WIP: Let There Be Light, Book 1 of The Flames of Hope Trilogy

[hybridlore]

@ellette-giselle

I finished! (And the art for the cover is really cool.) I gave answering those questions a shot, even though you might be past the point of feedback, I figured you might want to hear what I thought.

Were the characters believable?

For the most part, yes. At times, there was somewhat stilted (slightly forced seeming, or maybe a little unrealistic) dialogue, in my opinion, but you did a good job of showing the characters’ very real struggles with their faith during hard times. (I’m pretty big about my dialogue being … I don’t know, I try to have my characters only say things I could see myself or others saying in real life, and I try to make it as realistic as possible, but that’s a totally different setting and experience than in your world.)

Did they have good, individual personalities, or were they clones?

Joseph and Sabina, in my opinion, were the characters with the most personality—which makes sense, because they are the main characters lol. Like Linus said (I think) Noah and Darrien blended together a lot for me, even with the paragraph or two of backstory, and I don’t think Turin ever felt very real to me—but we also didn’t get to see a lot of him.

What would you say was the message of the story?

Standing up for your faith, trusting God through trials, and spreading the Gospel, no matter the cost.

What would you say my world view was?

Christian? I’m not sure what else to say for this.

Was there anything that seemed unbelievable or forced?

Mostly just the occasional dialogue or character interactions—which I think were still believable, just not as realistic as they could’ve been.

Is there anything that you would say needs to be changed?

I don’t think there were any major issues. I’m not sure how I felt about the ending and the seven-year-jump since the next book picks up right when Aaron dies, but I understand it’s a happier ending.

Was the plot solid?

In general, but like Linus, I think that some sections were less certain of a goal (it was more just slice-of-life, which is fine).

Is this the sort of book that you would buy from a store or pick up from the library, or are you only reading it because I’m a fellow KPer?

I probably wouldn’t have picked it up on my own, but now that I’m reading the second book, I’m pretty involved. If my library had the rest of the books, I think I would borrow them. I will say that the end of the first book—while I know you won’t change it—could leave readers feeling sort of disconnected from the next one, since it’s not the same main character. I’m not sure how you could fix this—selling more than one of the books at the same time? giving the reader an excerpt from the beginning of the second book (I know you kind of already have one, but more) that leaves the reader feeling interested in the second book and connected to Joseph as a character.

All in all, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to finishing the second book! (I’m scared for the next two, though, especially after all your warnings about the last one being dark.) Thank you for posting them!

Side note: interestingly enough, you said that the second book is your least favorite, while I’ve preferred it so far to the first one. We’ll see how the third and fourth compare.

INTP 🧡 Homeschooler 🧡 WIP: The Color of Hope

[Ellette Giselle]

@hybridlore

Thank you so much for the feedback! I loved this! It’s super helpful.

 

Side note: interestingly enough, you said that the second book is your least favorite, while I’ve preferred it so far to the first one. We’ll see how the third and fourth compare.

You know what, Aaron will always be my favorite character, but I’m growing to like the 2nd book a lot more then I did in the first couple drafts. Still, LTBL will always have a special place in my heart.

 

I may have a small part of the next book in the end of LTBL! That’s a good idea!

 

Man is born for the fight, to be forged and molded into a sharper, finer, stronger image of God

[Author]

Posts