Mar 8 2014 EMCSA Update

WITHIN: Graded primarily on heat and narrative
WITHOUT: Graded primarily on narrative
Possible spoilers below …

WITHIN
Sweetheart (mc ff) (new)  by InLeaves
–2/5 (so-so, maybe a good story to others but didn’t mesmerize me)–

Maybe I can’t give a better reason for this, but little rich disney princess just didn’t peak my interest at all. I love fantasy thrown into a modern context to the point it’s practically just science fiction, but that’s different from fairly tale in modern context. Maybe modern fairy tale feel wasn’t the author’s intent, but that’s how it came off to me. I’m not saying this is a bad story in any way, but the more I read, the more I skimmed. It’s a bit on the long side, too, without any serious breaks for the reader. Not for me.
(ReReadability: low / follow: no)

Thrall of the Vestals (mc ff mf fd md) (new)  by Gwendoline Townsend
–3/5 (decent, not perfect)–

“Thrall” is not necessarily a keyword I look for in something I may enjoy, but this was interesting at the start, in a fantastical kind of way. I’d like to thank HP Lovecraft for making dreams so damn interesting to me! MC and dreams are wonderful! However, it almost seemed like the first part should’ve been it’s own five star story. The narrative shift felt way too sudden, and kinda took me out of the story. I saw the connection to John, yes, but the sudden shift fueled an underlying disinterest in the character, even though I did identify with him a bit. My opinion is that he should’ve saw the first part of the story as a dream. Maybe I don’t always like sudden shifts …? The first chaps were good overall, but underwhelming for me in its implementation.
(ReReadability: low / follow: no)

WITHOUT
Spring Long Delayed (mc mf md) (new)  by Tax and Tithe
~~1.5/5 (poor +, need to be mesmerized to really like this)~~

The writing was all right, I suppose, but I think it needed more polish. Read a touch awkward at times. I learned over time that one writes best when they write in some version of how they normally speak to ensure a natural flow. The voice I was seeing here felt almost artificial or robotic. Even with me not caring about the bestiality here, I just could not get into this at all.
(ReReadability: Low / Follow: no)

RANDOM COMMENTS
The concept of bestiality is definitely blurred when, say, a werewolf is having sex with someone in their “human” form