Ohana Reviews

Review ~ Bound to the Stars

Bound to the Stars by blackwidow_reads

Reviewed by kailucy

So sorry for the wait!! I hope this review is decent.

Title: 5/5

The title is wonderful. It's so easy to remember and has an intriguing factor to it. I've been thinking about this since it was requested and I'm so happy I finally got to it. It raises questions, and it flows so well.

Cover: 4/5

The cover is great. I love the color scheme and the fonts. Some of the words are blurry though. Like the subtitle and I'm assuming your username. But other than that I love the cover.

Blurb: 5/5

Okay, I'm just going to say I know I'm going to love your writing style based on this blurb. The vocabulary is insane and I love it. It has a certain amount of uncertainty and mystery to it. It raises enough questions to want to open up the book. Great job!

Plot: 20/20 (spoilers: also I took the chapter-by-chapter notes while reading so some things might not make the most sense)

The plot was mesmerizing. So far it's not super fast-paced and we've only seen the MC but you know how to capture the reader's attention despite that. You layer on the mystery and tension making the plot move forward but it doesn't seem unreasonable. The pacing is consistent.

Chapter One: I feel like the light is a trap.

Great pacing. It's off to a great start. Already right in the middle of the action. (Her being in a cave) I love the small details you layer throughout.

Chapter Two: Already set up to be a great story. It has me gripped so far. I don't think there's been actual dialogue yet, but the MC's inner voice holds this story up well.

Great way to show what she was planning to do in the future. (for future career)

Chapter Three: Ooh dialogue.

Chapter Four: Mostly the same points as before. This is a wild ride.

Chapter Five: The anxiety I get from this book is unreal. It's so suspenseful.

Character: 14/15

I love that the MC has many facets to her. She's both very philosophical and sassy. She's confident and I love a confident MC but she also seems to be good-natured. I love her so much already.

As a critique, I will say that some others might not care much for the contrast between her inner voice and the writing style. Personally, I enjoy the contrast. I feel like it balances out and as before mentioned, I think it adds to the character and makes her more realistic.

Writing style: 19/20

I already mentioned that I love your writing style but I'm gonna say it again. I love your style. I'm actually jealous.

Chapter one has a strong opening. The descriptive language was perfect. I will say though starting with a past participle was a little jarring some readers may not like it as it feels like it's right in the middle of a sentence but I feel it fits the book well enough since she starts out in an unfamiliar place. But it's just something I felt I should mention.

I love the poetic nature of the first paragraph in chapter two. I love poetry so naturally I love this style.

Chapter Three: "Just because a belief is shared among millions and possibly billions, doesn't prove its legitimacy, only confirms the fact that human rationality relies a lot on the approval of others, even if that can result in nothing but unnecessary annihilation. "

Holy moly those are true words. I read this over a few times just because of how it was written. These words sum up most of human history.

I love the play on metaphors in chapter five and the visuals are wonderful as well.

Grammar/spelling/vocabulary: 19/20

I didn't notice any mistakes, but that doesn't mean there aren't any, I could've overlooked them. I did read through it twice though so hopefully I didn't overlook cause that would be embarrassing.

Your vocabulary is insane!!

You did ask me to critique though so one thing I would say is to look for adverbs. There are quite a few and usually, there's a better way to explain things than to use them. (I'm guilty of doing this too but I'm trying to work on it.) I believe it's in the book "On Writing" where it's said that "I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they're like dandelions. If you have one in your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day..." Maybe look for those?

Engagement: 10/10

I really enjoyed this a lot and I will definitely keep reading! I also need to go back and comment.

Overall: 96/100

Overall, you have a wonderful story. I don't have a lot of critiques but I did try to find some. I can't wait to continue reading! Best wishes with your future writing!!