And here we finally are. 10 books left – 6 of which will be cut today – leaving us with 4 semifinalists! And at this point in time, the numbers are so close, even we can’t say for sure which of those will make it…
But for now, let’s say goodbye to this last batch.
As always, let me preface this with the fact that all reading is subjective. So, what we didn’t like might be someone else’s favourite book, and if what you read here sounds like something you’d enjoy, please check them out!
Even if we are a bit critical, these books are already in the upper half of our batch, so worth a look, cut or no!
Thank you very much to all the authors who entered, we know it is tough to get judged like this, and we definitely appreciate the courage to put your work forward to a contest!
If you have no idea what we’re talking about, you can read more about the contest here.
Moonshadow’s Guardian by Dianna Gunn
All Riana has ever wanted is freedom. Unfortunately, that’s the one thing her kind cannot have.
Bound by the curse in her demonic blood for millennia, Riana has tried several times to bend the rules and live out her life in the mortal realm. Now her consistent rule breaking has drawn the attention of Loki, God of Mischief, the main tormentor of Riana’s kind. But instead of punishing her, he offers her the escape she has always desired. All she has to do to is save the kingdom of Moonshadow from a mysterious magical plague.
Armed only with the inherent power of her own blood and Loki’s pet dragon, Riana is determined to fight for the right to create her own destiny.
However, when her mission forces her to destroy the last remnants of an ancient culture, Riana must ask – what is freedom really worth?
Moonshadow’s Guardian is a tale about the meaning of belonging, and the struggle to create a future not defined by your past.
Our Thoughts:
Patrick: I’d describe this as readable without ever really clicking. My main criticism is that it felt like we were being rushed through a lot of stuff without much explanation. I kept checking to see whether it was a sequel, but it wasn’t. There was an awful lot of “stuff” thrown in, but none of it was really ever properly set up and didn’t feel logically linked to other things in the book. It never came together as a coherent whole. It falls in the category of “all right but not great either” that quite a few of the books in our batch seemed to fall into.
Julia: This one has quite some flaws. I noticed them while reading, but somehow I still enjoyed the story a lot!
At times it feels like you missed a book, with things just being thrown in, but it wasn’t so complex that I minded it much. Just had a few “Hu?” moments.
It feels more like different scenes and bits put together than one smooth storyline. The world building also feels a bit mix and match instead of a cohesive mass.
There’s some consistency issues along the way.
However, even noticing all these, the tone and voice just pulled me in, and I kept reading on. I simply enjoyed the characters, and so was happily sauntering along with them.
Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Was it any enjoyable read? Absolutely yes!
Kerry: Moonshadow’s Guardian was okay, it had an intriguing premise and whilst it was a relatively interesting plot, I agree with Patrick when he says it never came together coherently. Some of the things that were irritated me:
I’m still at a loss regarding the how and why the Vonstones turn into vampires. I assumed they all did when they died but that’s not the case and who turns them into vampires?
PET PEEVE: Using a God that humans believed in; in this case, Loki (it always seems to be Loki whenever a god of mischief is needed) when there is a completely made up Pantheon, and there is no mention of any other Gods that humans believed in. Surely the author could make up their own God of mischief.
The Dragon that Loki created for Rihanna “This creature didn’t even have wings.“ Few pages later “A massive leather belt appeared around Rolf’s body, fastening itself directly behind the joints of his wings.”
Spark of the Divine by Louise Holland
How far would you go to save your god?
As a Divine, Mae wields her strange gifts quietly as a mercenary—until a simple rescue job has her crew uncover a plot to steal divinity from the gods. When the god Mae serves is attacked, she must restore their power before the seven realms are thrown into chaos.
Originally inspired by a years-long Dungeons and Dragons campaign; and the first instalment in fantasy series The Kalaraak Chronicles, SPARK OF THE DIVINE follows a group of reluctant heroes on a quest to save a god while the fate of all divinity hangs in the balance. Will they each find what they desperately seek, or will the secrets they keep from one another be their undoing? Can they master their fears to defeat an evil their world has never seen?
Is it the strength of the god that matters, or the belief of the Divine?
Our Thoughts:
Adawia: I’m struggling a little to get into this one. After reading roughly 20%, I’ve decided to put it aside. The plot and characters are enjoyable so far, but a number of odd word choices, and some awkward phrasing are keeping me from becoming properly immersed in the story.
Kerry: Spark of the Divine is Holland’s debut book and is loosely based on a D & D game her husband invented. Whilst the world building and characters are derived from the book, the story is Holland’s own invention.
Coming from an established D & D game, we get a deep well thought out world, with different realms as well as completely realised characters along with their back stories, their quirks, as well as their good and bad habits. Holland introduces her characters well and without info dumps, we get to know most of them over a period of time and at the right time. A couple of characters do remain mysterious but that’s for good reason story wise.
The backstory to everything is that the Gods were free and they had people called divines who would be the voice and physical embodiment of their God. Somehow a False God emerged and imprisoned the majority of the other Gods. Vry’iin ruled for millennia until some Gods escaped from the prison. Even with their God imprisoned, the divines could still use the essence of their God to perform powerful acts.
Basically we have a mercenary group made up of Lessie, a young girl who is an excellent shot with a gun and revenge in her heart, Mae who is a Shapeshifter and a divine, Vandarak a swordsman who has been trained from childhood by the God Haropeth to find Vry’iin and kill him, this means he can be move between realms of the world, Reevan, a rat like being who is a brilliant swordman and Grundle a silent Goblin. We meet them when they are about to rescue the kidnapped son of a very important noble. They manage the job and get the young man home, but end up staying the night as a few things about the kidnapping don’t add up. That evening a green light streaks through the sky which means a god has escaped the prison. Our group go off to investigate but when they get there they discover that others have got there before them, not “to meet a God. These people came to destroy one”. These protagonists lose the fight but unfortunately they have managed to drain off a lot of her essence, another bad thing is that Mae has only a spark remaining of her Goddess’s power and can’t risk changing shape or healing.
Unwittingly they discover a new evil God has been found and God’s, divines and humans are being fed to it, to make it as powerful (or if not more) to take on all other Gods and rule the world. Mae discovers that she can get her power back and maybe free The Mother, but the way to find her Goddess is through to a realm that only Vandarak can make a gateway to, she convinces him, against his better judgement to take her and Lessie to. This realm. Meanwhile the others are doing all they can on the World plane to stop the threat of the God and his followers.
This book certainly kept me engaged and entertained; as I said at the start, the world, the Pantheons and their Divine, as well as the characters are extremely well developed and it makes for an easy but exciting read. However; I did find the book particularly predictable in parts; the slightly evident D&D aspects and most annoying for me personally was when it came to the romantic couplings. Lessie and Camden have that enemies to Lovers vibe going on – even if it doesn’t quite get there in this novel. More annoying were Mae and Vandarak, they’d been travelling and fighting together for years and everyone could see they loved each other, other than themselves of course. The will he, will she drove me nuts and I was yelling in my head “just jump each other’s bones – PLEASE!! Thankfully they do and it’s off the page.
The ending was quite thrilling, and in one part well executed (looking at you there Reevan) but there were twists that were painfully obvious. It didn’t really ruin the ending for me and I really enjoyed the bittersweet HEA
Patrick: This started fairly strong for me. It’s clearly very D&D influenced, but with enough originality that you don’t just feel you’re reading someone’s game put down on paper. Unfortunately, as it went on, I started to lose interest. The writing is decent, but almost everything is very surface level. The author misses the opportunity to do more with scenes, and as a result, it takes a long time for things to develop. The point of view tends to drift as well, and we’re never very deep inside character’s heads. This is a personal preference, obviously, but I do tend to prefer being much closer to characters’ thoughts. The enemies-to-almost-lovers thread was too by-numbers and predictable for me, and they only seemed to be arguing so that they could have the arc. This is an enjoyable read if you’re looking for a D&D fantasy with some original ideas but which doesn’t demand too much of you as a reader.
Julia: I really enjoyed the worldbuilding at the characters in this one, but the overall plot didn’t fully manage to hook me as much as I would have wished.
I have a super hard time pointing out what exactly was missing, but I just didn’t care enough about what would happen, and even just a wekk after finishing it, I am having a hard time rememberig the plot. The characters, and some scenes are still very vivid, so those parts did work well, but the overall story just didn’t pull together well enough for me.
The romance was way too predictable. and didn’t feel organic, but then, romance is never my favourite part in a book, so I didn’t mind that.
Still an enjoyable read I finished, but sadly not one that left a lasting impression.
Hallowed by Y. R. Liu
Avenel was once a fabled assassin known as the Blade of Elyria. Ever tight-lipped about her past, she retired from a life of death to wander the world alone. Deena is a sheltered teenage girl unaware of her extraordinary heritage. Raised alone by her mother, she has never been far from home.
Their paths cross in Deena’s secluded village, when tragedy obliterates Deena’s home and leaves her orphaned. The two begin a journey across the continent, bound together by Avenel’s promise to keep Deena safe. They encounter allies, both new and a biological father, a bastard prince and his friends, estranged family, and a physician who claims to be a member of a long-dead race. Each has regrets and painful memories of their own, memories that Deena soon discovers she can relive through dreams.
When a prophesied sign of the end of the world appears, their journey becomes about more than just the fate of a single girl, and the secrets between them may be enough to save the world — or end it.
Our Thoughts:
Julia: In my eyes, this shows a lot of promise!
While there are plenty of tropes, and quite some flaws, the overall tone and voice kept me well entertained all the way through. And that’s over 500 pages, so saying something!
I enjoyed the main character. A somewhat naive girl who is definitely more passive and following along than having agency is usually not my type, but it was organically written and really fit her backstory. She is quite brave, and for once we have a young heroine, who does not have a love interest!
The side characters were a bit stereotypical, with the cold hearted assassin and so on, but there were a few nice surprises! Like a prince who is actually kind, and aman on power who is definitely on the spectrum. He’s not a major character, but I enjoyed reading about someone who needs a clear rhythm to their day!
This book could have been quite a bit shorter, if you took out detailed descriptions of people who are only minor aide characters and such, and could be amazing if you instead added a bit more depth to characters and world building.
But even as is, this is a very enjoyable read that I breezed through in no time at all! While some bits are pretty predictable, it did catch me by surprise a few times, which is rather rare these days!
Even more impressive, seeing the author only has two books listed so far.
Patrick: A slow start develops into a competently-written traditional fantasy. The main problems are that there is absolutely nothing new in this story—it’s all been done before, and better—and that it never really grabs. Recommended for people who want an easy, familiar trad fantasy.
Kerry: I have to agree with Patrick when he says “done before, and better”. Enjoyable enough that I read 100% but nothing spectacular enough to be a finalist.
Calvin: I don’t know if I have much to add beyond what has already been said. I enjoy traditional fantasy, particularly coming of age stories, and so I enjoyed this one. There were a few nice turns here and there, and I liked not only the MC but several of the side characters. However, as others have said, there is a lot here that we’ve seen before and the lack of originality means this isn’t a novel for everyone. If you enjoy coming of age YA fantasy, then you are likely to enjoy this one!
Adawia: I struggled to get into this book and decided to leave off at around 20%. The story is interesting enough but i feel the telling of it kind of wavers between being bogged down in minutiae or almost glossing over important events.
I think my main issue is that the writing doesn’t really flow nicely, the prose isn’t smooth and I just didn’t connect with any of the characters – not even the dialogue helped me see them as emotional beings. The main character is 16/17 years old but often acts and is treated as though she were 12.
“There was a strange, blubbery sound, and it was a moment before Deena realized that she was crying.” This is a couple chapters after a major catastrophe in Deena’s (the main character) life, which I don’t feel was dealt with adequately. There are some interesting aspects to this story, but overall it just doesn’t resonate with me
The Book of One by Adam Gaffen
In the heart of 10th Century Rome, where corruption thrives and dark forces play their wicked games, Kalili, a six-thousand-year-old demon, is handed a deceptively simple task: seduce a teenage boy named Octavianus, who possesses the potential to ascend to the papacy. But her world unravels when she discovers that an inexperienced angel named Faith has been sent to execute her, an unprecedented twist of fate that thrusts them into a battle they never anticipated. Fueled by their unusual connection and undeniable attraction, Kalili and Faith must navigate a treacherous path, their lives hanging in the balance as they uncover the shocking truth that they are the last Thirteens, destined to settle the age-old contest between good and evil. With Heaven and Hell both seeking their destruction, they must harness newfound powers, evade sinister adversaries, and unravel secrets that could alter the very fabric of existence. The consequences of their choices may change the course of history, as they embark on an epic journey in a gripping tale of love, destiny, and the ultimate battle between light and darkness. This is the beginning of a mesmerizing saga filled with unexpected alliances and discoveries, propelling them toward an uncertain and perilous future.
Our Thoughts:
Kerry: If it wasn’t for all the on page sex-scenes I’d have enjoyed this so much more. An experienced demon falls in love/lust for a naive angel in Ancient Rome with excellent back stories about Hell, Heaven, Creation Myth, the Asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, Archangel and Demons all written very tongue in cheek.
Patrick: This was one of the better-written books in our batch. It has a lot of energy, vivid characters, and a tongue-in-cheek tone. A demon and an angel come into conflict in 10th century Rome, but rather than killing each other, they fall in love. The story is told by the demon, Kalili, from her perspective in modern times, and the author (through the character) makes the decision to tell the story using modern day language, rather than trying to put on a faux historical tone. I think this was a good choice for this book, because it allowed the voice of the characters to be much more dynamic, which really is the only way to do it for this type of over-the-top story. The downside is that it does lose the strong sense of historical place, and I never really felt like it was happening in any particular time period.
There is a lot of on-page sex in this book, and that will undoubtedly put off quite a few fantasy readers, but if that’s not a problem for you, there’s a lot to enjoy in The Book of One. Personally, I enjoyed the book most when it was focused on the relationship of the characters, them falling in love, and trying to figure out why. I did lose a bit of interest when the ‘bigger’ story was introduced in the last quarter of the book. The stakes became more abstract and less personal. For me, the story became a little anticlimactic. It’s the first in a series, and it doesn’t really tie up the things brought up in book one. Book two is available, but I would have preferred a stronger conclusion to the first book. I thought this was probably strong enough to have been a semifinalist, but the combination of the humorous tone and the on-page sex means that it probably will not appeal widely enough.
Adawia: I really didn’t get along with this book – the plot, such as it was, and characters just felt a little shallow. It’s like the author was trying to write something funny and witty, but kept falling short. I continued reading hoping something interesting would happen, and about two thirds in there was the hint of a plot forming, a twist in the tale, but I just wasn’t interested or invested enough to continue.
Julia: I liked the idea behind this, and the world building, but sadly the book itself didn’t work for me at all.
What Patrick liked – the modern voice for a book set in the past – completely destroyed my immersion, and we all know that a book about falling in love and with plenty of on page spice is not my favourite fare, outside of a few very rare exeptions. This is not one of those, and I simply didn’t care about the characters, or the story.
If The Walls Fall by K. Malady
Bookish seventeen year old Grace would rather read romances than fight evil, but when a fantasy world claims she’s their prophesied savior, she embarks on the journey of a lifetime to prove they’re wrong.
If you live life like you’re in a romance novel, ending up in a fantasy saga would surprise anyone. For serial romantic and reader Grace, she’s less surprised and more disbelieving. When she arrives in the Kingdom of Dalner, she assumes it’s all a dream. After all, Dalner is a world full of magic and attentive love interests, something no rational seventeen year old could believe is real.
Even more improbable are the hints that Grace was brought to save the Kingdom from their northern enemies, magical immortals like the mysterious Woman, who seek to tear down the walls caging them in. But as a non-magical human with no special powers (unless turning every situation into a romantic plot counts), Grace can barely keep herself alive, much less harness the skills needed to save the world.
While Grace struggles to prove she’s not the girl they’re looking for, outside forces drag her towards a deadly conclusion, one that may cost more than just her new friendships. To escape the evils threatening to destroy the Kingdom and protect her first love, she must confront her own definition of heroism and discover her inner power before it’s too late.
Content warnings: some violence, attempted (unsuccessful) assault, age appropriate sexual content.
Our Thoughts:
Patrick: I thought this started well with an interesting character in a dramatic situation. However, it kind of lost its appeal for me when she found herself in the fantasy land. The fantasy land was bland. The four guys she fell in with, particularly the love interest, were, I think, supposed to be charming and funny, but I just found them irritating. And she became very one-dimensional. I stopped reading.
Calvin: This one wasn’t for me. While the opening was interesting, the overall worldbuilding was lack-lustre and side characters were either bland or irritating. Overall I found the book to lack the depth of character and setting that normally draw me into the story.
Julia: If the Walls Fall by K. Malady is not my personal cup of tea.
I’d put it on the YA shelf, due to its prose and story, but the spice level in some bits is more New Adult. The MC is a young woman who definitely wants to satisfy her hormones, and there’s plenty of talk about condoms and her favourite spicy scenes from books all the way through the book.
This was the main problem for me, the whole story felt too easy and predictable. The voice and tone was fine enough for me to finish the book, but the big reveals and fight scenes just fell really flat. Either I saw it coming from miles away, or it felt like a hyped up moment was just handled within two paragraphs.
I did not enjoy the typical “girl who is not special, but has to decide between two boys” trope. The romance in itself felt a bit half baked to me, and I’m not even a romance reader. It just didn’t really feel organic.
I did like how the main character didn’t turn into a perfect fighter within two minutes, but actually stayed herself throughout the book.
All in all an entertaining book, I don’t regret reading, but with too many flaws and inconsistencies.
Kerry: Read 20% – I know all the Male characters were described but they all seemed to meld into 1 character with different facets. The MC’s idea that she was in a dream went on for what seemed a ludicrous amount of time. I wasn’t invested in any way to carry on.
Adawia: I read 20% and couldn’t get into it. The pacing and flow just don’t feel right – things drag out, then a sudden event is over in a flash and not really dealt with appropriately. The four male characters feel like typical reverse harem caricatures and I just didn’t believe any of them, nor the young female main character. I just couldn’t get on board for this ride.
The White Mask Society by A.M. Colwell
When Yara Rivers has a vision of her capture by a mad scientist, she tries to discover if her future is set in stone or if she has control over her own destiny. Alongside her three Guardians, including a nymph and a shape shifter, her life changes from that of a simple girl trying to make it through her last year of high school to a seer fighting for her life.
Our Thoughts:
Kerry: Yara Rivers just wants to finish High School (she’s an introvert, hates her space being invaded and is not good socialising with other students), find out what’s causing her debilitating headaches and why she’s having visions of herself being fought over by 2 different groups of shadow men.
Erik, Robin and Carter are Guardians in the service of The White Mask Society. Secretly they watch over Yara as unbeknownst to her she is a Hydran; or someone who has visions of the future. The White Mask Society has been around for decades, with branches worldwide keeping an eye on anyone that has some type of “deviant” power – mind reading, shapeshifting, healing etc etc. Though deviant was originally used as a derogatory term, the people with powers have adopted the term and turned it around and call themselves that word with pride. Guardians are necessary as people often are attacked due to fear and hate of things or people they dont understand but in this story deviants are being kidnapped by a man named Kain who has a nefarious agenda for himself.
This may be Yara’s story but we see everything unfold not just through her but through the eyes of her guardians as well. Each of Colwell’s characters are distinct and fully realised and this helps the story run extremely smoothly.
Colwell also writes Carter, a gender fluid shapeshifter (because they’re often changing their gender depending on whatever gender their ward feels comfortable with, shapeshifters tend to be non binary, gender fluid in this book) extremely well. When Yara finds herself misgendering them on the first few occasions, Colwell writes this as the perfectly relatable experience it is for a number of people (working at a Gender Minorities organisation myself it is something I often see happen). I loved how Yara takes her experience on board and learns from it and then becomes comfortable in using correct pronouns and even asking other shapeshifters what pronouns they prefer.
The White Mask Society really is its own society within ours. It has all the hierarchy, the politics, rules and regulations, even schools and employment but it is not infallible. Too many deviants are getting kidnapped and due to Yara keeping quiet because she’ll expose helf as a rule breaker she too falls into Kain’s hands.
This book is a decently written YA book. I enjoyed the majority of it though there were times the decisions made by some characters had me shaking my head – though of course if the story wouldn’t have progressed the way it did. The escape near the end was a tad overlong and at times I felt I was watching the end of an action packed movie. (I also liked that it wasn’t a completely HEA)
Patrick: To me, this is another book that felt rushed, as though the author was bored with what they were writing and just wanted to get through it. Of all the characters, Yara was the only one I was interested in, and honestly I didn’t care that much about her. Much of the way the characters reacted seemed more for the benefit of the plot than because it made sense. It’s a light, unchallenging read that doesn’t really offer much. Readable, but that’s as far as it goes for me.
Julia: While I really enjoyed little bits like the headaches and the gender fluidity being well written, overall this story just didn’t grab me.
Some bits just felt weird, like the guardians all just using their first name innital as a name – I mean the alphabet only has 26 letters, I expect a lot of double ups over time – or how people react to things.
I didn’t really care for the characters, or the story, so this sadly wasn’t for me.
So, what books does that leave us with?
Expect reviews coming up for:
The Forest at the Heart of Her Mage: A Sapphic Fantasy Romance by Hiyodori
The First Scars by Ivor K. Hill
Beyond the Burning Sea by T.B. Schmid & R.Wade Hodges
Throne in the Dark by A. K. Caggiano
