A blend of the present and past
Now, I've finally finished reading so time for the much-awaited review! I want to start things off by saying that my review will be as honest and detailed as I can possibly get it, so, hopefully, you can take away some friendly advice/criticism/feedback from it without feeling offended :)
Ok, so let's begin with the writing style, I think it's fantastic, the dialogues are prompting, and the amounts of mystery building really keeps the story going. What I haven't seen much is descriptive and vivid imagery, all the other reviews say that there is a lot in the story, but I don't think so. I've read it myself. I think that descriptions here and there are vague, although that works perfectly with the theme of mystery you're going for, so keep it up!
Also, the writing style and the book and plot are all fabulous, the characters are interesting, they have depth and are quite fascinating, my only problem with the story itself would be the constant change between the now and the before. The present and the past. Although it gives the story a touch of mystery to it, what it also does is confuses readers.
I myself sometimes didn't understand what was going on, and I understand that maybe confusing your audience might have been your intention, and you might be still writing to find a climax to all the confusion, but I believe there is a better way to do so. When you're going back to the dreams and reality, you're blurring the lines too much, once in a while would be better. Just make sure that it doesn't happen to the point where the reader becomes disengaged with the story.
And that's all I have to say really, I'm quite enjoying the plot twists of the story, the good prince turned evil, the magical spectrum and all those unsolved questions. Just don't hold back too much just to slap it onto our faces later on, let the story unfold at a rationalised pace.
I hope you're not discouraged in any way! I find that clear reasons and ways to improve have been provided, as much as I could give (I'm not a professional). Wish you the best of luck, and of course, I'll patiently wait to see where the story will go!
Read the story now