A Faint Smile

Title (5/5)

The title is intriguing! It leaves a lot of mystery and it makes an impact on a reader, not to mention it’s pretty catchy~ ^^

Poster/Trailer/Background (7/10)

The poster was well made, but it’s a bit hard to see the characters. They’re so transparent that they nearly blend in with the floral part of the artwork. Also, the color purple is a bit much. Maybe blending a lighter color with it or at least getting a contrast between the characters and the background of the poster—anything to make the characters more visible~ ^^ The background was also a bit plain, but it goes well with the poster.

Description/Foreword (9/10)

Describing your OC character in the beginning is a great way to start! It’s really interesting to see how this OC will go through the story as an onlooker more than as an actual character. I do think it’s odd that he’s Korean (yes? Korean? I’m right?) and that he says his name as “Hyunki Won.” …. That’s odd because all Koreans introduce themselves with their surname first and their first name last. So, I’d expect “Won Hyunki” not “Hyunki Won.” Other than that little mishap, I LOVED the little poem in the foreword~ ^^ It was cute and… morbid… XD

Plot (8/10)

I admit that it takes a while to get into the plot. You have to have a lot of patience for it. But otherwise, it’s intriguing and mysterious. There are many hidden secrets in this story, and I hope you uncover them all for us. Right now, the story is just taking off into a wild turn, so I want to see how Hyunki handles all of the craziness of The Emissary Academy.

Originality (9/10)

Because you admitted that some scenes and a couple ideas came from a different book, it’s not entirely original, but seeing how you used an OC character as an onlooker to others’ relationships, I find that very original. It’s different and unique. The entire idea of The Emissary Academy is very interesting, and since I have no idea what book you’ve taken ideas from or what the ideas are, I can only credit you on this brilliance that is the Academy because that is some cool stuff right there! XD

Flow (3/5)

It is a bit slow and confusing in the beginning, but you picked up the pace pretty quickly. There’s nothing much I can say about it now, because the pace is about right now. If you go too quickly, with the details you have, readers may miss a thing or two, but right now, it’s slow enough to soak up the information and quick enough not to bore readers.

Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling/Vocabulary (22/30)

There were very little mistakes in all English usage categories. I love this. Makes reviewing and reading so much easier. The vocabulary you used was advanced and definitely worth remembering what happened. Most of the punctuation was correct, but there were, sometimes, excessive commas (mostly in dialogue where they had a long pause between words, which was not really needed). Though your English usage was nearly perfect, I must address your usage of Korean formalities. You used “hyung” correctly, like when Taemin said, “Jonghyin-hyung!” Yes, correct; however, when you introduced Yuri, you put “Noona Yuri.” “Noona” is used the same way as “hyung,” so I would expect “Yuri-noona.” Also, with calling Minho “Mr. Choi,” there was nothing wrong with that, but you could’ve, instead of using “mister,” used –ssi. Used as the Korean equivalent of English’s “mister,” –ssi is used the same way as “hyung” and “noona,” at the end of one’s name. It simply is a polite and formal way of calling someone’s name, but here, mister works too, but seeing as how they’re in Seoul, it’s a bit odd, no?

Writing Style (9/10)

Ah~ I love your writing style. It’s fresh, vibrant, and very original. The ideas that pop out from the words (which, I randomly got a fanfic idea while reading this) is quite amazing. You’re very descriptive and I love that! Your style can sometimes be a bit confusing, and sometimes a bit wordy. But otherwise, your English is very advanced~ ^^

Overall Enjoyment (9/10)

Other than a couple confusing points and odd uses of Korean formalities, I loved it! The idea of The Emissary Academy was fresh and vivid, brilliant! I hope the plot continues at a steady pace and that more about 2Min and JongKey is revealed. Hwaiting!

Total Score: 81/100%

reviewed by: Star_Sarang