Friday, January 31, 2025

Review: Grog VI

Title: Grog VI (The Ebon Blades Book 6)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DCGJ9FDK/

Author: RW Krpoun

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments:  I read this back in July, during the Great Hiatus of 2024 and I'll be honest, I don't remember a lot of specifics.  I do remember finishing it and I enjoyed it.  Grog stories are great and this one lived up to the standard.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities

Monday, January 27, 2025

Review: Start Menu: New Game

Title: Start Menu: New Game: A LitRPG Adventure Kindle Edition


 Author: Kos Play

Rating: 2.9/5

Comments: I'm not including a link to this book because I wouldn't do that to you.  It wasn't terrible until you got to the end, and then it really screwed the pooch.

A 3 means I finished it and question whether that is wise.  In this case it doesn't earn a 3 because I know it was a waste of time.

The protagonist is contemptible, and you're really only reading this out of morbid curiosity and the vague hope that he might redeem himself.

Just save your time.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities

Friday, January 24, 2025

Review: Outcast in Another World book 6

Title: An Outcast in Another World 6: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Book 6 - The End of Insanity)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D7WY8XZN/

Author: KamikazePotato

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments: Generally, I have made a decision that I'm not going to bother reviewing books that are deep into a series unless they really suck (Looking at you Infinite World book 4).

This however is the last book of the series.

A good book or a good series can be utterly ruined if the author can't bring it to a satisfying conclusion so wrapping up a series is really a high risk endeavor for an author.  The master of the satisfying conclusions is of course Professor Tolkien, but any comparison to the Professor is inherently unfair.

All in all Mr Potato brought it all together in a satisfying manner.  The protagonists have to pull out some surprises, there are some unforeseen twists and turns, and at the end, an actual conclusion.

If you haven't read the series, I don't regret the hours I spent reading it, so take that for what it's worth.  If you have, I think you'll enjoy the epic conclusion.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities

Monday, January 20, 2025

Review: Iron Tyrant 1

Title: Chain of Feathers: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Iron Tyrant Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D74FW36D/

Author: Seth Ring

Rating: 4.25/5

Comments: This is a new series from the author of Battlemage Farmer (which has reached Plaid Power level).

Pretty good series, but there are certain parts which evoked an extremely negative response.  They are perpetrated by the bad guys which is why it wasn't an instant DNF.  I'll see how I feel after book 2, but I will read it.

Bedroom Activities: None

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FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities

Friday, January 17, 2025

Review: Legacy's Edge

Title: Legacy's Edge (The Claimed Realm Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/Legacys-Edge-Claimed-Realm-Book-ebook/dp/B0D74HN6Z1/

Author: Marc Alan Edelheit 

Rating: 4/5

Comments:  This is one of the books that I read in an effort to branch out from my usual fare.  It's not LitRPG, GameLit, or Isekai.

All in all, very good.  It's got some skipping around, and the pace could be faster, but the world is interesting and the characters are good.  If I had to describe it, it's kind of an alternate history with magic.  There are many elements that are clearly inspired by the real world, but it's neither annoyingly plaigiaristic nor incongruous, so it meshes together seamlessly.

Book 2 is out next month and I will most likely pick it up

Bedroom Activities: None

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FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities

Friday, January 10, 2025

Review: Beware of Chicken 4

Title: Beware of Chicken 4: A Xianxia Cultivation Novel

https://www.amazon.com/Beware-Chicken-Xianxia-Cultivation-Novel-ebook/dp/B0CYZSLDJL/

Author: Casualfarmer

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments:  This might have been my most anticipated book of 2024.  I was thrilled that it did not disappoint.  After the last book's explosive ending, this book inevitably had to be a slower pace, and that's managed in a very good way.  It's a "back to the farm" and "kick back" kind of book.  A lot of the mysteries we've been reading about for 3 books are fully fleshed out and revealed, which is pretty fascinating.

Looking forward to book 5!

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities

Monday, January 6, 2025

Review: Steel Forged Legacy

Title: Steadfast Hand: Steelforged Legacy (Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DJBTS6JJ/

Author:M. Tress

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments: This is my first review after the Great Hiatus of 2024.  

Full disclosure, M. Tress is someone I've conversed with more than once on Discord, and it goes back long before he started publishing books. 

This book was one of the more innovative stories that I have read in the last few years.  It has good characters and a really interesting storyline.  His best book so far.

Bedroom Activities: None

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FTB/Explicit/None – Fade to black bedroom activities vs “Onscreen” vs No activities

Friday, January 3, 2025

Farewell 2024

Well here we are, 2024 is over, and it's a whole new year.



I don't know if this picture is a sunrise or a sunset, and that's oddly appropriate because it could be the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025.

2024 was a pretty crap year for me, mostly because of the loss of my brother by another mother.  In July I was struggling with coping with the grief, so I took the step to see a grief counselor, and she was very helpful.  I feel like I have gotten past the primary danger there.  I have struggled with having any creative energy and while I have kept up my reading, I have not felt like doing reviews.

I'm going to try reviving CBR, and we'll see if I can find the motivation to keep up with it.  Lord knows I have a large backlog.


Review: The Artificer’s Chronicles

Title: The Artificer’s Chronicles: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure (The Secret Class Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BN71DS75/ Autho...