Isabelle Reviews (CLOSED FOR NOW)

Ricochet (Dystopian)

Review date: October 12, 2023

Author: DeejayDJ010

FIRST IMPRESSION: 4/5

TITLE: 5/5

Personally, one-word titles are a hit-or-miss for me. They can either break or make my first impression. But this title, not going to lie, is a good one. The word Ricochet by definition literally means to rebound/resonate. And this one really sticks to me. I'm going to remember it even if there's only one word in there. So, great choice.

COVER: 3/5

I seriously don't know what vibe the cover is giving off. There's this large spiral like that hypnotic figure, a red drawing I assume to be a brain, and text I couldn't make out at once. It's as if I have to ask what the title is before even knowing it. Slowly into analyzing it, I get the point of the cover and its elements, but I suggest going easy on the graphics so the title could be seen better. I had to squint to also read the name of the author. The visibility of the author's name must be as equally important as the title of the book.

BLURB: 10/10

I don't have mixed feelings about the blurb but I believe it's cleverly hinting at the plot. That's impressive because some authors tend to crossover between a blurb and a summary. This blurb gave a background and slight conclusions enough to tickle my imagination. Also, the question at the end is an amazing hook. It instantly caught my attention, because, who knows if things go according to plan? So yes. Well done on the blurb. I think it's perfect. I hoped even in the beginning that it wouldn't disappoint. I can't just abandon it.

PLOT: 17/20

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 14/20

Jamie's misery, represented by the alcohol and the lack of sleep, immediately backs up the essence of the blurb. How he feels is evident and clear and not just narrowed down into plain "telling" all for the sake of letting readers know what they need to know. I like how Jamie is very meticulous with his surroundings. This gets real because miserable people have this odd tendency to notice and express everything with angst or negativity. The authenticity of the details shines through. However, in the first few paragraphs from Jamie's POV or setting, it jumps to another character's setup, also known as Clara's setup. It's separated by asterisks and for the time being, I was a little confused as to where that took place and when that happened. Jamie's introduction was moderate in length, whilst Clara's was short. The imbalance made me scratch my head. Perhaps the author could separate the two and give Clara a fair amount of introduction as the one given to Jamie. The second chapter, however, made up for it. But still, first impressions last so please make sure nothing off happens in the book as readers go along. I hoped that the plot wouldn't fall flat because as I've noticed, the pacing was becoming faster. I understand the purpose of the plot alone and it doesn't throw me off, not going to lie—aka Jamie's life and Clara's life separately, but the turn of events is just something I wish could be improved on instead of placing asterisks. I still read it, but it was a tad stressful.

In terms of character development, I'm impressed with their personalities and stories. However, again, there are already too many characters introduced (Jamie, Judy, Clara, Mike, Bill, Cindy, and Emily in the first two chapters). That was a lot to take in.

But don't get discouraged, I like their unique selves and their agenda.

DESCRIPTIONS: 15/15

WRITING STYLE: 10/10

I definitely have no problem with the descriptions and writing style. I'm captivated with how things are told in a writing style I haven't encountered before. It doesn't try too hard to be poetic or sophisticated, and it's not simple either. A few words which are unfamiliar to me, but it doesn't bother me. I'm good.

GRAMMAR/PUNCTUATION: 10/10

I didn't find any errors in technical terms. This is a struggle for authors to get by most of the time. It's neat.

OVERALL: 88/100

Overall, I did like this book very much. I'd love to read it from cover-to-cover. But first, I suggest working on the pacing and the entrance of characters just as much as effort was put in the plot. Nice one!

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