The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Revived: 30th Century
Because Revived was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.
Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.
This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.
briellejee
Based on the cover and title I think I wouldn’t have sampled the book. I already read the first book and I don’t think I liked it enough to read the sequel. Biased experience aside, I do think both aspects are appealing to people who like sci-fi. As for the first few pages, I don’t see an improved writing style, especially on the conversations. It is still bland and monotonous. For example: “I’m sorry Marty but I need to resurrect my self-esteem.” It actually irks me to see that there has been no improvement since. There’s also the rushed scenes like meeting Lacy just to call Marty. Even though they’re close friends, Lacy was just an accessory in the first part. With that said, I will not be buying the book. I found a little error at location 88 in Kindle: “I’ll write you about our lives”. I think there’s a preposition missing after “write”. The lack of official review did affect my decision since I need to know if the rest of the book is good enough and I judged too soon.
First Ten review added on October 11, 2019, at 4:58 am by briellejee.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Vickie Noel
I like the silhouette image of two ladies on the cover page, but for the life of me, I don't see how the title relates to the cover. I've been hearing a lot about the book: 30th Century Escape, but had no idea it had so many branches! I'm not particularly psyched up about that book though, and that fact may have influenced me negatively as to reading this one. After reading the sample, I quite love the book. I like the relationship between the twins, Jenny and Jennifer, as well as Jennifer's relationship with her husband Marty. Marty's reaction to the submersible technology from the thirtieth century was priceless as he was "dumbfounded, gobsmacked, utterly shocked and stupefied by the time machine and its surrounding building." However, I think this statement is quite verbose, as too many similar words were used. Nonetheless, it was an interesting read as I imagined Marty's befuddlement "as if he were questioning his own sanity." I didn't find any grammatical errors; the book is professionally edited. I saw an OBC review which stimulated my interest a little bit. Notwithstanding, I will not be reading it further until I have gone back to the ones prior to it since it's part of a series. While reading the sample, there were references to previous occurrences in the other books and I got a bit lost. An example is the mission of Captain Kelly and Jenny and Jennifer needing to rescue them from the twenty-seventh century and so on. Thus, I don't consider this one a standalone and would need to read the preceding publications before it.
First Ten review added on October 11, 2019, at 3:57 am by Vickie Noel.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Gravy
As I am not interested in the book prior to this one, I would not have sampled this. The sample didn't change my mind about either book.
I didn't notice anything I would 100% mark as an error. However, the dialogue was even worse than the first book. It is way too formal, and is really uncomfortable to read. (I'm also put off by the fact that 'Jennifer's' *twin* sister is 'Jenny.' I can see how it could work (though there would absolutely need to be at reason for it, for me, personally, to accept it). Maybe it does work here, but I have my doubts (which would negatively affect my decision if I had been interested in this).
I do not believe there was a review for this book, but that does not affect my opinion. I will not be reading this because the series doesn't interest me, but also for the issues I found in the sample.
First Ten review added on October 11, 2019, at 3:40 am by Gravy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Alice Heritage
I wouldn't have sampled this book without the programme because I know the first book in the series, which I feel has some shortcomings. I also won't buy and read it after sampling the first ten pages because I didn't engage with the plot or characters. This book does seem professionally edited as I didn't notice any errors. I liked the map of Tahiti and Moorea, which clearly shows the volcanic islands, giving a flavour of the pleasant Pacific setting. The style could be improved. The dialogue seemed stilted, with phrases like "resurrect my self-esteem" - this concept also seemed to be repeated unnecessarily when the reader is already familiar with it. I also wasn't a fan of the repeated "Roger that," in the first book, and it came up a lot in the sample. I didn't see an OBC review, which didn't affect my decision.
First Ten review added on October 11, 2019, at 1:22 am by Alice Heritage.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Annelore Trujillo
I would not have sampled this book without this program. There isn’t an OBC review, and the genre, blurb, title, and cover would not have convinced me. I rarely read books that don’t have a review. After reading the first ten pages, I won’t be finishing this book. I didn’t read the first book, and this one still didn’t interest me. The story about the Syndos and the Naturals and traveling back in time to try to change the Syndos was not for me. This book followed the return after that trip. It just isn’t for me. It did seem to be professionally edited. There wasn’t anything specific that I liked.
First Ten review added on October 11, 2019, at 12:52 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
va2016
The cover and title are indicative of the theme of the book. There are 11 Amazon customer reviews. The Amazon summary provides a clear description of the plot. As I am not interested in futuristic stories, I would have skipped sampling the book if not for the First Ten program. As I sampled through the book, I found the narration with the Prologue describing what happened in the past, and the first chapter narrating the interactions between Jennifer and Lacy. As I am not interested in time travel stories, and since I didn't like the writing style, I am not going to read this book in full. I found the sample professionally edited. I didn't find any grammatical or mechanical errors in the sample. I didn't like anything specifically about the book. I could not come up with any suggestions for improvement of the book. Although I didn't find any OBC review on the book, my decision to not to read the book in full is based on my own sampling.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 11:54 pm by va2016.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Fu Zaila
The cover and blurb sounded intriguing and so were the reviews. The prologue was just kind if an info-dump with blatant stating of Jennifer's situation with time travel. I liked that there was a map, but I did not like that it was so little detailed, even though I understand there isn't much purpose for a detailed map of Tahiti. I didn't like the narrative, it read like a newspaper report, with no scope for emotions. Jennifer telling her husband Marty that she had been away for six months due to self-esteem reasons was quite unreasonable. The sample seemed to be edited well. It didn't interest me much, so I won't be reading this book.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 11:06 pm by Fu Zaila.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Nisha Ward
I'd first heard of this when I'd read the first book in the series and, while there were things I was dissatisfied with in that one, I still wanted to know what happened next. It's probably a good thing that there wasn't a review for this because I'm still curious. However, despite the professional editing, Revived still suffers from the same breakneck pacing that plagued the first one. We go from Jennifer returning and calling Marty to her meeting with Jenny in the space of a chapter, with no room to breathe in between. Still, I want to know more, so I'll read this one.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 10:40 pm by Nisha Ward.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Ekta Kumari
I wouldn't have read the book as the plot didn't entice me. I suppose this book would please those who like sci-fi revolving around time travel. I like that the basic background for the storyline is well established. The central character, Jennifer, seems engaging. There were no error in the portion I read, so the book looks well edited. However, I wouldn't be reading the book as I don't think I'll enjoy it. The absence of an official review doesn't impact my decision.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 10:19 pm by Ekta Kumari.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Aditi Sapate
The cover is stunning, so I would have chosen to sample this book based on the cover. After sampling the pages, however, I realized that this is a science fiction book. I will not be reading the book, because I'm not a fan of science fiction. The dialogues between Jennifer and Marty seem a little practiced and need work. Also, Jennifer's twin's name could have been something other than Jenny, to avoid ambiguity. But I would like to mention that I really liked the concept of the book. The sample contained no grammatical errors. The book did not have an official OnlineBookClub review, which robbed me of a chance to know what the book was about in advance.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 9:56 pm by Aditi Sapate.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kro92813
30th century: revived is a sci-fi novel by Mark Kingston Levin. It follows Jennifer Hero and her journey as she travels through time to different century's to accomplish various missions.
If I had not read the first ten pages, I might have picked this one up. The cover art catches my eye and the title hints at a futuristic novel - which is always interesting.
After reading the OBC review and the first ten pages, I will not be purchasing this one to finish. The book started out with a prologue that briefly recapped a back in time adventure that Jennifer had just accomplished. It felt almost too brief for me. The book then begins with Jennifer arriving back home in the 30th century. After being gone for 6 months, the conversation she had with her husband upon arrival seemed wierd to me and unrealistic. I did enjoy the creativity and imagination it seems the author had, but I just wasnt drawn in enough to want to keep reading.
The book seemed to be well-edited, though!
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 9:20 pm by Kro92813.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
ritah
Based on the cover and genre, I would have sampled the book out of curiosity. I didn't see an official review for Revived. I liked that despite Jennifer's previous detour, the artificial virus to correct the moral compass and lack of empathy in the Syndo's DNA was successfully deployed by commander Kylie Brown and her team. The book appeared to be professionally edited and I didn't spot any issues that could be worked on. However, I won't be reading the rest of the book because the storyline didn't capture my interest.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 4:16 pm by ritah.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
unamilagra
Before sampling this book, I would not have picked it up because I don't like starting books in the middle of a series. There was no official OBC review for this book, so I didn't have any additional information to go on. In reading the first ten pages, I found myself very confused about the characters and the events that were happening, since I've never read the previous book in the series. I didn't understand the time gap the book was referring to, and why her sister was a secret. I don't plan to continue reading this book. I didn't notice any errors in the pages I read.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 4:15 pm by unamilagra.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
desantismt_17
This book’s title and description didn’t hook me. I’d sampled another book in this series and found it not to my liking. Before sampling, I wasn’t going to read this. After sampling, I’ll pass. The book appears professionally edited. I noticed no errors. Having not read the previous book, I felt a bit lost at the beginning of this one. I gathered Jennifer and her twin, Jenny, saved the world, but I’m not sure from what. I also found it a little odd that there would be twins named Jennifer and Jenny, the latter being a nickname for the former. The dialogue felt a bit stilted at points. There was a lack of contractions, which made the characters sound too formal. A final round of proofreading to catch those kinds of things might improve this book. I didn’t see an OnlineBookClub.org review, but one wouldn’t have changed my mind.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 4:10 pm by desantismt_17.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mbrooks2518
I was not interested in the first book in this series, so I would not have read the sample without The First Ten. This book's plot is more interesting, but I am not interested enough to buy the book. I like that the prologue gives an overview of the events of the first book, so readers can read this book even if they didn't read the first one.
The flow of this book's writing can be improved. Right now, it's very awkward. I did not find any editing errors, and the lack of an official review didn't influence my opinion.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 2:57 pm by Mbrooks2518.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sarah_Khan
At first glance, I would not have picked up this book because I am not a huge fan of science-fiction. I do like the cover and the title is okay. The first ten pages seem adequately edited. I have to say the only science-fiction I read is when it does not defer that much from reality. This book includes genetically modified humans and time travel which is way too hard core sci-fi for my liking. One thing the author might be able to improve is the prologue. I felt like there was way too much information given, which only confused me. It just is not my cup of tea. I did not read any OBC review.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 2:40 pm by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
evraealtana
The cover of the book is interesting, but I wouldn't have read it once I discovered that it was the second in the series, since I haven't read the first and usually don't read series out of order. After reading the first ten pages, I don't think I will continue with it. I found myself uninterested in the premise of the book, and couldn't attach myself to the characters since this is the second book in the series and I have not read the first one. It did not feel like it had the ability to be a stand-alone novel. For instance: how did the "Jenny/Jennifer" thing happen? Who is Marty, and why is he so clueless? What is a Syndo, why is it bad, and why is Jennifer the one to do something about it? The prologue of the book was written bluntly and was trying, I think, to recap book #1 for me, but I was still confused. I did not see an official OBC review for this book, but it doesn't change my thoughts. I noted no errors.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 2:20 pm by evraealtana.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CataclysmicKnight
I remember the first book in this series was the book of the day in the past, and I wasn't really interested in it due to the erotic content. As such, I wouldn't have picked this one up if it wasn't the book of the day either.
So far the book is more simple than I would've expected. The husband has been without his wife for six months, she tells him she'll explain when her sister is around (two months later!), and then even as they ride there she won't explain it. He fusses a little but I can't imagine anyone in that serious of a relationship just being okay with that. I'm sure the previous book explains that more, but I would've preferred if the author jumped right into the explanation and then maybe went back to this part later.
I didn't see any errors, and the writing was smooth, but I wasn't a fan of it. Regardless of what an OBC review might have to say, I don't want to buy or read the rest of this one.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 12:12 pm by CataclysmicKnight.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
OliviaLouise
I did not see a review for this book, but I saw on the Facebook post that this was a time travel book. This is a genre that I normally enjoy. Unfortunately, the dialogue was not enjoyable because it was overly-emotional in a way that was not believable. Furthermore, most of the narrative read more like nonfiction: “Deep in Jennifer’s subconscious mind lay a wanton desire for a logical world without violence, without the blatant extermination of races, species, or humanity; however, in her study of history, the predominance of applied violent force to solve disputes was the norm.” The writing is very stiff and formal. I did not find any editing errors, nor did I enjoy reading this book. I will pass on reading the rest of this one.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 11:27 am by OliviaLouise.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kajori Sheryl Paul
'Revived' is a book written by Mark Kingston Levin PHD. The title, blurb, and cover did a good job at convincing me to give this book a try.
The first ten pages leads me to believe that is a science-fiction. Jennifer Hero is back in the 21st century from the 30th century after correcting the genetic defect in Syndos in the 27th Century. I like how the author recaptured the events of the previous book in the prologue. I found some errors. For example, it should have been “..blocks the Syndo's empathy..” instead of “..blocks Syndo's empathy..” I do not think that it is professionally edited. I will give this book a skip as I am not in the mind-frame to read a book of this genre as of now.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 9:42 am by Kajori Sheryl Paul.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Theresa Moffitt
I like the title of this book. It is simple and intriguing. I like the color and romances on the cover, except I don’t like the silhouette images of the two women. It leads me to believe it’s a different kind of book than what the first ten pages lead me to believe. Because of the two images of women on the cover I would not have picked this book up based on the cover alone. I haven’t read a review of this book yet. The story involves time travel and people who jump back and forth on time to change the future. The preface made this book sound very confusing with the time jumps back and forward in time and with one of the main characters having a twin that creates confusions or mistaken identity. The first ten pages led me to believe this is a very complicated book that will be hard to follow. Based on the first ten pages, I will not finish reading this book. I will read a review and may change my mind based on that. I didn’t see any errors in the first ten pages, so I believe the book was professionally edited.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 9:33 am by Theresa Moffitt.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
MarisaRose
I've read a different book by this author, and I didn't care for it. Based on my experience with "30th Century Escape," I wouldn't choose to purchase "Revived" blindly. In the book I read by Kingston, I found the writing to be subpar and the storytelling didn't hold my interest. Based on that experience, I don't think an OBC review would sway my opinion at all. After reading the Amazon blurb for "Revived," I realized this is the second book in the series, following the book I've already read. This furthered my lack of interest in the book, as I disliked a lot of the main characters from the first book. After sampling the first ten pages, I didn't find much I liked. I thought the writing was lackluster; there was a lot of explaining instead of letting events unfold. Additionally, I expected to have no problem understanding what was going on, since I'd read the first book. However, throughout the first chapter, I was confused about what was going on. I wasn't sure where Jennifer was or why she had time traveled. I also found the dialogue to be incredibly unnatural. I expect Jennifer's dialogue to be stilted given her background, but Marty's lines were incredibly unnatural. At one point he tells Jennifer he was "trying to meet their needs," when referring to his time caring for his children. This felt really awkward to me. Further, the author utilizes illustrations at the beginning of some chapters, which he also did in the first book. I thought the illustrations were out of place and didn't aid the narrative. I was curious to know what Jennifer's new "secret" was, but I wasn't curious enough that I wanted to keep reading this book. Based on my previous experience with the author and my experience reading the first ten pages, I don't plan to read any more of "Revived."
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 9:19 am by MarisaRose.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Nuel Ukah
If I had not actually sampled the first ten pages as part of this program, I would have chosen to read or sample this book based on the cover page, title, and genre because the previous book was out-of-box, and I'd like to continue enjoying the story in this book. I am going to buy and read the whole book because I'd like to know if and how Jennifer succeeds in her mission with her twin, Jenny. Reading the first ten pages did not change my mind from my original guess, rather it inspired me to want to read the entire book.
Based on what I read, the book seems like it was professionally edited as I noticed no error. What I like most in the bit I read is the love connection between Jennifer and her husband, Marty. What I know about the book is that it is a continuation of the previous book, Escape. I didn't notice anything that could be improved in the bit I read. There was no Official OnlineBookClub review for this book. Notwithstanding, the lack of an Official OnlineBookClub review did not affect my decision.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 7:12 am by Nuel Ukah.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Dolor
With or without The First Ten program and official OBC review, I would have chosen to read this book because the cover and the blurb are appealing for me. The first ten pages talked about Jennifer and her twin, Jenny, who were able to save mankind. Jennifer was given permission to return to her husband and family through Trans-Time Eleven. I have not found any error in this professionally-edited book. I love the author's excellent writing style. For me, this book is a superb read. I won't mind reading the entire contents in this book. Revived by Dr. Mark Kingston Levin is a #ScienceFiction tale continuing Captain Jennifer Hero's #TimeTravel in the 21st Century for a normal life.
#Love #KindleUnlimited
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 7:09 am by Dolor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
supernatural143
I like everything in this book from the title, cover photo, blurb, official OBC review to the first ten pages, so I won't mind reading it without The First Ten program. The first ten pages follow Jennifer as she arrived home through Trans-Time Eleven. There are colorful photos peppered in the contents. Dr. Mark is an excellent narrator. I have heard good reviews from his other books, so I would like to read this one. I have neither found any error nor have any improvement suggestions for this book. In "Revived", Dr. Mark Kingston Levin continues the story about Captain Jennifer Hero's time travel to the 21st century.
#ScienceFiction #TimeTravel #Love #KindleUnlimited
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 7:08 am by supernatural143.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Cristina Chifane
I wouldn't have sampled this book without the first ten program because I have already sampled book 1 in the series and I was put off by the adult sex scenes and some unrealistic narrative threads. Considering the cover and the title, I wish the series had relied much more on the sci-fi elements. The dialogues between Jennifer and her husband Marty sounded too artificial to be veridical. However, the sampled took me by surprise with the idea of twins born and raised in different time periods. In terms of editing, I didn't notice any errors, and the sample was quite long. Since I didn't read the first book in the series and the story still feels unrealistic, I won't be adding it to my reading list. An official OBC review might have helped me change my mind.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 3:39 am by Cristina Chifane.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Fazzier
Had I not sampled the first ten pages as part of this program, still I would not have chosen to read this book since I hadn't seen its official review. I would not be sure whether or not it could be read as a standalone since it is part of a series. Reading the sample gave me a feeling that this book borrows from the previous book of the series. I would enjoy it more only if I had first read the previous book. I'm, therefore, going to pass this. I liked everything in the sample I read and can't find any improvement to recommend to the author. This book also seems to have been professionally edited since I found no errors in the sample I read. My favorite aspect of it was the author's inclusion of the Map of Tahiti. This will go along way in guiding readers through the landmarks.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 3:24 am by Fazzier.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mai Tran
I'm familiar with the "30th Century" series, but I wouldn't have checked out this book because I didn't care much for the first one. "Revived" has a good flow and seems well-edited, but nothing really grabs my interest. Since I don't know much about Jennifer's relationship with her husband, it also seems a bit too convenient that Marty would believes her so easily. I won't continue to read this book for these reasons.
First Ten review added on October 10, 2019, at 12:41 am by Mai Tran.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CrescentMoon
After reading the blurb, I wouldn't pick this book up because I can see that this book is a sequel to "Escape" which is a book I wasn't really interested in reading. The science fiction aspect seemed interesting, but my understanding is that there is a lot of explicit sex scenes and I'm not really interested in that genre. Also, since this is a sequel, I don't think I would understand what is going on since I didn't read the first book. After reading the first ten pages, the book appears well-edited and I didn't see any spelling or grammar errors but saw a formatting mistake. I do think the start of each paragraph should be indented, it makes for easier reading for me. I really appreciated the prologue and the beginning of chapter 1. I like how the author gave a brief recap of the events of the last book and how Jennifer was initially trapped in the 21st century and how she saved humanity and now how her and her twin Jenny are back in the 30th century. This does seem like an interesting combination of science fiction and erotica but I'm just not interested in the erotica aspect so I won't be reading the rest.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 11:46 pm by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Jsovermyer
The book cover is not appealing to me. The girl silhouettes look like they are from a 60s James Bond movie. I would not select this book based on a first look. This is the sequel to 30th Century Escape and features Jennifer the time-travelling operative who was sent back in time to save the world. I think I would understand more of what was going on if I had read the first book. I was confused and lost about the characters. There is no description of them, only their names. Jennifer tells Marty, who I assume is her husband, that she "had to redeem my self-esteem." What does that mean? There isn't an official review, so I am evaluating this book from my reading alone. I didn't find any spelling or grammatical errors and believe it has been professionally edited. The story did not interest me. I would want to read the first book in the series before I read anymore of this one. I will not be finishing this book.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 11:31 pm by Jsovermyer.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Juliet+1
I didn't see any reviews, but on the basis of the title, the cover, and one blurb, this looked like the sort of science fiction novel I would like. I generally enjoy stories that involve time travel.
Reading the first 10 pages changed my mind. I won't be reading the rest of the book because the writing is painfully stilted, and the dialogue is so artificial that it is difficult to know who is saying what to whom or even what is happening in the story.
Technically, the book is fine, no typos or similar issues. The color pictures are attractive, although they don't seem terribly relevant to the story. There is a great idea here, but the writing needs a lot of work. Having even as few as a dozen pages revised by a professional editor could show what needs to be done.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 11:06 pm by Juliet+1.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Lisa A Rayburn
Even if I had not been a member of this program, the cover, title, and genre would likely have enticed me to pick up this book. They all scream "sci-fi," and I am very much a fan of the genre. I do not recognize the author, so that would not have affected my decision. The blurb and very positive customer reviews would have furthered my interest in the book as they indicate that the story is very intriguing and enjoyable, almost a "must-read"! While reading the sample, I was delighted to find that the main character (Jennifer) had a twin as I have twins myself, so I find that aspect favorable. However, I found the prologue confusing, to say the least, and it only went downhill from there. The language seemed very stilted and odd to me, which I have found to not be a favorable indication in a book. At one point, given how it was written, it seemed as if Jenny would have to be 900+ years old, and I know that cannot be the case. The clincher for me toward not reading the book was that it does not seem to be able to stand alone in the series. I would almost have to go back and read the first one to be able to understand what was happening in this one. So, in short, no, I will not be continuing to read the book. The book does not seem particularly well-edited as I found several errors just in the sample. One of these was: 23% of the sample -- “…story of our first mission….have been written up…” “have” should be “has.”
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 10:57 pm by Lisa A Rayburn.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kendra M Parker
I read the prologue of this book and was immediately confused. With this being one of the latter books in the series, it’s hard to figure out what is going on. I don’t understand the twins, “Jennifer Hero” and “Jenny Heros.” The names are too close for me to really get what’s going on there. I also am a little confused about what’s going on with Jennifer and her husband, Marty. I understand that she was gone for six months and now she’s trying to fill him in on the fact that she is some sort of time-traveling hero to save humanity from the Syndos, but the relationship to Marty doesn’t make sense. I also kept reading her telling him to trust a little longer, but then it seemed like she wasn’t getting anywhere with that’s. Overall, I’m not interested in reading this book. It’s great that it’s a KU book, but I feel strongly that I’d have to read the rest of the series first. I don’t want to go through the hassle of reading the rest of the books just to figure out something that’s happening in this one. I don’t feel any connection to the characters. The book does seem professionally edited.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 10:29 pm by Kendra M Parker.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kaitlyn Canedy
The background picture is really cool, which is what lead me to read the sample. I just had to read it to see what the book was about! I am a fan of sci-fi books, which is what I like about Revived. However, I don't think that I will read the rest of the book. The time travel and genetically enhanced humans are ideas that I personally believe should be left to movies, not books. I did not see any grammatical errors in Revived and I believe that it was professionally edited. Honestly, I don't think any improvements need to be made to the book; it just isn't a book that I will read. There is no OnlineBookClub Review for this book, so it did not affect my decision.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 10:28 pm by Kaitlyn Canedy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
AA1495
Had I not sampled the book, I would not have read it. I usually read pure romance books and do not normally read science fiction. However,the purple cover caught my attention. Further, the book did not have an OBC review, so I did not know what to expect from it. Having read the sample, I was confused by the index. After chapter 4, there were chapters 2-12, after which chapter 5 appeared again (if these were subheadings, they should not have been titled "chapters"). Further, while there was an index and a prologue, I would have also liked an introduction to the author. However, I liked the formatting of the book. I liked how there was an image after the chapter title, and how there was enough spacing between paragraphs. Further, I thought that the author introduced Jennifer's character well. I thought that the index should have been edited better, and hence, the book did not appear to be professionally edited. Since I do not usually read science fiction, I will not be buying the book today.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 10:15 pm by AA1495.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
LV2R
The book cover and title were both OK and matched the theme of the first book in the series. I was not sure if I wanted to read it or not. The Amazon Blurb summarized the book of Jennifer Hero Zitonick revealing parts of her 31st-century life with her husband, rescuing the stranded SS operatives from the 27th century with her twin sister, Jenny, and getting involved in yet another adventure to rescue Kyoko from terrorist kidnappers. I wanted to read the sample. I best liked that the Prologue gave a great summary of book one (The SS team saved humanity from being eliminated by the Syndos.) to get the reader ready for the events in book two. This would make it possible to read this book as a stand-alone. I liked the introduction to a two-way time machine that her twin, Jenny showed up with to rescue the SS team from the 27th century. The book may not be edited well, as I found an error at location 42: “Her twin, Jenny Heros, appears from the future…” (Her twin, Jenny Hero, appears from the future…) There was not any OBC review, but I prefer there would have been to help me decide about reading the book or not. I want to read this book because I think I know enough about book one without having to read it to enjoy this book. I want to know what Jennifer and Jenny will do with the two-way time machine. They could go anywhere during any time era. How will they use it to rescue Kyoko?
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 9:35 pm by LV2R.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
MsTri
I knew that I wouldn't want to read this book as soon as I saw its cover and title. Reading the Amazon synopsis, because there was no official review, solidified my initial thoughts. I wasn't interested in the first book, and I also don't like that this tome involves terrorists. With that being said, I was glad that the sample seemed to indicate that the book was professionally edited. I did like the scene where Marty met Jenny. Even though I won't finish reading this tome, I don't have any suggestions for changes because it is written well for its genre.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 9:22 pm by MsTri.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Chelsy Scherba
Jennifer has returned from her time-traveling and is back in Hawaii with her partner Marty and their kids. I’m not sure exactly what adventures she and her twin sister will get up to this time (since there’’s no review), but the author has already started making moves. I find it a little hard to follow since I don’t know any of the characters. I haven’t read the first book, so I’m not really looking for the sequel right now. I do like the cover and if I were a fan, a sequel is always exciting. I’m not sure I can think of anything to improve the book unless it is to keep the contents free of illicit content. The editing looks professional and I found no errors.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 8:48 pm by Chelsy Scherba.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
MsH2k
Had I not actually sampled the first ten pages as part of this program, I would not have chosen to read or sample this book. The cover was a bit “James Bond,” and I was leery of the book portraying women as sex objects. After reading the blurb, the plot didn’t interest me, so I will not be reading the book. I did not notice any grammatical errors in the sample, but I did find it mildly annoying that the twins were named Jennifer and Jenny. That might get confusing after a while. I did not read an OnlineBookClub review of this book.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 8:29 pm by MsH2k.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Verna Coy
Had I not sampled this book through the First Ten program, I would not have picked it up because the cover and title don’t draw my interest. For this reason, I do not plan to buy and read the whole book. Reading the first ten pages confirmed my first impressions that the book isn‘t my favorite kind of genre or style. The book features genetically enhanced humans, which is not my favorite type of character. Based on what I read, it seems professionally edited. I saw no errors. What I liked most about what I read was that Jennifer was dedicated to saving natural humanity. I know that readers who enjoy this kind of science fiction will enjoy this book. As far as improvements, I could see no need for any in what I read. I didn’t see an official Online Book Club review, but that did not affect my opinion of this book.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 8:17 pm by Verna Coy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Brenda Creech
If I had not read the first ten pages to do this review I would not have chosen this book to read. I do like the cover so that would have caught my eye. I normally don't read sci-fi novels, but as I read I found the story intriguing at first. There was no official review that I could read. I had decided I would read the book although it is a sci-fi; however, the more I read the less I was interested. I felt the dialog was too stiff and formal and didn't flow well. I also found the technical talk difficult to comprehend. I didn't find anything I liked most about what I read. The book is well-edited, free from errors in the first ten pages. I feel a smoother, more flowing dialog with less formality would be a big improvement. I will not be reading this book for the above-mentioned reasons.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 7:43 pm by Brenda Creech.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Washboard
This genre is one I dabble in, although the cover art is a bit off-putting to me. The silhouettes of the women on the cover reminds me of trucker bumper stickers. It gives me the impression that the women in the book will be very sexualized. However, my reading did not contain anything to suggest this is the case. I did not notice any errors in my reading, but I found the prologue didn't do much to explain what is going on in this book, and I felt a little lost. I had a hard time remembering which twin was which, especially since their names are so similar (Jennifer and Jenny). I won't be continuing to read this one, as I think I would have to start with the first book in the series to really understand what is happening.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 3:15 pm by Washboard.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Laura Ungureanu
I like the plot of Escape, but I never got around to reading it. Still, I'm interested in this one also, but only after reading the first. I could've really used a review to clarify some things about this book. I don't know if it can be read as a standalone or not. The sample starts with a Prologue that explains what happened in the first book, and then it continues on with the story. Jennifer flies from Tahiti back to Marty and her loving kids. She has some explaining to do for being gone for six months. It's sad that she couldn’t return sooner to them. I wish some things would've been better explained for the ones who didn't read the first book. For example, I'm confused about the Trans-Time Eleven machine. That being the case, I don't plan on reading this book any time soon. I didn't notice any errors in the sample.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 2:32 pm by Laura Ungureanu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Yoli García
I would have sampled this book without this program because I read the first book of this series, 30th Century: Escape. I did not see an OBC Review. I think a professional edited it. The beginning of the story disappointed me. I wanted to know how Jennifer and Jenny saved the Naturals by going to the 27th century. However, the author condensed the event in a few paragraphs, saying that Jennifer's team did it. Jennifer and Jenny only had to get them and take them to the 33th century. And just like that Jennifer is back to the 21st century to reunite with Marty and her family. I expected the second book to be about the mission, so I will not read it.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 2:05 pm by Yoli García.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kelsey Fulton
I recognized the title from a previous book of the day, so I was initially interested in this book. I really liked the cover as well. After reading the first ten pages, I can't say I was hooked. Perhaps because it is part of a series, I felt like the author jumped in really quickly and didn't give a lot of background. However, I liked that the prologue gave a brief explanation of what was going on and I also like the strength of Jennifer's character. The one thing I could see being improved is simply the names; I find it hard to believe that two twins would be named Jennifer and Jenny. I noticed no spelling or grammatical errors in the first ten pages. I will not be reading this book because I am not up for a series right now and sci-fi isn't generally my genre of choice.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 1:38 pm by Kelsey Fulton.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Emy Katherine
The story focuses on the adventures and misadventures of an undercover scientist from the thirtieth century, Captain Jennifer Hero, as she tries to adjust to her new life as a mother and wife in the twenty-first century. Without The First Ten program, I would not have read the book based on the genre. I am not interested in science-fiction novels, so I did not change my mind after reading the sample. Of course, the lack of an official OnlineBookClub review did not influence my decision. Even though I did not find the dialogues engaging, I found the characters relatable and particularly enjoyed the sarcasm and sense of humor of Jennifer's husband, Marty. Also, both the descriptive writing style and the beautiful illustrations included in the book helped bring the story to life. Considering the great Amazon ratings, those who enjoy reading time travel stories will enjoy this one. I am not sure the book was professionally edited; I found some missing commas that were quite distracting. For example, "Afterward Marty followed Jennifer and Jenny back to the submersible" instead of "Afterward, Marty followed Jennifer and Jenny back to the submersible." (location 219 of 641 • 34%)
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 1:16 pm by Emy Katherine.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Scerakor
From the cover, blurb, and review of this book, I probably would have read it. I read and reviewed the first one and found it interesting. After reading the first ten pages I didn’t change my mind and therefore will be buying and reading the rest of this book eventually. I liked and enjoyed the introduction to this book, and especially the introduction the reader was given to future technology. In particular, the description of the Trans-Time One piqued my interest. I didn’t see anything specific that I would have wanted to change within the sample that I read, but it did seem well written and edited. The official review did not affect my decision at all.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 12:36 pm by Scerakor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
gen_g
I have not come across reviews of this book. There are also a couple of errors present: at 1% in the sample, the compound verb in "...Jenny, time(-)travel forward..." should be hyphenated, as it is being used as a compound verb. Hence, I would suggest that the author have another round of editing to remove these errors, as well as to include line breaks in between paragraphs (in the sample) to facilitate ease of reading. I like how the author has provided a brief introduction for the reader about Captain Jennifer Hero and her twin Jenny Heros, where he explains that the twin Jenny Heros has given Captain Hero hope of returning to her own time when the former brings a two-way time travel machine, where they can eventually travel to the 27th century to save humanity, and travel to the 30th century (which is home for Captain Hero). I will not be purchasing the book today, as I am currently not in the market for science fiction.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 11:29 am by gen_g.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
HRichards
I normally wouldn't have picked this book up since I wasn't very interested in the summary of the book. Having read the sample I won't be continuing on with the book as the writing style is a bit choppy and awkward. The sample deals with Jenny, who has just saved the world with her sister. She is lying about who she really is to her husband. She reveals to her husband that she and her sister have a time travel device. The writing is technically fine. I didn't find any grammar errors. Those who like science fiction might like this book. I found the writing style rather awkward and that it jumped around strangely. I have not read any other reviews of this book and there was not an OBC one linked.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 10:41 am by HRichards.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
cpru68
In the opening pages of this book, readers are given a recap of how a team of scientists attempted to stop the Syndos from wiping out humanity in the 30th century. Captain Jennifer Hero was to lead the team in injecting the Syndos with a substance that would change their DNA and cause them and the Naturals to live in harmony. Jennifer, however ends up in the 21st century and by the conversation between her and her friend Lacy in the opening pages of this novel, Jennifer has a husband and children living in Hawaii. Jennifer’s twin, Jenny, had shown up by time machine in a previous book and this is how Jennifer has been able to go back and forth between centuries. She has arrived back in the 21st century ahead of her twin Jenny and reconnects with her husband Marty.
I won’t be finishing this book as I didn’t read the previous book. However, I did sample that and found it not to be of interest either. So I won’t be reading any of the books in the series. I thought the recap at the beginning was good to catch readers back up and revive the storyline of Jennifer. The writing seems to tell more than show, and it got somewhat tedious in the first pages. The recap was good, it was the rest that just seemed to be lacking dialogue and I felt I was being “told” the story.
As far as proofreading, I didn’t see any glaring errors, but in 3 percent of the sample with this sentence: return them to their home time in the thirtieth century....the word “time” seems out of place. In the same location, 3 percent of the sample, the formatting seems off from one page to the next. There’s a map and bold text that spills weirdly into the next page. So while I didn’t find a massive amount of problems with spelling, grammar and punctuation, a quick run through to fix formatting and the inclusion of unnecessary words may be in order. There was no review to gather further insight to determine if this had issues further along, but these two things stuck out to me as needing attention.
I appreciate the opportunity to have read the sample pages of this book, and I probably wouldn’t have found this without the online book club. I will send it out on my social media for others to look into.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 9:44 am by cpru68.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Erin Dydek
While I’m typically interested in science fiction, I wasn’t interested in reading the first book in this series. Since I didn’t read the first one I would have passed on this sequel. As I read the first pages, I liked how the author gave a recap of the events of the first book. From what I can tell, the mission to defeat the enemy Syndos in a nonviolent way was successful. Jennifer Hero has also discovered what happened to her parents and that she has a twin sister named Jenny. The time travel sequence was difficult for me to put together because I didn’t read the first book so I won’t be able to read this whole book. The writing did seem well edited and this sequel should have great appeal to those who have read the first book. There was no OBC review to influence my decision.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 9:30 am by Erin Dydek.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
gali
As I didn't care for the first book and have chosen not to read it, I would not have sampled this without the program. Reading the sample didn't change my mind. This is the second book in the series, picking up where the first book left off. The adventures of Captain Jennifer Hero continue, as she tries to juggle time travel and domestic life in the twenty-first century. I liked that the author recapped the events of the first book. The maps and photos are a nice touch. With the help of her twin sister, Jennifer attempts to rescue her kidnapped Japanese friend while dealing with family issues. Although the premise sounds exciting, the sample didn't excite me. I also didn't care for the dry style of writing and noticed a couple of missing commas and awaked sentences. Example: "Yet Commander Kylie Brown would back her sister with all the other returning SS members." I see the author continues to use the SS abbreviation, which I dislike due to its chilling associations. It kind of defeats the purpose that the Secret Society promotes peaceful methods, yet have the same initials as the murderous SS Nazis. As I didn't read the first book, didn't care for the writing, and the sample didn't engage me, I won't buy and read the book. There was no official review, but its lack didn't affect my decision.
First Ten review added on October 9, 2019, at 7:15 am by gali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 12%
Revived earned a score of 12%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 12% plan to read the whole book.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.
Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.
Go to main Bookshelves page for Revived
