So here they are, my first three reviews of many more to come. I chose a comic, a novel and an interactive story to start off this series. Are you a reader on Tapas or Dorian? If not, go sign up to those platforms and check out these stories to form an opinion yourself. Let me know in the comments what you think of these stories. If you’re an author and want to get a review for your work as well, you can sign up here. Now, let’s get right into the reviews!

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Colourful Comic

Title: The Black Belt Society

Author: IndigoShirtProd

Platform: Tapas

Type: Comic

Genre: Action, Fantasy

Summary: A Goddess is missing. . . And her three sisters have lost hope in finding her. Almost all hope. Their last resort is to call on three teens from the beloved city of Emberry. Elliot, Tyler, and Lara have the talent and bravery to find the lost goddess, but will that be enough? These new members of The Black Belt Society must prove their strength and will to the goddesses by undergoing multiple trials. But what will be waiting for them at the end of those trials? Will it be the Goddess or will it be something more?

First Impression

Right when I clicked on the story, my attention was on the cover. It’s so colourful! From what I’ve read in the summary, I think the cover fits perfectly. However, it feels like the summary is giving away a lot of information. An issue I have here is that without reading the summary, I would have been really confused on the first few pages. Not everyone is going to read the summary so that might drive people away. The art had me staring at it for a bit, especially the Godesses at the beginning. I really like the way the whole comic looks.

Would I continue reading?

Maybe. The story is interesting and after having a look at the first 3 chapters I started to like the characters. However, parts of the comic just made me scroll over it. For example the fighting scenes: I couldn’t really follow what was happening, so after two or three panels, it got kind of boring. I’d recommend this to everyone who likes comics with an action story and bright colours but that’s not what would keep me reading.

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Split-up Novel

Title: The Aphuanian Tales

Author: HippieGhost

Platform: Tapas

Type: Novel

Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Comedy

Summary: Explore the kingdoms of Aphing through the eyes of its people in this collection of stories big and small! Sail the high seas with The Crimson Tempest, Explore the dark past of the man called Oathbreaker, and marvel at the absurdity of a shopkeeper’s sad, sad life. Opportunities await! Your mileage may vary.

First Impression

I have to say that there was nothing that stood out to me when I saw that novel, it just looks like every other novel. This made me think that maybe it gets overlooked a lot. However, the idea of making a Tapas novel out of short stories is what makes The Aphunian Tales special. The first episode gives you a list of all stories which is really nice. I decided to read the story “Brooders”. Getting into the story was really difficult for me. The first few paragraphs took me forever to get through, but that soon got better. Maybe it’s because I knew nothing about that world and got hit with a lot of description right at the beginning.

Would I continue reading?

After reading the first few episodes, I was sure I wanted to finish that short story but I didn’t really want to continue reading another story. However, when I finished Brooders, I was so impressed that I really wanted to read more! There even was a part that made me tear up and I really liked the ending. I haven’t seen anything similar on Tapas yet, so it made me curious to read more from this author. There’s a lot more that I could say about this story, but I’ll keep it simple: This novel isn’t for readers who just want something quick to read during their break while getting constantly distracted. But if you are looking for a good novel to fully focus on for a bit, go read this one!

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Interactive Wedding Crashing

Title: The Inheritance

Author: Rose R

Platform: Dorian

Type: Interactive Story

Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy

Summary: Your Uncle’s Will is just in time to help you settle. But there’s a catch, to receive the inheritance you have to get married. Pros: He’s your childhood crush. Cons: He is getting married today!

First Impression

I’ve seen this story a few times on the Dorian app, but the cover never really spoke to me. It looks nice, yes, but I’m missing something that makes it stand out. In contrast, the summary is exactly what I like! The first episode started off great with some drama but then there were some parts that irritated me. For example when the main character told her friend a backstory that the friend probably already knows. I know this has to be done to give the reader the information but I’m sure there’d be more realistic ways to do it. But generally, the story seems quite interesting with some funny extras.

Would I continue reading?

I’m not so sure about this. On the one hand, I really like the love interest and how the reader can read his thoughts. On the other hand, after three episodes I didn’t really feel connected to the main character. The story itself is good but I’ve seen similar ones and I’m pretty sure I already know how the story will end. Cliffhangers don’t work well if I already have an idea of what will happen next. But, in general, there’s nothing wrong with this story and if you’re looking for something to read when you don’t have much time, it’s definitely something you should check out! It also has a good amount of choices, which makes it a fun interactive story to play.

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That’s it for the first bunch of reviews. None of the stories made me want to stop reading right away and all three authors did a great job at creating something interesting that people can enjoy. We’ll see what awaits us next time!