Comeback: A K-pop Novel (The NEON Series)

A cleanly written story that sucks you and and won't let you out until you finish it. Comeback: A K-pop Novel is a story and world that K-pop and Hallyu fans will immediately relate to with its setting in an alternate modern day Korea, the K-pop group Neon that mirrors real world favorites, and a heroine who is relatable as a K-pop fan. K-pop aside, as a story, the writers crafted an engaging tale of two young people who must overcome odds that include personal tragedy and the vicious beast that is fame. It is a coming-of-age story made readable for all audiences with carefully thought out explanations of Korean culture/language/food (with a helpful glossary in the back). The heroine, Alana, although drowning in her own pain, is still charming and quick-witted, while the hero, Emery, is very understandable as he struggles to relate not only to his music, his K-pop group members, but also to himself. It also addresses the what-ifs that are inherent in a romantic relationship between a K-pop star and a normal young woman. Beware readers: once you pick it up, you won't put it down!

This book was very well written and flowed nicely. It paints a cool picture of what it would be like to work for a kpop boy band as well as the confidentiality that must be maintained. It made me feel like I was there with Neon myself, helping them get ready for a music show! The main thing that bummed me out during the entire book was Alana. Aside from the grief of her brother's death, we never get a good look at her personality; we are told of the friction that went on with her parents and her brother Alex over his music, but aside from being told she was a devoted GLO, the rest is a shrouded in mystery. We don't even see any interesting bits of Alex's personality. Of course grief can make a person less sociable and depressed, but there was so much of it from Alana's character that it became agonizing to read as she struggled so much with her work and Emery tried his best to cheer her up. That brings me to another thing; there isn't much we know about Emery and Alana's relationship from before. She sees him one day punching a lamppost, and puts an earphone into his ear, (rather cliche, I think, but alright) and that one act of kindness imprints her into Emery's mind forever. We don't get a flashback seeing if they were close friends or nearly dating, just that one scene. But despite that, the book was still a good read.

As a kpop fan myself not much really interests me anymore beating kpop. This book so so amazing, it really pulled you in being able to visualize every sentence. I would read chapters a day not wanting to stop. Once I finished the last page my eyes started to tear up, I REALLY didn’t want it to end. It’s still making me sad, it was so good I can’t explain! I would LOVE for there to be a second one!!!

I really enjoyed this book. Not my normal genre of novel. This book was recommended by a friend and it did not disappoint. Extremely well written. The parallel storyline from the main characters flowed smoothly while they maintained independent identities. Clearly a grand effort from the authors. All small subplots felt satisfyingly closed by the final page. The supporting characters complimented the story well without fragmenting into incomplete mini plots! Looking forward to more from these authors.

I’m a huge fan of K-Pop and was drawn by the summary of this novel. I really appreciated the effort to keep Korean culture and Korean characters at the forefront - from my experience online, that’s not always the case! I was a little hesitant about the fact that this was written by two authors who seem to be non-Korean, so I can’t speak to the aspect of authenticity here - would love Korean readers to weigh in! I’ll just comment on the story itself - I felt it was such a compelling plot, and Emery’s emotions were drawn so well, but Alana felt flat to me...her guilt and her inner monologue just felt very underdeveloped in comparison to Emery’s angst, and so I naturally found myself caring about his story and less about Alana’s or them getting together. I feel like realistically, both of them needed real help and I didn’t actually get the impression they were helping each other; yes, the book *told* us that but I didn’t feel it was adequately shown. I think if you want a taster of great K-pop idol characters and if you want to fall in love w a really K-drama plot idea, definitely read this, but if you’re invested in big catharsis moments or healthy romantic relationships and resolution, you might only get 3-4 stars worth here.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was a fun look into the world of K-pop, as well as the intersection of Korean and American cultures. Even though I don't follow K-pop, I found this book entertaining, and the way the authors incorporated Korean vocabulary and K-pop concepts felt educational but not condescending. I found it pretty easy to follow along. The main characters are Korean American, and I found their Asian American struggles very relatable. Parts of the story are quite sad, so be prepared with tissues!

I read this on my plane ride and it was a very cute pass time. The ending was kinda the same as XOXO but not enough for it to be a problem.

Absolutely loved the plot and story of this book!! It flows really well, and within reading the first couple of chapters I was immediately hooked. Glad to have stumbled across this book on a video and I’m glad I decided to buy it!!

Descargue el libro un día que estaba de oferta GRATIS!! Esperaba encontarme con la típica historia de amor entre un Idol y una fan, pero me encontré muchísimo más que eso, ni Emery ni Alana son personajes planos, ambos tienen sus claroscuros y un pasado, realmente disfrute mucho leyendo la novela aunque el final me dejó con ganas de más.

The book was amazing and that was the reason why I finish the book in less than two hours. I bought the book because I wanted to improve my English skills and wanted to challenge myself by reading this wonderful book and it was so beautiful. I really hope that there will be a second book. I can highly recommend this book

I really liked it. I binged it in a day. Is there going to be a second one? I hope so!

Such ans amazing book!

Für alle K-Drama Fans super!