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Hello judges, participants and readers alike!

Today we bring you the judges' reviews for all the books that were registered into the Historical Fiction genre, winners or no!

Please keep in mind that these are the individual judges opinions, and different judges have different review styles and techniques. If you are not satisfied with your review, we unfortunately cannot do anything more, but we are deeply sorry if you feel that way.

A massive thank you to all the judges who put in so much effort to write these reviews, you guys rock!

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The Man, His Rats, and a Flute - XTRIDENTX 

I found the cover to be appropriate for the book and the summary to offer a unique question as to what kind of person the player of the flute really was. Those are both things that draw the reader into the story. The summary could have used some punctuation.The first chapter gives the reader an interesting twist on an age-old story and in doing so also gives us sympathy for the main character. It is a well-written and well thought-out story. I did find grammar and spelling mistakes that could use tended to and distracts the reader.  

Queen of Spies - ClownPrincezOfCrime

The cover is appropriate for the book and the summary peaks the interest of the reader by invoking pity for the main character. The first chapter gives us the background of the protagonist and that helps us understand her plight.The writing is a bit choppy but that can be easily fixed by connecting some of the sentences together for a smoother flow. One note is that there is no need for italicized thoughts as in the first person everything is their thoughts or view. There were some minor typos and punctuation errors. This is an interesting story that moves along at a good pace.  

King Santiago - hridiv

The cover goes well with the story of the book. While the summary gives a basic idea of the book, more information could draw readers to the story. The first chapter is very short and ends abruptly. There were some run-on sentences and punctuation errors. Though the idea is sound, the story is very short and could be expanded.

The Apothecary's Daughter - tea-and-a-book

The cover is very simple, and it fits the historical theme perfectly. The contrast of the background and the book cover bothers me though.

The summary is short, very short actually. It doesn't really draws in the attention of the readers. The last line is probably the only line that will pull in the reader.

The first chapter slowly ease the reader into the world of the book, followed by the protagonist's mundane lifestyle. I really love how the author makes the characters follow the speech of historical fictions. Though, there isn't that factor that really pushes the reader on to read further. The setting is done nicely though, really nicely.

Honestly, I don't see any mistakes at all, or probably there are but I didn't spot them. I only have issue with the paragraphing, where some paragraphs are too long.

Also, commas should be used more to separate the sentence, so it causes less confusion when reading the sentences with pauses in it.

Descriptions are easy to follow and comprehend. Though, it is very basic and doesn't describe much of the environment.

Sometimes, the conversation becomes too long-winded that I am unable to tell who is the one speaking. It becomes too confusing.

The characters are consistent throughout the story. I can empathize and relate to their feelings, they feel very human and real to me.

However, from what I've read so far, there isn't much character development taking place. It is more of, the author showing more of the traits of the character, allowing us to know them better.

The plot is pretty generic, it moves slowly and smoothly, a little too slow in fact. Some chapters feels like fillers, but it helps the readers to know more about the setting of the book, and the character, so it's fine.

Milan - shuramilan

The cover is decent, it's plain and simple, the contrast is nice. The blurry effect is the one that makes me a little dizzy, but that's just me, haha. I can't really see the person clearly in the book cover, not sure if that's intentional or not.

The summary is short and concise, and it speaks about the plot within those few words. However, it doesn't have that 'pull' to make the readers want to click that 'read' button.

It's great, really great. Didn't spot any mistakes or whatsoever, and the cliffhanger at the first part of the first chapter is very well done. It made me want to read on further very badly. However, the way the story plot moves is too slow for my liking.

Fantastic, I couldn't find any mistakes in the grammar and punctuation. I also like how every start of the chapter, the first word is bold and in italics. It's like I'm reading an actual book, haha.

There are a few mistakes when I read on further, but I'm sure it was because the author was simply too tired while writing the chapter. I also have a small issue with how some sentences starts with the word 'but', it's a connecting word and not meant to be used as a word to start the sentence. However, if it's your style of writing, don't let me stop you!

The characters in here are as real as they can get. They are perfectly imperfect humans, and as the story goes on, we get to see more of them. What do they do in this particular situation, and how they react.

The author is really making the readers love the characters. It's really awesome.

The plot although simple, and talks about the realistic aspects of life, it is still very engaging to read about. Some parts of the book, the plot progresses very slowly, while other parts of the book, it progresses very quickly, it pulls me in without knowing.

It's my first time reading about urban fiction, and I have to say, I've taken a liking to it because of this book. Thank you for writing such a wonderful book.

Rudra - DiyaMahe

- descriptions are confusing to understand, and they are very minimal.

- the world setting isn't properly explained to the readers, seems to be based off a Hindu movie.

- sentence structure is strange at times.

- too much jargons and words spoken in Hindu that are not translated.

- the story is too fast-paced to allow character development

- many inconsistencies of characters in the book.

- plot and characters aren't particularly unique.

The Duke's Bidding - KianaBerkman 

Although the first chapter was written well, kids hiding a pulling pranks, although the last was well deserved, didn't really draw me in as much as I'd hoped.

However, we skip ahead several years, the kid now a man, and things get interesting. He seems shady at first, but the more I read, the more depth his character revealed. He certainly has good friends, deplorable enemies, a tough relationship with his father, and through the other characters, we see his playboy attitude might be partly an act. Nice shift.

Some of the lines were a bit stiff, but it didn't take away that much, especially since a lot of the descriptions were good and the characters relationships and circumstances were intriguing. The other characters added so much. Grief, laughter, camaraderie, love, problems, arguments, and much more. This was definitely a good read.

The Purple Pearl - katielou17656

 I like that this started in the present, then jumps to the past, the MC suddenly finding herself in the 16th century. The way the author uses the character's ancestors, putting her in their family, in the 'shoes' of the young ancestor she was named for, was well done. And being a history major, it all worked, helping her fit in.

There were a few errors throughout that did detract a bit, and I would've loved more depth and descriptions. Everything was very straightforward, easy to understand, but a little more 'showing' and less 'telling' would've given the story more life.

I like that the MC's inner monologue is in our current jargon. It's a great contrast to all the 16th century dialogue. The plot was definitely the highlight, putting a 21st century character in the past who has to hope she doesn't change things or find herself without a head (King Henry VIII is in here). The fact that she finds a home here, with a family who loves her (she only had her mother in the 21st century and it was a strained relationship) is really heartwarming. Seeing history in a new light, fictional or not, is always great.

Juliet - ForeverAnon

Romeo and Juliet is such a staple classic. This great twist, Juliet not able to take her own life and join Romeo, was really interesting.

There were a number of grammatical errors, tense shifts, and mispellings that, unfortunately, did take away from the read.

That being said, Juliet's journey to get revenge on her and Romeo's family, isn't well planned and leads her to the clutches of a dangerous man who claims he can help her- for a price. But perhaps the most intriguing aspect is that the families start plotting against one another, unwilling to let the feud go.