Book Title: Before I Loved Her
Author: jessica25january
Reviewer: Read-aholic2006
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(This review is only based on the first 15 chapters.)
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Title: 10/10
It relates to the book. It's different. It's romantic. And that's all I have to say.
Cover: 9/10
It's not a bad cover. For some reason, though, it's giving me Disney vibes? It's most likely due to all that pink and the font used for the title. But I wouldn't take that as an insult; I love Disney. Plus, the foreshadowing on the cover is very interesting; the way the female MC is being depicted on the cover (V looks way too girly) heavily clashes with what she's like in the book, hinting at some sort of change, I suppose.
Blurb: 10/10
The first line is already a magnet. The writer immediately introduces us to the mysterious male MC and we get a basic idea of the plot. But I suggest the author starts a new paragraph once she introduces us to Vanessa Adams, our female MC. This is only to improve readability since the blurb is literally one paragraph and the lack of white space could steer away readers who don't like to run an eye over a series of unbroken sentences.
Creativity/Originality: 10/10
By only reading the blurb, one can already tell that this plot follows the common trope of the overlooked female MC who secretly has a crush on the hot male MC, while every other girl makes it conspicuously obvious they want to smack their glossy lips against his. So, it's nothing new. And the characters are somewhat stereotypical—the timid female MC with the good grades, her beautiful boy-crazy best friend, her clueless crush with the dimpled smirk and those two troublemaking bullies.
However, these typecast characters are loveable (not Troy and Scott, though. I hate their guts), hence I feel it would be unfair to just take away a star. And the author does break away from some clichés, which I will discuss further in the review.
Plot/Flow: 20/20
The chapters ease into each other so wonderfully. Everything is written in chronological order, so readers are basically being walked through the story, piece by piece, hanging on every word.For these few chapters I had read, the writer seemed to be more focused on her imagery and familiarizing her readers with the characters than the plot—and reasonably so. In romance novels or slow-burns, it's clever to first introduce your characters and fill the inaudible silence with descriptions before nudging your story toward its distant climax. The author had already written so many chapters, so I can only guess at how much her plot has developed.
Characters: 9/10
The characterization is absolutely flawless; the author nailed her descriptions. Despite the stereotypes, readers instantly warm up to these characters—they're so distinct, so vibrant and so well-defined.
I like Vanessa's quiet, unobtrusive personality. Thankfully, she doesn't wear those awkward glasses and sweater vests that the typical nerdy girls love so much.
I also approve of Addison's character. She's loud, confident, popular and gorgeous.
To me, Matt was the most interesting character, with his cool demeanor and casual narration. His sense of style and poor grades give readers a bad boy impression, yet the author managed to peel away from such an overused description by making him more sensitive, more compassionate. He has suffered through grief, and bullying and has to battle some trust issues.
I am obsessed with the dialogue between Addison and Matt. I seriously have to applaud the writer for coming up with those witty comebacks. Their biting sarcasm had me crying with laughter.
However, there's one thing that had greatly frustrated me. Somehow, Matt kept on locking lips with the same wrong girl and I was getting really fed up with how blind he was to Vanessa's feelings for him. And Addie had also angered me; at some point in the book, I found her to be disloyal toward Vanessa. Although, I suppose it's a good thing that these characters were able to arouse certain emotions within me that didn't only revolve around sympathy and excitement.
Another thing I'd like to mention is that I've noticed there's some major character development underway, especially in Matt. Growth is good, of course, and it makes sense that Matt is getting more tangled up in his hormones since he is getting older. But his love of reading and aversion to socializing and dating is what appealed to me in the first place.
The last time I had read a book in which the MC did a total one-eighty, I had been scarred and disappointed, feeling as though the author had unnecessarily ruined such a perfect character. I was afraid that this author would do the exact same thing to Matt, although I do understand that whatever changes occur within him are mostly for the sake of the plot's development.
Writing style/grammar: 9/10
Many times the author omits her commas and question marks. She also uses semi-colons incorrectly, but that mistake was rare.
The start of the book was already beautifully written and served its purpose well—which was to lure readers into the story.
All the descriptions are top-tier. The writer effortlessly paints a colourful picture of her characters, neatly building their profiles with a subtle elegance I admire. She easily alternates between V's and Matt's perspectives a few times in just one chapter, their POVs seamlessly sliding into each other.
I also find it impressive that her narrations correlate with the age and personality of the speaker. For example, if a male character had just started high school, then the author has to slip into the skin of a fourteen-year-old boy before being able to write in his perspective. And the author had done just that—the narration and dialogue reflecting the characters' behaviour
Genre relevance: 10/10
Let's see... Romance? Check. Teen fiction? Check. Comedy? Check. So, yes, the genres are very much relevant.
Reading enjoyment: 10/10
The author's writing is so tasteful, I'd actually looked forward to the next chapter. In fact, I had ended up reading this book past midnight. I had gotten so engulfed in the story I almost forgot I was the reviewer, not just a reader.
Overall thoughts and extra comments: 97/100
Firstly, it would help if the chapters were numbered and maybe the writer could indicate the prologue as well.
The writer had crafted a cast of realistic characters. In some ways, I could relate to them. And as I've mentioned before, I loved the humorous dialogue. This story had sent me on a wild rollercoaster: Over the course of these fifteen chapters, I had felt amused, angry, happy, sad, annoyed and excited. Overall, her writing is vibrant and emotive.