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A review by thebritishbibliophile
The Next 365 Days: A Novel by Blanka Lipińska
1.0
⭐️ 1
Blanka wrote in her author’s note:
If you haven’t found the moral in my story, I’m in a hurry to explain. The 365 Days Trilogy does not glorify rape and Stockholm syndrome. Massimo, as you can see, is not perfect or flawless, and Laura is stupid. I’m sorry, but if you fell for the charm of the main character, you’ve probably done in more than once in real life. But remember! All that glitters is not gold, and money and the appearance of happiness do not bring true happiness. Freedom, independence, space, and partnership count, not dictatorship and expensive shoes ;)
Blanka’s ‘justification’ at the end in her authors note is far from that. It is a poor attempt at an ‘author’ trying to justify why they did what they did knowing the backlash they were going to get from something they themselves have created. No author can 100% create something the entire reader base will like and receive well, but Blanka is clearly delusional to think that readers will be okay with what she has done here after reading her author’s note at the end. This note does not cure what we feel, excuse what you have done and make us think differently. In fact, the note is just as infuriating—if not more—as the story. Here’s why:
1.) ‘if you haven’t found the moral in my story’ — yes, Blanka, we have. Just not the moral you were putting out there in the way you wanted us to realise it. We’re not stupid. Your writing was just poor.
2.) ‘the 365 Days trilogy does not glorify rape & Stockholm syndrome’ — did you not read your own story? Yes it does. At least the former. I’m not a reader that will shy away from reading a gritty story, even if it includes a scene where a rape takes place because such a thing does happen in real life, but never have I read a story that claims to ‘not glorify rape’, but still continues to include it in scenes, rather than let the character recover from it and move the story on.
3. ‘Massimo, as you can see, is not perfect or flawless’ — this is true to some extent. But even the least perfect characters deserve a redemption arc or at least, a happy ending. DO NOT write a character you KNOW we will fall for only to do a complete 180 and leave this poor man in the dust. Everyone deserves an HEA, even Massimo. What you did to this character, and the excuse you threw our way right at the end was pathetic and stupid. Justifying that he wouldn’t be this way if his father was alive, wasn’t a justification at all. Guess what? We all loose someone! We all lose ourselves at some point in our lives. It’s normal. It happens. Do not make that reason the characters whole personality. It’s ONE PART of them, not everything!
4.) ‘Laura is stupid’ — yes, she is. But again you made it her WHOLE personality in this book. We all make stupid mistakes and can be stupid on numerous occasions, but it’s not the entirety of who we are. We are not inherently 100% stupid. But the logic, reasoning, thinking, actions and everything about her in this book was just beyond stupid.
5.) ‘I’m sorry, but if you fell for the charm of the main character, you’ve probably done in more than once in real life. — I really wish I could flip you the bird for this one, Blanka. We fall for the charm of main characters because that’s the very nature of who we are as readers. If we don’t fall for a main character even, we fall for a supporting character. It’s what happens to some of us! But how can you not expect us to fall for Massimo when YOU created him that way for us to do so? DO NOT create a character so charming, sexy and domineering if you don’t want us to fall for him and keep him in our hearts if in the long run, you’re going to rip him from us. Just because this might have happened to you in your life gives you ZERO excuse to do it to us in books. Include your life, experiences and lessons in books by all means, every author indices drips and drops of their lives in their book/books, but they certainly don’t do what you’ve done. As for we’ve probably done it in real life? It’s laughable for you to lump us all into the same category as you. Some of us haven’t even had the privilege of being considered to be loved. Not all of us have a Massimo or Nacho who wants us. If you wanted us to hate someone, create a VILLAIN. Not a main character. We call for main characters, but we hate villains. That is what they’re here for, they have a job in books and we aren’t sad when they’re disposed of. Massimo’s brother was THE perfect villain for you to use, but you quickly squashed that perfect plot device now didn’t you?
5.) ‘All that glitters is not gold, and money and the appearance of happiness do not bring true happiness.’ — welcome to the real world, Blanka. All of us lares know this. Happiness is tailored to each person and is different for all of us. Some people might find these things being them happiness, some will not. It’s called being an individual.
6.) ‘Freedom, independence, space, and partnership count, not dictatorship and expensive shoes ‘ — I agree to a certain degree, to the first four things. They are all valid reasons, but they don’t count as reasons in their own right. Life isn’t a this-or-that black and white world. There’s plenty of grey areas—fifty, if you will—and room for things to exist together alongside each other. As for the latter three? Yes, dictatorship is not ideal, but as someone who shows us constant brand-names, designer labels and product upon product, bags, clothes and shoes on her instagram, I think you’re being very hypocritical. If material things did not matter to you, you would not flaunt them on your social media and you certainty wouldn’t write about several characters who also flaunt these things.
I am very disappointed in this final book in the trilogy. The first earned a very respectable four stars and the second, five. I had hoped that this book would provide a satisfactory conclusion that it’s movie counterpart failed to do but alas, it did not. I will be happily keeping the first two books on my shelf, but this novel will be swiftly removed from my ownership and I will contentedly pretend you did not create it, or that it even happened
Books, at the end of the day, are an escape from the realities of the real world. They may include situations, experiences an scenarios from the real world, but they aren’t meant to be realistic in their entirety. Me thinks you should’ve written this for non-fiction, Blanka, if you wanted to tell your story and hammer home a realistic and moralistic story.
This book had promise to be something great. Something we could all enjoy and champion as we have done other books and authors, but this book fell short on several occasions. Not least of all, stooping so low as to attempt to insult another author—and their book—when your own is worse than the attempted insult.
One beautiful thing about imagination, is that it can take you anywhere. All of us, in our own minds in the ways we want to be taken. In my mind and in my heart, Massimo is getting his redemption arc and HEA he so rightly deserves and should have been awarded by the author who created him.
Blanka, are you lost, baby girl?
1⭐️
Blanka wrote in her author’s note:
If you haven’t found the moral in my story, I’m in a hurry to explain. The 365 Days Trilogy does not glorify rape and Stockholm syndrome. Massimo, as you can see, is not perfect or flawless, and Laura is stupid. I’m sorry, but if you fell for the charm of the main character, you’ve probably done in more than once in real life. But remember! All that glitters is not gold, and money and the appearance of happiness do not bring true happiness. Freedom, independence, space, and partnership count, not dictatorship and expensive shoes ;)
Blanka’s ‘justification’ at the end in her authors note is far from that. It is a poor attempt at an ‘author’ trying to justify why they did what they did knowing the backlash they were going to get from something they themselves have created. No author can 100% create something the entire reader base will like and receive well, but Blanka is clearly delusional to think that readers will be okay with what she has done here after reading her author’s note at the end. This note does not cure what we feel, excuse what you have done and make us think differently. In fact, the note is just as infuriating—if not more—as the story. Here’s why:
1.) ‘if you haven’t found the moral in my story’ — yes, Blanka, we have. Just not the moral you were putting out there in the way you wanted us to realise it. We’re not stupid. Your writing was just poor.
2.) ‘the 365 Days trilogy does not glorify rape & Stockholm syndrome’ — did you not read your own story? Yes it does. At least the former. I’m not a reader that will shy away from reading a gritty story, even if it includes a scene where a rape takes place because such a thing does happen in real life, but never have I read a story that claims to ‘not glorify rape’, but still continues to include it in scenes, rather than let the character recover from it and move the story on.
3. ‘Massimo, as you can see, is not perfect or flawless’ — this is true to some extent. But even the least perfect characters deserve a redemption arc or at least, a happy ending. DO NOT write a character you KNOW we will fall for only to do a complete 180 and leave this poor man in the dust. Everyone deserves an HEA, even Massimo. What you did to this character, and the excuse you threw our way right at the end was pathetic and stupid. Justifying that he wouldn’t be this way if his father was alive, wasn’t a justification at all. Guess what? We all loose someone! We all lose ourselves at some point in our lives. It’s normal. It happens. Do not make that reason the characters whole personality. It’s ONE PART of them, not everything!
4.) ‘Laura is stupid’ — yes, she is. But again you made it her WHOLE personality in this book. We all make stupid mistakes and can be stupid on numerous occasions, but it’s not the entirety of who we are. We are not inherently 100% stupid. But the logic, reasoning, thinking, actions and everything about her in this book was just beyond stupid.
5.) ‘I’m sorry, but if you fell for the charm of the main character, you’ve probably done in more than once in real life. — I really wish I could flip you the bird for this one, Blanka. We fall for the charm of main characters because that’s the very nature of who we are as readers. If we don’t fall for a main character even, we fall for a supporting character. It’s what happens to some of us! But how can you not expect us to fall for Massimo when YOU created him that way for us to do so? DO NOT create a character so charming, sexy and domineering if you don’t want us to fall for him and keep him in our hearts if in the long run, you’re going to rip him from us. Just because this might have happened to you in your life gives you ZERO excuse to do it to us in books. Include your life, experiences and lessons in books by all means, every author indices drips and drops of their lives in their book/books, but they certainly don’t do what you’ve done. As for we’ve probably done it in real life? It’s laughable for you to lump us all into the same category as you. Some of us haven’t even had the privilege of being considered to be loved. Not all of us have a Massimo or Nacho who wants us. If you wanted us to hate someone, create a VILLAIN. Not a main character. We call for main characters, but we hate villains. That is what they’re here for, they have a job in books and we aren’t sad when they’re disposed of. Massimo’s brother was THE perfect villain for you to use, but you quickly squashed that perfect plot device now didn’t you?
5.) ‘All that glitters is not gold, and money and the appearance of happiness do not bring true happiness.’ — welcome to the real world, Blanka. All of us lares know this. Happiness is tailored to each person and is different for all of us. Some people might find these things being them happiness, some will not. It’s called being an individual.
6.) ‘Freedom, independence, space, and partnership count, not dictatorship and expensive shoes ‘ — I agree to a certain degree, to the first four things. They are all valid reasons, but they don’t count as reasons in their own right. Life isn’t a this-or-that black and white world. There’s plenty of grey areas—fifty, if you will—and room for things to exist together alongside each other. As for the latter three? Yes, dictatorship is not ideal, but as someone who shows us constant brand-names, designer labels and product upon product, bags, clothes and shoes on her instagram, I think you’re being very hypocritical. If material things did not matter to you, you would not flaunt them on your social media and you certainty wouldn’t write about several characters who also flaunt these things.
I am very disappointed in this final book in the trilogy. The first earned a very respectable four stars and the second, five. I had hoped that this book would provide a satisfactory conclusion that it’s movie counterpart failed to do but alas, it did not. I will be happily keeping the first two books on my shelf, but this novel will be swiftly removed from my ownership and I will contentedly pretend you did not create it, or that it even happened
Books, at the end of the day, are an escape from the realities of the real world. They may include situations, experiences an scenarios from the real world, but they aren’t meant to be realistic in their entirety. Me thinks you should’ve written this for non-fiction, Blanka, if you wanted to tell your story and hammer home a realistic and moralistic story.
This book had promise to be something great. Something we could all enjoy and champion as we have done other books and authors, but this book fell short on several occasions. Not least of all, stooping so low as to attempt to insult another author—and their book—when your own is worse than the attempted insult.
One beautiful thing about imagination, is that it can take you anywhere. All of us, in our own minds in the ways we want to be taken. In my mind and in my heart, Massimo is getting his redemption arc and HEA he so rightly deserves and should have been awarded by the author who created him.
Blanka, are you lost, baby girl?
1⭐️