut short rather than prolonged and passionate.

For this Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love review, I would rate it 8.5/10. Watch it for the romance as well as the leads. After all, it is a good pairing with the dashing Leo Wu and the cute Zhao Jin Mai being utterly compatible on screen. Feel that magic of falling in love and be enthralled by this couple!