Blog update!

What!?  Two updates in one month?  Well, no, but tomorrow I get Starfield and I wanted to get caught up with stuff before I get a distraction.  I really hope it's as good as it looks. Look for another update in a few weeks.

Review: Guardian of Aster Fall Book 6

Title: Echoes of War (Guardian of Aster Fall Book 6)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BYVW3ZTJ/

Author: David North 

Rating: 3.9/5

Comments:  I am going to summarize my frustration with this book in one sentence.  TOO MUCH NAVEL GAZING.  I mean honestly, there are chapters that go by with no character interaction, just Sam contemplating the way the universe works and how he can accomplish his goals.

There's some great story elements here, and great characters, but he needs to USE them, not just mention them in passing.  Atley is woefully underutilized.

I hope the next book does better.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Rose

Title: Rose (Would You Love a Monster Girl? Book 5)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CFW1WS7S/

Author: Cebelius 

Rating: 4/5

Comments:  I'm trying be objective with this book.  It's just as good as the others, but it was not matching my mood so I struggled to get into the groove with it.  The over-arching story arc is still shaping up and the world is being delivered in manageable bits.  It is definitely an interesting world.  If you're in the mood for monster girls in love, it's going to be a 5/5.

Bedroom Activities: Explicit

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Review: Grog 5

Title: Grog V (The Ebon Blades Book 5) 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CFJ8QN2Y

Author: RW Krpoun

Rating: 5/5

Comments:  I owe the people on my Discord a big thank you for telling me this was out, it completely slipped by me.  I still love these books.  Grog, Burke, Hatcher, Hunter, and Provine Sael are all great characters.  This book shifts the story a bit from a lot of personal story arcs to a larger arc, and we say a fond farewell to some staple characters to get some more focused action.

It has my unequivocal recommendation.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Contender Saga Book II

Title: Ritual Combat: Contender Saga Book II

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CDR5ZGL5/

Author: Dave Willmarth

Rating: 3.8/5

Comments: This sequel came 6 months after the initial book and honestly I didn't remember much of what happened in book one, so diving in cold left me with a lot of blank spots in the story.  I managed to figure it out and plough through it.  It has it's points, and some funny parts.  My interest continues to be lukewarm.  There are some hints of a larger story arc and that has some potential.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Mud War

Title: Mud War (Dwarvish Dirty Dozen Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09X275VMW/

Author: Aaron D. Schneider, Michael Anderle 

Rating:3.8/5

Comments:  This series has some potential but I'm not quite ready to declare it good.  This was the intro story to an ensemble cast of disgraced dwarves who are given the worst missions in a war for survival.  The switching POV's is annoying but it was able to cope and finish it.  If you like Dwarves it is probably worth a read

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Firebrand: Novice

Title: Firebrand: Novice

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BVC83PV7/

Author: D.E. Olesen

Rating:3.6/5

Comments: Kind of a Young Adult story with a magic academy theme where a bumpkin from the hinterlands comes to the magic academy and finds out he's special.  It's not bad, but it meanders a lot, and struggles to find a point to everything.  It was a Facebook sponsored post so I didn't expect much.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Update done!

Well friends, it's been longer than normal between updates, and we're already at the tail end of summer.  I hope you've found some books that you are enjoying reading.  The fall and winter look good for releases.

This is what I have on my calendar.

•  8/18 Aster Fall book 6
• 9/13 Path of Ascension 4
• 9/27 Unbound book 8
• 10/3 Monster Hunter Memoirs: Fever
• 10/18 Mark of the Fool 5
• 11/20 Alexis Carew book 7
• 11/21 Beware of Chicken 3

Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl books 1-5

Title: Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl: A LitRPG/Gamelit Adventure (Books 1-5)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BKGYQXW/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PBCD9Y7

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08V4QSV6W/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093DJ7F3C/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09R6C5X88/

Author: Matt Dinniman

Rating: 4.8/5

Comments:  I avoided this series because it's very close to the dreaded System Apocalypse genre.  Besides that it looks goofy.  As it turns out, it is both of those things, yet I still like it.  The characters are relatable, and you become invested in them,  The whole cast is good.  Even the "bad guy" characters have feel real when you find out more about them which happens organically as part of the story.  There are a ton of good characters in the story, and you really feel it when bad things happen to them.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: The Captain

Title: The Captain (The Last Horizon Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BXPYQD4D/

Author: Will Wight 

Rating: 3.5/5

Comments:  Will Wight is rightfully known for the Cradle series where the protagonist, Lindon, goes from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high.  This series does not start that way.  Not even remotely.  It's a good story, but I'm not sure I see where the protagonist will have a significant character arc.  The first book is mainly an introduction to the story, so I'm reserving judgement, and I will read book 2, but he's going to have to give me a peek at where we're going or book 3 is going to be a big question mark.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Mark of the Fool 4

Title: Mark of the Fool 4: A Progression Fantasy Epic

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1HHNWLB

Author: J.M. Clarke

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments: I'm still really enjoying this series.  There is progression, but it's a reasonable rate rather than a ballistic missile launch.  With the return to Thameland  there's a new level of tension as Alex encounters the other Heroes.  Definitely recommend the series.  Oh and there's a big freaking super golem too, which is still awesome.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Aether's Revival Book 7

Title: Moral Stand (Aether's Revival Book 7)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CBQFHSNK/

Author: Daniel Schinhofen

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments: This book went fast, and was much less slice of life than the typical DJS book.  There were some surprises in the book, but nothing bad.  We're at book 7  and I am still engaged and enjoying the series, that's pretty remarkable.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Victor of Tucson Book 2

Title:Dungeon Delver: A LitRPG Progression Fantasy (Victor of Tucson Book 2)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BXFXQVC2/

Author: Plum Parrot

Rating:3.9/5

Comments:  A pretty decent continuation from book 1.  There are a few "Oh don't do that." moments where you can tell they're screwing up, but ultimately it's a good story.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Cultivating Chaos 4

Title: Cultivating Chaos 4 (VeilVerse: Cultivating Chaos) 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C3GC49VD/

Author: William D. Arand

Rating: 3.5/5

Comments:  Cultivating Chaos was the first Wuxia/Cultivating book I read.  Loved it.  It had the hard scrabble poor boy gaining power and becoming a force to be reckoned with.  Plus it had a sarcastic invisible mentor to keep him humble, and a mysterious story arc involving his cousin.

Reading book 4, I now realize that I really liked all of those elements, and at this point most of them are gone, which leaves me wondering where the story is going.  There were a lot of parts to this book I just found confusing, and I really don't know where the story is going from here.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Legend of Raven 1

Title: Five Rings of Cultivation: A Wuxia Series (Legend of Raven Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BD2QBB3T/

Author: Konstantin Zaitsev

Rating:  3.8/5

Comments:  This book is a little uneven.  Parts are really good, and other parts are mediocre.  It is clearly inspired by the Legend of the Five Rings games and universe, but that's not a bad thing.  There are some editing and verbiage artifacts that I think should have been caught, but they make me wonder if English is not the author's native language.  I'm going to read the second one and see if it improves.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Isekai Magus 1

Title:Isekai Magus: A LitRPG Progression Saga (The Fantasy World of Nordan Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0918MB4CL/

Author: Han Yang 

Rating: 2.5/5

Comments: I didn't finish this.  There was POV switching for no real reason, the protagonist is objectively evil, and honestly is fairly unlikeable.  He does seem to be working to correct his faults, but I don't care enough to finish it.  I made it to 50% and had no urge to read more despite letting it sit in my pile for 2 weeks.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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