Tag: 2 Star Reviews

All 2 Star Reviews In One Place

“It Won’t be Christmas Without You” By Beth Reekles Review

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From the author of the smash hit Netflix romcom The Kissing Booth! Eloise, a self-confessed Christmas obsessive, cant wait for the big day. Devoted to her Michael Bubl playlist, shes organising the school nativity play and even her gorgeous Grinch of a neighbour, James, cant get her down.Her workaholic twin sister, Cara, on the other hand, plans to work over the holiday and figure out what secrets her seemingly-perfect boyfriend George might be keeping from her.The sisters used to be close but since Cara moved to London, everythings been different. Only, Eloise isnt giving up just yet, and with a white Christmas on the cards, Cara cant fail to be moved by the magic of the season can she.

I gotta say that my opinion about this book is all over the place, because Im liking this book but at the same time disliking it. All I can say is that this review might be quite a wild ride of opinions which may cross each other. But lets see where the review takes us.

I need to give this book for being sort of cute and fun to read when you don’t give this book a lot of thoughts or look to closely at it. 

This book has a good premise for the plot but at the same time the way this book is written doesn’t present the plot very well. Which really sucks because this book could have been very good if the author gave us the plot in a other way than what we got. 

This book doesn’t have a lot of the Christmas spirit other than the fact that it mentions Christmas eve and Christmas plans and gifts a few time throughout this book. This book feels more like its about twin sister growing apart from each other when they grow up into being adults rather than the spirit of Christmas. Of course it could just be me and my impression of this book after reading it but again every review written is very personally to the person writing the review. 

The characters here are very average characters, where you don’t remember them when you finish the book. The two main characters are twins and their names are Eloise and Cara. And all I can tell you about them is that Cara lives in London and Eloise is a teacher not in London. And thats pretty much what I remember about them. Both of them are very shallow characters and are very typical YA Christmas book characters where Eloise is the Christmas obsessed sibling and Cara is more of a Scooge type. 

As for the rest of the characters, I remember even less about them than what I remember about the town main characters. Both of the sisters have guys they are dating or at the very least involved with, but what their names are I simply cant tell you that. Because it went into my head and went straight out of it because of how flat and shallow characters they were. 

The writing style in this book is very typical of YA which means that it is very simple and easy to read. It plays well with the plot of this book but at the same time I wasn’t a fan of the writing style. 

To be very honest here this book was a very average and quick Christmas book which seems like the author didn’t put a lot of effort and time into writing this book. But at this point of being 5 years into reading and reviewing books I need to admit that I have read much worse book than this one. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Champions of the Wild Weird West #1” By Michael David Nelsen & Erik Hendrix Review

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Part 1: The honor of a samurai, the mysticism of the Native American Culture, and a whole heck of a lot of Old West Action. When a fallen samurai is drawn to the United States to save his wife-to-be and her father, he is drawn into a plot much more complex than a simple rescue. Meeting up with an adventurer, his Indian financial advisor, a mercenary, and a former priest, they set off on a quest to save the West from the strange and unimaginable. Zombie Indians, mystical beings, and mad science are just a few of they must face on their quest to save themselves, those they love, and the whole of the Old West.

The concept of this preview was very interesting for me personally because it is sort of a mix between the Wild West with fantastical elements. Which I found to be very intriguing and inserting. 

But the way the concept is pretend to us, really destroys the whole concept and potential the plot had. Because the whole narrative and plot is very weak and the storyline feels very fragmented and difficult to follow.

The plot seems very undeveloped which left me with an incomplete understanding of the plot. The plot in this one feels like the writer of this comic book didn’t knew what he was doing with this comic book.

The characters we get in this comic book are very one-dimensional and with very minimal personalities to them.

The protagonists in this comic book are introduced with the bare basics of personalities and with almost no backstory to them. Which makes it very hard for me personally to actually like them or care about them.

The side characters in this comic book seem for the most part okay if you don’t think about them. Because all of the side characters in this comic book have very limited development and fails to add significant depth to the story.

The artwork in this comic book complements the quirky, adventurous tone of the narrative, and for the most part is very good looking. To be honest the artwork in this comic book was my favorite part of this comic book. 

But the artwork still has some issues like some of the panels feel very cluttered which only adds more confusion for me personally. 

The themes which this comic book tries to give us are for the most part okay. Because the themes of this comic book are adventure and the clash between the fantastical and the historical which I liked. But those theme seem for the most part very unexplored and underdeveloped. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Olive Peril: Preview” By Laurel Shelley-Reuss Review

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20-Page Preview! When the CEO of the largest soap manufacturer in the United States dies, her only daughter, Olive, is left with quite the she can marry her mother’s Evil Corporate Lawer, or she can put her fate in the hands of a ghostly child who claims to know a way out of Earth.

Let me start this review by saying that this one is just a preview for the entire comic book. And I read it because I wanted to see if the full comic book was worth the money and time I would spend on it. And I’m gonna give you the answer for that at the end of this review.

This preview tries to set up a potentially intriguing storyline centered around the protagonist. The concept itself is very intriguing for me because it is a mix between mystery and adventure which I really liked. But the narrative which this preview takes lacks clarity and depth.

The plot in this preview feels pretty disjointed, which makes it difficult for me personally to follow and become invested in the plot in this preview. Which really doesn’t help with making me interested enough ti buy and read the full version of this comic book.

The main character in this comic book, is pretty good character but she feels very underdeveloped in this preview. She feels underdeveloped because she has a very shallow personality and she doesn’t have a lot of backstory.  The main character’s motivations and personality are not fully explored which makes it pretty hard for me to really like her or be invested in her story.

When it comes to the side characters, I need to say that they appear very briefly in this preview and they don’t much depth or context to the story. Which really doesn’t make sense on why they are in this preview if they don’t anything to the story.

The artwork in this preview is visually appealing, with a style that complements the adventurous tone of the narrative. Which for me personally was the best part of this preview because of the fact that the artwork in this preview are very engaging and very nice looking.

The themes which this preview tries to give us feel pretty unexplored which really disappointed me. Because the preview was trying to give us the themes of adventure and self-discovery which I tend to love in books and comic book. But this preview only hints at those themes but in reality they feel very shallow and unexplored. 

I personally wont be buying and reading the full version of this comic book because this preview didn’t get interested enough to actually do that.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Merry Ever After” By Tessa Bailey Review

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Evie Crowe is starting over in a strange town with her newborn, and men are the furthest thing from her mind. If only the quiet, hulking farmer, Luke Ward, would stop coming into the thrift shop and piquing her reluctant interest. Evie wants to stay single all the way—she can’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in it for the long haul. He’s fixed on making this a Christmas Evie will remember forever. If she gives him a chance.

This book is the second book in the “Under The Mistletoe” Christmas book series. I gotta admit that the deeper I get into this series the less the series is a “Christmas” themed book series. I will explain more about this lower in this review.

To be very honest calling this book a “Christmas book” is like calling Die Hard a Christmas movie. Which is a very long stretch there. Because both in Die Hard the Christmas is mention once for the whole thing. 

This book is more about a farmer falling in love with the new girl in town who has a 5 month old kid from a previous relationship. 

I personally have a mixed opinions about the plot of this book. Because in a way I enjoyed the plot and found it to be interesting but at the same time if this book wasn’t branded as a “Christmas” book I wouldn’t have read it to begin with because its not what I usually find interesting to actually read the book.

I found the plot to be interesting and enjoyable as I’ve said above, but there were a lot of moments during the book where I just laughed and thought “What am I reading?” Because of how ridiculous this book was. Let me warn you, the plot in this book gets very ridiculous fast during a lot of moments in this book.

The characters here are okay for the most part, we only technically get 2 characters in this book. The two main characters, the farmer and the female characters. They are okay characters and they have personality to them which in a way makes them likable and relatable. But at the same time we only get 55 pages to get to know them. Which in my opinion is a too short to actually like them and make them characters we will remember after finishing the book.

We get some additional side characters in this book, like the main female’s 5 month old son from previous book and then later on another kid. But we really don’t get to know them because they get to be in the book just to give the two main characters some backstory.

The writing style in this book is very easy and simple. Which of course plays well with the plot of this book. But at the same time in my opinion the writing style could have been so much better than what we got in this book. Because I got the feeling that the writing style felt more like something you would read from a first time WattPad writer and not a author who have already written a handful of books before writing this one.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Deadly Harvest #1” By Yannis Roumboulias & Erik Hendrix Review

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Core mining, the deadliest job in the galaxy, draws only the bravest, or craziest, workers around. Bumping up to asteroids, typically propelling at astronomical speeds towards distant stars, the miners harvest minerals essential to interstellar travel and commerce. Close quarters, dangerous conditions, and less than a half inch of polymer sheath stand between them and swift oblivion. 

The premise of this comic book is very promising and intriguing. Because the whole premise of this comic book is set in a world filled with mystery and danger which I personally found to be very enjoyable and interesting. 

But the way the premise of this comic book was executed really lacks any form from depth and clarity in it. Which really didn’t help me with liking this comic book. 

The storyline in this comic book feels very scattered, with scenes that don’t connect with each other which really made me very confused at times. Because all the scenes in this comic book aren’t coherent and like they are meant to be next to each other because they don’t make any chance together in the bigger picture. 

But also the intriguing setup which the storyline had (which I mentioned above) is undermined by a lack of cohesive storytelling. Which really made me so annoyed at this comic book at times.

The characters in this comic book had a lot of potential to be very good characters. But the way the characters are presented to us make them feel very underdeveloped.

The protagonist and supporting cast have some interesting qualities, but their motivations and backstories are not fully fleshed out.and because of this lack of depth and personalities to the characters in this comic book makes it difficult for me personally to get invested in their journeys.

The artwork in this comic book is very good and memorable. Because the artwork in this comic book has the dark vibe and atmospheric tone of the narrative effectively. The visuals gives us the eerie setting. Which for me personally was the best part about this comic book

The themes which this comic book is trying to give us, feel very unexplored and shallow at times. The potential for rich thematic content is evident but remains largely untapped due to the fragmented storytelling.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“All by My Elf” By Olivia Dade Review

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Nina and William are underpaid adjunct professors at the same university, where winter break is no break at all: ’tis the season to make extra money. When their holiday side hustle has them stranded by a blinding blizzard in the middle of nowhere, there’s nothing to do but cuddle up for warmth and play a game of Never Have I Ever to pass the time. But in the game of love, secrets never stay secret for long.

This book is the third book in the “Under The Mistletoe” Christmas book series. I gotta admit that the deeper I get into this series the less the series is a “Christmas” themed book series.

The two previous books ion this series were okay and even good in a way, but this book is a little worse than the previous two books in this series. Because the Christmas theme of this book is none existing other than the 3 main characters working as elves in December. And other than that there isn’t any other mention of Christmas throughout this entire book. 

The characters in this book were very meh. Because we don’t get to know them other than what they do for living. And that the main female character used to be married for a 2 or 3 years a few years back before the events of this book. I understand that we only get 55 pages in this book, but if the author really wanted to make good characters which reads would like and relate to, then she would have given us a little more backstory to them which would have made this book so much better than what it is.

The plot here is well ridiculous, like two of the main characters have sex in a truck when they are stuck on a highway during a snow blizzard. Or like how the main female character is blind to the fact that the guy she has a crush on her, has also feelings for her. Which really makes this book so very unrealistic and unbelievable for me personally. 

But this book has its interesting moments here and there. And overall if you are looking for a quick read which you can read from front to back in one sitting which doesn’t involve thinking process then this book (and the whole series) is a good go-to in this department.

This book (as the 2 previous books in this series) are pretty good and quick read, which doesn’t involve a lot of thinking. Because if you start actually thinking about it, you will dislike this book (and the 2 previous books in this series) more and more. Or at least its how it is for me personally when it comes to this book and the previous books in this series.

The writing style here was very simple and easy. It plays well with the simple and easy plot in this book. And makes this book a quick read. But if you want me to be honest here, I wasn’t a fan of the writing style here because I think the author could have done so much more if she improved her writing style. Because it would have improved this book so much more than what it is.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Merriment and Mayhem” By Alexandria Bellefleur Review

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When Everleigh Dangerfield’s baking disaster necessitates a call to 911, firefighter Griffin Brantley douses the flames in the kitchen, but the ones he stokes in Everleigh are an entirely different story. Unfortunately, Everleigh’s only visiting and doesn’t do casual hookups, no matter how smoldering the temptation. But Everleigh’s holiday mishaps have just begun. And Griffin is seemingly always on call. If Everleigh is game for a change of plans, he can give her the merriest Christmas of her life.

This book is the fourth book in the “Under The Mistletoe Collection” book series. And I gotta say that so far this book is the weakest of all the books I’ve read in this series so far.

This book has a city girl in a small town Christmas vibes to it. And to be very honest a part of me really liked it. Because its a nice and cozy premise for a Christmas book which you can read during one sitting during the holidays.

The premise for this book is very overrated if you ask me. Because as I’ve said in the paragraph above the premise for this book is about a girl (who lives in Seattle) who comes to a small town to take care of her dead grandmother’s house before it is sold and she meets a guy in the small town and stays. And at this point in the 21-century there is a dozen of books and movies about this topic, and I personally am very tired of this topic which might be the reason why I dislike this book more than I like it.

The plot was okay and cozy for the most part, but since this book is very short (only 50 something pages long) it doesn’t go into a lot of moments. But I feel like this helped this book much more than if it was longer than it is.

The characters here were okay for the most part. I had some issues with them here and there throughout this book but for the most part I thought they were okay.

One of the problems with the characters in this book I had a problem with was the main female characters and her being overly and ridiculously clumsy. I personally have my fair share of clumsy moments here and there but the main female character takes the cake for the most clumsiest character I have ever seen in my life.

The second problem with the characters in this book I had is about the male main character in this book. There is one moment at the end of this book where he swims out on the lake to help people who are drowning and then out of nowhere he just shows up behind the female main character.

The writing style here was okay for the most part even thou I wasn’t a fan of it. The writing style is simple and easy to read and it plays well with the easy plot this book has. But still I feel like the writing style in this book could have been so much better than what we actually got in this book.

The two pervious books in this series felt more like YA books rather than Christmas books because how rarely Christmas or anything Christmas related topics were mentioned in the two pervious books. But this book actually have sort of a nice and cozy Christmas vibe which made me like this book a little bit more and might have been the reason why I gave this book 2 stars instead of 1 star.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Memorial #1 (of 6): Preview” By Chris Roberson & Michael William Kaluta Review

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New York Times best-selling author and Eisner-nominated creator of iZombie, Chris Roberson, delivers a magical ongoing new series. Memorial is the story of Em, a young woman who arrives at a hospital in Portland, Oregon with no memory of her past. A year later, she has rebuilt her life, only to find her existence thrown into turmoil after she inherits a magical shop. The kind that appears in an alley one instance and disappears the next.

Let me start this review by saying that this one is just a preview for the entire comic book. And I read it because I wanted to see if the full comic book was worth the money and time I would spend on it. And I’m gonna give you the answer for that at the end of this review.

This previews tries to establish an intriguing premise which is centered around a protagonist who stumbles into a world of magic and hidden realms. I gotta say that the premise is intriguing but the way it is presented to us really feels like the entire storyline of the full comic book version is very underdeveloped.

The narrative of this preview doesn’t provide enough context or hooks for me personally to fully engage me into buying and reading the full version of this comic book.

I personally found this preview to be fun to read if you aren’t looking for a well made comic book. This preview has some enjoyable and interesting moments here and there

At the same time this preview leaves many questions unanswered and the key plot points in this preview seem very under-explored which really didn’t make me interested enough to buy and read the entire comic book.

This preview introduces some of the characters from the full comic book, but I gotta admit that the characters we get in this preview lack any form of depth and personalities. 

The main character in this preview isn’t given enough backstory or motivation to make her journey relatable or compelling. And the side characters appear very briefly in this preview and the side characters don’t contribute anything to the narrative of this preview.

The artwork in this preview is very good. Because it is offering us a rich, atmospheric aesthetic that complements the fantastical elements of the story. Which for me personally was the best part about this preview.

In my opinion the illustrations we get in this preview effectively convey the mystical tone which this preview tries to give present us. But there are times where the illustrations in this preview occasionally lacks clarity, which can make following the plot challenging.

The themes which this preview gives us, seem very undeveloped. Which really didn’t help me want to read the full comic book.

I personally wont read the full version of this comic book because I wasn’t that interested in this preview to actually buy and use time on the full version of this comic book.

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Motorcycle Samurai: Variable” By Chris Sheridan Review

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Who is this masked woman? Who is The White Bolt? Who is THE MOTORCYCLE SAMURAI? Praised as “whimsical and dramatic” by ComicsAlliance, Chris Sheridan brings us a San Diego Comic-Con Special Release of MOTORCYCLE VARIABLE. In an post-future desert setting, we get the true tale* and origin of the infamous White Bolt, and she never misses! 

I need to admit here that I wasn’t a big fan of this comic book, but I also had a lot of fun reading this book which in the end made me give this comic book 3 stars out of 5 because it pretty good in my opinion. But lets not make this intro longer than it needs to be, so lets get into the review.

The story of this comic book is that we follow the adventure of the enigmatic Motorcycle Samurai in a wild, post-apocalyptic setting. Which I personally found to be intriguing and interesting. But I need to admit that the story often feels disjointed and hard to follow. 

At the same time the plot in a way lacks cohesion, with several threads introduced but not adequately developed or not finished at all. This aspect made it very hard for me personally to engage with the storyline.

When it comes to the characters in this comic book, I gotta admit that at first they were pretty intriguing and interesting. But the deeper I got into this comic book I began to notice that all of the character in this comic book were suffering from a lack of depth or any form of their personalities.

The main character is pretty good character since ease is a strong and charismatic character which I liked a lot. But when it comes to all of the other characters in this comic book, I need to say that they often come across as one-dimensional.

This comic book doesn’t have a lot of character development in it which made it pretty difficult for me to get invested emotionally in their journeys or outcomes.

When it comes to the visuals of this comic book, I need to admit that the the art style is distinctive and visually striking. And they both provide in a way a unique aesthetic that complements the chaotic world of this comic book. 

The illustrations this comic book has are pretty bold and dynamic, capturing the energy of the narrative which this comic book has. But there are times where the the visual storytelling can sometimes contribute to the confusion which I felt at times as I was reading this comic book. Some individual sections of the artwork were pretty hard to interpret and sequences that lack clarity.

But I need to say here that I really liked the themes of this comic book. The themes of justice and survival. But at the same time i feel like the themes of justice and survival weren’t thoroughly explored as they could have been. 

This comic book tries to delve into ideas of identity and morality, but I felt like  these themes were pretty overshadowed by the erratic pacing and narrative confusion

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Finding Perfect” By Colleen Hoover Review

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Finding Perfect is a novella that brings back some of Colleen’s most beloved characters. Told from the point of view of Daniel from Finding Cinderella, readers will finally get the conclusion they’ve been hoping for. For the best reading experience, make sure you’ve read all four books that come together to make up this heartwarming story: Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella, and All Your Perfects.

Here we are again talking about another Colleen Hoover book which didn’t work for me personally. 

This book is a part of a series written by Colleen Hoover named “Hopeless” and it is set right after “All your perfects” which I have reviewed a few months ago.

I gotta say that this book isn’t as bad as the majority of Colleen Hoover’s books I’ve read so far. If you have been around my website for awhile now, you may know that Colleen Hoover is my most misliked author I come across so far in life. But I gotta give her some complements when it comes to this book because this book isn’t as bad as the other books I’ve read from her. Which in my opinion says a lot.

This book doesn’t give me a lot to talk about because it is very short. But what I can say for sure about this book is that it is very simple and very far from being a good book

In my opinion the best part about this book was the writing style it had. But don’t get me wrong, the writing style in this book wasn’t great. But it was much better than the plot, characters and the rest of the aspects of this book. 

The characters in this book are okay if you dont think about them during reading this book or afterwards. Because they are okay if you just follow the story and go with the flow of this book. But the moment you start thinking about them or looking into them you realize that they are very shallow and flat. But also very annoying. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5