Isabelle Reviews (CLOSED FOR NOW)

a sweeter place (Romance)

Review date: January 22, 2023

Author: abxssx

FIRST IMPRESSION: 5/5

COVER: 5/5

I thought the book honestly gave away a very nice impression. I thought the picture of the woman laying on her belly itself was already aesthetically pleasing–not complicated nor trying too hard. I bet this was somehow inspired by Pinterest in some way, but it's perfect for me. But I also thought that the picture was versatile enough to be thought of as something other than a romance book. It could represent something else such as a how-to or a journal. But I'll credit the author for that. It looks cozy and relaxing, just as the author intended. I still like it though, which leads me to the title.

TITLE: 3/5

"A Sweeter Place" sounded sweet to me, but I didn't think it was that remarkable. I have no issues with titles with an adjective and a noun ("A Quiet Place", "The Big Sick"), but this one didn't stand out to me that much. Also, the fact that the adjective is comparative makes me wonder what exactly this place is and how it is "sweeter." Another thing is, capitalization is a must. "A Sweeter Place."

BLURB: 5/10

I really love short blurbs, so when I glanced at this, I anticipated that this would be good and would make readers feel good as well.

So the blurb starts with 'where he becomes her sweeter place.'

I really don't recommend this for these two reasons–single quotation marks were used and it's not a sentence. It's common how authors put lines before the main blurb, but I don't think this was fit to use. Although I know it's trying to sound romantic, it sounds like a slogan instead. It could've been the title instead but still, I'm not advocating that the author would change the title. It's just a mere opinion.

"Isabelle Ledger is an 18 year old whose main goal in life is to impress her family. In the process of doing so, she loses bits and pieces of herself.

Then, he steps into her life: Ryan Adler. The one person who really wanted to know her. "

Usually, I'm not a big fan of "Hi, my name is ..." in a blurb but I like how the first character was introduced well and clearly. They didn't need to have fancy and elaborate descriptions but I felt that the first line was as appropriate as it should be. It's missing dashes though, (18-year-old).

But the second line was somehow vague. In the first line, Isabelle's description is a little personal and real. It doesn't really match Ryan Adler's introduction. I wondered who Ryan Adler was and why we're supposed to care about him other than "really wanted to know her."

"He finds the pieces she lost and brings them back to her.

They are each other's happiness and at the end of it all, love prevails."

I appreciate beauty and simplicity, but this for me is too simple and predictable. If Ryan finds the pieces Isabelle lost and brings them back to her, where's the conflict? What should I expect if they are each other's happiness and love prevails for them in the end anyway? I suggest that the author not entirely change the blurb, but make major improvements to it since I find so much potential in it.

PLOT: 14/20

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 17/20

Anyway, there's something satisfying about the first part. Isabelle expresses her frustrations about being a student as her parents are shown as nonchalant, oppressive party animals. That's some solid contrast right there, which makes it easier for me to distinguish Isabelle's traits and keeps her apart, aside from being eighteen years old whose goal is to impress her family. Her family, on the other hand, isn't content.

Ryan Adler comes next. What kind of bothers me is that Isabelle quickly jumped from talking about how her parents were to introducing Ryan Adler out of nowhere.

If Ryan was so special, he could've had a better entrance instead of stating that he's a carefree person at the beginning of a chapter. Ava struggles to find a decent partner for an activity/project and that's where I had the final thought it would start. Then suddenly Isabelle hops to Ava praising Isabelle for the editorial team loving the latter's ideas. And I always felt Ava's presence was everywhere, but that's not a bad thing. She's the best friend anyway and not the male love interest.

And then the book shifts to Ryan's point of view. I was lost by then–four chapters of Isabelle and one chapter for Ryan. I felt that it just wasn't balanced.

In Ryan's part, he and his friend talk about Isabelle with another entrance that just didn't seem right. After talking about her, it leaps to the next day at once. 

DESCRIPTIONS: 15/15

WRITING STYLE: 8/10

To compensate for it, I thought that the writing style and descriptions were nice and well...sweet. Sweet but probably not as sweet as I'd expected.

If the author would ask me if I was happy or got the feel of home, I'd say yes. It was a relatable experience for me. Not exactly a rollercoaster ride, but it was relatable. Believe me when I say I was reminded of my school days. Plus, it was easy to navigate for me.

GRAMMAR/PUNCTUATION: 9/10

I spotted a punctuation error and a word that was spelled wrong ('intolerable' and not 'untolerable').

OVERALL: 81/100

Anyway, I'd say the hope and objective are pretty, transparent, and honest. I just feel like the execution has to be improved. Still, good job and I'd love to see you improve!

Thank you for trusting me in reviewing your book! <3, Isabelle