The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Feral: Many Lives 1
Because Feral 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.
Kourtney Bradley
Just based on the cover and the plot summary, this is probably not a book I would have chosen because it's not a genre that I am typically drawn to. Maya, the main character is raised by wolves, making this an interesting story to say the least, but not something I would choose to read on my own.
First Ten review added on July 15, 2017, at 9:44 am by Kourtney Bradley.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CarrieMe
Based on the cover and blurb, I wouldn't normally choose this book. Romances like this just aren't my style. The cover seems very appropriate for the genre, though. After reading the sample, I'm surprised. The writing is much better than I expected, based on the blurb. It's an easy and accessible style, and the story so far is intriguing. I'm going to give this book a chance and read more. It also seems professionally edited, and I didn't notice any errors.
First Ten review added on July 15, 2017, at 8:08 am by CarrieMe.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
truebookaddict
I'm not a big fan of paranormal romance novels so I probably would not have chosen to read/sample this outside of this first ten program. The book was free so I did download it, but I'm not going to read the whole thing. It's just not my kind of book. Maybe I'm biased because I'm not fond of paranormal romance, but I found it very young adult. Not just the story, but the writing. Also, when allusions to sex, or the want of sex, greet me within the very first pages of the book, I seriously want to run away. I will say that for people who love this genre, they will probably like this book. I did not find any fault with the editing. No typos or grammatical errors were noted. (The lack of an OBC review did not affect my decision/opinion of this book)
First Ten review added on July 15, 2017, at 6:18 am by truebookaddict.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
jungkookblog
From looking at the cover, it seems like it's a romance story, and I don't think I would like to read this book because I'm not a big romance fan. I will be reading this book because it's about shifting, and half human and half wolf. That sounds really interesting to me. I like the detail and how the character is so brave and doesn't give up. I love how the author included what the character was thinking which is italicized. It seems professionally edited. I did not see a review, and I don't think that would affect my decision.
First Ten review added on July 15, 2017, at 2:43 am by jungkookblog.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Annelore Trujillo
I would not have sampled this book based on the blurb, title, cover, and the fact that there was not an OBC review. I don't usually read books that don't have a review, and the blurb didn't really interest me. After reading the first ten pages, I won't be finishing this book. I wasn't really a fan of the use of the present tense. I also was into the idea of shifting. The author had a good style, but it isn't the book for me. It did seem to be professionally edited.
First Ten review added on July 15, 2017, at 1:37 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
L_Therese
As I acquainted myself with this book, I was interested in how the author would blend local Indian culture, a futuristic setting, and shape-shifters. Even though it is the second book in the series, I didn't find the first ten pages confusing at all. The book seemed professionally edited as well. Since I don't have similar books on my to-read list already, I think I'll plan to finish this one.
First Ten review added on July 15, 2017, at 1:13 am by L_Therese.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Cjgarland89
Based on the cover and title alone I wouldn't have been interested in this book. It falls into a genre I do not really enjoy and with the half animal half human characteristics it definitely does not interest me much. After sampling my opinion hasn't changed, although the sample gives a nice intro to the book it isn't satisfactory to make me want to finish it. An OBC review may have helped me change my opinion.
First Ten review added on July 15, 2017, at 1:13 am by Cjgarland89.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Christina O Phillips
I do not like romance as a genre so when the summary started off asking which would I choose, fated mate or family, I was immediately disinterested. I read the first few pages anyway. There was nothing to change my mind. There is a rushed prologue to try to introduce the world of the book, a brief definition that does not feel like it fits in, and then teenage hormonal ramblings about Luke. There was nothing to make me like the characters nor be interested in the story to want to read more.
First Ten review added on July 15, 2017, at 12:44 am by Christina O Phillips.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CrescentMoon
I love the cover of this book. It's really pretty and eye catching. I actually am reviewing this book right now. So far it is interesting. I plan on having the review out soon.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 4:35 pm by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
MarisaRose
At first, I wasn't sure what to make of "Feral." The book seems to be similar to many other books I have read/read about in the paranormal romance genre. That being said, I would not have chosen to read this book prior to sampling it for this program; further, the lack of an OBC review makes me hesitate as I enjoy hearing reviewers opinions of the plotting/writing/characters, etc. After reading the sample, I was impressed with the author's writing style. I usually don't enjoy books written from the first person perspective, but this one caught my interest. However, the overall plotting didn't grab me from the beginning. It seems to start like most other romances do, and I'm not sure I like the first character's perspective that we are introduced to. I don't plan to read this book any further, but I can see how it would appeal to fans of the genre.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 4:22 pm by MarisaRose.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Momlovesbooks
The cover of this book is seductive. I didn't see an OBC review, so only read the short description of the book. I couldn't really tell what it was about, other than shape shifters in the future. I read the first few pages and was instantly drawn in. The story began with heat, lust, and animal instincts. It was nothing like I expected. I loved the "Twilight" series and the characters reminded me of the wolves in that series. The writing style was descriptive and seemed to be professionally edited. I will definitely be reading this one.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 3:43 pm by Momlovesbooks.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Jaime Lync
Feral is the second book in the Many Lives series by New York Times bestselling author Laxmi Hariharan. The novel opens with a brief bridge between the first and the second book. This is the story of Maya, a werewolf. The plot seems cliche but Hariharan quickly draws me in with her award winning writing style. I definitely am interested in this series. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to read it anytime soon. I do recommend this to every avid reader.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 11:42 am by Jaime Lync.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Heidi M Simone
Without this program, I probably wouldn't have sampled this read. I do like some paranormal romance, but reading the blurb doesn't convince me that this is a read for me. Based on what I read, the book does seem to be edited well. I felt the beginning was a bit rushed and choppy. I felt I was just thrown into the story without having the chance to understand what is going on. It is also hard for me to relate to either Maya or Luke. Maya, because all she is thinking about is how attracted she is to Luke, and Luke, I really don't know him very much. Speaking about the attraction so early leads me to believe that there will be a lot more physical interactions, and I only enjoy a certain amount of that in a book. Also, the italicized words were very distracting. Therefore, though this has good ratings and I'm sure many will enjoy the read, I do not plan on finishing this book.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 11:27 am by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
bookowlie
The cover of this book is eye-catching, but it is too sexy and looks like an erotic romance novel. Even though the summary blurb is free of errors, the explanation of the story is a little vague and assumes the potential reader understands certain terms. The beginning pages appear to be professionally edited. However, the subject matter is not something I am interested in reading. Also, I didn't like that a curse word is used on the first page. It seemed to just be there for shock value.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 10:29 am by bookowlie.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Gravy
I have to say, being a loyal reader of the Psy/Changeling series, seeing this compared to it made me curious, and a little nervous. Needless to say, I likely would have looked at this.
The cover is fitting and looks good, and the premise is promising.
I cannot say that I believe this to have been professionally edited. There is an overused sentence format, namely where a single sentence is split into two or more sentences. Typically this is done for effect, but when every other paragraph has one, the effect is lost, and it becomes annoying. At least it did for me.
I also would NOT compare this to the Psy/Changeling series. I say this because that series delves first into the story, not the physical relationship of the characters. This just seemed to jump right in. Not really my taste.
All that being said, it has an unbelievable amount of positive reviews, so readers are enjoying it, and congratulations on that. It's just not my taste, and I highly disagree with the comparison to the Psy/Changeling series.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 8:52 am by Gravy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Insomniac07
Right from the first scene, I could tell that this book isn't for me. I prefer books to start with the introducing the characters and the story before romance happens. It helps to get readers to care more about the love story, in my opinion. This book, however, starts off with Maya gushing over how hot Luke is and how she's suddenly attracted to her childhood best friend.
That said, from the reviews and the writing style, it does look like a well-written book for those who enjoy this genre, so I will recommend it to friends and family who'd like it better than me.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 6:05 am by Insomniac07.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
EMoffat
Had I not read the sample pages I would not have read this book. I think the cover is a little corny, and although the reviews were good I did not find the blurb appealing. After reading the sample pages I will not continue with this book. Although the writing is good, the book is not for me. I enjoy the concept of having a strong female lead, but I find the 'sexy' cover and some of the initial comments quite sexist and therefore contradictory. The book seemed professionally edited and I found no grammatical errors. My suggestion for improvement would be the cover. There was an official OnlineBookClub review which was very good, but it did not change my mind about reading the book.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 5:18 am by EMoffat.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kdonegan91
The cover had me guessing what genre this book is written in. I like a book with a unique and creative cover. However, after reading the first ten pages, I have decided this book is not for me. I do not enjoy the fantasy genre or futuristic novels. Since I am not interested in the storyline, I will not finish reading this book.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 3:14 am by Kdonegan91.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Miche Sora
Unfortunately, this is the second book in the series, but the sample hooked me enough that I will read this book out of order. I like werewolf stories, and I already like the characters, so this should be a fun read.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 3:05 am by Miche Sora.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
classicaltwist
Romance is one of my favorite genres and so I've read quite a lot of books in this genre and I'm pretty good at predicting how much I'll enjoy a book. I don't think I would like this one, and so I wouldn't purchase it based off of my first impression. First, it's YA. I'm definitely not interested in YA romance at my age. Second, it's about shifters. I do like the occasional book about shifters, but there are so many of them in the romance genre. A lot of them are really similar, so I tend to avoid them now unless there's actually something unique about it. Otherwise, I've had my fill of wolves and bears. The negative reviews also didn't improve my impression of the book.
Reading the sample didn't change my mind. The writing does seem to be professionally edited and the writing style seems okay. However, as someone who's almost 30, it's tough for me to get interested in reading about a hormonal teenage girl. Honestly, it's kind of weird and uncomfortable to read about their sexual tension. The book doesn't seem to have an official OnlineBookClub review, and I'm doubtful that the existence of one would sway me since this is my favorite genre and I'm very aware at this point at what I'm looking for in a book of this genre.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 2:59 am by classicaltwist.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kitkat3
I'm not drawn in by the title or the cover. Sometimes I like to read books in the Young Adult genre. The blurb and the customer reviews did not make me very interested. I would not have sampled this book without this program. I am not sure if the book is professionally edited. An Official OnlineBookClub review probably would have been helpful. After reading the first ten pages, I most likely will not be reading the rest of the book. The writing was VERY simplistic, and many aspects of the book so far remind me of the Twilight novels. With some improvement, it would be a good read for young adults.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 2:22 am by Kitkat3.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sarah_Khan
The blurb of this book really draws me in and makes me want to start reading the book. The novel itself seems well-written and professionally edited. I look forward to reading the rest of this book because the plot is actually interesting.
First Ten review added on July 14, 2017, at 12:40 am by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
micoleon13
It's a very typical cover for a paranormal romance, but still appealing. I have found that books of this genre tend to get hung up more on romance and erotica than the story, so it would have been nice to have an Onlinebookclub review to help get a feel for the book. The chapters I read were well written and the story was immediately interesting, with the discovery of being adopted. This seems like an easy read which I will continue at some stage. I have no ideas for improvement.
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 7:24 pm by micoleon13.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Izesicle
It's easy to figure out from the title, the cover, and the genre, what the book will be about. That said, I still read a sample to see if I would like the writing style, if my guess was correct, and because there was no review available.
The book seems to be professionally edited and the cover is very enticing. I did not notice any errors.
I will not finish the book because paranormal romance and a teenager's point of view are not my cup of tea. For lovers of the paranormal genre involving humans and werewolves, I invite you to read this book. I think you won't be disappointed. The sexual tension between the main characters is very convincing. The writing is authentically that of a teenager when the story is told from a teenager's point of view. I am also entertained at the idea of India being a cradle of civilization again.
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 6:27 pm by Izesicle.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Lennycat
Had I not sampled the first ten pages, I probably would not choose to read this book. However, the cover is professionally done and the "A Many Lives Story" lead is interesting. After I sampled the first ten pages, I was hooked immediately. Both Maya and Luke are magnetic characters and the heat between them is palpable. Wow!
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 6:22 pm by Lennycat.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Seraphia Bunny Sparks
After reading the first ten pages of Feral by Laxmi Hariharan I will be reading the rest of this book. Even if I had not read the first ten pages I still would have read this book. The blurb engaged me the most, and while the reviews are mixed I want to form my own opinion. I have already purchased this book prior to it being BOTD. Based on what I have read it appears that the book has been professionally edited. I liked the dynamics between the characters so far from what I have read. They mesh well together and make me want to read more. While this book does not have an official OnlineBookClub review it does not affect my decision to read it.
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 5:39 pm by Seraphia Bunny Sparks.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Azeline Arcenal
After reading the sample, I decided to finish reading the book. I like reading books with this type of genre too. It also helps that this book is free. I didn't notice any major grammatical errors when reading the book either.
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 4:49 pm by Azeline Arcenal.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
AA1495
Had I not read the sample, I do not think I would have read the book. I usually read typical, pure romance books. Having read the sample, I loved the author's writing style. The plot moved at a good pace and made me curious. I did not come across an official onlinebookclub review for the book, but I do not think that the absence of one affected my decision. I did not come across any major grammatical errors. Since I like the author's writing style and the plot, I will read the book further.
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 4:34 pm by AA1495.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
James Craft
A great title and a provocative cover really draw the reader into this story. The cover is clean and well designed and makes me want to read further. The blurb is interesting and well put together and it has some solid reviews. I would have liked to have seen some more about it, and the opening didn't hook me as much as I would have liked. All in all, I won't be buying a copy of this book today but it does seem like an excellent read.
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 4:31 pm by James Craft.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Snowflake
The cover of this book really captures my attention and so does the title. I would have sampled this book without the first 10 pages program. The premise is interesting and I do like strong female characters. The writing gives a very good sense of the characters and their situation. This is not really a genre I read though and I'm not a big fan of the short and choppy style. For those reasons, I do not plan to read the rest of this book.
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 3:50 pm by Snowflake.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CataclysmicKnight
The cover of this one could've gone fantasy or romance, and I was surprised to find it was actually both! The concept of the strong-but-still-human lead was awesome, and there's a lot of potential for it to grow in plot, but it was rather raunchy for a large part of the first ten pages and I'm assuming it'll continue that way. I love fantasy, and while I like clean romance novels I'm not a fan of the dirty kind, so while I can easily recommend it for folks who love dirty romance novels it's not for me.
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 2:59 pm by CataclysmicKnight.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Vermont Reviews
Today's choice for book of the day Feral by Laxmi Hariharan shows the reader the coming of age story of Maya (who we find had been found in the woods a few years old) by the alpha of the pack Akasha. Maya had been training with Luke on a daily basis. Maya had recently turned 18 and awaiting her ability to shift.Her momother Akasha tells her that she (Maya) is human.
I did download today's book of the day. Based on the preview I decided I wanted to finish the story.
Great cover.
Vermont Reviews
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 2:00 pm by Vermont Reviews.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
ananya92
This is a book in the young adult/fantasy genre, and it narrates the story of Maya, a human raised by wolf-shifters. I liked how the author reversed the usual scenario and instead focused on how would it be like to find out that you are a human and not a special/fantasy creature. The book was slightly slow in the initial pages and though a good amount of time is devoted to explaining the scenario, I still felt that reading the prequel would be important to understand this one. The description is rather brief, and in the absence of a review, one doesn't really know what to expect. The book seems to have been edited properly. Whatever I read in the sample, wasn't enough to convince me to try out this one, hence I'll skip this one.
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 1:16 pm by ananya92.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
gali
I probably wouldn't have sampled the book on my own, as this is not the type of book I would normally read. The cover is lovely, but the blurb wasn't too informative. Unfortunately, here wasn't any OBC review to shed light on the plot. The sample started with a short background about the tale, which I found most helpful, then moved to the sparring between Maya and her friend, Luke. I liked the shifting views between the two protagonists. The tale is written in the present tense, not my favorite style of writing. Still, as I enjoyed the sample more than I expected to, I will read the balance of it when I am in the mood for such a tale.
First Ten review added on July 13, 2017, at 12:43 pm by gali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Total ~ 41%
Feral earned a score of 41%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 41% 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 Feral
