Project Athena | Reviews

Mirrored Face (Nadia)

Author: -Lily-Pad-

Reviewer: SardonicBeauty

Genre: Horror/Paranormal

The first thing I want to point out is the cover; it's beautifully designed and perfectly represents the book. Mirrored Face is a horror-mystery book that revolves around the life of fourteen-year-old Sage Madden and the incidents that take place. This story is an ideal mix of horror, suspense, and thrills. Right from the start, a thrilling and tension-filled scene is portrayed, and as the book progresses, it maintains that tension until the epilogue.

The book portrays various aspects of human beings, their emotional states, and how they deal with the consequences of their actions. I loved the inner conflict of the clone, and how the sane and insane parts are in constant war, something we cannot imagine. Yet, when we read from the clone's point of view, we feel the hesitation and anger immensely.

The book is aptly categorized as horror and can be considered paranormal. The beauty of this book is that it doesn't have ghosts, demons, or anything supernatural to add the paranormal element. The anger, grief, and need for revenge can create characters who are scarier than the dead ones, which is the true horror of this world, and 'Mirrored Face' does not disappoint on that front.

Regarding the technical aspects of the story, the descriptions and dialogues in every chapter can be cluttered, breaking the flow of the story. For example, "Mommy" and "Yes baby, it's me" should be in the next line to make the reader's experience smoother along with the transitions. The chapters are fast-paced, which is appropriate for a short story, but they need to be informative too. How? By adding more fine details and descriptions of the characters, things happening in the surroundings, and how the characters react to them.

The grammar could be improved significantly. For example, in one place, it should be 'It all makes sense,' and in another, 'I was filled with dread.' Alternatively, you could edit the sentence as follows: 'I felt myself filled with dread as a bright red light flashed.' Another point to clear up is the clone's gender. In the chapter where we first meet the clone, there is mixed use of pronouns.

When writing any scenes with blood, extreme violence, gore, or murder, it's always best to give a warning at the beginning of the chapter.

There are several time jumps in the beginning chapters, which is acceptable, but adding more descriptions would have more impact on the readers and show the characters' depth.

Overall, I'd rate this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. The plot is strong and refreshing, with a lot of potential. Adding descriptions and details, and giving it a thorough edit, would make this story unforgettable.

Good luck!