please pm jells_ your email for your sticker! please thank our judges, without them this awards wouldn't be possible! :)

judges:

nablai
bookwormy1
Cxptured_heart
AmyMarieZ

in first place is kingdom of veiled bloodlines by kiraderosier with a score of 54/60!

review:

The cover contains vibes that brings about the intensity of the story. The crossed swords and the crown depict the title perfectly.

The story summary is intriguing and doesn't reveal much. Keeping us on our toes in the process.  Neat grammar and spellings elevate the reading experience.  The sentence structure is long and detailed.  I came across some words which edited/removed can tauten the sentence and give a smoother flow. Your descriptions are vivid which helps in clearly visualizing the scenes. Love the imagery used.

The story starts with Jedrick's murder by the Queen in the kingdom of Nerissa.  We are introduced to Zerlinda who works for Hades under a contract to save her sister Adalia from death. With every chapter ending on a cliffhanger, the urge to read the next one deepens. I couldn't stop myself from reading more.

My best wishes for your story :) ~ Nablai

in second place is tied between in the shadows by scarlettroisin and grendiltion: rise of the shadows by amyrobinz with a score of 49/60!

review for in the shadows:

The cover is lovely but I think you can depict the girl in the shadows to bring out the title better. Just my two cents here :)

The story summary is interesting and gives off a mysterious feel. Makes us want to read more. The grammar is good and spellings neat, enhance the reading experience. The descriptions are stunning and allow us to visualize the scenes better.

We are introduced to Debbie who runs the orphange home and Amber who is a Misfit and runs ro the city to buy a birthday present for her friend, Kaylie. Debbie is wary of the city dwellers and instructs Amber to stay in the shadows.  Even though Amber manages to steal the bracelet undetected, she finds someone on her trail. She evades his questions with vague answers and escapes. Love the bond shared between Kaylie, Amber and Debbie.  The army is forcibly recruiting people and it's only a matter of time before they knock on the doors of the orphange.  For more spoilers, read on...

All the best for your story :) ~ Nablai

review for grendiltion: rise of the shadows:

Title: I can't really complain about this title. It feels slightly cliché to me, but I can't deny that it is a solid and compelling choice that I believe will attract the intended audience.

Cover: The cover is well polished and very aesthetically pleasing. The text is well placed, the font looks professional and eye-catching, and the image is interesting and attention grabbing. The cover makes me want to pick up the book and see what it's about.

Summary: While the summary is slightly long in my opinion, it is well written. It presents the characters and conflict in a compelling way that makes me interested to read the story.

Character Development: I felt like the characterization in chapter 1 was subtle but well done. I started to get a feel for Macey's character through the narration and her inner thoughts and dialog. The characterization came across naturally, and I feel like Macey is a compelling character, although it may take a couple of chapters before I really get a sense of who she is.

I thought the characterization in chapter 2 was strong. I really enjoyed the interaction between Iza and Connor because they are both such contrasting characters. It makes the dialog really interesting and engaging to read. I get the feeling that Connor will start to warm up to Iza. I also got the feeling that Connor is really a good guy, but has been pushed too hard to try to be perfect and lost a sense of happiness. His need to impress people is a very interesting and well shown character trait/flaw.

Plot Development: So far, the plot development in this story is pretty solid. The first two chapters seem to be largely focused on character introductions and presenting the concept of the school to the readers. This is done successfully in my opinion. I feel genuinely interested to find out more about the characters and the adventures they will have at this school.

The central conflict of the story is presented in the prologue, I believe. However, I felt like this presentation wasn't extremely memorable. It fell into the background a bit for me, because the prologue felt somewhat separated from the rest of the story. I wonder if there could be an alternate way to introduce the central plot early in the story.

I thought the conflict that arose in chapter 2 of Connor wanting to be the best in the school and learning that there is someone that shows all five attributes when he did not was really well placed. This hooked me into the immediate action and events of the story, making me wonder how Connor will handle this, and also how Macey will!

Grammar: Overall, the grammar feels fairly well polished with only a few minor typos. I felt like the tense shift at the beginning of chapter 1 was a bit odd. I also noticed a couple of sentences that were oddly worded or seemed like run-ons.

Personal Enjoyment: I'm a bit torn as far as enjoyment goes for the prologue of this story. On one hand, the narration and descriptions are elegant and beautiful to read. The world building is compelling, however, the prologue itself is not the most engaging in my opinion. I often find prologue of this style to be a bit difficult to get into, though, so it may be largely a matter of personal preference. In my opinion, the risk with a prologue like this is that they can tend towards telling rather than showing, and the reader's mind might drift.

In chapter 1, I started to enjoy the story more. I got a good feeling of adventure as the MC guides the reader through the school. The descriptions are very vivid, but perhaps just a bit heavy, slowing the pace of the story slightly. The test Macey takes and also learning about the different attributes the students can exhibit was really fun to read.

I enjoyed the dialog between Connor and Iza. Iza is a really fun and easily likable character because he is such an oddball right from the start. I loved the descriptions of what he is doing and also the way he speaks.

The second chapter of this story was very enjoyable to read, because it gives the reader the feeling that they would like to go to this school and take the classes and learn magic along with the students. While the concept of a school for students with magical powers isn't new, it's one that is almost always enjoyable to read, and with enough unique elements one that can be very original and compelling. ~AmyMarieZ

tied in third place is boneca by karinberry and to live is christ, to die is gain by JessicaGoyette with a score of 48/60!

review for boneca:

Title: The title of this story has a nice ring to it. Although I don't know the significance of the word Boneca, it makes me curious to find out what it means, so I think it is a successful title. Personally, I preferred Not the Sleeping Beauty, but I think both titles are nice choices.

Cover: The cover is well made and nice to look at. However, it doesn't really seem to match the story, at least in the first three chapters I have read. Personally, it doesn't make me want to pick up the story and read, but I feel that may be a matter of personal taste, and it may be more appealing to other readers with a different taste.

Summary: Unfortunately, I didn't find the summary of this story very hooking. I felt confused when I first read it and I couldn't wrap my head around what it was saying until I read it a second time. Thinking about it, I feel like the summary may be more clear if the order it is presented in is reversed. I think it may be more hooking to first present the situation that Jona and Luuk are going on the expedition to the Amazon, and then present the conflict of their different upbringings and how they will clash and lift each other up through their journey.

Plot Development: To me, the plot of this story has great potential. I felt like in the first chapter, the pace of the plot development was fairly slow. My mind started to wander a bit during Luuk's narration, particularly during the encounter with Jona, where I felt like the dialog and scene was dragged out.

The pacing in the second chapter felt more balanced to me. This chapter and chapter 3 gave me that slight apprehensive feeling I always get before going on a long trip. The chapters built up the suspense and thrill about the expedition to come well.

This is a small thing I noticed about the plot, but the way the characters behave at the airport seems odd to me. In my experience, people always go through security immediately when they arrive at the airport, because you never know how long that will take and you don't want to miss your flight. Things such as shops are in the part of the terminals that are within the security checkpoint. In this chapter, the characters congregate and do things such as shopping and getting coffee before going through security. They then immediately board the plane after going through the security scan. I feel like this does not seem completely realistic, and I might suggest revising the order of events here. That said, the narration itself still has a very real feel to it, so I consider this a very minor point.

Another minor inconsistency I noticed in chapter 3 was the takeoff of the plane. The characters sit down, and Luuk calms Jona during his panic attack, and suddenly they are in the air with no mention of a takeoff. It seems like about 5 minutes have gone by. Usually, there is a lot of taxiing that takes place before takeoff, and the takeoff itself is fairly noticeable/intense, so the event not being mentioned is odd to me. I might suggest taking another look at this segment as well.

Character Development: I thought this story had very strong character development. Luuk's character is very well developed in my opinion. He has a distinct personality and it really shines in his narration. I can't say I like the character, but I have to praise the attention to detail with him. I believe the author has been very successful in presenting his personality. For example, I really appreciate how his narration has a distinct arrogant tone. The use of complicated words and sentences fits well with his narration.

I really appreciated the contrast between Jona and Luuk's personalities and narration. The switched 1st person POV works well because they both have such distinct tones and voices. I really enjoyed Jona's character right from the start. I thought the way he interacted with the children at the school made him very enduring to a reader. I find Luuk's fear of being touched and the fact that he literally hides behind a mask interesting and defining part of his character that makes him stand out.

The most powerful scene in the first three chapters is the scene where Luuk calms Jona on the plane. The characterization here was spectacular in my opinion, because both character's fears and weaknesses were challenged here. Luuk is facing his fear of touching others, and he's noting the entire time that he feels okay with touching Jona. This was very intriguing because he's already changing as a character, and it makes me more curious about him and also why he is okay with Jona. I really liked seeing how he can relate to what Jona is going through. Just a really fantastic scene overall.

Grammar: In general, the grammar in this story is well polished. I noticed a few oddly worded sentences or phrases that seemed to be missing a word, but all in all the grammar is good.

Personal Enjoyment: While technically the plot development and character development are well done, I didn't find the plot that hooking in chapter 1, largely because of the slow pace and negative outlook of the MC. I think it may be that the character Luuk was fairly abrasive, which turned me off slightly. Perhaps showing a bit more of his softer side in the start could make him more compelling earlier in the story. I have read some of this story before and know that he is in fact a very likable character, he's just takes a little while to warm up to.

On that note, I'd mention that in chapter 3 I found Luuk's narration much more enjoyable and approachable. He showed more vulnerability, being out of his comfort zone, and showing that made him a more enduring character in my opinion.

I started to enjoy the story more in chapter 2. I found Jona's narration quite pleasant and his character is enduring from the start. The interaction with him and the kids at the karate class is adorable and very sweet. My heart was breaking when he had to say goodbye to Karma, because I was just thinking about how much I'd be crying if I had to leave my own dog for that long. I thought it was hilarious when Jona calls Luuk Oscar the Grouch.

Chapter 3 was the point where the plot and characters really hooked me. I felt attached to both Luuk and Jona, and I felt compelled to read on and find out what will happen during the expedition. ~AmyMarieZ

review for to live is christ, to die is gain:

Title and summary are good. Overall, the story is well written and is unique. Just a few words missing here and there which can be eradicated through proofreading. I would like to add just one suggestion. Break the large paragraphs into smaller chunks for a better reading experience. ~ Cxptured_heart

congrats to all the winners!!! the other reviews will be posted in a separate book later on :)