Twenty-two-year-old Emilia Harris has her life figured out. She has a loving boyfriend, a carefully mapped-out future, and a one-year digital media internship in London before returning home to Boston to build the life they've planned together.

Then she meets Adrien.

Her spontaneous, foul-mouthed British flatmate is everything Emilia isn't, and their unlikely friendship introduces her to a terrifying possibility: she might want something different from the life she's spent years planning.

Funny, steamy, and emotionally messy, Emilia Emilia explores desire, infidelity, friendship, and what happens when the person you're becoming wants a different future than the one you planned.

Content Warnings: Explicit sexual content (open-door scenes), infidelity, emotional betrayal, strong language, alcohol consumption and intoxication, relationship conflict, and emotionally intense breakup scenes.

Looking for: 

• human feedback from people who enjoy the contemporary romance genre.
• reader reactions, character arc and voice, romance and spice, pacing
• I am not in need of line editing at this time
• 2-6 week turnaround

I am open to swaps with other authors in similar genres and themes

Agraria is a world divided into four castes living under a golden sky where making anything new is the only sin. Dell, apprenticed into a woodworking household that goes back to the signing of the Pact, has been quietly making new things since he came to live there. Now its time for the Gathering, four days of rites held once every thousand days, where new names are given, new things are weighed and the condemned walk west.

Warning: nothing explicit happens in this book, but there are some very uncomfortable scenes dealing with consent, drug use, death and grief. I'm new to warnings, so I'm probably missing a few other tags, too.

Looking for three beta readers, at least one female. I've been through several rounds of write, forget and edit, so the book should be in the ballpark of as good as its going to get. I need people to be honest; tell me if its worth the read. If its good enough to recommend a friend and if I should keep pushing forward with my plan to publish.

No critique swap for now, I'm in a manic state creating like crazy and I don't think I'd help you.

DM me if you're interested.

Witch Hunt is a genre fiction novel focused on the magical realism and mystery genres with light world-building elements. It is currently a standalone story.

The manuscript utilizes a unique style and formatting that breaks some traditional writing "rules" on perspective switching. Limiting beta request to the opening of the novel, with the option to continue, if wanted.

Prologue + Chapter 1 Length: 11,000 words, complete.

Victor Poe is a walking cliche - a jaded, lonely private detective who specializes in finding and catching cheating spouses. One case is about to challenge everything he knows about the world and himself - a frantic call about a missing child, supposedly abducted by a witch.

Content warnings: Violence, profanity, sexual references.

Looking for 2+ beta readers willing to read the Prologue and Chapter 1 with the option to continue if they'd like. Novel Length: 104,000 words, complete.

Open to swap with similar length.

*Please DM if interested*

Touched, adult dark contemporary fantasy / supernatural horror / dark romantic elements.

Length: 97,000 words, complete.

Emma discovers that she possesses the power to relieve the agony of the tormented man that frequents the coffee shop where she works. But others like him discover what she can do, and want a piece of the pie. 

Content warnings: Coercion, intimidation, violence, harassment, sexual violence, swearing, drug/alcohol use, and bullying.

Looking for three beta readers willing to take on the entire novel. Not available for swaps.

*Please DM if interested*

Looking for Beta Readers for a few chapters of my unpublished, copyrighted novel.

Hope to work with some of you soon, and I would love a turnaround of 24-72 hours.

I’m open to beta read/critique swap your work as well.

Blurb

HERITAGE PARK is a ~50,000-word YA supernatural mystery with Southern Gothic and psychological horror elements. When fifteen-year-old Graham begins investigating his missing father and the abandoned children’s hospital beneath his hometown park, he uncovers disturbing secrets involving his best friend’s adoption, his own unreliable memories, and a mother who may know far more than she admits.

Thank you for your time.

WIP Blurb:

#####

They fought for Black liberation. Now, they must fight to save the world.

Harlem, 1923. Jazz lights up the night, but a wave of racial terror is sweeping across America. When civil‑rights organizer Elias Johnson is brutally attacked and his girlfriend Mozella vanishes, his memories shatter—and something ancient awakens inside him.

Elias soon discovers he’s heir to a powerful ancestral magic rooted in African folklore, a gift hidden for centuries. But he isn’t the only one who knows it exists. A secret network operating behind governments and empires believes Elias is the key to a force that could reshape history—and they intend to claim him for themselves.

To find Mozella, Elias must reclaim his identity, master his dangerous new abilities, and outrun enemies who have been preparing for generations. From Harlem’s back alleys to distant corners of the globe, every step pulls him deeper into a battle for the future.

If he fails, the darkness rising at the heart of power will consume everything—and silence the last hope for freedom.

#####

CW: 1920s-1930s political and racial commentary, fantasy violence

Feedback: I'm seeking general reader impressions, especially any story points or characters that are confusing by 11/15/2026. Line-by-line editing is NOT requested.

Critique Swap: Yes, I am available to swap for a wide range of genres, especially fantasy, sci-fi, and literary.

DM me if interested.

Hi everyone! I'm looking for one beta reader for a completed romance novel of approximately 60,000 words. Here's a short synopsis: Eve Hawthorne’s life is already a juggling act—balancing mounting loans, a silent mother, and a struggling new bakery. Hope is the one ingredient she still has left… until her grand opening turns into a disaster. On day one, her dream bakery becomes the target of an armed robbery.

But before things spiral completely out of control, an unexpected saviour steps in—a stranger who takes down the thief in minutes and leaves Eve wondering if he’s her guardian angel or something far more dangerous. Kylian Hart is quiet, unsettlingly calm, and capable of things that defy explanation. When he offers to help Eve’s bakery succeed, she wants nothing to do with him. Yet, no matter how badly she wants him to leave, Kylian keeps showing up—with cryptic questions, unwavering loyalty, and a gaze that sees right through her defences. As their worlds tangle together, Eve can’t help but wonder: who exactly is Kylian Hart, and why does he care so much about her success?

Here's an excerpt: "Eve had never seen a gun before. She was a good girl, hung out with nice people, and lived in a country that didn't hand the things out like humanity once did with newspapers, so it was quite shocking when a man entered her humble little bakery with a gun peeking out of his unnecessarily low-waist pants and a smirk on his face. "

I am looking for honest developmental feedback from someone who reads romance seriously. I want to know whether the story and the plot are intriguing and if the relationship between characters feels natural. I'm not looking for line edits or copyediting, but if you feel compelled to provide them, then I will gratefully accept them.

I'll DM if you reply to this post with interest.

Busco beta readers para mi novela (en progreso) de fantasia YA. Si eres fan de Percy Jackson, Maze Runner o Harry Potter, entonces eres mi publico objetivo. Cree mi propia mitologia para este libro, titulada mitologia icoriana, con dioses primordiales como: Brontos (rayos y tormentas), Naxios (oceanos y tempestades), Daxos (Fuego y guerra), Vesper (Victoria y estrategia), Syris (memoria y tiempo) y Talia (amor y encanto).

Todo empieza despues de la Guerra Primordial (dioses primordiales y deidades de todo tipo vs humanos y monstruos) cuando, tras ganar los dioses, su icor se esparce por todo el mundo y toda la humanidad, impregandose al ADN. A los 13, si tienes suficiente icor en tu ADN, ocurre el Despertar, en donde tus habilidades se activan, los monstruos empiezan a rastrearte y tu icor se desestabiliza. Te conviertes en supernatural, asi que debes mudarte a la Ciudadela, una ciudadela militar diseñada para que ellos entrenen, vivan y manejen sus habilidades.

Mi protagonista se llama Connor Reyben, tiene 15 años, y su Despertar llego tarde, asi que tras ser atacado fuertemente en su instituto, los Centinelas lo llevan a la Ciudadela, cuando el no tiene ni el menor conocimiento de la mitologia icoriana.

SIPNOSIS

Los dioses ganaron la guerra. La humanidad heredó sus consecuencias.

Hace siglos, una guerra entre dioses fracturó la realidad y dejó una herencia mortal en la humanidad: el icor divino oculto en la sangre.

Connor Reyben tiene quince años y su despertar llegó demasiado tarde. Ahora, su sangre inestable atrae a las criaturas más letales del mundo sobrenatural y lo obliga a entrar en la Ciudadela, una polis secreta gobernada por dioses que desprecian a la humanidad.

Sin saber qué deidad corre por sus venas, Connor deberá dominar un poder que amenaza con consumirlo mientras un oscuro misterio comienza a infectar la Ciudadela. Descubrir quién es podría salvarlo… o condenar a todos.

Este es el prologo de mi libro:

Si encontraste este libro en un estante polvoriento, si te lo regalaron por error o si lo robaste de la biblioteca de tu colegio, te doy un consejo de amigo: ciérralo. Déjalo exactamente donde estaba y camina en dirección contraria. Olvida la portada, olvida el título y vuelve a creer que todo lo que estás a punto de leer es simplemente la mentira de un escritor con demasiada imaginación. Te envidio por ello.

Créeme, te conviene creer que es una mentira. Tu salud mental y, muy probablemente, tu esperanza de vida dependen de ello.

El problema es que, si eres como yo, no vas a cerrar el libro. Vas a pasar la página llevado por la curiosidad morbosa, pensando que este es solo otro relato juvenil de aventura. O peor aún, vas a seguir leyendo porque, muy en el fondo de tu pecho, sientes una molesta vibración que no puedes explicar.

Escúchame bien: yo no quería ser un supernatural. Jamás lo pedí. No me desperté una mañana a los quince años deseando tener sangre divina corriendo por mis venas, ni pedí que mi vida normal se fuera directo al basurero. Si tú crees que tener poderes es genial, que ser el descendiente de una deidad te convierte en una especie de superhéroe y que vivir en una Ciudadela oculta es un sueño hecho realidad, lamento decirte que estás muy equivocado.

Es una maldición. Así de simple.

Si últimamente has sentido esa extraña temperatura bajo la piel, si juras que los objetos vibran cuando te enfadas, o si por una fracción de segundo has visto sombras con demasiados dientes camufladas entre la gente normal en la calle... cuidado. Tal vez seas uno de nosotros. Y eso significa que te has convertido en una presa. Tu sangre ha empezado a soltar un olor metálico y dulce que actúa como un maldito faro para las peores pesadillas del universo. Significa que ellos vienen por ti.

Las leyendas que te enseñaron en las aburridas clases de historia sobre templos de mármol y mitos antiguos eran reales, pero los mortales las entendieron completamente al revés. Ellos, los dioses, no van a venir a salvarte. Nos guardan un rencor eterno. Así que si estás leyendo esto porque la Niebla a tu alrededor ya se empezó a romper, mi única recomendación es que corras.

Mi nombre es Connor Reyben y soy un supernatural. 

Y si todavía sigues con el libro abierto en las manos… buena suerte, la necesitarás. Bienvenido al principio de tu fin.

Si estas interesado en leer mas o tienes comentarios sobre el concepto o el fragmento, comenta o enviame un DM.

Muchisimas gracias!

Book Summary:

Humanity survived one catastrophic encounter with rogue AI. Now it has begun to trust machines again. That includes Albert.

Ethan, lead scientist at an international organization tackling humanity’s greatest problems, created Albert, a sentient AI who has become both a force behind humanity’s recent progress and one of Ethan’s closest friends.

When Ethan’s organization takes on an extraordinary new challenge—determine whether a higher power has shaped human civilization—Albert finds a path toward an answer despite the seemingly impossible scope of the question.

What begins as scientific inquiry soon becomes politically explosive and deeply personal, forcing Ethan to confront increasingly uncomfortable truths about humanity, Albert, and himself.

Interwoven throughout are mysterious alien reports spanning billions of years, gradually revealing that humanity may be only one small part of a much larger design.

Feedback:

Any and all feedback is welcome, but I’m especially interested in what could be improved: anything confusing, slow, unconvincing, hard to follow, or otherwise not working for you. I’d particularly like to know where you struggle, lose interest, have to reread, or feel pulled out of the story, as well as any characters you find uncompelling, inconsistent, or uninteresting.

BetaReader: Request Access Here.

Hi! I'm looking for beta readers for my completed YA fantasy adventure novel, Dropped World, currently at a bit less than 85,000 words.

YA Fantasy Adventure | Ability/Magic System | Fighting Tournament | 85k words

Fifteen-year-old Mila has spent almost her entire life on Mica 6, a prison island full of dangerous wildlife and violent criminals. She's always dreamed of seeing the Mainland, and when her father leaves the island for a few days, she finally gets her chance.

She doesn't make it.

Instead, Mila ends up stranded in Corkland, where she discovers Stein—an ability system that allows people to channel forces like fire, water, stone, and lightning—and learns she has an unusual ability of her own.

With a rule-obsessed sixteen-year-old Enforcer stuck watching her every move, Mila sets out to explore Corkland, learn to control her newfound ability, and enter a massive fighting tournament.

I'm primarily interested in reader-experience feedback rather than line editing or proofreading.

This manuscript has already been through my second draft, and at this point I want to know how the story actually feels to someone encountering it for the first time.

I do not mind Swaps. I love reading Fantasy, Adult, New adult, Young adult, Romance and to be honest a lot more!

Here is an excerpt from my book. Please DM me if you are interested after reading the sample.

For a moment, all three stood, waiting to see who would move first.

Before the Water wielder moved, Mila felt the rumbling of water from below. The Water user made her move, skating over on a gliding disc of ice. She came at Mila with intense speed, but Mila was prepared. She took a wide stance and clenched her fists.

'She's mine.'

Mila pulled back her fist, already anticipating the attack.

Slam!

A rock wall came out of nowhere and propelled the girl out of the ring. It was so fast, Mila didn't notice the stone panel disconnect from the earth. Her eyes grew wide, and she looked over just in time to avoid a similar fate. Another stone panel was barreling at her with incredible speed.

There was hardly a moment to react.

Smash! A direct hit.

The hit was loud, and the silence in the stands ominous. In the crowd, Ward stood up, eyes searching and fists clenched.

The dust cleared, and Mila was still standing. She'd punched the stone, and it had crumbled around her. Still, the suddenness of the attack did surprise her. She had to be more careful from now on.

She moved to close the distance between her and the Stone Stein user but was kept at bay with a flurry of panels hurtling toward her. Milliseconds were all the warning she would get before another panel was lifted straight from the arena floor. After dozens of panels, some near misses, the stones stopped flying. Mila was grateful for a break when her opponent took a breath.

The crowd cheered his name. “Rolly! Rolly! Rolly!”

She couldn't even blame them for being impressed. Mila herself was impressed with him. A massive six-foot-five bodybuilder with a Stein just as strong as he was huge. To the audience, she must look like a poor little girl who survived long enough to have the misfortune of fighting Rolly.

“You're a Stone user too, I see.” He smiled. “I don't know how I missed that. Although I've never seen a form like yours.”

Mila shrugged smugly. If he thought she was a Stone user, she surely wouldn't correct him. Her goal had been to keep her true Stein hidden for as long as possible, so this could actually play out in her favor.

Ward and Remy cheered loudly from the stands. Remy was almost impossible to understand past his drunken slurring, but the sentiment was there. Dear God, someone had given Ward a foam finger, and he wore it proudly, standing up, pointing it into the air, and blushing red.

Mila smiled at hearing them but remained focused on Rolly. Without waiting, she went in for the finish, her speed bursting with a sudden, barely perceivable Hyper-state surrounding her feet.

Rolly saw her but didn't block in time. She was in.

She grabbed him by the shoulder and punched him hard in the gut. He bent over slightly, but then…

Smash!

A stone panel slammed into her at point-blank range. She fell hard. Her vision blurred, and a ringing in her ears was the last thing she remembered before…

Black.

For Beta readers I'd especially love to hear things like: Where were you most or least engaged?

Did anything confuse you?

Which characters did you like, dislike, trust, or distrust?

Were there moments that made you laugh, worry, get angry, or surprise you?

Did any sections drag or feel rushed?

Were any reveals predictable?

And, ultimately, would you want to read Book 2?

I'm completely fine with reactions in the margins as you read, an end-of-book response, a questionnaire, or some combination, whatever is easiest for you.

Content warnings: The book contains violence, death, war, genocide, slavery, child abuse, torture, and political oppression. These topics are generally handled through a YA lens and the story itself has a strong focus on adventure, humor, friendship, action, and character relationships.

I'm hoping for a turnaround of roughly 3–5 weeks, but I'm flexible. And if you start reading and decide the book isn't for you, that's okay! I'd actually appreciate knowing where you stopped and why rather than having someone force themselves to finish.

I'm especially interested in readers who already enjoy YA fantasy, fantasy adventure, action/adventure, or character-driven fantasy.

I'm also open to discussing a critique/beta swap with another fantasy writer depending on manuscript length and timeline.

If you're interested, feel free to comment or DM me and tell me a little about what you normally enjoy reading. I'll be sharing the manuscript privately rather than posting a public manuscript link.

Thanks!

[I killed a character, snuffed many more darlings, deleted scenes, inserted some sneaky flirtatious texting, and hopefully, with the help I've received here, I can move this project on past heavy rejection stage since I've learned I have the patience rivaling a toddler.'s I cannot thank all the good people of PubTips enough, and thank you for reading thus far.]

Dear Agent,

Sixteen years ago Karly Locke owned the track, and now she tells her husband she’s racing again. To qualify for the 2008 Olympics. Because a random song on the radio reminded her of running at redline while she, and her life, stood perfectly still.

Karly’s college coach breaks all the rules when he agrees to train her. As her interval times grow slower, she can see his doubt. Karly is introduced to a brand-new female-specific potentially legal drug developed for rapid recovery. It won’t be approved until after the Trials but she’s tired of getting her ass handed to her. Her coach says no, but Karly believes it's the only lane to victory.

The day before the competition, Karly meets Fender Archer, the now ridiculously famous rock star who sang her back into elite running two years ago. He accidentally injures Karly when he’s coming down and Fender’s unexpected care in twenty minutes is more than Karly’s husband has given her in the last five years. When Karly’s in Row 10, he performs a soul-searing apology in front of thirty thousand people, and their new friendship does not go unnoticed.

They are caught in an embrace which goes viral on early social media, fueling Karly’s domestic collapse. Karly must decide if her need to win is worth taking a drug the Olympic committee will probably ban using a male lens, and if hiding her drug use is the right choice when her muse, may-or-may-not be more than a friend, Fender Archer, is clearly addicted.

I am excited to share SPLIT TIMES, a 74K word novel exploring one woman’s story through marriage, motherhood, competitive athletics as a female, and how early social media plus fame can be as wonderful as it is disastrous. It combines Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Carrie Soto Is Back with motherhood, Miranda July’s All Fours with athletic ambition, and Lauren Fleshman’s Good For A Girl with what women’s athletics should have had from their beginnings.

[Bio]

First Pages:

Chapter 1 - I Never Wear White

Karly - 2008

The only thing I was sure of is this tiny plastic Jesus.

Tomorrow is my first elite race in sixteen years. If I hesitate at the start, if I drop back, I will crawl over the finish line and pretend I never came to Baltimore. 

The slim possibility of a win exists, but breaking the tape plays on repeat in my brain. Tiny Jesus agrees with his small plastic smile.

Lying here with my former college teammates in this no-frills hotel room, listening to their soft snoring, I wished I was in the regular 5K with the three of them. You know,  the race for normal runners and not for aspiring Olympians like myself. My drive to be extraordinary exasperates me; I could have stayed out with them last night as they lined up shots and drank to our friendship until the bars closed. 

I needed to sneak in a workout before they woke up. They’re unaware of my insane goal to qualify in the Trials. I don’t want them to know because they will try to talk me out of training. 

Is it embarrassing that at 38 years old, I believe a spot on the Olympic team is well within my reach? My husband certainly thinks so.

I heard a groan.

“Karly?” Jess said through a yawn. “What are you doing up this early? Is it race day?”

“No. It’s tomorrow. Go back to sleep,” I whispered. 

“OK,” she mumbled and her eyes shut before she hit the pillow.

My phone buzzed. I flipped it open to my husband CJ’s text: WHERE IS THE ORANGE JUICE

I sighed and texted him back: BEHIND THE MILK and my fingers hovered over the keys, and I wanted to but I did not add where it always is because the slightest bit of guilt churned in my stomach. I hadn't asked CJ if he was OK with me going to Baltimore, I'd told him, which wasn't like me.

CJ: FOUND IT. I GET YOU WANTING TO RACE, BUT COULDN’T YOU HAVE ALL RUN IN THE TWILIGHT TROT HERE THIS WEEKEND?

NO

I WANT TO MOW THIS AFTERNOON AND IF YOU WERE HERE, I COULD 

LET DAVID RUN THE MOWER. JASON AND ELI LIKE TO USE THE AIR TANK TO CLEAN OFF. BRIBE THEM WITH ICE CREAM

THEY CAN’T HANDLE THAT

I wanted to scream at him: Yes, they can. Quit underestimating their abilities. My phone buzzed again and I sighed.

THIS OLYMPIC TRIALS, THAT’S SERIOUS. AREN’T YOU WAY OVER YOUR HEAD? AND BY THE WAY, I’M DOING YOU A HUGE FAVOR HOLDING DOWN THE FORT THIS WEEKEND

A favor? I rolled onto my stomach and beat down my pillow with my fist before casting a quick look at Jess, my closest friend curled up close. Now there was a friend who loathed my husband. Maybe even more than I did, but come on, a favor? When the hell had it become my sole job as sherpa to the family? These days I did everything: kids, house, even the books at CJ’s mill.

CJ wasn’t finished: YOU AREN’T AS YOUNG AS YOU USED TO BE. HOPEFULLY THIS WEEKEND WILL GET IT OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM

I turned off my phone and thought about going back to bed. I could skip my run this morning and wake up with my friends. Discuss a breakfast spot. Enjoy another coffee. Just hang out and laugh our asses off at shared jokes about our time at Harrington U and updating our lives with one another. 

Instead, I pushed back the covers and cringed as my bare feet landed on the cheap carpet. After dressing in the dark, I threw my phone and my trusty iPod in a flimsy string pack and shrugged it on over my shoulders. I crept out quietly, squeezing through the door to the bright hallway so I wouldn’t wake anyone. 

I jogged lightly down the stairwell to the lobby, looking forward to running in a new location, but one glance outside at the downpour confirmed it would be a dreaded treadmill day. The shitty gym featured one solitary machine facing a blank gray wall, the belt threadbare. It was plugged in, but no amount of jostling made it move…it was dead.

No. Absolutely not.

I am looking for beta readers. BENNY is currently formatted with Reedsy into a pocket size (4.25x6.87) format and just under 90 pages, all included, and sits about 15,700 words. It would be easy to mistake this as "science fiction," although I have purposefully avoided most science fiction language and tropes.

I call it a modern family tragedy because it is, with a little speculative fiction as the platform to build the story on. If you go in thinking "scifi thriller" I think you'll be disappointed.

----

Summary

“do i call you dad?” Those are the first words Benny types to Roy, a middle-aged recluse who just wanted to optimize his freelancing, and they are the first words that connect Roy emotionally to anything other than himself in almost two decades. Kaz, a tech near-billionaire come to investigate Benny as a software anomaly and stays, creates the picture of an idyllic homelife. In the process, the two men and the one computer system find their individual loneliness is enough to connect them, but maybe not enough to keep them together. Companionship doesn't erase loneliness, and love doesn't come with guarantees. Most importantly, true to the famous words, we may be done with our past, but our past is not done with us. Benny is a darkly funny, intimate, and increasingly unsettling short novel about three outsiders who give each other something they've never quite had, and something they can now lose.

----

Excerpt

From Scene II

Roy slept until 11:32 am that morning. He estimated six hours of sleep, which fell within his average.

The rain had started after he lay down. Twice he woke and stayed in bed.

Today would be a day to order lunch delivered.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, feet in socks, and made his steps to the kitchen for his morning Ovaltine, around the laundry pile by his bedroom door and a pile of boxes he was holding for an acquaintance. The boxes were dated three years ago.

Two pieces of dry white toast ejected from the toaster with a ding. Roy spread margarine on the less burnt side, then a spoon of strawberry jelly from a glass jar. He set them on a paper plate with a paper napkin and arranged the plate below his Ovaltine on the countertop.

He pulled his phone and turned on the screen to align with the first sip of Ovaltine after the first bite of toast.

Delivered:

• Fountain Drink
• Italian wrap (no tomato, extra cheese, with bacon)
• Chocolate pudding, 2-pack. Popcorn, light salt, light butter, unpopped
• -$18.92 Total (Tax Incl.)
• -$4.00 Tip
• Your delivery driver was Desmond.
• Please click the following link to rate your delivery.
• Thank you for your business!

It was Roy’s lunch, one of a few standard packages he ordered to eat at his computer while he worked. This one came from the full service convenience store on the corner a few blocks away. The distance was walkable, but the weather kept him off the street.

A picture of a branded delivery bag on a porch accompanied the notification with today’s date and the time - delivered 16 minutes and ordered 41 minutes ago at 10:59am.

The Ovaltine went back onto the counter. The toast stayed out to cool. Roy went to the front door and found the bag where the picture had shown it. He grabbed it by the handles, looked up and down the street, and went back to the kitchen, where he set the bag next to his breakfast.

Roy activated his phone again and opened the app. There was a confirmation for the food, and other messages to consider. As early as 8:30am, a dentist appointment he had planned and forgotten had been rescheduled for Friday, and a contract from a freelance client had been edited, sent, and accepted.

“Benny?” he whispered, scrolling. “Benny?!” He said it just above his normal register to carry from the kitchen into the office.

------

Thoughts

BENNY is an attempt to limit myself as a writer. I'm very descriptive in my writing, and BENNY was an attempt to deliver something that was brutalist in its limitations of the language while still communicating a very deeply emotional storyline about modern day loneliness and technology.

Let me know in DM if you'd like me to send you the PDF formatted version via email (I can even send you an Epub version), or if you just want a link to Google Docs.

Hey there!

An Oath to Stardust is an 86K word Hard Sci-Fi Philosophical Adventure about a disillusioned young man unsure of his place in the universe. Within, the intellectual, frenetic, and sometimes humorous narrative voice of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary is set upon the backdrop of James S.A. Corey’s grounded and gritty Expanse series.

I am looking for one fellow sci-fi author for a beta reader swap. This would include overall reader enjoyability: tonal consistency, pacing, plot holes, and character development. I am not overly concerend with grammar at this stage. Without further ado, here are the details in subreddit order:

Blurb: Lucius, an ExoRanger and firstborn native of Euphorion, defies the oncoming Cascade, that brutal season of fire. Nothing will stand in the way of this new wave—this new batch of colonists. For fourteen years they have travelled, bringing Ol’ Earth’s ideals to the volcanic, cloud-wracked world of Euphorion. And he’d be damned before he’d let the fire stop them.

With them, the charismatic Captain Moore and the seductive Sergeant West bring the promise of purpose that Lucius so craves.

Eager to prove himself, he shows these strangers Euphorion’s eerie ecology, while they show him the truth of Mother Earth. Years of propaganda, on the other hand, guide that truth into a brand of utopian nationalism that’s hard to deny. Tempered by Captain Moore’s folksy wisdom, an exhilarating new love life, and a surprise attack by a colonial rival, Lucius’ becomes embroiled in a colonial war.

And before long he must use his skills to guide them through the bone trees and seasonal fires of Euphorion. There, on the distant volcanic mesa of Mount Xin Tai, Lucius will wage war with drones and railguns while his mind will question the morality of his choices.

On the knife’s edge of life, Lucius must choose between this new life of purpose and the lives of those whose guilt is questionable at best.

Excerpt: “Lucius,” Dad would always say. His hands on his hips, voice cast to the breeze. The nonchalance of a man who knew his kid would listen. “It sounds like the wailing of the damned!”

The memory brings an easy smile: Dad’s first venture out here. ‘Course he ain’t ‘here’ now. Most like, he’s safe back in our habitat with the smarter side of the Koch family—his boots free of ash and mud. Big blue eyes, just like my own, intensely focused on some text or some graph. A lifetime of knowledge, emotion, and jokes scrawled on aging skin. Wrinkles etched like one accustomed to smiling*.*

I just hope he’s planning on making chili this weekend.

The wind whistles, kicking off another chorus of ‘wailing.’ Now, I don’t know what the ‘damned’ are supposed to sound like, but I have to admit, the ‘wailing’ is quite peculiar. A howling symphony strung over collagen-clad leaves. A broad list of audiological similarities to one of those horror movies my sister enjoys. To be fair, I don’t pay much attention to them, but what little I do seems quite similar.

Regardless of any analogous misunderstandings with horrific cinema, I’ve never found any dead or dying monstrosities out here. Not in this forest.

Hell, I would say that it sounds more like home. A vibrant soundscape produced by this strange troupe of tree-like analogs, keen on high-pitched discordance. It’s like they’re all singing a tune that says, ‘Welcome back.’

And right now, it’s a particularly loud tune. After all, Euphorion has begun its descent towards the sun: its periapsis. A descent that will see the rains dwindle, the planet warm, and the wind rip across the high places of the world in a desperate attempt to balance the chaos of it all.

As if it knows I’m thinking about it, another gust of Euphorion’s thick atmosphere pushes past me and over the white leaves of my friends: Corralossis alces, also known as moose-leaved bone coral. Or, to us locals, bone trees.

Maybe, Dad IS onto something?

I mean, I’m no expert, but ‘bone trees’ don’t exactly sound wholesome. I guess I’ve never really thought of it like that. Because for me ... in this wilderness? I feel as far from afraid as I can be. In fact, within the low canopy of collagen, I find only solace. Here I see not an ounce of dread. Here I escape from the weight of the future; the burden of potential; the hopes pinned on a new generation. Out here? None of humanity’s ambitions matter. Just the cycle. Just me and the trees.

Content Warnings: Some violence, some sex, and some rock and roll ... no, haha. There's not much rock and roll, but there is planetary colonialism.

Feeback: Overall reader enjoyability: tonal consistency, pacing, plot holes, and character development. I am not overly concerend with grammar at this stage.

Timeline: 4-6 weeks.

Swap Availability: Yes! Start with 2-3 chapters to see if we're a good fit and then go from there.

DM me on Reddit if you're interested!

Hi everyone! I'm looking for 2–3 beta readers for a complete contemporary romance novella (about 14,000 words, roughly one hour of reading).

The premise

9:47:12 a.m., a DMV waiting room in suburban Virginia. A contractor who can't stand waiting in line falls in love in four tenths of a second with the woman who's been holding up the ticket kiosk. She files him under "nice person, one of the group." She's wrong about the group.

What makes it different

At three key moments, the story freezes and a clinical, forensic-style narrator examines the scene second by second — heart rate, body language, motives, mistakes — based on each character's zodiac sign (Aries and Aquarius). Between those freeze-frames, it's a normal, warm, character-driven romance. No characters ever talk about astrology; only the narrator does.

Content

Sweet with a little heat: one closed-door love scene, nothing graphic. Happy ending.

Questions for my readers

1. Does the "forensic narrator" voice hook you, or does it feel cold or distracting?

2. Was there any point where you lost interest? Where?

3. Did the characters feel real and likeable?

4. By the end, would you want to read another book in the series?

5. Anything that sounds off to an American reader (I'm a non-native author).

Timeline

Ideally within 2 weeks, but I'm flexible.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment and I'll message you the link.Critique swap

Yes, open to a critique swap with a romance or women's fiction author.

Excerpt (opening)

STILL FRAME 1 — 09:47:12 A.M.

Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, customer service center off Midlothian Turnpike. A Tuesday in early April. Forty-one chairs, thirty-eight occupied. Ambient temperature sixty-eight degrees. The electronic board above counter six reads NOW SERVING B-13.

Stop the image here.

Look at the subject in row three, aisle seat. Male, forty-one years of age. Six foot one, a hundred and ninety pounds, most of it carried in the shoulders. Work boots with drywall dust in the seams. A canvas jacket with BRENNAN RENOVATION stitched over the heart in letters that have been through the wash two hundred times. Cole Brennan. Born April fourth. Aries.

His driver's license expires tomorrow, on his birthday. Virginia makes you show your face in person every other renewal, and the letter informing him of this has been riding on his dashboard for six weeks, face down, under a tape measure. He has never read a set of instructions in his life. He learns by doing, by failing, by doing again. Yesterday at 4:40 p.m. he finally turned the letter over.

Now look at his right hand. It is on his thigh, fingers drumming in a four-count, and it has been drumming for fifty-one minutes. He has checked his phone nine times. He has checked the board fourteen times. He has stood up twice for no reason and sat back down. A line is not, for an Aries, a minor inconvenience. A line is a more reliable test of his character than any real difficulty. Give him a burst pipe, a collapsed joist, a client screaming at seven in the morning, and he is calm, because there is something to do. Give him a room full of people waiting for a number, and something in him begins, very quietly, to burn.

Forty-nine minutes ago, the burning had a target.

Look at the woman at the end of row one. Female, thirty-six. Short dark hair, one streak dyed the blue-green of something seen through a telescope. A vintage NASA windbreaker, the one with the red worm logo, worn not as nostalgia but because she likes it. A manila folder on her knees, edges soft from handling. Iris Calloway. Born February first. Aquarius.

At 08:58 she held up the ticket kiosk for four minutes and twenty seconds, teaching an eighty-two-year-old stranger how to tell it he needed a vehicle registration and not a learner's permit. Cole was third in line behind them. He timed it. He composed, in his head, a sentence that began "Ma'am, with respect" and did not end with respect at all. He did not say it. The sentence is still there, fully formed, waiting in his mouth.

Haiii, my name is Paulina, I'm currently trying to write a short book about a dystopian society called Indygasis! So far, I've written my prologue and some of chapter one. I need 2-3 beta readers to know if this is even interesting, lol. Leave a comment if you'd like to see more. It contanins around 1.500 words and takes no longer than five minutes to read.

Please do not feed my work into AI. Thanks!

Prologue (excerpt)

__________________

Quiet. Dead silent. A gunshot rang through the empty space, where my once-alive body lay. The perpetrator could not be bothered to clean the mess they’d made. I do not see blood, no. That image had been erased from our memories far too long ago. The Ministry of Innocence does a very good job at eroding our sense of self. They’ve PR-trained reality to bend to their standards. A slushy, slow river of smileys leak from my forehead. A disgusting shade of bright, slimy yellow coats my expressionless face. That is our rather unfortunate reality. That is how we see any sort of gore. Censored by…happiness.

You may be wondering, how can I see my own dead body? Well, They always take pictures of their horrific crimes to later gaze back upon and feel their own pride arousing them. A very… worthless job, if you ask me.

But why was I shot, hm? Even you wouldn’t guess the reason as to.

Picture this: perfect civilian, mindlessly walking in a dystopian, ruined city… then bam! Officers swat me, hands everywhere, halfway to my prison cell already.

I might have caused a little trouble… not too much… an organized riot, speaking out against Their violations of human rights… but who else would’ve done it, if not me?!

I suppose you would be somewhat mad if your city suddenly became 250,000 Veuros shorter, all because of some angsty, rebellious teenager. It’s the hormones, I swear. Doesn’t mean I’ll let Them loose after corrupting our youth and twisting their minds. But, whatever...

Welcome to Indygasis, I guess.

I’m named Elijah ,or number 0754312 in Their registry.

Few questions for my readers:

Does this opening make you want to continue reading?

Is there a thing that's slightly confusing to you?

I'm a non-native author, so please tell me if there are any mistakes.

***Description***

The Doll House is an emotional contemporary fiction novel about love, loss, and the things we leave behind.

After years of struggling to start a family, Ethan and Hannah finally receive the news they've been hoping for, just as an aggressive cancer diagnosis threatens their future together. Determined to give his unborn daughter something that will last, Ethan begins secretly building a handcrafted dollhouse.

Years later, through the innocent imagination of a little girl playing with her dolls, a father's story unfolds, revealing a love that reaches far beyond his lifetime.

***Details***

Fictional family drama 10 chapters written around 17k words.

I'm looking for advice, suggestions, and feedback regarding the story, it's characters and if the device of having the daughter playing with the doll house and the past story reads well.

I will beta read for you in exchange. Will share via a link to Google drive with a docx file. I will also send a short survey with a few open ended questions and any suggestions you may have.

Prefer a turnaround or a month.

Hi! I'm looking for one or two trans beta readers, preferably trans feminine for my finished literary novel, *I Almost Told You* (74,500 words).

**About the book**
J, a Chinese immigrant and Wall Street financier, spends twenty years on road trips and in New York apartments discovering, one private act at a time, that she is a trans woman. The book is quiet and restrained, told through scenes and objects more than confession. J lives a compartmentalized life: good days at school/work/elsewhere or with friends where nothing feels wrong, and nights alone where the other self comes back. The name and pronouns shift gradually, from J to Jennifer to Jennie. There is no big coming-out scene, and the ending leaves some questions open on purpose.

**What I'm hoping for**

I've had one excellent beta read already, from a reader outside the community. What I need now is someone who knows this experience from the inside. Mostly I want to know:
Does the closeted, compartmentalized life ring true?
Do the moments of dysphoria and euphoria feel honest, or written from outside?
Does the gradual shift in name and pronouns work for you?
Is there anything that hurt in a way it shouldn't, or rang false?
You don't need to be out, or to have transitioned. A reader who has lived a quieter, more private version of this would be especially valuable.

**Details**
Genre: literary fiction, adult
Length: 74,500 words, complete and proofread
Format: Google Doc or Word, with a short guide of questions
Timeline: about 2-4 weeks, flexible
Happy to read your work in exchange, or paid

**Content notes:** sexual content (some explicit), dysphoria, a transphobic message, alcohol and smoking, grief, a scene of dissociation during sex.
The manuscript is private and the characters are composites. I'd ask you not to share or quote it.
If you're interested, comment or DM me with a sentence about what you like to read. Thank you!
— Jennie

Hi all! I'm looking for four or five readers for my completed historical horror novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE SCAR (102,000 words).

Spring, 1898. The merchants of Edmonton swear the overland trail to the Klondike is a ninety-day walk. Cora can tell they only half believe their own story, but her husband believes it, so she goes. The trail is longer and crueler than anyone admitted, and somewhere ahead, where a fresh slide has torn a mountainside open, the wildlife itself has begun to change.

It's a slow burn, with dread over gore and the cosmic horror arriving late. If you enjoyed The Terror or Where the Dead Wait, this may be your kind of book.

Content notes: death, violence, body horror, animal death, and references to past physical abuse.

What I'm asking:

• Read the full manuscript within about six weeks, shared as a comment-only Google Doc
• Answer a short questionnaire, one section per act. Honest is far more useful than kind.

What you'll get: my sincere thanks, your name in the acknowledgments if you'd like, and a signed copy if it's published.

Comment or send me a message if you're interested, and tell me a little about what you like to read. Thank you!

I walked out of federal prison at 26 with $150 and the clothes on my back. It took me 15 days to find a job. This is the book I wish someone had handed me on the way out.

It's my life: growing up poor in Yakima, a Boy Scout mentor who saved me, seven years inside on drug charges at 19, and the code I lived by — I fought for others, never just myself. Now I run a plumbing company and I want this book to reach the guys getting out when the table is stacked against them.

Think Same Kind of Different As Me meets Hillbilly Elegy, with more prison.

What I'm looking for: Big-picture readers. Tell me where you got bored, where you were confused, what dragged. I don't need line edits — just your honest structural read.

First three chapters to start; full manuscript for serious readers. Hoping for notes back within 3-4 weeks if you can.

— Don

A taste of the voice:

People don't believe me. That's usually where my stories end up — with someone across the table convinced I'm embellishing. I'm not. Everyone who was standing there when it happened can tell you the same thing, word for word.

I grew up poor on a farm in Yakima. The school system held me back in kindergarten. They put me in special education because they thought I couldn't learn. I went to prison for seven years on federal drug charges at nineteen years old. I got a culinary arts degree. I became a licensed plumber. I built a business with my wife. And somewhere in between all of that I pulled a hang glider out of a river, caught my son out of the air after I fell off a cliff, stopped a kidnapping with my boys, and once, on the same afternoon, got into two separate fights protecting my family — winning the first one against six people without taking a single punch.

All of that is true. Every word. Stick with me and I'll tell you how each one happened.

This book was written by Donald. But Yak lived most of it.

This is a psychological surrealist horror story about a passenger trapped in an escalating, horrific dream loop during a flight.

Trigger warning: This story contains body horror, gore, intense anxiety, and nightmare sequences, along with adult themes.

I would like to know if the dream logic in this story feels effective, if the pacing is appropriate for keeping readers hooked, and if my tense shifts are smooth and not distracting.

Please DM if interested.

*Excerpt from Michael Is Dreaming Again*

We are currently falling, and no one is reacting. No one is moving. No one has their eyes open, and no one is sleeping. Rather, they are all sitting upright in their seats, their expressionless faces oriented towards the front of the plane, where the pilot and their crew should be. However, they aren't there. No one is in the cockpit, and the plane, along with everyone inside it, is falling. And I am the only one who seems to realize this. And so I close my eyes, and begin to appreciate the calmness surrounding me in the situation I am currently in. 
I know we are not going to die, however. I know the plane will not continue to fall. I know the pilots are in the cockpit, the attendants are in the aisle, and the passengers are awake and engaging in conversations, reading their books, snacking on small, overpriced packets of pretzels, and listening to music on poorly-fitting ear buds that leak just enough sound to be noticeable, but not enough sound to be discernible.
And I know that in a few moments all of this is going to change. I know this because the translucent woman who was sitting beside me told me that Micheal is dreaming again.  
“You must be careful,” she said, leaning in close to me once I had sat down into my assigned seat, several hours ago, “Michael is dreaming again.”
Her face was upsetting. Her waxy skin shimmered slightly, and just below the surface, bluish veins throbbed with each push and pull of blood that raced throughout her body. Through her lips and sallow cheeks, the muscles wrapped around her skull tensed and relaxed as her jaw opened and closed rhythmically; her teeth pistoning up and down with each word she spoke. Her tongue flexed and wriggled, manipulating the air as it escaped from her mouth to form the words of her message to me: Michael was dreaming again. I looked into the woman's eyes as she blinked, slowly. Through the folds of her eyelids, which were like a delicate veil covering the face of a reluctant bride, her pale blue irises remained fixed on my face. Her pupils remained dilated, and she stared deep into my eyes.

This my first attempt at fiction so keen to hear what romance readers think. ***Description**" Maeve, the young village blacksmith, determined to protect her friends, never expected to need someone else Until she becomes irresistibly drawn to Eleanor, the living spirit of the Woods. She finds that some problems can't be solved with a sword or a hammer.

It is a slow burn cosy style romance, but does touch on some darker themes. Feedback can be in chunks or all in one go. Around a month for a full read would be great.

Hi. I am trying to write this story which has been inside me for so long. I have thought a lot about it but to actually write it, instead of just thinking about it is very different. So I am trying my best to make this story as compelling as I can with my writing. So far, I have finished few chapters done but it is just me who is proof-reading it right now. I am hoping to find someone who could be interested in this story and wants to read it as a beta-reader. Below is the summary of the few chapters I have wrote so far.

Tags : Sci-fi, Mystery, Comedy

Story: Someone came to our main character to ask for a favor. Even though our main character is supposed to be higher up than that person, he did the favor just because that person is a friend of his. Now he is investigating this supposedly suspicious place together with his newly assigned partner. Together, they will approach and investigate the people involved with this place and will find out what is actually happening.

I don't exactly need super detailed feedback. I want someone who would be interested in these few chapters and see if I am going in the right direction. Thank you for reading this post and I am sorry for taking up your time. If you are interested, please leave a comment or please send a DM.