The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for B-Side: Based on a Screenplay from Janis Jones and Jason Rohan

Because B-Side 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.

Mercelle

Judging by the cover, I wasn't going to read this book, but the OBC review urged me on when it mentioned that the story contains elements of homophobia. When I read the first ten pages, I didn't like that the dialogue in the second paragraph felt shallow. Since I noticed no errors, I will conclude that the text underwent professional editing, but I won't read the rest of the book because it doesn't appeal to me. As it is, there's nothing I would change about the bit I read.

First Ten review added on June 27, 2019, at 4:58 am by Mercelle.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Ekta Kumari

I would have sampled the book as the plot sounded interesting and I love a crime mystery. The sample was a good read for me, and I like how fast paced the narrative is. The author has also done a good job at describing the scenes. I also like Mara's character; she seems to be a down-to-earth person, and I would love to know more about her. I didn't find any error in the portion I read, so the book looks professionally edited. I would definitely read the whole book as I enjoyed the sample. Those interested can also check out the official review.

First Ten review added on June 27, 2019, at 4:53 am by Ekta Kumari.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Vickie Noel

I don't like the cover of this book, and the title doesn't sound like something I'd ordinarily pick on my own. I wouldn't have read it outside the program. After sampling a few pages, I'm not sure I want to read more. I'm not comfortable with the idea of gay lovers and it feels weird reading it. Also, some parts appeared choppy. For example, when Mara and Casey were on the phone and the latter picked up five pebbles which probably broke the vase(?), Mara asked a question and Casey answered that she'd picked up five pebbles before slipping into a kind of daydream. On getting back to reality, next thing I know, Mara is talking about how she (Casey) shouldn't be "so friendly with him" and I'm wondering, "which him?" The five pebbles or the vase? Is there a special meaning not easily decipherable?Quite confusing. I found no grammatical errors. From the OBC review I read, I had a feeling I wouldn't be reading more, and the sample just proved it.

First Ten review added on June 27, 2019, at 4:43 am by Vickie Noel.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Gravy

I'm not a big reader of this genre, so I definitely wouldn't have sampled this, and the sample did not change my mind about it.
I did not see any errors/typos.
I need to note that it is not a good move to detail the entire plot in the description. This makes it so anyone can just see how the story ends, which is often the reason behind reading the whole book. I get that there is a notice that it contains spoilers, but reading that is the only way to know what the book is about, so it makes no since to give the whole plot away to prospective readers.
This would likely have put me off reading the book, even if it was in my favorite genre, and I highly suggest the author change it.
It is obvious that the author has more experience writing screenplays, which is not a good thing. The way characters, objects, and actions are described is much more like a screenplays stage directions than a novel, and is not pleasant to read. At least not for me.
It got a little better with the coversation between Casey and Mara, it felt much less like a screenplay and had much more flow.
I didn't specifically like anything, mostly because the genre/subject just doesn't appeal to me. As such, I will not be continuing this.
There was a review for this book but that has no effect on my opinion of it.

First Ten review added on June 27, 2019, at 3:57 am by Gravy.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Fu Zaila

I liked the cover but not the blurb. The writing seems to be edited, but it is still floppy. I did not like how the characters were described in a single sentence or how their age was used as an adjective. The switch from Casey's chapter to Maya's seemed a bit sudden, but I didn't mind. Also, it felt like Brian and Derek were too flirty, because the girls looked 'hot'. It was also annoying to see that the blurb was spoilery. The reviews weren't convincing enough, even though they were positive. Maya's date night promised to be exciting but I couldn't bring myself to feel interested. Overall, from the sample, I think this book is not for me. There wasn't anything that I liked. The author's note states that the book is intended for adults so that's another reason I won't be reading this book.

First Ten review added on June 27, 2019, at 3:28 am by Fu Zaila.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Yoli García

I would not have sampled this book without this program because I do not read crime novels often. I thought it was great that the story brings awareness about crimes committed against the LGBT community and sexism in the workforce. However, the OBC review did not convince me to read it. I think a professional edited the book, but the writing style was awkward. The chapters a very short and the scenes do not flow well. For example, I did not like the scene about a homeless man on the first floor of the beach house interrupting the scene of Casey's assault constantly. It limited the impact of the assault for me. I will not read the book because I do not read crime novels, and the writing does not flow well.

First Ten review added on June 27, 2019, at 3:13 am by Yoli García.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Lorraine De Vos

Based on the reviews, I would have chosen to sample this book. After reading the first ten pages I am intrigued by the story. Although graphic, the book is fast paced and I found myself holding my breath as the author switched between characters for dramatic effect. I like that the book touches on real current issues that affect the LBGT community and I look forward to seeing how the author chooses to end this story. The book does appear to be professionally edited, as I did not notice any errors. The official OnlineBookClub review was excellent and provided useful information about the without any spoilers. I will be adding this book to my reading list.

First Ten review added on June 27, 2019, at 1:24 am by Lorraine De Vos.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Kristin Ransome

This is not a book I would normally have chosen do read, due to it not being part of my preferred genre. After reading the first 10 pages, the two-dimensionality of the characters prevented my from wanting to continue reading. Having found no errors, I'd say this book was professionally edited. My least favourite part was how the appearance of female characters was described in detail with little personality or other aspects written in. For example, in chapter 2, Detective Mara Bays has an entire paragraph dedicated to describing her appearance, while her male counterpart has one sentence. This made it very difficult to relate to any of the characters, and did not make for a very enjoyable read. As for my favourite part, if I had to chose, would be the friendship between Sherry and Casey, because it reminds my slightly of my own friends.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 11:10 pm by Kristin Ransome.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

unamilagra

Before sampling this book, I don't think I would have picked it up, because I don't really like the title or cover art, to be honest. After reading the first ten pages, I was not drawn into the book. I didn't really like any of the characters off the bat. I also didn't like how all of the men were commenting on the women's appearances so much. I don't plan to continue reading this book. I didn't notice any actual errors in what I read, but I was confused about the use of italics. Some of the italicized sentences seemed to be people's actual thoughts, but others were statements in third person.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 10:49 pm by unamilagra.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

srividyag1

The cover page doesn't look much tantalising to me. OBC review was quite positive and made me want to try the book. In the sample, Casey gets brutally murdered by a homophobic creep. Mara, who's a police officer and Casey's girlfriend, comes home to this incident, and the scene is already under investigation. I liked that the chapters were short. The book seemed professionally edited. But, since the book started with violence and I'm sure there's a lot of homophobia, I'm not going to read this book.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 10:23 pm by srividyag1.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Nisha Ward

As much as I tend to like thrillers and mysteries, this one just didn't appeal to me. There's nothing inherently wrong with it. It's well edited, fast paced and the cover and premise are attractive but reading about Casey's attack turned my stomach. For that reason, I won't be buying this, though I don't think that should stop others if they can deal with the realism of the attacker's thoughts.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 7:52 pm by Nisha Ward.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Sonya Nicolaidis

Although the title is very intriguing, I can’t say I was too impressed by the cover illustration which didn’t tell me much about what the book was all about. The OBC reviewer clearly really enjoyed this book and gave it a very good review, so this encouraged me to give it a fair chance. I liked the opening scenes, particularly how the author alternates between Mara and Casey while the crime is being committed. The only thing I don’t much like about this story is that it’s told in the present tense which isn’t my favorite aspect. However, I enjoyed the sample and really loved the tension that was generated during the initial assault. I thought it was very well written, and did not notice any errors, so I assume this book has been professionally edited. All in all, it’s a great read and I cannot think of any aspect that I would suggest changing. I am not thoroughly convinced that I will enjoy it, in spite of it being my preferred genre, but I am too curious to pass it up so will definitely read this one.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 5:44 pm by Sonya Nicolaidis.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Delaney35

I do enjoy mystery, so this is a book I would consider reading without this program. The official review has me a bit wary though. It did not have much to say in terms of merits. However, there was a volunteer reviewer that seemed to like it much better. I wasn't too impressed with the first few pages. The writing style was very direct and seemed choppy. The characters were explained in a quick paragraph that reminded me of something off a script. It was a lot of information in a short space, which, to me, is lazy writing. I like to find out about characters through their actions instead of being told who they are. I didn't notice any grammatical mistakes though. I will not be finishing this book. The writing was just not good, and the promising plot isn't enough to entice me to finish it.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 5:28 pm by Delaney35.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

danielleamy

I would not have sampled this without the first ten program due to the cover and title. It doesn't look very professional asAfter reading the blurb and the Official review I am more interested, as I enjoy crime novels and am not put off by violence.
At 15% of the sample, I was confused by the terms "SOL" and "Viggo"
Also, at 39% there were some issues with speech marks in this sentence and again on the next page, "I know. Me too "Bye. Hurry up. 'Bye"

There were only a few typos so this could be professionally edited. The use of the short chapters was a little distracting to begin with as you get to know the characters. I was not drawn in enough by the sample or storyline to consider reading more. But there was nothing in particular that I really disliked about the sample. I have read a lot of crime novels and this one does not appeal to me at this time. Therefore I will not buy the book today.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 5:24 pm by danielleamy.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Chelsy Scherba

The editing definitely looks very professional because I couldn’t find any errors. The characters were easy to picture because they seemed like people you would see anywhere, especially the overly buff 42-year old guy. The chapters are relatively short which makes it a nice book to read if you’re short on time. The review mentioned this book is a novel starring a lesbian heroine. While I find that unique, that sort of relationship doesn’t appeal to me any more than a straight romance would, so I’ll have to pass. For its target audience, I feel it will definitely be an enjoyable read.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 4:55 pm by Chelsy Scherba.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Alice Heritage

I probably wouldn't have sampled this without the programme because I don't normally read thrillers. I also won't buy and read it today because I didn't like the screenplay style with incomplete sentences much. I noticed missing punctuation in the sentence "Night, Mar' " [period missing]. I did like the way there was some showing rather than telling - for example the build-up to an Egyptian-themed party, involving a pyramid cake with an Ankh and Mara's roll of papyrus that was protected for its ride through the canyon. The repeated cutting to "Skeezy" on the beach while Casey was being attacked was an aspect I both liked and disliked. It built tension, but I also found that hard to bear. I also did not like the violence. I think the style could be improved through the inclusion of more complete sentences; this drawback was mentioned in the OBC review that I saw, so that did contribute to my decision.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 2:47 pm by Alice Heritage.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

va2016

The cover and the title is not indicative of the theme of the book. There are only 11 Amazon customer reviews. The Amazon summary is uninteresting. Based on the Amazon summary, I would have skipped sampling the book if not for the First Ten program. As I sampled through the book, I found the narration describing Casey having an interaction with Brian and Sherry about a cake. The writing style is confusing and does not make me feel sure that the story is moving in a certain direction. I am not very impressed with the story, so I am not going to read this book in full. I found the sample professionally edited. There are no grammatical or mechanical errors in the sample. I didn't like anything specific about the book nor do I have any suggestions for improvement. Although I found two OBC reviews of the book, my decision to not to read the book in full is based on my own sampling.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 1:58 pm by va2016.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Samantha Simoneau

Okay, the blurb spoils the whole book, it seems like, so, to me, there's no reason to read the book. I already know who did it and why from the blurb, so I wouldn't download the book anyway. The reviews are great, but that doesn't matter to me if there's no mystery left in the mystery novel - no discoveries left for the reader to try to piece together. That's the fun of a whodunit, after all. Anyway, on to the sample. First, the dialogue, at least on the first page, isn't believable or natural to my "ear." Second, maybe I'm a huge prude, but an F-bomb on the first page in a non-stressful situation turns me off as a reader. "Sixties" shouldn't be capitalized. There should be a comma between "kiss" and "and." The first sentence of the second chapter isn't complete unless you were to change the first comma to a colon or join it properly to the second sentence. There should be a comma between "down" and "and." There appears to be a trend of missing commas in compound sentences. I can tell this book was originally a screenplay. Each character is neatly introduced and described, leaving very little for the reader to gradually deduce through expressions, conversation, or situation. This, regardless of the spoiler-filled blurb, would make me not want to finish this book. I don't like too much "tell" and no "show." It eliminates some of the fun of reading in the first place. I prefer to gather implied information, especially in a mystery/detective novel. There's an apostrophe in the first "'night" but not in the second. Song titles should not be in italics. I'm definitely not interested in downloading this book. It needs another pass-through for editing, and the exposition isn't very elegant. Perhaps I'm not the target demographic.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 1:51 pm by Samantha Simoneau.

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 fan of the cover. I do not like covers with people's faces on them. The Amazon blurb was very long. I felt like it gave away most of the story and it was written in odd short sentences. The first few pages seemed to be well-edited. I was not a fan of the very short chapters, it made it seem like the story was jumping too fast. Overall, the romance aspect of this book is not my thing. So, I will not be reading the rest. I did not read any OBC review.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 9:55 am by Sarah_Khan.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Mbrooks2518

Even though this is in my preferred genre, after reading the first ten pages and the official review, I am just not interested enough in the plot to want to buy it. I did like the writing style. It had a light tone at the beginning, which was nice to read, but it also created a little suspense because the reader knows what's coming. There were a few missing commas, including one on page 2 which says "Brian carries the cake box and Sherry follows them out to the scorching sidewalk."

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 8:52 am by Mbrooks2518.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

OliviaLouise

When I first read the review of this book, I was excited by its potential. The LGBTQ characters especially seemed promising. After reading the sample, I absolutely love how well written the characters are. The interactions between Casey and her friends at the bakery are authentic and believable. One thing that annoyed me about the book was the author’s choice to introduce new characterd with detailed descriptions of their appearances. Most of the time, this felt irrelevent and had nothing to do with the events that were happening in the scene. I did not find any major editing errors. Despite the long-detailed description, the character decelopment is enough to make me want to read the rest of the book!

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 6:20 am by OliviaLouise.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Dolor

The official OBC review and the blurb had piqued my interest, so I decided to read this book even without The First Ten program. On the cover is a photo of a smiling girl in a car. The title is thought-provoking. The first ten pages talked about "Baby Cakes". Cassandra “Casey” Terranova will be celebrating her 28th birthday. She ordered a cake with Egyptian designs. Detective Mara Bays is on her way to Casey's house to hand her gift. Here are the errors I noticed:
*fragmented sentences*
“Gawd. Pink carton against orange leather upholstery. So Sixties. Just grotesque in that House of Pies way.”

*lacking necessary commas (,)*
Sherry blows her a kiss and Brian gives a double thumbs-up.

Her hair is down and she wears large silver hoop earrings.

She carries a small shoulder bag and her service pistol, badge and handcuff case rolled in a belt in one hand.

He strides across the parking lot asphalt on his way to the station, wearing Friday’s work clothes, his silvery-grey jacket flapping and necktie loosened over his deep blue shirt.

He carries a stack of report folders, a zippered shaving kit and a pair of running shoes.

Mara smiles, squints and shakes her head, humoring him.

She really wanted to go but a couple minutes wouldn’t kill her.

I find the story interesting despite the errors. I will read on. I don't have further improvement suggestion for this book. B-Side by Janis Jones is a #Mystery novel for lovers of #Crime, #Suspense, #LGBT, and #Love stories. The story revolves around a love triangle that resulted to a vicious assault. Young readers must be aware that this book has graphic scenes.

First Ten review added on June 26, 2019, at 3:53 am by Dolor.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Kelyn

If I had not been a member of this program, it is unlikely that the cover, title, author, blurb or customer reviews would have led me to pick up this book. It is not in one of the genres I currently read and, apparently, does not contain the humor I look for on the rare occasions I do read mystery/crime books. Although I did find the story presented by the sample somewhat interesting, it was not enough for me to make an exception for the genre and continue to read the entire book. Honestly, except for the addition of the love triangle and the lesbian relationship, it seemed pretty much like any other mystery about a fanatic attacking someone because they represented something offensive to them. Very 'Criminal Minds" like. It also reads very much like a screenplay rather than a novel. That said, I think my favorite part was that the author thoroughly described the characters when they were first introduced. One of my pet peeves is forming an image of a character only to have them described by the author a couple of chapters in and my version and the author's look nothing alike! Talk about dissonance. There was no chance of that with this author. The book seemed professionally edited. I found only one error: Pg 1 – “…a small energetic twenty-eight…” The thought stops there. Is twenty-eight her age??

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 11:48 pm by Kelyn.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Jsovermyer

The cover photo is interesting and the title, B-Side, is unique and intriguing. B-Side is a murder mystery with a tough female detective, Mara Bays, leading the investigation. Casey's murder is brutal and seems to be a homophobic hate crime. I liked the character of Casey, but she wasn't in the story very long. Mara's partner, Detective Derek Jenssen, got to the crime before Mara. This makes me suspicious of him since he left work at about the same time as Mara. The official review rated this book highly. I didn't find any spelling or grammatical errors and believe it is professionally edited. I like a good mystery with a lot of suspects, and I can already see several people in the story that could have done the crime. I will probably finish this book in the near future.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 11:28 pm by Jsovermyer.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Juliana_Isabella

I might have chosen this book because I enjoy the occasional mystery, but the positive review definitely helped win me over. Although I didn't find any grammatical errors in the first ten pages, I never enjoy present-tense narration. I liked how specific the descriptions of Casey, Sherry, and Brian were because I could picture the characters, but the narration just made me too aware of the narrator instead of becoming immersed in the story. For this reason, I won't finish the book.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 10:56 pm by Juliana_Isabella.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

HRichards

I normally wouldn't have picked this book up as the summary didn't really appeal to me. Having read the sample, I won't be continuing on with the book as I didn't find it very interesting. The sample deals with a young woman who meets with some friends who compliment her at a bakery. The plot then turns to two detectives, one of whom invites the other out and is turned down. The writing is okay and I didn't notice any grammar errors. Those who like mysteries might like this book. I didn't really like the author's writing style, which was a bit choppy. I have not read any other reviews of this book.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 10:45 pm by HRichards.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

LV2R

I was not particularly interested in the book cover or title. The Amazon Blurb gave spoilers and pretty much summed up the story. Detective Mara and Detective Derek are work partners. Mara fell in love with Casey, but Casey gets beat up by an unknown flower deliveryman. The sample began with Mara getting off work, turning Derek down for a drink, picking up her ordered cake, and driving to Casey’s seaside place. A flower deliveryman attacks Casey and there is a beach bum nearby. I best liked that in a few short pages, I knew most of the main characters, Mara, Derek, and Casey. This gave readers a clear start on the plot and buildup of the beating of Casey. The book seems to be edited well, as I did not notice any errors. The OBC review mentioned that Derek still had strong feelings toward Mara, even when Mara was in a relationship with Casey. Mara had to deal with her co-workers’ biases towards her lesbianism. I do not want to read this book because I did not like the cursing and the beating up of Casey. I do not like to read about love triangles and hate crimes.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 8:52 pm by LV2R.

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. However, the color combination of the cover (specially the black background) caught my attention. Having read the sample, one of the first things that I noticed was the rather long index. The book seems to be divided into a very large number of chapters, which could make the book a tiresome read. Further, I was disappointed by the lack of a proper introduction. The first chapter began immediately after the index, without an introduction to the author or a prologue. However, I thought that the author introduced the characters (Casey, Brian, Mara and others) well. In terms of editing and formatting, while I found no major errors, I would have liked more spacing between paragraphs to make the book easier to read. Since I do not read the genre usually, I will not buy the book today.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 8:10 pm by AA1495.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

britt13

I was interested in reading the sample of this book because the official review made it sound great! The writing was pretty good. I liked the dialogue a lot because it felt very natural and fun. I did think it was a bit odd the way that the ages of people were given. On the first two, I had to read over a few times to make sure I understood. After that though, it started coming to me fine. The short chapter lengths helped pull me in as a reader because I wanted to know more. I also found no grammatical errors. Despite enjoying the sample I will not be buying the book today due to lack of funds but I did add it to my want to read list for later!

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 7:15 pm by britt13.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Verna Coy

Had I not read the first ten pages through the Book of the Day program on Online Book Club I would not have sampled the book. Although I love the mystery genre, I am not a fan of novels containing bad language, rape, violence or LGBT subjects. For these reasons, I don’t plan to buy or read the whole book. Reading the first ten pages did not change my mind as far as the blurb or cover details for me. It did seem professionally edited enough, I saw no errors in that regard. What I liked most in the reading sample would be the mention of the color variations used during the era of the 1960s. I know this book is part of the mystery genre, I’m not sure it could be improved enough to appeal to all those who love that genre.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 6:58 pm by Verna Coy.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Heidi M Simone

Without this program, I would not have sampled this book. Hate crimes and graphic violent scenes are too much for me to handle. Therefore, the genre and blurb would not have piqued my interest. The cover looks interesting, but the title is somewhat confusing. It's unclear what "B-Side" actually means. The OBC and customer ratings do not affect my opinion of the book. I didn't see any glaring errors while I read, which is always a positive aspect of any book. The relationship between Mara and Casey seem sweet and pure. I thought it was cute that Mara had a hard time saying "I love you" because it's something that I'm sure many have a hard time saying the first time. I kind of wish it was in person versus on the phone, but it was sweet regardless. However, some the writing is a bit off-putting. As the author is describing the characters, the writing seems very stiff and rigid. Also, I'm not actually sure what "hard-won gym rat barrel chest" means, but something tells me it's meant to be "sexy talk". Between this comment and how the characters seem to be focusing on how "hot" someone is makes me feel uncomfortable. I like to relate and sympathize with characters, and these aren't the type of people I can connect with. Due to this and the fact that some graphic violence scenes are said to come, I do not plan on buying and reading the book.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 6:27 pm by Heidi M Simone.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Kajori Sheryl Paul

'B-Side' is a book written by Janis Jones. 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 it Revolves around Casey, Mara, and Derek. Casey is a lesbian and an artist. She is in a relationship with Mara, a police officer. Before, Mara was with Derek. While Mara is on her to Casey, Casey gets assaulted in her own home. I like the characterizations. I did not find any error. I consider it to be 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 June 25, 2019, at 5:30 pm by Kajori Sheryl Paul.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Stephanie Elizabeth

Had I not sampled the first ten pages of this book, I would have picked it up because the cover looks interesting and I like the title. After reading the sample I will continue reading because I want Mara's character to find justice for Cassie's murder.
The book is well edited and I found no errors. My favorite part of the book is when Mara nears Cassie's house and knows that something is terribly wrong. The author did a great job of narrating Mara's anxiety as she nears the house. I think the book could be improved by providing more background about the murderer's background. Who is he? Why is he like this? Why does he hate lesbian's so much? This book has an official OnlineBookClub review.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 4:14 pm by Stephanie Elizabeth.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Niv123

Well I must say that the cover art is very different from what I normally see and I absolutely love it. It reflects what's inside I believe. I did enjoy the first ten pages of the story, it involves two female leads(from what I can understand thus far) who happen to be a couple I believe. I enjoyed the language and the writing style as well, and was pleased to find it well edited. This is one book I'd want to check out.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 3:56 pm by Niv123.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Cristina Chifane

I wouldn't have sampled this book without the first ten program because it includes offensive words and graphic scenes. I didn't like the cover and I didn't understand why the Amazon blurb practically revealed every single detail of the plot. The book has only 11 customer reviews, but they all give the book 4 or 5 stars. I've noticed a missing period in the sample: "Night, Mar (.)" (19% of Sample) The sample was fast-paced. However, the scene of Casey's attack is much too violent for me to enjoy reading all the sordid details. Although I generally like mystery novels, I know I wouldn't appreciate the use of the offensive language or the presence of graphic scenes. Despite the OBC reviewer's recommendation, I don't think this is the kind of novel I would enjoy.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 2:51 pm by Cristina Chifane.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

evraealtana

I would never have chosen this book for myself since I don't like crime novels and I certainly don't like reading romance; sure enough, I didn't care for the first ten pages, either. As always in this genre, I was irritated by the way all of the characters are "perfect" in their own ways; everyone is beautiful, rugged, nice-smelling, fit, popular, etc. I appreciated that the chapters were short, to keep the story moving; the official OBC review echoed this feeling. I did not note any errors.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 2:45 pm by evraealtana.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Laura Ungureanu

I don't appreciate the cover. It made a bad first impression on me. However, I was interested when I've read in the review that there is a homosexual relationship in the book. I am proud of the books that support that. Casey and Mara were cute together. I'm worried about Casey being attacked. However, the writing didn't convince me and I am not interested in the plot, so I won't be reading the rest of the book. I didn't find any grammar errors.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 2:28 pm by Laura Ungureanu.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

CataclysmicKnight

The cover of this book is colorful and eye-catching, so I likely would've looked into it more if it wasn't the book of the day. But with that said, I probably wouldn't have downloaded the sample when I saw the Amazon description started with a spoiler warning.

I'm not a fan of this book so far. There's a lot of focus on looks and flirting, and while the writing was smooth enough and error-free, I'm just not interested. The assault was brutal but also without any reason that we're aware of thus far, and it's very difficult for me to read harsh, violent things against defenseless people like that. On the upside, the author did a good job of making the character seem like a very good, kind person within the first 10 pages before the assault. But I found myself counting down the number of pages left, and I don't really want to read any more of it.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 1:49 pm by CataclysmicKnight.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Catherine Hsu

If I had not read the sample, I would have read the book. The blurb looks interesting and I really like the colors on the cover. After reading the sample, I have changed my mind. The writing is mediocre and there seems to be some errors. For example, "Good deal. 'Night, Mar'" is a line of dialogue that was missing a period at the end. Also, "He raises his eyebrows, sniffs and looks sad." is another line that was missing the oxford comma. I guess more editing is needed. I did not read an official review but that did not affect my decision.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 1:34 pm by Catherine Hsu.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

CrescentMoon

After reading the blurb, I don't think I would pick this book up. I appreciate the note about the spoilers, but the whole story was already given out, like the twist at the end and the reasons for the crime, etc. After reading the blurb, I feel like I already know the whole story and it would be pointless to read it since I know what happens. After reading the first ten pages, I did spot a few errors. In chapter 1, second paragraph, "At its base a blue fondant..." there should be a comma after base. In chapter 3, fourth paragraph, "Sun sinking with the hush of the surf in the background. Casey picks up..." I feel there should be a comma instead of a period after background. The first part is not a complete sentence so it shouldn't end on a period. However, these errors were pretty minor and I didn't find them distracting to the story. I liked the start of the book with the dialogue, it gave me a feel for the characters. I can already sense the tension between Mara and Derek and the residual passion and feelings between them from their previous relationship, especially on Derek's part. However, I don't think I'm going to read the rest of the book. I already know what the twist is and that is part of the fun for me when I read these type of whodunnit books.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 1:12 pm by CrescentMoon.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Kelsey Hatch

Based on the cover, title, and blurb, I would not have picked up this book, as it seems like a young adult fiction novel. However, the official review and first ten pages piqued my interest. The part I liked most was the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters in prominent positions of the book. This is hard to come by in serious novels, and I like that it was introduced casually and normally. The part I disliked most was the very short chapters, as I feel that more could be included in each. However, this aspect does help the book read very quickly and makes the reader want to keep turning the page. I noticed no spelling or grammatical errors in the first ten pages. I will not buy this book today because I am not looking for a crime or mystery novel and I am a bit tired of detective-driven stories, but I will keep it in mind for the future.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 12:53 pm by Kelsey Hatch.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Emy Katherine

Detective Mara Bays is determined to capture the perpetrator who brutally attacked her girlfriend (Casey) in her own home. As I am a huge fan of crime novels, I would have read the book on my own. Unfortunately, I changed my mind after reading both the sample and the Amazon blurb. Even though I liked the author's descriptive writing style, I did not feel invested in the story. More importantly, the blurb contains spoilers; because of that, I already know the identity of Casey's assailant even though I have not read the entire book. I would suggest the author write a blurb without spoilers. Based on the OBC review, it is a well-written story full of mystery and suspense; therefore, fans of mystery novels will enjoy it. Also, the book seems like it was professionally edited; I did not find any typos or grammatical errors.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 12:50 pm by Emy Katherine.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Mary WhiteFace

The cover was interesting, but without the first ten program I would not have wanted to sample a book about how a girl who was the victim of a hate crime assault, and her friends, search for her assailant. Reading the first ten pages did not change my mind. I found the narrative well-written and would possibly have been interested in reading the book if it had a different premise. I enjoyed the author's writing style. The assault scene was realistic and graphic, which would be a plus for readers who enjoy graphic details. My favorite part was that Casey accepted colorful stones in exchange for the food she gave a homeless man. It was a nice way to allow him to not feel like he was accepting charity. I don't believe the book was professionally edited. There were numerous missing commas, such as in this example in the last sentence of Chapter 1: "Sherry blows her a kiss and Brian gives a double thumbs-up." There should be a comma after kiss. The missing commas did not distract from the enjoyment of the story. There was an OnlineBookClub review which did not influence my decision. I am not interested in a hate crime assault mystery.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 12:36 pm by Mary WhiteFace.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

desantismt_17

This book’s title made me curious. The description told me this was a fairly standard mystery, which I sometimes enjoy and sometimes don’t. Before sampling, I thought about reading. After sampling, I’ll pass. The book does not appear professionally edited to me. I noticed a few missing commas, one in the following line of dialogue after Casey’s name: “Casey honey, I wanna tell you something.” There were also some sentence fragments that didn’t seem like stylistic choices, as well as a few convoluted sentences. These longer sentences, while technically grammatically correct, really tripped up my reading. The book is also written in third-person present tense. While there is nothing wrong with this, it’s not a style I often like to read. With the poor editing on top of the tense, it just doesn’t work for me. Perhaps it’s due to the writing and my dislike of the POV, but I didn’t really feel like I got a sense for the characters, aside from Casey being sexy and surprising someone with the hope of getting laid. Another round of proofing would have improved this for me. The rest of my dislikes are subjective, and other readers may not have a problem with them. The OnlineBookClub.org review I saw was glowing but also not too well written. It didn’t have much of an impact on my decision.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 12:26 pm by desantismt_17.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

gen_g

I have not come across reviews of this book; it seems edited well, but there are still a few errors peppered throughout the sample. For example, in the very first sentence, there is a missing noun: "Cassandra...a small energetic twenty-eight (female?)...". I did not expect that the flower delivery man (to Cassandra's house delivering lilies of the nile) was someone who had ulterior motives and assaulted Cassandra with a rod (after tying a jacket around her head). I am intrigued by the various possibilities regarding Mara's reaction to this. I would also like to suggest to the author that it is not necessary to describe every single character right during his/her introduction, and it is also not necessary to describe what he/she has done step by step. These details can be slowly worked in, or foregone if unnecessary. I will not be purchasing the book today, as the writing style does not fit me.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 12:23 pm by gen_g.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

briellejee

Based on the cover and title, I think I would have sampled the book. Both aspects are intriguing and appealing to mystery fans like me. As for the first few pages, I liked how the chapters are short yet not lacking in any way. The first few chapters introduced the characters and their individuality: Casey, Brian, Sherry, Mara, and Derek. All of them seemed to be well-written as they have their own quirks and personalities. The plot then rose up when Casey was being beaten by Skeezy. At this point, I'm not sure I liked the author's writing style. I feel like there's a lack of urgency to the situation. I couldn't feel the hurt and the brutality of such a scene. Although, this might be also because the author made it this way as to not overwhelm the readers. I was scared for Casey but everything is such a blur. And Skeezy's having these thoughts while beating Casey dialed down the intensity of the scene. To be honest, there were a lot of "thoughts" in italicized, which I think was distracting for me. I mean, the narration is read by a third person so I think it would be less. Also, naming the suspect was a bummer for me. I would have wanted it to be mysterious so that it would be revealed in the end. It would make the chasing for the suspect fun too. With that, I don't think I will be buying the book. I found nothing that would make want to go on. I found no noticeable errors in the first part, but the formatting is off. There were paragraphs that have different topics but are written right after one another. Example here is on Chapter 4 when the first paragraph was talking about Skeezy being on the beach house with Casey but then proceeds to the paragraph below it (with no break) about Mara driving. It was confusing and reduces readability. The official OBC review was persuasive yet uninteresting in such a way that the summary was something I didn't understand or found confusing. But then, the review itself about the points and features of the book was good enough to tell me to sample this.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 10:49 am by briellejee.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Mai Tran

This sounds like a fast-paced thriller about relationships and hate crimes against the LGBT community. I don’t normally enjoy books that are too dialogue heavy, so I wouldn’t have checked out this one. The book is very suspenseful and seems well-edited. I didn’t expect the delivery man to be Casey’s attacker. However, it’s hard to distinguish the characters’ strains of thoughts and speech at times due to the alternating point of views. I won’t continue to read this book because I find it hard to follow.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 10:42 am by Mai Tran.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

lisalynn

My first and immediate question; why would anyone put spoilers in the blurb? There's no reason to read the book after that. In the first paragraph, we get a lot of detail about Casey—energetic twenty-eight-year-old, white Mazda Miata, long sun-streaked hair—and then all of a sudden someone named Sherry is opening the door. It's jarring, and my first of several "what's going on" moments. Enough to make me close the book right away. The cover indicates this book is from a screenplay. That's obvious at the start of Chapter Two. The descriptions of the two cops do feel like they come directly from the source material. By Chapter Three, we're head hopping between cop Mara and Casey. Yes, that's how a movie is filmed, cutting back and forth between characters, but it's not how I want to read a book. On page 6, there's some questionable punctuation. ("Good deal. 'Night, Mar'") The single quotation mark after Mar seems unnecessary. He's using Mar as her nickname. We get that even without indicating there's a missing letter at the end. In any case, there's no closing punctuation at the end of this dialogue line. "The B-Side" doesn't make my list. No OnlineBookClub review influenced me.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 10:30 am by lisalynn.

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 read the official review and sampled B-Side. I liked that Casey was happy with the cake Brian and Sherry had prepared for her because it seemed they had put a lot of love and effort into making it. The book appeared to be professionally edited as I did not find any errors in the pages I read. I won't be reading the rest of the book because the narrative did not capture my interest.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 9:51 am by ritah.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

cpru68

Casey is having a party that she seems excited about. There are hints that she has feelings for Mara who also seems interested in her partner at work. So, this sets the stage for some sort of love triangle. And, a warning from Mara also foreshadows that Casey may be in some sort of danger.

I’m not going to finish this book. I generally read non-fiction, and the love triangle aspect was not appealing to me at all. So many of the crime/mystery novels have these relationship conflicts woven in that it’s not anything new or fresh, so I’m passing on this. If the mystery could stand by itself, that’s one thing, but right away in the sample pages, the relationship aspect of the book is presented so that seems to be the theme more than the crime or mystery to solve.

I didn’t find any errors in punctuation, spelling or grammar so I believe this is professionally edited. I did find some of it quite juvenile, almost high school in tone and these are adult characters.

I appreciate the opportunity to have read the sample pages of this, and I probably wouldn’t have found this one without the online book club.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 9:38 am by cpru68.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Theresa Moffitt

I was not attracted to the cover of this book. The image is not attractive to me. The title is difficult to read. I would not have picked up this book based on the cover. I have not read a review of this book yet. The first ten pages follows two characters, Mara and Casey. It seems to be Casey’s birthday and she picks up a cake. Mara leaves work and they talk on the phone about being together that night to celebrate. They seem to be a couple in love. The chapters are very short. It appears to be professionally edited because I didn’t see any errors in the first ten pages. I would like to read a review of this book to see how the story progresses. The first ten pages didn’t really tell me what the story was about yet. Based on the first ten pages, I will not finish reading this book. After reading a review of this book, I may change my mind.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 9:16 am by Theresa Moffitt.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Scerakor

From the cover, blurb, and review of this book, I wouldn’t have read it. Although I’ve been enjoying a couple of mystery books recently, this one isn’t for me. With the LGBTQ2+ content and the violence, I wouldn’t enjoy it. After reading the first ten pages I didn’t change my mind and therefore will not be buying and reading the rest of this book. Although “like” isn’t the right word, the fight/invasion/beating scene early one set the tone for the rest of the novel very well. That being said, the writing style wasn’t for me and this will not be a type of book that I would pay for to read. 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 June 25, 2019, at 9:13 am by Scerakor.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

lavellan

I probably would have read the sample of B-Side even if it had not been a part of The First Ten program. The Book of the Day review was positive and left me interested in the book. The book did not seem like it was professionally edited, and I noticed a few errors while looking it over. For example, "scramble" should be used instead of "scrabble" in the following phrase: "...tries to scrabble away from him..." I thought that Casey was a bright and interesting character; I'm interested in seeing who was trying to murder her. I didn't like the author's writing style. They switched between points of view a lot, and I didn't like how they told rather than showed the story. As a result of this, I will not buy the book today.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 8:23 am by lavellan.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

sarahmarlowe randomeducator

The cover is interesting. I first noticed the 45-adapter (nice and nostalgic). The sample was also interesting. I almost stopped reading on the second page, however, after reading effing God. I did read the sample, though. I noticed that the author uses a lot of adjectives, which makes some of the sentences very long and sometimes unwieldy. There were also several grammatical issues, including several fragments, like this one: "Detective Mara Bays, forty, dark-haired, athletic and attractive." (first sentence in Chapter 2.) The action is good, and I like the idea that "these people" are probably going to play into solving the murder case. I won't be reading the book because of the profanity, but that's just me. I'm sure there is a good audience for this book. I have not read an OBC review.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 8:18 am by sarahmarlowe randomeducator.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

gali

I wouldn't have sampled the book on my own, as neither the cover nor the blurb appealed to me. The blurb was too detailed and contained many spoilers. While I appreciate the spoiler alert at its beginning, it was better not to include any spoilers.
The tale follows Detective Mara Bays and her male work partner, as they try to solve a vicious assault on Mara's life partner (a woman). I didn't change my mind after sampling the book. While the premise sounds intriguing, I wasn't too impressed by the sample. It read more like a screenplay than an actual story for one. I also didn't care for the present tense style of writing. It makes the writing appear abrupt. I also noticed a few instances of missing commas. Example: "Sherry blows her a kiss and Brian gives a double thumbs-up." I did like that the chapters are short, and the author does a good job setting up the scenes. The attack scene took away my breath. Still, I won't read the book, as it isn't my cup of tea. The love triangle angle and the graphic violence scenes also turned me off the book. The official review didn't sway my decision either way.

First Ten review added on June 25, 2019, at 6:33 am by gali.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Total ~ 15%

B-Side earned a score of 15%.

In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 15% 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 B-Side