CLN's Seasonal Reviews (CLOSED)

Tethered Destinies by MiniMoxx

Title: Tethered Destinies

Author Name: MiniMoxx

Reviewer: sassy-weirdo

Presentation: (14/15)

Cover (4/5)

The cover is quite simple but minimalistic covers for the win-win! Eryx did a great job with the cover, especially adding the swirly lines on the girl's body; I can immediately relate the lines to destiny because of it and the cover does not look too empty either. Overall amazing cover!

Title (5/5)

The title is just chef's kiss. Nothing too complicated and it tells us the overall idea of the story perfectly.

Blurb (5/5)

People seem to struggle with blurbs, and I have seen quite a few blurbs that need mass changes but yours doesn't. It's so great. I love how you mentioned that the story is part of a series so that people know what they're getting themselves into and you even mentioned that this is the first part of the series, at the end of the blurb, just to avoid confusion. Not to mention, crediting the cover designer in the blurb was thoughtful of you since you already credited her in the chapter consisting of playlists, aesthetics and accolades.

The body of the blurb is informative and hooking. Mentioning a bit about the world and the characters gives the reader an insight into the story without even reading it. Exactly how a blurb should be. But, something that struck me here was-

Excerpt: '...her soulmate, Owen, held her in check.'

I think 'kept her in check' would be more appropriate for this sentence.

Uncovering the Story: (52/55)

First (Chapter) Impression (10/10)

Before starting this section, I just want you to know that here 'first chapter' means the prologue since it is the start of the story.

P.S: The header is very pretty!

So, diving right into it, the story opens with a line that seems to hold a lot of power. We get an insight into the character's (Amelia's) thoughts. From the first paragraph we can see Amelia as she is— a practical person. As I read on I understood Amelia's distaste towards the whole concept of 'Fated One'. The emotions Amelia felt during the week leading up to her Knot Day were described very well and I empathised with her while reading.

Taking all aspects of the prologue into account, I'd say this is very well written. The fabulous grammar and descriptions, transmission of worldbuilding information without it looking like an info-dump, the brilliant cliffhanger, all show how great a writer you are.

Character Development (10/10)

Amelia: Amelia Nichols is a 19 year-old student who's practical, sarcastic, relatable, straightforward and a massive overthinker. This is shown throughout the chapters in different instances. She is one of my favourite characters since:

Practical:

Excerpt- 'I wonder if whoever came up with this stupid idea realised how much damage they could do to someone with their reidiculous formula.'

Excerpt- 'I snort. "Actually, Ryan, I think... one person, you know?' (Chapter 1)

Moments like these stand out and show us how practical she is and how much thought she has given into the concept.