Sunflower Reviews

Mila - In Love and Diplomacy

Reviewer: Mila_333

Review: In Love and Diplomacy

Client: BritishGravity

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Cover

I love the rose and gun elements on the pitch-black background and the faint smoky shadow, they correspond perfectly to the plot. The cover does have this dark element exuded. It is creative, unique, enticing and somewhat mysterious. I absolutely love the font style and font size of the title, even if the 'diplomacy' word used two lines, you correctly placed it and it fits perfectly with all the other elements in the cover. The Author name is well written and clearly visible. This might be my personal preference, but I guess you should write 'Novel written by' first and then put your Author name.

Title

What's really important for a title is that it has to match with the plot. If it doesn't, it becomes irrelevant or click-bait. In your case, the title corresponds really well with the plot. However, the most crucial factor you need to consider when looking for a title is that it should be enticing to readers. There should be a magnetic essence that compels readers to add the book to their reading list upon reading the title itself. Unfortunately, 'In Love and Diplomacy' does not totally have the ultimate eye-catching effect. Talking from personal experience, usually when there's the word 'Love' included in a title, if it doesn't have another word with a magnetic effect, it doesn't always work. The word 'love' itself is so broad in general, it gets lost if it doesn't have the required supporting element. This can be only personal advice and you may as well go along with how you planned it out. However, reviewing the title as it is, I would suggest you place it as 'Love and Diplomacy' instead. It rings better and even has a deep connection to the book, especially to Avery. For instance, she sacrificed love and had always been a diplomat. However, now she's craving for that love and is kind of on the way to fall in love. The title refers exactly to that. The title could also mean she's gonna get both. It can mean she's falling in love but in the end diplomacy wins or vice versa. It has a mysterious end and that is what is exciting about it. The current title exudes the same meaning, however the suggestion sounds better in my opinion.

Blurb

The blurb is specifically on point, matches the plot and is well written. I recommend putting Avery's section before Reed's simply because the story is written in her POV. The last sentence promotes an element of thrill and drama ahead and is a nice concluding sentence. However, I wouldn't suggest including the part where Cruz was the target since you left this as a question for the readers in the book. If Cruz is indeed the target, it then simply gives away the suspense. But if he isn't, then this particular sentence in the blurb will resort to misleading information provided that doesn't correspond to the plot. So, I suggest you clear that part out; you may insert a line saying Avery might be a potential target too! Leave it out blurry for the readers and avoid making any solid statement.

Plot

The plot is the best part of the story. Every little detail has been meticulously taken care of. The crystal clear description of the actions of the characters was simply brilliant; it definitely has to do with your writing style. Your writing style is enough to lure the reader from the very start but plot-wise chapter three was the hook chapter, basically you know your readers will stick once they've read till the end of chapter three. Though, I have to point out that it seemed a bit surreal for the female protagonist to know that something was wrong when Kennedy went to the toilet. It's a bit over-the-top for her character as she seems like a know-it-all woman, except I know she isn't like that after I completed my whole read. But, this part seems a bit non-natural, I advise you to make this scene a bit more natural and real. Moreover, the whole concept of the story is lit and very enchanting. I really admire the amount of research you did considering you aren't even in the political field. The whole case you drafted was outstanding and definitely matches the plot although there's still a lot of stuff to unveil yet. The element of suspense is truly thrilling and fun. I was on edge the whole time!