l_a_ruel

The "where should I pay for this?" review

This is quality writing. This is a quality character design. This is quality world-building, and this is quality storytelling.

I am yet to finish this book(currently at chapter 16 out of 48 - I still got a lot of the story ahead) and I want to take my time to read it. However, I need to put out there, in the world, how I felt going thru those first chapters.

You know you are reading a good book when the plot is thick and twisted and you have to "turn the page" to find out how it will conclude.

But what I have rarely experienced is how a chapter can be so beautifully written that will not let you put the book down. And this is how I have found myself the past couple of nights needing to go to sleep
but reading paragraph after paragraph of beautiful writing that would not let me go.

The character ensemble is vast - you have the FL and an additional 3 or 4 as supporting cast. plus other side characters. The main cast is designed with specific teenage qualities that make them distinct and realistic at the same time. My personal favourite is Sunday and I found as touching the "obsession" he has for Alpha. Their personalities feel real, their interactions with each other feel real, their inner thought process feels reals and it leaves you, as a reader, thinking that even their abilities can be real.

The plot comes thru as a mix of Harry Potter & New mutants but in those 15 chapters I have read a lot has happened and I still have 30 chapters left. The authors have put a lot of attention to design the plot and to come up with situations that will leave the reader transported into the world of "Psychic".

The "Sign-me up for Hell" review"

#Humor tag and #Fantasy tag - you make some room for your new pal, #Philosophy!

(read including chapter 3)

This is a funny, witty read that can be viewed as a spinoff of the Genesis story (Book 1 - the Heavens). And it takes a new imaginative approach and throws at the reader some philosophical questions that are rooted in our modern-day real issues.

The story advances with the help of the interchange between an Angel and a Demon - and this is where it gets funny - modern-day funny - like a funny tv sitcom that I would actually watch.

Extra points for imagination go to the author for presenting Luce' as a girl.

****minor spoilers*******
Now imagine having an Angel, a Demon, a teenage girl Luce' and some pour souls heading for Earth to party on a pleasure island, while big G. up there, is getting over his hangover. What would the reader make of that.? Some may call it blasphemy.

I call it a good premise to keep you coming back to read some more.

Please allow me to rant about something not entirely related to this book:

I would personally take every reader on Inkitt by the collar and point them in the direction of the "Introduce yourself" and "Review me" forums. Away from the main page with all the works that have hundreds of reviews and billions of stars, here lay the true gems of this platform. Only if you dig a little you can unearth the brightest of the gems.

The reader inside me considers himself lucky to have started there. in the "gutters" because I got the chance to read so many wonderful novels and discover so many talented people.
The storyteller inside me is in awe of your talent.

The "how to drop a bomb" review

(currently finished chapter 16)
Teenage high school drama should NOT be a tag for this one. "How to drop a bomb" seems more appropriate!

This has a great plot and the story gets darker with every chapter. And you want to read some more because it gets a hold on you.

The storytelling has a good balance between descriptive paragraphs, dialogue and action, And everything comes together in harmony. If you are avid for highschools movies the dialogue will make you feel right at home and if you are not you might end up asking yourself "what on earth are teenagers today thinking!" - but all those movies out there - they reflect reality and so does this book. Until the plot twist makes an entrance, that is.

The characters are fleshed out - each one with his or her own set of peculiarities. But they are not simply laid on paper. Oh, no...You will need to discover them as there are nuances here and there that leaves you asking questions if you actually know anything about anyone. And this is what makes the reader turn another page.

I must quote a (somewhat) famous song thou:
"..Down on my knees / Begging, please..." for the author to go thru the chapters and do a proofread and some grammar and phrasing corrections and transform this from a good read to a fantastic read. (Don't worry I am at my 30th revision with some of the chapters in my book - and they are still not perfect)

PS: Did someone enjoy too much "356 Days"? - I know I did :P

The "secrets that my diary keeps" review

This was an interesting read implementing a writing style I have not encountered yet on this platform - so it was a fresh change of pace. The author makes use of the diaristic style and I am sure we were all curious at some point in time to read someone else's diary. This story seems to satisfy that curiosity. The characters come across in short introduction lines and their personalities are left for the reader to flash out - so it puts the reader's imagination to work. I would recommend the author to fully go stylistically like a diary - and add dates maybe at the beginning of the chapters. Also a little more description of how the female lead feels - as it would suit a diary entry. It is always good to express oneself thru art - so good start, keep going and never be afraid to improve your skills.

"The begining is at the end" review

When I started to read this novel I got this weird feeling I was reading one on those already established books that focus on boarding school life and the journey from being boys to becoming young men. But this is not a boarding school tale and I do not know how to categories this genre or if it would be fair to even categorise it. This should have no tags but it should be read for the share beauty of it's writing. The skilful wording used to make introspections into young boys thoughts and feelings is...poetry. There is no actual plot to be found here since you have not clear exposition, no rising action, no climax and no resolution. It is similar to being alive - ongoing until you reach the final page. There is another story called
Necronomicon: Papers of Penance for which this story I am reviewing is supposed to be a sequel- but I can not call this a sequel in the original sense. It is more of a "get to know" who and what are the main focuses of the Necronomicon: Papers of Penance novel. And the beauty of how this is written is that you can read it before or after Necronomicon: Papers of Penance. If you read
Necronomicon: They're Just Burning Memories & Notes From A Certain Scotsman before you will find yourself uncontrollably pulled into reading the original book.

The "not a cheap thrill" review

Yeah, F. U. Samson - you're not a pervert. You're a psycho!
(warning: this review contains minor spoilers)

Well, that was thrilling!

When delivering a scary story there is no need for over-complex plot. It is enough to read the lines and imagine you are in the character's shoes and if you want to really enjoy this story I dare you to put yourself in everyone's shoes - even Simon's.

The delivery is done in short sentences that present the actions of the characters. Step by step you follow them and while the short delivery is efficient to paint the picture of what is going one I felt hungry for more thrill.
****spoilers****
I wondered - how did Stacy's hands shake after she nearly escaped? How did Jared's blood drip on what colour of a carpet? How the eyes of Mr. "I'm No Pervert" looked every time he got closer and closer to his target? What is going on inside his head to think it would be ok to be a psycho instead of a pervert? And what the hell is going on inside Camilla's mind? How does she feel her terror growing when every person she knows becomes a victim. I wanted the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up and be frozen in place until that final line "F U Simon!". And this written piece has the premise to do that.

Action wise this short story is packed and it is sure to leave you scared to read the next sentence. If the author gives this story a chance to be enriched with plastic descriptions it will leave you on the edge of your seat.

The "now I know what a DragKing is" Review

(read up until chapter 07)

I know I am a plain gal so I do not have much experience with this genre or with the subject in this novel. but oh boy, it was entertaining! In a verry tasteful manner.

Nothing to graphic, only suggestive, putting your imagination to work but giving plenty of details. I am talking about the story folks. Nothing more!

The focal point is the main character's inner core. What he feels, why he feels it, how he feels it! I am talking about the emotions, sheesh!

The author put so much thought into what words to use to describe even a simple dance scene and makes use of irony in a humorous way (loved the florist part).

And I need to mention the characters interactions that is done realistically. My favourite was Bee/Mia. Viktor(with a K, alright?) is kept under the vail and is yet to be revealed. My guess: in a heart shattering way. Also, every character shown gives an air of unicity. Even Rosa, the door lady.

I was surprised I was able to connect with the story but it is all due to the author's skillful writing.

What I want to point out from this book is this line: "Friendships that don't help you grow are worthless" and I can swap it to this: "Books that don't help you grow...should be put back on the shelf" - for the ones that do help you grow - they will always stay with you.

This is well on the way of becoming such a book with the bonus it leaves you learning a new quote ... and what a drag king is.

The questioner's review of an engaging novel

Why do we like this kind of stories?

I think we like them because they are based on the idea of having a mate, a soul mate, a reason to go beyond any impediments and be with someone simply because he or she is the one. And even if 2 people do not belong to the same species, that belief alone is reason enough for them to be together. Or not?

But this story is not just about that. It presents multiple themes like segregation and subjugation, lgbt, all built on the premise of a Cinderella’s rags to riches story, of parties, dressing up and, of course, romance. The author carefully thought of building a complex story and I would have loved longer chapters where these themes could have been explored more.

I appreciated the author's use of imagination. She has created a world for her story, came up with new names, and put up the bases for a new religion. There is also wittiness in the dialogue - I personally found the first 15 chapters to be the strongest in that way.

The reader will flow seamlessly over the paragraphs and sometimes he will be left wanting more because, when the author is focused on description it is plastic and rich with details and it leaves you in owe.
You get personally attached to Cae and Erik because of the use of POV and you cannot pick a clear favorite.

When you reach the end of the book it leaves you asking yourself another question:
Should you love thy enemy or hate thy lover - but I guess you will need to read the next book to find out.

The "I can't stop chuckling" Review

(Currently waiting for Chapter 3 ;) )

Aww, young love! when hormones roam and it is still alright to wear duck pants.

I must confess that the prologue hit a different note than I was expecting, and I thought the story will continue that dark tone. But now I see it was meant to introduce the difficult premise of the family and the kind and caring heart of Reagan. Also, to establish the different personality traits of the older brothers.

Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 had a different tone all together and I was surprised when I started to giggle.

You have a special way to express awkwardness and turn it into humor instead of cringe - that is a gift. The dialog and the phrasing are kept short and are used as a punch line.
And that is what you get: punch line after punch line after punch line of a verry good joke that keeps you laughing and Aww-ing and then you laugh some more.

The theme of the story hit home for me since I am also exploring the idee of childhood friends developing into something more, but these first chapters are not only meant for the ones with such a particular predilection - they can be enjoyed by everyone.

Using POV is a good way to understand what each of the characters goes thru and it offers a panoramic view of the story. The other added bonus is that you get to laugh twice at the same "joke".

The issue I had while reading the story was in Chapter 1 when they chat online, and it is hard to distinguish who says what and who is who. I see that some other reviewers commented you had some grammar issues - but you either fixed those - or I am not worthy to judge xD - the main idea is that it did not impede my reading.

The "broken english" review

If you never heard the Irish accent than by all means go google it or something, listen to it and then come back to read this. When you get to the dialog imagine that while reading and you will get the most picturesque and authentic experience without actually being there. I loved the Irish quotes and the main idea I can take away from this so far, as a writer, is that it might be better to write about something you know.

When it comes to writing style: this was not an easy read. And it was not written to be an easy read. it was written to be sophisticated, in a good way. That kind of sophistication that can be understood only by the seasoned reader or someone with an English literature degree. Yes, that is how high end this is! At least to me who can use as lousy excuse the fact that I do not have an English degree and I am not a native English speaker. That, together with the colloquialism used made me go thru some paragraphs twice to get the full meaning. But I was not sorry for the reread because I found bits of humor that sent me laughing.
Maybe this is why my favorite quote was "Better broken Irish that clever English" - I could transpose it to my case and say, "Better broken English than a language to few would understand"(I know that was not the actual meaning of the original quote)

The relationship between Michael and Dawid evolves naturally, organically and I loved their awkward interactions. There is no overromanticized element to it. It is true and heartfelt

I enjoyed the chapters so far and It made me actually feel smarter having read thru it. Now excuse me while I go catch up on some Salinger to get me ready for the next chapter.

Review of a Romantic Geek

(I read thru the first 15 chapters and what I believe to be the first version of the manuscript that was published on inkitt)

Dear, Author, you had me at Chapter 1.

And the reason for that was A: your writing style and B: the premise of the story.

I found the writing style and the general use of the vocabulary to be similar to that of actual published books. Are you sure you are a newbie to writing? I ended up learning a couple of new words and wishing that the writer could give me some lessons on how to write. The main style is descriptive but at a pace that allows one to read, understand and visualize. As a result, I become a little squeamish on some depicted scenes.

For the story in itself I have a disclaimer first: I am a plain gal that likes drama, romance and the general bullshit of everyday life so fantasy is not actually my element. However, I found the action and fantasy tags of the story to be well represented. I could also add a horror tag, But maybe I am just that inexperienced with the horror genre. Since this is a work in progress, I would encourage the writer to explore more the lore of his world. I for one, found it hard to believe some of the situations presented that were related to the fantastic (like why would the witch not be able to cure herself).The action scenes depicted were good. I think that if the romance element will be better explored it will attract some additional readers.
When it comes to flaws, I encourage the author to go thru the chapters he published so far and do some revisions – there was some phrasing that left me unable to understand who did what. The minor misspelling is something that I understand it can occur especially on something you write and “publish” yourself.
Overall I enjoyed the story, especially at the beginning.
What I like most from the first 15 chapters: the relationship between Eleanor and Grayson (the way he calls her name the first time made me all mushy inside)
The character that I like, and I put my hopes on is Eilif.
Grayson is setup to be the ML, the good guy that has some dark issues to deal with. But what I hope for is to find out that Eilif, who seems to be the antagonist, does all his bad deeds with good intentions. I hope the history between Eilif and Eleanor will be more than meets the eye and - insert Romantic Geek here - maybe a love triangle?