Aphrodite Awards 2021

Mystery/Thriller Results 💋

Firstly, I would like to give a very special thanks to my two judges, llscribe and Remy-Cav for getting these results in, and giving such lovely feedback. Secondly, congratulations to all the winners, and if you would like to receive a sticker, PM me. And thirdly, if you did not win, do not be dishearted. Feel free to PM for your feedback :) So... let's announce the winners <3

In 1st place 

Still Alive by shhravanii         91/100

Cover: 5/5 - The cover captures the mood of the story perfectly. It's mysterious and sad, but it makes me hopeful that Crissy is still alive. 

Title: 5/5 -  At first, I thought the cover gave away the ending, but as I read on, I realized that it didn't, and it just made me more curious. Well done!

 Blurb: 5/10 - I think the blurb needs some work so the book can pull in all the readers it deserves. I'm confused by this part - is it saying who the best audience is? "Aimed for the readers to Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene and Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson."

Plot 15/15 - Still Alive has an interesting, dynamic plot. No cliches in this book at all.

Flow: 10/10 - The writing is suspenseful and the perfect pace. 

Characters: 15/15. The characters are unique and complex. Part of me is suspicious of Andrew, but I feel like he's a good guy. I really can't tell yet (I read five chapters). I love that this book already has me wrapped up in an internal debate with myself. 

Spelling & Grammar: 13/15 - Overall, the spelling and grammar are strong. In some parts of the dialogue, there needs to be paragraph breaks. For example, if character A is speaking, and then character B does an action, the character B piece should be a new paragraph. 

Writing style: 9/10 - The author has a wonderful writing style, and the book is exciting from the very beginning. I love how the chapters end with cliffhangers - the author is great at writing the mystery genre. 

Overall review: 14/15 - This story is amazing! Even though I wrapped up judging, I'm definitely going to finish it. 

In 2nd Place

VALENCE by Aarya2103          83/100

Cover: 5/5 - The cover is incredible. It looks like a movie poster! 

Title: 5/5 - The title is perfectly fitting for the story, and it's unique! Love it. 

Blurb: 6/10 - The blurb gives away a big part of the plot. I think it could be made more mysterious. However, it definitely generates intrigue. 

Plot: 13/15 - VALENCE has lots of twists. The opening is heartbreaking. I immediately felt for Brie. I also like how she goes through the mirror so close to the beginning of the story. VALENCE doesn't have any fillers. 

Flow: 8/10 - The story flows well. It's written at the perfect pace. My only suggestion would be to combine some of the shorter paragraphs (when it fits). 

Characters: 12/15 - I like Brie's internal monologue. She has a unique voice. One piece of feedback is that Ace's character seems a little all over the place. He switches between forceful and gentle, caring and cold, and wanting to give Brie information and refusing to tell her anything. He seems like an unstable guy, so some of that is expected, but it was a bit extreme and made him seem like he isn't the most cohesive character. 

Spelling & grammar: 12. I didn't see any spelling mistakes. Overall, the grammar is strong. There are a few places where there are errors when writing dialogue (for example, capitalizing "He" after speech). 

Writing style: 9/10 - The opening part of chapter 1 grabbed my attention. The drowning metaphor is moving and emotional. The author describes grief well, better than any story I've read on or off Wattpad. In some parts, sentences start with the same pronoun multiple times in a row. I think varying the structure would add to the story. I think Brie's thoughts could be condensed in some areas. Sometimes it interrupted the plot a bit. 

 Overall review: 13/15 - Overall, VALENCE is an amazing story with incredible worldbuilding and a loveable protagonist. 

In 3rd Place   

The Prisoners of Tartarus by Violetta712   80/100

Cover: 5/5. I love the cover - It's very different from most covers you see on Wattpad that have photos as the background. It fits the story perfectly. 

Title: 5/5. The title hooks me right away. Any story about prisoners is bound to be exciting!

Blurb: 8/10. I don't think all the detail about how Vladislav and Olivie are similar is needed in the blurb. Other than that, the blurb is great. 

 Plot: 12/15 - I like how fast-moving the plot is. The dynamics between the prisoners are interesting. I would love to see a bit more action from the beginning. 

 Flow: 7/10 - I  like the prologue. It gives a feel for the tone of the story. Some of the sentences are a little choppy, which affects the flow. I like how there's a lot of variation in the sentence structure. 

Characters: 14/15 -  The characters have interesting backstories. Usually, when a book has a lot of characters from the beginning, I'm overwhelmed, but I'm just intrigued because everyone is so distinct. 

Spelling & Grammar: 11/15 - When writing dialogue, don't use colons after the speaker's name. For the most part, the story has strong grammar, and I didn't see any spelling mistakes. There are some places with extra commas where they aren't needed and others that are missing commas. Nothing a few edits can't fix. 

Writing style: 7/10 - One tip I have is to use "was"/"to be" less. Instead of "mist was hovering," you could say "mist hovered." I love the author's use of description. I feel like I can visualize the story as it's happening. 

 Overall review: 11/15 - Overall a great thriller! I love the uniqueness.