liann_aixa Your story is so hard to put down! I told myself I wouldn't start any other review before bed, but I thought "Hey, just one chapter so I can give myself an idea of what I'm working with." Joke's on me! I couldn't stop reading and am so excited to continue your story because I'll be adding it to my library. That's right, you got a *chef's kiss*! So exciting. I love the passion and interactions of your characters, I love the world you're building up, and I love the mystery that is about to unravel at my fingertips. Love it. You did an amazing job setting up your story!

Want an in-depth analysis? Check out my review below!

Blurb: The blurb of your story has only two hiccups as far as I can see. One being in the words "a gate Izoven" (maybe a colon or em dash or changed to "the gate of Izoven"?). The second is that the leap is from normal life to epic fantasy, so I think you should make the transition smoother by perhaps showing the character is hesitant about believing it, or revealing the title of the gate at the end.

Plot/Concept: While I only read the first 3/7 chapters of your story, I was thoroughly enjoying the plot and where it was heading! You didn't spend too much time beating around the bush to reveal an intriguing aspect of your story, you set up a very mysterious and fantastical history for your character to dive into, and there have been no information dumps! I'm definitely excited to read more, and see how the main character deals with everything that is to ensue.

Pacing: The pacing was perfect. A beautiful and wonderfully written introduction to your story!

Character Development: Your characters were realistic, interesting, and healthy (aside from her obvious lack of memory and unhealthy obsession with drawing strange symbols). The relationship between your main character and Seth was great in giving someone for her to feel grounded with, interact with, and show us how she is under pressure with and without him. I loved Mrs. Baker, and I loved the relationship between the mother and grandfather. You have created a wide world to work with and your characters seem like they'll be making smart decisions that will really drive the plot forward.

Writing Style: Your writing is very well put together. You don't waste time on anything unnecessary (description or otherwise) and you have so far proven yourself to have the ability to write and develop your characters within the scenes. I would like to get some more descriptions of the environments or knock knacks with specifics, though I would understand skimming over these mundane details when A) the reader can fill them in with their own images and B) by providing a dearth supply of description in the mundane world, it makes descriptions in the fantastical world much more amazing and able to jump off of the page.

I think (so far) the only flaw I can find is that you tend to ask questions in your writing that could be stated in normal thoughts of the character. By using questions to prompt the reader, there isn't really an effect since they usually already have those questions brewing. For example, saying your main character could fall asleep because she couldn't put the pieces together, rather than saying "What will happen? Why is this like this?". When authors ask questions it usually pulls me out of the story since it then feels like I'm being prompted along rather than figuring it out for myself.

TOAST LEVEL:

Overall, for the mysteries that are yet to be unraveled and a fantasy world that I can't wait to explore, I'm giving Izoven: Song of Fire a rating of Perfectly Toasted!

For the author: If you would like the notes I took for your review (chapter notes, grading), please DM me.