Review: K-Pop Revolution by Stephen Lee

She thought that debuting in a K-Pop band was the finish line, but it was only the beginning. Because now it’s not only Candace's company judging her—it’s the entire world. How will she find the courage to stand by her beliefs, even when powerful forces are trying to shame and silence her...

In the sequel to K-Pop Confidential, Candace is a Rookie idol. Her life is suddenly filled with the fans, cameras, and glamor of stardom: She and her boyfriend, YoungBae, are a K-Pop power couple; she’s a walking icon at Brandt Foreign School; and her new girl group, known simply as THE GIRLS, is poised to break records across the industry. With her status as the industry’s K-Pop Warrior, she has all the clout at her disposal to make waves. Right?

Her label, S.A.Y., promises to help make the sweeping changes for the industry to become a more humane and compassionate place for artists. But what will happen when the road to a record-breaking debut isn’t as smooth as they’d planned? When a rival girl group emerges to steal the spotlight, carrying the message of change better than Candace ever could, she’ll have to decide what it’ll cost her and her bandmates to stand up for their beliefs. And as the world turns against her, with online bullies scrutinizing her every word, there’s only so much that one person can take.

From the top of the world to the brink of disaster, Candace is going to have to figure out why the world is out to get her. And she’s not going to be able to do it alone.

How far does one girl need to be pushed to start a K-Pop Revolution?

After finishing K-Pop Confidential I knew I wanted to read K-Pop Revolution soon. Luckily, it was already out and I found the audiobook on Scribd. Double win! At the end of the first book, the line-up for the new girl group was announced and Candance made the cut. But her revelations changed the plan of the debut for The Girls. K-Pop Revolution picks up after Candace left the dormitories of S. A. Y. Entertainment.

The life of a K-pop idol is a life of rules and Candance is a proven rulebreaker. It’s fun to read how she (fails to) handle her new life. She struggles a lot and things go from bad to worse, and end in disaster. There’s so much going on in this book and I don’t want to spoil too much but the romance is only a subplot while a mystery takes the main stage. Can Candance find out who’s behind all of this before her whole life explodes?

One downside to the narration was that the narrator couldn’t sing that well so it sounded off. In this case, it might have been better to read the lyrics than listen to the narrator’s freestyling on the melody. Aside from the lyrical parts, the narration was okay and held my attention. The narrator did a great job at converting the emotions of the characters in just her voice.

I give K-Pop Revoultion 4.5 stars. It’s a great ending to an enjoyable duology. I highly recommend this to any K-pop fan because it feels so real as if you’re part of that K-pop world. A feeling most fans will probably want to have. It’s a fast-paced YA contemporary mystery/romance. Once you start, you don’t want to stop reading.