[QCRIT] AS YOU WISH Adult Fantasy Romance, 90K [First Attempt] + First 300

Long time lurker, first time caller!

Questions:

1. The comps: I think they match well but I know they’re stretching a bit older especially Swordheart. But then again, I feel like Swordheart is a very good match and is seemingly have a resurgence in the romantasy era (Its sequel comes out this year!). But I'm very open to any suggestions!
2. I know it’s a bit too long, but I’m having trouble figuring out what to cut! I have admittedly gone a bit further than the standard midpoint complication (this is more act three ~75 percent) but it felt like a very natural stopping point to me. I would love feedback on if that's not acceptable though!
3. Potential content warning; in the opening chapter, the MC on her wedding night goes through a harrowing situation. She’s prepared to consummate her marriage with her arranged husband. He binds her with rope; which she initially believes to be bedroom play she’s unenthusiastic about but reluctantly consents to. Then he prepares a black magic ritual which involves holding her down on the bed and drawing her blood with a knife. Throughout the scene, the MC doesn’t know what’s going on and is afraid, worried that she’ll come to physical harm or be assaulted. Would you recommend a content warning in this instance? And if so, how would that be communicated? Or am I being overtly cautious?

Thank you so much in advance!

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When Isobel agrees to an arranged marriage with the arrogant, twice-widowed Lord Davron, love is not part of the bargain. But she doesn't care. Isobel's last relationship— with her much older professor—left her disgraced and driven from academia while he remained untouched. So, she's giving up on love. Instead, she embraces the escape becoming Lady Davron and relocating to the lord's remote countryside estate provides.

Then on her wedding night, Lord Davron attempts to sacrifice her in a black-magic ritual.

Secretly drowning in debt, Davron has turned to summoning a wish-granting spirit to save his wealthy lifestyle. The spell requires a virgin sacrifice. Davron assumed bookish, spinster Isobel fit the requirement. Now he’s violated his contract. Instead of granting his wish, the spirit Nicander takes possession of Davron’s body and informs Isobel that the wish falls to her.

It’s a tempting offer. But Isobel’s life can't be fixed with a single wish. So she makes an unusual request: could Nicander simply remain in her husband’s body, pretending to be Lord Davron, while she decides what she truly wants?

Reluctantly, Nicander agrees.

A former soldier before his unlife, Nicander is nothing like the man he replaces. He’s serious, unprepared for aristocratic life, and at times endearingly awkward. Yet he listens, protects, and treats Isobel as an equal. Together, they navigate the dangers Davron left behind: servants complicit in Davron’s murder attempt, criminals demanding unpaid debts, and a fae woman who claims Davron sold his soul to her.

As they clean up her late husband’s messes, Isobel realizes she desires Nicander to truly be her husband— an impossibly selfish want, and the worst possible use of her wish. Especially when Nicander reveals that his last love once held his contract and abused it to keep him trapped in their relationship.

When Lord Davron’s sudden transformation draws suspicion, Nicander is abducted and put on trial for demonic possession. With his existence at risk and the truth of their marriage poised to be exposed, Isobel must finally decide what her greatest wish is— and if it's possible to keep both the life she's grown attached to and the husband who was never supposed to be a part of it.

Complete at 90,000 words, AS YOU WISH is a standalone fantasy romance that will appeal to readers who enjoyed the fairy-tale Regency atmosphere of Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater and the slow-burn between mature leads with a grumpy-sunshine dynamic in Swordheart by T. Kingfisher.

I am a media studies PhD student at [UNIVERSITY]. When not writing fiction or writing academic journal articles about fiction, I enjoy reading about fictional people in magical worlds.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

XXX

First 300

Isobel stood still in the absurdly frilly dress while her fiancé examined her like she was a pig at the market he was unsure about purchasing. Lord Davron clasped his hands together, his lips pursed tightly. Skepticism was written into his fine brow.

“There will be a veil covering the face, yes?” Lord Davron turned to the tailor.

This level of affection had defined all of their marriage preparations. Isobel did not care. No one could mistake theirs for a love match. The months of meticulous negotiations made that apparent. So, Lord Davron needed to be satisfied with his newest investment.

Even still, his lordship had certain standards for the wedding. The most auspicious temple rented, a fashionably tight suit commissioned, tasting menus tailored endlessly to his preferences. Isobel’s were not in consideration; the only consolation made when she very firmly insisted that shellfish would make her violently ill.

The lord reluctantly struck it from the menu, complaining for days afterward on how the flavor profile of the meal was now unbalanced.

And, of course, the matter of Isobel’s wedding dress.

She was fine deferring to him. Lord Davron had experience. It was his third marriage, after all. His previous wives had died tragically young—one to sickness, another in childbirth. Privately, Isobel understood how a woman might not cling to life, knowing to whom hers was bound.

“I have a suggestion if my lord fears the image of the bride is not quite, er, resplendent enough.” The tailor cleared his throat. He flipped through a thick binder the lord’s valet had provided. It was a meticulous record of his lordship’s many heirlooms; intricate brooches, jeweled circlets, magically blessed amulets. She had learned to fear the sight of that binder. Last time it appeared, they spent two hours discussing cuff links.