Hey guys! I’ve gotten mixed feedback from beta readers regarding my mythic/epic prologue. I thought I’d come here to get some extra opinions!
Prologue + first chapter are included. My question is essentially this:
Do I keep the prologue, or cut straight to the first chapter?
Thank you! 🖤
(Genre is dark sapphic romantasy btw)
Hey y’all! 🖤
I’m searching for a handful of beta readers for THE CREST OF LILITH, a 115,000-word dark romantasy for the adult market, featuring a central sapphic romance.
About my book:
Selayne Amaris is the first daughter born to a sacred bloodline in a millennium. Because of her divine elven-siren lineage, she is both revered and rebuked by the kingdom of Selendara, forced behind palace walls to endure painful rituals and blood sacrifices. All she wants is to choose her own fate beyond being a symbol of her ancestor’s choice to drown the world and bind it to eternal night. Only an ancient barrier keeps the risen tides at bay, a salvation that some perceive as a gilded cage.
When a devastating attack weakens the barrier, Selayne is placed under the protection of Vespera Morvaine, an elven high priestess who possesses magic that no spiritual guardian should wield. While rebellion brews and Selayne’s dormant siren powers awaken, she falls for the very priestess who has vowed to forsake carnal desire and serve as her shield. But Vespera’s obsession with protecting Selayne from harm may be the very thing that ushers in a prophecy of ruin.
As Vespera’s fear threatens to consume them both, a siren beyond the barrier offers Selayne a secret escape. Now, she must choose whether to abandon Selendara in order to save her own life—or kill the woman she loves to restore peace to her kingdom.
The Crest of Lilith is my debut novel, born from a love of dark mythology and my own lived experience as a queer, neurodivergent woman discovering self-agency and healing after trauma.
Tropes:
🖤 Forbidden romance
🖤 Forced proximity
🖤 Touch her and die
🖤 Morally grey love interest
🖤 Bound protector
🖤 Emotional slow-burn (with some early complicated heat 🌶️)
🖤 She’ll burn the world for her 🔥
THE CREST OF LILITH is SPICY 🌶️🌶️🌶️ and features other adult themes that some readers may find triggering. Explores themes of corruption, betrayal, self agency, and healing after trauma.
This book was written because I wanted to find familiar and satisfying siren/elven/vampire/gothic tropes in a sapphic romance that I’ve only been able to find in het-romantasy (in the specific way I wanted to read it). So for those of y’all that enjoyed ACOMAF, The Serpent and the Wings of Night, In the Veins of the Drowning, The Knight and the Moth, etc but craved a F/F romance, THIS IS FOR YOU ✨
THE CREST OF LILITH is in its final stages of editing, so I’m hoping to hear experience in these areas:
-What scenes/chapters/characters made you feel what emotions?
-Is there anything that impacted you especially hard?
-How did you feel about the spicy scenes? 🌶️
-Did anything come across as confusing (especially by the end)?
-Were there any places where you felt something was lacking?
-Any additional feedback you feel called to share 🖤
If you find technical errors along the way, feel free to point them out, but it is not required (though it is helpful!) 🌙
There will be at least one more book in the series, so there are a few things left unanswered in book 1 as intentional cliffhangers.
Ideal timeline: 5-6 weeks ✨
Thank you for taking the time to read! 🌝 If you’re interested, leave a comment and I’ll reach out to you.
My target audience is queer women. Bonus points if neurodivergent. Beta readers who fit this description will be prioritized as I’m only looking for a handful or less 🖤
Hey y’all! 🖤
I’m searching for a handful of beta readers for THE CREST OF LILITH is a 115,000-word dark romantasy for the adult market, featuring a central sapphic romance.
About my book:
Selayne Amaris is the first daughter born to a sacred bloodline in a millennium. Because of her divine elven-siren lineage, she is both revered and rebuked by the kingdom of Selendara, forced behind palace walls to endure painful rituals and blood sacrifices. All she wants is to choose her own fate beyond being a symbol of her ancestor’s choice to drown the world and bind it to eternal night. Only an ancient barrier keeps the risen tides at bay, a salvation that some perceive as a gilded cage.
When a devastating attack weakens the barrier, Selayne is placed under the protection of Vespera Morvaine, an elven high priestess who possesses magic that no spiritual guardian should wield. While rebellion brews and Selayne’s dormant siren powers awaken, she falls for the very priestess who has vowed to forsake carnal desire and serve as her shield. But Vespera’s obsession with protecting Selayne from harm may be the very thing that ushers in a prophecy of ruin.
As Vespera’s fear threatens to consume them both, a siren beyond the barrier offers Selayne a secret escape. Now, she must choose whether to abandon Selendara in order to save her own life—or kill the woman she loves to restore peace to her kingdom.
The Crest of Lilith is my debut novel, born from a love of dark mythology and my own lived experience as a queer, neurodivergent woman discovering self-agency and healing after trauma.
Tropes:
🖤 Forbidden romance
🖤 Forced proximity
🖤 Touch her and die
🖤 Morally grey love interest
🖤 Bound protector
🖤 Emotional slow-burn (with some early complicated heat 🌶️)
🖤 She’ll burn the world for her 🔥
THE CREST OF LILITH is SPICY 🌶️🌶️🌶️ and features other adult themes that some readers may find triggering. Explores themes of corruption, betrayal, self agency, and healing after trauma.
This book was written because I wanted to find familiar and satisfying siren/elven/vampire/gothic tropes in a sapphic romance that I’ve only been able to find in het-romantasy (in the specific way I wanted to read it). So for those of y’all that enjoyed ACOMAF, The Serpent and the Wings of Night, In the Veins of the Drowning, The Knight and the Moth, etc but craved a F/F romance, THIS IS FOR YOU ✨** **
THE CREST OF LILITH is in its final stages of editing, so I’m hoping to hear experience in these areas:
-What scenes/chapters/characters made you feel what emotions?
-Is there anything that impacted you especially hard?
-How did you feel about the spicy scenes? 🌶️
-Did anything come across as confusing (especially by the end)?
-Were there any places where you felt something was lacking?
-Any additional feedback you feel called to share 🖤
If you find technical errors along the way, feel free to point them out, but it is not required (though it is helpful!) 🌙
There will be at least one more book in the series, so there are a few things left unanswered in book 1 as intentional cliffhangers.
Ideal timeframe to complete: 5-6 weeks, but I also understand that life happens and that should take priority. I would prefer slow, thorough and honest feedback as opposed to feeling rushed.
Thank you for taking the time to read! 🌝 If you’re interested, leave a comment and I’ll reach out to you.
(REPOST because I had a couple silly errors in the original 😅)