| | Indefinite Hiatus | |
I hope to return to this project someday, but it isn't feasible with my current health issues and life circumstances. I have to cut things from my workload so I can breathe. However, I still intend to complete my current li...
Source: Review Shop by TheBlossomCommunity_ Genre: Teen fiction Mature: Y (alcohol, blood, bullying, cheating, child abuse, domestic abuse, drugs, physical assault, semi-explicit sexual content, slut shaming, smoking, strong profanity, underage drinking, violence) LGBTQIAP+: G (brief mention) Status: Ongoing First impressions: 35/40 Digging deeper: 87/100 Final thoughts: Complete
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First impressions: 35/40
Title: 10/10
I suspect this title will make more sense after I read the book, but even though I don't understand its meaning right now, I like it. Actually, my first thought when I saw this title was that it may be a name, but seeing as it's not listed in the blurb, I'm going with "rocky" probably means something like a "rocky relationship," and "rivers" may have something to do with Lakeside High or a winding journey. Whatever the case, the ambiguity can provoke different thoughts from other readers and work in your favor, because regardless of what anybody thinks, they have to read the book to discover the intended meaning.
Blurb/synopsis: 10/10
Okay, first of all, here's your gold star for achieving the extremely rare perfect score in this category. I couldn't find any SPAG errors that weren't a stylistic choice, and you've introduced the characters, setting, and plot in three short paragraphs. Boy, girl, conflict, attraction, go! If there's anything I could add or suggest for this, you could consider ending the last sentence with an ellipsis (...) to create a trailing effect that leads the reader to start the story, or add a short, dramatic question to increase reader curiosity for a similar effect. But great blurb, and it's time for me to get into the story.
Cover: 8/10
The cover is a little plain for me, but I don't think you have to add much to fix that. The image is good; your font style, size, color, and placement are all good; it just needs a little something. And without having read the book, I'm not sure what that is yet. Maybe a frame? Not a full frame, just something in the corners. I don't think a full frame would look good. Or play with the background? Maybe just jazzing that up would do it. I'll have to come back to this after I read, but those are my initial thoughts.
First chapter (and everything that came before it): 7/10
Introduction: Ooh! Ooh! You have what I was thinking about in the blurb right here! The last paragraph of the summary here has the thought-provoking questions that stir reader curiosity I suggested. I would rework it a bit so the strongest question (the first one and second sentence) goes last. The order I think would work best (numbering each sentence from 1 to 4) is 1 → 4 → 3 → 2. And, of course, you can't just copy and paste the sentences as is that way, but I think that content order would lead the reader into the story best.
