between Cindy, David, Lukasz & me in random order

What we were looking to grade the books on, were the following six factors:- Writing style- Editing- Plot- Characters- World building- Personal enjoymentEach of these titles had their own strengths and a few drawbacks. We touched upon them in the reviews . As with the last year, among the seven, here are our top three aggregate choices ():bybybyThese three titles scored very high in almost all of the six aforementioned categories and overall were very fine reads. Amidst the three,is perhaps the most popular one. Having an overall rating of 4.27 across 527 entries, it showcases some excellent highlights of the LitRPG subgenre as well as’s signature twists and action sequences.'swas a beautifully written novella that encapsulated familial struggles and a tropical world that the author described to the fullest extent. Lastly there isand this was the one title that captivated us all to the fullest degree.So it's among these three titles, that we were going to choose our finalist from. After talks among all four of us, we were earnestly trying to find which one of these would triumph over the others. Betweenandit was difficult to choose as they had differing strengths.was a novella which packed a punch as big as any doorstopper novel.was a solid mix of a thriller and action within a LitRPG setting that has made it so popular.The only way we could separate them was to look at their flaws and even in this regard there wasn’t much to nitpick about. The only thing that perhaps came to mind was thatwas a trilogy opener and hence didn’t give the full story while ending on a solid cliffhanger.while a fascinating story was a novella and hence didn’t give the full immersive experience seen in the longer form.In the endnudgedto claim the silver spot. The top spot of course went toas it gave us a read that was mind-bending, and unique all at the same time.’s imagination is certainly in full flow as he wrote a story that perhaps is fantasy (very loosely yes but that link is there). But the story is one that will have its fans who will love it to death, and perhaps its detractors as well. While we felt strongly that the story’s shining points would overcome any drawbacks it offered. Hence it was easy to crown it as the best among out lot but then there came a twist as good as in….So far three 2018 SPFBO finalists have been announced and for only the second time ever, a Senlin Safety Net candidate had been selected , the owner of Booknest had a tough choice and he was gracious enough to offer a second chance to Devin Madson’s WE RIDE THE STORM . We as a group were able to get a copy of the book and whilehad read it before the contest began. I was glad to read it and after finishing it, was thoroughly impressed by the book and now we had a quandary on our hands.Do we go with the most unique book (in all four editions of) that graced our lot and provided a wonderful read or do we go with a solidly spectacular book that perhaps had the unfortunate luck of being in the group of death. We also wanted to address any accusations of favoritism that might be assumed with this move. I can vouch that none of us knowpersonally and neither have we read any of her previous works. The finalist decision wasn’t’ a light one and we were all pondering as to which title we should send forwardorBoth titles were significantly different from each other. One was truly unique in every meaning of the word. The other one while sticking to the genre demands, demonstrated enough of a flair and non-typical world settings to provide a story that captivated thoroughly.In the end, all four of us agreed that the pathway was clear and while it wasn’t an easy decision, it was a decision that was needed. We decided to put forward a book that deserved to be in the finals and compete with the other nine finalists. In this regard one was just a little bit better than the other. This is not to say that the other title isn’t worthy. It definitely is a masterpiece but perhaps needs a little bit of an editing finesse to smoothen its uneven edges.So without further ado, the FBC finalist for the SPFBO 2018 edition is.