Admit it! Between finding your bias, watching your favourite band’s funny moments somewhere along the way, you wanted nothing more than to fantasize about dating the K-pop idols or want them to date someone. Despite the expansive and neverending list of fanfictions, the good ones aren’t that many and sometimes you just want something that’s not an amusement park one-shot date. So to feed into your delulu here is The Bombay Circle Press’ list of five romance books for every K-pop fan, irrespective of which generation you stan.
- Famous In Love by Emma Cho
It’s difficult dating a K-pop idol. They are always away on tour, always busy with schedules, always getting injured, and don’t even get started on the scandals. Take a peek inside their lives as they manage their tumultuous relationships, dealing with their partners being constantly away, their extremely busy schedules, their injuries and most importantly, the scandals that come with them. After all, they’re not just in love, they’re famous in love.
Emma Cho’s Famous In Love is an anthology series about K-pop idols and their tumultuous love lives that will make you laugh, cry, swoon and wish for friendships as supportive as theirs.
- I’ll Be The One by Lyla Lee
Debut author Lyla Lee brings you a queer YA contemporary novel. I’ll Be The One follows the story of Skye Shin who has constantly heard that fat girls shouldn’t call attention to themselves, whether it is through dance, clothes or simply existing. But Skye is ready to break all the rules and the odds against her favour when she participates in an international idol survival K-pop show looking for the next big thing. From the relentless practice to the even harsher beauty standards, Skye must do everything she can to make her dreams come true. But what she least expected was sparks flying with her fellow competitor Henry Cho.
- XOXO by Axie Oh
In Axie Oh’s XOXO, cello prodigy Jenny has to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But that is until he disappears. Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.
- Comeback by Lyn Ashwood and Rachel Rose
First book in The NEON Series, Comeback follows Emery Jung or as his fans call him M, from the renowned K-pop group NEON. But all fame comes with a cost, especially when one slip up can have viral consequences. That consequence comes in the form of Alana Kim, who runs into him, literally while trying to escape her life after a tragic loss. Now, they must work together to keep the scandal from blowing out of proportion and ruin NEON’s success.
- K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee
Stephen Lee’s K-Pop Confidential brings you a YA romance book revolving around Candace Park, a quiet girl excelling in her AP classes who keeps her love for SLK, the top boyband, all to herself. Despite her musical talent she doesn’t expect to get a place at the trainee program from SLK’s label when they hold a global audition. But she does get an offer. Convincing her parents wasn’t even the beginning of how tough things were going to be in Seoul. In the trainee program, she is under strict supervision, whether it is about her performance, diet or her love life thanks to the infamous “no dating ban”. As the debut gets closer, she might have found herself getting wrapped up in a scandal. Does she have what it takes to be a K-pop idol?
Keeping the parasocial relationship aside, who wouldn’t want to have a meet-cute with their bias or become enemies to lovers. It’s even better when someone fleshes out a story into a romance novel with layered characters and nuanced writing. If you liked this list, check out our recommendation of fiction books for Kdrama lovers.