CP For Adult Fantasy
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Sarah
Sep 14, 2025, 8:29:47 PMSep 14
to Critique Partner Matchup
Looking for a crit partner for my 103k adult dark (but not grim dark) fantasy novel. Little to no romance.
Blurb:
The Gods just want to watch you suffer.
Heir to the throne Blaen is the so-called Star of the Dawn, prophesied to banish the Gloom, cure the Gloomrot, and bring about the age of light. Crippled by the immense weight of expectation, he has spent his life avoiding responsibility, leaving him woefully unprepared for the duties of a king.
Rhiain, the spare heir, is shadowed by the prophecy and questions her own purpose despite her love and sympathy for her twin brother. All she desires is to aid and shield her ailing father, a devotion that has led her to shoulder many of his royal burdens, effectively ruling a dying kingdom for a doomed king.
On the precipice of a fragile peace with their long-time imperial enemies, the twins embark on a Taith y Bendith: the brutal pilgrimage that any who seek the blessings of the Gods must undergo. Without all six blessings, Blaen stands no chance of ascending to the throne or driving back the Gloom. But the gods care nothing for treaties. When the empire betrays the ceasefire and executes the king, Rhiain is shattered by grief and her avoidant brother is forced to take charge for the first time in his life. Mourning and pursued by imperials, he has two weeks to complete the Taith before the path closes, and the Gloom consumes the sun and twists their people into Gloomfiends.
The gods demand suffering, and the twins are about to pay the price.
Heir to the throne Blaen is the so-called Star of the Dawn, prophesied to banish the Gloom, cure the Gloomrot, and bring about the age of light. Crippled by the immense weight of expectation, he has spent his life avoiding responsibility, leaving him woefully unprepared for the duties of a king.
Rhiain, the spare heir, is shadowed by the prophecy and questions her own purpose despite her love and sympathy for her twin brother. All she desires is to aid and shield her ailing father, a devotion that has led her to shoulder many of his royal burdens, effectively ruling a dying kingdom for a doomed king.
On the precipice of a fragile peace with their long-time imperial enemies, the twins embark on a Taith y Bendith: the brutal pilgrimage that any who seek the blessings of the Gods must undergo. Without all six blessings, Blaen stands no chance of ascending to the throne or driving back the Gloom. But the gods care nothing for treaties. When the empire betrays the ceasefire and executes the king, Rhiain is shattered by grief and her avoidant brother is forced to take charge for the first time in his life. Mourning and pursued by imperials, he has two weeks to complete the Taith before the path closes, and the Gloom consumes the sun and twists their people into Gloomfiends.
The gods demand suffering, and the twins are about to pay the price.
Books that define me as a reader: Uprooted by Naomi Novick and Godkiller by Hana Kaner
I'm unagented, but have queried in the past. The book has been through one round of self-edits and at this stage I'm mostly looking for developmental level feedback.
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