Beta Swap - MG Historical Fantasy (but will read almost anything)

[J.S.]

I’m hoping to find someone that would like to beta swap for my ~50k MG historical fantasy set during Richard the Lionheart’s Crusade. I’ve taken it as far as I can and need someone to talk about big picture things I missed, could tighten up, or improve. In the swap, I’ll read pretty much anything of similar length except for high fantasy (and let’s be honest, a 50k high fantasy is impossible). Here’s the blurb from my query, which is also a work in progress:

Strange things have been happening throughout Cassandra’s fourteen years. She lost her mother at the age of 6; they were never able to find her body. So when Cassandra’s magic grew, she was alone in studying what was happening to her. A tragic event sees her cast out of the village she called home and herself labeled as a witch. The only magic she allows herself now is used to hustle dice games from unsavory characters.

When she is kidnapped and brought to the Vatican’s secret magical library, Cassandra finds her place in the world – as the new leader of the Pope’s coven of sorceresses on dangerous missions around the world. The first task? Retrieve the Holy Grail from Jerusalem during the 3rd Crusade before it is found by Richard the Lionheart or Saladin. Along with her brainy magic tutor and a mysterious Muslim fighter, Cassandra will find much more in the Holy Land than just a cup. Perhaps too much…

Thanks for reading!

[[deleted user]]

Seems like a cool premise. I'm interested, but my novel is 80,000 words, though it has already been edited. It is a fantasy with a samurai-revenge vibe. Let me know!