The 2019 Talent Awards | ✔️

mystery/thriller winners

please pm jells_ your email for your stickers! please give a huge thank you to our judges! without them, these awards would not be possible.

judges:

lifedeep
Cxptured_heart
CleverDreams
NightsOfSummer

winners:

in first place is what she left behind by neurotick with a score of 58/60!

review:

What She Left Behind is a thrilling mystery that was carefully thought out and well written. The main character Gemma, as well as each side character, were so realistic. Each had specific emotions and thoughts that were well executed in the author's excellent writing. The plot was so rich that it had me guessing the entire time. Other than the occasional grammatical error, this story is as close to perfection as it's going to get. Very well done. ~ cleverdreams

in second place is paint me a murder by anime_kitty with a score of 56/60!

review:

This was a book that really caught my eye the moment that I read the blurb. I have never really read books about addiction, so this was a nice change of pace for me. The story took me through a lot of highs and lows. It was able to deliver the message with blinding clarity and was highly realistic. I wasn't able to read it through its very end, but I promise to do so ones the schedule clears up. Thank you for this wonderful story! I can see that you really put so much effort into the writing of this story. ~ Cxptured_heart

in third place is call of a serial killer by majamishae with a score of 55/60!

review:

Many books about serial killers these days tend to romanticise the tale. This story had none of that and instead focused on the victim and his struggles and team dedicated to finding the victims. The mystery and the buildup of suspense is extremely effective. I was able to read the story from the beginning to the last update. Granted, it only has six (?) chapters so far. I would like it if the author updates since I realised that the last update was in July. I hope your daughter gets well soon. We would like to have her back in good health and for the tale to be updated again. ~ Cxptured_heart

honorable mention (simply bc this was read by two judges who both loved it):

raven complex by lifedeep

review:

First of all, your title is amazing. It's the kind of title that grabs your attention and sounds mysterious and cool enough. Your cover represents the style of the story really well, but I didn't like it a lot overall. It seems a bit simplistic. I don't really have a lot to say about your summary right now, as I wanted to come back to it later. You'll see ;).

Okay, so further on with the plot! It's a really interesting storyline, one that can keep you easily hooked until the end of the story, and the way you executed it really worked! Your first chapter immediately has this air of suspense - you don't keep the reader waiting. I really like that about your story. It is fast-paced - maybe a bit too fast. That was the one thing I had an issue with. For me, the whole finding-of-the-body thing was a bit quick. Sure, your characters were shocked, but they still seemed to react a bit cool to it. They just moved on to the one house. Working that out a bit more could really add to your story!

The one thing I absolutely LOVED about your story was the characters. From the very first line, I got an idea of how they were, what their personalities were, etc. You got me liking them from the first chapter, which very rarely occurs with me, so congrats! At first, I thought your main character was a bit annoying, but very soon I got this feeling like he was kind of faking it all and was actually not very happy? Correct me if I'm wrong, though, but this feeling is something I often get with real-life people. It just hit me all of a sudden that the fact that I even was thinking about how they felt and what the hidden meanings were in their words meant that your characters were incredibly realistic. The one thing I wanted to say about your summary: it gives off big great-character-arc-alert vibes. Your main characters felt in the first chapters a bit irresponsible, and while reading the summary and thinking of him undertaking this 'mission', I know he is going to get a lot more responsible. I hope he doesn't get all serious and boring, though ;). Your writing overall was okay, but here and there I found some grammatical and punctuational errors. I had to read some sentences twice because they were difficult to read and seemed a bit blocky, but that was not a big issue overall.

One thing I wanted to address was my feeling that no one in this book was straight, and I absolutely loved it. I've read more LGBTQ+-books that have the same concept, but very often I've had the feeling that the author was trying too hard to force gay relationships into the story. Yours felt really natural! One more thing. Thank. You. For. Ace/aro. Representation. I can't remember a book I've read, Wattpad or not, that had a main character that was asexual. Maybe I've been reading the wrong books if this little thing makes me so happy, but yeah. And honestly, Fiona is a huge mood.

Keep up the good work! If you've got any questions, feel free to ask. ~ NightsOfSummer

congrats to all the winners! other reviews will be put into a separate book later on! :)