Title: Only Yours
Author: courtneyrush756
Chapters reviewed:1-3
Cover: It's nice, but it doesn't feel very fitting for the story. I'm also not a personal fan of the font choices here either. From reading the blurb, I wonder if it would be more fitting to have the cover as a book, a pile of books, or a library. The flowers just seem more like a temp cover than anything else.
Title: Again, it's nice I suppose, but if you search on Wattpad you get many stories pop up with the same title. None of them yours either. Which isn't the worst thing. Similar titles are bound to happen. But if you want something that sticks out a bit more and is easier to find with a search, you might want to change it.
Blurb: You do an amazing job at giving us an idea of the overall plot. Great details, short and sweet. The only thing I'd suggest is just a tiny bit more sentence variation in it. Looking closely, you have quite lengthy sentences in all three paragraphs. I left a suggestion down below, but please feel free to tweak it to your liking if you want. This is just how I'd personally write it with a little more sentence variation.
Yours: Like every other book worm, Tamina used to have that dream where a man would swoop in and buy that desired book, and that is how she meets Brandon. Never believing a sweet gentleman like himself could exist outside the pages of a book, doubting how long it will be for their time to come to an end, and if this handsome man can prove her right. . . or wrong.
Brandon is a man who has all he desires-apart from the right woman to spend the rest of his life with. With a one in a blue moon trip to the library, timid girl Tamina catches his eye, and he knows she's the one he wants regardless of the path chosen for him.
Promises of delicious romance, luxuries, and heartache meet her on every bend, and if Brandon isn't careful, he may lose her for good.
Revised version: Like every other bookworm, Tamina used to dream of a man who would swoop in and buy that desired book. Until she meets Brandon. She never believed a sweet gentleman like him could exist outside the pages of a book, doubting how long it will be until their time comes to an end. Unless this handsome man can prove her wrong.
Brandon has all he desires, apart from the right woman to spend the rest of his life with. With a once in a blue moon trip to the library, Tamina catches his eye, and he knows she's the one he wants regardless of the path chosen for him.
Promises of delicious romance, luxuries, and heartache meet Tamina on every bend, and if Brandon isn't careful, he may lose her for good.
First Impression: This seems like it'll be a sweet romance with some ups and downs along the way. Don't know why, but I sense lots of tension ahead along with some flirty attraction. I always love stories centered around bookstores and libraries too, so that definitely has me hooked! I can't wait to see how these two meet and how their romance progresses from here. It feels like they both have very different lives so it'll be interesting seeing how they come together.
Chapter 1: First of all, I love those gripping one-liners to open the chapter. Bad luck is a curse already has my attention right away. The way things progress so naturally between these two was so much fun to read. I love how there was that bit of awkwardness that didn't make things too weird or corny, but just felt like an actual encounter that could happen with a handsome stranger.
It's a pleasant surprise to find Brandon there as well, who's also a bookworm it seems! Such a cute couple already. I liked their interaction in this chapter as well, especially with how Brandon comes across as a sweet guy who's clearly into her but so patient and not pushy or forceful about his feelings. You know how some romances do that? The dominant Alpha-like male? Personally, I'm not a fan of those, so that's why this is so refreshing! I already love Brandon xD Tamina also seems like such a lovely woman too.
Chapter 2: Another lovely chapter with some budding attraction between these two. One thing I found interesting was the bit of strained reaction when Brandon sees Quinton, learning he's someone she's known for quite a long time. It felt like jealousy started to spring up there, and then he jumped in to pay for her book. I also thought this was a library? So I'm a bit lost on why she's paying? I figured she was just borrowing the book with it being at the library. But I also saw it was called a shop so I'm a bit unclear. One thing I do know is that the library where I live does sometimes sell their older books every now and then, but usually they're in well worn shape. It doesn't seem like that's the case here? It gave me more bookshop feels rather than library? You might want to go back and clarify this bit.
I also saw a little Easter egg that ties into the title here! From my first impressions, I wondered how it connected to the story, and if it even did. Reaching this chapter, I can see its importance. But I still feel like it could be better. A different image of flowers and some new fonts would help improve it a lot. Thinking of romance covers with flowers, my first thought goes to It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover, so maybe a little inspiration from her fonts would work wonders on your current cover. (A little off track here, but I needed to mention it now that I know the flower book cover connection)
Chapter 3: It was so sweet and considerate of Brandon to buy the book that she was originally searching for! I feel like this is the beginning of their romance journey. It was also so adorable seeing Tamina thinking of what kind of gift to give him. Seeing his reaction made it so worth it too. I can tell he wasn't expecting that at all. But neither was Tamina when he brought out that book. I am curious to see how their little "not date" goes while getting coffee. Brandon seems like such a kind hearted guy, and I especially love how calm and patient he is. She's definitely found herself a good one, I hope!
Characters:
With this being romance, I'm going to focus heavily on our main couple.
Tamina: She comes across as a lovely woman who's a bit on the shy side and doesn't have much faith in love. Not even when meeting Mr. Perfect xD Although, I'm wondering if that perfect gentleman side might not be all of him. Perhaps there's another side we're yet to see. Tamina has an avid love for reading and books, which honestly, same here. I think what I like a lot about her character is how realistic she comes across. Definitely someone I feel like many readers can relate with, much like I did. You've got a great grasp on her character's voice as well.
Brandon: The kind and handsome love interest! Honestly, my favorite romances are when the male lead is genuinely caring and considerate toward the woman he's interested in. He's made it pretty clear that he's interested in her, yet there's no pressure or forcing his feelings onto her. He takes things slowly, and is quite a great listener. It was a kind gift to bring her the book she wanted to get and would have had to wait for the library to get in otherwise. Although he's come across as a gentleman, there's an aura of mystery to him as well. I'm curious about his home life, his work, and his interest in Tamina. You've built him up to be an amazing love interest so far that has readers on the edge of their seats to see when they'll get together.
Overall thoughts:
I really love the dynamic you've created between these two. There's definitely chemistry here, and I'm so excited to see it all play out. Despite how smooth and lovely things have been in these first three But with your tags of heartbreak, love triangle, and betrayal mentioned I'm unsure of how things will go. Even the blurb has me weary for falling too fast here. Brandon already has my heart too, but the words betrayal and heartbreak have me wondering more about this guy. Will he break her heart? And also, love triangle. How can anyone compete with Brandon? If I had to take a guess, maybe it's Quinton? That would explain the bit of tension I noticed between these two. I'm a sucker for friends to lovers, so Brandon better keep up his game or I could easily find myself swayed over to Team Quinton.
On a more serious note, the one thing I'd advise is a little more sentence variation here and there. Similar to what I noticed in your blurb. You tend to prefer lengthier sentences, which isn't a bad thing at all! But it would be nice to balance them out with a few more short ones as well.
Overall, this was such a fun read! You did really great at setting these two up here in the beginning. I'm really curious to see how their romantic journey continues and plan to read this on my own time a bit later.
