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leviabuncle's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ziezie06's review against another edition
5.0
i’ve read a lot of good books this year but this one is really amazing. the book starts off boring as always (to me i don’t know why). BUT when she meets alex. BUTTERFLIES!! he was such a perfect person for rachel after her relationship with jason. he was so fresh and i liked that he wasn’t really that known.
don’t even get me started on her group mates. how badly i wanted to jump into this book and tell them off. i don’t know how rachel could deal with them for SIX YEARS!! and mina for like 6+ since they trained together. mina and the rest of those goons were really annoying AND knew how to make me upset.
thank god we didn’t really see jason in this book. i don’t think i could really deal with him after the first book. also i never really liked him, i just somehow found him annoying.
let’s talk about alex again. i love that man and i have to have him. he was so amazing and supportive for rachel and i think that’s what she really needed in her life. and how the author describes him, i already know this man is BEAUTIFUL!! definitely better looking then alex.
over all this book is definitely a good read and you should read it ;). but i still hate mina and the rest of the girl forever members (idc what their names are or even remember)
don’t even get me started on her group mates. how badly i wanted to jump into this book and tell them off. i don’t know how rachel could deal with them for SIX YEARS!! and mina for like 6+ since they trained together. mina and the rest of those goons were really annoying AND knew how to make me upset.
thank god we didn’t really see jason in this book. i don’t think i could really deal with him after the first book. also i never really liked him, i just somehow found him annoying.
let’s talk about alex again. i love that man and i have to have him. he was so amazing and supportive for rachel and i think that’s what she really needed in her life. and how the author describes him, i already know this man is BEAUTIFUL!! definitely better looking then alex.
over all this book is definitely a good read and you should read it ;). but i still hate mina and the rest of the girl forever members (idc what their names are or even remember)
situationnormal's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I'm going to be honest--I remember almost nothing about the first book. My memory of what was in the book, what was in another book I read about an aspiring kpop star, and what happened in the actual history of SM and Girls Generation, has a whole lot of blurred lines. That said, I *think* I enjoyed this book a little more? It sort of scraps everything from the previous book anyway by skipping so far ahead.
In Bright, Rachel Kim is a major pop star and a member of a catty, backstabbing sisterhood of nine in a girl group. She's not struggling to succeed--she's already there. A little...too...there. Everything Rachel touches turns to gold and she's successful at everything and everyone loves her, well, except for the other members of Girls Forever. They're jealous because she's so perfect, naturally.
I really liked Jessica in GG and I think this story actually has some intrigue, but when the main character has zero agency in the main plot of her book, it's disappointing. I don't think Jessica was trying to say she was perfect Mary Sue among GG, but...that's sort of how it comes off. To be fair, her character does have an uncanny ability to never ever ever say anything in tense situations and lets herself be misunderstood because she doesn't bother to explain. So at least there's one extremely frustrating character flaw.
The major conflict is too close to the ending, and there's no character development for anyone except Rachel and that's so barely-there you have to squint to see it. That said, I kept turning the pages because I was familiar with Girls Generation and there's an amount of almost voyeurism that goes into reading this book while being familiar with the backstory, that kept me interested.
I'd probably rate it more like 2.5 stars because it was hard to stomach at worst and mostly bland, but I did really fly through it and consume it like (maybe unbuttered) popcorn.
In Bright, Rachel Kim is a major pop star and a member of a catty, backstabbing sisterhood of nine in a girl group. She's not struggling to succeed--she's already there. A little...too...there. Everything Rachel touches turns to gold and she's successful at everything and everyone loves her, well, except for the other members of Girls Forever. They're jealous because she's so perfect, naturally.
I really liked Jessica in GG and I think this story actually has some intrigue, but when the main character has zero agency in the main plot of her book, it's disappointing. I don't think Jessica was trying to say she was perfect Mary Sue among GG, but...that's sort of how it comes off. To be fair, her character does have an uncanny ability to never ever ever say anything in tense situations and lets herself be misunderstood because she doesn't bother to explain. So at least there's one extremely frustrating character flaw.
The major conflict is too close to the ending, and there's no character development for anyone except Rachel and that's so barely-there you have to squint to see it. That said, I kept turning the pages because I was familiar with Girls Generation and there's an amount of almost voyeurism that goes into reading this book while being familiar with the backstory, that kept me interested.
I'd probably rate it more like 2.5 stars because it was hard to stomach at worst and mostly bland, but I did really fly through it and consume it like (maybe unbuttered) popcorn.
captwinghead's review against another edition
1.0
Less body shaming, v*mit, and misogyny than the first book. However, it was dreadfully boring.
To get this out of the way, I think a better book could've been written blending the storyline from the first book into this one and making it one eventful novel. Jason had more of a story than Alex did and if the romance had been combined where Jason actually fell for her, the plan was revealed, they ended up back together somehow and he was the rich person that believed in Rachel's endeavors. It would've made more sense to have the love interest with an actual backstory and personality to be the one she continued sneaking around to see five years in the future. Also, more characters felt like characters in the first book.
This sequel felt like a nothing burger. The few events that happened were so spaced out between the monotony of Rachel's schedule that I was annoyed slogging through it. The only Girls Forever members that were fleshed out were Mina and maybe Eunji (if I'm being nice). Again, Alex had no personality. Leah's present a bit and she's the only character from Rachel's home life that's really present. The twins show up very briefly. Yunjin and Akari resurface to give her pep talks and leave, despite her being the worst friend to Akari.
Rachel continues being incredibly selfish. It's actually funny how her relationships with her friends drop into the background when she focuses on Alex.
There are business decisions in this book that are completely nonsensical.
This is the part people believe was a thinly veiled telling of what actually happened when Jessica Jung left Girls Generation. While still under contract, it's believed she was forced out of the group and it was related to her desire to have a fashion line. Of all the things that took place in these books, that concept wasn't the craziest. However, I think it could've definitely been executed better.
The romance in this book was so lackluster and the few times they met were not romantic enough to make me believe their chemistry. It made it even harder to understand her risking everything for him. Also, he was pretty much just there to help her solve (and fund) her problems.
So, the romance was lackluster. The story moved at a snail's pace. It was extremely uneventful, especially compared to the first book. Many of the characters, especially 6 members of Girls Forever, felt interchangeable. The unnecessarily detail outfit descriptions were back. The MC continued to be insufferable and selfish.
One thing the first book had going for it was that it did manage to keep my attention. This book definitely cut down on the misogyny and fatphobia. However, what was present was incredibly boring.
To get this out of the way, I think a better book could've been written blending the storyline from the first book into this one and making it one eventful novel. Jason had more of a story than Alex did and if the romance had been combined where Jason actually fell for her, the plan was revealed, they ended up back together somehow and he was the rich person that believed in Rachel's endeavors. It would've made more sense to have the love interest with an actual backstory and personality to be the one she continued sneaking around to see five years in the future. Also, more characters felt like characters in the first book.
This sequel felt like a nothing burger. The few events that happened were so spaced out between the monotony of Rachel's schedule that I was annoyed slogging through it. The only Girls Forever members that were fleshed out were Mina and maybe Eunji (if I'm being nice). Again, Alex had no personality. Leah's present a bit and she's the only character from Rachel's home life that's really present. The twins show up very briefly. Yunjin and Akari resurface to give her pep talks and leave, despite her being the worst friend to Akari.
Rachel continues being incredibly selfish.
Spoiler
Again, her constantly thinking about how much her parents gave up for her career doesn't endear the audience to her as she risks throwing all of that away for a boy with no personality. Her father worked impossible hours so they could move closer to her and she's lost in thoughts of handbags and confusingly rich men.There are business decisions in this book that are completely nonsensical.
Spoiler
Maybe they meant to imply Girls Forever was so much bigger than Winter Flower (I think that was the name) ever was to explain why Kang Jina was kicked out of the company for a dating scandal but 2 members of Girls Forever were just scolded for the same thing and nothing more. The book tells us a member leaving a group would be terrible for business, but the company decides to kick Rachel out because the group refused to go on with her. Because risking the hit to their stock was worth it, I guess.This is the part people believe was a thinly veiled telling of what actually happened when Jessica Jung left Girls Generation. While still under contract, it's believed she was forced out of the group and it was related to her desire to have a fashion line. Of all the things that took place in these books, that concept wasn't the craziest. However, I think it could've definitely been executed better.
The romance in this book was so lackluster and the few times they met were not romantic enough to make me believe their chemistry. It made it even harder to understand her risking everything for him. Also, he was pretty much just there to help her solve (and fund) her problems.
So, the romance was lackluster. The story moved at a snail's pace. It was extremely uneventful, especially compared to the first book. Many of the characters, especially 6 members of Girls Forever, felt interchangeable. The unnecessarily detail outfit descriptions were back. The MC continued to be insufferable and selfish.
One thing the first book had going for it was that it did manage to keep my attention. This book definitely cut down on the misogyny and fatphobia. However, what was present was incredibly boring.
soyogi's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
it’s so hard not to read this book as an autobiographical workaround of the author’s experience in Girl’s Generation—should’ve stretched the inspiration a little further from the truth. I thought the reconnection with Akari near the end was super random and I wish there was a bit more to be said about her character’s facial surgery and beauty standards with consideration of being Japanese. it could’ve been interesting but require more depth than Rachel could give. there are five years between the first book and this novel’s plot that I feel Rachel (and her peers!) could sound more mature but maybe that’s asking too much from this narrator.
ilumoonatic's review against another edition
1.0
Nada tiene sentido en Bright, es un libro vacío.
Léelo si quieres una historia con:
• Personajes sin dimensión
• Una Marie Sue como protagonista
• Misoginia
• Hipocresía/cinismo/rivalidad entre mujeres
• Frases, diálogos y escenas clichés (que dan mucho cringe)
• Trama incoherente
• Drama innecesario
• Narrativa pretenciosa
Lo único salvable de este, es que ayuda mucho si estás aprendiendo inglés. De resto, no lo recomiendo para nada, pasé muy mal rato leyéndolo, sobretodo al final.
Léelo si quieres una historia con:
• Personajes sin dimensión
• Una Marie Sue como protagonista
• Misoginia
• Hipocresía/cinismo/rivalidad entre mujeres
• Frases, diálogos y escenas clichés (que dan mucho cringe)
• Trama incoherente
• Drama innecesario
• Narrativa pretenciosa
Lo único salvable de este, es que ayuda mucho si estás aprendiendo inglés. De resto, no lo recomiendo para nada, pasé muy mal rato leyéndolo, sobretodo al final.
ali_runs_and_reads's review against another edition
5.0
📚 Bright by Jessica
5⭐️
I don’t know what wrong with me. These books are terrible. Like bad reality TV you just can’t stop watching. I love Bright even more than Shine. More romance, more drama, and more backstabbing, it takes place five years after the end of Shine. The main character is slightly annoying and spineless, but did that stop me from reading this entire book today? Nope. It did not. If you liked Shine you’ll be happy with Bright. Save these for when you need something totally mindless and fun to read. Now I need to go catch up on all K-Pop drama.
emmasthingstoread's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
novemberninth's review against another edition
3.0
Read this for pure brain candy. Entertaining enough that you wonder if Jessica faced the same thing (as someone who doesn't follow K-pop at all, this could all have happened and blew up the news and I would be none the wiser). Once you get pass that, you'll get annoyed at how one-dimensional almost every other character is in this book.