[QCrit] Romantic Fantasy - DREAMEATER (90K/VERSION2)

Hi friends! Second attempt, boy is this a tricky little letter to write. Thank you all for being gentle last time and giving some great tips. The third paragraph is giving me a tricky time. Thanks for your help!

Dear Agent, 

I’m excited to send you my debut novel, DREAMEATER.

Electra is the favored daughter of the King of Romnus, facing the deadly Ritual where many perish— a no-holds-barred days long scrabble for survival all leaders must survive to claim the right to rule. Her training focus is interrupted by a series of enigmatic dreams where she is visited by one of the Seven— flawed deities who rule over Romnus. Failure in the trial means death and expectation will fall on her younger frail brother, but her preoccupation with the vivid —and at times erotic— dreams consumes her. To follow her desires and shirk responsibility by omitting the Ritual in pursuit of a deity’s affection, or bow to the weight of tradition, Electra must weigh the cost of her decision— a kingdom or the hope of unwavering love, at the cost of her brother’s future. 

Decades after his older brother's assassination during the Ritual, Nero is finally close to taking revenge, choosing the yearly event as a symbolic backdrop for his plans. The King will not be brought down easily though, and should Nero's coup fail, he stands to lose everything—not only his life, but those of his allies and innocent followers. His conviction falters as the King’s daughter softens his guarded heart with her wit and fierce love for her own brother as he spies on her through dreams, veiling his identity. Hoping to gain inside information to aid in his assaination of the King, he instead finds himself drawn toward her warmth and innocence. Torn between duty to a dead hero and love, he wrestles with his own definition of loyalty against the promise of a future he’s never considered before now.

Electra faces the Ritual to keep her brother out from under the heavy yoke of responsibility, Nero has been driven by revenge and hatred his whole adult life. Expecting to find a pampered princess in the King’s daughter, he instead finds a selfless and inquisitive woman who dismantles his walls and helps him see he is more than vengeance. Electra cherishes their relationship free from the politics and secrecy of court life but dreads the expectation to wed another after becoming queen; Nero grows steadily more melancholic for the inevitable moment she learns she has true identity and that she was a pawn in his plot.

DREAMEATER is a dark romantic fantasy complete at 90k with series potential. Dreameater will appeal to readers who enjoy THE SERPENT AND THE WINGS OF NIGHT by Carissa Broadbent, and GILD by Raven Kenney.