001 Siren's Melody 

by Sofietaokook 

TITLE- 5/5 MARKS

The title is very simple and straightforward, making it easier for readers to remember, and thus giving the reader and book a connection. It's also intriguing and captiviating enough despite its simplicity.

BLURB- 4/5 MARKS

The blurb shared snippets of what appears to be a core scene in a story, which is certainly attention grabbing. However, it also felt like it was a spoiler, and thus can make other readers turn away from even attempting to read it as they might feel they know about the book already just from the blurb alone.

BEGINNING- 3.5/5 MARKS

 The premise of the first chapter was really interesting. I really enjoyed the descriptive words used, which showed me the author has a wide vocabulary. However, the first chapter felt more like a tell rather than a show. Unfortunately, it felt more like the characters were puppets, and the narrator was the ventriloquist. While I enjlyed reading it, I couldn't help but feel like I was being told what was going on instead of being shown what was happening.

GRAMMAR- 14.5/15 MARKS

The author's grasp on the rules of grammar is excellent. There was little to no mistake found, save for the lack of space that would usually follow a dash (-) when used in a sentence. Other than that, the author did very well in their consistency.

WRITING STYLE- 7/10 MARKS

While the dialogues were easy to understand, and the point of view remained constantly in the third person, the whole story felt like it was being told rather than shown. The characters felt like they were simply there to tell the story, and not live through it. The scenes also lacked depth, as the author didn't take the time to describe what was happening in more detail, as well as what their surroundings looked like.

PLOT- 10/20 MARKS

It is a bit hard for me to say, but the whole story felt like a twisted Stockholm syndrome event that was disguised as a fantasy romance novella. The plot feels like one of those many stories where the female lead falls in love with her captor just because, regardless of whether the male lead lacls redeemable qualities. It felt like the story held the premise of "she'll come to realize he loves her and doesn't know how to express it so he kidnapped her and he ignores her feelings over the situation, opting to shower her with opulence until she snaps and he realizes he was wrong". While there's nothing wrong with these types of stories, it's the execution and pace that makes it bad than it actually is. Adding in the fact that it felt more like telling rather than showing.

I wish the author had taken the time to develop the scenes and characters, as well as vividly described how they felt and why they felt a certain way in these particular scenes.

SURROUNDINGS- 5/10 MARKS

 While the story takes place in the ocean and in hell, there is a distinct lack of world-building in the story. It feels like because the author is using a siren and demon as characters, the readers would immediately create the world on their own. I wish the author took the time to develop the world the story is set to make it more engaging and fun for the readers. It's (world building) also helpful for readers to immerse fully into the story and want to be a part of it.

CONTENT INSIDE- 4.5/10 MARKS

The chapter length was quite short, which made everything feel rushed and half-heartedly done. The characters also felt flat and uninteresting. Like they had no distinct personality, and almost like they were simply mannequins and not "people".

PACE- 2.5/5 MARKS

The story was set at a fast pace, which made the already short chapters even shorter. The pace also didn't allow for much of the interaction and growth of the characters. However, I will say that the author maintains the pace they set.

ENJOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT- 2.5/5 MARKS

Upon seeing the title and reading the blurb, I thought I would wholeheartedly enjoy the book. However, I am sorry to say that I felt disappointed upon reading. Like I have repeatedly said, it felt like the author was telling or describing to me what was happening, instead of letting the characters do the talking and showing.

TOTAL- 58.5/90

002 VASEN- The Ruins of the World

by BellOfSilence 

TITLE- 5/5 MARKS

The title fits the story and genre. The title is capitalized correctly. The title is unique and appealing as well.

BLURB- 5/5 MARKS

The blurb introduces the main conflict and the characters well. It draws me in and makes me want to read the story.

BEGINNING- 5/5 MARKS

The first chapter was interesting and drew me into the story. I loved the action in it and it introduced the world well.

GRAMMAR- 10/15 MARKS

There were a few spelling and grammar errors throughout the chapters. Caith-Sith is sometimes spelled differently in the book. Sometimes it's spelled like "Caith Sith" and other times "Caith-Sith." Also, on the character banners, it's spelled "Cait Sith." Kaie's name also changes spelling. It starts out as "Kaie" and then changes to "Kaye" in chapter 9. Make sure you're being consistent with the spellings.

WRITING STYLE- 6/10 MARKS

The writing style was done well, however, it could use some improvement. Some of the phrasing was hard to understand so it was hard to tell what was happening during some parts of the story. Information and descriptions were worked well into the story. I liked that the story is in Zane and Myreille's points of view.

PLOT- 18/20 MARKS

The plot of the story is interesting and unique. I liked how the different mythological creatures were worked into the story. The exposition introduces the characters and the world pretty well. I recommend working in the information from the blurb that tells the readers how the Vaesen came to our world.

SURROUNDINGS- 9/10 MARKS

The world was pretty easy to understand. As mentioned, the information about the world from the blurb should also be included The different Vaesen were introduced and described well.

CONTENT INSIDE- 3/10 MARKS

The chapters are a little short and some of the information in them could be expanded upon. The beginning of chapter 6 is the same as the end of chapter 5. The chapters were engaging though and the characters developed. The characters were interesting, however, I think they could have been developed a bit more. Not much information is given about the characters. Why were Zane and Kaie helping the humans? I also wish we had gotten to know Kaie more before he was killed though.

PACE- 3/5 MARKS

The pace of the story was pretty fast. A lot happened in the chapters and they aren't very long. The pace was consistent throughout the chapters though.

ENJOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT- 5/5 MARKS

I did enjoy the story and would read on! I'm interested to learn more about the world in the story. I'm also interested to see where the story goes and why Kaie told Zane to find Myra.

TOTAL- 69/90

Overall, the story was an enjoyable and interesting read. The story is clearly well-thought-out and I liked the different mythological creatures that were included in the story. The chapters are short and some of the information in them could be expanded upon. Make sure you're consistent with the spellings of the characters/creatures in your story. Also, make sure the phrasing of the story is easy to understand. The cover art is very pretty! The text is a little hard to read though. Good luck with your story!

003 Shadow Touched 

by Watts_Writes 

TITLE- 4/5 MARKS

The title is pretty simple but is relevant to the story. I could see it being slightly more specific to really grab interest--something like "Shadow Touched Kingdom" or "Shadow Touched Love", whatever works best with the plot--but the title works as is, too.

BLURB- 4/5 MARKS

The blurb is good, telling readers enough to get us interested without giving away any specific plot. However, it's pretty long; condensing the blurb would make it catchier, and make a higher chance of people actually reading the whole thing.

BEGINNING- 3.5/5 MARKS

The prologue is very exposition-centered and tells the reader a lot of information without showing why we need to remember it. It's alright to leave certain parts of the magic or world unexplained at first, so the reader has questions you can answer later on; I personally thought the sequence with the cave and shepherd would be more captivating if I was told less about the magics, gods, and Ventusale. Chapter 1 is instantly engaging because of Naima's personality.

GRAMMAR- 14/15 MARKS

There were only very occasional grammar or punctuation errors.

WRITING STYLE- 8/10 MARKS

Each of the narrators has a distinct narrative voice that fits with their personality. The dialogue fits the characters well and flows naturally. My only critique here is that, similar to what I mentioned before, the writing spends a lot of time telling the reader information. Sometimes it does fit naturally, but sometimes it distracts from the scene at hand. For example, we could see someone using magic instead of being told that it's common, or hear someone talking about the gods rather than having them explained directly.

PLOT- 18/20 MARKS

The plot is pretty solid and easy to get into. A lot of the individual elements are things I've seen before, but they combine into something interesting and understandable. I like the POV switches between the three characters; each has their own voice and their own insight into the world and conflict, and it all combines in an interesting way.

SURROUNDINGS- 8/10 MARKS

This seems to be a pretty typical fantasy world, with kingdoms, nobility, magic, curses, and gods. All of that works well and is consistent within the story, but it would be cool to see a little more unique worldbuilding--is there something special about this kingdom's culture or geography that we haven't seen in other fantasy novels? There were a few small things like this that stood out, such as the talking cave in the Prologue or the Moon Ash tree in Chapter 5; I just wanted more.

CONTENT INSIDE- 10/10 MARKS

 CHAPTERS: The chapters are broken in good places and are a pretty good length. CHARACTERS: Naima is a fantastic character. She stands out from the second she's introduced. Her friends are fun too, and their dynamic together is great. Prince Greyling makes a dinstinct impression through his opinions on his father and the nobility, and Finch makes an impression through his interactions with Greyling. The other characters like the King or General Welland leave their own impressions too.

PACE- 5/5 MARKS

The pacing is quite consistent, even when jumping between different POVs. The threat of the Gloaming is mainly introduced in Chapter 4, giving readers some time to get used to the world and characters but not so much that we get bored.

ENJOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT- 4.5/5 MARKS

Chapter 1 was fun to read because of Naima's personality and voice. Chapters 2-4 really got me hooked into the plot. The only thing I really wanted more of is something really unique or unexpected. It's a solid story though, and I'm excited to see where it goes!

TOTAL- 79/90

004 Raven and Rue // Lindensea 1

by ella_rowan 

TITLE- 3.5/5 MARKS

 The title by itself didn't catch my attention--at first glance, I assumed it was just the names of the main characters--but I did find it interesting after reading the blurb. As of where I got to in the book (Chapter 8), I still don't know who Raven and Rue are, but I'm guessing they might be the royal children. It's cool that the title takes a while to make sense, but that does make it harder for it to intrigue potential readers.

BLURB- 4/5 MARKS

The blurb is divided into three seemingly-disconnected sections: the Cinderella reference, the main part about Pip, and the question about Raven and Rue. Each is well-worded and grabs interest in its own way, but all together it felt a bit sporadic. Still, it did make me curious how it would all fit together.

BEGINNING- 5/5 MARKS

The first few chapters are great. They establish Pip, the characters around him, and his life before it falls apart. The details we need are introduced and everything else is saved for later.

GRAMMAR- 15/15 MARKS

I didn't see any grammar or punctuation errors.

WRITING STYLE- 10/10 MARKS

The simple fairytale writing style is perfect for this story. It's straightforward and easy to follow, but still descriptive. There's a great mix of summarizing events and slowing them down with actual dialogue. The descriptions are vivid without using too many big words or flowery metaphors.

PLOT- 17/20 MARKS

The plot is good, but it's also slow to get started. The blurb makes it seem like Pip falling in love with a nobleman will be the start of the plot, but the story itself takes a long time to get there. The events up to Chapter 8 are interesting and kept me engaged in the story; however, I did feel a lack of direction from not having much idea where it was really going or what the characters were working towards.

SURROUNDINGS- 8/10 MARKS

The world feels very real and accessible. Details of it are revealed at a good pace as they become important to the story. It's a real-world stand-in, so it's not as unique as some fantasy worlds, but for a fairytale story that isn't so much about the world it works well.

CONTENT INSIDE- 9/10 MARKS

 CHAPTERS: The chapters are a good length, and their titles are great. CHARACTERS: The characters feel realistic and distinct from each other. Pip's father in particular left a strong impression, as did Granny Bennett. Even the side characters feel realistic. I found Pip less interesting and sympathetic than the other characters since he seems near-perfect and good at everything, but in a fairytale-style story where things are often exaggerated, it didn't feel too out of place.

PACE- 3.5/5 MARKS

The story moves through events fairly quickly because of the writing style. This works well for the fairytale format. However, it started to lull a little around Chapters 4 and 5; it felt like I was waiting for a plot to take shape, or to recognize any events from the blurb. It picked up again in Chapters 6 and 7 when they went to the capital city.

ENJOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT- 4/5 MARKS

Overall, I enjoyed this story. I did get a little impatient with it, but I was still interested enough to keep reading. The writing is great, the characters are distinct and the fairytale style is really fun.

TOTAL- 79/90