Friday 18 November 2022

Book Review: "No Filter" by Orlagh Collins

Kindle:
Hardcover:
Paperback:
⭐ out of 5

 If you've read any of my other recent book reviews then you'll already know that I always start each one in the same way - by saying that every book starts off with the full basket of stars and I'm always hopeful that it'll still be a 5 star book by the time I close my Kindle.  You'll also know that I always give my reasons for knocking stars off and that 5 star books usually break my heart and become 4 stars because of use of brands potentially without permission.  The last book that I read said before the first page of the story started that brand names were used fictitiously in the story so they kept the full five stars despite using brand names pretty often... it just needs that one sentence or an acknowledgement to the company to keep that 5th star firmly in place.

Let's get reading and reviewing!

Oh dear, the first star is wobbly at only 1% because the author has used a well-known internet website... it's still clinging on, but barely - any more usage of brand names and the first star is coming off because there wasn't that sentence right at the start about the brands being used fictitiously.  And off it comes in the next sentence because of use of the use of a festival  :-(  The only way to get it back to 5 stars now is if they are included in the acknowledgements  :-(

The first section was OK at best, but it was pretty much entirely in italics which made for incredibly hard reading and has made my eyes ache like mad.

I'm a touch confused about the language used - some of it is American (like the use of "form" instead of "year") but the author has used the UK spelling of "mum" so if a mid-forties woman is confused, imagine what a young teen would be feeling already!  There has also been very little speech between the characters so far so it's already boring me... will this be a book that I skip more than I read?  The second star is slipping off, so we're already down to 3 stars after only 3%.

At last!  The end of the first chapter at 5%!  I'm already regretting every penny I spent on this book, unfortunately.

I'm guessing this is definitely an American author 'cos there have been three swears in a page and a half that would be unlikely to pass a UK publishers approval.  They're not bad swears, thankfully, but they are still there so the third star is coming off at only 6% and I don't reckon I'll even get a quarter of this book before I give up on it at this rate.

And now we're in Ireland... that's three countries and varying spellings in only 7%.  Unless things dramatically improve for the rest of this chapter, the fourth star is coming off and I'm stopping reading this book.

That's a relief - I got to the end of the chapter without feeling like I had to knock the final star off.  I've got 92% of the book left to get through and only one star left before I give up... not looking too promising right now, is it?

Ooh!  That was a decent chapter!  The first one in this book that I haven't needed to knock a star off during... does this mean that I'll get through the rest of the book now and that the author has finally found her inspiration?  I certainly hope so!

A second good chapter!  The author is definitely in her stride now!

After a good couple of chapters, it's back to boredom again.  I'm up to 71% now and I'm looking forward to the end of this blimmin' book... total waste of time and money.

I've scrolled forward another 20% and it really hasn't improved, so the fourth and final star is coming off.  What a hugely disappointing book.

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