Reviewer: rebecca_batteur

Fangs or Tails by RaveningLynx

Cover:
Your cover is very well done. It has an attractive appearance with its stylized look. I love all the little details that can only be understood by reading the whole story. The traces of paws visible in the background, the tail hanging from the coin as well as the mouth full of fangs… The coin itself is a nice nod to the prompt that you chose as the basic idea for the plot. This cover also serves very well to give clues to the reader as he reads about the mystery that unfolds before his eyes. The font chosen for the title is nice and overall this cover looks pretty professional and that's a really good point. The only flaw I can find is perhaps regarding the author's name where the font used is less pleasant to read and falls oddly compared to the rest.

Title:
I think the title was chosen very cleverly and when you look at it for a moment you can quickly notice it. When I first read it, I immediately thought of the expression “heads or tails?” except that the first word of the phrase was different for a reason at first unknown to me. It was again a
callback to the original theme of the story with the idea of playing with a room to make a choice, but there was also a hint about the appearance later in the story of werewolves with the word “fangs”. Overall, I think there couldn't have been a better title for this story.

Blurb:
The summary is very well written and I did not notice any shocking spelling errors except for the last paragraph where the concordance of the verbs was not well respected. Apart from this minor error, the rest of the summary is clear and concise, well organized, engaging and intriguing. It sets up the main issues of the story as well as the basic setting of the story. A character who has become apathetic following the loss of a loved one, a coin that makes all the decisions for him and the disturbing element in the loss of the coin and the meeting with Felix. The sentences are well worded, often in a punchy way that strikes the reader. I particularly like the verb “coining” invented here which sums up the character’s situation perfectly. I should, however, note a repetition of the term question at the end. I would suggest replacing it with “inquiry” or
“interrogation”.

Plot:
At the beginning of the story, after reading the first chapters, apart from the information already revealed by the summary, the reader can only wonder what will happen. The appearance of Felix is especially surprising. We quickly understand that it is he who holds the coin, but the reader is left in the dark about the great confusion and embarrassment that Felix is seized by approaching
Tobias for the first time. Reading the scene for the first time, I wondered if he was really there for the coin and not rather to declare his love for Tobias. What followed was a succession of surprises for me, apart from the fact that Felix was a werewolf. The rest was quite surprising. But I don't believe that the story itself is the most important focal point of the story. I think the plot turns much more to the characters and the slow evolution of their personalities. For Tobias especially,
to go from an anemic state where he only follows the orders of a coin to the letter to something else, to finally face his past and to be able again to make his own choices, to accept his emotions, as painful as they can be and build a happier life. The story itself, beyond the initial surprise, is not of immense originality. All the twists can be foreseen, even if they remain surprising on the spot. The only area of mystery around K and the coin can be related I think to Tobias and the evolution of his character. In and of itself, I don't think that's a problem at all. It's even almost a strong point. Despite a very extensive plot, we can rely on the development and the arc of the
main characters as well as a relationship between the two which promises to be very pleasant to
follow. You just have to put a lot of effort into describing the emotions and suffering of the protagonists, which you manage to do very well.

Characters:
Now we come to a very important point since your characters are supposed to be at the center of
your plot and your most important point of focus. They are not very numerous, which makes attachment easier and avoids confusion. They are also very quickly defined in their original relationships. Tobias does not have many friends, he is alone and can only rely on himself and his
coin in particular, he has to put up with an alcoholic father who treats him in a horrible way. The character's environment is quickly set up and explained, then demonstrated many times over the course of the chapters. His isolation when he loses the coin, his terror in front of others and his
fear and disinterest in relationships, especially physical ones. He has no friends and is the subject of teasing or gossip to which he pays no attention because of his apathetic nature. This is seen when people start talking while he is panicking at his locker or after Chase appears in his mind and turns everything upside down in his head. He has no one to confide in about his father's constant abuse. He has absolutely no one in his life. His mother abandoned him, K is dead or
missing, his father abuses him and no one pays attention to him at school. He is in a situation where everyone can only feel empathy and sympathy towards him. We pity this character that life has not favored at all. I was particularly marked when he had to face a real panic attack after the loss of his piece, feeling for the first time emotions that he had carefully locked away in the depths of his soul. The early chapters had done a great job of exposing the fact that he no longer
felt anything, that he was just   suffering every moment of his life, praying for it to end. This made
the explosion of his emotions even more violent and striking for the reader. He is a character with whom one can easily identify, even if one has not necessarily lived the same life as him, and who seems very realistic. His reactions throughout are consistent with the principles laid out at the beginning of the story: his lack of feelings, his rejection of others and of life, his complete dependence on the coin. He never really deviates from these ideas, which makes him someone who could really exist and who can easily be understood. In addition, I find that he has a well-defined and quite endearing personality with his sarcastic side and his biting repartee. He reacts in a way that is often logical for a human being. He is an interesting character whose evolution can very easily interest the reader, who wants to see how he will change. Felix still remains very mysterious, even though his interest in Tobias as well as the love he seems to have for him has already been established. He already seems likable and his affection for Tobias
seems real, though for now I can only wish to learn more about it. I guess the love he has for Tobias is probably related to some mate thing but I would love to see that love grow from a relatively superficial yet deep and unconditional affection to an even more powerful feeling that Felix would be able to to justify. That he slowly learns to love Tobias for the person he is, though I guess the story will probably take that course.

Pacing:
The story has a very pleasant pace to read, there was not a moment when I was tired. The events follow one another fluidly, like a river or a train placed on rails firmly anchored in the ground. I find that each chapter has its use and plays its role well overall, without there being any unnecessary babbling. We have time to discover the main character without the exposition scenes stretching too long. I also find it smart to place at the very beginning, as a prologue, the scene where K wants to entrust him with the play. We have two very useful things that appear: K and the piece as well as the ratio of the first to the other. Each of the other chapters then only adds to the elements useful for the plot or the development of the characters and each thing that one discovers makes sense, which allows the reader to absorb it without the slightest bump.

Writing style:
Your writing style is pleasant to read because it flows in a regular and calm way. It is very complete and provided when dealing with the descriptions of the feelings of the characters or when it comes to telling an action. However, I think it is a little weaker when it comes to describing the characters or the places where they are. This is a point that can be improved. It is not a question of putting too many descriptions but rather of completing some missing details or adding details, setting up atmospheres by thinking about what kind of feelings we are trying to convey. For example, I think that a little more in-depth description of the two main characters might help to represent them better. The representation of Felix was already well done,
conveying the idea of a rather imposing individual in his stature but embarrassed in his attitude, but, after having read it, we still lack information, such as the color of his hair, which, although it
is not something essential, can bring something more. These are just quibbles here, but I also think putting more attention to detail will still help increase the quality of your writing style. Ask yourself, for example, before describing a place, a room, what you can see there immediately
upon entering it, what you might feel if you touch certain objects, what you could smell, what taste certain things could have?

Grammar:
I didn't notice any grammatical or spelling errors except for the errors in the tense concordance. We often go from the present to the past which tends to disturb the reading  somewhat, but this is only a minor fault that a few proofreadings will be enough to correct.

Personal Enjoyment:
I found your story enjoyable, with genuine efforts made to convey the emotions of the characters and give more depth to the story. I found the pacing to be enjoyable to read. I didn't feel any difficulty reading and I didn't have to force myself to finish your story. The different parts were balanced so that they were not too long and, overall, the reading was a pleasure more than anything else. Your story has potential and is already of a certain quality to read. I often felt involved in the story, with a sense of excitement and desire to continue reading. For that, I
congratulate you, you did a good job.
I hope that the few tips I have been able to give will be sufficient for you. It's quite complicated for me to review a story that hasn't come to an end yet, because it's not quite clear what exactly it is or what it may become over time.

Thank you very much for choosing me as a reviewer.