Name: 800 words of heaven (Signed) · Date: 06 Dec 2019 11:12 AM · For: egg-tomato soup

Hey, Eva! Here with a gift review for you!

 

This is such a lovely first chapter! I am very intrigued to learn more about Clementine and her world. I think I am most excited to learn about the actual witch who was introduced at the start of this chapter. For some reason, I imagine her living in a mermaid's grotto. Maybe it's all that water, but that doesn't quite make sense either, since she seems more like a freshwater kinda gal. Maybe she lives in a freshwater mermaid's grotto? I will continue to speculate until I learn more...

 

This story has such mad magical realism vibes. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the rules of magic are in this world, and how they apply here. So far, this story reminds me a lot of Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim. The main character cooks in the story, too, and it's full of magical realism. Also, if I didn't know that there were some magical shenanigans going on, my first thought about Clementine's thirst would've been diabetes! (Not gonna lie, I still thought it.) I'm glad it's not diabetes, though, because that's probs worse than a curse, honestly.

 

Also, why did we not find out how the egg is in the tomato soup?! I was anxiously waiting for that reveal and it never came! Perhaps in chapter two I shall learn the rest of this recipe?

 

Despite how rambling and incoherent this review was, I truly enjoyed myself reading it. Good luck with chapter two, amigo.

 

xx 800

Name: TreacleTart (Signed) · Date: 06 Dec 2019 05:11 AM · For: egg-tomato soup

Hey Eva!

 

I'm here to drop off a long overdue review for my Play With Your Food Challenge. Sorry it's taken so long to get to it. The good news is that results should be posted soonish. I'll be breaking this review down into the criteria I've used to judge this.

 

Plot: This was a really intriguing start to your story. At first, I just thought it would be about Clementine's mom's birthday, but then the bits about the rain and the fairytale from the beginning started to weave in and out. It was really clever. 

 

Characterization: I thought you did a great job of introducing Clemintine. The flashback of her fighting over the food when she was a child gives us a nice little bit of backstory and then we get a chance to see how she's developed her love of cooking. It's sweet seeing someone who used to dislike her mother's cooking embrace it as she ages.

 

Food description: Your food description was great in this. I like how you not only discussed the recipe preparation, but the textural differences between just right and overcooked. Little details like that make it really come to life.

 

Did it make me hungry?: Yes! I've never had a tomato based egg soup, but I do make egg soup with a chicken stock base fairly often. I might have to whip up a pot this weekend sometime.

 

Good work! Thank you for entering.

 

~Kaitlin

Name: Dojh167 (Signed) · Date: 03 Oct 2019 12:21 AM · For: egg-tomato soup

Hello Eva!

 

I know you did end up getting your swap review, but I ended up reading this story last night, so wanted to drop off some words for you (mind you, I was sleepy when I read it and am sleepy again now, so they may not be my most coherent words)

 

I really enjoyed this story! Your description of everything from the food to the water was really engaging, and your characters were interesting. We were mostly focused on Clem, but I also found myself invested in her relationship with her mother and her friend.

 

Clem’s relationship to cooking is very different from Astoria’s. I couldn’t help but make that comparison, as both stories focused on the process of cooking more than most fics do, and it left me wondering where you fall between Clem and Astoria on your attitude about cooking. The fact that you’ve made it a central point of more than one story makes me think you’re closer to Clem’s attitude?

 

Also, I love tomato soup and egg drop soup, so I am intrigued at what sounds like a combination of the two. I must try it.

 

I didn’t realize until after I finished the chapter that this wasn’t a one shot, whoops! Which makes me feel less like I was missing a piece or two, whew. I am really intrigued! You’ve made a really good start here, and the idea of water witches sounds so fun to read about. I am really interested in what will happen to Clem. Is she just a victim here, or will we see surprising things from her? I really hope you write more of this, I’m really interested! I demand we get to the “pretty witch.”

 

Great job!

 

Sam.

Name: apondinabluebox (Signed) · Date: 02 Oct 2019 02:49 PM · For: egg-tomato soup

EVA! Hello! <3 I’m here for our badger review swap — sorry about the lateness, the last couple weeks have been exhausting — but oh my gosh, what a pleasure it was to read this story! It’s so enchanting, that beginning with the witch and her Very Evil Plan but also she’s empathetic enough to not want to kill her fishy victim and it’s so lovely, like an overly experimental Ravenclaw on the loose, but also very appropriate for children (is this a story you plan to tell your sisters? because I’m sure they’d love it!) and the way it all backfires on her just grips the reader into the story. Is she is a mermaid?? How is Clementine connected to her?? WE NEED ANSWERS, EVA

 

The scene with Clementine as a child was so lovely, because it surrounds a topic that every child can relate to — not wanting to eat certain foods or finish a plate — and the way Clementine’s mother handles the situation is so lovely. It explains how Clementine learned to cook and that the process of cooking helps them to spend quality time together, which means it naturally transitions to Clementine as an adult and it doesn’t seem odd or out of place for her to be doing the cooking that day. I’m also loving that it seems to be Clementine and her mother because their relationship is so great (which isn’t really seen in fic) and also most fics portray nuclear families; when they do include single parents, they’re usually remarried or in the process of remarrying or so busy at work that the child is emotionally neglected and nobody notices when they go off on their adventures, but based on the end of the chapter, it seems like Clementine’s mother is going to be by her side through this process and that’s so exciting to read. Why is there not a second chapter?! :(

 

I loved your descriptions throughout this chapter too. From her conversation with Hilde and her fierce defence of egg-tomato soup (the line about Hilde’s face meeting Soup Pot had me laughing out loud) and the descriptions about how she made the soup interwoven with memories and opinions were beautiful (although I am Team Mum on this one because who has the time to precisely cut vegetables??) and again the line with the onions was so amusing — you’ve done this beautifully. (And now I’m hungry. Oops.)

 

The rain actually reminded me of a story my dad told me when I was growing up! Apparently, a friend of his was at home with his mum and asked her if he could play out. She looked out of the kitchen window at the back garden and said no because it was raining, so he was made to play in the living room instead. He went into the living room and then came back asking his mum if he could play out the front garden instead because there was beautiful sunshine. The bewildered mum went out and realised that yes, the raincloud had ended literally on top of their house, so it was simultaneously shining sunshine at the front and pouring with rain at the back!

 

Honestly, there’s nothing bad I can say about this chapter because it’s so perfect and the amount of time and hard work you put into it is clearly evident and you should be incredibly proud because I am IN LOVE. <3 (Also, if egg-tomato soup is a real recipe of yours and you don’t mind sharing it, I’d love to try this recipe!)

Name: Rumpelstiltskin (Signed) · Date: 26 Sep 2019 02:32 AM · For: egg-tomato soup

Hey, Eva!I'm here with your review for winning the Monthly Dilemma a while back!

 

There's something so quaint about this -- the same sort of quaintness that comes with a children's storybook (Where the Wild Things Are comes to mind, with the tone and the underlying nature of the morals. Also, I think you did a great job weilding a young child as the main character in that middle half -- she reminds me of my little in a few ways.While she isn't a witch, she is a Ninja Pricess Doctor (in the science field, as well as a veternarian), and she is absolutely a picky eater and is as stubborn and imaginative as Clementine seems to be.

 

(I'm reviewing this all out of order, forgive me.) The entire scene with Clementine at the dinner table is charming, tantrum and all. I love Clem's rationalizations of how unfair it was to have to finish everything on her plate, her mother's misunderstanding of how witches 'eat', and how precious her black hat is to her. The resolution of all of it, with her mother making her a deal about cooking with her, made me smile. It allows an opportunity for Clementine to gain some independence with choice-making, spend some quality time with her mother, and will help her learn some cooking skills (which is a skill everyone should probably have for living purposes).

 

I also enjoyed the transition from this childhood scene to when she was a young adult, cooking a special dish for her mother. The concept made a fun connection for the transitional point. It also allows for a more fluid storyline, especially when connecting the introduction (with her magical wishes coming true, but backfiring on her) to the current worry, where Clementine worries that she's broken the universe. Plus the instance in the very end where it all came full circle, and the insinuation from the introduction, where she became a fish, now folds back on her when she becomes so thirsty.

 

This was a really interesting little story. I love that underlying Be Careful What You Wish For morality tied into the possible destruction born of what was innocent childhood curiosity, imagination, and developing coping mechanisms for things like anger outlets and the like. As always, your writing is lovely -- you did an excellent job in tying the piece together and weaving it along the way.

 

--Rumpels

 

 

Name: MuggleMaybe (Signed) · Date: 19 Sep 2019 03:00 AM · For: egg-tomato soup

EVA <3

 

This is, simply put, delightful!

 

Your imagination absolutely astounds me. I cannot begin to fathom how you thought this up. It is so creative!

 

I really enjoy Clementine as a protagonist. She's tongue in cheek and a little sassy, but also very sweet. I was a little caught off guard by the first section. Is she... becoming a mermaid?????? I NEED MORE INFORMATION RIGHT NOW

 

The flashback to her insistance on being a witch and not having to eat was hilarious and adorable. Her mom is very patient! I also really liked that the parent/child relationship is centrally featured, because for some reason that's rarely the case in literature. (All those orphans!) But in real life, that is a super important relationship.for children, including teenagers (and honestly, adults, too)

 

I also really enjoyed the way you wrote her conversation with Hilde. Very cute bff banter. 

 

Egg tomato soup sounds delicious. (If this is a real recipe you have, please send it to me? :D) 

 

The rain thing! Craziness! WHAT IS GOING ON EVA??? Please write more of this!

 

You know what this really reminds me of, in style, is the book Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. And also her book The Merlin Conspiracy. (FYI I know the movie of Howl's is good, but I ADORE the book.)

 

I loved this and I love you and I really hope you keep writing this because I think it has a huge amount of potential!

 

xoxo Renee

Name: shadowkat678 (Signed) · Date: 30 Aug 2019 04:29 PM · For: egg-tomato soup

Hi, I'm here for team Huffleclaw

 

Oh no! Poor Clementine! I take it she's the one that got cursed, and permanently. I just want to say that not only did I love this story, but you also got me wanting to try new food! The intro, and really all of it, was so well written and the humor reminded me a lot of Terry Pratchett. I love how detailed you got with the recipe and how much she grew to love cooking after being a childhood picky eater. 

 

I do wish we could have seen a bit more of the witch. For a while I thought that Clementine was the actual witch and this was some sort of flashback. However, even without that I think it worked well. I am wondering. Is she actually being turned into a fish or is she just craving water like one now? That seems such a horrible fate for such a innocent character, but I suppose that is the point.

 

Thank you for writing this and making me want to try out some of that soup myself! Great job!

 

~Kat

Name: grumpy cat (Signed) · Date: 24 Aug 2019 09:09 AM · For: egg-tomato soup

hey eva, i'm here for our swap! *_*

 

i must say, i really really loved the intro to this story – these first couple of sentences about the young witch (who, of course, is a little bit wicked and evil but then again she seems entirely adorable in her wickedness :P ) and her terribly evil curse were fantastic in drawing me into the story. it’s like – we don’t have a clue what exactly is going on but it’s such a great hook that we (well, i haha) immediately want to know more. i also loved the humour and it’s not even…i don’t know, it’s like it comes effortlessly and completely naturally and i think that’s great – i could imagine her just scribbling down ‘whatever the opposite of drown is’ and at the same time being a little bit serious but then giggling at her own deviousness (or supposed deviousness). at least i giggled a little bit :P

 

and then clementine and her whole introduction was so very relatable because i was (i still am <.<) notoriously picky about my food haha. but i loved how you managed to convey a kid’s voice in her past (and of course, later, it just became clementine’s adult-ish voice seamlessly, but still keeping that which made her an adorable, witchy child). the relationship with her mother made me smile because i think it’s great to see healthy familial relationship in fics/books – parents being supportive of their kids, trying to connect with them and their interests (and even tying their interest with something else, like cooking) is something i’ve always found wonderful and it warms my little heart.

 

i’m always a little jealous of people who manage to describe cooking in vivid detail that’s still so lively and it’s never just about cooking. clementine cooking for her mother is so important, the actual dish, even though it’s one her mother loves, is almost secondary to the whole act of cooking, of doing something nice for her and ultimately bonding over the thing that made them closer ever since that first meal they cooked together and i love that.

 

of course, the weird rain and then the incurable thirst means poor clementine must’ve been caught in the crosshairs of the witch’s curse from the start of the story, and even though the description of her thirst was palpable and even managed to make me feel a bit uncomfortable because, uh, being thirsty is something i can’t stand, i really loved that whole almost fairytale-ish part and i can’t wait to see what happens next!

 

kris

Name: Aphoride (Signed) · Date: 09 Aug 2019 01:24 PM · For: egg-tomato soup

EVA :) I'm here! Did you think I wouldn't stop by - or, in fact, could not stop by? Honestly, it was like a compulsion - there was no way I wouldn't have reviewed ;) 

 

You know, this story is amazing and wonderful and so beautifully realistically magical - it reminds me so much of the plotting and setting of Naomi Novik with a sprinkling of Terry Pratchett's humour, and it's such a brilliant, addictive kind of combination. I was hooked from pretty much the first sentence (from "that had been an accidental development in her attempt to achieve unparalleled wickedness", if I'm being super accurate :P), with all the witty voices and the description - which is gorgeous - and how alive this whole story feels. Which is something that just comes across in all of your stories - this liveliness, as though it's real and true and someone's just telling me this, yk; it's a quality I can't quite explain but your writing has it :P - and it's just so so good. 

 

I lovelovelove the first glimpses of the characters in this. The young witch, plotting a Terribly Evil curse (which I loved because the irony is exactly right for kids and it's just so perfect and made me smile); Clem with her pickiness about food and her mother - the dragon/evil queen - who seems so strict in the first section and much less strict later on, in the section where Clem's older. I love the mention of how Clem doesn't think she was that fussy as a kid, haha, I don't think anybody wants to believe they were that bad - especially not when you're eighteen and potentially still a bit bad, haha - and her mum is so sure that she was :P They're such exciting, fascinating glimpses of your main characters and I'm so curious to see where you go with them next. 

 

Also, I wanna say: I love that this is a story where Clem has a good relationship with her mum. It's not something you always see in stories, so I love it - especially because it reminds me of my mum, and how sometimes things are annoying and there are little things I just don't get (like the messy-chopped tomatoes :P) but still. She's my mum :P 

 

I love the description of the sudden rainburst: how it could be ordinary-ish, but clearly isn't and how Clem does exactly what we all (read: what I would do) would do and steps through it just to see what happens - I love a nicely insatiably curious character :P And the last few paragraphs, with Clem struggling, with how she needed water - I could almost feel it too, yk, and it felt so alarming in the way you wrote it - that kind of panic came through so so strongly and ahhhhhh I wanna know what happens next! How does she cope? What do they do? What do they try? They can't exactly go to A&E about it - so what do they think of to help? 

 

This is such a brilliant, fascinating, witty start and I'm half in love already :) Moar please? :P 

 

Laura xx