Chapter Reviews: March 19-23, 2019 + Thoughts on upcoming books
High School Story: Class Act Chapter 6:
Most of the trip to the aquarium is relaxing. There's no presidential election drama to worry about aside from Ajay learning that the twin's ahead in the polls. Definitely the break I needed from all that drama.
As much as I dislike Ajay, I feel bad for him that his parents are arguing to the point of getting a divorce. I just wish his story is executed properly and has a conclusion that makes sense. Same goes with Skye.
Across the Void Chapter 14:
Ah, back to Matara. Playing as my MC is fun in some ways, but these moments are few and far in between. And my happiness quickly vanished when I have to get back on the Atlas. Not to mention that having to pay diamonds to save a passenger's life is just stupid. On a morbid note, that's one less passenger to worry about.
Great, I have to play as Eos again. I still remember how petty and self-righteous he is, and I certainly am not pairing him with Lyra. She deserves someone better. At least there's no sign of Pax.
I didn't hesitate picking the option hoping that Barlow is a handsome fellow. That was actually pretty funny. With VEE and Sol on board, I hope most of the rest of the crew made it safe and sound. And since my MC's dating Sol, I hope they get to reconnect, and Sol gets to develop as a character. He has potential owing to his vast knowledge of the setting around him.
The Heist: Monaco Chapter 16:
Wow! This is a nice, sweet ending. Prove that a Choices story doesn't need romance as a main focus to be awesome. It was also nice and satisfying to take down Ansel and Carlise in order to prove who's boss. Reuniting with Sonia at Vegas was the cherry at the top. I owe her a premium scene once I can afford it.
As for the ending, I got an average one, but at least it's more satisfying to match the good endings of my recruits. I particularly enjoy those of Jones and Graves. Even the cameos from other books are fun to watch. Sure some of them are from books I'm not fond of, but at least they're done in a way that doesn't piss me off. It's fun to see Graves starring in a movie directed by Tommy Phelps. And yay for Alana! I miss her so much!
Overall, this story is great. I love the fact that I have to think in order to get favorable outcomes, allowing me to exercise my mind. The heist crew is also one of the strongest points, each of them having unique and distinct personalities, and their conversations together are fun to watch. I'm definitely replaying this with the crew members I didn't recruit in order to immerse myself again. I think this story works just as well with a second book, but with a new crew and a few recruits returning, kinda like America's Most Eligible has a new set contestants in All Stars. That would keep the story fresh and exciting while still preserve our choices on who we recruited.
Desire & Decorum Chapter 13:
I'm starting to miss Prince Hamid, whom my MC is engaged to. It doesn't help that the premium option to go with Ernest comes across as pointless, so I skipped that. Nevertheless, it always cheers me up to pick the snarky options with Duke Richards.
I picked the premium options to play as Briar and eavesdrop on the conspirators with Luke. Reaching the point where I have to pick Arthur Woods or Edmund Marlcaster got me thinking that it's. For the conspirators, I wish there's a way to play them against each other, and the pretending part to keep them unaware is a start. At least I got proof of how much of a hypocrite the duke is.
Bah, that snake Henrietta! Always looking after herself. I'm not super surprised she would get rid of MC. After all, it's a temporary "alliance" of convenience, and she practically does nothing to help with the investigation. This series's MC has suffered a lot, espececially because of Duke Richards, but I can't see her giving up because she strikes me as determined to be with who she loves no matter the situation in the end. In her case, I'd love to see people's reactions when she marries Prince Hamid. That's right, a prince.
Passport to Romance Chapters 1-2:
Eh, it's okay. I get that it's light-hearted, but there's not much to say because I don't get to see much of the love interests. At least they don't look super bad, though Elliot looks like he should lighten up. I also like that Marisa and Sumire are opposites in terms of personality, though it's a tad bit sterotypical. Still miffed that the male MC faces come from BSC. Why can't it be from VoS or AME?
I cringed at the thought of spending diamonds just to get extra views on the blog. Not to mention that I already have a bad feeling I have to pay diamonds just to add certain pictures of iconic landmarks to the vlog. Nevertheless, I'm more interested in the traveling for the vlog than the romance.
Anyway, let's see how this goes.
America's Most Eligible Chapter 10:
Ugh, Vince continues to get on my nerves for his unnecessarily rude behavior, and I'm glad Ivy's sick of him.
I'm curious of Ivy right now. I know she comes across as an underdeveloped villain back in Book 1, but I'm all down for understanding her character. Pity it costs diamonds, and after watching the scene on YouTube, I'm glad she reveals that she plans to run pageants if she won, and her desire to win no matter the cost makes more sense now. I think it's fun to see her choosing underhanded means to win and not letting her past bring her down.
As for All Stars' format, it's about time Jen and Omar are feeling the frustration with Carson's mishandling of things. I saw some screenshots, where Carson doesn't want to become like Piper, only to mess things up. If I were him, I'd take Jen and Omar's opinions into account and evaluate them. That would've allowed him to keep the show exciting for the audience and contestants. Either way, Jen and Omar should've been the showrunners instead of Carson.
The go-kart ride was a breeze for because I picked the premium option to pick the audience vote and train with Crash just because I wanted an advantage and continue roleplaying my MC as a flirt. Didn't expect things to go easily. Oh well.
Holy cow! That ending with Eden and Kiana was a curveball! I had a bad feeling they'll get eliminated soon, but having them in a go-kart accident that results in karts exploding? That was a drastic move! I just hope they'll be okay, but chances are that they won't, and I'm scared. The next chapter summary doesn't exactly relieve my worries either.
Open Heart Chapter 6:
Man, the beginning of this chapter was super tense. For a moment, I thought I might kill Shonda if I wasn't being careful. Fortunately, she survived and gave decent advice to MC. That should be useful later on.
My MC's number 19 on the list. Well, that means he has to work harder. Jackie's shock at Aurora being first and Aurora telling her to go on was priceless, though.
So, Sienna's boyfriend Wayne is a clone of some characters I've already seen. He even talks robotic that it's creepy instead of funny. There's no emotion when he talked about being a lead programmer at a software company. Seriously, Sienna should dump him and move on to Danny, just in case Wayne's company decides to go after Edenbrook Hospital.
Speaking of which, it's adorable to see Elijah feeling infatuated with Phoebe, even if Phoebe has Lucilla Nazario's model.
I'm curious about the C.T. scan from Ethan. My guess is that it's on Naveen Banerji, hence his retirement announcement. Either way, this story is getting more interesting.
Ride or Die Chapter 10:
After seeing the nitrous oxide tank, I just can't help but think of Crash Team Racing. It's a PS1 game I often played during my childhood, and its antagonist is named Nitrous Oxide. Anyway, I didn't use it because I'm saving diamonds.
The party's okay, though I'd rather not go to one in some decrepit area. Pity it costs diamonds to kiss Mona, but whatever.
I didn't pick the premium option to talk with Teppei Kaneko, but after seeing some screencaps on it online, I have conflicting opinions on him. I get that he ultimately cares for his son and encourages him to pursue a life outside of crime, but grooming Logan as his "successor" just so he'll have nothing to lose in case Logan gets in trouble is what caused Logan and Colt's rivalry in the first place. Colt needs a heart-to-heart talk with his father, especially since the MPC leadership is hereditary, and Kaneko seems adamant to encourage his son to abandon this kind of life, just like Colt's mother did.
So Logan knew the dad was investigating the MPC and was the one who called the cops because he wanted to MC to "owe" him? Well, MC never owed him anything. In fact, I never liked Logan to begin with, so am I supposed to feel angry and heartbroken that he tricked the MC? That's something he would do, honestly. I thought the rest of the MPC will get rid of her, but that didn't seem to happen. As for her oldest friend, I'm guessing it's her old friends Riya and Darius. I hope it's Darius because I like him for displaying common sense.
The Elementalists Chapter 2:
I like this book even more than I thought. The indication that some choices affect MC's karma meter looks like choices will affect the MC's personality and relationship with others. After the ability to impress Kane A.K.A. that funky fashion disaster of a villain, I'm guessing we can choose who we can trust.
Katrina Harrington is so pretty. And a cool teacher, not less. I love the way she teaches her students and look forward to know her better, preferrably directly from her.
I swear, Beckett should start behaving in front of his sister and friends. I get that he's distant to his friends besides the MC, but his rather disparaging descriptions of his friends isn't helping matters on his insecurities. I get that he doesn't want to be overshadowed by his sister and thinks she barges into his space, but that doesn't give him the license to abuse it by acting dismissive towards his "friends".
Thoughts on upcoming books:
I'm mildly excited for Nightbound, in part because it will feature gender options. Yet at the same time, I'm worried that Pixelberry will resort to the same clichรฉs plaguing so many of its books, forced white male LI derailing the story being the biggest one. In the end, let's see how this goes.
I have mixed feelings for Wishful Thinking, especially after it's revealed that we can only play as a female. What's more important, however, is the quality of the story. If it ends up aimless like #LoveHacks, I don't want that.
I'm not excited for Sunkissed, which comes across as a cheesy romance story most likely to be female only. After all, Choices's low-effort books tend to lack gender options in order to make quick bucks. As for Platinum, I'm more excited because it's less like just romance and more like building up a music career. I fear that it will end up a fiasco like Red Carpet Diaries because of the protagonist being an up-and-coming music star. When Peyton said it will be gayer than TH:M, my guess is that its female love interests will be more prominent than the male ones. It could have gender options like TH:M, but it's also possible we won't.
Regarding the Royal Romance sequel series, I feel like a short epilogue would've been a bit better than an entire sequel series. Don't get me wrong. I love Olivia, Maxwell, the corgi, my MC, and her husband Liam, but I think it would've been better if the writers focused on treating their own characters well in Book 3 instead of focusing too much effort on Drake.
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