Saturday, January 2, 2021

The 2020 BBNYA

 
Keep reading for the Top 9 Finalists and the 
WINNER of the first ever BBNYA!

WINNER!!
Congratulations!!

John Carver has three rules: Don't drink in the daytime, don't gamble when the luck has gone, and don't talk to the dead people who come to visit.

It has been almost five years since the incident in Kabul. Since the magic stirred within him and the stories began. Fleeing the army, running from the whispers, the guilt, and the fear he was losing his mind, Carver fell into addiction, dragging himself through life one day at a time.

Desperation has pulled him back to Afghanistan, back to the heat, the dust, and the truth he worked so hard to avoid. But there are others, obsessed with power and forbidden magics, who will stop at nothing to learn the truth of his gifts. Abducted and chained, Carver must break more than his own rules if he is to harness this power and survive.

I read this one for the Finals and it's a good one! Definitely deserves the win. I'm saving my review for the tour though so stay tuned!

2nd Place!

Rage, grief and guilt have fueled Doctor Fid's endless quest to punish the unworthy and he has left a long trail of blood and misery in his wake. For more than two decades, the sight of the villain's powered armor has struck fear into the hearts of hero and civilian alike! But when a personal tragedy motivates Doctor Fid to investigate a crime, he uncovers a plot so heinous that even he is taken aback.

Haunted by painful memories and profound guilt, the veteran supervillain must race against time if he is to have any hope of confronting the approaching threat. Every battle takes its toll...but the stakes are too high for retreat to be an option.

In the end, it may take a villain to save the world from those entrusted with the world's protection.

I haven't read this one, but I'm looking forward to the tour this year.

3rd Place

THERE’S A FINE LINE BETWEEN INNOCENCE AND GUILT. AN EVEN FINER LINE BETWEEN JUSTICE AND REVENGE.

Data scientist Laura prefers the company of her books to the real world – let alone that cesspit online. But when her best friend Emily becomes the victim of horrific cyberbullying, she makes it her all-engulfing mission to track down the worst culprits.

Petite corporate financier Suki is about to outshine the stupid boys at her firm: she’s leading the acquisition of Edinburgh’s most exciting start-up. If only she could get its brilliant, but distracted, co-founder Laura to engage.

Event planner Claire is left to salvage the start-up's annual conference after her colleague Emily fails to return to work. She’s determined to get a promotion out of it, but her boss isn’t playing ball.

As the women's paths intertwine, the insidious discrimination they each face comes to light. Emboldened by Emily’s tragic experience, they join forces to plot the downfall of all those who've wronged them.

But with emotions running high, will the punishments fit the crimes?

I read this one for the Finals, too. It's a great read! 
Stay tuned for the tour and my review.

4th Place

In the Blue, the world’s last city, all is not well.

Julia is stuck within its walls. She serves the nobility from a distance until she meets Lucas, who believes in fairytales that her world can’t accommodate. The Blue is her prison, not her castle, and she’d escape into the trees if she didn’t know that contamination and death awaited humanity outside.

But not everyone in the Blue is human, and not everyone can be contained.

Beyond the city’s boundaries, in the wild forests of the Red, Cameron has precious little humanity left to lose. As he searches for a lost queen, he finds an enemy rising that he thought long dead. An enemy that the humans have forgotten how to fight.

One way or another, the walls of the Blue are going to come down. The only question is what side you’ll be on when they do. 

I read this for tour in 2020 for The Write Reads and it didn't get my motor revving, 
but others really enjoyed it.

Here are the rest of the finalists. I'm looking forward to all of the finalists' tours with the exception of The Devil's Apprentice which I already reviewed for The Write Reads in 2020. It's a great story! When the tour comes up I hope my fellow book bloggers sign up for it.

5th Place


6th Place


7th Place


8th Place


9th Place


10th Place

I put the call out to to see if anyone wanted to share their thoughts on BBNYA, but I only just thought to post about it so I only had a few takers. Totally my fault (I'll plan further ahead next year) and many great huge thanks to those who replied.

So, here's what a few book bloggers had to say about BBNYA:
Starting with me. Of course. LOL

"I've never been a judge/panelist for a book award. I've been reviewing books for 9 years now though so I figured it would be a fun way to read new-to-me authors. Plus, making a decision to vote someone off the island or have them continue on was an exilerating rush. I have to admit that the power kinda went to my head there for a bit though. Just kidding. It didn't. No, really. It didn't. I read some great excerpts and not all of them made it to the next round which was a bit disappointing. However, I'm working on reading those books in the coming year. In the meantime, I'm really looking forward to being a panelist for BBNYA 2021. BBNYA to Infinity and Beyond!" - A Voracious Reader


“BBNYA was such a cool, fun and new experience this year and one of my highlights of 2020. I got to take part in the panel but was also helping to organise behind the scenes, and I have to say that the team is top-notch! I read some amazing books during this competition and have found new favourite authors and books, I'm very much looking forward to taking part on this panel again next year, and I'm sure we will all find some wonderful new indie reads!” – Ellie Read to Ramble


“I didn't participate in BBNYA in 2020, and I spent half the year trying to figure out what it stood for whenever I saw the acronym pop up on Twitter. Once I realized what it was, I thought it was so cool and creative, and that a lot of the books involved sounded fantastic. I'm looking forward to participating in some of the blog tours for the 2020 finalists, and in the meantime, I'll be impatiently refreshing my inbox waiting for an email so I can hopefully be involved with BBNYA in 2021!” – Ashlee Books Are 42

 

“This was my first time being a judge for an award. I felt so proud to be one of the bloggers chosen to be on the panel of judges. 

Throughout the year-long competition, I loved the camaraderie amongst the panellists - my team leader, Jodie, was the BEST! I got to read some great stories and found some new-to-me authors. My TBR pile has grown because of it. I’ll be sharing my thoughts about the three books I read in the final throughout January.

All this PLUS helping indie authors get some publicity! Spreading the word about great self-published authors is my raison de vivre!

I’ll definitely be putting my name forward to be on the judging panel again in 2021.” – Flora Flora’sMusings

"The great thing about BBNYA was that it was a perfect mix of fantastic authors and awesome judges.  The sheer creativity of the books,  and the talent these authors possessed was phenomenal."– Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub

4 comments:

  1. The post looks great! Thanks for including my comment. I'm looking forward to taking part in the winners' blog tours too!

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    1. Thank you and you're welcome! I can't wait for the tours. Waiting impatiently for the announcements. lol

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  2. This was a great post Carol, great idea! I loved this competition!

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    1. I'll do it again for this year because I want to pimp out the winner and finalists. LOL

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