Just finished the second book in my Jazz Singer series after a two week sprint, and had to go back and rewrite several major plots points along with a pivotal scene. My beta readers took great exception to the ending, building up a secondary character only to turn them into cannon fodder. Unflattering comparisons to Game of Thrones were made, among with less savory things. “Are you proud of yourself?” is the least of it. Feels bad, man.
Apparently it’s perfectly acceptable to kill, wound, maim, or otherwise mangle random NPCs, but don’t you dare touch one expressly put there to give the protagonist a chance to grow and change. Plus turn into an ugly rage monster when the need calls for it. In the end I turned off my pouty face and listened to what my beta readers were saying, taking note of what they did and did not like. The change I wound up making were a compromise, taking it to the edge but not quite over. I think the as a whole story works just as good if not better (see! I can admit it when I’m wrong! Write it down!), and everyone is happy (well, as much as J. Azize Singer, private detective, is ever happy).
Now it’s review and revise time, and then it’s off to the publisher to see what they think.