The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Solstice Series
Because Solstice Series 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.
Manang Muyang
I like that cryptic title, but I do not see how it relates to the cover. The blurb tells me that Julissa, a 16-year-old girl, will save the world. Maybe she's the girl on the cover. This is science fiction, not a genre I like, so I wouldn't have sampled the book outside of the program. I liked what I read though, especially the exchange between Julissa and Cherrie. Their conversation about boy hunting rang so true that it made me chuckle. I found errors, though, so I hope the author can work on the editing. Some of the errors I found follow: At 6%, "All will come to know the infant as, HeIs" didn't need a comma. "Lightning" was misspelled in "I didn't see any lightening" at 14%. "Poppa" should be "Popa" at 25% in "Have to take Poppa to Redding." Although I had fun with the sample, I will not read the rest of the story. Sci-fi is not my thing, and this story is a series of five books. The official OBC reviewer mentioned dead pigs coming alive in Biology class. That's intriguing, but it is not enough to convince me to read the book or the series.
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 4:59 am by Manang Muyang.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Asma Aisha Ansari
As a fan of science fiction and fantasy genres, this book series is something I would have sampled based on its genre alone. I like the title and the cover, as they don't reveal much about the story, and make the book more intriguing. There's only one positive Amazon review I saw for this book, and the blurb and the official OBC review also described the series as one full of surprises. But even without seeing these reviews, I would have chosen to read the book. I liked the writing style and the characters of Julissa and Cherrie. There's nothing that I disliked about the sample.
The book seems professionally edited, as I only saw minor errors in the sample which didn't hamper the reading experience in any way. Here's an example of one such error: But it was increasing clear she wasn’t good at helping herself. In this, sentence, the word 'increasing' should be replaced with the word 'increasingly'. I suggest that the book be edited thoroughly once for such minor errors. Lastly, I'm going to read the entire series, as I liked the sample.
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 4:59 am by Asma Aisha Ansari.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
xsquare
Based on the cover, title and blurb, I don’t think I would’ve sampled this series of books – there was nothing that caught my eye. The official OBC review did not convince me. I liked the interaction between the narrator and Cherrie. However, I spotted several typos, most of them to do with proper capitalisation of nouns such as “mom” and “father”. There was also an instance where "Simon’s death exacerbated her fear" was mistyped as "Simon’s death exasperated her fear". Unfortunately, I found the errors too distracting – I won’t be reading the rest.
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 4:59 am by xsquare.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Jeremie Mondejar
The cover photo isn't attractive to me, so I will not read this book if not for the First Ten Program. I like the blurbs embedded in the book. While sampling the book, the narrative isn't clear because of too many diversities. Like for example, the protagonist was in school, then she talked about her mother, her classmate, and her new place. I will not read this book because I don't like reading books with too many diversities. I read an OBC review, but I'm not convinced. Fortunately, the sample looks professionally edited because I don't see any typos. Lastly, there's nothing I can recommend for improvement.
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 4:39 am by Jeremie Mondejar.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mutai Marshal
The title dissuaded me from reading this book. This is because it suggested that this is a science-fiction book, which is a genre I don't find appealing. I liked the author’s prowess in narrating past experiences. It is incredibly unique as it kept me glued to the pages yearning to grasp Dierdra's experiences. Having sampled this novel, I won't complete reading this science-fiction read. I recommend another round of editing to expunge minor grammatical errors (such as 'Thinking back, I expected the worse when Dierdra, my mother, informed me we were moving cross country.' It should be 'worst' and not 'worse').
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 3:22 am by Mutai Marshal.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Shrabastee Chakraborty
I love this genre. Based on the premise as revealed by the official OBC review, I wanted to read this book. I failed to find any error in the first ten pages. The pages talked about a race that lived underground and fed on human life-force energy. There was a prophecy foretelling their ascent aboveground. I loved the myth and wanted to find out more. There was nothing I would want to be improved. Based on my reading experience, I will gladly read the book.
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 2:36 am by Shrabastee Chakraborty.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Mercy Bolo
This book's cover didn't entice me to read it. The OBC review dissuaded me when it mentioned that the author narrates the story of a 16-year-old girl who moves with her mother to California after a series of unfortunate events (deaths, to be specific). That storyline doesn't appeal to me, so I won't read the rest of the book. When I read the first ten pages, I liked that although the narrator wasn't interested in world history, she wondered whether there had been a good reason to blow up the world. I spotted no errors in the text, so I will conclude that it underwent professional editing. There's nothing I disliked about the bit I read, so I wouldn't change anything about it.
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 2:34 am by Mercy Bolo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Justine Ocsebio
I wouldn’t have sampled the book based on the blurb, as I wasn’t interested in the premise. I like how the book begins with an ominous prediction. A girl with Lemurian blood will be the key to the rebirth of the new world. I’m not interested in the overall premise, so I’m not going to read the entire book. The OBC review did not affect my decision. I disliked nothing, and I didn’t see anything that needed improvement. The text is well edited.
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 2:17 am by Justine Ocsebio.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sou Hi
The cover and the official review from OBC are alright, but there are not many ratings on Amazon. Since the blurb's promising, I decided to give the sample a try. It's about Julissa Grant, a teenager who falls in love with Aaron Delmon, so she tries to find out about him.
I like the fantasy theme. However, I would suggest a second round of proofreading. Besides, the narrative is flat, and I dislike Julissa, who can rummage through a boy's locker without permission, so I won't buy this book.
Error example: Mr. Mattingly, my history teacher, said, "Don't like my class? "See the door? It swings both ways. Don't let it swat you in the hindquarters on the way out." -> Unneeded quote mark before "See"
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 1:18 am by Sou Hi.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Melisa Jane
I wouldn't have sampled this book based on its title or cover because neither gives a clue on what the book is about. Even after sampling it, I won't finish reading it because I don't think it's professionally edited. I found some grammatical errors. For instance, on the third page (5% of the sample pages), the author wrote, "For neither is it created or lost, only shifted from one to another." "or" should be replaced with "nor." I liked how the author introduced the book. I was very curious to find out how the mountain people live and their influence on life. I suggest another round of editing to eliminate the aforementioned errors. This book has an official OBC review.
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 12:52 am by Melisa Jane.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Howlan
I do not think that I would have read this book without the program as the plot did not interest me. In the last ten pages, we are introduced to Julissa and her friend Cherrie who bunk class and go to Castle Crag State to meet up with boys. But they meet the Delmons, who are very beautiful people. The narration is well-paced and easy to understand. The plot seems too similar to the "Twilight" series with that of a young girl meeting an ethereal group of people and falling in love with one of them, Adam, in this case. Since I did not enjoy reading stories like this, I am not going to buy and read this book. No typos were found in the first ten pages. I found nothing to improve in the first ten pages. The official OBC review is present, and the reviewer rates it "3 out of 4 stars."
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 12:10 am by Howlan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
evraealtana
The cover of the book is nondescript. I actually thought, based on the woman's dress, that it would be set in the Middle East, so I was confused by the discrepancy between my expectations and the official OBC reviewer's summary of the plot. Overall I would not have chosen this book for myself because I don't immediately see anything to draw me to it and don't really have a good grasp of what it is about. I didn't like that the prologue, "Foretold", was written all in bold; it made it harder to read. Calling Telos the "Lemurian" city in the first line made me think for half a second that it was full of lemurs. Apparently the "Lemurians" are a race of people. I find that name awkward due to the "lemur" issue. The "prophecy" in the prologue felt very cliché to me. It seems like there is always some beautiful, perfect race of people (usually blonde-haired and blue-eyed) that will rise to claim their birthright at the top of the social food chain, and that somehow this will all depend on the blood of a virgin. Ugh. No thank you. I didn't like the plot-dump in the first chapter, with the narrator spoiling almost the entire plot. I'm extremely uninterested in books about teenagers being destined/chosen to save the world -- that trope is so overdone these days -- so I will not read any more. I didn't actually like anything in the sample, even though the favorable official OBC review suggests that there is a target audience that would be interested in it. I found four errors in the first ten pages: missing hyphens in compound nouns in "Surface dwellers bite their tongues" and "learn the ways of the surface dwellers" (surface-dwellers); a missing hyphen in a compound adjective in "it's a radical life changer for me" (life-changer); and an extraneous quotation mark in "my history [teacher] said, 'Don't like my class? 'See the door? [Don't let it hit you] on the way out.' " (remove the quotation mark before "see").
First Ten review added on December 13, 2021, at 12:07 am by evraealtana.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
brooke oakes
I don’t think I would have sampled or read this book outside this program. It’s cover and title doing interest me, and neither its OBC nor Amazon review appealed to me with the mention of searching for 13 skulls and people dying.
It starts out with a high school girl explaining her thoughts about the turns her life will take and the questions she has. I liked the characters perspective of this book, but nothing else in the book appealed to me, so I won't complete it.
I don't notice any errors, while I read. I don't think this book needs any improvement.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 11:29 pm by brooke oakes.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Jennifer Garcia 555
I was interested in this book because of the genre, but the cover is not very interesting. I read an official Online Book Review that made the book sound pretty interesting with supernatural mystery laced through the story. I saw a couple minor editing errors. Such as, a period where a comma should be. This book could use more editing. After reading the sample pages, the main character seems like a boy crazy teenager. It did not catch my interest. I am not going to buy or read this book, but readers that enjoy high school drama mixed with supernatural mystery would probably enjoy this story. I like the idea of the Mt. Shasta mystery, but the book would be improved by a main character with more depth.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 10:12 pm by Jennifer Garcia 555.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Annelore Trujillo
I would not have sampled this book based on the genre, blurb, OBC review, cover and title. There were comparisons of this book to works by Stephanie Meyers, and I haven’t been into her works since high school. After reading the first ten pages, I will not be finishing this book. The legend at the beginning was difficult to read due to the style of writing. The author used a lot of short phrases connected together with commas. It really disrupted the flow. I’m also not into the legend itself of these people that one person will lead to the surface. Finally, I noticed errors that told me the book was not professionally edited. For example, in “known as, HeIs” there should not be a comma. Also, “I’d thought” should be “I’d have thought”. I don’t like to read books that aren’t professionally edited. There wasn’t anything specific I liked so far.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 9:47 pm by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
MsH2k
I don’t read many sci-fi books, and based on the title, cover, blurb, and genre, I would not have sampled this book if I were not part of this program. The fact that it was part of a series box set was also a deterrent. I was confused reading the foretold part, and for most of the first ten pages, I thought the narrator was a boy. This seems like a great deal for sci-fi lovers who enjoy reading series, but that is not me. I will not buy this box set. The book appeared to have been professionally edited, but I noticed one grammatical at loc 309: “increasing” should be “increasingly.” “But it was increasing clear she wasn’t good at helping herself.” I have no suggestions for improvement. The featured OnlineBookClub review had no bearing on my decision. Neither did any other editorial reviews or customer reviews.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 8:38 pm by MsH2k.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Rachael S 1
I like how the story begins with the legend. It is fun to start with the foreboding and try and piece together the storyline as you go. I also like the cover of the book. It is mysterious and intriguing. On its own, the cover would not be enough to catch my attention, but I enjoyed the OBC review and will be interested in purchasing and reading the full book. I did not find anything I did not like, nor did I find any grammatical or spelling errors in the first few pages I read.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 7:46 pm by Rachael S 1.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Diana Lowery
Since the title mentioned it was a series, I was not interested in reading the book because I don't enjoy serial novels. The blurb had too many allusions to things I didn't get. The OBC review mentioned that the book needed to be edited. I found an error at 9%. The word "bibles" should be capitalized. I am not going to finish reading the book because I don't enjoy books about supernatural powers. I did not like that the foretold was so long. I did like the references to the movie Thelma and Louise. I suggest that the author have the book professionally edited.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 3:04 pm by Diana Lowery.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sanju Lali
The cover and title gave me a hint that this book should be about ancient scriptures. In light of it, I read the OBC official review of this book because I was curious to know what is inside this book. The OBC official review let me know that the book debates on the topic of whether or not the ancient city of Telos exists. This information encouraged me to read the sample of the book before purchasing it. After reading the first ten pages, I realized that this book is not professionally edited because I found some grammatical errors in the sample. For example, the sentence, "For a while those cherished memories roiled within me.” The sentence could have been, "For a while, those cherished memories roiled within me.” The thing l liked the most is the fast grown friendship bond between Julis and Cherrie because I felt happy to learn that both needed someone to share their feelings. Unfortunately, the narrative jumped rather quickly from one topic to another, giving me the feeling of being left stranded because I could not clearly understand what was going on. I suggest the author go through a professional editing process and consider my difficulties described above. Looking at all these facts, I decided not to purchase and read this book today but wait until the author could help by addressing my suggestion so that I can glue myself to the book until the end.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 1:49 pm by Sanju Lali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
gen_g
Based on the title and Amazon blurb, the book seems to belong to the fantasy genre – I am not looking to read such books at the moment, so I would not have sampled it. I did come across a positive OBC review, but I would not have changed my mind regarding sampling anyway because of the genre mismatch. There are numerous errors present, and there should be more rigorous editing carried out to improve the book quality. For example, at 5% in the sample, there is a missing hyphen to mark a compound adjective: "...floors copper(-)laid...". Still, I appreciate the sheer amount of description present – this assists in a more immersive reading experience. To illustrate, we learn that Cherrie's grandfather's car is a Lincoln Continental. Cherrie also started school a year late due to an attention disorder. Other than the need for more editing, I have no further suggestions for improvement. I will not be buying the book today as I am not in the market for fantasy books with some elements of science fiction.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 10:07 am by gen_g.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kira Bonita Reece
I would choose to read this book based on the cover and the official online book club review. The idea of there being a new world is interesting. The sample I read was professionally edited. After reading the first ten pages, I don't think I will continue reading this book. I don't particularly enjoy paranormal stories and I think the book starts off a little too slowly.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 9:24 am by Kira Bonita Reece.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Hazel Arnaiz
The title of the series has a recall. It brings to mind magic and witchcraft. But I do not find the cover, blurb, and customer review interesting enough to pick this outside the program. I cannot associate the cover photo with the title of the series. Also, I am not much into fantasy and romance. Sampling the initial pages of volume one did not change my mind. I appreciate that the language is conversational, making it easier to read. But the pace is a bit slow for my taste. And I prefer some action or intrigue to pique my curiosity. Hence, I will not finish reading the book. Likewise, there are editing issues. Here are examples.
Location 292. Spelling. Consider adding a hyphen.
Him riding the sled down the [snow caked] driveway with me bouncing in his lap.
Him riding the sled down the [snow-caked] driveway with me bouncing in his lap.
Location 309. Grammar. Consider using "increasingly."
But it was [increasing] clear she wasn’t good at helping herself.
But it was [increasingly] clear she wasn’t good at helping herself.
I have no suggestions for improvement. There is an official OnlineBookClub review, but it did not affect my decision.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 8:35 am by Hazel Arnaiz.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Michelle Menezes
When I saw the title and cover, I thought the book was from the non-fiction genre with a religious theme. The blurb was vague, but the Official OnlineBookClub review had good things to say about it. I also found out that it belonged to the science-fiction/ fantasy genre, which is my favorite. I rarely read editorial and customer reviews, as I do not want to get influenced by them and prefer forming my own opinions. Based on all the above things, I wanted to give the book a try. However, after reading the first ten pages, I have changed my mind and decided not to continue reading. While I liked the beginning with the descriptions of the Lemurian city and its people and the prophecy, the high school setting wasn't for me. The first-person writing style also put me off a little. I noticed two errors and also some spacing issues, so I don't think the book is professionally edited. For example, "For the time will… obliteration of Mu and, for… to endure." The comma after "and" should be after "Mu" instead. I don't think the book needs any improvement.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 8:06 am by Michelle Menezes.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Yvonne Monique
The fact that this is a series, would decide me not to pick the first installment up if I would see it in a bookstore. The thought of reading 5 books (in case I like the first one), puts me off because of my busy lifestyle. The book cover is attractive. The blurb and OBC review give an excellent description of the book and make me curious about the sample. The sample is written in an interesting way. Especially the introduction looks like the excerpt of some ancient scriptures. I found the beginning a bit slow, but it helps to give a good idea about who the protagonist is. On the page corresponding to 7% of the sample (Kindle smartphone version) a hyphen is missing between the words "snow" and "caked" where it says: "snow caked driveway." Further than that, I found the first ten pages to be well edited. Personally, I will not buy this book as I am not in the right mood to immerse myself in a completely new world, but I will keep this series in mind for the future. I have no suggestions for improvement.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 5:56 am by Yvonne Monique.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Rodel Barnachea
After I went over the title's Amazon page and official OnlineBookClub review, I decided not to acquire the boxset. I did not find myself intrigued by the concept of Lemurians. I am also not interested in finding out if Aaron is a dangerous being. Reading its Amazon sample did not change my mind. I would not purchase it because nothing in the text fascinated, intrigued, or convinced me it would be enjoyable to read the science fiction box series. My sampling of the title did not dispel the initial opinions I had about the book. The first ten pages cover a foretold and some pages of the first chapter of the first book. My favorite part is when the protagonist said that Cherrie is the smartest person in their high school despite her record of several failed classes.
I noted these errors while reading:
1 — In the sentence "To the Godman no less." a comma must come after the word "Godman."
2 — In the sentence "My first week as a sophomore in a new high school and here I am..." a comma must come after the word "school."
Since the identified errors are few and minor, I still believe the book is professionally edited. I have no advice to offer to the author.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 5:13 am by Rodel Barnachea.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sonya Nicolaidis
I was a big fan of the Twilight series of books, so when I read some reviews comparing this one to it, it heightened my interest in this story. I loved the cover illustration, not just of this book but of the whole series, and although it is not really the sort of book I am partial to at the moment, I was eager to sample it and see what all the fuss was about. The OBC reviewer commented rather disappointingly on the number of errors throughout the text. However, upon reading the first ten I saw it wasn’t all that bad. The story was good, it started well, and my favorite part was the the introduction of the Delmons and their mysterious powers. It was tantalizing and made me want to read on. I least liked the depiction of Cherrie - although well-characterized I found her to be irritating and condescending, possibly a troublemaker. The most obvious error I noted was the misspelling of the word “lightning” as “lightening” but apart from this, it did look like the book was professionally edited. All in all, I have no suggestions for improvement as I think this book has some great story ideas and is well-presented. I wouldn’t read any more of it as it looks a bit too strange and spiritual to keep me interested for very long.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 4:41 am by Sonya Nicolaidis.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Joseph Mutuku 1
I’m not a heavy fan of science fiction novels. In fact, I read science fiction mainly to discover the imaginary technology that could be realized in the future, not necessary to escape the mundane. That’s what I normally check in book reviews of sci-fi novels. Since the Online Book Review, the sample I read, and other comments about this book didn’t hint of anything to do with fascinating technology in it, I won’t finish reading it. Sincerely, I think both the book’s cover page and the title were attractive. I found a few errors, but I would wager that the book could have been professionally edited. Here is an example of such errors: “Mr. Mattingly, my history teacher, said, ‘Don’t like my class? [‘See the door?] It swings both ways. Don’t let it swat you in the hindquarters on the way out.’” Location 265 of 4106. The official Online Book Club review was insightful—enough to answer most of the questions I would have before selecting this book. However, it’s my habit to sample a few pages before buying any book. That’s my strategy. I would advise the author to do further editing on this book.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 2:45 am by Joseph Mutuku 1.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Catherine Hsu
If I had not read the sample as part of the First Ten program, I would have read the book. It is a long series but I am a huge fan of this action, mystery, and suspense genre, especially if it is centered on a teen protagonist. I would, however, put more of this information in the blurb; the synopsis is currently only one line long on Amazon and it does not say much. After reading the sample, I have not changed my mind. I would not change anything. I really liked the casual narrative at the start of the book as the main character asked rhetorical questions, and I also really liked the witty dialogue between her and Cherrie. There were some sentence fragments that seemed stylistic but I think the book could do without, as it would interrupt my reading; I also noticed that sometimes "Mom" should have been capitalized and it was not. Adding another round of editing is the only thing that I would change. The official review on OnlineBookClub did not affect my decision.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 2:15 am by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
J_odoyo
Solstice Series by John J Blenkush is seemingly a well-written book; the first ten pages were well written. I would praise the well-narrated story in the sample I read. The cover page of this book is catchy, and I think the title is also okay. I liked the OnlineBookClub review; it gave insight into what the book was all about. I encountered some objective errors, and I doubt whether the book was professionally edited. For instance, there was a punctuation error in location 272 out of 4106 (Mr. Mattingly, my history teacher, said, “Don’t like my class? “See the door? It swings both ways. Don’t let it swat you in the hindquarters on the way out”). The book’s description on the Amazon website also served its purpose well. Reading the sample, however, didn’t change my decision to finally finish reading it; I’m much into science fiction. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend anything else for the improvement of this book.
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 1:50 am by J_odoyo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Ari Martinez
If it hadn't been for this program, I wouldn't have sampled this book based on its title, cover, Official OnlineBookClub review, or other reviews because I don't like reading series (I prefer to read stand-alone books), and the plot did not attract me. After reading the sample, I will not continue reading the book because I didn't feel a connection with the main character or her story. My favorite part of the sample was the honesty of the narrator. I also liked that she appeared to be a flawed and realistic character. I don't think the book needs to be improved. In Location 269, there is an extra quotation mark in the middle of Mr. Mattingly's quote (“Don’t like my class? “See the door? It swings both ways. Don’t let it swat you in the hindquarters on the way out.”).
First Ten review added on December 12, 2021, at 12:51 am by Ari Martinez.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Gabrielle Sigaki
Solstice Series by John J Blenkush is a sci-fi book that brings an ancient mysterious city, a New World, but also an Armageddon, and a teenager who is involved in those events. If I didn't sample this book, I wouldn't read it based on its Official OnlineBookClub review since the novel seemed to contain too many errors. After sampling it, I didn't change my mind and I won't read the entire book because the book has a lot of distracting errors that disrupt my reading. Therefore, the book doesn't seem professionally edited. For example, there is misuse of quotation marks in: "Mr. Mattingly, my history teacher, said, "Don't like my class? "See the door? It swings both ways. Don't let it swat you in the hindquarters on the way out." So I took Mr. Mattingly up on his offer." This book could do with another round of editing, but this is the only thing that could be improved in this book. I liked the fact that the author gave a historical reference about the book's world in order to fill the reader in.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 9:45 pm by Gabrielle Sigaki.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kaitlyn Canedy
If the Solstice Series hadn't been the OnlineBookClub's book of the day, I would have skipped the sample of it. The description was not that intriguing to me, and the only customer review posted on Amazon would not have impacted my decision. I enjoyed the scene with the girls looking at mountain-climbing men; it was humorous and I can see this happening in real life. However, the ideas of a New World and supernatural occurrences do not appeal to me. Due to this, I will be skipping the book. I did not notice any grammatical errors, even though the official OnlineBookClub review said there were many of them. I believe that the author has since fixed the errors. The official OnlineBookClub review did not affect my decision to skip this book. After looking at this book and the sample, I can think of nothing for the author to improve. Readers who enjoy supernatural stories with a New World idea may like this one.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 9:39 pm by Kaitlyn Canedy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mariana Figueira
Before reading the book's first pages, I wasn't interested in it because nothing on the cover or the title got my attention. After sampling the book, I don't want to continue reading it because the story didn't captivate me. I didn't like that the main character talked about becoming the Holy Grail of life and gaining powers and then jumped to her boring high school life, which made me lose interest. This book seems professionally edited and has an official Online BookClub review. There was nothing I saw that I particularly enjoyed. Neither the blurb, customer reviews, or editorial reviews affect my decision not to read the book.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 8:00 pm by Mariana Figueira.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Stephanie Runyon
The series is in the picture provided but show striking blue eyes with the rest of the face covered in black cloth. Just from the cover, I am intrigued to find out what the book was about and would have sampled it. I liked the depth of Julissa's character, as it is easy to envision what she is experiencing. I found several errors throughout the story. “My first week as a sophomore in a new high school and here I am ditching my last period class.” There needs to be a comma after the word “school.” There isn't anything to improve about the story beyond the editing, as I didn't find anything to dislike. I read the official OBC review, and it did influence my choice by the descriptions given on how one person's mood can change another person's mood. Since I enjoyed reading the sample and can relate to Julissa's character, I intend to read the rest of the story.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 7:58 pm by Stephanie Runyon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
AntonelaMaria
This book doesn't have enough reviews to convince me to give this story a chance. The blurb is interesting, and I like the fantasy aspect of the storyline. But not enough for me to be excited about the book. I would probably skip it if I saw it on one of the books' sites. After reading the sample, I haven't changed my mind. I will not buy or read the rest of the book. The writing is not working for me. I don't like how the author writes from the perspective of teenage girls. It seems disingenuous and unrealistic. Teenagers don't talk or behave like that. I noticed some errors. The first one is on location 1321 of the sample. "He brandishes his sun-shiny smile at us." I like the idea of the storyline, and the chosen one is one of my favorite tropes in the fantasy genre. I would improve the formatting of the book. I don't know if it is just my copy or my device, but I would tie it up. I would add punctuation after the number of the chapter and shorten the space between the sentences. There is an Offical Onlinebookclub review. It was informative, and it didn't affect my decision. However, I appreciate the information about this book ending on a cliffhanger.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 6:38 pm by AntonelaMaria.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
markodim721
I would choose to read a sample of this book because of the title and cover. I also read the blurb, editorial reviews, and customer reviews but they did not influence my decision. The title of the book reminds me of mysteries and even paganism. The cover of the book fits perfectly with the title and is associated with mystery. I’m not going to read the book because it’s not the genre I prefer. While reading the sample I did notice a couple of typos (HeIs instead of He Is, extra quotation marks in the middle of the dialogue: “Don’t like my class? ”See the door?) and the book doesn’t seem like it is professionally edited. Reading the sample didn’t change my mind from my original guess. I like how Uncle Mickey is described both when it comes to physical description and his behavior, along with meaningless rhymes. I don't think anything needs to be improved in the book. The book has an Official OnlineBookClub review, I read it but it also did not influence my decision.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 6:17 pm by markodim721.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Laura Ungureanu
This book is definitely different than what I thought from my first glance at the cover. I initially thought it would be some story about a Muslim girl. After checking the OBC review, I saw that I was far from the truth. Since I would've preferred a story about a Muslim girl, I was let down when I learned the book's genre. I didn't like the book's description. The Amazon description focused on the series' reviews, which didn't help me make a better opinion. I ended up sampling it because of the First Ten program. I had to search what Lemuria was, as I had no knowledge of the myth. Although I read some info on my own, it was not enough to understand the book. I still had no idea what some terms were, like "mnemonist" or "the Record of Ancient Matters." I guess that the author still has time to clarify these terms. Naming the first chapter "Boy Hunting" was such a turn-off for me, as I can't stand portrayals of teenage drama. The sample confused me a lot. The author seemed to jump chaotically through ideas. The supernatural elements (like "melting mirrors") are mentioned without any explanation or background. I think that explaining the book better would improve the quality a lot. The book seems to be needing more editing, as there were some errors present. I will give one example here: the adjective "increasing" should be used as an adverb ("increasingly") in "But it was increasing clear she wasn't good at helping herself." The sample wasn't very enjoyable, although it was easy to read because of the light writing style. Since I don't believe this book is for me, I will stop reading it here.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 4:30 pm by Laura Ungureanu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Brenda Creech
I would not have checked this book out based on the cover and title because I am not a sci-fi fan. I didn't want to start a book that is part of a series and take a chance on not liking it or liking it too much and not getting to read the sequel. After reading the OBC review, I was intrigued. While reading the sample, I encountered several errors. For instance, at 7% of the model the following sentence: "But it was increasing clear she wasn't good at helping herself." The word increasing should be increasingly. I didn't find anything that needed improvement. The part I read was about Julissa and Cherrie, two sophomores in high school who decided to skip class and watch the boys who were missing class rock climb. While the girls were watching, three more guys passed the girls. One of the boys stopped and stared at Julissa for a few minutes, then went up the hill. Cherrie told her his name was Aaron Delmon, and she should avoid him because he was strange. But Julissa wanted to meet him. After a major scare on the Shasta mountain, she finally meets him later. Things don't go as planned for their first meeting. By this time, I was losing interest in the story. Sci-fi is not my thing. I did not read any blurbs or Amazon customer reviews, only the OBC review, and the book sample. Still, after reading what I did, I decided I would not be reading any more of the book since I was losing interest just getting through the sample.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 4:28 pm by Brenda Creech.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Emy Katherine
The story follows the journey of a 16-year-old girl named Julissa, whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets a mysterious boy, Aaron, after moving to the town of Shasta City, California. Without this program, I would not have read and sampled the book based on the genre and the OBC review. Because I am not fond of stories that contain supernatural elements, I did not change my mind after sampling the book. However, I enjoyed the engaging dialogues; I especially liked the humorous interaction between Cherrie and Julissa. Sadly, I also noticed that the book had editing issues. For example, it should be written "The oxygen up here, as my dad used to say in reference to the mountain air, is as thin as Dierdra’s pancakes" instead of "The oxygen up here, as my dad use to say in reference to mountain air, is as thin as Dierdra’s pancakes." (location 387 of 4106 • 9%) It should be written "shoulder-length hair" instead of "shoulder length hair." (location 443 of 4106 • 11%) Other than another round of editing, I found nothing that needed to be improved.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 2:34 pm by Emy Katherine.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda
The eyes on the cover are intriguing, but the blurb is one line long. The rest are just praises, which say little about the plot or the style of the books. Therefore, despite the high ratings, I wouldn't have bought the box set based on my first impressions.
I have mixed feelings about the first ten pages. The "Foretold" part, if you ask me, is just words that sound mystical strung together in sentences. For example, "Learned men will tell you lifeforce knows no evil, knows no good. And so, too, the body which olds the soul, it must be chosen with care and due diligence, for what good is it to cast a net only to catch a finless fish, a wingless bird, a bull without heart, or one who casts aside The Law of One." I guess that will make sense later, but it would've made me ditch the book immediately. On the plus side, I really enjoyed the teenage voice which opens the first chapter. I could've been her friend when I was a teen. I know, at least, I always wanted to do what she did when she "took Mr. Mattingly up on his offer" and left history class. I also like her witty answers, such as the following “For real! Didn’t we just leave a school full of boys? Over two-hundred my last count.” Unfortunately, a teenager being "the chosen one", unlike what she states, is not an original thing but a trope that's been used until exhaustion. This is why I wouldn't have bought the book. There are several editing mistakes, mainly concerning odd spacing. The first one is in position 28: "The Solstice book series is nothing like I have ever enjoyed reading before. The story of Jules..." I suggest fixing these mistakes and creating a proper blurb which summarizes the plot, and the characters involved. Using only praises not only appears arrogant, but gives no information to a potential reader. The official OBC review helped me confirm this is not a book or series I would enjoy.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 2:23 pm by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kajori Sheryl Paul
'Solstice Series' is a book written by John J Blenkush. Julissa was chosen to be the surface-equal bride of someone of the ancient Lemurian species. She had moved to Shasta City with her mother, Dierdra. I like the way the author explains the nature of the Lemurian species. It should have been "White Bear Lake High School" instead of "White Bear Lake high school." Apart from the editing, there is nothing in need of an improvement. The OBC review is insightful. I would read this book based on the cover, title, genre, blurb, editorial reviews, and customer reviews as I like the genre. l will read this book as I am in the mood to read a science-fiction book.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 12:44 pm by Kajori Sheryl Paul.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Theresa Moffitt
The cover art of this book caught my attention right away. The photo of the eyes is very dramatic and interesting. Based on the title and cover art, I would have picked this book up based on the cover alone. The Online Book Club review was very positive, however, it noted that there were several errors in the book. This decreased my interest in reading it because the errors could be distracting. I didn’t read any additional customer reviews. The first ten pages begin with a foreword that describes an ancient civilization that is believed to exist beneath a volcano in California. It explains the ancient history about this civilization. The first chapter begins with a young girl who is attending high school. She describes some recent deaths in her family that caused her to move to California. The story was interesting. I saw some errors in the first ten pages, so I believe the book was not professionally edited. For example, on the fourth page of the foreword, it states, “All will come to know the infant as HeIs.” I believe this is a typo and should be “He is.” The author could improve the book by additional editing. I will not finish reading this book because I believe the errors will be distracting. However, I am also not a fan of this type of fantasy novel.
First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 11:14 am by Theresa Moffitt.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Rizki Pradana
I have chosen to read the first ten of this book based on Amazon reviews because the title looks interesting to me. However, I didn't see an OBC review, but it didn't affect me to read this book. The author told us about the main character's past and what events happened along the way. This kind of thing could even make me feel the main character's emotions and that's what I like the most about this book. Because of that, I wanted to read the whole book. There were not many grammatical errors that could hinder reading this book, which means this book has been professionally edited.
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First Ten review added on December 11, 2021, at 11:05 am by Rizki Pradana.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Total ~ 16%
Solstice Series earned a score of 16%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 16% 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.
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