First off, I want to tell you that I enjoyed reading this. It is a very interesting beginning, and I think that it could certainly go places. You have set up a mystery with the attack on the palace. Sure, people attack royalty sometimes, but you pose the question why, which grabs a readers attention. I always enjoy reading a book that begins with action or feeling.
You might want to rethink the title of the first chapter's title. It is a little bit cliche. I know a couple of editors, and they really don't like cliches. Also, when Malea opens her door, you say that her parents are "fighting for their lives". I think you could probably elaborate that. It would give the chapter more depth and length, as well as lead into Malea's fear and tears.
I think you could expand the first chapter a lot more by giving more desciption. When Princess Malea wakes up, you could have her brush her hair out of her face, telling readers the color, and maybe her hair type, to give them a visual, which will pull them into the story. When she sees her sister, you could mention something about terror or confusion on the sister's face.
The second time that Malea opens her door, you said that there was no one in the hallway. Where had her parents gone?
In the beginning, you didn't have much atmosphere.
However, that got much better once you brought Malea out of the house.
You have used the term "frozen with fear" quite often. Perhaps you could cut one or two of them. While ignoring the frozen part, you could expand on the feeling of terror.
I really enjoyed the ending. The grief was realistic, as well as the man's reaction. You left it open well, and made me wonder how the man will respond now that he knows that Malea is the princess. What does he think happened to her? Overall, it was very good. I enjoyed reading it, and I am going to check back to read more, you can count on it. I hope that I have not overwhelmed you, and I hope that I have been helpful. Keep up the good work!
Also, you might want to create your bio block. I find that reading members' bio blocks can give me a better idea of who they are, which gets me interested enough to read their work. |
|