Somewhere Only We Know

by Maurene Goo

[Chelsea]

Something about this book just rubbed me the wrong way. First of all, the plot was pretty predictable. What do you think is gonna happen when a pop star falls in love with a guy who she doesn't know is a tabloid photographer?? I knew from the start what was going to happen and sadly that's exactly how the book went.

I also didn't like how negatively the author made the kpop world seem. Kpop gets enough hate, there's no need to add fuel to that fire. Especially since a lot of people reading this will be experiencing it for the first time and there's nothing in this book that would make anyone want to give it a try. Yes, sometimes it can be restricting and I have no doubt that it's a hard career path, but there's tons of idols who love it and are very successful while still doing what they want to be doing. The author pulled out all the most negative things about that world and didn't add anything positive which really disappointed me. Yes I understand some of the topics covered are important issues but I didn't think it had to be so negative.

The majority of the book takes place over the duration of a day in Hong Kong. At no point in time while reading this did I actually feel like I was in Hong Kong. There was nothing that stood out to me where I felt like I was in a different place. Maybe I watch too many Asian dramas, who knows, but I wished the setting would have been a little more magical.

I didn't really like the ending either. It's still not easy for Korean singers to make it in the US market and the fact that the MC could just switch over to the US was just too easy. Maybe I'm being too picky about the whole thing but I was just so annoyed by the very basic understanding the author showed of that world that I couldn't enjoy the book at all.