What is your opinion?
Charming
"This tale has all the old world charm of an ancient tale of times long ago. While the language of the conversations can be a bit strange at times, the descriptions are wonderful and help the reader feel as though you have really been transported back into the past during an ancient war raging through the lands. It feels like a more adult version of Mulan. Making conversations feel real is no easy task, but I have faith that because this author has the potential to create a world that feels to real, the conversations can only get better from here. Keep it up author. Well done."
A Future K-Drama in the Making
"This has been on my TBR list for awhile, and I'm so glad I was able to read it for the competition. It was such a unique story with a different voice that stands out amongst the masses on the site. The way you portray childhood innocence and their unique voices melded well with the narrative and gave it an extra bit of life and believability. Your use of typical honorifics (I believe that's the correct term) really helped build up the setting and develop it further. Your command of the English language is astounding, and aside from a few silly errors and punctuation mistakes, it was flawless. Will definitely be looking forward to read more by you! "
Wow
"The whole time I was reading it felt like I was watching a Korean traditional drama. The descriptions made it so easy to picture the characters and villages. I'm moving on to book two."
A Beautiful Story About Growth
"The Flower on the Riverbank: The Sprout is a romantic, New Adult novel with a coming of age theme. The story follows a girl named Soo-Ah from when she was a young child up to when she becomes a young adult, and in the process, the reader learns about how childhood circumstances can affect a person's life even into their young adulthood. The lesson learned is that we grow and develop based on what we see, hear, and perceive things in childhood. The book also shows the development of different types of relationships that girls have with men from parental love to brotherly love to romantic love. Soo-Ah really is a sprout, and the book is her pot of soil, and we the readers watch her grow as the seasons change. With that said, I think this is a wonderful, light read for those interested in a coming of age story. Also, if you are really interested in romance, you will love the potential love interests and romantic developments and tension. Not only is the story heart-warming, there is also a great balance of steamy moments, battle scenes, and thoughtful conversations. I highly recommend this lovely book. Now onto the sequel! "
I am in love
"Where has this been gor my whole life!!! It checks all the boxes for me. Loved it. I have started the second book. I would literally give you a big hug if I ever meet you author. You just made me fall in love. ❤️ 😍"
test review
"test review -and now I can't delete it. Might as well make it honest - as honest I can be when judging my work for others to see. The story overall - I can not give myself less than 5 stars for the story - no way to be anything less than subjective with this criteria. Plot - I come up with new ideas to enrich the plot every time, some I go for, some I let go - so 4 stars because; room for improvement. Writing style - I am at the beginning but I had people praise my writing style and the way I keep focus on multiple characters. I am still to improve with the telling vs showing aspect - but I work on that to be truly deserving of the 4-5 stars rating. Grammar - OK, when I first published this book my grammar would have been deserving of 2 stars. Since then I did a lot of revisions thanks to wonderful people on this platform and it improved. Still not deserving of the 5 stars because it is not perfect. But for the hard work I put in I will leave this rating on 4 stars. There you go. What started as a way for me to test if I can delete reviews on my own books, ended up as me appearing to be an overbearing narcissist. Feel free to oppose my star rating and arguments in the comments or with your own reviews."
flower on the riverbank
"This story follows and battle worn general who finds an infant in a destroyed village. After the war the general keeps the girl and becomes her teacher until another war ensues. He tries to keep her hidden until he is bedridden and is forced to give his position to another, younger general. The younger general makes a connection with the girl, who is now and adult, and struggles with his feelings. The Author painted a wonderful world and pulls the reader through the story in the young girl's P.O.V. The reader gets to experience her childhood, and I found myself reminiscing on times where I had similar experiences. Tragedy makes it's claim and makes your heart bleed for the girl, but as with life, when one door closes, another door opens. The story continues on and brings a smile to your face. The only recommendation I have is to create more of a dynamic between the characters. You tend to narrate the scene more than allowing the characters to experience it and allow the reader to see what is happening. The Showing vs Telling aspect changes later in the book and the story telling becomes incredible. I enjoy this book and look forward to who your MC will choose as a companion."
Love it
"I love the way you write, your characters too .I highly recommend it to others to read it I wished that the end was happy but np. Great job author"
Romance Booming in a Country far, far away
"Pros: A nice slice of life, nobody getting directly down and dirty. Most of the romances I read, allot of hooking up is already happening. The characters are well developed, The author builds the scenes I feel I can see the what is being described. Not disturbing actions on the parts of the characters, this is nice and refreshing. The conflicts not larger than life and are small and believable with the children. Cons: Not many, just a few missing words now and there, just more editing and relisting (over and over, I get this). Nothing that is a deal breaker though. Overall: Took me about two hours to listen/read through the material. I It's a nice read. Will take time and add the next book to the series, just to see how this all plays out."
Wow Amazing!
"This is amazing, you had my heart here. Always love a good korean story. This reminded me of Mulan though ehehhe. Story structure good, love the flow of the story. Really descriptive and detailed. Love how the roles here were destributed and they characters were so good. This had me on tears for a moment. Well done hope you're proud of it! Keep up the good work!"
A definate read!
"Love this! I was hooked and sad that it ended. Amazing work. Please keep it up!"
The flower on the riverbank.
"This book transported us to a foreign world. Its characters, whilst strange to western civilisation, are written most tenderly, and bring complex motivations to what is essentially a love story with a difference. We adored the writer's descriptions of this strange world, and loved the plot that kept pulling the childhood friends apart then bringing them back together again. A story to be treasured as much for the quality of its writing as for the love story itself. It would make a beautiful, artistic movie that could easily become a cult film. The only thing we found wrong with it was the writer's constant changes between past and present tense verbs throughout the story. We heartily recommend it to anyone who is bored with your average teen romance, and wants something more meaty to get their teeth into. It reminds us very much of the works by Guy Gavriella Kay, a fantasy writer of bygone years. who also wrote heart-breakingly beautiful love stories."
Solid Plot
"The story kept my attention from beginning to end. I enjoyed the twists and turns of Soo-Ah's life with her grandfather. I always love reading a story with a strong female lead that has a strong character arc. My only criticism is that the dialogue became confusing when more than two characters are speaking."
Jump right in
"I love that I can say all the things I like about this book without a single spoiler. First of all, the worldbuilding is done subtly, but vividly, which is a balance not many authors achieve. Secondly, the characters are credible and sympathetic, and thirdly, the style of the author has this hint or irony and humor here and there that I love. This was a very entertaining and enjoyable read!"
Lovley read
"This is something different story wise to all the recommendations I got on Inkitt. A unique story I could say. The characters are so lovable and I liked the fact that they grow up in the book and, later in the story, you still get some traces of their personalities from when they were younger. There are some plot twists that keep you engaged. My favorite is the second part, starting with chapter 5 when the events catch up to "present day" in the book. Here is where you will find most of the "+18" rated content. The writing style takes into consideration every character so you get a glimpse of a bigger picture but the author managers to keep some mystery - nice."
Entertaining and Educational!
"When I was getting into this book I had no idea, I would be so intrigued, I’d spend the rest of my evening learning more and more about the Korean culture! I’m so thankful ❤️ The author uses captivating descriptions to immerse the readers into the world the story is set in—from the vast landscapes to the finest details of everyday life, including descriptions so specific, it felt as if I could actually touch it! I also want to praise author’s ability to intertwine extremely interesting facts about the Korean culture into the plot without losing the overall flow❤️ The dialogues have grabbed my attention from the very fist chapter, especially the children’s (that, I believe, are the most difficult to write without sounding odd) ! They’re crafted realistically and never out-of character, and has made reading flow nicely and gave each character a unique personality. Overall, the book is written so well, I’m sure that it will be perfect for both history nerds and for people who have no idea how Korea used to be like. Now, a few things that could be improved: • At some parts jumping from past to present tenses was a bit odd. However, it might have been intentional (?) • In some cases there’s a lack of balance between character-driven and story-driven story telling, but nothing too distracting. Overall, I’m very keen on reading more of your works. Keep up the great work ❗️❗️❗️ "
An immersive experience!
"Updated (finished) This is the second book on here I've finished and it was definitely worth it! I don't have much more to add to the review below except to say it engaged me unlike any other books I've read recently. I'm currently reading the second book and thoroughly enjoying it - the writer has a beautiful way with words and a captivating writing style, you won't regret reading this! :) ===== (Ongoing, this review covers up to the end of chapter 4) I'm absolutely immersed in this book. The author's writing style is so beautifully done: it's gripping and heartfelt and there's something so engaging about it, it's amazing to read. I don't know much about Korea (where the book is set), but the author has described the setting so vividly and introduced the characters and culture with such clarity that it didn't take long for me to feel right at home in so different an environment. The characters are so well crafted: the narrative doesn't follow any one character, instead it's a rather omnipresent voice that flows between them all within a chapter, though the main focus is on the Soo-Ah (the young female protagonist). The flipping between different perspectives should be messy and make it hard to follow, but that wasn't at all the case here. The author skillfully gives insight into each character in a way that's honestly maddening to read 'cause I don't know how they do it! It's a talent I doubt I'll ever develop xD I'll add more to this review as I read on, but just wanted to write one now 'cause this book certainly deserves a 5-star rating! Excellent job, can't wait to read on! :)"
Guess I’ll have to read the next volume...
"There is much to like in this story. As someone who knows nothing about Korean history, it introduces me to a society that is very different from any I am familiar with, and that is captivating. Character development is generally quite good (but more on that below). The writing style is interesting; I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it seems somehow to evoke and bring to life what we understand to be a time long past. Perhaps it is a certain formality to the language, the lack of vernacular; to the point when, on the few occasions a vernacular turn of phrase makes its way in, it is quite noticeable. Most of history is undocumented, and this applies most to the day to day life and motivations of historical actors. A few times, I felt that the motivations of the characters were somewhat confusing, or that they changed so quickly that I could not understand them fully. An example of this is when Soo-Ah’s attitude towards Sung-Ho changes from hatred, partly because she blames him for the death of her grandfather, to a level of trust so great that she is willing to become physically intimate with him, all within the space of a single chapter. I think this aspect of the story—the development of feelings between potential lovers—needs a bit more chapter space and attention. As it was I found myself confused by rather sudden changes in both characters. Another example of this is when Jung-In jumps off his horse and begins to spar with Soo-Ah, using a real sword! Again the motivations for this behaviour are confusing to me, so I think they need a bit more development. I mean, really, would this be the type of thing that people actually did in old Korea? I understand that this is the first volume in a series, but I was surprised when it ended, because there did not seem to be much resolution of the plot by that point. In fact, as it is I am not sure why you have separated the story into volumes, since it seems like the story is just going to continue right from the end point in the next volume (or maybe not, I haven’t read it yet). I guess what I am saying is that there does not seem to me to be a natural ending to the book. Not sure what to suggest here, but that is how it seemed to this reader. You have no need to be self-deprecating about your English writing skills: they are excellent. There are very few outright errors in spelling or grammar left in the book. The fact that this is a second language for you might be an advantage in your case, because it gives the writing a special style that a native speaker might not achieve, and this is particularly effective in portraying what is a foreign society to the reader. All in all, an excellent read, and I look forward to continuing on the journey."
Not my cup of tea, but still a darn good cup of tea!
"The story was very well done. There were very few grammatical issues, and that made it easy to read. The first chapter sucks you into a beautifully set up place that the author did an incredible job describing. Not too much detail, not too little, and showed without telling. Very good. The only part of this well done story that I had a hard time with was what some might call the conflict. I understand that it is an internal conflict of a young woman trying to find her way to trust men after what she has seen, but I feel that struggle is not strong enough to carry this story alone. Still, the setting, the artistic writing, along with the strong opening is enough for me to say that this is a good book, and the author shows a true talent for writing."
Beautiful
"The book's opening, arguably the most important part, moves in like a sweeping epic movie; zooming from the country to the village to the house to the main character. Marvelous. The descriptions are excellent, drawing in the reader despite some run-on sentences and mild grammar and tense issues ('was not the first nor will he be the last') The author Told me more than she Showed me; given the genre this is more acceptable than in other stories but I still wanted to be drawn in, to really care about the characters. Some of the POV changes could be a bit abrupt. In summation; this is a writer to keep an eye on. The current prose may be a bit bumpy but there are diamonds here"
