Congratulations to the winners!

My hands are tired, man. Over 5k words worth of notes for these stories. If this is how every category is, I will have written 50k words by the end of judging 😭😭😭

I just want to point out this book has been out a lil over a week and we already announced the Jungkook winners. That's how fast the JK category filled up. Two days, guys.

It filled up in two days.

Before you check the winners:

Remember, whether you won or not doesn't change that I will help you improve. I don't give harsh feedback, only suggestions to help you improve while also pointing out what I liked so you know to keep doing that. Balanced feedback is my goal, not harsh feedback.

Message me if you have any questions!

The Jungkook Showdown will commence shortly after this is published, so if you didn't win this time around, feel free to check the Showdown so you can have another chance!

3rd Place

Silent Whispers by deewiwi

Really awesome concept with strong writing and an interesting protagonist.

My thoughts while judging:

*I took these notes while reading so some thoughts may be messy*

Characters: 9/10. Intriguing so far! The character dynamics are well-written, their dialogue is realistic, and every character has a distinct personality.

Plot: 10/10. Super intriguing. Love the foreshadowing/dramatic irony in the first chapter. It's a very creative plot that kept me on my toes.

Worldbuilding: 10/10. No criticisms. The world is less important than the core plot, but the author takes the time to give us worldbuilding aspects like the setting and colors of the environments and things like that.

Pacing: 8/10. At first, I thought it was slow even for slow-burn, but the intrigue built as time went on and the pacing smoothened out.

Themes: 9/10. I'm a bit biased on this one cause my favorite theme is moving on, and this story does a great job with it right from the start.

Consistency: 8/10. Tense is pretty consistent. Consistent with the characters and plot too. Only points deducted was for the dialogue formatting being inconsistent. Most of the time, the author does tags correctly; however, sometimes the author doesn't and it can be inconsistent.

Creativity: 7.5/10. Too many adverbs. A few overused cliché phrases. The story idea itself is fun and creative, and there is strong word choice so the author earns points back with that.

Grammar/spelling: 8/10. This author (mostly) does dialogue tags correctly, aside from some errors here and there. With that being said, the author needs to make every piece of dialogue its own paragraph. Those are minor issues, but the grammar/spelling is otherwise okay.

Cover and blurb: 10/10. Cover is beautiful. Blurb is short, simple, and to the point.

Total: 79.5/90

Letter grade: A

2nd Place

Titanic by 123hikibakas

Dude, come on. Just look at that cover. I was freaking out over the cover for a good fifteen minutes before reading only to find the story inside is just as beautiful as the cover.

My review:

Characters: 10/10. I know I'm biased, but Jimin is so precious. I'm a big fan of fanfics that make Jimin the soft, precious boy who is supportive. There's something about that character type that makes him so appealing to me. Along with that, Y/n is interesting and complex. I like how you gave her multiple layers. I felt like I could relate to her. I have a very intense fear of the ocean and the way she describes the ocean in her pov is beautiful. I am also invested in Jungkook's story so far.

Plot: 10/10. Love the intrigue, love the spin on the Titanic style.

Worldbuilding: 10/10. This story is super experimental and I love it. The way the world and story is told is beautiful.

Pacing: 9/10. Definitely takes a bit to get to the main story, but the author recognizes this and adds intrigue, cliffhangers, and new elements in the beginning to make it interesting.

Themes: 10/10. I'm such a sucker for themes about moving on. This story has so much dramatic irony from outside knowledge but enough twists that it feels fresh and unique. I love love love the concepts.

Consistency: 8/10. Tense issues. Characters and plot are otherwise consistent.

Creativity: 10/10. I already said it in themes. This is such a creative idea and the word choice is equally creative.

Grammar/spelling: 7.5/10. Dialogue tags are mostly correct. Some issues with other grammar, like spaces between dialogue and quotation marks, some tense issues, etc.

Cover and blurb: 8/10. That cover is gorgeous. Blurb is a bit short but it gives me a decent idea of the story ahead.

Total: 82.5/90

Letter grade: A

Side Note: Author, seriously, that is the best cover I've ever seen. If I was doing a cover contest, it would win the cover contest by a landslide. I actually showed some of my friends the cover because I thought it was that good. And to top it all off, the story is just as beautiful.

1st Place

Truth In A Masquerade by crimsonbrine

Absolutely breathtaking. Incredible hook, incredible plot, incredible characters. I was so impressed I forgot to judge and didn't even write much for my review.

Characters: 10/10. Jungkook is incredible, lots of intrigue there. Iseul is pretty good. I tend to dislike the stereotypical "strong, bold" female character, but she's balanced unlike most modern female characters. Jimin is Jimin so he's an automatic 10/10.

Plot: 10/10. Fantastic. 'Nuff said.

Worldbuilding: 10/10. I understand the world clearly and it's described well. Characters are fleshed out and each play a distinct role.

Pacing: 10/10. Chapters end perfectly. Never too much or too little info. Characters are introduced gradually instead of all at once, I love that. It gives me room to breathe and focus on the plot and main characters before I get a lot more thrown at me. Author, you were worried about your pacing???? I hope you're okay with gendered terms cause GIRL your pacing was great!

Themes: 8.5/10. Themes are interesting so far but it's too early in the story to make a clear opinion. However, I will give an above average score because I believe I know what the book is trying to say already, and since it's clear, it deserves a high number.

Consistency: 8.5/10. Other than some inconsistency with the dialogue tags and formatting, the creative side of the story is consistent.

Creativity: 10/10. Word choice is unique without feeling over-the-top. The vocab is creative without making me feel like I have to use Google to figure out what you're saying.

Grammar/spelling: 8/10. The dialogue tags are formatted incorrectly so I have to take off points. Some of the tags are a lil weird too. I would recommend the 50-30 advice. It doesn't work for everyone, but it might work for the author: 50% of dialogue should have tags, and of that 50%, at least 30% should be said or asked. Some ellipse misuse. Otherwise, the tense is consistent, the punctuation is solid, the spelling is solid, the word choice is great, etc.

Cover and blurb: 10/10. Absolutely gorgeous cover. Blurb is excellent too; straight to the point but never gives too much away.

Total: 85/90

Letter grade: A+

Seriously, hats off to you, author. I can't wait to make your interview.

Honorable Mentions for my favorite concepts:

1) The Cupid Complex by 4everSherlocked

2) Hey Eomma, Hey Appa by SongYeEun2500

BUZZBANGTAN IS NO LONGER AN HONORABLE MENTION DUE TO RULE BREAKAGE. THEY ARE NOW BLACKLISTED.

I wasn't planning on doing honorable mentions, but with 15 stories, it was hard not to. Those honorable mentions are for their incredible concepts. All three of those were fighting for a slot in the top 3, so I believe they deserve recognition. Really good job!

I will be giving those three authors follows as well!

Congrats to the winners, please message me with any questions you have!

Remember prizes will take time to distribute. I am judging solo, so I am juggling 9 other categories at the same time. I appreciate your patience 💜

Shameless self plug but you should totally read my story Like Crazy and totally vote and comment on it because you love me (gaslight, not-gatekeep, girlboss). It's a PJM dystopia where Jimin is hot and has a thick booty. Must I say more?

Wait wait I got this:

It's enemies to lovers

Bam GG ez.