Book Review: Behind The Idol – A K-Pop Romance by Lucy Gold

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It’s been sooo long since I’ve done a book review on here. I meant to do a follow-up on Jessica Jung’s book. But then it sold out on Amazon, and the reviews I read didn’t encourage me that much had improved.

So when it did restock, lost any desire to read the sequel. Also, no one asked for a follow-up. So I’m taking that as y’all don’t care either, lol.

But I have been eagerly awaiting Lucy Gold’s follow up to her first book I reviewed on ATK back in 2021. Y’all can read that review here.

A lot has happened since that first review, and now Lucy and I have become friends. Over the last year or so, I knew she was working on this book, but I had no idea what would be included.

I received a copy of Behind the Idol a few days before it released everywhere officially on November 30th. I knew I wanted to read and do a proper review of this book whenever it dropped.

Especially after my complaints with her first book. No matter how messed up my blogging schedule is, I was gonna get this out. I wasn’t paid for this review, everything here is my own thoughts. So let’s get into it!

Do I like Behind the Idol? Yes. More than Bias? Totally. Do I still have some parts I didn’t like? Yeah, but nowhere near as much as in Bias. I was actually surprised at how much more I enjoyed Behind the Idol. I’m gonna try to keep this as spoiler free as possible.

Let me back up a bit. If you aren’t familiar with Lucy Gold’s books, she writes Kpop romance books. So far, there’s usually a male idol, normally in a group. And female character who’s a fan of the idol. There’s something that brings them together, and everything snowballs from there.

In Bias – A K-pop Romance, her debut book, we see Madison and Kpop idol Wooyeong and all the ups and downs of their romance. We get both sides of the story. In this newest book, Behind the Idol, we have a similar set-up. Two main characters, Leyla and Jongjin.

I find the set-up for Behind the Idol so interesting. I feel like the characters are better developed compared to Bias. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but I will leave an official summary here:

World-famous K-pop idol Jongjin feels trapped.

He leaves people obsessing wherever he goes, but with his hyper-controlling record label and the expectations and demands from fans, it’s silently breaking him inside.

On top of all this, he’s only weeks away from losing his childhood – or the one he never got.

Determined to get a bucket list done with only one month in America, he accidentally runs into a fan-only this time, he’s the one who’s starstruck.

Leyla hates change.

Uprooted from her friends and beloved town to live in sunny California, she spends most of her time lost in her headphones, daydreaming.

After a chance meeting with her bias, Leyla has to make an inescapable choice: Shut away her feelings for Jongjin, who leaves in less than a month, or let herself get hurt all over again.

One of the first things that stood out to me while reading Behind the Idol was the introduction to Jongjin and his pov. For the first few pages, I was like, “Damn, why is this guy complaining so much about idol life? You’ve finally debuted, and it’s literally what you’ve spent most of your life preparing for? I don’t get it?”

But like, he’s kinda already over it? Like with Wooyeong, I got why he was over it. He’d been in the game for so long as was over the restrictions. He wanted to have her career and a love life without having to compromise.

I wasn’t expecting that so soon from Jongjin. And I think he was looking for meaning outside just being an idol. It’s like when an Olympian finally gets a gold medal. It’s like, okay I finally attained this thing I wanted so badly, now what? Jongjin is looking for that next thing. The now what?

Then we jump over to Leyla’s pov and the drama. This is where shit gets good. I love having more than just the female love interest and her thoughts. We see other characters that are in her life and interact with her daily.

I was a bit confused on Leyla’s age. She’s old enough to drive, but a freshman in high school? Or was she just attending a freshman event because she’s a new student, and she was actually like a senior?

Idk. But I think the ending wrapped things up well. There is some cheesiness there that you have with romance books, but I think that just adds to the charm. Like with Hallmark holiday movies.

Oh, and the playlist is back! I can’t forget to mention that. I’m such a nosy person. I love seeing what books, movies, music, etc people recommend/are consuming atm. That’s a great treat I hope stays in Lucy Gold’s books.

So overall, I recommend Behind the Idol. It was a page turner. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. It’s a slightly longer read than Bias. You don’t actually need to read Bias first. Both of these books are self-contained stories. I definitely think if you enjoyed one, you should read the other.

If y’all are interested in reading Behind the Idol, I’ll leave the link here. And here’s the link to her first book as well. Let me know what y’all think in the comments.

Okay, I’ve got three articles left to release this year. Everything that was on my 2022 list, is just getting moved to 2023, lol.

Which is good in a way, because two of the groups I’m gonna do a fave songs article on, are releasing an albums next month.

So maybe some of those songs will make it on the faves list. Anyway, next up is fave songs of 2022.

Sidenote, do y’all watch Gilmore Girl’s? Or rather, have you watched it? I’ve seen a resurgence of talk about the show and idk if I should check it out.

I remember when it aired, it was popular. I think I saw someone say it’s on Netflix or something? Lol. Okay, I’m done for real.

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I’ll see y’all next post.

Ash 🦦