Book 1 of the Shine series
Korean American Rachel Kim’s family moved from New York City to Seoul, Korea so she could pursue her dream of becoming a K-Pop star. Unlike her fellow trainees, Rachel lives at home with her parents and younger sister and goes to a regular school. Her fellow trainee Mina makes her life miserable and she is the one who gave her the nickname Princess Rachel. The rules for the trainees are very strict, they practice several hours a day, and the female trainees are forbidden from dating. Then Rachel meets K-Pop legend Jason Lee and they get involved for a bit, and they release a single together (with Mina too).
Jessica Jung knows the K-Pop world as she was part of the band Girls Generation and it shows. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I know virtually nothing of K-Pop and I’m not the target audience for this book.
I really enjoyed it though, it’s a cutesy romance-y novel with a clear mean girl, Mina, and a likeable main character, Rachel. I think I may even pick up the sequel as I’m curious to find out what happens next.
Read for the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2024.
Prompt 5: A book about K-pop.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
