Book Battle: Round 2 Series 2 Winners (Part 1)

So after an unfortunate delay, we're back to announcing bracket winners! Amazing how fast the contenders dwindle, isn't it? Series 2 results will be broken up over two short days. And there will be a surprise after that as well. But since we're here to announce winners, let's get started!

Bracket 13:
Intrinsical by Lani Woodland VS. The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
Judged by Heidi and husband partner A from Las Vegas Ladies of Literature

After The Grimm Legacy beat out Keturah and Lord Death last time, I admit I had high hopes for it this round. I recently started the book and am loving it, although I haven't had a chance to get my hand on Intrinsical. (Which, incidentally, seems to be a pattern among our judges). Anyway, I knew Heidi and her partner had their work cut out for them, and they responded magnificently! Despite being one of the last brackets in Series 2 to know both of their assignments, they finished quite earlier. They officially win the Fastest Judging Award! But what did they think of the contenders?

Judge Heidi had this to say about the winning book:

"I was hooked from the start. It kept me intrigued and made me read it in 24 hours. It was a nice paced, intense read that was not as heavy and depressing as I thought it would be. It had a nice blend of creepy, humor and romance."

And Judge A had this to add:

"The more I got into it, the more I was intrigued. Despite my best efforts, dang it, I cared about the characters. I wanted them to work it all out."

Sounds like A declared a winner a little reluctantly maybe? So which book won? It is... Intrinsical by Lani Woodland! Heidi and partner have a great breakdown and analysis of the whole decision on their blog, so don't forget to pop over and have a look at that.


Bracket 14:
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper VS. Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress by Tina Ferraro
Judged by Lizzy of Cornucopia Of Reviews and Melissa of My Chaotic Ramblings

Top Ten seemed to be our underdog winner from last time, with a surprise upset over the much more serious Devil's Kiss. But would it prevail again? Well, the book that did move on was a big hit with the judges.

Judge Melissa had this to say about the winning title:

"I literally fell in love with the main character in [the winning] book right off the bat. I couldn't stop reading and it ended up taking me about 6 hours to finish the book."

Think you guessed the winner? I'll let Judge Lizzy make the announcement for this one:

"There was really no contest about which book was the winner, we both agreed that Out of My Mind beat out Prom Dress. The story was moving, the characters were believable, and most importantly I think that there's something in it that everyone can relate to. The story and the characters were so compelling that I found myself tearing up during a couple of scenes. So, a big two thumbs up from me!"

So there you have it. Out of My Mind gets two more glowing reviews from the judges, and moves on to the next series, where it will come up against the also highly rated Intrinsical. These decisions are going to get harder and harder folks...


Bracket 15:
Storm Thief by Chris Wooding VS. Song Of The Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell
Judged by Kayla of Caught Between The Pages

Song of the Sparrow was a strong favorite among its bracket last time around, as was Storm Thief. When two favorites come head to head, which one will come out on top? Judge Kayla reviewed both books, but had this to say about the winner:

"All in all, this book was practically perfect to me. I read through it very quickly, loved every moment of it, and wish there was more. The ending was brilliant, the characters witty and captivating."

And which book is she talking about? The winner of this bracket is...Song Of The Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell! So this book will be winging it's way (pun intended) to the next series of brackets where it will battle it out against a new competitor.

And with that we are halfway through. As always, don't forget to click through the links to all the judges' blogs to read their full posts, which are awesome as usual. Come back tomorrow for the rest of the Series 2 results!