ROMANCE

Valentina sees her father being taken away by the police for committing fraud. She then realizes that he stole all of the family’s money, including hers. She seeks out her wealthy grandmother looking for financial help, and she makes a condition to put her will in Val’s name: She needs to get married and have children. Val then searches for a man who can get her pregnant and finds the perfect match in her friend’s brother.

FAIR

FIRST PERSON

Authors Writing Style: FAIR

Characterization: FAIR

Commerciality: FAIR

Franchise Potential: GOOD

Pace: GOOD

Premise: GOOD

Structure: FAIR

Theme: FAIR

It is accurate.

The narrative is very straight to the point and shows us the inciting incident right away, which is good for drawing attention. We got somewhat curious to see how Val is going to get out of her financial troubles and how Hudson is going to be able to lift his company.

As the narrative is split between Hudson and Val’s points of view, it ends up getting a bit repetitive as a story. It would be more interesting if each chapter moved the story forward a little instead of reflecting on the same subject twice.

THE STORY DOES NOT RELY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS

The hook is seeing two people who at first don’t love each other having to go on a journey together to reach a similar goal. The love that is born between them is another consequence of that.

I think the series of stories involving heritage created by the author can attract fans in a miniseries where each episode reflects a book of hers. However, in terms of romance, I believe that this book is one of the least exciting to this audience.

I don’t believe it will win awards because of the novel’s dramatic superficiality. A grandmother forcing her granddaughter to marry and have children is more fun as a plot point, albeit absurd, than actually intense. It could be a romantic comedy, but it has a more dramatic tone that doesn’t match the narrative content so much.

MEDIUM BUDGET

MUSTANG: A FAMILY ARRANGES TO MARRY ONE OF THEIR FIVE DAUGHTERS TO A FINANCIALLY STABLE MAN. THE PROPOSAL: A CANADIAN MAGAZINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DECIDES TO GET MARRIED TO KEEP HER US VISA.

It is original within the author’s proposal to create a series of romantic stories based on heritage.

Once again, the characters present some not very likable characteristics. For example, Val seems to only care about her grandmother when it comes to money, and she quickly accepts marrying and having children with a stranger to gain access to the inheritance. Val also doesn’t show great sadness about her father’s arrest. Hudson, being a young man not as wealthy as Val, seems more down to earth trying to find a way out of the possible bankruptcy he finds himself in. But anyway, it would be interesting to see a more human side of the two right away, so we can like them right away.

It’s not a rare gem because we’ve seen previous films with a similar premise of forced marriage for a financial purpose.

Film: Streaming TV Series: Limited Run / Mini-Series, Streaming

WORK IN PROGRESS

It’s a work in progress because despite having a good inciting incident, a fun plot point, and having a thought-provoking narrative that makes us want to see this love story born, it still has open gaps and demands further development in terms of characters and narrative flow.

First, make this love story more organic and genuine. The chemistry between the two seems strained at times. They seem much more interested in money than in love, despite their flirtation and sexual attraction. So for those looking for a sugary, honest romance that grows day by day, it can be a little frustrating. The characters could be more lovable somehow. It’s interesting to see nonperfect characters on screen, but it would be even interesting to see other sides that go beyond their quest for money. The transformation of these characters as an arc development, in which they become better people because of the love they are living, is a good choice. However, we have to like these characters right away for the story to be compelling, and thus we can actually root for their love story. Some situations seem a little soapy, like Amanda pretending that Val couldn’t have children while exchanging exams in a lab. As entertaining as it may seem to have a more evil villain like her, the narrative could still gain a little more subtlety in terms of actions and personalities.