Sunflower Awards 4.0

Fantasy Results

Sorry for the delay, but the Fantasy results are now ready! Without further ado, here they are! Thank you, AStridGSmile12, for your hard work on these awards. Contestants, please check out their shout-out chapter—it has their username in the chapter title—if you haven't done so already. They deserve some appreciation :).

If you did not win, meaning you are not in this chapter, we will PM you ASAP with your results. If you do not receive your results, you were probably disqualified, but give us some time to send the results.

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Genre Results

🌻Third Place🌻

Username - CroodsGirl
Book Title - The Green Guardian
Score - 95/100
Review -

I love the title and the fact that it's a dedication. Plus, the author takes her time explaining it in her blurb. The cover sometimes changes, but I love that the author depicts the story's main protagonist every time the author changes it. The art of the green Fae is always beautiful. The blurb- I feel the blurb is a little loose. Talk about the Green Guardian, the little boy, and basilisk together. Then move on to the other characters and the prophecy. I believe you could also start with the prophecy and introduce everything else after. I only suggest this because you talk about the Green Guardian and the boy- but why were the two in trouble in the first place? It was because of the basilisk, right. Then Matt comes in for camp and bumps into Evie, and both stumble upon an adventure. Meeting friends along the way to saving Pinta Country. Writing the blurb in chronological events like in the story is easy to read and sells the work better.

The originality is amazing. From the modern medieval elements to the magic to the fact that the Green Guardian is the forest's protector. The characters all hold their own uniqueness, making them unforgettable, but the pace of their growth is up in the air for now. I am confident, however, that their growth won't be rushed. The plot is the same. It's setting up the events leading to the rescue of Euphorbia and Sam, but the author is making sure to give each character their own space within the story while world-building around her characters. This makes a rich plot, which is always brilliantly entertaining. I would say that the style/voice is too youthful for my taste. My first choice had more maturity, and I resonated with that more. Still, this was an excellent read.  

🌻Second Place🌻

Username - ShyGuySamurai
Book Title - The Storm We Start
Score - 97/100
Review -

The title is tied to the blurb, and the author does forecast the oncoming peril the team will face in future very well. As for the cover, I believe it is ascetically pleasing and professional-looking. Still, I suggest either brightening the background or the spellbook because everything somewhat blends together. This work's blurb is informative and leaves a bit to the imagination of the readers, which I like since I hate spoilers.

It is an original story, but I took a point away for using themes that others have used in the past. In this competition alone, at least one other person used dragons or 'dragonkind' in their work. Everything had correct spelling and grammar. A big plus is that the author did not use any over-embellished words that could cause any confusion.

Its characters are memorable. Darin is the wizard, the Dad, teacher, and loyal friend to all. Argent is the dragon and the potentially dangerous figure who can bring about great change in the future. Iver is the level-headed and courteous Elf, and his counterpart Noc is the stoic and rather arrogant friend who's good with a sword.

As for the plot, I have little to no beef to say about it so far. I only took a point away from it because I believe this work requires a prologue. I get that dragonkind is targeted and that things are simmering down after a war, and I can understand that even though the war is over, there's still somehow the looming shadow of destruction in the air. It's just I don't know why they were targeted in the first place, and not knowing is making questions arise, which causes me some anxiousness, which causes me to be a bit impatient. If I knew the background of the dragonkind and war before getting to know anyone, it would help me stay focused on the main story.

I enjoyed reading this tale because it gave me such a tight knitted story. It gave me adventure, mystery, and magic. The author took time to figure out the sources of his character's magic and origins, and his world-building is thoroughly worked through, which helps set him apart from other choices. Its voice is posed and expertly laced with tension hooking me straight away. I will surely finish this novel. 

🌻First Place🌻

Username - Vakhaha
Book Title - A Fairytale in the Making
Score - 99/100
Review -

The title is as the author explains in the blurb, a play on the fact that both protagonists may (like in fairytales) end up together. Also, she plays with fairytales, masterfully recrafting and reinventing many classical tales along with some not so classic ones. The cover is charming, but I keep thinking I should suggest reinventing it to reflect the protagonist or a pivotal scene from the story itself. As I said, it's charming, so it's not something that has to be done. I suggest working on the blurb because a few things are incorrect grammatically. The semicolon, in this instance, doesn't stand for what you think. You could use a [-] or start a whole new sentence to make you contrasting points. Also, in the fifth line, you have a repeated word of [the].

The originality is off the charts. Some would say the author is just taking something that already exists and making it her own, and so really, how original is that? But I'm telling you that she does more than that. She brings the known and the brainpower to make it something new is so professional that it is a shame she has so little votes to reflect all her effort. Her grammar and spelling are perfect; I understood everything, and nothing was missing. Character development was there because mainly the first five chapters have to do with the female lead, Isolde. She goes from a simple flower seller who hardly takes chances to an individual who sets out for an adventure, which is substantial growth for sure. As for the supporting characters, I say they all had their personalities and were not forgettable. The author did well with her crafting every character.

The plot starts with a calling, and in fantasy, 'the calling' is the most important of the story. We are given Isolde's background, and mixed with the 'call,' I feel that I can confidently say the author paced her story well, and it's woven tightly. In others, she uses the right word choice, the right sentence length, the right paragraph format, and doesn't sacrifice details while hitting every element a work of fiction needs to have for an entertaining read. The entire tone is laced with the youthful fear of the unknown that helps outline the hope that each of us feels daily- the hope that our future will turn out better than we could imagine.

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Congratulations to all of the winners! You will receive your prizes once the awards are over. :)