We’re here today to announce our Team Fanfiaddict’s first semi-finalist and some of the books that we sadly have to cut. With 30 books and only 1 finalist, great reads will inevitably get cut in the first round, so we encourage you to check all of these books out!
Without further ado, here are today’s cuts:
A Mage’s Mentor by Stephen Jarocki
What the judges had to say:
Michael Vadney: “A Mage’s Mentor is an engaging fantasy centered on Sinccah’s search for her missing mother, blending mystery, magic, and themes of trust and identity. After her mother’s pendant is stolen, her journey expands into something deeper, supported by purposeful side characters and elevated by the intriguing Wanderer, whose uneasy alliance adds tension and heart. While the opening leans on exposition and the pacing could be tighter, Jarocki’s ambitious worldbuilding and satisfying twists make this an earnest and compelling story of self-discovery in a complex world.”
Matt Pittman: The author does a great job at blending classic fantasy with good character work. Sinccah’s evolution as a character feels realistic and the author doesn’t hide her many flaws but displays them for a more impactful character arc. One of the shining elements in this story comes through a mysterious character who our main character is forced to team up with. The banter and relational dynamic between these two was a highlight in this story.
While I enjoyed this story overall, I did feel it could have benefited from some expansion and further exploration of the world this story took place in. I felt the story ended more abruptly than I would have liked.
This was a fun story with characters that I enjoyed spending time with. I recommend it it to fans of classic fantasy and character driven readers.
What the judges had to say:
Arun Bender: Good attempt at Urban Fantasy.Gets bogged down by a lot of descriptives and an all tell no show first person POV.
The characterization is a bit weak and a bit narrated and I never did get into any of them.Prose is good, writing is good.
Will Swardstrom: One of the nice things about Butcher Boy is the overall world created around Ryder, with Votker as a world-wide organization that helps coordinate investigations and cleanups of incidents to make sure the public is kept in the dark by magic and magical creatures. Ryder has an interesting stable of helpers that create weapons, craft magical items, and help throughout his investigation.
While those are the highlights, I struggled with the story overall. Butcher Boy starts on a high, showing Ryder in the middle of an investigation and the action that commences when he discovers what happened to a couple of girls in the woods. But, it just slows way down after that. When a woman comes to him to find her ten-year-old son without harming him (after he somehow mutated and then ate the family dog!), it seems to take about half the book before he actually comes face to face with the issue. The book lacked urgency, especially given that a boy was missing and was potentially homicidal for whatever reason. Side quest after side quest took us to meet some interesting supporting characters, but rarely seemed to move the plot along.
Riyati Rebirth by Kai Zeal
What the judges had to say:
Arun Bender: Fairly interesting. Well written with good dialogues.
Dave Lawson: Riyati Rebirth is a new adult contemporary novel set in the modern day US, following several teenage narrators. I thought the author did a great job making the teen characters seem like teens, which is not easy to do. The writing is well done and easy to read, and Zeal obviously has a good handle on voice in first person narration, though I did find the various narrators did blur together somewhat for me at times–I was missing something to really ground me in the story. I did struggle with context and felt the characters often just did things without context, which does fit with teens, but is a tough ask on readers. There’s definitely a lot to like here and I’m sure fans of contemporary fantasy will enjoy this one! I’d recommend it to people who are looking for New Adult reads with a lot of great LGBTQ representation and honest depictions of teens. Unfortunately, as I’m judging in a competition, I put this one aside at the 27% mark.
Shadow of the Sword by C.J.R Isely
What the judges had to say:
Michael Vadney: Shadow of the Sword is a fast-paced, classic fantasy adventure built on the compelling premise of enemies forced into uneasy alliance, delivering plenty of action, twists, and political tension. Its greatest strengths lie in its character dynamics—particularly the evolving relationship between earnest, flawed Laster and the layered, morally complex Prince Esrin, who adds real emotional depth to the story. While the worldbuilding leans on familiar medieval tropes and the book occasionally assumes knowledge of the larger series, the clear prose, engaging plot, and satisfying conclusion make it an enjoyable standalone. At times the pacing slows and Laster’s stubbornness can be frustrating, but overall it’s a solid, accessible read for fans of traditional fantasy and character-driven conflict.
Dave Lawson: This books starts strong and I was interested to see where things would go from there. Unfortunately, I found that the story began to stall after the main character was captured. Esrin, one of the captors, was by far the most interesting character (and I realized afterward that the main series is apparently based on him, which makes sense).
That’s probably the biggest issue with the story. It’s a prequel story, and doesn’t stand alone all that well.
The protagonist lacked agency for much of the story and his insistence that Ezrin was his enemy even after Esrin continually helps him had me screaming at him.
On a technical level, the writing is good and the world is well-built. In the end, I think this would be a solid read for fans of the series, but as a standalone, it didn’t quite work for me.
The Golden Princess by Brian Braden
What the judges had to say:
Michael Vadney: The Golden Princess delivers a fast-paced, gritty escape story, following a sheltered royal thrust into danger after a violent coup, with strong momentum and constant tension driving the narrative. Its biggest strengths lie in its engaging multi-POV structure—especially Ezra’s more layered and active storyline—and the sense of a living city shaped by political intrigue and competing factions. However, the worldbuilding can feel a bit thin, the dialogue and dialect occasionally break immersion, and Sarah herself lacks the distinctiveness expected of a central protagonist. The villains are effective but somewhat one-note, and the abrupt, cliffhanger ending offers little resolution. Still, its urgency, ensemble cast, and grounded, intrigue-heavy approach make it an enjoyable read for fans of fast-moving, character-driven fantasy.
Matt Pittman: The Golden Princess was an enjoyable read. I especially found the the themes of friendship to be the most compelling aspect of the book. I felt this book wouldn’t benefited from a larger page count to flesh out the characters a bit more. I also felt the Princess lacked agency for much of the book as it seemed like bad things just happed to her and then she needed rescuing again and again.
And our first semi finalist:
Shadows of the Sundered Lands by Corbin Rook
Dave Lawson: Shadows of The Sundered Lands by Corbin Rook is a strong debut epic fantasy with stellar worldbuilding, a cast of likable characters, and all the action you could ask for. I really enjoyed my time with it, and think Rook is on to something with this series–I’m hoping it’s a series and we’ll get more books in this world!
Rook is at his best when the characters are just talking to each other and he has some great humorous moments mixed in, but in some of the moments where things were supposed to be dramatic, I felt the dialogue slightly missed the mark.
The pace at the end is breakneck and you can’t stop reading, but I felt like we were missing some of the character’s emotions. Several characters encounter shocking twists, reveals, and even deaths, and I felt like there wasn’t enough time spent on the emotional responses to those moments.
Even with the pacing issues in the last third of the book, it’s clear that Rook is a writer to watch. He excels with world building, does a great job writing friendships, and created several very likable characters that were a lot of fun to follow. I know he’s gonna do some big things in the Indie fantasy scene. I’ll be watching his career closely, and I hope to see more stories in this world!
Matt Pittman: I really enjoyed my time with this book. Rook does a great job presenting a unique and dangerous world that in spite of what lurks there you still want to explore and learn all you can about it. The characters stand out and each brings their own distinct personality and adds so much to the story.
I’m a sucker for hopeful over grimdark stories and this although dark at times wasn’t lacking in hope and light.
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Congratulations to Corbin and thank you to the other authors for trusting us with your stories! We’ll be back soon with more Semifinalists and cuts!
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