Note we had to replace one judge, your books were still judged by two judges.

Results

𝟝. Iguanatopia by lisa_london_ 

Judge adretaRyder 

Engagement 10/20

The story progresses slowly, and there are some paragraphs that contain pieces of information that are irrelevant to the storyline. They're mostly the parts that are meant to be funny, but after finding several littered in the chapters I almost started skimming through to find something that actually mattered. The humor is good for engagement, but only to a certain threshold.

Concept 8/10

The humor in this story makes it a whole lot different from any other pirate stories I've read. Whereas the 'Pirates searching for treasure' storyline is very common, the jokes and the characters are not the usual tropes that always exist in these stories.

Cover 6/10

The images on the cover do match the idea of the story, but the stickers are haphazardly placed and they blot out part of the picture. The title font could also be better.

The book description 5/10

The description is too short and doesn't provide enough information to make me have an interest in the actual story. There are snippets about the characters and the story, but apart from the promise of humor, the description is pretty bland.

Technicalities 40/50

The spellings and the grammar are okay, there are not really errors that are major enough to impede progress through the book. Although, it was only the main character that got any real effort from you in terms of personality. The others are very basic and have almost no depth to them. The humor is the best part of this story though and I think it would've scored higher in that genre. The action theme itself is made to look comical in the story and lacks any real impact or consequence.

Total 69/100

Judge PeterHarvey_Writes 

Engagement 10/20

Concept 9/10

Cover 6/10

The book description 3/10

Technicalities 42/50

Feedback: Whilst the story is funny and rather original in its concept of odd pirates with lots of vegetables (something very rare for actual pirates) it progresses very slowly and appears to have several situations in which statements made do not relate to the next chapter. For example, the Iguana arrived and the captains said that it will take one day to arrive at the Feather Islands however the next chapter says it has been a few days with the iguana yet no reason as to why they are not there yet.
Furthermore, some of the characters do not have much development and appear to rather a plasticine than actual characters that can be molded to fit the apparent role at the particular time. There are a few spelling errors but these do not apprehend the ability to continue reading.

Total 70/100

Total from both judges 139/200

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𝟜. Of Spellbooks and Thieves by TheConfusedTurtle 

Judge adretaRyder 

Engagement 10/20

Unlike the disappointing description, the actual content of the book is quite captivating. There is a lot of mystery, especially around Eira, and reading the book makes me want to keep going so I can know more about her. The other main character Tobias is rather lacking a clear personality and some of his actions do not seem like things he should be doing, at least according to the way he's been set up. Hopefully, this was an intentional contrast between the characters so that they can complement each other's traits later on because as of now, it's an irritating imbalance. It's mostly because of Eira that I am able to read on.

Concept 7/10

The idea of the story is certainly interesting. So far there isn't really anything new, but the backgrounds of the places and characters(those that were given at least) are unique.

Cover 10/10

The cover image, the purple hues, and the font are just perfect. There is nothing more or less to say.

The book description 5/10

The book description is devoid of anything that would make me want to open it. Yes, it mentions the character and a bit of what's inside, but none of the content revealed is really captivating.

Technicalities 35/50

I can tell editing was done because there aren't any grammatical errors to speak of. There isn't a lot of description but only just enough to give a general image of the setting. Dialogue between characters is okay. The issue I have with the book is Tobias. I have a feeling the story would have been quite fine without his involvement, at least for the chapters I've read, and that's a problem. He is the main character, but his actions don't really have an impact on the story. He appears more like the boy that had a book stolen from him so the story could start. His knowledge does help to fill in some blanks, and he is the link to which we meet other characters that happen to be of use to the story.

Total 67/100

Judge PeterHarvey_Writes 

Engagement 15/20

Concept 7/10

Cover 6/10

The book description 7/10

Technicalities 42/50

Feedback: The concept of this story is really interesting so far; a book stolen from someone but with a mysterious feeling about it. What is this book? The mystery presented from this captivates the reader and encourages them to keep reading for we can only presume it is a spellbook but what are the spells? Is it even a spellbook?

The characters are interesting however Tobias is a little bit bland and the only thing I know about his life is that he has a sister (Talia), I would anticipate a greater backstory or hints of the past in the main character than what is currently presented.

Overall, it is very interesting and the mystery element is a very good means of keeping me intrigued enough to continue reading.

Total 77/100

Total from both judges 144/200

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𝟛. Whisper of Blade by MiyaHikari 

Judge adretaRyder 

Engagement 16/20

For one, changing the title of the story definitely improved its outlook. The original one, 'The First Feather Falls' didn't allude to the story in any way. 'Whisper of Blade' connects more to Minerva's assassin persona, and to the dark themes in the story. The book starts out with a chapter from the past, an introduction to characters whose decisions, later on, affect what happens in the present. The next chapter that happens in the present update is to the current state of affairs without really dumping information. The situations Minerva gets into don't seem forced, and the story flows at an okay pace.

Concept 6/10

The idea of a renegade royal isn't really new, especially when coupled with the whole vigilante alter ego. Minerva is by no means a very unique character; the self-righteous killer that also feels remorse and has a conscience is something many writers have attempted. The idea isn't new, but the execution was much better than most.

Cover 8/10

The cover does fit the general dark theme of the story, and it is significantly better than the previous one. A few words on the cover are almost invisible with the background though due to the lack of contrast.

The book description 9/10

The blurb starts out great with a captivating opening statement, which for me would've been enough to make me read the book. We meet the main character, a bit of her story, and the conflict. Not too much information that the content inside is spoiled but just enough to make me want more.

Technicalities 40/50

There are no grammatical errors that I can see, and this just makes everything so easier to read and understand. Conversations are proper, there isn't any awkward dialogue unless it's intentional and the characterization through speech is visible. And then there's these 'Kats,' which do fit in with the fantasy setting but only up to a specific point. Their origins and background aren't clear, and the limits of their abilities are unnamed too. To me, they feel more like plot devices the author is using for exposition by making them literally ask the questions that the reader has. (I mean they can talk). I like the Kats, but they seem more like lazy writing to me.

Total 79/100

Judge PeterHarvey_Writes 

Engagement 17/20

Concept 7/10

Cover 8/10

The book description 8/10

Technicalities 40/50

Feedback: Overall, this story is highly interesting and demonstrates an interesting character. However, I feel as if the worldbuilding behind the world is just an assorted mix of popular fictional worlds patched together with a few elements being spelled differently (for example Tulsday instead of Tuesday and Kat rather than Cat). To improve further I would expect to see a more original world be created with more unique names for things.

Total 80/100

Total from both judges 159/200

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𝟚.The Black Scales Of Spitfyre by lavendareyes 

Judge adretaRyder 

Engagement 15/20

One of the best things about this story is the world that the author has created. I can tell a lot of effort went into planning the setting of the story, navigating through these places through the eyes of the characters is quite interesting.

Concept 6/10

This story does feel like more of fantasy than any other genre, and it would have done better in the fantasy category. The adventure part of it helps, although the setting is not one I haven't seen before. In short, I can predict how this story will go by reading the first few chapters, although the uniqueness of its execution does make it above average.

Cover 10/10

Covers don't get any better than this.

The book description 5/10

The description is more confusing than it is captivating. It's almost as if the author just compiled a list of all events in the story and tried to mash them up into two paragraphs.

Technicalities 40/50

Third person POV was perfectly pulled off by the author, and there are no errors with the tense and grammar. The author actually took their time creating their characters and their storyline, because nothing seems illogical or out of place. Sol does things I would expect him to do, and even his words reflect the kind of character he is expected to be. The world is complex and even has a proper history and background setup. The pace of the story is the only issue I have. Some of the chapters seem to take a drastic step forward through the story, revealing information that is relevant to driving the plot forward, but in a way that could really have been delayed.

Total 76/100

Judge PeterHarvey_Writes 

Engagement 16/20

Concept 9/10

Cover 7/10

The book description 9/10

Technicalities 48/50

Feedback: This is a beautifully written story with only a few minor SPAG errors. The characters and settings are illustrated in such a fashion that it feels very realistic: I calmest feel the climate.

Furthermore, the dragon had been redesigned in a way that is not like the stereotype Smaug dragon (Dragon of Tolkien tales). I am very hooked and cannot wait to see where the rest of the story goes.

Total 89/100

Total from both judges 165/200

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𝟙.Leeward by empiresofwater 

Judge adretaRyder 

Engagement 18/20

Every single chapter that I read in this story kept me on my toes. It is visible that the author knows and understands a lot about ships, which are major devices in the story, which makes it all the more realistic. The action scenes are almost lifelike, and reading them recreates the true image of what a similar battle scene would appear like.

Concept 8/10

Historical fiction is not a genre that most authors would venture into, especially one that would involve a queer character. The story is based on a real-life timeline and event, but it is in every way a tale of its own, and every chapter I read was satisfactory.

Cover 7/10

The image on the cover is good and it fits the idea of the story. The font on the other hand is basic and the title is not large enough.

The book description 10/10

The description of the story is perfect. The suspense and mystery surrounding the events mentioned, especially the Ulysses ship, is captivating. We get to meet some of the main characters, and then the conflict in the story is hinted at too.

Technicalities 42/50

The fact that the author had a prior interest in similar genres and stories, and then went ahead to do their research on the history and on the various vocabulary that would appear in the genre made this book a lot more interesting to read. There are no grammatical errors and no misplaced dialogues, and the action scenes are well spaced and detailed. Captain Hiram is a well-built character, with a personality and actions fitting what would be expected of a person in his position. He is flawed, but not in a way that mocks him but rather makes him more realistic and relatable. The one issue I have is the info dumps that pop up in chapters, which are usually required but could have been disguised better into the flow of the story.

Total 85/100

Judge PeterHarvey_Writes 

Engagement 18/20

Concept 8/10

Cover 8/10

The book description 7/10

Technicalities 46/50

Feedback: This is a brilliant historical fiction novel. It is so gripping and with amazing characters. I feel as if I am there amongst the crew with the descriptions and atmosphere produced.
There are no negative points I can make about this story. I look forward to reading the rest.

Total 87/100

Total from both judges 172/200

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Congratulations to all winners!