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Stunned by Itim_na_pluma

HK Book Review Shop
Stunned by @Itim_na_pluma
Reviewed by @ratihfarida20

Thank you for your submission, it is really appreciated.

I apologise that the review formatting has changed. The review will still cover the same elements as before. I do not have the time to change the formatting to previous reviews.

Opening Scene
Does the story begin with an interesting hook, creating a desire to read more?
The story itself begins with Liv's point of view as the female lead. The opening scene described how she felt, having such a suicidal thought, which I am so concerned about the topic.So, I decided to read more chapters of the book.
Does the manuscript begin in the right place?
Yes it does, even though for some reason, starting from the third paragraph, I'm kind of confused by some tagalog since it's not my first language, which made me skip to another paragraph to read on, but it's still fine for me since the author herself already warned the readers about the English/Tagalog through her book description.

Characterization and motivation
Are the characters compelling, sympathetic, or someone you can root for?
I'm rooting for Liv -the female lead as a representative of whoever it was that had such a struggle to fight against their suicidal thoughts.And more precisely I feel so sorry for her lost, written in the Prologue that her mom commit suicide by hanging herself in the rest room right before her eyes when she was young back then -which probably it'd been the reason why or cause for her trauma that left her having the same thought to suicide-

Do the characters feel real and three-dimensional, with distinct voices, flaws, and virtues?
Liv and Noah were voicing people with mental illness in real life, which society would always judge them as being flawed and problematic.

Are their goals clear and proactive enough to influence the plot (not passive)?
Not sure about the real goals that the author wants to achieve, but the background story about Liv in the past seemed to get me stunned.

Do their motivations seem believable, with well-drawn and appropriate emotion?
So far, the characters were well drawn and I can feel the appropriate emotion towards the characters especially Liv -Female lead- and Noah -Male lead- who are struggling with their mental illness. And for Olivia as an example, she seemed to be the one who always burst out in anger while Noah seemed to be the opposite.

Are the secondary characters well-rounded and enhance the story rather than overwhelming the story or seeming like they should be cut?
Starting from chapter six to eleven, Grace seemed to be the highlight of the story due to her sudden death. And If she's not the secondary character or just an extra herself in the story, I think her scene should be cut.

Are the relationships between the characters believable and not contrived?
The relationship between Liv and Noah was good as friends, but then it turned out to be such a hot and cold relationship on the day she asked him about how he felt about her. So, yes, it does happen in real life sometimes.

Plot and Conflict
Are the internal and external conflicts well defined for each main character?
I think the experimental drugs that Liv's parents produced in the past caused her to have more power in those fighting scenes? So, yes, the internal and the external conflicts were well defined.

Does the premise avoid cliche and/or bring a fresh perspective to an old idea?
The premise was typical cliche, but the plot seems unexpected till the very end of chapters.
Are the plot twists believable yet unexpected?
Yes, totally makes me stunned just like the main title.

Pacing
Does every scene add to and seem important to the story?
For Grace's scene, just like I said before, it needs to be cut. But in the end, it's up to the author since completing the book itself is hard. So, yes, this is my suggestion only.