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bardo's review against another edition
3.0
To shine you must polish polish polish. For hopeful KPop trainees that's exactly what they have to do to succeed. For Rachel Kim it is her life and only dream but is she prepared to sacrifice everything to shine. Shine is a Gossip Girl Meets Kpop drama that will leave readers wanting more with each turn of the page. Jung gives a glimpse of what it's like behind the scenes of a making a kpop group. Jung weaves her personal experience into the interactions between the characters to create a thrilling ride. Although the plot and characters are entertaining, they fall flat on the page. There isn't much depth to the characters and not enough back story, The protagonist naturally shines but there really isn't any evidence of why or the talent. The book's plot rest solely on the superficial relationship of kpop stars and the insiders perspective. Jung could have dove deeper into the hard topics to add more to this surface book.
An advanced copy was given by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest reviw
An advanced copy was given by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest reviw
lesyeuxdekallis's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
vvdkrs's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
I am NOT the target audience for this book LOL I read it for my thesis because I thought it’d be useful but it was literally just a Wattpad fanfiction
siobhancollierauthor's review against another edition
4.0
This was a solid first novel, a great read for the summer weather we’ve been having. There are some unresolved plot lines (AKARI!) but I’m hoping that with Bright we’ll see them follow through.
It’s a good look at the way Korea creates their stars, and the pressure young women feel to be perfect. Jessica is a relatable character and Leah is so cute. I feel like I learned so much about Korean culture too!
It’s a good look at the way Korea creates their stars, and the pressure young women feel to be perfect. Jessica is a relatable character and Leah is so cute. I feel like I learned so much about Korean culture too!
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
K-pop, training, songs, family, and more. Follow Rachel as she tries to become a K-pop star!
While I am not that much of a k-pop listener myself, I should remedy that, I have listened to songs and I love the dances, I love how flashy it all is. So I couldn’t resist buying this one. It looked shiny, the premise sounded so much fun.
Meet Rachel, she has been a trainee for years and is now nearing to be too old to be a star. We see her train, study hard, try to make her dream come true, have fun with friends, and much more. Rachel was quite an interesting character to follow and I definitely found myself rooting for her. She was working so hard and I was hoping she would debut.
We see clearly that life as a K-pop trainee is not easy. Calorie-counting, weighing weekly and sometimes also surprise, hitting when you are not hitting a note, endless training, barely any sleep, and the constant fear you may just get send home. Then you cannot date. Your fellow trainees may be bitches send from hell. And there is plenty more. It is not a world I would ever want to be in no matter what. It sounds like pure hell. You have no control over anything. You just hope that the execs will see you and think you are worth the career. Brrrrr. Not to mention the differnt sets of rules between boys and girls as we see clearly in this book.
I do have to say I found it a bit too much that EVERY girl that Rachel saw and that knew her was complaining about her look and telling she was ugly. WTF? There wasn’t one who was happy with her and I found this highly unbelievable and silly. It felt like it was just added for the sake of showing the differences in everything between female and male k-pop stars/trainees some more.
I loved Rachel’s family and especially Leah was adorable. While Rachel doesn’t have a lot of time to do things with her sister, she does try. Buys yummy treats, shares gossip, goes to a fansigning. I love the bond they have. It was cute and sweet.
It must have been such a big change for the family as they lived in the US before going to Korea. For Rachel’s dream. I can only imagine how heavy that is for each family member. Each had to find a new way in this country.
Umma was not my favourite character in the beginning, but the ending definitely brought another side to her and I could understand her actions a bit better. But it would have been nice if she had just listened to her daughter, if she helped her out more, if instead of holding her back she would have allowed a bit more. At times I got quite frustrated with the mom. I mean, you went to Korea mostly for her, and then you hold her back. What is it that you want?
Her two friends Hyeri and Juhyun were great. I also liked Akari though we didn’t see a lot of her.
While I did like the romance between Jason/Rachel or at least the sweet and cute moments (I just LOVED how they met that was funny and adorable)… I was also pissed at Jason. Because he darn well knows the rules. He knows that Rachel could lose her entire career if she had a boyfriend. Even though he may deny it. He should know there are different sets of rules. Female singers get way less freedom. Why is he denying it when it is so clear? He does get a bit better later and he also helps Rachel in NY, so I was happy with that. Later on we find out more about things and then I just wanted to kick Jason. Hard.
The whole thing with Mina (but also the other girls) and then later the ending. Wow, a total big bag of bitches those girls are. Mina was the worst character in the world and I am sad she keeps being rewarded for doing shitty things to people. At times we saw another Mina, but sorry it just didn’t make anything that Mina did better. OMG, the stilettos I got from you broke and now I cannot dance, you must have sabotaged me… while Rachel never did a thing. WTF girl is wrong with your brain? Mina (but also the other girls) just made me like this book just a bit less. Instead of 5 stars it became a 4.5 stars, especially given that freaking ending.
While I enjoyed this book, there were many great parts and I was totally into it… I am not sure if I want to read the next book. Given the ending and how things go for Rachel now.. I am just not in the mood for a whole book about that.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
While I am not that much of a k-pop listener myself, I should remedy that, I have listened to songs and I love the dances, I love how flashy it all is. So I couldn’t resist buying this one. It looked shiny, the premise sounded so much fun.
Meet Rachel, she has been a trainee for years and is now nearing to be too old to be a star. We see her train, study hard, try to make her dream come true, have fun with friends, and much more. Rachel was quite an interesting character to follow and I definitely found myself rooting for her. She was working so hard and I was hoping she would debut.
We see clearly that life as a K-pop trainee is not easy. Calorie-counting, weighing weekly and sometimes also surprise, hitting when you are not hitting a note, endless training, barely any sleep, and the constant fear you may just get send home. Then you cannot date. Your fellow trainees may be bitches send from hell. And there is plenty more. It is not a world I would ever want to be in no matter what. It sounds like pure hell. You have no control over anything. You just hope that the execs will see you and think you are worth the career. Brrrrr. Not to mention the differnt sets of rules between boys and girls as we see clearly in this book.
I do have to say I found it a bit too much that EVERY girl that Rachel saw and that knew her was complaining about her look and telling she was ugly. WTF? There wasn’t one who was happy with her and I found this highly unbelievable and silly. It felt like it was just added for the sake of showing the differences in everything between female and male k-pop stars/trainees some more.
I loved Rachel’s family and especially Leah was adorable. While Rachel doesn’t have a lot of time to do things with her sister, she does try. Buys yummy treats, shares gossip, goes to a fansigning. I love the bond they have. It was cute and sweet.
It must have been such a big change for the family as they lived in the US before going to Korea. For Rachel’s dream. I can only imagine how heavy that is for each family member. Each had to find a new way in this country.
Umma was not my favourite character in the beginning, but the ending definitely brought another side to her and I could understand her actions a bit better. But it would have been nice if she had just listened to her daughter, if she helped her out more, if instead of holding her back she would have allowed a bit more. At times I got quite frustrated with the mom. I mean, you went to Korea mostly for her, and then you hold her back. What is it that you want?
Her two friends Hyeri and Juhyun were great. I also liked Akari though we didn’t see a lot of her.
While I did like the romance between Jason/Rachel or at least the sweet and cute moments (I just LOVED how they met that was funny and adorable)… I was also pissed at Jason. Because he darn well knows the rules. He knows that Rachel could lose her entire career if she had a boyfriend. Even though he may deny it. He should know there are different sets of rules. Female singers get way less freedom. Why is he denying it when it is so clear? He does get a bit better later and he also helps Rachel in NY, so I was happy with that. Later on we find out more about things and then I just wanted to kick Jason. Hard.
Spoiler
Sure he was manipulated as well, but he was never honest. Was he ever truly in love with Rachel or was it all pretend? I don’t know, and frankly I don’t care. Boo Jason.The whole thing with Mina (but also the other girls) and then later the ending. Wow, a total big bag of bitches those girls are. Mina was the worst character in the world and I am sad she keeps being rewarded for doing shitty things to people. At times we saw another Mina, but sorry it just didn’t make anything that Mina did better. OMG, the stilettos I got from you broke and now I cannot dance, you must have sabotaged me… while Rachel never did a thing. WTF girl is wrong with your brain? Mina (but also the other girls) just made me like this book just a bit less. Instead of 5 stars it became a 4.5 stars, especially given that freaking ending.
While I enjoyed this book, there were many great parts and I was totally into it… I am not sure if I want to read the next book. Given the ending and how things go for Rachel now.. I am just not in the mood for a whole book about that.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
crimson27's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
xeniab's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0