Review: Legacy of the Fallen

Title: Legacy of the Fallen (Ascend Online book 2)

Author: Luke Chmilenko

Rating: 3.5/5

Comments:

Well, this is the 3rd book set in Ascend Online that I've read.  I can't explain why, but it was kind of a slog to get through it.  It had some good parts, but I think the fact that the whole thing isn't real detracts from it enough that they couldn't make up for that.  Unlike the first book, the mechanics of the game weren't novel enough to hold my interest.

If you like gamelit, well I can give this my whole-hearted endorsement.  I think Luke could have dropped the game trappings and just put it together as a fantasy world, and it would have been a better story.

Two minor parts of the story apparently bugged me enough they are percolating to the top of my brain as I write this, so I'm including them.  One, the protagonist gets a message from family members that they're joining the game, yet they don't contact him in game, or ask for gear, starting money, or apply for the guild.  Just "Hey we're going to be in the neighborhood, but we don't want to see you"  Second, the world outside of the game is just implausibly awful, which no doubt is the point, so people will want to escape into the game.  

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Dungeon Walkers 1

Title: Dungeon Walkers 1

Author: Daniel Schinhofen

Rating: 4.25/5

Comments:

Full disclosure, I'm a fan of DJ.  

Ok, saying that, Dungeon Walkers, was good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the Aether's Revival books. Mostly that's because I'm not a huge fan of the "Magic Dungeon" as a bottomless well of magical stuff trope, but the pacing did seem to drag a bit in the middle of the book.  

That being said, I feel this is the spiritual successor to Alpha World, and anyone who is a big fan of that series will want to read it.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: I don't want to be the Hero (Volume 1)

Title: I Don't Want to Be the Hero (Vol 1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Z4GMMGH/

Author:  M.E. Thorne

Rating: 4/5

Comments:

This one starts off with an interesting hook, but it is just an "ok" story.  I mean it's got all the elements of a good story, but somehow they fail to connect them all in a way that really gave it dramatic tension.

I don't know if I'll read the sequel, but I will say that it was better than I expected, but not so much that I'm really invested in the characters.

Bedroom Activities: Explicit

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Review: Bloodline (Cradle book 9)

Title: Bloodline (Cradle Book 9)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZS19WWY/

Author: Will Wight

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments:

I'm surprised this is the first time I have put a review up for this series.  The fact that I'm reviewing book 9 should give you a clue that I liked the previous 8.

This is a very long, very slow burn series, but it somehow doesn't seem long.  Most of the people I hear complain about it don't like book 1, which I can kind of understand, because the protagonist is the weakest of the weak in book one.  That weakness is also the opportunity that sets up the whole series.  I mean if you have a top tier athlete work hard and win an Olympic gold medal, it's not really that dramatic or surprising.  But if you have a blind, parapalegic, with traumatic brain injury work insanely hard and win the same medal, well then you have true drama.

Book 9 sees the culmination of everything Lindon has been working for through the first 8 books, and some people seem to feel it's a bit anticlimactic.  I think that's just that in comparison to book 8, there are fewer moments that stun you with surprise.

I recommend the whole series.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Silver Magi 1

Title: Silver Magi 1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DWSG1MJ/

Author: D. Levesque

Rating: 3.5/5

Comments:

Honestly this felt like a rip-off of Valen's Legacy with just enough changed that it won't get hit with copyright claim.  It was an entertaining enough story that I finished it, but I doubt I'll bother reading the next one.  If you're a big enough fan of shape-changer, wizard, messiahs that you don't mind the remake, you'll probably love it.

Bedroom Activities: Explicit

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Update about CBR

Hey look it's a non-review post!  I intentionally keep this type of stuff to an absolute minimum, mainly because the purpose behind the blog is book reviews.

To make things easier to find, I have started tagging (labeling) all my posts, and I thought it would be good to point this out.

Tag

• Review - The post is a book review (duh)
• <last name of author>  - If an author gets more than 2 reviews, I start tagging his reviews with his last name.  I don't bother for one-offs because if it's bad I won't be coming back to them (probably).
• General crap - Stuff about the blog, possibly a rant
• Definitions - Stuff like this
• Hall of Fame - A tag I intend to be very rare, but given out to books I especially enjoy.  I will endeavor to keep this specific to the *book* and not just blanket every author I like with it.

Review: TAP2: Breakup

Title: TAP 2: Breakup

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092JS1HLV

Author:  Cebelius

Rating: 5/5+

 Comments:

I loved book one, and book 2 was just as good.  Cebelius has somehow created a quartet of characters that you just can't help but love.

I wish I had half the ability for banter and witty repartee these four have.

Anyway, just go read it.  It's fun, and touching, all in one book.  

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: The Chooser: A tale of Modern Valkyrie

Title: The Chooser: A Tale of Modern Valkyrie

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081C6DVLB/

 

Author:  David L. Burkhead

 

Rating: 5/5

 

Comments:

 

Ok, so this is available on Kindle Unlimited, but it’s a short story (36 pages).  Really well done, and interesting.  If you’re a fan of Norse Mythos, it’s worth the 10 minutes it will take you to read it.

 

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: War God for Hire - Gladiator

Title:  War God for Hire - Gladiator

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0911GF96F/

Author: David Burke

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments

I will state up front that I had *very* low expectations of this book when I started it.  I am exceedingly happy to say, that my expectations were absolutely wrong, and it was a good story.

Based solely on current market trends, and the cover being a very sexy woman, and the protagonist being a 6 time World Series champion, I thought that we would have Chad the Mega-Alpha fucking everything that even glanced his direction that had compatible genitalia with a phenomenal divine dick.  I was very wrong.

I won’t get into spoiler territory, but the story is good, and the relationships are not magical in their simplicity.   There is some culture clash and the little bit of sex there is, actually has some emotional weight.

I will be looking forward to the next one.                    

Bedroom Activities: Explicit (Limited)

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Review: War Whore

Title:  War Whore: A War’s Edge Stand Alone Novel (Berserkers)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08S5KNGWY/

Author: Ryan W. Aslesen

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments

This is pretty standard mil-sci fi, but it’s good standard military sci-fi.  You can always tell when an author has served, and is drawing on their own experiences, it just adds a ring of authenticity to the narration.

This was my first book by this author, but I intend to see what else he has written.  I hate it when people say “if you like X, then you’ll like this” so I won’t say that.  What I will say is it reminded me of the first time I read Hammer’s Slammers, and that’s a very good thing indeed.

Bedroom Activities:  None (reference to pre-book fun, non-explicit)

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Review: Monster Girl Tower

Title:  Monster Girl Tower

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08QS97332/

Author: Jay Aury

Rating: 4/5 (qualifiers)

Comments

This one is something I picked up because I heard about it and I didn’t know such a thing existed.  It’s an adult—themed Choose Your Own Adventure book.  Yes, you get to make decisions all the way through, with amusing and horrifying results.

Is this great literature? No.  Is it fun and entertaining? Yes.  Is it borderline pornographic?  Definitely.  Actually I’m not sure it’s even borderline.  The whole point of the story is to see how you navigate a tower full of horny ladies without forgetting your quest in a hedonistic haze.

It was actually quite a welcome surprise that the e-book format works great for this sort of thing.

So if you’re reading this for the story, 3/5.  If you are reading it to be entertained, 4/5.  If you want lots of sex, 5/5.

Bedroom Activities: Explicit

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