Finally! After a long wait, we have calculated the results and finalized the ranking of our Blossoms of Age category!

We want to thank the esteemed Heather Community and their judge june_berrin for their time and for lending us their expertise in adjudicating.

I am sure you all have been waiting with bated breath, and so... without further ado... here are the winners of the Blossoms of Age Category!

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BLOSSOMS OF AGE {HISTORICAL FICTION}

1. Parantap Parashakti: Paving way for him by dwarkaratna

Title: 4.5/5
Cover: 3/5
Blurb: 4.5/5
Mechanics: 17/20
Plot: 22/25
Flow and Pacing: 14/15
Character Development: 10/10
Creativity and Originality: 4.5/5
Emotions: 9/10

Total: 88.5/100

Review: The title was unique, and the cover was beautiful, matching the story premise. The blurb was very informative, giving just the right amount of the plot to entice the reader into reading the story. The character dynamics were good, the dialogues felt realistic, and I love your short symbolic description at the beginning of each scene, which lets the readers reflect on the story much better. Overall, it was a good read.

2. Damn Your Lies by _BLACKSPADESZ

Title: 4 /5
Cover: 5/5
Blurb: 4.5/5
Mechanics: 20/20
Plot: 24/25
Flow and Pacing: 15/15
Character Development: 8/10
Creativity and Originality: 4/5
Emotions: 10/10

Total: 94.5/100

Review: The story is very intriguing; I love that the protagonist is way smarter and sometimes smarter than the readers. It kept me on my toes as I felt that she was very realistic and analytical, and I absolutely love that about her. It was too sad how the story was not completed. The cover was exemplary; kudos to the designer. Your writing style was great; the descriptions were on point and in flow. An amazing read!

3. Nevergolden by LadyMaryAverman

Title: 5/5
Cover: 3 /5
Blurb:4/5
Mechanics: 15/20
Plot: 23/25
Flow and Pacing: 13 /15
Character Development: 8/10
Creativity and Originality: 5/5
Emotions: 7/10

Total: 83/100

Review: I have never read a screenplay before, and this one intrigued me. I love how the descriptions are vivid and are very easily imaginable. The characters are all well portrayed, but all were introduced together, making it a bit difficult to keep track of it, but it could be a norm for screenplays. The dialogues were not fitting for the period, considering it is of an imperial world; words like stupid, etc., are not in use, and more sophisticated words might be a better fit in their place. The emotions are easily discernible but well portrayed. It was a well-written screenplay, overall.

4. Queenly Quest by Ennyrogers

Title: 5/5
Cover: 3/5
Blurb: 5/5
Mechanics: 14/20
Plot: 23/25
Flow and Pacing: 12/15
Character Development: 10/10
Creativity and Originality: 4/5
Emotions: 10/10

Total: 86/100

Review: The title was well suited for the story and its genre. But the same cannot be said of the cover; while the picture in use is good, the font of the title, especially that of Queenly, is more befitting a science fiction or such generic stories and not one of historical. I do not know if it is intentional, but there is an extra space in between 'Quest,' which looks a bit unnatural to me. The blurb is beautiful and well-written; even though there was too much passivization, it was still credible.

For mechanics, I would say be more creative with your sentence structure, rather than always using I did that, I heard them, You can use a different word or maybe combine two sentences so that you have more viable options for structuring your sentences differently. Instead, 'I opened my eyes to find myself in my own bed, drenched in sweat, my heart racing.' You could write it as, 'Opening my eyes, I found myself on my bed, drenched in sweat and my heart racing." or 'When I opened my eyes, I was lying in my bed, sweating intensely, and my heart was racing." See how the same sentences can be written in many different patterns without losing their meaning; try to exercise this more in your story.

There were also a few punctuation errors, which I believe are not intentional as they repeat only a few times. The plot was good, and the characters were well portrayed; if you were to focus more on your writing style, your story would improve a lot.

5. The Legacy of Jane by iAmHereForTheFood

Title: 4.5/5
Cover: 4/5
Blurb: 3.5/5
Mechanics: 17.5/20
Plot: 23.5/25
Flow and Pacing: 13.5/15
Character Development: 10/10
Creativity and Originality: 4/5
Emotions: 8/10

Total: 88.5 /100

Review: The title and cover match well with each other, already letting the readers know it is centered around the female protagonist. The blurb was informative and serves as a gist of the plot, but the language used in it could be a bit better using a better thesaurus. In the author's note of the first chapter, there was a small typo; instead of 'discriptive,' it is 'descriptive.' Some of the paragraphs are very long, so I would recommend splitting them into two so they are more coherent. The first chapter has a lot of info dumping, whilst you have already warned there was more telling than showing.

The descriptions are all very vivid, and the emotions are easily discernible. The first chapter sets the characters, each having their own distinct voices, and introduces the readers to the world and its premises. I love the light-hearted mood of the story in the beginning, like a fresh breath of air. Overall, a nice read.

6. Lafz-e- Mohabbatein by TanshinaAfrin

Title: 4/5
Cover: 2.5/5
Blurb: 5/5
Mechanics: 20/20
Plot: 24/25
Flow and Pacing: 15/15
Character Development: 9.5/10
Creativity and Originality: 5/5
Emotions: 10/10

Total: 95/100

Review: I would recommend writing the numbers in words rather than in their symbols so as not to disrupt the flow of reading. While your writing style is impeccable, there are a lot of mistakes here and there, which the readers have already pointed out in the comments section more than once, so kindly take note of those. Your descriptions are exceptional and extraordinary; you use the finest words to craft them. The characters are perfectly portrayed and realistic. The plot is full of intrigue and suspense; I am curious as to how the story is going to unfold.

7. Death Swap by Thatgurlaturdoor

Title: 5/5
Cover: 3 /5
Blurb: 5/5
Mechanics: 19/20
Plot: 22/25
Flow and Pacing: 13/15
Character Development: 9/10
Creativity and Originality: 3/5
Emotions: 10/10

Total: 89/100

Review: The title and cover are very direct, and any doubts the readers might have had had been reassured by the blurb, which was splendid. The story begins directly diving into the main plot, which is a very bold decision that you have made. The characters are portrayed well but have some unrealistic qualities, like how the main character was easily able to adapt to the sudden change of events. I mean, she literally got reborn to a world in a different timeline; there ought to be some sort of jet lag the character experiences before she adapts gradually. The writing is smooth, and the pace is fast, but not too fast either. Overall, it was a good book.

8. Laxita - The Mage's Awakening by Dreamersb23

Title: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Blurb: 3/5
Mechanics: 16/20
Plot: 23/25
Flow and Pacing: 13.5/15
Character Development: 8/10
Creativity and Originality: 5/5
Emotions: 10/10

Total: 86.5/100

Review: The title is good, and the cover is very fitting to it. The blurb has grammatical and punctuation errors, which I ask you to immediately address, as the blurb is what first draws the readers in. Here is an example: A heritage which she kept secret...' should be written as, 'A heritage that she kept secret ...' The rest of them in the blurb are mainly due to the lack of punctuation. I love how you, through your main character Laxita, invoke questions about her parents, which would trigger enough curiosity and mystery to have the readers interested. The story flow and pace were smooth without too many disruptions except for a grammatical error here and there, which can be fixed with some proofreading. The plot was also very intriguing.

🍂∘─Results of Historical Fiction─∘🍂

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🥇First Position

Lafz-e- Mohabbatein
by TanshinaAfrin

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🥈Second Position

Damn Your Lies

by _BLACKSPADESZ

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🥉Third Position

Death Swap

by Thatgurlaturdoor

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Congratulations 🎉 to all winners. Keep up the good work. And to those who didn't win, don't lose hope you will win the next time.

Prizes like certificates, stickers and all others will be given at the end.

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We thank everyone who participated in the Visions of Grandeur Awards.
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Time for a tribute to the Judges.

june_berrin

Thanks for your great contribution, we couldn't find any words to describe your hard work and good service.
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