Hot Girls Read Podcast

Ayesha

I just finished a beta read of a fantasy book and I’m going to hold off on sharing the title and the author’s name while it’s still in the works. Before I talk about the book, let me share a bit about what it is to be a beta reader. A beta reader is someone who reads an author’s work, usually an early draft, and provides feedback from a reader’s perspective to help them improve the story before it’s finalized or published. This can include identifying potential issues like plot holes, confusing passages, or inconsistencies in character development, and offer suggestions for improvement. 

So let’s talk about this story I read. I applied to be a beta reader as I read something by this author and I loved that piece…like I was obsessed. Unfortunately, I don’t have that same sentiment for this read (eek). I will divulge that this is a fantasy story and with fantasy I think there are additional layers that can be criticized: the world building, the magic system, and the uniqueness. 

Again being vague, this story had some items that were inconsistent. Focusing on the main character, she needed more context for me to see the whole picture. I know we joke about SJM’s world building in the Crescent City series and how you just popped into the city, but that worked as it was a world similar to our own. With this story, this is a different magic system with different levels of hierarchies that simply was not explained, therefore I couldn’t understand why the FMC acted a certain way to different characters. That brings me to the types of magical beings in the story. I have a very imaginative mind but it was hard trying to picture different characters because again, there was no context as to what was in the realm of possibility.

I think I will share this with y’all for now but it’s always a privilege to be considered a beta reader and help an author out on this great achievement!

Julia

In between a couple of the books I am reading, I have snuck in a cheeky little zine which has been an absolutely delightful find! This little treasure is called ‘Chance Encounters: Finding good wine, naturally’ created by @evas_tiny_sketchbook on Instagram. The zine walks us through the creator’s 2024 discoveries of natural wine across Europe and the US, with each ‘post’ starting with the bottle and the wine bar in which she first came into contact with the wine find. Not only was I inspired by her passion for natural wines, but it was the dreamy and poetic way in which she described their aura, their taste, and the stories around her drinking them that drew me in completely! Each spread also came with beautiful watercolour artworks of the bottles and bars, and the whole thing was typed up on a typewriter which added a whimsical touch to the zine.

I’m super excited to try some natural wines, sketch my food and write about it, and also make a zine of my own. Oh, and I’m absolutely getting my hands on the next rendition of this zine whenever it comes out!