Beta Readers Wanted
Help shape a romantasy novel before it hits shelves in 2026 (name tbd)
Every year on her birthday, a man watches her from the shadows.
Read the Opening
Every year on my birthday, a man watches me from the shadows.
There is not a birthday I remember where his presence has not been there. When I was small, I thought everyone had a shadow-man. I thought it was normal to feel that prickle on the back of your neck. To turn and find a figure standing at the edge of the park, or across the street, or in the corner of the garden where the light doesn't quite reach.
He stands there without fail, every year on my birthday.
I was five when I first pointed him out.
Mum was in the garden, kneeling in the dirt by her climbing roses. She had soil on her knees and secateurs in her hand. She was talking to them the way she always did. Soft words I couldn't quite hear. Like they were old friends.
"Who's that man, Mummy?"
Her hands found my shoulders and steered me inside. I remember the hard grip of her trembling fingers against my collarbone. Her averted gaze. She didn't answer my question.
"There's no one there, love. It is in your imagination."
But there was. I could feel him even after the door closed behind us.
This is just the beginning.
The Story
Lyra has watched the shadow man appear on every birthday.
At twenty-one, she is grieving the loss of her mother, struggling financially and trapped in a relationship that is slowly destroying her. When everything falls apart, the shadow man finally steps out of the darkness.
She discovers a whole other world ~ Nethavyn: a realm of two moons and silver forests. Where magic uns through bloodlines like colour through light.
But nothing is what it seems. And the secrets her mother took to the grave are only the beginning.
Nethavyn
A realm where magic flows through bloodlines, visible as ribbons of power.
Seven colours. Seven bloodlines. Each with its own power.
Two moons hang in the sky. Silver forests stretch for kilometres. And a resistance fights in the shadows against a tyrant who has been conquering territories for decades.
This is the world Lyra was born into. The world she was taken from as a baby.
The world that has been waiting for her return.
What Beta Readers Will Do
This is an early draft (185,000 words). You will be reading for big picture feedback:
- ✦Plot holes and inconsistencies
- ✦Character behaviour that feels off
- ✦Pacing issues (too slow, too rushed)
- ✦Emotional beats that do not land
- ✦Moments that give you the ick
This is NOT a line edit. There will be grammar mistakes, spelling errors and repetition. Please ignore those for now.
The book uses Australian/UK spelling (colour, realise, mum, etc.).
Timeline: 2-3 weeks to read
(No pressure to finish. If you DNF, just tell me where and why. That is valuable feedback too.)
Content Warnings
Please read before applying. This book contains:
- ⚠Violence and battle scenes
- ⚠Character death (including a beloved side character)
- ⚠Toxic/controlling ex-boyfriend (depicted negatively)
- ⚠Kidnapping/captivity (early chapters)
- ⚠Parental abandonment and betrayal
- ⚠Grief and loss of a parent
- ⚠Age gap romance (no blood relation)
- ⚠Spicy scenes (censored version available on request)