I binge read this in a day, only taking a few breaks to make lunch and other necessary tasks. Even if this wasn't my favorite book I've ever read, it was addictive and just what I needed in the moment. I obviously couldn't put it down!

While I enjoy K-pop and K-dramas, I'm certainly not a super fan, so there were some elements that were lost on me. I wish Google translate had been a bit more helpful at translating a few of the phrases, but once I was able to understand a bit more of the nuances of the terms and honorifics I was able to appreciate the story that much more. Knowing even a bit about the conditions of idols also helps going into this story, and it made me feel even more empathy for these young adults. I'd love to see this adapted to a limited run K-drama/comedy/romance series! I could imagine this on my screen so easily.

On to my critiques. Wish Upon a K-Star was mostly first person point of view of Hyeri, but for every 7 chapters or so of her point of view we get a third person omniscient point of view focusing on Minseok. It felt like a confusing compromise, clearly just enough to make the story make sense. I wish it was truly a dual POV story, as at times I had trouble rooting for Minseok when we get so little of his perspective and don't know where his head is truly at. It was a bit jarring switching from 1st to 3rd person and back, especially as infrequently enough as we did. I don't think it needed to be exactly equal chapters from the two of them, but even if we had closer to a 2 to 1 ratio I think I would've rooted for them even more when Minseok was proving to be solely a selfish jerk in certain moments.

There were a few moments that seemed possibly unrealistic to me, such as when the solution to members in your group getting in a scandal for being in a secret relationship is to... go on a fake dating reality show? The book addresses this is a silly concept, which helps that even the book at times doesn't take itself too seriously. Maybe I just don't understand the culture enough, but that seemed like a counterproductive solution to me. Either way, I do love me a celebrity fake dating trope and I'm able to excuse some confusing logic for a cute plot. I love when characters themselves don't know if something is real or for the camera, and having a limited point of view into Minseok's head made that confusion even more real for the reader. 

I wish "New Adult" had caught on for an age group as that truly is the perfect descriptor for this book. The characters are roughly 19 and 22, I believe, for most of the story, and the themes really fit that "coming to terms with adulthood" and making big life decisions that comes around that new adult age. At the same time, their crushes often come across very young, like him poking fun at her because he likes her. I'd recommend this to teens able to grasp more adult consequences as well as adults interested in celebrity culture, especially Korean celebrity culture. There is no NSFW content that would make this inappropriate for a younger audience as it is marketed towards a young adult audience.

Overall I had a lot of fun with this book! If you are willing to hold trust in the main male character until later and willing to look past awkward POV issues, I highly recommend this as a fun quick read. Even though this is an overall lighter read, please check the trigger warnings.

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content warnings, all moderate: