User blog:General Khor/3rd Choiceversary Blog

Hello and welcome to another semi-annual review blog by General Khor. As you probably know, there will be one review blog every 20th June, which is my birthday/Choiceversary (30th June at the latest if I can't make it) and one every 31st December (2nd January at the latest if I can't make it). So, today marks 3 years since I joined the Choices community, and a lot of changes have since happened. I have several titles to cover in this blog, not including Foreign Affairs, Most Wanted and Hero, which I've already covered in earlier blogs. These 3 books are recommended for beginners to allow them to see what Choices stories are like. Now, without further ado, let's begin.

State of Choices, 2021 1st Half
So, this year begin with the release of the second VIP book, WEH (or is it WAH? You know what I mean, which is why I blacklisted this book. Seriously, I hate tragedies), followed by A Very Scandalous Proposal in May (can't wait to start that one after it's finished). The first half of this year also saw the end credits roll for Baby Bump and Open Heart. Speaking of OH, I've just finished the first half of Season 2, and I'll be releasing my review blog about the series once I finish the entire series, most likely by next week, I'll let everyone know when the time comes. Oh, and Rising Tides turned out to be a solo book. Also, The Nanny Affair has just started it's second season, and from the looks of it, we have another opponent, and I'm still sure Sam's parents are going to fight us. Coming up next month is the final season of The Royal Franchise. Queen B, Season 2 and the 4th VIP book, The Unexpected Heiress, are also set to be released this year.

Furthermore, this year saw a gender of choice wave come sweeping through, after a 2 year long chain of mostly genderlocked stories. This started with FA (though it was released on 31st December 2020), and next on the list is Laws of Attraction, which was released this April and is currently on hiatus (which led to fears it's being rewritten as a standalone. After all, after what happened to Platinum, The Royal Masquerade and The Elementalists, Season 2, books going on hiatus tend to be regarded as bad news). What is more, there are at least 2 upcoming series which are also confirmed to be gender selectable (not to mention those two are non-romance stories too) and from what I can gather, the devs have also started releasing gender of choice books for VIP, one of which is currently airing, and another set to premiere in August. According to Animal Gleek, this is in response to fans' anger over the past 2 years, so they are making efforts to make sure their male fan base is adequately represented. Could it be that PB is starting to listen to fans?

Alright, now let's get into the reviews.

Rising Tides
Rating: EXCITING!

A short but exciting book about environmental awareness, this book follows the MC (actually, the MC's sister) leading the people of her town to clean up the place and fight a ruthless businessman who will stop at nothing to protect his business, and more importantly, his position as CEO, even if it means destroying the town and its economy. Said businessman threatens the MC at every turn, including leaving a dead fish in her car and damaging her house and boat. While this book is great at helping to raise awareness about pollution and climate change (well, mostly pollution), it ended with only 12 chapters, which is as short as Endless Summer, Book 3. Now, I can think of several reasons for this, including this book being written for a project or it featuring gender customisable LIs despite being a female lead book. However, I think the most probable reason is that we aren't really the MC in this book.

What do I mean by this? Well, as mentioned above, we're actually helping our sister Charlie with her initiative, and at the end of the day, she's the one who deserves most of the credit, so she's the real MC. I mean, the MC should be the one leading the charge, no one likes playing second in command, you know. In fact, this book could have been at least 16 chapters long, which is the average length for a standard Choices book. I pictured Warner sending thugs to try to kill us and Charlie, then we call the police and get him arrested, in the end he gets imprisoned for polluting Cedarport as well as attempted murder, not to mention the satisfying "NOOOOOOO!!!" from him and the townspeople cheering, now that would have been the most satisfying ending ever. Instead, he got felled by a single demonstration. Sigh, kind of a letdown, really. Needless to say, this book is recommended for beginners.

Wishful Thinking
Rating: EXCITING!

So I kind of decided to give this book a chance, not only because it's a standalone, but also because the premise of being able to read minds is kind of interesting. And guess what, this book turned out to be something I enjoy reading. For a romantic comedy, this book contains a good amount of action, especially in the second half. In the beginning, we have to put up with a bully boss and a snarky rival, but then we discover that the snarky rival is actually working to uncover the Big Bad's evil schemes (actually, he's just helping the real Big Bad, who turns out to be a seemingly minor character, with his evil schemes), and the bully boss is in league with the Big Bads. In the end, we expose the Big Bad and get him arrested. Come to think of it, having the power to read minds makes you more suited to be a detective. Also, we have an LI who was working for the Big Bad, but later defects after learning about his evil schemes (I thought Anna is a news anchor). If this isn't exciting, I don't know what is. Another good beginner book.

Ride or Die
Rating: EXCITING!

The reason I decided to give this book a chance is that it's listed under Exciting Adventures, aka my favourite genre. Sure, I like the coming of age plot, and also the plot about exposing a gang of corrupt cops, not to mention being able to customise our car, but I don't like how I'm forced to be a criminal, and also how Logan, aka the Bad Boy, is being forced on us. Maybe this is why they decided to make this book a standalone, especially the last part. The reason I decided to include RoD in this blog is that there was less backlash when it was announced that this book will be a solo book. In fact, fans are kind of split on whether it deserved a sequel. Some, like me, think the book ended OK, because there are no plot holes that need to be covered, but I understand why others are crying for a sequel, after all the ending is kind of bittersweet: Mona's likely facing imprisonment and the other two are on the run, and in the end we get to say our tearful final goodbyes before leaving for college. Overall, this is still an enjoyable book, even though I wouldn't mind a sequel if the devs haven't cancelled it. This book is recommended for intermediates as it contains graphic and violent scenes.

Baby Bump
Rating: Meh

Overall, I have mixed feelings for this book. The LIs are ok, and come to think of it, for a book about pregnancy, I guess forcing the father on us is par for the course, but still, they should actually let us choose who we want to be with. I mean, they could have let us choose who to spend the night with, and that person will be our children's father. As for the other characters, I kind of like the antagonists more, as their personalities kind of stand out: there's childish Cassandra and arrogant Craig. Oh, and there's also sweet and helpful Anna.

As for the plot, it's best to talk about each book one by one:

Book 1: While I like the Cassandra drama, the first half of the book is still kind of dull, as there is not much exploration about pregnancy, instead it's mainly about helping friends around town, so that we can land a job with a famous businesswoman. Sure, the bakery caught fire, but that still doesn't make it any more exciting. Things really start to heat up in Chapter 11, when we have to deal with the governor in order to get funding for a project, not to mention Craig trying to ruin our plans. In the end, we turn down the lucrative job offer to stay in Gracetown anyway, so what's the point trying to impress Selma? Besides, we should have told Mayor Dixon about our pregnancy sooner, rather than hide it and wait for him/her to discover it later. I know, the writers are trying to highlight the problems pregnant women face in the workplace, but hiding it from your boss is still not right. (Rating: BOOORIIING!)

Book 2: Not only is there more exploration about pregnancy, there's also more drama, including the mayoral election and the drama with Clint's family. I initially thought Jebediah would be like Pierce Sterling, after all he tried to chase us out of town, thank goodness he redeemed and apologised to us near the end of the first half. But of course, most of the drama comes from Craig, who despite our best efforts unseats Dixon and goes on to try to ruin our life every step of the way, and then we discover that he rigged the election. In the end, we marry our LI and live happily ever after. If this isn't exciting, I don't know what is. (Rating: EXCITING!)

So yeah, you can say that Book 2 saved the series. I can really see the writers' efforts in trying to win back the fans. Recommended for beginners.

Home for the Holidays
Rating: ZZZZZ...

Sigh, what can I say? PB should write something that's good, not something that sells. Not only is the plot uninteresting and the characters dull, they also try to push us towards our cold-hearted boss, Nick the Grinch. See, I even try to find something to laugh about in this series, even though there's really nothing funny about this book. The only reason I powered through this book is that it's a solo book, and it's only 10 chapters long. Still, I bet this didn't sell well either, so really, listen to yourself, PB.

#LoveHacks
Rating: BOOORIIING!

The reason I gave this series a chance is that it's one of only 5 series (as of now) which ended with 2 books, and let's just say, it's not my favourite series. None of the characters appeal to me, and the only thing that kept me going are the somewhat comedic moments here and there. So yeah, sorry LoveHacks, I could have given you my worst rating, and your rating is only saved by the funny content, but you're still not my cup of tea.

Conclusion
In short, this year is an improvement from last year, with more non-romance and of course, more gender of choice books. From the looks of it, PB seems to be following through on that promise made last year. Keep that up, and Choices will soon come out of the Dark Age before you know it.

Before I end this blog, I have to mention, another reason I've decided to put OH in another blog is that, well, there's a lot to talk about for that series, so be sure to check out that blog next week. That's all for today, until then, this is General Khor. The end, and thank you for reading.