Wednesday, August 30, 2023
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
Review: Rose
Title: Rose (Would You Love a Monster Girl? Book 5)
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
Review: Grog 5
Title: Grog V (The Ebon Blades Book 5) 
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
Friday, August 4, 2023
Update done!
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)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
Review: The Captain
Title: The Captain (The Last Horizon Book 1)
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
Review: Mark of the Fool 4
Title: Mark of the Fool 4: A Progression Fantasy Epic
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
Review: Cultivating Chaos 4
Title: Cultivating Chaos 4 (VeilVerse: Cultivating Chaos) 
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
Review: Legend of Raven 1
Title: Five Rings of Cultivation: A Wuxia Series (Legend of Raven Book 1)
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
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
================================
FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Author Interview: Cebelius
Cebelius was interviewed by Tess Irondale, and I can't say I'm very familiar with Tess but she does a great job with the interview, ...
-
Title: Transformation: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Battle Mage Farmer Book 5) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BTMY4R27/ Author: Seth R... -
This is the first post of its kind, and hopefully the last. Ai Loves (Ai is Japanese for "love/affection"; the "Love love&qu... -
Title: Between Worlds Two (The Occupation Saga Book 2) Amazon.com: Between Worlds Two (The Occupation Saga Book 2) eBook: Williams, J.L.: Ki...