Title

The title Sparks is a very simple title. I can't really tell what the book is going to be about just from the title, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for me. It subtly gives me a mysterious vibe. On the other hand, I do have a feeling that this book may revolve around the genre of romance and teen fiction because normally, in some romance stories there's always some characters who feel the "sparks" between them—In other words, they've got a lot of chemistry between them. Obviously, I'm just making assumptions of all sorts now so I'll have to read to find out more.

Cover

The book cover is quite appealing if anything, I think this is because you've stuck to a specific colour scheme and played around with it. I like how you've included a pastel or baby pink colour on the cover, however, you've also included dark and light shades so it gives a mixture of mysterious and bright tones. It's almost like you're telling us that the book isn't going to be all happy sunshines and rainbows but something dramatic, chaotic or bad will occur. I like how you've included an image of a girl, the image is good quality and clear and you've once again included pink/white theme on the cover which makes it look attractive.

My only feedback for you would be to try to include more of the genre on the book cover like some small hints because I honestly have no idea what genre your book is as of yet. I was just analysing the hell out of the cover and trying to come up with something. Also, try to ensure that your book cover is related to the plot or storyline of your book in some way. No reader wants a book cover with a girl on it who may or may not be the main character.

Blurb

The blurb was good at the beginning because it started off with short snappy sentences, which I actually began to find some interest in—that is until Rachel and her accident was mentioned. I feel like you spoilt the book for me there by telling me she was in an accident and she recognises her car because it was her dad who she crashed into. Personally, I would have liked to have found out that key piece of information by reading the book and not in the blurb as I feel it's given something important away.

The end of the blurb seems rushed and doesn't really make sense if anything.

You wrote, "At that point, her dark Ages started." 

The way you've written this doesn't particularly suit the genre of your book. If it was fantasy then it'd seem interesting, but for right now it just doesn't make sense. I'm not dense, so I understand that you're trying to say how Rachel goes into this void of depression or darkness as the incident changes her life, however, not every reader is going to be able to understand it and analyse the text as much as I do.

My feedback for you would be to revise the blurb, try not to include nor exclude too much information but write enough to interest the reader and make them want to read your book.

First Chapter/writing

The first chapter commenced with a fun setting; nothing better than a drinking challenge in a party, of course. I think most teenagers can relate to that part.

You wrote, "I was walking like a drunk person should be towards my car".

I think you could have used the word staggering instead or described how she's feeling a little trippy or nauseous. Your sentence seems very basic here, it's like adding extra words in a sentence when there's no need to. Every single sentence in the first chapter begins with "I", it's just "I did this", "I felt that", etc. While I understand it is written in 1st person, there's just an overuse of the letter "I". I feel like the first chapter is at a ridiculously fast pace, like one minute, Rachel is at the party and the next, her mum is telling her that her dad is dead.

Some feedback for you would be to try and elaborate on the details and descriptions in the first chapter, maybe try making the accident scene more graphic with the blood as you need to really set the scene up and captivate your readers in that first chapter. Some more feedback would be to go over the first chapter and make sure it's solid enough to draw the reader in and make them wanting to read the rest of your book.

Plot/theme

Upon reading the rest of the book, I was left very disappointed because I expected more—maybe it's partly my own fault for having high expectations. As I continued reading the rest of the book, I realised this was another generic cliché-like book, as it is very obvious that there's some kind of history between Tyler and Rachel and he's going to most likely be the one to bring her out of her dark place or try to help. Either way, he somehow affects her life in a good and bad way.

I'm unsure as to what the themes are in this book because I was expecting a lot of grief, a bit of depression and maybe a bit of love but none of them really come through when I'm reading the book so it's left me a bit confused.

I would suggest that you plan the plot of your book properly and expand all points when writing the chapters as it seems like you can do more but you're limiting yourself and I'm not entirely sure as to why. Try to weave your themes into the writing, it doesn't have to be consistent in every sentence but a few hints here and there in a chapter won't harm anybody.

Writing style

Your writing is basic, there's nothing there that makes me interested in the book. You've kept your descriptions very short and haven't expanded them so this means you haven't really bothered to include adjectives, adverbs, similies, metaphors or other linguistic devices which could really help to improve your writing, as they strengthen your sentences and add that extra flavour that's missing.

You've gotten confused with your tenses as well, you've switched between the past and present a few times when it comes to certain words in sentences. This makes it seem like the sentences don't make sense and this can cause confusion for a reader.

Your spelling and grammar were okay but they can be improved, of course. That goes for anyone who writes books, including myself, and spelling and grammar needs to constantly be checked upon.

My feedback for you would be to experiment with your writing styles. Moreover, try to gain as much feedback and constructive criticism from your readers and others writers, as this will help you understand and see your book from another perspective which in turn can help improve your writing.

Don't try to limit yourself to a word count when writing your chapters, try to expand on your descriptions and points as much as possible as this will ensure that the chapter doesn't seem rushed and just written for the sake of it. Most importantly, write your book with pride and put effort into because if you don't put anything into it, you'll get nothing out of it.

Character development

Both of your characters clearly have history with what's happened between them before but the accident somehow changes things as it's like Tyler can't keep away from Rachel already. I mean, he literally grabbed her hand on the first day she got back and here I was thinking he hated her. It seems like his feelings are all over the place.

Your characters tend to lack depth; they have very basic personalities which is a shame as readers like to get to know the characters more in order to empathise with them. They show some emotion, but isn't developed enough because you've restricted your writing in this way, where you're not expanding on the points when you need to be doing that.

My suggestion for you would be to really give some life to your characters and write as if you're in their shoes, think about how you would feel and act and try to include this within your writing when it comes to the development of your characters.

Overall Impression

Overall, I think this book is okay but it's not the best. It has a lot of room for improvement and there are a lot of things you could include and fix to improve your writing. You need to focus on the originality of your book, don't go down the cliché story route because it tends to bore readers and they can get sick and tired of it.

The biggest thing you can do is accept all the feedback and criticism you receive from any reader or writer and be willing to change and improve your work because denial is not going to get you anywhere. I hope you can use all the feedback I've provided you with to improve your writing and I wish you the best of luck with your book!

Reviewed by: Pixie