So this category was judged by FionaCakes91 and myself. I did the scoring and she helped me with the reviews. She has an eye for the horror and fantasy genre and I wanted her take on the books. She loved all your stories and she thinks all of you deserve higher scores than I gave you guys, but she's just too sweet... Well what do you expect, she has cake as a part of her name. Now to the results.
🍌HONORARY MENTION; Donovan Castle Chronicles: Volume 1: by ColorfulWorldOfMine
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Genre: 4/5: I agree with this score and I see why it lost a point because I felt it leaned a little to the Fantasy genre, but a book can belong to many genres at a time. Diversity is one of the many keys to a book's success.
Title: 2/5: I like the title, but for some reason, Kristoff doesn't think it fits well with the genre, but I disagree, the word Chronicles may be an overused title but it still is a good match for the horror genre.
Blurb: 3/5: This score I agree with. The blurb is informative and gives readers a glimpse of what to expect in the book, but the execution was poor and not so well written. So I think a bit of revamping is needed there.
First Chapter: 5/10: The mention of the thunderstorm gave the story a very strong start. It immediately set the pace and the excitement for me. So I was anticipating what wonders would happen next. But as I continued into the chapter, the intense high in which the beginning gave me started to wear off, the gripping effect was plummeting fast. For me, it was the diary entries. I think they are interesting factors that add to the thrill of the story (now we see where the title of the book comes in), but they could have been incorporated more uniquely. I did learn a few things from the diary entries but maybe keep the two most gripping entries and eliminate the others and fit them in another time. I think this will give the readers time to process one or two thrilling pieces of information at a time. Maybe I would have given you a 6 or 7 though.
Grammar/Punctuation: 16/20: Grammar was not bad at all. Just some mixed tenses here and there, nothing to worry about, nothing a little editing can't fix. Same with the punctuation, but overall you did great.
Spelling/Vocabulary: 18/20: I was impressed, your spelling is excellent. Your vocabulary is also great, just step up in finding better adjectives especially when you are describing something/someone.
Plot: 24/30: Love the plot. It did have some engaging elements and the journal readings are very insightful. But for me, the pacing was a bit too slow. Also, working on world-building is something I should tell myself too. With a paranormal story, this aspect is important, it is what sets your book apart from a regular teenage/young adult read. Put some more imaginative elements so that your readers can be teleported inside the world you create.
