Amaryllis | REVIEW SHOP [ CLOSED ]

《Ananas》Fangs or Tails

Reviewer: rebecca_batteur

Fangs or Tails by RaveningLynx

Cover:
Your cover is very well done. It has an attractive appearance with its stylized look. I love all the little details that can only be understood by reading the whole story. The traces of paws visible in the background, the tail hanging from the coin as well as the mouth full of fangs… The coin itself is a nice nod to the prompt that you chose as the basic idea for the plot. This cover also serves very well to give clues to the reader as he reads about the mystery that unfolds before his eyes. The font chosen for the title is nice and overall this cover looks pretty professional and that's a really good point. The only flaw I can find is perhaps regarding the author's name where the font used is less pleasant to read and falls oddly compared to the rest.

Title:
I think the title was chosen very cleverly and when you look at it for a moment you can quickly notice it. When I first read it, I immediately thought of the expression “heads or tails?” except that the first word of the phrase was different for a reason at first unknown to me. It was again a
callback to the original theme of the story with the idea of playing with a room to make a choice, but there was also a hint about the appearance later in the story of werewolves with the word “fangs”. Overall, I think there couldn't have been a better title for this story.

Blurb:
The summary is very well written and I did not notice any shocking spelling errors except for the last paragraph where the concordance of the verbs was not well respected. Apart from this minor error, the rest of the summary is clear and concise, well organized, engaging and intriguing. It sets up the main issues of the story as well as the basic setting of the story. A character who has become apathetic following the loss of a loved one, a coin that makes all the decisions for him and the disturbing element in the loss of the coin and the meeting with Felix. The sentences are well worded, often in a punchy way that strikes the reader. I particularly like the verb “coining” invented here which sums up the character’s situation perfectly. I should, however, note a repetition of the term question at the end. I would suggest replacing it with “inquiry” or
“interrogation”.

Plot:
At the beginning of the story, after reading the first chapters, apart from the information already revealed by the summary, the reader can only wonder what will happen. The appearance of Felix is especially surprising. We quickly understand that it is he who holds the coin, but the reader is left in the dark about the great confusion and embarrassment that Felix is seized by approaching
Tobias for the first time. Reading the scene for the first time, I wondered if he was really there for the coin and not rather to declare his love for Tobias. What followed was a succession of surprises for me, apart from the fact that Felix was a werewolf. The rest was quite surprising. But I don't believe that the story itself is the most important focal point of the story. I think the plot turns much more to the characters and the slow evolution of their personalities. For Tobias especially,
to go from an anemic state where he only follows the orders of a coin to the letter to something else, to finally face his past and to be able again to make his own choices, to accept his emotions, as painful as they can be and build a happier life. The story itself, beyond the initial surprise, is not of immense originality. All the twists can be foreseen, even if they remain surprising on the spot. The only area of mystery around K and the coin can be related I think to Tobias and the evolution of his character. In and of itself, I don't think that's a problem at all. It's even almost a strong point. Despite a very extensive plot, we can rely on the development and the arc of the
main characters as well as a relationship between the two which promises to be very pleasant to
follow. You just have to put a lot of effort into describing the emotions and suffering of the protagonists, which you manage to do very well.