Goodness, I need to make a cup of tea before sitting down to read your latest remarks through, Jube! smile
But I agree with the last part - I always try to implement nitty changes asap so that the next reviewers won't get stuck on the same issues as the previous ones. When there are less nits in a chapter, reviewers tend to focus on bigger picture issues.

127

(31 replies, posted in Close friends)

Good, I really didn't want readers to think I was going in that direction! smile :Lol

All I can say is that if I was cold and had the ability to turn into a horse, I would do it and find a way to sit on a dragon as a horse. It sounds much more comfortable than being a naked girl in the snow!
If she can't do this, you might want to explain why. eg. dragons and horses aren't friends!

Seems like everyone's struggling a little at the moment!
Good thing we're such a patient, understanding group smile

130

(25 replies, posted in Romance Inc.)

Janet Taylor-Perry wrote:
Suin wrote:

I always reciprocate even if it does sometimes take a while

Me too, Suin. I have your newest on my list. I'm overjoyed to be getting books into print and for sale, but it's time consuming, and then the marketing is trying!

I know!! I have you on my to-do list too but you've pushed out so many lately I wouldn't even know where to start! Don't know how you manage it all! Best of luck with the publishing!

131

(25 replies, posted in Romance Inc.)

Janet (AJ) Reid wrote:
Suin wrote:

I always reciprocate even if it does sometimes take a while

I should post this to my profile post! big_smile

It even takes me weeks to reply to a little message in the forums *sigh*
I think i'll put it on my profile too smile

27?! That's impressive!!
I'm trying to get to Cobber's after my rotation commitments (just completed 2 for the Cartel's Revenge)

I say stick to the 20 day mark. If people occasionally need to overextend, that's fine as long as it balances out.
If a reviewer only reviews once in 20 days they only visit each novel twice in a year. At 25 days they're not even visiting a novel twice in a year.
Also, how about a word limit for comments in the forums? (joke!) smile

134

(25 replies, posted in Romance Inc.)

I always reciprocate even if it does sometimes take a while

135

(31 replies, posted in Close friends)

I definitely DONT want you to stop reviewing! smile smile
But you said you would if Sarah ended up with Hugh.
I love the way you get into stories, your feedback is unique from everybody else's because you're somehow able to become the character and guess exactly what's going to happen next when you review!
but i took your advice on board - I will tone down Sarah's self-destruction. Things should be happening to her and she should be watching, helpless, not helping the destruction along!
Appreciate all your comments!!

136

(31 replies, posted in Close friends)

&@gacela, I will definitely sprinkle the jack crush into previous chapters. I've already added some but maybe they were to subtle before, but I'll definitely remove the big jack info dump!!!

137

(31 replies, posted in Close friends)

I'll be very sorry to lose you as a reviewer as I really value your opinion, but the next chapter will be the wedding. Sarah has a few more obstacles to hit her before she can start climbing her way out of this.
Hugh hadn't actually done anything explicitly wrong apart from announcing the pregnancy and engagement to everyone, while Jack had cheated on Claire with Alicia. Sarah is convinced he has no interest in her because she did try to kiss him a year ago and he pushed her away. No matter how much I like my sister's boyfriend, I would definitely take my sister's side if he cheated on her, it's sister code. Sarah couldn't insist that Jack stays because that would be a betrayal of her sister.
I can tone down the self-destruction in this chapter if that makes you feel better, but just know there will finally be a happy ending

138

(35 replies, posted in Close friends)

Thanks Rhiannon - although I think I arrived at the group on the same invite as you! But welcome to us all in this close little group smile

Oh, & CJ, I think it's best to review the works that are being posted in the group. I'll continue to review you according to the schedule of the other group, but will also respond to any additional reviews you want to do from within this group. Does that work for you? If you just mention it in your review, then I'll come and review you back!

Gacela, I can't think of anyone extra now, but if I come across someone with the right writing and the right personality (because that counts too here! smile ) I'll suggest them here!

139

(9 replies, posted in Close friends)

No internet? Gosh, I hope you're okay! I imagine I'd be having addiction-withdrawal symptoms if I was you.

Overall, I don't think I'm behind in my reviews either, since I did a review of everyone's work within one week at the start plus lots of reviews since.
I'm struggling to find time for this site over the last weeks though as I'm splitting my working time between London and Amsterdam (so much less fun than it sounds!) while living in and househunting in Dublin and almost every weekend one of my friends are getting married (weddings last a full weekend here and longer to recover :-) )
By September things will have calmed down again and I'll have much more time to catch up on all the reviews. As long as I know it's averaging out and not strictly within a 20 day time period, it's good.
I'm not very admin-oriented, so like CJ I'm not so good at posting my reviews here

OK as long as nobody is checking on my reviewing routine (which is sometimes several within twenty days and sometimes none for thirty days) and getting upset about it, then I feel better and am happy to work in this way with this flexibility!
Stefanie, that;s hugely brave of you, I'm impressed! Best of luck with your studies and looking forward to your return when you have time!

142

(35 replies, posted in Close friends)

Welcome to the group CJ smile
I don't think there are any rules or timelines or anything here! We just review when we can and if we have additional thoughts, we put them in the forum so others can see what we're thinking!
I'll be over to review more chapters of yours soon enough (hopefully this weekend), but I'm struggling to find free time at the moment.

143

(9 replies, posted in Close friends)

Me too! Haven't had a chance to login here for ages but trying to come back now!

I'd noticed it's been a while since getting an update on Helga, Patrick and Melissa! You've left your readers hanging at a crucial point! :-)

Hi,
I'm having a bit of a problem with the 1 review per 20 day thing. It's not that I can't review within 20 days, but I keep forgetting when the 20 days starts and ends and I also hate any admin tasks so I usually postpone anything admin-y ie. writing here when I've completed a review. (I do the reviews but end up forgetting to write it here).
Would it work more smoothly if we all worked within the same 20 days, and therefore we had a reminder each 20 days that the next review period will begin?
Also, to make things more dynamic, would it work better if we arrange it so that everyone is in sync and receiving a review each 20 days? eg. as below?
Reviewer                    1st 20 days                   2nd 20 days                   3rd 20 days
Stephanie Dubois    1 Suin                    2 Alkemi                    3 Jube
Cobber                    1 Stephanie Dubois    2 Suin                    3 Alkemi
Matthew Abelack            1 Cobber                    2 Stephanie Dubois    3 Suin
Randall Krzak            1 Matthew Abelack    2 Cobber                    3 Stephanie Dubois
C J Driftwood            1 Randall Krzak            2 Matthew Abelack    3 Cobber
Jube                            1 C J Driftwood            2 Randall Krzak            3 Matthew Abelack
Alkemi                    1 Jube                    2 C J Driftwood            3 Randall Krzak
Suin                            1. Alkemi                    2 Jube                    3 C J Driftwood


Just my suggestions, maybe you've tried something like this before and it didn't work

No no, it was all clear except whether Athens died or not. I wasn't sure because it wasn't mentioned explicitly.

146

(31 replies, posted in Close friends)

I'm not saying this to disagree with you - just as an explanation from my side. I'll take your points into consideration and look into ways of clarifying all of this!!

147

(31 replies, posted in Close friends)

Sarah isn't supposed to be a one dimensional character that can be put into a box. Do you know anyone who is strong or weak in real life? I don't! People who appear strong can become weak in other situations and vice versa. People are surprising because they're always changing. Sarah is a person in conflict - she's determined to be a ballerina but it would break her heart to let down her family or friends so she's caught in the middle.

One thing that occurred to me after reading the last chapter is that I don't understand why Helga looks exactly like Athens. Was it coincidence that she jumped into the body of someone who also has red hair like her? Also, is Athens gone now? It seems like she is and if so this should be clarified as a major event and if not, you should give us a hint. Looking forward to reading on to the next chapter!

In my last review I suggested keeping things in Danny's pov as I find it quite jarring to suddenly find myself placed in the pov of a side character - Gregory's father. I know you want to jump from one pov to another as you find it more dynamic that way, but what about using Gregory's pov for that section? Also, I'm curious about what the 'kids' are thinking/feeling at this point so Gregory's pov could really add something to the story

I'm on CH11 of this now, and have to say that the story has transformed in recent chapters. At the beginning there was a lot of ranting and information which slowed down the plot. I'd suggest you rethink your starting point and find a way to work the background information into future chapters as readers need to be engaged with the story before they'll commit to learning about the past. I've been really enjoying the last few chapters (especially with the excitement over the football match, and Jackson's reaction the next day). If you started out with this kind of pacing, you'll easily pull the readers in.