BOOK REVIEW: Loving Prime by Nikki Karenina

Photo c/o Precious Hearts Romances

TITLE: Loving Prime (4424)

AUTHOR: Nikki Karenina

FROM: Precious Hearts Romances

PAGES: 128

Dahil sa matinding galit ni Freya sa manlolokong boyfriend niya, naibunton niya sa sasakyan nito ang lahat ng galit niya. Only to find out later na nagkamali siya ng tingin sa plate number. Hindi pala ang sasakyan ng boyfriend niya ang na-“murder” niya kundi ang sa guwapong basketball player na si Prime Abellana!

Labag man sa loob niya, kailangan niyang tanggapin ang parusa nito. Magiging dakilang “alipin” siya nito at wala siyang magagawa kundi sumunod sa lahat ng ipag-uutos nito kung ayaw niyang dumeretso sa presinto. Guwapo nga ito pero nakaka-high blood ang ugali nito.

Pero isang araw ay dinala siya nito sa isang lugar kung saan hindi sinasadyang nakita niya ang isang side nito. Puwede pala itong maging lovable kung gugustuhin nito. Kaya isang araw, nagising siyang in love na rito. Hiling niya kay Kupido na sana ay panain nito nang bonggang-bongga ang puso ni Prime patungo sa kanya.

Unfortunately, hindi yata marunong makinig ng instruction si Kupido. Dahil pinana nga nito ang puso ni Prime, hindi naman patungo sa kanya kundi sa ibang babae. And worse, sa isa sa mga best friend pa niya…

REVIEW

GENRE

Romance (sorry, I'm not sure about the rest)

PLOT

The plot is like spaghetti in dire need of more sauce and spice. It’s dry and unexciting.  

POINT OF VIEW

Technically, it was okay, but the content was a mess. Spoiler thoughts, wayward thoughts, redundant thoughts... They were all over the place. They hamper the flow.  It’s distracting.

CHARACTERS

FREYA

I really don’t like heroines who have everything. I didn’t even sympathize with Freya’s broken heart. The anger she displayed by smashing a car, it turned me off. No woman raised properly would smash a car even in her heartbroken state, except if she had completely turned psycho. Freya is still sane, though. An annoyingly resurfacing inconsistency to the character she played out in most parts of the book. The only way she could have redeemed herself in my eyes was if she was REALLY punished in the story. Pero ang daming kunsintidor. She wasn’t challenged a bit.

I also didn’t see what’s special with her as a woman. She had no depth. No motivations in life aside from her heartache. She didn’t stir my emotions.

PRIME

I had a glimpse of his potential as a hero. He would have been more mature than the heroine. That’s why I’m disappointed that his character wasn’t explored properly. Such a waste.

I was not convinced that there was a “connection” between Freya and Prime. It should be shown, not mentioned.

MEANING

n/a

COMPARISONS

n/a

OTHER DETAILS

The car-wrecking scene made me think, “Ganito ba talaga ka-immature ang college students?” Kung may pinaghuhugutan, puwede pa siguro, pero walang background na maaaring magbigay ng motivation sa heroine na gawin ang ginawa niya. A heartache couldn't make a good girl do that, unless she’s mentally ill. At puro galing naman sa maaayos na pamilya ang mga karakter na ito, bakit hindi nag-reflect iyon sa character? There has to be characters—sane characters—who have the maturity to keep the story together. They can’t all afford to be forgiving and saintly.

I also know that this fascination with CEOs is a mainstay in the contemporary romance genre, but come on—this is not the darn English nobility! Being the son of the CEO doesn’t guarantee you the seat to be CEO someday. Okay, it’s possible, but that info doesn’t help the character or the story a bit. It's a turn-off.

I'm forced to compare the author’s college characters to those of one veteran PHR writer’s, if only to get a point through. Even if the latter’s characters are young and reckless, they still reflect an ounce of maturity. Certain values are intact even if they are brats. Please take note of that.

Nakulangan rin ako sa conflict (kung matatawag ko nga bang conflict ang nasa librong ito). The characters could not reach their potentials because there’s no suitable antagonist or situation to challenge them and mold them to be mature characters in the end. Walang opposition, eh. Tuloy hindi nag-grow ang mga bida. Where’s the big bad wolf?

No favorite scenes for me.

The disadvantage of having too many characters talk with the heroine is that I was able to find a more suitable hero than the designated hero. The best dialogue for me was when Zac complimented Freya. I could see a love triangle there, a motivation for the hero to act heroic, but it was ignored. I weep for these characters.

CONCLUSION

It was boring. It was too light it lacked the power to drag me inside it. It didn't take me towards an exciting romantic path.

RATING:  1 STAR  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆