Shine2.5/5Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing an e-copy for review.This was supposed to be a fun and easy read for me. I've dived into the world of K-pop and know a number of Girls' Generation music (who doesn't nowadays?), so when I heard Jessica Jung was writing a book, I was ecstatic, and much like everyone else, I was ready for all the tea that would undoubtedly spill. I ended up not enjoying Shine as much as I thought I would and here's why.Despite the plot promising to be filled with exciting and scandalous events, not much really happens. Most of the scenes are spun into something that's supposed to convince readers it's important, but each of these events fell short and seemed more desperately dramatic; these were also scenes that made me cringe due to the melodrama. The plot moved forward quickly with simple and easy to understand vocabulary which was it's only saving grace since you could read a lot faster through it. I have to admit as well, the other thing that kept me reading was trying to decipher which scenes were made up and which were drawing from Jung's actual experience with the industry and her band-mates.All the characters had the same voice. If you took out the name of these characters and put out a sheet of dialogue between two of them in front of me, I wouldn't be able to tell who was who. Good writing should allow readers to identify the character speaking without the author telling you ____ said this and ____ said that. They all spoke in the same manner, cracked the same jokes, had the same snarky comeback, and this made it so tiresome to read. It bothered me so much that I gave up on reading who was in what scene because all the side characters were interchangeable. Even Rachel's many confrontations with Mina felt like she was talking to herself.There was nothing special or villainous about Mina other than her penchant for wanting to see Rachel fail. Here is where I need to get sidetracked to talk about what a failure Mina is as the "bad" character. She started off as a hilarious antagonist who is obviously and understandably shoved into the story to create the girl vs girl conflict, but she ended up being more of a yappy Pomeranian than a clever antagonist who has the ability to spin a web of lies to catch "perfect Princess Rachel." How are we as readers supposed to fear for Rachel and worry about her failing if everything Mina does is thwarted by Rachel's aptitude with excelling in comebacks and remaining nonchalant? I was rooting for Mina to change towards the end, and despite there being several chances for her to do so, she reverted back to the original version of herself from the beginning of the story.Shine, with all its faults, still entertained me. I thought Jung wrote excellent descriptions of Korean cuisine:I also liked that the author threw in a veteran K-pop fall-from-fame storyline with Kang Jina as a warning about the sexism and inequality of the industry. This was the side-story that captivated me and what I wish Shine was truly about. The grueling misogyny still happens to this day no matter how unbothered the stars appear to be in interviews. I mean, come on, K-pop stars can't even walk through an airport without getting told by the public that they're wearing too little (Poor Hwasa from Mamamoo), or revealing too much skin in their performance outfit (Again, poor Hwasa); meanwhile, the male stars get to prance around and are revered when they intentionally rip off their shirt during a performance. These double standards along with the obvious sexism sometimes took the front seat of this book, and it was very interesting to read about through the eyes of someone who has experienced it firsthand despite this being fiction.Although I wish Shine mainly focused more on Kang Jina's character, readers are instead continuously bombarded with scenes about Rachel and Jason's blossoming romance. I was not invested in them as a couple. Their meet-cute was very K-drama, which I can appreciate, but everything else that followed made me roll my eyes or skim through. The main problem comes down to the fact that Jason didn't have a unique voice or personality. There were a few attempts to garner sympathy for him with his tragic past, but his character was flat and his dialogue sounded like Rachel and all the other characters in this story. What I enjoyed, however, was that his character slightly boosted Rachel's progression as a person. Only slightly. I still believe she's a one-dimensional character who is not given valid reasons to "shine." There was nothing special I could see about her, and instead, I felt bad for one of her friends who she abandoned and never checked in on (Akira).Much like the story itself, nothing feels all that satisfying: the blackmailing doesn't get resolved despite her father now working for the big bad evil Mr. Choo, we don't see what happens between to her parents after her dad's big "secret" is revealed, Mina was the bitchy antagonist she was from the start, and Rachel's character doesn't learn much nor does she develop much other than realizing she doesn't need a man who can't see the double standards of the industry. I couldn't care for the filler scenes and felt that the book could have used more editing to take these out of the story entirely.Read this for the fun, bubble-gum pop descriptions, the amazing Korean food details, and Kang Jina's character. Skip most of the scenes with Mina and Jason, and have fun guessing which incident was a real thing that happened to Jung.Side note: I didn't realize there are some people who hate the front cover so much! I personally think it's cute af and is fitting to the story it's attempting to tell.