A Bit About the Author:

AEPennymaker is a artist, writer, and mother of five with a corny sense of humor. (Okay, who doesn't appreciate corn? XD) She enjoys writing fantasy and is also a member of The_Bookshop account which critiques books and frequently hosts little contests. 

Title:

Short. While it gives off a nice fantasy vibe, I still don't quite see a strong connection to it throughout the book. Certainly in the beginning, but I don't recall it being referenced further on to the point of it feeling out of place. 

Cover:

Certainly eye-catching and I like the colors. My critiques are that the title doesn't really stand out as much as it should and the author's name especially is hardly visible at all. I would like to see it more clearly for sure. 

Blurb:

Far too long. Again, this is perfect as a synopsis were you querying it, but it's far too long as a blurb. Just reading it again makes my eyes glaze over. I personally would suggest keeping the first and last paragraphs, with a brief explanation of the Rot. That way there's not this huge chunk of info that will most likely turn a potential reader away and instead hook them in the way a proper blurb should do. 

The Good:

You definitely have a gift with setting up a "danger" vibe in this story. It felt very dense and dark in the sense of how dangerous the monster was and how the Rot was taking over everything. The dialogue and tension was spot-on and I really enjoyed getting to know your characters, especially Rhoa. The Vanguard was what I expected him to be, but beyond a few other details, your story wasn't predictable and I really enjoyed reading it. And kudos on having proper grammar. 

The Bad:

My only critiques would be this. While you do have a unique story, I felt that there was a severe lack of world-building. I know we are focused on Rhoa and the Rot and being a faithful Keeper in her father's absence, but I just felt that beyond that, there was just emptiness. I wanted to see more of the world-building as evidenced in the first few chapters. It just wasn't there towards the latter end of the book and I would have liked to see more so the world felt complete. It doesn't have to be anything big, just a few little things. But I want to see the blank areas filled. ^_^

What the Reader Thought:

I can't remember what all the prompts are so I can't say how well your story followed them personally. But I enjoyed reading this ONC entry and it had a lot of depth and density to it. It felt like a proper novel as far as linguistic style even though it was so short. And yes, I would have liked to see more world-building to give it more depth and color to it. Best of luck in the ONC! 

Score: 8/10