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CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!

Winner or not you will get your review as promised. It will be directly messageed to you from our community account Sapphire_Community in the course of this week.

If you do not get your reviews by this Wednesday the 22nd, reach out to us.

THIRD PLACE🥉

Total score: 85/100

The Belonging Season By BlueEyePhantom
Judge:HillyWrites01

• Title:8/10

The title of the book is short, simple and easy to remember. It also fits the plot of the story.

• Cover:4/5

The cover shows clearly the genre in which the book falls into with an image of an Egyptian queen in a plain white background. The fonts used and the colour for the title in the cover prevented the white background from being a nuisance. At first glance, I figured the main character was going to find herself in a tough situation.

• Blurb:8/10

The blurb accurately captured the entirety of the story; from the setting, to the main plot,to the main characters without revealing more details than necessary which is impressive.

• Setting:9/10

The story was set in Ancient Egypt and considering the characters created it is very relevant in the story as it allows readers to fully get the experience of life of the Ancient Egyptians.

• Character and emotions : 8/10

The characters are easy to picture based on the good description the author gave. Getting readers moved to the point of experiencing emotions that belong to the characters makes a good author and I admit this author took it a bit too seriously which I think is a good thing. The opinions and emotions of the characters were vivid too as Queen Ankhesenanum's devastation and struggle between her love and dynasty.

• Plot and detail:17/20

The plot isn't cliche and yes it can be compared to real life happenings in Ancient Egypt that have been recorded in history. The plot and characters were also well developed.

• Flow and style:18/20

The flow of the story was smooth and generally good right from the beginning. The author used legible and easily understandable words for the usual basic English speaker.

• Grammar and Spelling: 9/10

Of course there were very few errors in grammar however the tenses were good. The punctuation was on point and there were hardly any spelling mistakes.

• Personal Enjoyment:4/5

Personally I'm a lover of Ancient Egypt and stories surrounding it and this book met most of my expectations. It was truly enjoyable. Definitely a must read

Additional Feedback-

Thank you so much for entering this book into the Sapphire Awards and I wish you the very best as you continue your journey as an author. Your writing style and plot is great. 

Two entries for second place! 🔥

SECOND PLACE🥈

Total Score:86/100

The Pharoah's Lotus by Azukiel

Judge:Emccarthy13

• Title: 9/10

The title fits the story plot very well, as it is about the pharaoh and who he wishes to marry, assumed to be this lotus. It is very unique and has a beautiful ring to it which flows nicely. It catches interest and makes readers curious to know more. It isn't long, fairly short, with no complex words or phrases which makes it catchy and memorable.

• Cover: 4/5

It is a beautiful and very interesting cover that suggests what the story will be about without giving anything away. It lets you know it will be about some sort of Egyptian story, about a pharaoh, and really grabs attention with the colors and details. The font is legible and interesting and has a satisfying color scheme.

• Blurb:9/10

The blurb gives some background and history to the story and sets it up nicely for the first chapter. It is interesting and peaks the interest of the readers through the language used and asks leading questions. It is very appropriate to the story line and sets up the book nicely. It piqued my interest and made me want to read the story.

• Setting:9/10

The setting is relevant to the story and the author does a good job of setting up and describing both of the different places where we find the main characters. The buildings themselves could be described a little bit more, we get a beautiful description of the horizon, but not so much on the layout of the building or what it looks like from the outside until the setting shift to Egypt.

• Character and emotions : 8/10

Malawashina is such a relatable and lovely character that we get to follow. Her younger staff, Utati is wonderful as well with a very strong and playful personality. We also have a great enemy in Malawashina's cousin, but it seems that the rest of the characters are pretty similar in the way they speak and act. Their emotions are very relatable and shared in a way that we can feel it alongside them. Their desires and wants are portrayed well, and when Malawashina feels them it does seem a little out of character, which is refreshing.

• Plot and detail: 18/20

The plot is super interesting and doesn't feel like a cliche. It's an interesting love story of a girl being sent to the pharaoh to uphold peace in their countries, and while she gets along with him, she falls in love with someone else, of which she tries to avoid. I think the history of it is what makes it fresh and refreshing with interesting tidbits of fact and mentions of real people. It does flow very naturally, though there is one scene where there is a sexual assault that feels like it comes out of no where and is rushed. The plot itself isn't confusing and makes sense.

• Flow and style: 17/20

It is very easy to read which is nice, but I do sometimes find myself getting hung up on words or phrases. I think there is just some awkward phrasing or words that don't quite make sense in context, but it didn't happen very often. It has a pretty good and consistent flow through the whole story.

• Grammar and Spelling: 7/10

There are a couple of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes such as using "realise" instead of realize and not having commas where they should be. Tenses seem to stay pretty consistent through the whole piece and only change when it's appropriate.

• Personal Enjoyment: 5/5

I actually really enjoy this story. It's a unique history to any other stories I've read and feels historically accurate. The characters are also super relatable and the ones I hate make great villains for the story. The writing is not confusing and I can follow along very well. It made me want to keep reading the whole time. 

SECOND PLACE🥈

Total Score:86/100

A Marriage Most Inconvinient by zeen2805

Judge:amelierhys

• Title:10/10

This is a perfect title for a historical fiction work! It perhaps isn't the most unique, but it definitely piques interest, gives the reader a clue of the plot, and is alluding to the time period in which the book is written.

• Cover:5/5

I very much love the cover. I think it again matches well with the historical fiction genre without being something that I have seen many times before. I love the font used as well.

• Blurb:7/10

The blub definitely piques the interest of readers. It is appropriate for the storyline, and it did make me want to read the story. However, I think it could be summarized into something shorter and still get the point across. Additionally, it switched tenses through. It began in past tense, and then in the middle of the paragraph, it switched to present tense. Typically, blurbs are written in present tense - so I would switch it so that it all matches!

• Setting:9/10

The setting is done quite nicely. Much of the opening is done describing the characters emotions and positions, and there isn't as much setting of the stage with the physical locale or time period. However, I am able to discern the time period, location, etc through the verbage being used. That is done well!

• Character and emotions : 8/10

I have a pretty clear picture of the characters desires, emotions, and personalities. Their characteristics fit the conflict and the plot well. I don't feel overly connected to them immediately, but I do get a clear sense of their positions and it stirs a sort of sympathy and interest that connects the reader to the story.

• Plot and detail: 18/20

The arranged marriage plot is done frequently in historical romance but that is likely because arranged marriage happened frequently in the past. I liked the added twist that it was an American heiress, as opposed to another member of the peerage, and also that she was meant to be his brother's bride. I think those additional details help set it apart from the others. I am a sucker for some of the other tropes - the unattached husband who slowly grows to change his mind. The conflict is set up nicely in the opener for that.

• Flow and style:15/20

Personally, I would have started this book prior to where the author did. There are a lot of small flashbacks that are italicized about reactions from the characters when they first ended up in their situation, and I think that takes away from the tension and also does not give us a look as readers to the characters initial meeting and point of conflict. Instead of seeing the characters interact, we are reading about their memories interacting. I think it would entice readers more if we could read those scenes first hand.

Other than that, I think the dialect and verbage are done really well for a historical romance. There is a good flow in the writing, and It is well-written. However, I would consider breaking some of the longer paragraphs up for sake of readability and also reduce the use of exclamation marks. It takes away from the emphasis of the most important parts when the exclamation marks are used so frequently.

• Grammar and Spelling: 10/10

All done well - nothing of notice.

• Personal Enjoyment:4/5

This is exactly the type of story that I could see myself getting lost in. Some of the style and flow pieces that I mentioned brought me out of the story a little bit, but beyond that - I definitely would enjoy it.

Additional Feedback-

Your Regency Romance terms were well re-searched and properly employed. Always good to see!

FIRST PLACE🥇

Total score:89/100

The Stolen Crown By CAMoltzau
Judge: qmd_books

• Title: 8/10

The book title is quite literal, the queen plots to steal the crown so of course it fits the plot. It's short and easily remembered. I feel like it's common, and sure it fits the genre perfectly.

• Cover:4/5

I like that the font used, the white is really bright and legible and I love that the 'the' is smaller which shows the importance of the 'stolen crown' and the sparkles really bring attention to the title. Personally, the white looks boring, you could use a really pale red or yellow to add onto the color scheme. The background image isn't anything special but I like how the crown fits with the time where the story takes place.

• Blurb:6/10

The blurb is by far the story's weak point. Sure it's appropriate for the storyline and the genre but it doesn't make me want to read the book. I would first suggest spacing it out, making multiple paragraphs, right now it's a big blob of words. There is no reason that 'based on a true story' should be in the same paragraph as your blurb, you could put it underneath or above the blurb. I like the diverse vocabulary, and that you roughly explained the plot, but you could add rhetorical questions to include thee readers and interest them to read the book.

• Setting: 10/10

The setting includes vivid descriptions that make us feel like we're inside the book. They are so detailed and the vocabulary used is intricate and very specific. I loved them so much, especially that they were at the start of every chapter. It's by far the best part of the book.

• Character and emotions : 8.5/10

First of all, I love how you gradually introduced the characters, not overwhelming us with information.

Something I found a shame is that we didn't have as rich of a description with the physical descriptions than with the ones that you've done the setting. Although we get a good feel of the characters personality. I like how we see not only the good characteristics of each character but also their faults. They all also all have responsibilities that add onto their characters such as Helene with her kids that made her have doubts about helping the Queen or Queen Elisabeth herself and all her responsibilities.

• Plot and detail: 19/20

The plot is based on a true story which gives it a lot of depth, I don't know which parts are fictional and which aren't but overall you've got a lot happening with a lot of characters but your main plot is clear: the queen needs to take the crown. We also have a natural flow and we are never bored. There is always something happening whether it's an action or a conversation between characters. No plot holes can be found. I loved how it was in the third POV and so we could see what was happening in different areas to different characters so we got an even better idea of what was happening and made the storyline even better.

• Flow and style: 19.5/20

The chapters were short which made the pace quicker, it made the flow of the story fluid and enabled the actions not to feel stuffy. You have a very specific writing style, as I already mentioned, the descriptions were amazing but not only that, it also gives you that recognisable writing style. I was hung up on the words and emotions transmitted, as I already stated, the chapters were short but that only helped to keep our attention span and entertain us.

• Grammar and Spelling: 10/10

Grammar is perfect, no tense has been mixed up and punctuation rules have been respected.

• Personal Enjoyment: 4/5

Personally I loved the story, the only thing I think you should absolutely edit is the blurb.