#nanobit

First the ‘twins are stupid’, now ‘bringing back an ex is stupid’, AND letting Nora say ‘fuck’?

(Part 1 of 2) So today I’m posting a sort of review for a choose your own adventure I found on play store recently. Admittedly I’ve been bored of Choices for a while so I decided to check out similar apps, see if they have more interesting books I can read. I stumbled upon Tabou Stories by Nanobit.

The game is R-16 and the plot of some of the books are really geared toward a more mature audience. For instance, in The Bodyguard, you’re the wife of a politician and after receiving death threats, your husband sends you away with a bodyguard whom you end up developing feelings for. In Hot & Hired, you hire a hot gardener to… tend your gardens. You’re also married, so will your husband catch on? That kind of stuff. Anyway.

I wasn’t planning on giving the app a review, but I found some of its features really cool, and I figured other Choices readers who follow me would also be interested in a similar app. This review is split into two parts. This part will discuss the main character and related premium choices and a bit about the LIs. 

Main Character Choices. Typically, you would get four different MC faces to choose from, with varying hairstyles and clothing options to choose from. Recently I discovered that depending on the MC you choose, you’ll get different hairstyles that’s appropriate for your MC.

These are the hairstyle options for different MCs.

I know this is nothing revolutionary, but as someone’s who’s used to Choices giving the exact same hairstyle options for any MC you choose, this is a nice change for me. I like the effort they put into this; it’s a small detail, but I’m sure something that many would appreciate.

Unlike in Choices, where they have limited clothing options to a free one (usually ugly) and a premium one (could be ugly or not), Tabou Stories offers more. There are at least 3 in the books that I have read, and the costs vary, usually depending on how nice it looks. From what I’ve seen, the cost ranges from 5 diamonds to 30 diamonds; I’m not sure there is anything more expensive. In the current book I’m reading (Matchmaker), the clothing option is good for at least two chapters. Additionally, even if you choose the free one, it’s not the same little black dress for every occasion like in Choices. In Tabou Stories, they put you in a free outfit that’s still appropriate for whatever event you’re attending, although usually less fashionable than the premium option.

On the downside I don’t think I have ever seen a book with a male MC as an option.

So since Our Little Secret is still incomplete I decided to start reading a finished book called Hot & Hired. MC is an unhappy wife currently looking for a gardener to sort out her garden for an upcoming charity event (hopefully I am remembering it right lol). Anyway MC manages to hire Levi, and the two of them end up having an affair (there's a reason it's called Tabou Stories).

Side characters include the exasperating neighbors Camille, who always gives MC shit for her garden, and Camille's husband Dale; and Jen, MC's best friend, who also ends up having the hots for Levi. Oh, right, let's not forget Alex, the rich husband who only has time for golf and has zero idea how to make a woman orgasm (I bought two of his diamond scenes and they were both tragic).

Anyway I just wanted to rave about my MC because she's so beautiful and perfect despite her questionable life choices and off dialogue sometimes. I went for a premium hairstyle, but even without it she's really beautiful and I love dressing her up haha. Also Nanobit continues to deliver in terms of providing premium stylish clothing for her, which is something I really really love about this app 😍

(Part 2 of 2) This is the second part of my review for Tabou Stories, a choose your own adventure app similar to Choices. The first part of my review can be found here, where I shared a few screenshots of MCs and the synopses of some of their books. Tabou Stories is R-16, so it’s geared toward a more mature audience.

Keys. Tabou Stories offers Weekly Unlimited Subscription for $3.99. I haven’t tried it since I haven’t felt the need to, but if I understand correctly that’s pretty cheap for non-stop reading for a week. If you don’t go for that, the cheapest is at $1.99 for 6 keys, while the most expensive is at $49.99 for 275 keys. Honestly I don’t think you would need that many keys since there aren’t too many books yet, although you would need them if you want to restart a book or specific chapters. If you read fast, I think this would be a good pack for you.

Diamonds. There’s no limit to how many diamonds you can have at a time. Similar to Choices, you can get 1 diamond every time you watch an ad. You also get one diamond every time you finish a chapter.

What’s unique about Tabou Stories is they have what they call Challenges/Achievements. Every time you finish the challenges and accomplish achievements, they give you a specific number of diamonds. This refreshes every 24 hours, so if you can pace yourself, this is a good way to earn diamonds for free.

Aside from four diamond packs they offer at $4.99, $9.99, $39.99 and $49.99, Tabou Stories also offers a VIP Card for only $9.99. This 30-day pass gives 60 diamonds immediately after purchase, 10 diamonds per daily log in (you need to claim it everyday) and 2 diamonds for every chapter you finish (instead of just 1). That’s at least 360 diamonds even without the diamonds you get after every chapter, for only $9.99. Personally I think it’s a good deal; the only problem I see is if you want to binge read and you don’t have enough diamonds for the choices per day. It says that subscription does not automatically continue, so there's no risk of you forgetting to opt out if you no longer want it.

Currently Reading. Right now I’m reading Matchmaker (my LI is Edward lol) and for all its silliness I really like it so far. Basically your rich best friend tells you to take her place in a reality show where people (I guess the girls?) pick their matches and make them fall in love with them. While inside the house they go through challenges, attend events and try to win some games. It's a multiple-LI book, and you can choose whether or not your ex (who is also an LI) is male or female. Overall it’s a pretty light read, and I would recommend you start with it if you end up giving Tabou Stories a chance.

In my original playthrough I didn't buy this dress, so I lost the fashion show. I decided to restart the book after reaching chapter twelve, and one of the things I'm doing differently this round is buying this dress to win the fashion show.

Much to my surprise, buying the dress actually unlocks a pretty lengthy extra scene. Some of the additional scenes are the following:

1. Amelia getting surprised that her sabotage did not work;

2. MC announced to be on the cover of Cosmopolitan;

3. MC meeting Taylor Perry, the celebrity who got her fired in the beginning of the book; and

4. MC taking a selfie with Taylor Perry, which gives additional popularity points and guarantees MC an Audience Favorite Award.

In a later scene MC also meets Marco Duval, a famous fashion designer. The sequence takes place whether you win or lose the fashion show, but if you purchase a dress you find out that Marco Duval himself designed the dress that MC wears.