Review: Grog IV

Title: Grog IV (The Ebon Blades Book 4)

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BCGQ895Q

Author: RW Krpoun 

Rating: 5/5

Comments:

This is not a revelation, but I really like the Grog books.  I pretty much dropped everything and read this one as soon as I found it.  

Grog is a rare blend of humor, action, and oddly poignant observations which make you really admire Grog.  

I had to take a moment to consider why I enjoy these book so much.  I think it's that Grog has an unwavering code of ethics that everyone wishes they could be as committed.  It's not about being a brute, or a slave, or a fighter, it's that he is an Ebon Blade and he will uphold the honor of his barracks.  Life, death, love, and family are all secondary to that singular fact of his existence.  It's the foundation of who he is.  I suppose a psychologist might classify him as stunted, but there is an elegant simplicity to his world view.

Anyway, in this book Grog has a lot of character growth and frankly some of it is downright hilarious.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: To Kill a Unicorn

Title: To Kill a Unicorn: Lovecraftian Mythical Fantasy (Chronicles of Cain Book 1)

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086Z6PMWN/ 

Author: John Corwin

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments:  This was a suggestion from Discord and it's pretty good.  It was described to me as a darker Dresden, which didn't tell me a lot since I have only read one Dresden book.  It's pretty good urban fantasy, with good characters and an engaging story.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Area Denial

Title: Area Denial (Maelstrom Rising Book 7)

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08WPZXVYH

Author: Peter Nealen

Rating: 4/5

Comments:  We're up to book 7 on this series, and the story is fairly well established.  This series focuses on the Pacific and much like book 6, the Triarii are starting to be more effective vs their many foes and push back in significant ways.  Not great literature, but I don't mind reading it either.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Germination

Title: Germination: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Battle Mage Farmer Book 2)

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1JPNL1S/

Author: Seth Ring  

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments:  Knowing a little more about the story going into this one, I obviously didn't have the same "Wow" moments as I did on book one, but it was still really good.  A lot more of the larger world is touched upon and the stakes of the story become more apparent.

Definitely a good read, and I don't know how he's going to wrap this in one more book, but I have no doubt the door will be open for additional series.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Luck's Holdings

Title: Luck's Holdings (Luck's Voice Book 5)

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9YNCT7M 

Author: Daniel Schinhofen

Rating: 4.25/5

Comments:

This is the first book of the second arc of the Luck's Voice story and it's a good start.  I really like the quasi-Western setting and the magic-tech industrial age.  This story was enjoyable and I look forward to 6.

Bedroom Activities: Explicit

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Review: Hero of the Valley series

Title: Hero of the Valley, Academy of Steel, Arnite Empire

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09F8HWGSL/

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09J8BVWPF

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B435SS8S

Author: Gary Spechko 

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments:  This a pretty decent series about your proto-stereotypical prodigy, who, through no fault of his own, is thrust into a position where he is challenged to thrive or die and thrives.  It's litrpg which I'm ambivalent about, but it's not terribly intrusive.  I binged all 3 books, and don't regret it a bit.  If there is one minor quibble about the protagonist's character, it would be the almost complete lack of concern or apprehension when he is pulled away from his home and family.  He never even asks anyone about helping him get a message back to them, which strikes me as improbable unless he's a complete sociopath.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Junkyard Ghost Ship

Title: Junkyard Ghost Ship (Junkyard Pirate Book 6)

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B41M3PH9/

Author: Jamie McFarlane

Rating: 4/5

Comments:  Another fun story for the junkyard crew.  I enjoy these books, but if they have a weakness it's that the characters don't really change much themselves.  That being said, I enjoy the stories and will continue to read them.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Oh, Great! I Discovered How to Cultivate a Farmer

Title: Oh, Great! I Discovered How to Cultivate a Farmer in 52 Easy Steps: Unorthodox Farming

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B7GTWTCX/ 

Author: Benjamin Kerei

Rating: 3.5/5

Comments:  So this was ok.  I think it had just been too long since I read the first one because I didn't remember half of what was going on and it didn't really refresh many of the key points.  I did finish it, and the big plot points were resolved (pun intended) but I don't really know where he takes the story from here, or if he will.  If you have just finished book 1, I think you'll enjoy it a lot more than if you read book 1 a year ago, and are just picking this up cold.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Unbound Series

Title: Unbound books 1-3

Author: Nicoli Gonnella 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09X98PHSH/ 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09ZLNDWGK 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B4P6199X 

Rating: 4/5

Comments:  This starts as a semi-standard Isekai, and promptly goes right off the rails.  Over the three books there are parts that drag a bit, and other parts that go on too long, but taken as a whole, the series is really good.  I would rank the books as 4/5, 4/5, and 4.5/5.  By the end of book 3 it feels like our hero is finally facing things on an even footing and isn't just constantly being nut-shot by things.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Thunder Run

Title: Thunder Run (Maelstrom Rising Book 6)

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L87ZM86/ 

Author: Peter Nealen

Rating: 4/5

Comments:  This series has two parallel stories, each one focusing on a different team, and this book focuses on the team in Poland.  It's a good story and it's nice to see our heroes start to get some wins rather than just fighting the other side to a standstill without actually getting a win.  These are basically palate cleansers between my normal fare.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Beware of Chicken

Title: Beware of Chicken: A Xianxia Cultivation Novel

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09Y6RQSHM/ 

Author: Casual Farmer

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments:  An odd title for a good story.  It subverts a lot of the tropes of the genre and has a surprising amount of heart and humor.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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