Review: Gunpowder Geishas

Title: Gunpowder Geishas (The Phoenix Initiative Book 8)

Author: Carolyn Kay

Rating: 4/5

Comments: This one drew my eye for the cover and the title.  From my investigations, this series seems to be a shared world where each book done by a different author is a different story in the same world., so I didn't mind jumping in at book 8.  All of them seem to be centered around a company of mechs of various types.  This one was pretty fun, and I might pick up others when I have a chance.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Junkyard Commandos

Title: Junkyard Commandos (Junkyard Pirate Book 7)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CH1T5BHY/

Author: Jamie McFarlane 

Rating: 4.25/5

Comments:  I enjoyed this book, much like the others in the series.  The on and off relationship between Al and Barb is honestly the thing I find most annoying.  Hopefully it stays in one state for more than a book now that it seems to have reached a resolution.  The overall story is pretty entertaining and some new characters have been brought in that are a good addition to the ensemble.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Loremaster

Title: Loremaster - A Progression Fantasy Adventure (Ascension of a Street Rat Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CJDLCGM6/

Author: M.E. Robinson

Rating: 3.5/5

Comments: This book has some pretty cool bits, but also some parts that are just ok.  It pretty much defines the "It doesn't suck" rating.   There are a lot of threads laid down that indicate a larger plot beyond book 1, but it's all fairly standard stuff.  I would say it's 50/50 if I read the next book. 

Bedroom Activities: None

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Post holiday update start

Hey everyone, apologies for the long gap, but Christmas was busy busy, and I had lots of things to work on.

I'm going to get started with reviews today and I have a pile of them to do.  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

Author and release roundup!

Book release and upcoming roundup

These are sequels to books I've reviewed, or new series from authors I've read that are either out, or available for pre-order.

I have not read them, yet, but I want to make people aware of them.  There are some much anticipated books in this list, including the finale of Vixen War Bride.  

Rail-laid Plans (Luck's Voice 7)- Daniel Schinhofen

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CLRYJM5

Undaunted (Eight book 3) - Saemer Rabadi

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CK31T45V

System Overclocked 2 - Randi Darren

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CKS2GYHY

MX Hub (Antecedents' Legacy Book 2) - Daniel Schinhofen

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CGQKXFM3

Super Sales on Super Heroes 6 - William Arand

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C9GFRQVY

Dead Storm Rising (The Line Book 2) - Shane Gries

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CFGKVL8B

Firebrand (Firetouched 2) - D.E. Olesen 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBCVX9RV/

Spirit Hunter (Victor of Tucson 3) 0 Plum Parrot

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C9JZ1D78

Vault (Unbound 8) - Nicoli Gonnella

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C428YLN1/

Beware of Chicken 3 - Casualfarmer November 21, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/Beware-Chicken-Xianxia-Cultivation-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C825LF1K/

The Dark Ones - Vixen War Bride 6  December 1, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Ones-Part-Vixen-Bride-ebook/dp/B0CLN7ZKC8/

Mark of the Fool 6 - J.M. Clarke   January 10, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CKJS2PLQ

Separation: Battle Mage Farmer 7  - Seth Ring January 23, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFMDHXWS/

World Seal (Guardian of Aster Fall 7) - David North March 16, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG15JTYB/

Review: Fire and Song (Sequel to Iron Prince)

Title: Fire and Song (Warformed: Stormweaver Book 2)

https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Song-Warformed-Stormweaver-Book-ebook/dp/B0CBT183CY/

Author: Bryce O'Connor

Rating: 4.9/5

Comments:  Iron Prince is really a great book.  I won't say one of my all time favorites, but that's more a factor of 40+ years of reading than anything else.  I really think Iron Prince was one of the reasons CBR got started.

I mean I really like Iron Prince, it has one of my rare Hall of Fame tags. (Review: https://curmudgeon-book-reviews.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-iron-prince.html)

Because I liked it so much I downloaded Fire and Song with no small amount of anxiety.  After all it had been THREE years since I stayed up until 4:30 reading Iron Prince.

Bryce really knocked it out of the park with Fire and Song.  I won't say I don't have my quibbles with it, and wouldn't change a single word, but the story is strong, flows just as well as book one, and has it's moments of emotional impact.  His rabid fan base on Reddit apparently was able to push it all the way to #3 overall on the sales list for Amazon on release.  That's astounding.

Well done Bryce, please don't let us suffer for another 3 years.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Solar Clipper Marva Collins series

Title: SC Marva Collins

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6R78T4L
 

Author: Nathan Lowell

Rating: 3.5/5

Comments:  This series was very mixed bag.  I enjoyed most of it, but there were parts that were kind of boring.  The end was a good ending but I think it is telling that I wasn't sorry when it was over.  Fair winds and following seas Ishmael, enjoy your retirement.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review; Solar Clipper Seeker trilogy

Title: A Seeker's Tale From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0753GW2P1

Author: Nathan Lowell

Rating: 4/5

Comments:  The sequel to the Trader series this trilogy is good, but not as good as the first series.  I read it pretty fast, but there were a lot of  niggling little things that annoyed me.  I won't get into spoilers, so I won't be specific, but my willingness to suspend disbelief took some damage, but survived.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Series Review: Trader's Tales

Title: Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper (6 book series)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074C72691

Author: Nathan Lowell

Rating: Average 4.5/5

Comments:    I'm wrapping this series of updates with the series that I enjoyed the most during the last 6 weeks.

This is a 6 book series and I blasted through them in less than two weeks.  It's possible that they engaged with me so well because I was playing Starfield at the same time, but I don't think that's really it.  I think it definitely fit with my Starfield playing, but there were a couple of other sci-fi series that I started about the same time that did not hold my interest.

This is not an action series, but despite that, it has enough dramatic tension and character development to hold your attention.

Not all books in the series are created equally.  The first 3 are essentially one arc and are pretty tightly tied together.  The second 3 are another arc, but are not as tightly bound.  Book 4 is the darkest of the  series, and some members of my Discord are vocally negative about it.  Book 6 has some of the hardest emotional hits, but they are well done.

I'm about to dive into the sequel series, but I have to finish redoing Iron Prince so I'm ready when the sequel drops on the 31st (THREE YEARS after the first book).

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Mark of the Fool 5

Title: Mark of the Fool 5: A Progression Fantasy Epic

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CBCXC1GQ/

Author: J.M. Clarke

Rating: 5/5

Comments: This is one of those rare series, where the side characters are just as engaging as the protagonist, without overwhelming the protagonist's story.  Lots of great development in this book, from a lot of different characters.

It's pretty surprising to find book 5 of a series to be one of the best yet.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: An Outcast in Another World 5

Title: An Outcast in Another World 5: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Book 5 - Warring Insanity)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CC74Z2VT/

Author: KamikazePotato

Rating: 4/5

Comments:  At its core, this story is about a man wanting to go home, and to do that he has to survive.  And the crap he survives is amazing.  The path we've been seeing for the last 4 books took a very definite turn to left, so book 6 is going to be interesting.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Battlemage Farmer 6

Title: Preservation: Battle Mage Farmer 6 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C3DKLV92/

Author: Seth Ring

Rating:  4.5/5

Comments: It was a crazy ride.  I have no idea where book 7 is going to go, but I'm going to read it.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: The Fort at the End of the World

Title: The Fort at the End of the World

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C97NSNQN/

Author: Justin Marks 

Rating: 1.5/5

Comments: Cool title, but it's dreadfully boring.  It can't even make combat exciting.  Pages of text that refers to the characters talking, but they don't actually give you the dialogue so there's no character development.  I dropped it at 27% and even getting that far was a struggle.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Path of Ascension 4

Title: The Path of Ascension 4: A LitRPG Adventure Kindle Edition

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C5FWY73Y/

 

Author: C. Mantis  

Rating: 3.4/5

Comments: So after 2 really strong books and one mediocre book, this one really didn't show much improvement over book 3.  It all felt like filler, with time passing but nothing of much significance happening.  Discussion on my Discord seemed to indicate that is the prevailing opinion, but that the next book is setting up to be a return to form.  I hope so, this was a bit of a disappointment.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 6

Title: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 6

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1R52V2J/

Author: Matt Dinniman

Rating: 4/5

Comments: Carl is great, I enjoy his adventures and travails with Princess Donut. I confess this one was long enough ago that I don't remember a lot of specifics of this book, but I remember that there was a lot of developments in the over-arching story arc.  Looking forward to book 7.

Bedroom Activities:  None

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Review: Battleforged: Survivor

Title: Battleforged: Survivor: A LitRPG Apocalypse Adventure

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CDDQ9FR8/ 

Author: M.H. Johnson

Rating: 2/5

Comments:  This is by the same author as Silver Fox and the Western Hero.  Even if you didn't know it going in, the prose style is utterly unmistakable. I didn't finish it.  The author is clearly going to for a darker, grittier tone than Silver Fox, and the protagonist is apparently going to be skirting the line between good and evil pretty aggressively.  That was just not what I was interested in reading.    I'm sure it will do well with another reader, but this one didn't  find it enjoyable and I stopped before the half way point.   Hopefully I will get another SF&WH book soon.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: The Fusionist

Title: The Fusionist: A Fantasy LitRPG Academy Adventure (Magical Fusion Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7PMKVDS/ 

Author: Jonathan Brooks 

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments:

This was a random pick from the Kindle app.  I didn't know anything about it, it just kind of looked good.  Surprisingly, it was.  It has a very interesting power system, and the protagonist has some personal traits that make him interesting as a character.  As of this writing I've started book 2, butI haven't finished it.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Apologies to my followers

I suddenly realized it's been about 6 weeks since I last updated this.  I'm still alive, but I've been playing a LOT of Starfield.  It's the most fun I've had in a video game in a long time.  I think I just passed 200 hours.  It's not perfect, but no game is.  I'm still having fun, and still haven't done everything. Don't believe the haters, give it a go.  4.8/5

I have been doing some reading, so I'll get this place updated soon.