CLN's Seasonal Reviews (CLOSED)

Sinfully Imperfect by EefaKhan

Book: Sinfully Imperfect by EefaKhan
Reviewer: Jae_idk

* * *

Title:

'Sinfully Imperfect' was a great title choice, not only is it unique enough to get readers' attention, it also captures the heart of the story well and lets readers know exactly what they're getting themselves into.

Cover:

It's almost cutesy, which deviates from the title and description a little. Still, it's a nice cover but one of the more major issues is probably the fact that the word "imperfect" isn't very visible.

Blurb:

Considering the genre, this blurb works quite well. I do have two nitpicks, though. The blurb starts off with two quotes, which is a great way to draw in readers but one quote would suffice. The two quotes are fairly similar, so using both of them feels a little repetitive. The second issue would be that the conflicts of the story aren't made clear in the blurb. The blurb should help set the stakes to get readers hooked enough to read the book, but this blurb mostly just gives you a setting and not much of the plot.

POV:

The story is written in Sophronia's POV, fitting for the genre but there are a few things to point out about it. Going off the first chapter alone, her character is... chaotic. On the bright side, she's funny, witty, relatable and entertaining. On the downside, this sort of chaotic tone can make scenes feel a bit too fast-paced and unclear. In the end, it's all just personal opinion as I prefer books with more down-to-Earth characters as it makes scenes more comprehensible. But there are plenty of people who prefer this more energetic style, so it all depends on what you were going for with her character.

Sometimes, Sophronia appears to be talking directly to the reader, as in chapter one where she says, "Did I mention he was a lawyer?" This is an interesting choice, as it could draw readers closer to the character and make her feel more real. On the other hand, if handled incorrectly, it can make the story seem juvenile. I'd recommend keeping it to a minimum as it is a risky choice.

Grammar and tone/phrasing:

For the most part, the grammar is without issue and definitely doesn't disrupt the experience. However, there is a slight issue with the tone or choice of words, if you will. The tone changes fairly quickly between scenes, and you can imagine it's jarring to read "I was nervous as hell," a mere paragraph after "In front of my eyes stood the great New York University, exuding power, excellence and wisdom." It's worthy to note that a contemporary story like this would better suit a casual tone, making some sentences like this stick out.

Plot:

The opening paragraph starts out strong, but after that the first chapter is a little dull. There's hundreds of thousands of books that begin with the main character heading off for college. I'm not saying this type of story can't be good, it most certainly can, but you should take the opportunity to show what's unique about your story in the first chapter. Snare up readers while you have the chance and don't let an interesting plot go to waste. Introduce the conflicts as soon as possible, don't let readers get bored.

One issue I've noticed is that there is quite a bit of filler. The romance takes a while to kick in, and a lot of scenes don't quite seem to serve a purpose. In a book, every scene should be moving the plot forward. The story had a ton of potential, but it feels as though we're just wandering around aimlessly for a bit. Outlining your story before you start writing is a major help with this issue. There's plenty of videos on YouTube about the topic, and I'd be glad to give recommendations. In short, there's a simple fix to the largest issue I've noticed in the book. Learn about different story structures, outline a bit more and you'll be pumping out masterpieces.

Humour:

It is a bit crass, if I'm being honest but lots of people love that in a book. It fit well with the characters, genre and setting so I don't have many issues with it. However, it wouldn't hurt to have a little less of it, because it feels like every paragraph ends in a silly joke. Of course, there are good jokes, but too much of a good thing turns stale.

Overall:

There are a few issues in the story, but most can be fixed in time as you gain more experience. The book is good for a light read, and most of the issues didn't stop me from getting invested in the story.