Bright is the sequel to Shine. Bright was a cute, heart-warming story that explores not only K-Pop but also Korean culture. The characters are all well-developed and complex. The writing is very engaging and is very fast-paced! I recommend this novel for fans To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before!

I thought this was a good sequel to the first book! I would recommend it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Fans of Jung will enjoy another peek into the world of K-Pop. The book is a fun, fast book that moves quickly and is engaging to reluctant readers. Rachel is a strong main character, and her journey will appeal to teen readers. Also, Jung created a great love interest in Alex. Alex was charming and supportive and a little swoon-worthy. This is only Jung's second book, and I plan to read what she releases next.

This was perhaps the most misogynistic book I've read in a long time. The running theme is that girls are a) petty; b) snide; c) always jealous; and d) manipulative or manipulated; e) really really shallow and stupid. Boys, of course, are sweet but dumb and their only fault can be naivete. The story itself is just a long Mary Sue of wish fulfillment by Jessica Jung: "if I could have the perfect job, it would be as both an idol in the world's biggest K-Pop group and a fashion designer (and everyone will be amazed at my talent). My perfect boyfriend would be Korean American, from an Ivy League School, work in the fashion industry in a powerful position, and be incredibly handsome and without girls all over him that I'd have to fight off." Most of the characters come off as shallow or ridiculously unrealistic.

Story: Five years after her debut, Rachel feels she is doing well in the group. But she'd also really like to start a fashion line of purses. Then she meets Alex - a young and very wealthy financier whose clients are from the fashion industry. With his help (read: connections), she can get her Rachel K. purses into important stores. Unfortunately, her bandmates in Girls Forever are jealous of her new line and want to kick her out of the group.

The truly remarkable aspect of the book is how many ways Jung finds to make her bandmates look stupid, petty, or vicious. Jealousy of boyfriend, of her younger sister getting success, of her fashion line, even of how she doesn't get caught breaking rules as much as the others (e.g., with boyfriends). It was an endless parade, included all the other girls in the group, and I was getting whiplash reading how each girl tries to screw her over. Rachel does not have one friend anywhere, female or otherwise. It made the corporate greedy executives look boring in comparison when they tried to screw her over too. Apparently, the only female you can trust is either family (sister/mother) or a much older mentor.

Of course, since this is wish fulfillment, she finds the perfect boyfriend who does nothing but support her and create opportunities. At least in the previous book, she fought her own battles. Here, she has a Prince Charming to pave the way for her newfound talent in fashion design to show to the best designers. Meanwhile, she spends most of the book being a patient angel and not doing anything mean to her bandmates while they try to destroy both of her careers, sabotage her, steal from her, injury her on purpose, and leak stories to the press to ruin her reputation.

The first book was just ok - I wanted more about the inside of the K-Pop industry but it ended up being more about Jessica Jung's personal grievances and how female idols are treated differently than male. This second book is just a Mary Sue with a heavy misogynistic theme. In both books, their lives are shallow, they act on impulse, and there is little to no thought processes going on in anyone's heads. It's enough to make you give up faith in the next generation. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher