THE OPENING LINE:

"It was the day before my wedding, and I stood on my balcony, unable to believe what I was about to do."

⟶ The first line is a solid start! It's not super gripping but it isn't uninteresting and does put some questions into the reader's mind. What is she about to do? Why is she so socked by it? Is she regretting something? Etc.

⟶ It's the rest of the opening paragraph, however, that really pulls you in. Mentioning that she is marrying Zayne and not Advik only goes to show that she probably isn't sure if she's made the right decision. She's marrying one man but is probably in love with another. This has the reader asking why and wanting to know more about both of these characters and why she has chosen one over the other—and why she might be regretting that choice.

⟶ It's the last line of this paragraph, however, that really did it for me. "It was a decision I had to make to protect myself, to forge my own path." It has me asking why she needed to protect herself and what she is protecting herself from. Why was Zayne the safe choice and not Advik? Why has she chosen safety and protection over what was possibly love?

THE PULL:

⟶ The opening paragraph itself draws you in nicely, hooking the reader from the start. But you hold that line so steady as you reel them into the story, effortlessly pulling them in over the next few lines.

⟶ Running over in her mind what she could do to postpone the wedding, even going as far as causing herself physical harm, was a really interesting way to get into the protagonist's head. It lets us as readers understand what she's feeling and what her motives are. It also tells us one thing: she isn't ready to marry Zayne.

⟶ You then weave in an explanation as to why she is no longer with Advik and how their relationship came to an end.

⟶ Then, the whole wedding passes in a daze, just as it does for her. We get little fragments of details which resonate so well with how Naina is feeling. She doesn't want to be here, she doesn't want to go through with this.

OVERALL:

⟶ Overall, this opening has a great flow and seamlessly moves on from one thing to the other. It pulls the reader in and gives them enough detail to give them a good understanding of what is happening, who the characters are, and what the dilemma/focus will be moving forward.

⟶ We are so easily put into Naina's shoes. As readers, we can understand what she is going through and exactly what she is feeling. It makes it easy to sympathise with her from the very beginning, forming a connection of sorts with her story.

⟶ By the end of the chapter, it's clear to us that she is not over Advik and that this is likely to cause issues in her new marriage. Already, we want to know if she will be able to fall for Zayne, who is now her husband, or if she will be able to work things out with Advik, the man she loves.

⟶ Honestly, this whole chapter really set the scene, did a good job of introducing the characters, and also showed us what this story is going to be about at its core. All the while, it still leaves things open enough for us to wonder what will happen next.

⟶ This is not a genre I would usually read but even I felt drawn into the story so you definitely did I great job with it!

Thank you lostlovefairy for trusting me with this review, happy writing!