『 Irenlia 』

✰ cover
The cover looks fantastic! The gold really makes it pop against the darker colors of the background. Really beautiful!

✰ title
Although a little on the generic side, it seems there is an underlying reason as to why you chose this title in the first place.

✰ blurb
Reading the blurb made me understand the reason why you chose the title now! I feel like the comma in the first sentence of your blurb is unnecessary because there's a slight pause there:

Starleten is a realm, *pause* in which...

The comma makes you pause for a moment and then continues on with the sentence, however, I'm assuming you want the reader to keep the momentum of the sentence going. So just think about this as you move forward when writing.

Here you used the comma correctly:

While Aedan learns the human nature and while Dawn learns to overcome her phobias, a greater storm is coming.

Overall, nice blurb! It tells me what to expect, but also leaves me guessing for what's to come.

✰ characters
Dawn seems to be a very hardworking young woman. It seems like she feels indebted to her aunt for taking her in; I'm not exactly sure what happened to her parents, though, but I'm assuming that's explained further into the story! Nevertheless, she seems very kind, yet very naive. She seems to not fully understand the world around her. Dawn wants to see the good in humans, but I feel like she's in for a rude awakening!

Aedan is much of a daydreamer and a romantic. This aloof personality of his makes it seem as though he could care less about his status and that's something I like about him. Not only that, but he is also very selfless and cares for others. That being said, I absolutely love Gabriel and Aedan's brotherly bond. You can definitely tell they love and care for each other deeply and the author was able to portray this beautifully in the fifth chapter.

✰ plot
The plot is very very very intriguing to me! I've read a few werewolf stories here on Wattpad and I've yet to come across a story quite like this one. Instead of telling this story in today's modern day, you've transported us back in to what I can assume is the past, where technology has yet to be invented. I'm actually a sucker for stories that take place in the past, like in the early 1800s, so getting to a read a story like this was a lot of fun!

There seems to be an emphasis on the segregation between humans and werewolves. Humans see the werewolves as monsters and don't really give them a chance to all come together. I like how you included this sentence in chapter three:

Humans neglect the knowledge, they chose to surround themselves in indulgences of pleasant food and fruitless indolence...

Such great writing! And it just goes to show how humans have always been selfish in their own ways, wanting only what will benefit themselves. It makes you wonder if they will ever truly change.

I also found the world you created to be so interesting and so absolutely unique. There's a lot of prejudice against the wolves, but humans aren't as kind either.

✰ pacing
Your overall pacing is great! I can really tell where this story is leading us as a reader. I do, however, wish the first few chapters were a little bit longer, just to introduce the world to us more in depth. This is just a suggestion!

✰ grammar/language
Right off the bat we see a very descriptive writing style which should always be praised. You were able to capture the feeling of autumn in only a few sentences and I think that's outstanding!

Your writing style is quite remarkable. Sentences like:

Guilt wrapped around Aedan like a serpent, tinging his face with crimson.

And,

Elderberries that Dawn had meticulously collected lay scattered on the soft forest carpet, glistening like royal sapphires.

really captured my attention. I feel like you could write about a piece of cardboard and it would still be beautifully descriptive. Great work!

✰ overall thoughts
Overall, I'm highly impressed by your skills in writing! I aspire to develop such skills like yours. It's difficult for some writers to be descriptive when necessary—me included—but you were able to do it so flawlessly. I'm interested to see how Dawn and Aedan's relationship blooms!

✎ . . . .

Happy writing!