Book Reviews

#5 Hellbound

"Hellbound" written by Syns-to-Ink

1)Title =8.1/10

The title itself informs the reader what the book is all about. And that's what I liked. The writer has chosen a title, appropriate to the book. Not only it is engaging, but it also creates a mystery. 

2) Cover =8.1/10

I loved the cover. It is completely apt for the book. The writer has used dark elements and the addition of fire below does indeed make the cover more fantasy-like. The choice of font further adds to the artistic point of the cover of the book. 

I would suggest the writer add in a few more elements to the cover and make it a little bit brighter. 

3)Story plot=6.3/10

Though it was clear that the story deals with hell, reapers, souls, underworlds, etc, it did not thrill me whatsoever. I found the story plot dull and monotonous.  Although the writer seemed to have a good idea, the implementation of it is not up to the mark. There were some parts which were decent (for eg: first few paragraphs of the Prologue) but the next few parts were not up to the mark. It eventually bored me and compelled me to skip a few parts. For me, the story plot was not satisfactory.

The writer is advised to rethink his/her story plot and write accordingly. I would suggest making it more inviting by carefully bringing up the characters and write what the book is dealing with in the prologue. That way, the reader will be more intrigued. 

4) Grammar &Writing style=7.1/10

There were a lot of grammatical mistakes in the book. There were many words that have different meanings from what the writer was hoping to express. Other than that, everything was good. 

5)Character development=4.6/10

First of all, the protagonist of the book was unclearly described or rather not described at all. It seemed the writer wanted to create suspense by revealing almost nothing about the narrator. However, there is no use of adding suspense if the reader is not intrigued or even acquainted with the protagonist of the story. A reader will always want to know about the narrator and by doing so, he/she will understand the story plot and will be more tempted to read the book. 

The character development was poor. The writer is advised to look into that more instead of adding more twisted plots. 

6)Setting =7.9/10

The setting of the scenes was described clearly, and there was no confusion in reading that. The writer is advised to describe the setting more. 

7) Point of view= (---)

The POVs have not been used. The story has been narrated by one person only. 

8) Theme = 5.5/10

The theme of the story is Fantasy. While the story had all the ingredients, the writer failed to implement them properly. Many parts bored me and I didn't find it interesting. It seemed the writer was inspired by other fantasy books or movies and by hoping to achieve one, he/she failed to produce a more interesting plot or rather something of his/her own. 

9) Literary Devices = 7.9/10

The writer has used many literacy devices and good vocabulary.  There was an adequate use of words. 

10)Overall enjoyment =5.9/10

Although the writer had a good theme in his/her mind, the story seemed to lack it. There were many flaws that I have pointed out, and I hope the writer rectifies them ASAP. The first impression was quite effective and good but eventually, the flaws exceeded the plus points of the book. I didn't quite enjoy the book and somewhat it was disappointing. 

However, I liked the writer's writing skills and his/her ability to produce better books and writings. So I wish the writer a good journey ahead and hope to see improvements. 

To conclude, I give this book a rating of 5.9/10. 

Thank you! 💖