To tell you the truth, I wanted to give up on this book too many times to count. And why? Because when I had finished, I tried to get it read and reviewed. Little did I know that it was nowhere near finished.
It turns out I am the harshest critic in the world, especially when it comes to my own work. I had to review the entire book four times before it was finished, and by that time I never wanted to read it again. Here are some excerpts of the reviews. I hope they bring joy to someone. It might read better from the last review to the first one. CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE.
Review 1
I'm going to read the book now. My mind will stay in these words. I read the first paragraph. There were many things to change. I feel drained and thirsty. I'm happy that the chapter is short. The next chapter was much worse. It's as though I've never read it!. Only 7 chapters left to read...I would not recommend this shit to anyone. I can't believe it is this bad.
⦁ i hate this entire chapter. do it again.
⦁ The horse sentence is absolutely disgusting
⦁ Que?
⦁ Nowhere near as funny as it was intended to be.
⦁ What does that even mean?
⦁ ARE YOU KIDDING ME
⦁ "This is sand." Why are you like this.
⦁ You can do better.
⦁ This chapter is so long omg.
⦁ Ok I will read every line of this. ⦁ Describe the guards better ⦁ Ok I will take a break here. ⦁ Ok I will read every line of this. 15:48 - 16:20
⦁ ARE THERE ONLY 250 PEOPLE ALIVE? ⦁ 12:44 lets see what you've got ⦁ Not descriptive enough ⦁ Should describe what you see before what you do with it ⦁ First paragraph, only the first sentence makes sense ⦁ You need to paint a better picture! Try harder! ⦁ Dude I can't read this. Do over. 12:46
⦁ too soon enough? This sentence sucks
⦁ Honestly the dialogue makes me sick. Please don't show this to me again. I'm done
⦁ Oh this is dark
⦁ Reminds me of when you went on a night out with Joe. Please redo.
⦁ Ugh this is so anime, the gruesome parts are too much ⦁ STOP SAYING NEXT
⦁ i want to find out how many times you say next and then.
⦁ Could you be any more blunt?
⦁ A lot of this section is either too blunt or too repetitive ⦁ I think it should sound more formal ⦁ Neither is the wrong word to use
⦁ I don't think deniably is a very popular word
⦁ You spelt sun wrong, the wrong and used tis instead of is
⦁ Learn to use quotation marks
Review 2
Chapter 1
I hated this one
Chapter 2
I hated this one the most last time
I'm liking the metaphors. FeelsGoodMan.
Chapter 3
I hated the dialogue, I hated the fight scene. Why can't you just delete this? Or redo it so it has a point.
More high-quality dialogue, descriptiveness and colour.
Chapter 4 ⦁ I hated this one Chapter 5 ⦁ I hated the dialogue
Chapter 7 ⦁ This was too anime.
⦁ You haven't taken most of my feedback on board, but it's clear that you are making an effort. ⦁ Lots of nice themes coming out, keep playing with them ⦁ Much more bearable. I can't wait to see the finished version!
Review 3
I'm going to read the edited book now. Last time it was better, so I'm looking forward to reading it.
⦁ Bad ending
⦁ Not enough Mutz, give him his own chapter!
⦁ More character description
⦁ Better fight scenes
⦁ WHY DON'T THE PIRATES HAVE GIANT WEAPONS
⦁ More obsessiveness
⦁ Point out Crow has to follow the rules TOO
⦁ Ibaad should be 16
⦁ Dima is such a Shrek
Review 4
⦁ THIS CHAPTER HAS SO MANY THEMES WHY CAN'T YOU JUST PICK ONE. ⦁ Ok I can see the comedic value here. Not everyone will like it but fine. ⦁ The more I read it the more I like it. Keep it. Good. Really long though. ⦁ Just read the part where Dima returns. I have never cringed so much in my entire life. It works but it is SUCH a turn off. ⦁ I haven't cringed so much since you messed up your ambassador job and gave the wrong people the free champagne. If you smile this much every day then this truly was the last first step. ⦁ It's cringy becuase Dima shows up out of nowhere in the middle of a tree. STARTS TALKING ABOUT HOW SHE CAN TALK TO SHADOWS AAAAAND THEEEEN GIVES A REALLY DEEP AND INSIGHTFUL LOOK INTO HER LIFE THAT HAS NO IMPACT ON THE STORY OTHER THAN CONVENIENCE. ...I see your point. However. Consider this. We take out the talking to shadows but keep the story. HEAR ME OUT. We can get a truly insightful look into what Dima is thinking. Creating a level of trust that we never had before, making the ending so much sadder. ! It's a serious situation and you're fucking it up with CRINGE. I deleted it. No more smartass Dima.