Kat Reviews [CFCU]

Prophecy of Kings | Miya

Author: AnRobasdanach

Book: Prophecy of Kings

Genre: Fantasy

Chapters Read: Prologue - Chapter 5 (Reviewer Version)

Kat Tails:

Thanks so much for your patience as I worked on this review and for this opportunity to read your book! Please keep in mind that this review will contain spoilers for the chapters read. As with my other reviews, I look at books from a Wattpad lens and what I believe would do well on the site rather than a published book perspective. I wanted to make this disclaimer as this distinction may be more important for this review compared to some of my other ones.

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Cover: 4/5

This is a strong start right out of the gate. Your cover has a beautiful amount of detail with the war-torn setting, the fire behind the text, and the knight on his horse. I do wish the picture took up more of the cover instead of the text, but this is a minor complaint that has more to do with the sizing of Wattpad covers. I think the cover fits your story like a glove, though I did get the initial impression that this was solely a historical fiction book instead of being historical fantasy from the cover.

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Title: 3/5

I'm admittedly neutral on your title. While it does suit the story, there isn't much hook or originality to it. It works, but I'm not drawn to the book based on it unlike your other book title "Spider King" which makes me wonder "what's that about?" This is likely because prophecies are such vague, abstract things until we get all the nitty-gritty details about them.

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Blurb: 3/5

I would love to rate this blurb higher as it gives so much of the information I needed to know about the book and has a fairly good hook into the bargain. However, it has a flaw which also finds its way into the story.

There is no focal point for the reader to latch onto.

Generally, this is your main character. In the blurb, you begin with King Athelstan. So far, so good. Then, you switch perspective slightly to highlight the Scottish Clans in relation to the King. Not too disorienting, as there are always two sides to a war and it's good to see both sides. But then we jump to Firmin and his conflict until the end of the blurb. *cue head scratching*

It's not that I'm confused about the characters and events, per say. What I am confused about is who the main character is. Based on what I've read of the book, I'd say your best bet is Firmin. You can have multiple main characters, but if you follow this format, then you need to lay out a potential arc for each one in the blurb. (Of Caverns and Casters by avadel does a fantastic job of juggling multiple main characters in the blurb) If Athelstan is more of a central character than I think he is right now, I'd recommend this suggestion over the one below.

As things stand, I would recommend beginning and carrying the blurb with Firmin. The info about Athelstan is still important and should be included, but in relation to the Knight Commander. Do your best to follow the structure of character and setting + conflict + choice + stakes. You have all the info there, it just needs some direction. If you're struggling centering it on Firmin, try writing a logline and expanding it from there. Something like: A Knight Commander who realizes he is weary of war must [conflict + choice] in order to [stakes]. Then devote a couple sentences to each section instead of a short phrase.