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/

Author: E.M. Hardy, LitRPG Freaks 

Rating: 5/5

Comments: This is a fairly straightforward setup.  You have the apparently weak and disrespected protagonist without any apparent potential.  You have his best friend who's capable and unfailingly loyal to our Hero. All good things, great basis of a story.  What I found exceptional with these books (1 and 2) was the pacing and the banter and repartee between the characters.  The pacing is fast without being too fast, and the banter is great.

I will be looking for book 3 because I read 1 and 2 in two days.

Bedroom Activities: None

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

Review: Bastard (1)

Title: Bastard (Last Life Book #1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9KM4SPL/

Author: Alexey Osadchuk

Rating: 4.9/5

Comments: This is kind of an odd beast.  It's an isekai but the protagonist has some power before being reborn. He's isn't so much reborn as inserted into the body of someone else who has met an unfortunate end.  It is actually really good.  Only the first of the eight books is on Kindle Unlimited, but I bought and read all 8 of them in less than a week.  Strong characters, good plot twists, and a good over-arching arc.

I am only putting up a review for the first one, but I give the whole series a recommendation. 

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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

Review: Alexis Carew #7

Title: A Brief, Interminable Peace: Alexis Carew #7

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DS1CKPX9/

Author: J.A. Sutherland

Rating: 4.75/5

Comments: This book is one I have been anticipating for years.  Mr. Sutherland had put it up for pre-sale back in 2023, and then had a bout of clinical depression which utterly derailed his writing.  He worked past the depression and has gotten back in the writing groove.  After having all my creative energy destroyed during the Great Hiatus of 2024, I have a lot of sympathy for him.

For those who are unfamiliar with this series, it's heavily inspired by the Golden Age of Sail but in space.  The stories are great and I was curious to see if he could match the previous books' quality.  I was pleasantly surprised.  In typical Carew style, the stories have great emotional impact, but also have a signature dry humor.  My only real quibble is that the pacing during part of it was a little slow.  Fortunately for me, he says he's well into book 8, and I will be waiting for it with as much patience as I can muster.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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