JUDGE: Zach!

First Place: Safforia

Safforia was definitely an enticing read. Starting with the plot and world-building, it was such an immersive experience to be in the shoes of characters living in a world a millennium in the future from now. It was also interesting to see how Ocea and her friends work together to take back Safforia. Onto the grammar and spelling, they were immaculate, and the vocabulary used was widely varied. I felt that some characters could have used just a tad bit more character work, but it doesn't quite matter since they were not main ones, and I'd like to respect the author's choice in giving more spotlight to certain major characters rather than other minor ones. Finally, the title was straight to the point, being the name of the planet that is prominent in the book, and the cover was gripping, both of which I liked a lot. Congratulations!

Second Place: The Guard

The Guard was another enjoyable book that I had a great time reading. The plot was well-paced and grabbed my attention throughout, taking enough time in the first chapters to introduce the protagonist, Nika, without flowing slowly. The grammar was nearly flawless, with only one or two typos that I was able to spot. However, there was nothing much to penalise. I also loved the artiful look of the book's cover, and the title, for the most part. I say this because, nevertheless, I personally felt slightly misled by the title and the entity name of "The Guard" at first, imagining it to be a figure who would likely be the main character. I only found out later that it turned out to be an organisation, an "elite fighting force". Then again, I'd still like to respect the author's choice for the book's title, and the name of the organisation. Other than that, the book was excellent. Great work!

Third Place: Untold Fairytales: Albion

Untold Fairytales: Albion was my final read amongst the catalog of books I was assigned to judge, and I must say it was yet another good story to end off with. As with some of the other books I judged, the first two chapters were used for character development, something I liked very much. The story was paced perfectly, without forcing readers like me to jump into the main plot instantly. I also loved how the first chapter shed light on the girls' typical experiences in school (e.g. the row the girls had with the redhead) that is very realistic and relatable. Despite the pacing, I was slightly puzzled by the characters and their traits. To be frank, they felt somewhat uneven at times, being quiet and meek at first before abruptly transitioning into a much louder and confident person, causing me to confuse the three main girls together at certain points. In addition, I thought that there were a little too many characters, which wouldn't be a problem as long as they remained as minor ones and didn't consistently show up in future chapters. However, this definitely shouldn't be taken as discouragement, as I still found the plot attention-grabbing throughout! The vocabulary used was also varied, and there were barely any grammatical errors. I found the cover to be slightly messy with the uneven spacing between text, but the title was a good choice. Well done!

Thank you to everyone who participated in this category!