5 BLs With Romance-Novel Energy That Will Sweep You Off Your Feet
This is the time of year when a good love story just hits different.
As the season of love and romance rolls in, a cozy corner and a romantic novel may sound perfect, but if reading isn’t your choice of pastime or you want something just as addictive in between chapters, there are quite a few BLs out that could out-romance a romance novel.
BLs know how to pull off a seriously good love story, whether it’s a cheesy rom-com or a short and sweet tale of yearning. Think of destined lovers and soulmates, an engaged prince falling for the wrong person, and a “The Bachelor”-style showdown of finding the one.
For five BL dramas that give off peak romance-novel vibes, these will sweep you off your feet.
1. “Until We Meet Again”
“Until We Meet Again” is a show that looks like a rom-com on the surface but hides a quietly devastating love story. It follows the fate-entangled lives of two university students who see each other for the first time and somehow feel like they’ve been missing each other for years.
The story starts with a flashback: years ago, two university students fell in love but were forbidden to be together. Their relationship ended too soon, but they vowed to meet again in their next life, no matter what. It’s a heavy start, but key to understanding everything that follows.
Cut to the present, where Pharm (Fluke Natouch) is a freshman just trying to get through orientation day without another breakdown, while Dean (Ohm Thitiwat) is a quiet, serious upperclassman leading the swim team. They don’t officially meet yet; they just catch sight of each other, but that tiny moment hits both of them way harder than it should.
From this moment on, they’re drawn to each other for reasons they can’t explain. Both of them keep having emotional reactions that don’t really match the situation. Pharm is having dreams that feel too real, and Dean feels drawn to Pharm even though they’re technically strangers.
Between classes, club activities, and hanging out with friends, the déjà vu starts to get way too real, prompting Pharm and Dean to retrace what happened in the past and try and figure out what it means for their unusual connection.
Why it’s worth the watch:
This might be from 2019 and look like any other university-set Thai BL, but the story feels one-of-a-kind. The romance is about fate, past lives, and the kind of connection that doesn’t end with time. The whole “we’re drawn to each other but don’t know why” setup works because the leads have genuinely great chemistry, and their colorful friend groups add lightheartedness in between the story’s heavier moments.
Start watching “Until We Meet Again” now:
2. “When it Rains, it Pours”
“When it Rains, it Pours” is a Japanese BL about an accidental and apparently insignificant connection between two strangers that turns into a love they can’t ignore. The two leads find each other without meaning to, during a time when they’re both stuck in their own relationships.
First, there’s Hagiwara Kazuaki (Muto Jun). He’s a diligent office worker who loves his longtime girlfriend, but their relationship lacks intimacy. For whatever reason, his girlfriend shuts him down whenever he tries to be affectionate. Their dynamic gives off roommate vibes more than it does two people deeply in love.
Second is Nakarai Sei (Ito Asahi), a guy with a traumatic past who has been living with his close friend, whom he has always loved in secret. While his friend seems to do everything possible to make him happy and take care of him, he doesn’t accept any of Sei’s attempts at taking their relationship to the next level. Sei’s confused and desperate for intimacy and doesn’t know whether to cut his losses or keep trying to make something happen.
When Kazuaki sends a work email to the wrong person, he unknowingly starts a conversation with Sei over email. Both unaware of each other’s identities, they start opening up about their relationship problems to one another.
Talking to someone unknown lets them be vulnerable and honest for a change, but what they don’t know is that they’ve actually already met in passing several times at the office, but they’re not exactly on friendly or close terms in real life.
Why it’s worth the watch:
If you like a short but impactful read, “When it Rains, it Pours” is that drama. Imagine quietly romantic moments under the pouring rain, a little mistaken‑identity magic, and the idea of falling in love with someone who was a stranger just the other day. It’s a gentle, low-drama romance that feels healing with a pair that really makes “meant to be” feel real.
Start watching “When it Rains, It Pours” now:
3. “Enchanté”
“Enchanté” is a Thai BL built around the chaos of finding Mr. Right when everyone suddenly wants to be him, and this drama fits perfectly on this list because at the center of this story is a book with a mystery.
After years growing up in France, Theo (Book Kasidet) returns to his hometown in Thailand and immediately gets into a silly misunderstanding with his childhood friend, Akk (Force Jiratchapong), the boy who has since grown up but still lives next door.
Staying in Thailand for the foreseeable future, Theo enrolls at his father’s university, where Akk also studies. Though Theo wants a normal college life, from day one, everyone sees him as the school’s wealthy prince without knowing the real him. Driving his new sports car and getting a personal parking spot at school (gifts from his father) don’t really help him give off a different impression.
Just as he tries to get used to being back in Thailand and going to school, Theo finds a book called “Enchanté” with a personal message to him written inside, but no name. It very much gives off love letter, but from an anonymous admirer.
When word gets out about Theo’s mystery admirer on campus, the search for the sender leads Theo to a group of guys all claiming to be Mr. Right. Before he knows it, Theo’s collected a lineup of suitors ranging from the school’s resident musician to the soccer team’s ace.
Akk reluctantly agrees to help Theo solve the mystery, but there’s something unspoken between them, and this hunt for Enchanté makes it even more complicated.
Watch this hilarious duo in “A Boss and A Babe” too:
4. “La Pluie”
In the world of “La Pluie,” a select group of people lose their ability to hear when it rains; in exchange, they can telepathically communicate with only one person and feel each other’s emotions during that time. It’s said that because of this, these two people are soulmates.
Finding your soulmate is supposed to be a wonderful, romantic thing, but not for this story’s main character, Saengtai (Title Tanatorn).
After watching his parents fall apart despite being soulmates, Saengtai decides he wants nothing to do with fate. So, when he hears his soulmate’s voice cutting through a downpour for the first time in his life, his first instinct is to push back and swear he’ll never meet the person on the other end.
But the connection isn’t something he can just shut off, and the voice feels strangely comforting to him, so while Saengtai doesn’t go looking for his soulmate, over time, he ends up talking to him whenever it rains.
This all changes two years later, when Saengtai accidentally meets his soulmate in real life, recognizing him by his voice. But his soulmate, a handsome veterinarian named Phat (Pee Peerawich), doesn’t recognize him.
Just when Saengtai starts to think maybe he could give this whole soulmate thing a chance, Phat tells him he’s planning to go against fate because he’s already found “the one.”
However, now that Saengtai’s met his soulmate, there’s no going back. He’s interested in learning more about him beyond his voice, even if he has feelings for someone else.
At the same time, someone else steps in with budding feelings for Saengtai, and suddenly he’s caught between the soulmate he’s supposed to end up with and the person who might actually choose him without any destiny involved.
Why it’s worth the watch:
The rain connection and telepathy in “La Pluie” definitely add something different to the idea of soulmates, and it’s just really fun watching two people crushing on each other without realizing the feelings are mutual. The buildup to Phat finding out his soulmate’s identity is also so worth the wait.
Start watching “La Pluie” now:
5. “Love in the Moonlight”
For “Love in the Moonlight,” the stage is 1963 Bangkok. An arranged marriage goes sideways when a prince, Saekaew (Peak Peempol), falls for the wrong person and ends up stuck between following his heart and doing what’s right for his family.
Prince Saekaew comes from a royal family in Nanta, a fictional kingdom that’s going through a dangerous power struggle. During a turbulent time of political change and a shift in power, a ruthless General is rising to power and targeting old royal families. He’s set on taking all the assets of the royal people in Nanta, even if that means taking lives in the process. When his next target becomes Prince Saekaew and his family, his father comes up with a plan.
Saekaew will marry Pin (Perth Veerinsara), a childhood friend who lives with a trusted family in Thailand. After marriage, they’ll sneak their assets out of Nanta and put them under Pin’s name for safekeeping. In exchange, Pin is promised a large dowry that will save her family’s home. It’s a marriage built out of mutual need, and while Pin’s heart is in it, Saekaew’s isn’t. But between his father’s pressure and the situation back home, he goes along with it.
While the families start setting things up, Saekaew travels to Thailand to reconnect with Pin and prepare for the wedding. That’s where he meets Sasin (Pearl Satjakorn), Pin’s free-spirited cousin who lives next door and pretty quickly clocks that something about the prince and this marriage arrangement doesn’t add up.
Saekaew and Sasin come from different backgrounds, and their relationship starts with bickering, accusations, and watching from afar. Saekaew tries to focus on Pin, but he keeps crossing paths with Sasin, who interrogates him whenever he gets the chance.
But, with time, their tense interactions change into a genuine connection, and their feelings shift into something neither of them expected to feel. As their connection deepens, it becomes harder for Saekaew to ignore that he isn’t really in love with his bride‑to‑be.
Why it’s worth the watch:
If you like period dramas with a romance that feels epic and has real stakes, “Love in the Moonlight” delivers. The period outfits and settings are thoughtfully done, and the way Saekaew and Sasin’s connection grows in secret in the middle of all the chaos is peak forbidden romance. The theme of following your heart and changing a future that everyone else has already decided for you leaves you with a feeling of wanting to fight for the version of your life that actually feels right.
For another emotional love story, watch “1000 Stars” too:
Asya’s a BL-biased Soompi writer with a love of K-pop and all types of Asian dramas. Some of her favorite shows are “Psychopath Diary,” “Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss!,” “Light On Me,” “The Untamed,” “Go Go Squid!,” and “Cherry Magic!”
Currently watching: “Undercover Miss Hong,” “Countdown to Yes,” and “IDOL I.”
Looking forward to: “Magic Lover,” “Mr. Fanboy,” “The Love Matter,” and “Be My Player Two.”