This Consuming Rot by queentessentially
Reviewer: kalhixo
I loved the cover! the color scheme and background image fits the genre perfectly. The blurb however confused me quite a bit. It held my interest and curiosity was definitely piqued but there were a few points that I felt like I couldn't understand unless I cracked open the book. While that may sound good, blurbs shouldn't confuse the readers and give a clear sense of what they're walking into.
GENRE
All the names and elements in this new fantasy world is actually quite unique. I was immersed in all the entities like Elder gods and the shades! Nexus was fascinating to me. All of it, the world, the strangeness, the politics, all of it fits the genre well.
CHARACTERS
The introduction for Nexus was brilliant! I drank up the first three paragraphs. But after that, the narration about his mental state made me want to just scan through it and move on. I was drawn back into the story when the conversation began. I'd suggest to not let your characters be (metaphorically) inactive in a chapter for too long. But to emphasize, the opening for Nexus was amazing! the visual image of a decomposing body and it sitting, frozen, cross legged on the bed created a striking image for me.
WORLDBUILDING
The first chapter starts off with some heavy world building. There's also mention of Rheima's feelings towards the current political climate. I think you should exploit this tactic and show more of the character because without her, readers wouldn't care about the world you're building. A plus point is that all the descriptions are clear and don't confuse readers, as many fantasy descriptions tend to do.
PLOT
I started paying a lot of attention once the Elders mentioned that Rhima and Rjen's barrier had been breached. But so far the mood has been tense and it should have kept my attention. So why did it not accomplish that? I'd say to try reducing the inner monologue of Rhima's worry and instead show what's worrying her. Maybe her brother's behaviour, maybe the one who summons her has an odd expression, maybe people look and whisper ominously. Whatever it is that would worry Rhima specifically. Currently, I, as a reader, understand that this is a tense situation but it would be tense for anyone. Why is it concerning for Rhima specifically?
WRITING STYLE
I may have mentioned this earlier in my review, but while the descriptions of settings and tension is well-written, it needs to center the characters more. Readers care about the fantasy world but only through the characters. Use them as your yard stick.
I found the grammar, paragraph breaks, and dialogue good with little to no errors. I liked the small gif at the end of chapters too!
