Author: Jessica Jung

The Weekly Recap (153)

Posted September 14, 2020 by Rowena in Features | 2 Comments

I’ve gone down the rabbit hole that is all things BTS. I’ve got to be the oldest fan that they have (not true, I see old lady BTS Army TikTok) but dude, they’re a lot of fun. I blame Tae-hyung for wrecking my For You Page on TikTok. It’s all things BTS and Korean Dramas. I’m not that mad about it though because I’ve been enjoying watching all of their content. They’re fun to watch perform and now I’m even more annoying to Brenna because I used to just speak Korean phrases to her but now I sing to her in Korean too. LOL. The other day she was on my Etsy ordering some stickers for her hydro and she said that she’d buy me some so I chose my stickers and had to laugh out loud at our Etsy cart.

These are the stickers she got:

And these are the stickers I got:

She just shook her head and was like, “Mom, why are you like this?” Haha.

Now, let’s get into all of the things that I did last week…

What I’m Currently Reading
The Weekly Recap (153)Shine
by Jessica Jung
Published by Simon Pulse on September 29, 2020
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2020 Goodreads Challenge, 2020 New to Me Challenge

Crazy Rich Asians meets Gossip Girl by way of Jenny Han in this knock-out debut about a Korean American teen who is thrust into the competitive, technicolor world of K-pop, from Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of one of the most influential K-pop girl groups of all time, Girls Generation.
What would you give for a chance to live your dreams?

For seventeen-year-old Korean American Rachel Kim, the answer is almost everything. Six years ago, she was recruited by DB Entertainment—one of Seoul’s largest K-pop labels, known for churning out some of the world’s most popular stars. The rules are simple: Train 24/7. Be perfect. Don’t date. Easy right?

Not so much. As the dark scandals of an industry bent on controlling and commodifying beautiful girls begin to bubble up, Rachel wonders if she’s strong enough to be a winner, or if she’ll end up crushed… Especially when she begins to develop feelings for K-pop star and DB golden boy Jason Lee. It’s not just that he’s charming, sexy, and ridiculously talented. He’s also the first person who really understands how badly she wants her star to rise.

Get ready as Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of Korea’s most famous girl group, Girls Generation, takes us inside the luxe, hyper-color world of K-pop, where the stakes are high, but for one girl, the cost of success—and love—might be even higher. It’s time for the world to see: this is what it takes to SHINE.

I’m picking this book back up. I started it a couple of months ago but wasn’t in the mood to read so I kept putting it down after every other sentence. I’m hoping that my reading slump is behind me now so that I’ll actually finish this one so umm..wish me luck? 🙂

What I Read

The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie | DNF
Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy #5) by Ilona Andrews | 4.25 out of 5

I tried reading The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie to discuss with my book besties on our zoom call yesterday but I was just not that interested in reading a historical book right now so I quit that book after 6 straight days of only reading a paragraph each time I opened the book. I jumped into Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy #5) by Ilona Andrews instead and yeah, that was just what I needed to keep my reading slump at bay. However, it was the only book that I read last week.

What I’m Currently Watching

Record of Youth
Do You Like Brahms
My Shy Boss

What I Watched

One Spring Night | 3.75 out of 5
Prison Playbook | 4 out of 5
Burn the Stage: The Movie | 4.5 out of 5
BTS: Global Takeover | 4.25 out of 5

Record of Youth | Episodes 1 & 2: This show started off really strong as I’m already obsessed with the two main characters, already shipping them and waiting on pins and needles for today’s episode. I have to wait until my lunch hour to watch it but I’m actually struggling to decide if I should wait until tomorrow to watch both of this week’s episodes together or not. Who am I kidding, I’m not waiting to see Park Bo Gum in a new episode. Haha, silly me.

Do You Like Brahms? | Episodes 1-4: So I discovered BTS last month after realizing that one of the guys in the band was in Hwarang, one of the dramas that I started watching. I like the character enough that I looked him up in BTS and before I knew what was what, he became my bias in the group (with Suga a very close second bias and I don’t care if that breaks the rules, I love them both!) and I have listened and practiced singing all of the BTS songs that I like and there are a lot of songs that I’ve had to practice. Singing in English is easy but singing in Korean? That’s hard as hell but I’m happy to report that I can sing the shit out of my favorite BTS song, Just One Day. LOL. Anyway, all of that to say that I started this show because the main male lead is a friend of V’s from BTS….that’s why I started this show. I gotta support my biases friends and I’m glad that I did because the pacing of this show is a lot slower than Record of Youth but it’s just as good. It’s more focused on the characters and I’m really, really enjoying this one so far. I’m happy that I have a new episode to watch and I’ll watch that today too. Yippy skippy.

Eye Candy Friday

An Min Hyuk
Strong Woman, Do Bong Soon

What I Reviewed

Midnight Runners | 5 out of 5
Romance is a Bonus Book | DNF
Kill Me, Heal Me | DNF
Playful Kiss | DNF
Descendants of the Sun | 3.25 out of 5

What I Posted

The Weekly Recap (152)
Eye Candy Friday: An Min Hyuk

What I Got

Teach Me (There’s Something about Marysville #1) by Olivia Dade
40 Love (There’s Something about Marysville #2) by Olivia Dade
Swettest in the Gale (There’s Something about Marysville #3) by Olivia Dade
Never Have I Ever (Always Satisfied #3) by Lauren Blakely

What I Got for Review

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

What’s On My Radar for This Week

Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao
Encounter
Time to Hunt

What Made Me Laugh

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

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The Weekly Recap (147)

Posted July 20, 2020 by Rowena in Features | 6 Comments

The Weekly Recap is a weekly feature on the blog where I recap my week in books, in movies, and in TV Shows. If you’re ever curious about what I’ve been up to, these are the posts for you.

It’s been a pretty quiet week for me since Brenna’s been in Colorado for the summer and I don’t have anyone annoying me at every turn. It’s been nice. LOL. I also had some time to catch up with my siblings on Friday with my sister from Vegas in town. We received some bad news about my cousin’s husband, who died from covid-19 this week so that was a bummer. It’s amazing to me that people are pissed about having to wear masks in public here in California. SMH.

Anyway, I didn’t do much but watch Korean Dramas this week but it was still a good week.

What I’m Currently Reading
The Weekly Recap (147)Shine
by Jessica Jung
Published by Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse on September 29, 2020
Genres: Young Adult
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2020 Goodreads Challenge, 2020 New to Me Challenge

Crazy Rich Asians meets Gossip Girl by way of Jenny Han in this knock-out debut about a Korean American teen who is thrust into the competitive, technicolor world of K-pop, from Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of one of the most influential K-pop girl groups of all time, Girls Generation.
What would you give for a chance to live your dreams?

For seventeen-year-old Korean American Rachel Kim, the answer is almost everything. Six years ago, she was recruited by DB Entertainment—one of Seoul’s largest K-pop labels, known for churning out some of the world’s most popular stars. The rules are simple: Train 24/7. Be perfect. Don’t date. Easy right?

Not so much. As the dark scandals of an industry bent on controlling and commodifying beautiful girls begin to bubble up, Rachel wonders if she’s strong enough to be a winner, or if she’ll end up crushed… Especially when she begins to develop feelings for K-pop star and DB golden boy Jason Lee. It’s not just that he’s charming, sexy, and ridiculously talented. He’s also the first person who really understands how badly she wants her star to rise.

Get ready as Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of Korea’s most famous girl group, Girls Generation, takes us inside the luxe, hyper-color world of K-pop, where the stakes are high, but for one girl, the cost of success—and love—might be even higher. It’s time for the world to see: this is what it takes to SHINE.

I didn’t get any reading done this week. A couple of pages at most but I’m liking what I’m reading so far in Shine by Jessica Jung. Those K Pop stars are no joke and their schedules and training are intense. I’m really interested in seeing where this story takes us. I just need to make time to read.

What I Got

Shine by Jessica Jung
Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao

What I’m Currently Watching

It’s Okay to Not be Okay (2020)
Suits (2018)

This week’s episodes of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay were emotionally packed and I ugly cried through both of them. I am really, really loving this show and both Seo Ye Ji and Kim Soo Hyun did such an amazing job engaging my emotions with their acting skills that I am so here for the both of them. I cannot wait to see where the rest of the season takes us but if the first part of the season is any indication, it’s going to be a crazy ride that I am fully on board with.

I started the Korean version of Suits last night and I am super duper excited about it. I adored the American version of this show and the Korean version stars my #3 boo thang, Park Hyun Sik. I completely adored him in Strong Woman, Do Bong Soon and Juror 8 so when I saw that he was on the Korean version of Suits, I knew that I had to find the show and watch it wherever I could. I’m so glad that it’s on Netflix. I’m on episode 5 and so far, I’m really enjoying it. It’s very familiar to the American version but with its own Korean charm and I love me some Park Hyun Sik so I’m all in.

What I Watched

It’s Okay to Not be Okay (2020)
Cheese in the Trap (2016) | 2.5 out of 5
My First First Love (2019) | 4.25 out of 5
My First First Love 2 (2019) | 4.5 out of 5

This week was a good week in K Dramas for me….with the exception of Cheese in the Trap. That show started off so well for me and then it went downhill and kept right on going downhill until it ended and I was like WTF? Wasn’t a big fan of that of that one.

I did really enjoy My First First Love and My First First Love 2. I need to watch more shows and movies with Ji Soo in it. He’s such a delight.

Eye Candy Friday

Park Saeroyi
Itaewon Class (2020)

What I Reviewed

Movie Review: Train to Busan | 4 out of 5
Korean Drama Review: Itaewon Class | 5 out of 5

What I Posted

The Weekly Recap (146)
5 Things I Did During Quarantine
Eye Candy Friday: Park Saeroyi

What Made Me Laugh

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