Review of You Don't Know What it's Like

[Sam Ibeh]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "You Don't Know What it's Like" by Peter Light.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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After losing her mother, a mysterious stranger invading Jessica Ballard's home is the last thing on her bucket list. But as fate entwines her with a man running from the law and a strange mystery he needs her help solving, she finds his charm and character irresistible, and all former cares go into the wind. You Don't Know What it's Like by Peter Light tells a modern romance story with a supernatural twist. There are magical elements, criminal masterminds, and the breaking of all known boundaries of the human consciousness. This mind-altering book takes a different approach to exploring the limitless possibilities of falling in love in the age of technology.

The light-hearted feel of the book is noticeable from the first page. There are funny emotional outbursts, overactive internal monologues, and characters stuck in tricky situations. This book has a pleasant, mellow vibe that makes the reader feel at peace. However, the plot eventually does develop into a complex emotional structure. The light-hearted foundation that builds the story ensures the book never becomes unnecessarily tense, overwhelming, or burdensome to the reader.

Peter Light gives life to this story as one would expect from an author. Each character is fully formed and molded into this made-up world. But what will strike the reader significantly is how Peter Light also gives life to objects and concepts. Each entity in this story brims with pure life, as seen in the beautiful internal monologues by little animals and inanimate objects. This gives the book a dreamlike and almost otherworldly feel. It showcases the brilliant creativity of this writer.

However, while reading this book, the reader will eventually have to question the bizarre relationship dynamics of the main protagonists, Jessica and Steve. The attraction they share is mainly physical. As they struggle to fall in love, they are dishonest and secretive and seem to tolerate each other. With all the ups and downs, one wonders if the two even love each other. They display more toxic and unhealthy behaviors as the story progresses. Although it is uncomfortable, it shows the author's attempt at keeping in touch with reality.

You Don't Know What it's Like takes the reader through different storylines, time frames, and characters as the book progresses. However, It does not follow any pattern while doing this. The author does not fully introduce the characters as their stories begin. He does not follow a chronological sequence either. Very often, a new scene will take an enlightened reader at least three pages to comprehend what is happening. The beginner reader, however, will be lost entirely and detached from the book. Often, a new storyline is infused into the book, but no names are given to the new characters. The author uses "he" or "she" pronouns instead. This can make a reader wrongly assume the "he" or "she" in question is an aforementioned character. The identities of these characters are only revealed when the story is almost fully developed. This writing style can be challenging, making an interested reader lose interest after a while.

The book has not undergone professional editing. Throughout the book, it is easy to spot improper usage of tenses, grammatical blunders, and misspellings. These errors prevent the book from being an immersive experience, as the reading flow is often interrupted.

You Don't Know What it's Like is a spellbinding book that deals with the nuances of falling in love and the different paths that lead to self-discovery. This book will be suitable for young adults or anyone wild at heart with a liking for books on adventure, romance, and crime. However, as enjoyable a read as it is, certain things, such as the lack of proper editing and the unnecessarily complex nature of the book, negatively affect it. Therefore, I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

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You Don't Know What it's Like
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[Amy Luman]

I’m not a fan of romance novels, even very good ones, which this does not seem to be. I recently read a novel with lots of errors and it was hard for me to finish the book. I do feel bad for Jessica. She seems to have gotten more than her share of bad breaks.

[Odichimma Okoye]

My thought as I read the book? "Oh wow!" A guy on the run from the law and a girl trying to mind her own business seem like a nice mix to me. I hope the story is thoroughly delightful because I definitely will immerse myself completely in its pages. From the first paragraph of the review, I was able to identify that it's my exact type of book.