Intro:

Actually, No was written by BishGoSuckIt. It won second place in the "Best Blurb" category in my Padauk Awards. It was an incredibly well-deserved second place, and the blurb was very well-done. I can't wait to review it, so let's jump right into it and analyze the awesomeness!

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Long Feedback

One of the first things that stood out to me when I read the blurb for the first time was the fluid way you introduced Angela to us. You clearly showed her struggles and what her character was all about. This is an intriguing tale of mental health and a deep character exploration, and you make that clear from the very beginning by captivating us with that opening paragraph, giving so much detail while also leaving a lot open to interpretation, and also raising many questions that make us want to read on.

The title was implemented throughout the blurb in an interesting way, particularly at the end where you say Angela needs to learn to say actually, no to the voices of doubt within her. It's a positive, uplifting message, and that's only in the blurb, so imagine what awaits us in the full storyline. The amount of detail put into the blurb to clearly establish what message you want to portray is admirable, and also one of my favorite things about the blurb. Sometimes titles can feel forced into blurbs, or feel like the author did it cause they felt obligated to, but I think you included it really well here and made it feel natural.

Another thing I enjoyed was how you implemented the stakes and relationships. As I mentioned in my initial review of the blurb, I thought you did a good job clearly stating the relationships and how they're going to impact the narrative and Angela. I'm glad your blurb did since it establishes the stakes. It's not just Angela at stake here: there are others who have a stake in this story, and I like how you included that. I also like how you kept Angela's failures hidden so the readers have a question going into the story: what did she do to fail?

Although there are many more things I can say, let's wrap this up by saying how I love how you established the theme. This is clearly a theme and character-driven piece, so to introduce the themes so early in a way that doesn't spoil too much but also gives us enough info to know what's going on is great. It's a fantastic balance between leaving out info and giving us what we need to understand. That balance is hard to find for a lot of writers, but you did it well!

All in all, Actually, No has a solid blurb that does an awesome job getting the readers ready to, well, read! It establishes all the core parts of the story very clearly and in an efficient manner, which is something I appreciate. Beyond that, it's just a cool, fun blurb that makes me want to read the story, and I think you did a great job with this!

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Summary:

- Nice character introduction

- Clever way to implement the title

- Good job establishing stakes and relationships

- Good job establishing the theme

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Overall:

Actually, No not only has an eye-catching title but also an engaging blurb that will make you want to read it. If not for the uniqueness of the storyline, then for the interesting characters already presented in the blurb that will make you smile, laugh, and cry. If you're someone who likes stories about mental health and self-discovery, then this is the perfect book for you.

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Thank you for submitting to the Padauk Awards. I really loved your blurb and thought you did a great job bringing your story to life in such a short amount of time, which is extremely impressive. If you ever need any further reviews or would like to submit to my future contests (I have one coming on October 13th!), please let me know and I'd love to review your work again! I wish you nothing but the best, and thank you again for signing up!

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I'm going to start leaving this new note at the end of all reviews since Wattpad removed pms.

If you would like to keep in contact with me and ask me for more feedback on your work, I have a Discord server for all readers, writers, and friends. I'll leave a link in the inline comment here for anyone who would like to join.