Labyrinth-like Action-Fantasy-Horror - looking for critique swaps

[Vincent]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for someone to read approx 30 000 words of my manuscript "The Castle". Blurb:

No one knows who built it. It houses no Lord and rules no land yet it has stood there for countless years, if one believes the rumours.

Vinicio doesn’t.

Not until Castlewood is attacked. He’s torn from sleep but manages to escape into the forest. There he finds Basileo, a local young man he’d met the day before. Basileo tells him that he wasn’t just running anywhere but towards it - the Castle. Even worse, they are almost surrounded and have no choice but to continue that way.

Only the mad enter, Basileo tells him. It draws them in. Even so, he’s going. Bella’s in there, he thinks. Vinicio doesn’t know what to think. He’d been trying to wake himself up for hours but couldn’t. It couldn’t be real. Yet he either enters together with Basileo or lets the soldiers capture him.

Only… no one who enters ever leaves.

I'm mostly interested to know where I lose you as the reader, although other critique is also welcome. For my part, I can critique most works except YA and pure romance.

Expect concentrated committment from my part and be ready to offer the same. Contact me through DMs here.

[Susan]

I'm interested in a possible swap for a domestic suspense novel and am seeking the same sort of reader feedback. If you're interested in that genre, message me, and I will share a sample.