A.N. Horton's Blog

Dear [AGENT NAME],

I am seeking representation for my professionally edited dystopian urban fantasy novel, THE THIRD RING, complete at 118,000 words. The sequel, THE SECOND SANCTUM, is complete as well and the final two books of the series are in outline form. I noticed, in your MSWL, that you are looking for [INSERT SPECIFIC REQUEST HERE]. Because of this, I thought that THE THIRD RING, would be a good fit for your list.

To Adrian, the gods were never anything to be worshipped, just tolerated. But in the walled city of Sanctuary, whether through the religious fervor of the elite or the quaking fear of the poor, the Geist have always been served. And now it’s Adrian’s turn.

Born into power and raised for greatness, Dante stands for everything Adrian has come to despise, but he may be her only hope of survival. When the two of them are bonded against their will and forced to compete together in the Trials, the god’s ancient gauntlet of physical brutality and psychological torture, they have no choice but to set aside old prejudices and work together. Navigating religious zealots, a patriarch intent on breeding the pair for power, and the increasingly obvious cruelty of the gods, Adrian must come to terms with the fact that, whether Culled or Championed, we all serve the gods in the end. And, for her, betrayal has always been waiting just around the corner.

As a two-time award-winning author formerly published via Wattpad Creator’s Paid Stories Program with over a million reads on that platform, I am eager to enter this new world of traditional publication and seek an agent passionate about supporting me in my work.

The full or partial manuscript is available upon request. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

A. N. Horton

BOOK REVIEW

First of all, thank you so much to @caitlindenmanbooks for giving me a free ARC copy of Blood Queen to read and review! 

Let’s get into it!

If you’re a fan of dark romantasy, Blood Queen is for you. It has all the twisted lore that the title promises with intriguing characters and dialogue that will have you swooning to boot!

What I Liked

Rune. He’s such an intriguing character from the very beginning and the more he develops, the more interesting he gets. Plus, I mean…

Speaking of character development, we really see that for our MC and unreliable narrator, Miss Layla/Lia/Blood Queen and whatever else she’s called. She lives double, sometimes triple lives that even she struggles to reconcile with one another in the best way. And through her intense skill with a blade and her compassion for her people, it’s sometimes easy to forget that she’s really just a young woman lost after the death of her parents and unsure of how to properly rule.

The lore. This was probably my favorite part. The concept of a soul shard has always fascinated me and Keir was definitely a favorite! Also, the history of the three countries was well explained without going overboard. I can definitely see series potential as this author grows and expands this new and intriguing world.

The twists! You will NEVER see the ending coming!

What I Did NOT Like:

Really, the only reason I’m not giving this story a full 5 stars is that there were a few consistency issues imo. Layla would sometimes flip flop emotionally in a way that was so sudden it threw me off and she was always running away from Rune just for him to meet up with her again wherever she ended up which made the running seem a bit… pointless? But that’s a minor thing that probably only bothers me.

All in all, I would say definitely give this upcoming #romantasy from @caitlindenmanbooks a shot when it comes out on November 14th!

If you’re a fan of dark fantasy academia, the Atlas Six is probably for you. As someone who doesn’t love that genre so much, I probably should have guessed this wouldn’t be my favorite book of the year. But the hype was huge so I thought “why not?”

There were some things I liked about the book (spoilers ahead):
Gideon’s whole story line is so intriguing
Nico is the sort of dangerously selfless hero that I would absolutely read more of
The mystery of Dalton Ellery alone would keep me coming back for more

But there are MORE things I don’t like (and of course you’re welcome to disagree with me, these are just my opinions):
The most boring character in the whole book being the culmination of it all
This constant social commentary on human nature that makes it read more like a philosophy textbook and less like an enjoyable fictional tale
GRATUITOUS SEX (there’s a time and place and this book missed the mark every, single time)
Unlikeable characters and hardly any development despite the constant claim that there has been significant development

But what I disliked the MOST about The Atlas Six was the author’s obvious pretentiousness. SOMEONE needs to take away Olivie Blake’s thesaurus. Overinflating your vocabulary is not a sign of intellect, it’s a sign of disdain and I, personally, felt talked down to by nearly every single one of these characters at some point. The reason why Nico was, by far, my favorite character was because he did NOT engage in such condescension.

That’s a matter of taste, however, and a common side effect of a story based in academia. It’s not a reason NOT to read the book, or even read on to the second as I probably will (because I can’t help myself with a series) but it does make the reading experience a bit more of an ordeal.

This was my first Sarah J. Maas book.

I KNOW! DON’T COME FOR ME, BOOKSTAGRAM.

But here’s the deal.

I started this book years ago. YEARS. Before I had a proper appreciation for the fantasy genre. I’ve tried to read this book on four separate occasions and only this last time did I get through it. 

Surprisingly, I found myself wondering why I never finished it before. Celaena isn’t likable, not by a long shot, (and if you know me, you know that’s a big deal in whether or not I continue reading. If I like the characters, I can abide by nearly any plot) but she’s not supposed to be. Her entire personality is that she isn’t likable. She can’t be. She’s a rose who uses her thorns to survive. And that intrigues me.

I have to give it a lower rating because of how many times I started reading and failed and for a few other reasons. I didn’t think there was enough about the actual championship events, not enough chances to show that Celaena truly was this skillful assassin that everyone said she was, and too much about the will-they won’t-they between her and two male suitors. Which I’m all for, of course, but… this is a fantasy novel, yes? Not a romance? Would have preferred more fantasy.

All in all though, a good read and I’ve definitely already moved on to reading the second.

Q FOR THRONE OF GLASS READERS: Dorian or Chaol?

Trying to figure out how to rate this one was tough.I loved Furyborn so much that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one, it’s sequel. But… disappointment seems like an apt term.

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed. The characters truly come to life off of the page. Hardly any of them are likable but their struggle is so deeply sad that you cannot help but root for them just a little. Eliana continued to be the better half of the narration duo for me, though Kingsbane did split out into a few other perspectives from time to time. Rielle became so annoying that I could hardly stand to read her chapters (but that’s a personal opinion). I found my concern for anyone in the story waning as I read on. 

Then the ending. I won’t spoil it. But suffice it to say that it was bad enough that I nearly didn’t even want to read the third and last book of the series. In fact, Lingbringer is sitting on my nightstand where it’s been for over a month now, bookmarked on page 30, waiting for me to get to it while watching me read 4 other books in the interim.

If you’re looking for a book with characters so morally grey their souls are practically charcoal and some oddly sexual angelic situations and scenes which tear your heart to pieces and never truly manage to put it back together again, Kingsbane is for you.

Q FOR KINGSBANE READERS: Who was your favorite character and why?

Okay so… this one is hard for me. And I know some of you already saw those 3 stars and are coming for me but HEAR. ME. OUT.

Also, spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned…

First of all, I actually would recommend this book to people if I thought it was their taste. It had a lot going for it in the beginning.
Hot guy in a suit/accidental meet cute
Mystery family tragedies
Not totally likable but definitely relatable female MC

But then…
So the pacing was SLOW. Until it wasn’t. It was like chapter after chapter of writer’s block and then sudden eye contact from the human vegetable that turns the whole story on it’s axis.

But it’s like the whole time you’re reading Verity’s manuscript, you’re horrified but almost… too horrified. Verity is CARTOONISHLY evil. It’s not entirely believable. So the whole time, you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it doesn’t. And then it does. 

The ending, Verity’s letter, is almost a disappointment. But I think it was supposed to be a twist. For me, it undercut the whole mystery. So some things I didn’t like, to wrap up:
Slow pace at the beginning (almost DNF)
Cartoonishly evil antagonist
Unsatisfactory ending

But, as my first foray into the world of #CoHo it will not stop me! So… which of her books should I read next?

READ THIS. READ THIS. READ THIS.

Okay fr I did NOT think I was going to get a 5-star read out of this one but the dark fantasy, fairytale-esque nature of this book blew. Me. Away.

#OneDarkWindow is a literal masterpiece and @rmgillig will for sure be joining my list of auto-read authors.

What I Liked:
The world is fresh and new with also a sort of nostalgic Brothers Grimm type feel
So twisty. I love a good twist and this book was full of them
The magic system is really intriguing and our MC manages to have a special place in that without the “chosen one trope” being too glaringly obvious
The riddles and the rhymes! (Trust me on this)

What I DID NOT Like (Not much):
Some of the characters that I think were supposed to be main characters were fairly one dimensional. I did not have the sort of attachments to them that I otherwise would.
The writing style takes a second to get used to if you’re coming off of other fantasy novels but it’s well done and clever

I really can’t say much more without giving too much away but trust me on this. If you like dark fairytales or unique low fantasy, you absolutely HAVE to give this a shot!

ALRIGHT #bookstagram / #booktok I READ IT!

And TBH… you were so right I’m so sorry I doubted you. Because WOWZA!

Okay #xaden I see you. Shadow boi. I can’t even get myself together so let’s hop into it.

What I Liked:
Xaden.
Xaden.
Xaden.
Okay, for real though. 
Honestly, Violet too. It’s VERY unusual for me to actually LIKE the MC. They’re usually whiny or dramatic but Violet was a very take-it-on-the-chin type of person and I respected her for it. I loved how she was determined to see through her own potential despite everyone else trying to protect her from it.
The magic system in this story was truly unique and very interesting. Dragons as the SOURCE of magic was a super cool concept.
That betrayal though. Chef’s

What I DID NOT Like (Not much):
LIAM. WHY @REBECCAYARROS WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO US?!
Not enough dragon content. I mean forest fires and exploded wardrobes are cool but so is dragon-human mind speak. More pleaseeee.
The amount of times I was told that Violet is smart. Please show me, don’t tell me.

Other thoughts: Maybe not the best idea for a school specifically for training kiddos to ride big, fire-breathing dragons to be amidst a very flammable forest, yeah? IYKYK

#acosf was… a mixed bag for me. For the first 400 pages, I was angry. I loved #feyreandrhysand and this sudden switch of characters and POVs really caught me off guard and had me feeling wary.

But let’s just hop right in, shall we?

What I Liked:
Always Cassian. I will always love #cassian . Though I could do without the amount of times he said the word “cock”.
The last three hundred and fifty pages (i.e. the whole story) was KILLER. Good plot, crazy twists, believable character arcs. It was fantastic, enough to rival the earlier books in the series.
I literally CRIED at Feyre’s… birth. I liked getting to see our other favorite characters throughout as well. And I felt so bad for Rhys. Every time he was on the page, I was near tears.

What I Did NOT Like:
In true @therealsjmaas fashion, she starts telling the story WAY before it’s an actual story. I like the way she writes grieving and I understand that characters need to deal with that on the page, it’s an important process. But… 400 pages without plot just so #nesta can sort herself out? I almost DNFd.
Speaking of Nesta… okay. Don’t come for me. I understand the purpose of an antihero. But there’s a difference between an antihero and a stone cold bitch. Okay. I said it.

All in all, I still love this series and the END of this book was good enough to keep me reading the next one. Sort of like #acotar was. Guess that’s the formula that works for Maas!

I’m in a #bookclub now and this was our read last month. I’ve spent a while trying to determine how I want to H. Rider Haggard’s King Soloman’s Mines and realized exactly why I don’t read or review #classics . 

I CANNOT get past the blatant racism and sexism. I know what some of you already want to say. “But that’s how it was back then.” “It’s just a product of the times.” But I simply CANNOT put it aside. For that reason, and many, many others, I’m giving this book a single, solitary star.

Let’s try this.

What I Liked (Not much):
Even though it was EXTREMELY tropey, they were the good kinds of tropes. The ones you want in a treasure hunting adventure book. Plus, can this book really be tropey if it’s credited with INVENTING the tropes?
There was a bit of cultural immersion. I enjoyed the description of the tribal rituals and practicing but I did NOT care for how derogatorily they were presented.

What I Did NOT Like (Much more):
Everything was so convenient. Every time they needed something, nature itself answered. It wasn’t believable.
The constant white savior complex.
The incredibly horrible duality of women. They are either old, wicked crones or young lovely maidens in need of saving by big strong men
A basic lack of geographical understanding. Why did they have to nearly die in a desert and climb a mountain if there’s an easy road right off to the side that you’re telling me no one has noticed in hundreds of years?

All in all, I’m obviously not meant for the classics but if you’re a fan and want to check out the credited origin of the #indianajones franchise, King Soloman’s Mines might be for you.