The premise in itself is interesting and quite captivating given the way in which K-pop has blown up in Western cultures. To see a romance between an idol and a “normal” woman makes for very complex and quirky interactions. This was just not the case. 

The characters had little to no depth about them. Their main identities were idol and woman who is doing nothing in life. Ari had no real desire. She didn’t want anything strongly and as a result, it was extremely difficult to care about the things happening to her. Her reactions to things were so muted and minimal that it didn’t give off the emotional impact I believe the author was intending. 

There was an interesting dynamic between her and her sister. Ari had some lingering feelings of resentment and abandonment which weren’t explored fully. Her relationship with both her parents and sister obviously shaped the way in which she navigated romantic relationships but we didn’t get to see any of that. Ari was lost in a vat of nothing and honestly, she was her own biggest enemy.  None of the characters stuck out to me and I could not give you even one quote that shone through. 

Now onto the writing. There were so many words that said absolutely nothing. There was no real pacing to the story and the characters didn’t seem to move anywhere. Even the romantic developments felt rushed or cheap because you could not get any sense of emotions from them. 

Also, there was a racist scene right at the beginning of the book. Whilst I appreciate the author was trying to depict racism in the workplace, it just didn’t seem right. There was some depth missing and again, the mc seemed to not FEEL much about it.