“Something cold brushes up against my open palm, and my heart trips.
Slowly, stiff, icy fingers curl in against my outstretched hand. Jagged nails drag along the inside of my palm. I fight the urge to pull away. Don’t open your eyes, Candie’s warning from two years ago rings in my head. I grip on to that ghostly hand without hesitation.”

I just cannot resist a book about k-pop stars, especially not when it gets DARKKKKK. I do love dark! And this one got really awesome!

😍 Sunny was a pretty good MC and I loved seeing her get stronger with each page. At the start you see she is having difficulties, and yes, those happen later as well, but she is also getting stronger. Her dancing is picking up, she kicking ass in the vocal department, and I was just rooting for her. Well, for most points to the negatives.
😍 The now/then really was perfect! It gave us insights in the things that happened before. To when Sunny started as a star. To her friendship with Candie and Minnie. To why she is so dedicated to Candie.
😍 You all know how I love cults. Well, we get a delicious dose of that.
😍 Learning more about the woman/goddess that Candie and her family worship. Which at first seemed quite harmless, but then things get darker and darker and I was just eating it all up. Come on true with your dark stories.
😍 Seeing people change to THAT… well fuck, I would also be like no thank you.
😍 Sunny seeing Minnie wandering around… or is it Minnie? There were moments that it was dark and suddenly there would be a broken figure in the dark corners. Lurking. Staring. And more. Boy, thanks to the descriptions of the author I didn’t sleep a wink, thank you.
😍 I loved Eugenia when we got to know her, Faye was fantastic.
😍 The school/place they stayed for the camp/auditions. And how things got weird. Hallways that are supposed to be there aren’t there. Wifi isn’t working. And there are other strange things as the story go that really set the atmosphere for me. You can just see things get darker and darker.
😍 Candie x Sunny. I don’t see this as a spoiler, it was pretty clear to me from early on that these two shared more than friendship. I just wasn’t sure if it was just all Sunny or if Candie also had an interest in Sunny, but later on we learn more.
😍 That COVER! So awesome and so perfect for this book. It fits it so well. The blood. The shimmer. The make-up. The perfection.
😍 Learning more and more about what happened and what is happening. As the story continues you get more hints and I just loved the way it went.

🫤 I was under the impression that this book would be a standalone. But instead things happen and I guess there is going to be a next book? I would have rather have had it all tied up neatly and things be fine. Not this.
🫤 And yes, I am not a fan of characters who cheat, so when I found out what Sunny had done… well the way I thought about her was different. I still found her an OK character, but I also disliked her. Cheating is a big fat no no for me.

All in all, I am not sure if I will be reading the next book, but I did enjoy this one greatly! Idols. Blood. Darkness. Cults. Spooky stuff. A small bit of romance? Yes, please!