Cherry Mischievous

UNINTENDED CULTIVATOR: Volume 9

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Unintended Cultivator: Volume 9 by Eric Dontigney
Book 9 in the Unintended Cultivator series
Narrated by Adam Verner
Genre: fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Unintended Cultivator: Volume 9:

In the Jianghu, there is only the illusion of peace…

Sen has returned from the capital and reluctantly begun the work of building a sect. Yet the endless politics, rivalries, and logistical burdens of leadership weigh heavily on a man who once answered to no one. Every day pulls him deeper into a life he never truly wanted.

Only the looming war with the spirit beasts keeps him from abandoning it all.

Yet, not even distance can allow someone as famous as Judgment’s Gale to go undisturbed for long. Emissaries from sects begin to intrude on his small corner of the world. Some come with benign intentions, while others come to put the former wandering cultivator in his place.

Once, Sen could simply walk away. Now he has a sect to protect and a daughter whose safety he will defend at any cost. Sen may find that war of a different kind is unavoidable…

Source: Info in the "About Unintended Cultivator: Volume 9" was taken from amazon on 19/07/2026.

Buy Link(s):

Glimmer Of Night

My Thoughts:

Another middle chunk of a bigger book with cliffhanger ending. Not meant to be read on it's own.

It's been a while since I've read book 8 and I've read numerous LitRPG and/or similar books since then. So when I started with this book, it was a bit slow with me trying to remember the characters and events from previous books that were mentioned in here. Despite that, it didn't take me long to get engrossed into the story again!

I tried to stretch it out. I took breaks. I picked up other books. It still finished too soon for me! It felt a whole lot shorter than 12 hours and a half!

Falling Leaf
Happy to see Glimmer Of Night and Falling Leaf again! It's like meeting old friends again! What I wished though was that there was more of Ai! She was mentioned several times but only mostly in third person. Someone else was thinking of her. Or she was talked about by other people. Precious little of actually her and her birds!

This book is mostly about the sect war and the impending war with the Beast King. Which to me means that more books are coming our way! Can't wait for Book 10!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 3
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (12 hours and 31 minutes listening time)
Plot = 2
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Unintended Cultivator Series:

Meet The Author

About Eric Dontigney:

Raised in Western New York, Eric Dontigney has lived in New Mexico, Florida, Wisconsin, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. He currently resides near Dayton, OH. He is a fan of photo-realism and impressionist paintings, coffee, and well-made food.

Not wishing to tarnish the good names of writers who have come before him, he refuses to name influences. He will admit to reading Neil Gaiman, Harlan Ellison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ayn Rand, Stephen J. Cannell, Jim Butcher, Kate Chopin, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Camus, James Baldwin, Tim O'Brien, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Stephen King.

The Narrator

About Adam Verner:

Adam Verner is a full-time narrator and voice talent with over one hundred titles recorded. He is the recipient of AudioFile Earphones Awards for Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck and The Big It by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. Adam earned his MFA in acting from the Chicago College of the Fine Arts at Roosevelt University.

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE FUSIONIST

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The Fusionist by Jonathan Brooks
Book 1 in the Magical Fusion series
Narrated by Miles Meili
Genre: LitRPG fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Fusionist:

A young man and his axe, along with a magical life he never asked for…

Larek Holsten is different from most people, living in the Kingdom of Androthe where his 7-foot-tall frame is looked at with suspicion and anger from its shorter residents; but as long as it helps him become the best Logger he can be, he doesn’t let it bother him all that much. He and his best friend, an axe with a powerful Fusion that causes it to become sharper and stronger than a normal tool, are feared by the trees in the magical forest north of his home, as he can fell the quickly growing monoliths faster than anyone else in the community.

Unfortunately, after visiting the local village, a deliberate misunderstanding lands Larek in trouble; as a result, he is taken away from his family and the only home he has ever known. Along the way, his dormant magical potential is discovered by those more knowledgeable than him, and he is ordered to attend some sort of academy for Mages.

The problem? Contrary to many who might jump at the chance of wielding powerful magic to fight the monsters that threaten the towns and cities around the Kingdom, Larek has absolutely no desire to become a Mage, especially when he has no choice in the matter. All he wants is to be allowed to return home to his family and to chop down the trees in the Rushwood Forest.

But once he discovers a unique talent that stems from his newly unlocked latent power, he might just have to stick around to see what he can do…

Source: Info in the "About The Fusionist" was taken from amazon on 21/09/2026.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

First chunk of a bigger book.

I like the way the author slowly introduced the world building and first explains what the initials are, i.e., AP means Advancement Points, before further using the initials in the book. A few LitRPG I've read just dropped these initials without explanation or anything, assuming that the reader is also a gamer. I am not a gamer so I struggle to understand what these initials are. When I do not understand something in the book, it makes it a lot less interesting to me.

I also like the way the author explained the magic system and the origins/nature of the Scissions. It made the world building more believable. It makes it easier to suspend disbelief.

This is my first Miles Meili audiobook listen and I like the way he makes Larek's voice different from everyone else. However, he also reads with a tiny bit of a singsong which I am not very fond of.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 2
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (16 hours and 58 minutes listening time)
Plot = 2
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Magical Fusion Series:

Meet The Author

About Jonathan Brooks:

Jonathan Brooks had worked in retail for most of his life but have been an avid reader of fantasy books since around age 12. In addition, he has been playing videogames since he got an Atari 2600 when he was 5 years old. Consequently, he fell in love with the LitRPG, GameLit, and Dungeon Core genres when he first learned about them. Currently, he has 86 books published and more on the way!

The Narrator

About Miles Meili:

Miles Meili is an actor and voice actor (ACTRA and SAG/AFTRA member) based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Miles Meili was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He has been an audiobook enthusiast since they were called "books on tape". He started his career as a performer in Halifax, Nova Scotia, then moved to Seoul, South Korea where he lived for 10 years. There, he recorded audiobooks, e-learning, video games, cartoons, documentary voice over, commercials and more. He also appeared in Korean films and television shows, expat films, and on stage. He now lives in Toronto, Ontario with his wife, Kate, and daughter, Piper.

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE DARK HEALER (Book 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The Dark Healer (Book #4) by Alex Toxic and Nadya Lee
Book 4 in The Dark Healer series
Narrated by Christopher P. Brown
Genre: urban progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Dark Healer (Book #4):

A thousand years ago, the abomination came into the world. It poisoned the earth and turned animals and people into horrible mutants. Necromancers were the only ones who could combat it.

The Richter clan fought this threat. Whose plans did they ruin by doing so? Who wanted the world to die?

Max will find the answers to these questions, even if he has to extract them by force.

Source: Info in the "About The Dark Healer (Book #4)" was taken from amazon on 16/05/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

Like all the books in this series, this one picked up just where the last book left off and it is just another middle chunk of a bigger book. Middle plot, too. No beginning. Cliffhanger ending. Not recommended to be read on it's own.

In this book we meet Octavia Scipion. It seems that Max has multiple love interest now. Emre Demir continues to be nice to Max. And we are introduced to the border foci and more facets of this world.

Again, Christopher P. Brown did a good job of narrating this book!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 1
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (7 hours and 28 minutes listening time)
Plot = 1
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Dark Healer Series:

Meet The Authors

About Nadya Lee:

Ever since she was a little girl, Nadya Lee knew exactly what she wanted to be: either a President, a singer, or an author.

The first option just didn’t work out for some reason

The second option eventually became her hobby. Nadya still loves singing and does it at every opportunity, accompanying herself on a guitar.

Likewise, writing remained her hobby for quite a while. Nadya wrote poems, articles and even fanfics, keeping an occasional blog on various subjects including book reviews. Books and video games have always been an important part of her life.

Then one day she just woke up in the morning and decided she’d procrastinated enough. Time to put pen to paper.

So here she is, hoping that her audience might enjoy reading her books just as much as she enjoys writing them.

About Alex Toxic:

Alex Toxic was born in 1978. He liked reading and playing video games from childhood. These two hobbies found ideal common ground when the LitRPG genre arrived.

Alex dreamed of becoming an author but the profession seemed just too complicated to him. So he began working first as a journalist, then as a TV anchor and then as a documentary filmmaker.

There came a point when Alex had run out of books he wanted to read. The authors simply couldn’t write new ones fast enough. The only way out was to write a book of his own. That’s how he launched into the passion that would with time become his primary profession.

Alex believes that the most important thing in a book is its main character. He or she has to be strong and unrelenting in the face of whatever challenge arises in their path, and they must always triumph.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Christopher P. Brown:

Christopher P. Brown is an audiobook narrator whose passion is using his scripted theater and improvisation training and experience to bring stories and characters to life. He holds graduate degrees (MA and PhD) in literature, linguistics, and leadership studies. Chris is also bilingual, with professional proficiency in both Spanish and English, and can tackle narration projects in either language, or both of them. Chris grew up in western Michigan, and has lived in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Washington DC area, and now resides in San Diego, California.

christopherbrownaudio.com | tiktok | facebook | linkedin | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

RUINFORGED ARCHITECT (BOOK 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

RuinForged Architect (Book 1) by Malik Mark
Book 1 in the RuinForged Architect series
Narrated by Jeremy Frazier
Genre: fantasy LitRPG
Format: ebook & audiobook

About RuinForged Architect (Book 1):

Bob Arnold was part of testing ancient technology that does not function correctly. After a decade, it is disposed of — but the damage is already done. The device pings a new alien civilization and brings it to Earth, along with a newer version of the System and its capabilities.

They are not here to negotiate or understand. They are here to divide and conquer through a false evaluation and tutorial.

Except they make a blunder in their assumptions.

Humanity is not separated from the Galactic System because it is weak or primitive. Humanity is not stripped of the System because it is a lowly race. And soon enough, this alien civilization learns why.

Follow Bob Arnold as he unlocks a Construct Building class — creating a base, golems, tanks, missile launchers, and more. He must fight to survive an evaluation designed to ruin humanity: system monsters unleashed against them, humans tricked into believing corrupted system guides, and hidden exploits embedded into the System itself.

Source: Info in the "About RuinForged Architect (Book 1)" was taken from amazon on 04/10/2026.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

Malik Mark is a new-to-me author who is showing to be promising.

First chunk of a bigger book. Just an opening salvo into the world of RuinForged Architect. Big whooping cliffhanger ending.

I like the theme. The thought of a former delta force soldier who is on the run, who is plunked into an apocalyptic world to survive, sounds like an interesting story to me!

The title hasn't really sunk in to make sense to me until chapter 13.

There isn't really much of a plot. The Crew got thrown into an apocalyptic game-like world. They survive the monsters, other hostile humans, fight for resources, and levelling up, and all the nuances and drama that goes with it. That's it. And then you need to buy book 2.
Silent Death

Would Silent Death become an ally or the death of The Crew?

This is my first Jeremy Frazier audiobook listen and I like the way he reads. I wonder how he achieved that multiple voices effect when The Crew said "Clear" in page 422 (93%) in kindle ebook... Did he recorded himself multiple times saying "clear" and played it at the same time??

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (12 hours and 38 minutes listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The RuinForged Architect Series:

The Author

Malik Mark:

Author of the RuinForged Architect series.

patreon | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

Jeremy Frazier:

Jeremy is a professionally trained audiobook narrator with over 30 years of experience in the performing arts. He has worked with renowned entities like Disneyland, collaborated with LA recording artists, and performed on a wide range of stages, from intimate venues to grand theaters. Having lived in Mexico, Canada, and the United States, Jeremy has developed a profound appreciation for diverse cultures, accents, and personalities, which he brings to his narrations.

As an author himself, Jeremy understands the dedication and creativity required to craft immersive stories and captivating fantasy worlds that readers will cherish.

jeremyfrazier.com | tiktok | facebook | instagram | linkedin

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE ORDER OF ARCHITECTS (Book 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The Order Of Architects (Book 4) by Oleg Sapphire and Yuri Vinokuroff
Book 4 in The Order Of The Architects series
Narrated by Kevin T. Collins
Genre: urban fantasy / portal progression fantasy
Format: hardback, ebook & audiobook

About The Order Of Architects (Book 4):

The hardest part is behind me, it seems. I'm no longer a kindergartner. I've got money, allies, and, most importantly, a reputation.

Yet, the further you rise, the more challenges the Universe throws your way, and the more powerful your foes become as they emerge over the horizon. That just makes life more interesting, however. I've got a plan. And I'm going to follow it to the letter....

Source: Info in the "About The Order Of Architects (Book 4)" was taken from amazon on 02/05/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

Another chunk of a bigger book that is being sold in pieces.

If you are reading this book then that means you are already a follower of this series because this is not a stand-alone book. You can't start reading here and expect to really follow the plot. Therefore, if you got here, it is presumed that you have read books 1 to 3 already. Having said that, and taking this book as it is, as in just a chunk of a bigger book and expecting to read more in subsequent book... this is not a bad read! Not at all!

I keep wondering what mischief that Scrappy and Clayskull's secret mission entailed? Where they came out all dirty and scuffed??... and unceremoniously stuffed into the trunk by Boris.

This is the book where we are introduced to Ana and the romance bit of the series.

By the cover art, it would make a reader think that Grimrock occupies a significant portion of the story, but he doesn't. Yes, he is in the story. But still a sidekick so much like Boris. So what's the diff? Why is he in the cover art and Boris isn't?

I wish that they would hire another narrator for this series...

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 3
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 3
Pace = (9 hrs and 58 mins listening time)
Plot = 2.5
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Order Of The Architects Series:

Meet The Authors

About Oleg Sapphire:

Oleg Sapphire was born in April 1993 in the city best known as “Little Paris”. He’s always been a good-natured banterer constantly in the thick of his fun-loving friends. This didn’t prevent him from getting two degrees though, in law as well as in IT. He used his expertise in both areas to pen his LitRPG series. His hobbies are archery and reading, but the one pastime that really moves his soul is coin collecting, hunting for rare specimens with quite a bit of history behind them. Ever since childhood, he’s been an artist at heart. His other passion is painting, and he’s made his way through an inordinate amount of books.

Oleg has been surrounded by pets from an early age, so animals take a large place in both his heart and in his books, much to his readers’ joy. Writing is his life and his livelihood; he relates to every moment of his characters’ journeys, sympathizing with them in both his heart and his mind.

facebook | amazon | goodreads

About Yuri Vinokuroff:

Yuri Vinokuroff was born in 1976 in Sevastopol. An avid reader from an early age, he was especially fond of fantasy and science fiction. Already back then, he knew he wanted to write books rather than just read them.

But as it often happens, all of his time and energy were consumed by his successful career, his family and his French Bulldog breeding kennel. His professional activities involved designing and constructing power plants and facilities, which couldn’t be further removed from his teenage dream of writing fiction.

Still, Yuri didn’t give up. Eventually, he began writing for Facebook and even created a small challenge for himself, completing 100 posts in 100 days. It was there that he gained his first fans. During the 2020 lockdown, he used the opportunity to enter a major LitRPG competition. Although his novel didn’t win, it still went viral, soon followed by the rest of the series.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Kevin T. Collins:

Kevin T. Collins is an actor, singer, and recording artist with a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has performed in numerous theater performances, including Angels, City of Angels, Paradise Lost, and on television in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, As the World Turns, and The Guiding Light.

www.kevintcollins.com | twitter | instagram | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE BOOK OF SECRETS

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The Book Of Secrets by Melissa McShane
Book 1 in The Last Oracle Series
Narrated by Stephanie Spicer
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Book Of Secrets:

Helena Davies just wants a job that will get her out of her parents’ basement. Abernathy’s Bookstore is disorganized, out of the way, and smells funny, but it pays well and promises to at least be interesting. She has no idea how interesting her life will become. By the end of the first day, Helena has a dead boss in the basement, an unexpected promotion, and the news that she is now a part of an endless war against creatures from another reality.

As Abernathy’s newest custodian, Helena is responsible for its secrets, including the most important one: Abernathy’s isn’t just a bookstore. It’s the world’s only living oracle, producing prophecies to help fight the war against alien invaders bent on draining this world of its magic. Helena’s job is to find books to answer questions put to the oracle by the Wardens, fighters in the Long War. It seems simple enough, but Helena’s new job is anything but.

She has allies: her best friend Viv, from whom she has no secrets; Harry and Harriet Keller, elderly magi skilled at uncovering secrets; and the enigmatic Malcolm Campbell, warrior magus and one of the few who have faith in Helena’s abilities. But not everyone is thrilled that an outsider now has charge of one of the world’s most powerful magical entities. Helena must defend herself against the antagonism of Judy Rasmussen, who’d expected to be the next custodian of Abernathy’s, and her father William, powerful leader of the Wardens and someone with an agenda of his own.

Without training, without any knowledge of the magical world, and facing the hostility of those who’d wanted someone else to be Abernathy’s custodian, Helena must navigate the treacherous waters of her new world and find a place for herself within it. But there’s still a murderer on the loose, someone who intended to control Abernathy’s by killing its custodian — and Helena might be next on his list.

Source: Info in the "About The Book Of Secrets" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35968517-the-book-of-secrets on 25/06/2022.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

The title does not really have anything to do with the book. Other than that it talked about a book (A Book Of Secrets) and the central location of the story is a bookstore. The book that Helena is looking for is not really a book. It is a manual titled Protocol for perfroming an augury. And then there wasn't much of a plot. The story was to get from A to B and that is what happened. A little mystery with the who-done-it revealed at the end. Which, I guess is better than no plot at all! There is also the fact that the story telling quality is quite good! Good enough for me to follow this series (for now). And the world building is beautiful!

This is my first Stephanie Spicer audiobook and I like the way she narrates. I will listen to her again.

At the end of it, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to urban fantasy readers!

Empirical Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4
Cover art = 4
Pace = (6 hrs and 48 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Last Oracle Series:

Meet The Author

About Melissa McShane:

Melissa grew up a nomad, following her family all over the United States, and ended up living in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains with her husband, four kids, and three very needy cats. Her love of reading was always a constant during those uncertain years, and her love of writing grew out of that. She wrote reviews and critical essays for many years before turning to fiction, and was surprised at how much she liked it. She loves the fantasy genre and how it stretches the imagination.

The Narrator

About Stephanie Spicer:

Steph grew up in sunny Florida, where she spent a good deal of time as a wide eyed child in theme parks. While she has never been a typical fairytale princess, she did learn a lot about the power of stories. Since then, Steph has dedicated herself to telling stories as a historian, writer, and performer. Steph received her Masters in History from the University of Virginia, focusing on the history of Vaudeville and Burlesque theaters in America, while also acting, singing, and working backstage on numerous theatrical productions. Ever since a request to record telephony for an employer sparked her interest in voiceover, Steph has dedicated herself to bringing her skills as a storyteller and performer to all her voiceover work.

Steph lives in Brooklyn. In her time off, she enjoys long walks with her dogs, baking, knitting and watching British television.

www.stephmspicer.com | twitter | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

HER DRAGON DADDY

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Her Dragon Daddy by Roxie Ray
Book 1 in the Black Claw Dragons series
Narrated by Phoenix McKay
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Her Dragon Daddy:

Mav disappeared before I could ever tell him — about the child I carried. I’ve had years to get over him, and I’ve tried. But the second I see him again my heart lurches — and it’s like all that time evaporates. I still burn for him, even though I know it’s a bad idea.

I try to remind myself about the bad things: his possessiveness, his quick temper, but — he’s different now. More mature. Protective. Settled.

And hiding something... Something bigger than the child we share...

Allowing him back into my heart could crush me — but I’ve never felt safer than when I’m in his arms. Can I really have the man I love for good? Or will our past mistakes keep us from a happy future?

Source: Info in the "About Her Dragon Daddy" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52787421-her-dragon-daddy on 02/01/2022.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

There wasn't much of a plot. The characters went from A to B, and that is exactly how it happened. However, the journey in getting from A to B is full of human emotions and a road block or two, and that is where we get our joy from this book. However, I am more forgiving about plotlessness in urban fantasy because when I pick up an urban fantasy, I am not really looking for plots. I am looking for paranormal stories. When I pick up a crime fiction, then, I would expect good plots.

I was kinda disappointed when I realised that Roxie Ray is a bunch of authors. I do not know which one of them wrote this book, but he/she is good enough that I got hooked by this book. Plus there are dragons! I do not know how they are going to pan out the story arc of clan of dragons in hiding in plain sight, but this book was good enough that I finished it and bought the next book in the series. However, When I started reading the next book, I was kinda having doubts that the author is going to make that story arc work... Anyway, I liked the thought of the dragon trying to win his long lost love back. I know... too romantic! **the cynical in me smirked**

This is my first Phoenix McKay listen and she just fits Ava! Middle-aged and gorgeous.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = (6 hrs and 38 mins listening time)
Plot = 2
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In Black Claw Dragons Series:

Meet The Author

About Roxie Ray:

Roxie Ray is a group of writer friends who love to write Sci Fi Alien Romance and Paranormal Romance. They love to talk, read and write this lovely genre. They hope you love their books and strive to make sure you have a steamy, wonderful experience!

website | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

Phoenix McKay:

facebook | narrator page | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

HEALER MAGIC

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 08:20:49 +0000

Healer Magic by Laurence Dahners
Narrated by Jocelyn Duford
Book 3 in the Tales Of Simple Magic series
Genre: progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Healer Magic:

Magical ability is rare, but Ky Vaux — a peasant boy from a poor family — can not only mend and make, but he’s extremely powerful and working toward his dream of becoming a healer.

Though everyone's working, Ky’s gift of magic is now the main support for Ky, his mother, his sister, his aunt and his cousins. Plus, they support a large number of people who work for the family.

But for Ky, taking care of his family’s no longer enough. Now, he’s doing his best to help others: The poor, the sick, the deformed, and the victims of a blizzard which collapsed homes all around the city.

Plus, the cold's endangering everyone, especially the poor.

Source: Info in the "About Healer Magic" was taken from amazon on 26/04/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

Another chunk of a bigger book.

Like the first two books, this too ended in a cliffhanger.

Still a wonderful read! I just didn't like the waiting for the next book.

As the title implies, Ky has progressed to healer stage of his magic progression.

Surprisingly, unlike the previous books, I didn't feel that the book required me to dumb down my intelligence to enjoy it! Or maybe, the author is just getting good at training the readers to ignore those things. Maybe...

As usual, Jocelyn Duford did a fantastic job of bringing this book to life!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 3
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (7 hours and 50 minutes listening time)
Plot = 2.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Tales Of Simple Magic Series:

Meet The Author

About Laurence Dahners:

Amazon best-selling Science Fiction writer, Laurence E. Dahners, is a former orthopedic surgeon who has written over fifty books, including eighteen in the popular Ell Donsaii series. He writes optimistic stories in which science solves problems rather than bringing on dystopias. His favorite writing strategy is to imagine, “what if,” some advance (such as teleportation, reactionless drives, stopping time, etcetera) were possible, what changes might be wrought in our world?

How might our hero utilize such an advance?

Who might stand to lose from the introduction of such changes and how might they strive to resist its introduction?

He loves to write such stories and hopes you’ll enjoy reading them.

The Narrator

About Jocelyn Duford:

Jocelyn is a professional actor and director of theatre and she uses these skills to bring emotion, nuance, and clarity to any production. She is an award-winning stage actor that can perform a wide range of characters. She also has experience as a high school and middle school classroom teacher, providing the voice of engaging, accessible authority. She currently teaches acting and voice lessons at a private music school in southern NH.

website | facebook | instagram | linkedin | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

AJAX'S ASCENSION: THE CAPITAL

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:00:20 +0000

Ajax's Ascension: The Capital by Keleros
Book 2 in the Ajax's Ascension series
Narrated by Boise Blue and Ally Frey
Genre: LitRPG portal progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Ajax's Ascension: The Capital:

Returning from his time in the cities’ militia, Ajax comes to find out his village was destroyed and his mentor was injured due to the whims of a spoiled noble. He knows there is nothing that can be done, as he is now, but luckily for him a dungeon nearby offers the perfect opportunity to train before heading to the Capital.

But once he gets there what will he find? A way to heal his mentor? Support to grow even stronger? Nobles who want to use him for their own ends? Maybe all of the above.

Source: Info in the "About Ajax's Ascension: The Capital" was taken from amazon on 14/07/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

The second chunk of a bigger book.

The sentence construction of the English translation of this book is strange. It sounds like "The color the bird the blue". I can still, sort of, understand what it means. However, sometimes I outright do not understand some of it. This might have been present in the first book, but if it was, it was not as obvious as it is in this book! Then there is the clerical errors to boot! The editor needs to be fired!!

Like I said in the first book, I would not have bought the first book of this series had I known that this was a LitRPG. Because I really am not fond of the genre. But the fact that I am reading this book now tells you of how beautiful the world building is and how compelling the story telling quality is.

Fluffy

In this book we meet Her Cuteness! Fluffy!

I still do not like the male narrator's singsongy kind of reading. The female narrator on the other hand is good!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 3.5
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (16 hours and 3 minutes listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Ajax's Ascension Series:

Meet The Author

Keleros:

Author of the Ajax's Ascension series.

In the sprawling realm of LitRPG and GameLit fiction, where dungeon dives and stat sheets often overshadow soul, Keleros has carved out a space defined not by spectacle, but by substance. Known for the Ajax’s Ascension series, Keleros draws readers in with a story that unfolds less like a power fantasy and more like a reckoning — a gritty, immersive journey where growth is earned, pain has purpose, and the stakes feel startlingly human.

It all begins with The Divine Witness, a novel that throws its protagonist, Ajax, into the hostile world of Gryndor — not as a chosen one with infinite power, but as a human among stronger, faster races, armed with a rare trait and an unrelenting will to rise. Each step Ajax takes through dungeons, noble courts, and his own shifting morality is steeped in the kind of tension and introspection that fans of slower-burn progression crave. The sequel, The Capital, pushes the narrative deeper, intertwining political maneuvering with personal growth in a way that elevates the stakes without losing the soul of the story.

Keleros’s writing is meticulous without being mechanical. Readers have praised the author’s ability to blend complex system mechanics with emotionally resonant character arcs — a balance few in the genre manage to strike. It’s not just about XP and loot. It’s about consequences, identity, and resilience in a world that rarely offers second chances.

Despite their growing readership — 10,000+ followers and counting on Royal Road — Keleros remains something of an enigma. There’s little public backstory, no splashy origin story, just the consistent pulse of someone who writes because they have to, because this world and these characters demand it. That quiet dedication speaks volumes to fans who’ve followed the series chapter by chapter, watching Ajax claw his way upward, one hard-won level at a time.

Whether you're new to the genre or a veteran of virtual battlefields, Keleros’s work offers more than a power climb. It’s an invitation to question what strength really means — and what it costs to pursue it.
RisingShadow

patreon | amazon | goodreads

The Narrators

Boise Blue:

Boise Blue is a popular voice actor and audiobook narrator. Best known for narrating various fantasy, litRPG, and fiction titles, frequently collaborating with publishing groups like Royal Guard Publishing.

goodreads

Ally Frey:

Ally Frey is a professional audiobook narrator who frequently collaborates with co-narrator Boise Blue on LitRPG and fantasy series. She is well-known for voicing titles like Dead Freeze by Misty Vixen and the Ajax's Ascension series by Keleros.

goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE DARK HEALER (Book 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sat, 26 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The Dark Healer (Book 3) by Alex Toxic and Nadya Lee
Book 3 in The Dark Healer series
Narrated by Christopher P. Brown
Genre: urban progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Dark Healer (Book 3):

The Richter clan was getting stronger and becoming a real nuisance to a lot of people.

All the spheres of influence have long been divided among aristocrats, gangsters, and corrupt officials. And now, they all wanted to destroy the upstart healers.

But the real evil dwelled in the past. Max was looking for those who had tried to kill him once before.

Source: Info in the "About The Dark Healer (Book 3)" was taken from amazon on 15/05/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

Like the previous book, this one also picked up exactly where the last book ended.

A middle chunk of a bigger book. The plot was started in previous books and ended in big whooping cliffhanger! Not recommended to be read on it's own.

This is the book where Max had a new lead about the demise of his clan and he went up a couple of levels in his power. I guess that is what the cover art is trying to depict.

This is also where my questions about the title "Prince" got a little bit more answers. So, there were originally 7 Princes in Max's old world and Max was one of them. I wondered why he was a "Prince" and not a "king"... but I guess the 7 Princes rule as a council each with their own domain and there is no king...

This is also the book where Charlotte Becker was officially introduced to the Richter clan and Cereberus was introduced into the story. The world of Max Richter is getting more elaborate and interesting!

Christopher P. Brown did a good job of narrating this book.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5br /> Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 2
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (7 hours and 51 minutes listening time)
Plot = 1
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Dark Healer Series:

Meet The Authors

About Nadya Lee:

Ever since she was a little girl, Nadya Lee knew exactly what she wanted to be: either a President, a singer, or an author.

The first option just didn’t work out for some reason

The second option eventually became her hobby. Nadya still loves singing and does it at every opportunity, accompanying herself on a guitar.

Likewise, writing remained her hobby for quite a while. Nadya wrote poems, articles and even fanfics, keeping an occasional blog on various subjects including book reviews. Books and video games have always been an important part of her life.

Then one day she just woke up in the morning and decided she’d procrastinated enough. Time to put pen to paper.

So here she is, hoping that her audience might enjoy reading her books just as much as she enjoys writing them.

About Alex Toxic:

Alex Toxic was born in 1978. He liked reading and playing video games from childhood. These two hobbies found ideal common ground when the LitRPG genre arrived.

Alex dreamed of becoming an author but the profession seemed just too complicated to him. So he began working first as a journalist, then as a TV anchor and then as a documentary filmmaker.

There came a point when Alex had run out of books he wanted to read. The authors simply couldn’t write new ones fast enough. The only way out was to write a book of his own. That’s how he launched into the passion that would with time become his primary profession.

Alex believes that the most important thing in a book is its main character. He or she has to be strong and unrelenting in the face of whatever challenge arises in their path, and they must always triumph.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Christopher P. Brown:

Christopher P. Brown is an audiobook narrator whose passion is using his scripted theater and improvisation training and experience to bring stories and characters to life. He holds graduate degrees (MA and PhD) in literature, linguistics, and leadership studies. Chris is also bilingual, with professional proficiency in both Spanish and English, and can tackle narration projects in either language, or both of them. Chris grew up in western Michigan, and has lived in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Washington DC area, and now resides in San Diego, California.

christopherbrownaudio.com | tiktok | facebook | linkedin | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE ORDER OF ARCHITECTS (Book 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The Order Of Architects (Book 3) by Oleg Sapphire and Yuri Vinokuroff
Book 3 in The Order Of The Architects series
Narrated by Kevin T. Collins
Genre: urban fantasy / portal progression fantasy
Format: hardback, ebook & audiobook

About The Order Of Architects (Book 3):

It seems that my former power is gradually returning to me in my new body. I still have all my past experience, however, and everything is proceeding just as it should.

How quickly can I earn money and build my reputation? No, I'm not going to resort to killing and looting. I'm an Architect, after all! I'm going to craft and build things! That's how Architects work! The time has come to rebuild my empire. So… I might end up having to do some killing and looting, after all. I'm not short of enemies…

Source: Info in the "About The Order Of Architects (Book 3)" was taken from amazon on 02/05/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

Another chunk of a bigger book with cliffhanger ending. Not recommended to be read on it's own.

Grimrock has arrived! I would love to know how this particular thread in the story would pan out...

In this installment we meet the Proudhearts and that is the little bit of plot that is "whole" in this this book. The rest of the "plot" was started in book 1 and presumably will be continued in subsequent books.

I also have an issue with the cover art. That chinese woman in Theo's store is more appropriate in book 2 than in this book because Lu Chen was in book 2 but there aren't any chinese characters nor lady(ies) in this book. So what is that cover art all about??!

Sometimes I still hear the distinct singsong of this narrator and it makes me wince.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 1
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 3
Pace = (9 hrs and 54 mins listening time)
Plot = 2.5
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Order Of The Architects Series:

Meet The Authors

About Oleg Sapphire:

Oleg Sapphire was born in April 1993 in the city best known as “Little Paris”. He’s always been a good-natured banterer constantly in the thick of his fun-loving friends. This didn’t prevent him from getting two degrees though, in law as well as in IT. He used his expertise in both areas to pen his LitRPG series. His hobbies are archery and reading, but the one pastime that really moves his soul is coin collecting, hunting for rare specimens with quite a bit of history behind them. Ever since childhood, he’s been an artist at heart. His other passion is painting, and he’s made his way through an inordinate amount of books.

Oleg has been surrounded by pets from an early age, so animals take a large place in both his heart and in his books, much to his readers’ joy. Writing is his life and his livelihood; he relates to every moment of his characters’ journeys, sympathizing with them in both his heart and his mind.

facebook | amazon | goodreads

About Yuri Vinokuroff:

Yuri Vinokuroff was born in 1976 in Sevastopol. An avid reader from an early age, he was especially fond of fantasy and science fiction. Already back then, he knew he wanted to write books rather than just read them.

But as it often happens, all of his time and energy were consumed by his successful career, his family and his French Bulldog breeding kennel. His professional activities involved designing and constructing power plants and facilities, which couldn’t be further removed from his teenage dream of writing fiction.

Still, Yuri didn’t give up. Eventually, he began writing for Facebook and even created a small challenge for himself, completing 100 posts in 100 days. It was there that he gained his first fans. During the 2020 lockdown, he used the opportunity to enter a major LitRPG competition. Although his novel didn’t win, it still went viral, soon followed by the rest of the series.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Kevin T. Collins:

Kevin T. Collins is an actor, singer, and recording artist with a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has performed in numerous theater performances, including Angels, City of Angels, Paradise Lost, and on television in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, As the World Turns, and The Guiding Light.

www.kevintcollins.com | twitter | instagram | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The printed book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

UNINTENDED CULTIVATOR: Volume 8

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Unintended Cultivator: Volume 8 by Eric Dontigney
Book 8 in the Unintended Cultivator series
Narrated by Adam Verner
Genre: fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Unintended Cultivator: Volume 8:

When Politics and Cultivation Collide…

Summoned by the king, Sen reluctantly goes to the capital. However, the path there is anything but easy. Sen must battle his way to the city, revealing that not everyone is pleased by his imminent return.

When he finally reaches the city, he finds it changed. The web of politics has only grown more tangled in his absence, and now cultivator emissaries from beyond the Mountains of Sorrow have arrived to further cloud the waters. Much to his horror, Sen finds himself pressed into service as a distraction and deterrent to those very cultivators.

While the name Judgment’s Gale conjures fear in the capital, it may not prove enough as enemies old and new reveal themselves. While Sen tries to navigate around uncertain agendas and noble plots, he will be forced to take actions he would have once considered inconceivable. And the wandering cultivator’s life will never be the same…

Source: Info in the "About Unintended Cultivator: Volume 8" was taken from amazon on 03/03/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

I would like to see what happens with Sen's efforts with Tiu Li-Mei.

Again I waited to see the scene in the cover art to come to pass... until I reached the bloopers... The ending. Then I realised that the cover art is not an actual scene in the story, but a metaphorical one.

This is one of the books in this series which had a nice ending.

As per usual, Adam Verner did another brilliant job of bringing this book to life!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (13 hours and 50 minutes listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Unintended Cultivator Series:

Meet The Author

About Eric Dontigney:

Raised in Western New York, Eric Dontigney has lived in New Mexico, Florida, Wisconsin, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. He currently resides near Dayton, OH. He is a fan of photo-realism and impressionist paintings, coffee, and well-made food.

Not wishing to tarnish the good names of writers who have come before him, he refuses to name influences. He will admit to reading Neil Gaiman, Harlan Ellison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ayn Rand, Stephen J. Cannell, Jim Butcher, Kate Chopin, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Camus, James Baldwin, Tim O'Brien, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Stephen King.

The Narrator

About Adam Verner:

Adam Verner is a full-time narrator and voice talent with over one hundred titles recorded. He is the recipient of AudioFile Earphones Awards for Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck and The Big It by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. Adam earned his MFA in acting from the Chicago College of the Fine Arts at Roosevelt University.

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE SKILLFUL TEACHER

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The Skillful Teacher by Stephen D. Brookfield
Narrated by Jack de Golia
Genre: non-fiction / teaching / education
Format: paperback, ebook, & audiobook

About The Skillful Teacher:

Energize your classrooms with these key techniques for college teaching Students say the best teachers get them excited about learning, stretch their thinking, and keep them actively involved in class. But with increasingly diverse classrooms and constantly changing technology, each semester throws up new challenges for engaging students.

Discover how to keep your teaching, and your students, energized with The Skillful Teacher, a practical guide to effective techniques, approaches, and methods for today's college classrooms. Providing insights, reflections, and advice from his four decades of college teaching, Stephen Brookfield now adapts his successful methods to teaching online, working with diverse student populations, and making classrooms truly inclusive. As well as being completely revised, updated, and rewritten, this edition adds six brand new chapters on:

Teaching critical thinking Using play and creativity in the classroom Teaching in teams Helping students take responsibility for learning Teaching about racism Exercising teacher power responsibly Readers will delve into what learning feels like from a student's perspective, as well as absorb the wisdom of veteran college faculty with whom the author has worked. Themes from the bestselling previous editions remain, but are revisited and expanded with the perspective of an additional decade in the classroom. This authoritative guide is now even more comprehensive to better serve teachers looking to improve. Whether you are new to the classroom or are looking to rise to new challenges, The Skillful Teacher will provide answers, expand your repertoire of techniques, and invigorate your teaching and your classrooms.

Source: Info in the "About The Skillful Teacher" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23059188-the-skillful-teacher on 11/11/2021.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

The author has said that the target audience for this book are teachers. College teachers. From the newly minted teacher to the oldest veteran with the hopes of helping them out. Very noble objective. I know for a fact that this book is written for adult teachers because of the language he uses. "Digital immigrant". Polemical. Truculent. I had to look them up to understand some of the words he used, and I am an adult teacher. ...When I encountered "truculent",... cactus and vegetables like spinach came to mind.

The author did succeed in trying to be helpful to teachers like me with this book! Kudos to Stephen D. Brookfield! I also like the honesty and the humour in the story telling quality. Especially when he is trying to explain a concept.

I don't actually know what & how Stephen D. Brookfield sound like, but, now to me he sound Jack de Golia.

Empirical Evaluation:

Writing Style = 4.5
Pace = (9 hrs and 33 mins)
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Meet The Author

About Stephen D. Brookfield:

Since beginning his educational career in 1970, Stephen has worked in England, Canada, and the United States, teaching and consulting in a variety of adult, community, organizational and higher education settings. His overall project is to help people learn to think critically about the dominant ideologies they have internalized and how these can be challenged. He is particularly interested in methodologies of critical thinking, discussion and dialog, critical reflection, leadership, and the exploration of power dynamics, particularly around racial identity and white supremacy. To that end he has written, co-written or edited twenty books on adult learning, teaching, critical thinking, discussion methods, critical theory, leadership and teaching race, six of which have won the Cyril O. Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education (in 1986, 1989, 1996, 2005, 2011 and 2012). His academic appointments have included positions at the University of British Columbia, Teachers College Columbia University (New York), Harvard University and the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis-St. Paul. He has consulted with numerous organizations and institutions across the world and delivered multiple workshops and conference keynotes. He is currently part-time Antioch University Distinguished Scholar, Adjunct Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University (New York) and Emeritus Professor at the University of St. Thomas (Minneapolis-St. Paul).

His most recent book - Becoming a White Antiracist: A Practical Guide for Educators, Leaders and Activists (co-authored with Mary Hess) is published by Stylus Publishers.

He also leads a pop punk, rock & roll band - The 99ers - who are currently recording their 7th album. Listen to The 99ers at the99ersband.com and at https://the99ers.bandcamp.com/music. Also on I Tunes, Spotify & other streaming services.

You can find Stephen’s educational Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/BrookfieldWorkshops/

His Wikipedia Entry can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Brookfield

www.stephenbrookfield.com | twitter | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Jack de Golia:

Jack records in a Gretch-Ken Pro double walled sound isolation booth, using a Studio Projects C1 mic, Scarlett Solo interface, and MacBook Air computer running the Twisted Wave recording app.

A veteran audiobook narrator, e-learning voice, video game actor, and storyteller: Jack will give you winning, ahead-of-schedule voice work for audiobooks, e-learning, political ads, cartoons, commercials and videogames, and anything involving character voices. With a PR & stage-acting career spanning four decades, Jack brings a seasoned and always fresh approach to voiceover work. It’s been said he has the voice of “every man’s man.” While Jack is based in Las Vegas, his studio lets him work all over the world as a male voice actor.

FTC Disclosure:
This book in it's various formats were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE SWORDSMAN RETURNS

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The Swordsman Returns by Oliver Law and Andrei Tkachev
Book 1 in The Swordman Returns series
Narrated by Robb Moreira
Genre: portal progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Swordsman Returns:

To save my world, I had to enter the portal and close it from the inside. After fighting endless hordes of demons, I finally found a way home.

But instead of the tranquility I sought, I got something very different… my world has changed, but it’s still rife with danger, so my job is far from done. For now, I need to figure out what happened during my absence and deal with these new threats.

I have returned, and I will carve a new path with my sword.

Source: Info in the "About The Swordsman Returns" was taken from amazon on 17/07/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

First chunk of a bigger book with cliffhanger ending.

This book reads like Ajax's Ascension series by Keleros. Instead of "Rift", they call it "dungeons" in Ajax's Ascension series. They call it the "focus" in The Dark Healer series by Alex Toxic and Nadya Lee. Or maybe I am just reading too many LitRPGs.

I read this book because I needed something to read! And I have also got hooked into LitRPG stories lately. However, I struggled to get into the story. So, it took me sometime to finish this book even with the convenience of the audiobook format.

I am not opposed to confidence. But too much arrogance is a bit too much for me.

I like Robb Moreira's voice. However, I am not fond of the singsongy reading he sometimes gets into. But I would still buy audiobooks by him.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 3.5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 2
World building = 5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = (8 hours and 12 minutes listening time)
Plot = 2
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Swordman Returns Series:

Meet The Authors

About Oliver Law:

Oliver Law was born in 1995 in a small seaside village not far from the Chinese border. Ever since his childhood he was attracted to fantasy and stories of portal and time travel. He took an especial liking to strong charismatic characters with a good sense of humor which would later serve to inspire him to write his own books.

His first attempt at writing was a LitRPG story based on the Path of Exile system. Even though it remained unpublished, it gave Oliver the desire to write for a living. At that point, he was already an accomplished lawyer with eight years of court practice behind him. But legal work took too much out of him, until one day he realized it was time for him to go back to what brought him real joy: writing.

These days, Oliver creates exciting and lighthearted fantasy novels inspired by the genre of web novels, primarily Xiānxiá and LitRPG. His style was also influenced by authors such as Er Gen and Mars Gravity, and The Black Company series by Glen Cook. Oliver is dreaming of one day adapting his stories for the big screen – whether as a TV series, an anime or a movie short. In the meantime, he still has quite a few stories within him, awaiting their hour of lecture.

amazon | goodreads

About Andrei Tkachev:

Andrei Tkachev writes heroic and martial fantasy and tells stories of time travelers and survivalists, which often explore the mysterious disciplines of the East

He began writing the day he finished the last book in the library and turned to the internet in search of something new. He ended up writing that new book himself, and has been creating new worlds ever since.

Each book in this series hides a certain something special – but what that is, dear reader, is for you to discover.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Robb Moreira:

Authentic, Casual, Sensual and Real

What’s in a name? For Robb Moreira, it’s obvious. When you trust your next voice over project to Robb, you get so much more than just an audio file. You get More acting ability with Robb’s Off-Broadway theater chops… More than one language because Robb is bilingual speaking both English and Spanish… and More authenticity and personality with Robb’s down-to-Earth, real-person reads. You simply #GetMore with Moreira!

Robb is a successful, and currently, working Voice Over Talent and Coach who specializes in both Spanish and English commercial work. With over a decade of acting training through the Fame School of the Arts and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, his acting pursuits in theater took him to the world of voice over, where being bilingual has truly paid off for him and his clients.

Robb also has experience in IVR and has done medical training videos in both Spanish and English. He’s read descriptions for the blind on TV cartoons like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Nina’s World and Rusty Rivets. Robb is currently the voice of “Pushy the Push Pop” in the US and Canada, and has worked commercially with McDonald’s, Lunazul Tequila, Pepsi, National Geographic, Fisher Price, AT&T and most recently campaigns with Giorgio Armani in English and Yves Saint Laurent in Spanish.

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE DARK HEALER (Book 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The Dark Healer (Book 2) by Alex Toxic and Nadya Lee
Book 2 in The Dark Healer series
Narrated by Christopher P. Brown
Genre: urban progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Dark Healer (Book 2):

A clan of healers?! Was that even a thing?

People thought we were weak and incapable of defending ourselves and our property. Those who wished to do harm swooped down on the clan like vultures.

And that was a good thing! More enemies meant more harvest, and more material for my experiments.

Source: Info in the "About The Dark Healer (Book 2)" was taken from amazon on 14/05/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

This book picked up just where the first book left off.

I have noticed it in book 1 but I ignored it. However, here it is again. The series requires the reader to dumb down to continue enjoying the book. Max's power fries electronics like mobile phones and car engines. But when Max was abducted by the organ harvesting conspiracy the van worked just fine. I explained this to myself that perhaps at this point Max has already attained the ability to control his power enough to fry or not fry the engines he wants... Very flimsy excuse when you read on... Fingers crossed this reader dumbing down feature of the series won't get to be so irksome.

This is the book that Harry and Archie appeared. I am wondering how they would pan out in the story....

Christopher P. Brown did a better job this time. Or is it just because I am getting used to him?

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 2
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 1
World building = 4
Cover art = 3
Pace = (7 hours and 53 minutes listening time)
Plot = 1
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Dark Healer Series:

Meet The Authors

About Nadya Lee:

Ever since she was a little girl, Nadya Lee knew exactly what she wanted to be: either a President, a singer, or an author.

The first option just didn’t work out for some reason

The second option eventually became her hobby. Nadya still loves singing and does it at every opportunity, accompanying herself on a guitar.

Likewise, writing remained her hobby for quite a while. Nadya wrote poems, articles and even fanfics, keeping an occasional blog on various subjects including book reviews. Books and video games have always been an important part of her life.

Then one day she just woke up in the morning and decided she’d procrastinated enough. Time to put pen to paper.

So here she is, hoping that her audience might enjoy reading her books just as much as she enjoys writing them.

About Alex Toxic:

Alex Toxic was born in 1978. He liked reading and playing video games from childhood. These two hobbies found ideal common ground when the LitRPG genre arrived.

Alex dreamed of becoming an author but the profession seemed just too complicated to him. So he began working first as a journalist, then as a TV anchor and then as a documentary filmmaker.

There came a point when Alex had run out of books he wanted to read. The authors simply couldn’t write new ones fast enough. The only way out was to write a book of his own. That’s how he launched into the passion that would with time become his primary profession.

Alex believes that the most important thing in a book is its main character. He or she has to be strong and unrelenting in the face of whatever challenge arises in their path, and they must always triumph.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Christopher P. Brown:

Christopher P. Brown is an audiobook narrator whose passion is using his scripted theater and improvisation training and experience to bring stories and characters to life. He holds graduate degrees (MA and PhD) in literature, linguistics, and leadership studies. Chris is also bilingual, with professional proficiency in both Spanish and English, and can tackle narration projects in either language, or both of them. Chris grew up in western Michigan, and has lived in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Washington DC area, and now resides in San Diego, California.

christopherbrownaudio.com | tiktok | facebook | linkedin | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE ORDER OF ARCHITECTS (Book 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Order Of The Architects (Book 2) by Oleg Sapphire and Yuri Vinokuroff
Book 2 in The Order Of The Architects series
Narrated by Kevin T. Collins
Genre: urban fantasy / portal progression fantasy
Format: paperback, ebook & audiobook

About Order Of The Architects (Book 2):

An heir without an inheritance. A weak Mage with huge potential and a wealth of experience. A young man living a second life. That’s me, Theodore the Babylonian.

I am getting to grips with life in Liechtenstein, little by little. But the time has come to get back what is rightfully mine. Most importantly, however, I must show everyone that what’s mine is sacred.

And anyone who has their eye on it… Let’s just say, I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.

Source: Info in the "About Order Of The Architects (Book 2)" was taken from amazon on 29/04/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

Another chunk of a bigger book.

The plot has no start and no end. It was started with book 1, and the end is presumably be in the finale book of this series. Therefore not recommended to be read on it's own.

Boris is supposed to be "follicularly challenged". In the cover art, he is not! Just closed-cropped...

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 3.5
Story itself = 2.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 1
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (9 hrs and 56 mins listening time)
Plot = 1
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Order Of The Architects Series:

Meet The Authors

About Oleg Sapphire:

Oleg Sapphire was born in April 1993 in the city best known as “Little Paris”. He’s always been a good-natured banterer constantly in the thick of his fun-loving friends. This didn’t prevent him from getting two degrees though, in law as well as in IT. He used his expertise in both areas to pen his LitRPG series. His hobbies are archery and reading, but the one pastime that really moves his soul is coin collecting, hunting for rare specimens with quite a bit of history behind them. Ever since childhood, he’s been an artist at heart. His other passion is painting, and he’s made his way through an inordinate amount of books.

Oleg has been surrounded by pets from an early age, so animals take a large place in both his heart and in his books, much to his readers’ joy. Writing is his life and his livelihood; he relates to every moment of his characters’ journeys, sympathizing with them in both his heart and his mind.

facebook | amazon | goodreads

About Yuri Vinokuroff:

Yuri Vinokuroff was born in 1976 in Sevastopol. An avid reader from an early age, he was especially fond of fantasy and science fiction. Already back then, he knew he wanted to write books rather than just read them.

But as it often happens, all of his time and energy were consumed by his successful career, his family and his French Bulldog breeding kennel. His professional activities involved designing and constructing power plants and facilities, which couldn’t be further removed from his teenage dream of writing fiction.

Still, Yuri didn’t give up. Eventually, he began writing for Facebook and even created a small challenge for himself, completing 100 posts in 100 days. It was there that he gained his first fans. During the 2020 lockdown, he used the opportunity to enter a major LitRPG competition. Although his novel didn’t win, it still went viral, soon followed by the rest of the series.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Kevin T. Collins:

Kevin T. Collins is an actor, singer, and recording artist with a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has performed in numerous theater performances, including Angels, City of Angels, Paradise Lost, and on television in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, As the World Turns, and The Guiding Light.

www.kevintcollins.com | twitter | instagram | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The printed book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

UNINTENDED CULTIVATOR: Volume 7

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Unintended Cultivator: Volume 7 by Eric Dontigney
Book 7 in the Unintended Cultivator series
Narrated by Adam Verner
Genre: fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Unintended Cultivator: Volume 7:

What does a warrior do, when there’s nothing to fight…

For years, Sen battled his way across the kingdom, fighting spirit beasts, scheming sects, and demonic cabals. He’s ended wars, battled a devil, and even retrieved a priceless spiritual treasure for a dubiously grateful nine-tail fox.

With his wandering days temporarily on hold, Sen returns to fulfill a long-standing promise to the eccentric and possibly unhinged Fu Ruolan. Alongside him? A child he never expected to raise.

Now, instead of hunting enemies, Sen’s facing the daily trials of raising a child — teaching core formations and sword forms alongside table manners and bedtime routines. Between guiding spiritual growth, setting boundaries stronger than any formation array, and explaining why you don’t spar with spirit beasts, Sen is discovering that raising a young cultivator may be more daunting than any battle he’s ever fought.

But when old debts come due and hidden threats stir, Sen may find that even a quiet life demands a warrior’s resolve.

Source: Info in the "About Unintended Cultivator: Volume 7" was taken from amazon on 03/03/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

Again, another middle chunk of a bigger book. Not meant to be read on it's own.

In this installment, Sen gained a little girl. It would be interesting to see how that particular thread of the story would pan out.

The cover arts of the books in this series almost always depicts a scene in the book. I keep waiting to come across the scene where Sen blew up a house or buildings. It never came. **sigh**

Once again, Adam Verner did a wonderful job of bringing this book to life!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (12 hrs and 52 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Unintended Cultivator Series:

Meet The Author

About Eric Dontigney:

Raised in Western New York, Eric Dontigney has lived in New Mexico, Florida, Wisconsin, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. He currently resides near Dayton, OH. He is a fan of photo-realism and impressionist paintings, coffee, and well-made food.

Not wishing to tarnish the good names of writers who have come before him, he refuses to name influences. He will admit to reading Neil Gaiman, Harlan Ellison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ayn Rand, Stephen J. Cannell, Jim Butcher, Kate Chopin, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Camus, James Baldwin, Tim O'Brien, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Stephen King.

The Narrator

About Adam Verner:

Adam Verner is a full-time narrator and voice talent with over one hundred titles recorded. He is the recipient of AudioFile Earphones Awards for Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck and The Big It by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. Adam earned his MFA in acting from the Chicago College of the Fine Arts at Roosevelt University.

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

ABANDONED IN DEATH

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Abandoned In Death by JD Robb
Book 54 of the In Death series
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
Genre: scifi crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Abandoned In Death:

Homicide detective Eve Dallas must untangle a twisted family history while a hostage’s life hangs in the balance — in the new In Death novel by #1 New York Times bestselling J. D. Robb.

The woman’s body was found on a bench in a New York City playground. She was clean, her hair neatly arranged, her makeup carefully applied. But other things were very wrong — like the tattoo and piercings, clearly new. The clothes, decades out of date. The fatal wound hidden beneath a ribbon around her neck. And the note: Bad Mommy, written in crayon as if by a child.

It seems clear the killer’s childhood was traumatic — a situation Eve is all too familiar with herself. Yet the clues point to a perpetrator who’d be around sixty, and there are no records of old crimes with a similar MO. What was the trigger that apparently reopened such an old wound and sent someone over the edge? When Eve learns that other young women have recently vanished, the case grows even more urgent — and to solve it she’ll need to find her way into a hidden place of dim light and concrete, into the distant past, and into the depths of a shattered mind.

Source: Info in the "About Abandoned In Death" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57693470-abandoned-in-death on 29/05/2021.

Book Trailer:

Narrative Review:

This is one of those Eve Dallas' books that only Eve Dallas knows who the perpetrator is. So how did Dallas knew that Violet left letters to her children? That wasn't even explained. The book was a lovely reading experience.... but sometimes, you just have to sigh at the plot holes! Plot holes are sooooo not desirable in crime fiction!!

Another reason I was so looking forward to this book was that I wanted to see more of Jamal Dell and his brother and cousins. But I was disappointed in that department. There was Bella though! So that is at least something!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (13 hrs & 25 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook copies of the book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

EMPEROR OF THE BORDERLANDS Book 1

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Emperor Of The Borderlands (Book 1) by Alex Toxic and Eugene Astakhov
Book 1 in the Emperor Of The Borderlands series
Narrated by Victor Warren
Genre: progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Emperor Of The Borderlands (Book 1):

“Honor is the true measure of a man.” On this principle I built a powerful empire, united disparate lands and destroyed the greatest threat to our world. I died as a true warrior should: in battle. But instead of being granted a well-earned rest, I awoke on the border of a foreign kingdom, in the body of a noble-born outcast — with a noose around my neck.

Never mind if all that remains of my former greatness is a memory. Give me any backwater farm and I will turn it into a formidable stronghold! Give me any scruffy band of scoundrels and they will become the backbone of my new army! My experience, my knowledge and my memories remain with me.

Still, time is pressing. In the forests of this world, I encounter old foes: the same creatures that once nearly destroyed my kingdom. They have infiltrated even here. And only I, who know their nature, can stop them before it is too late. A new empire must rise, or this world will fall.

Source: Info in the "About Emperor Of The Borderlands (Book 1)" was taken from amazon on 26/06/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

This series is being sold as historical progression fantasy. They have cars. Machineguns and automatic rifles. Smartphones which they call magophone with internet (which they call Aethernet). Socialmedia. Does that sound "historical" to you??

By the way, what do they power the magophone with? Do they have electricity?? What do they power the cars with? Do they have petrol?...

This is my first Eugene Astakhov read. But I am an old fan of Alex Toxic. Having said that, this book awfully reads pretty similar to The Dark Healer series by Alex Toxic and Nadya Lee. The same foreign realm enemy. The same modern-like society but with magic at the same time as technology. The same progression fantasy. The same wise hero.

This is my first Victor Warren audiobook. I like his voice. It is not grating to the ears. However, he has the tendency to read on without pause or break or notice or any indication at all that he is now reading a different scene. I know because I am reading the kindle ebook at the same time that I am listening to the audiobook and the ebook indicates a change of scene by separating the text with three asterisks. So if you are just listening to the audiobook alone, without reading the ebook or text, you would get confused as to why the narrative no longer make sense. Ah, maybe because the scene has changed...

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 5
Pace = (11 hrs and 1 min listening time)
Plot = 4
Narration = 3.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Emperor Of The Borderlands Series:

Meet The Authors

About Eugene Astakhov:

Eugene was born in Moscow in 1989. Since an early age, he spent countless hours in imaginary worlds, dreaming about someday creating one of his own. Despite pursuing a career in law, his passion for storytelling never waned. In 2022 he made the bold decision to leave office work behind and dedicate himself to writing full-time.

An avid fan of the LitRPG genre, Eugene devoured every series he came across but never quite found something to scratch that itch of immersing yourself in the adventures of a rogue creeping around enemies. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands and wrote Viasheron. This completed series, consisting of 9 books, has sold over 44,000 copies on Russia's second-biggest self-publishing website, garnering praise from readers and establishing Eugene as a rising star in the genre.

Eugene finds inspiration in various sources, including video games, fantasy and sci-fi books, TV shows, and tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. As a big fan of D&D, he brings his love for immersive storytelling and world-building to his writing, crafting vivid and engaging tales that transport readers to other realms.

His path is a reminder to all aspiring writers - you only need to take up a pen to create art of your own. And remember, "There are other worlds than these."

amazon | goodreads

About Alex Toxic:

Alex Toxic was born in 1978. He liked reading and playing video games from childhood. These two hobbies found ideal common ground when the LitRPG genre arrived.

Alex dreamed of becoming an author but the profession seemed just too complicated to him. So he began working first as a journalist, then as a TV anchor and then as a documentary filmmaker.

There came a point when Alex had run out of books he wanted to read. The authors simply couldn’t write new ones fast enough. The only way out was to write a book of his own. That’s how he launched into the passion that would with time become his primary profession.

Alex believes that the most important thing in a book is its main character. He or she has to be strong and unrelenting in the face of whatever challenge arises in their path, and they must always triumph.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Victor Warren:

Audiobook narraotr / voice-over artist. Actor. Director. Screenwriter.

Victor began his career in LA as a film and television actor, then moved to the east coast to raise his children. An award-winning actor, director, screenwriter, fight director and audio-book narrator. In all these disciplines, he's won close to 30 awards. He is a Sundance table read finalist and recipient of Nevada International Film Festival's First Time Director award. Victor is a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University where he majored in acting and directing. After graduation, he worked at Universal Studios playing the comic at the western stunt show. Victor continues to work successfully living on Cape Cod where he raised his family and is bi-coastal flying in where the work leads him.

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

UNINTENDED CULTIVATOR: Volume 6

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Unintended Cultivator: Volume 6 by Eric Dontigney
Book 6 in the Unintended Cultivator series
Narrated by Adam Verner
Genre: fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Unintended Cultivator: Volume 6:

Never owe a fox a favor…

With his body cultivation at least temporarily under control, Sen sets out for his long-awaited reunion with the divine turtle, Elder Bo. It is a fraught meeting where Sen learns hard lessons and unwelcome truths, and despite his advancement, his old obligations still threaten to pull him back.

Years before, the nine-tail fox Laughing River did Sen a “favor.” The fox is finally ready to collect on that debt. Of course, if you give a fox an inch, they’ll try to take a mile.

The trifling matter that Laughing River wants Sen to accomplish is retrieving an old relic from some ruins. What could be simpler for a powerful core cultivator?

Yet, the demon is in the details, and Laughing River left out a few. Like the horde of devilish beasts, the potent wards, the fact that the ruins are the size of a city.

Sen will have to draw upon all his power, threatening the newfound balance in his body cultivation, to fulfill his obligation, or else risk the eternal enmity of a nine-tailed fox.

Source: Info in the "About Unintended Cultivator: Volume 6" was taken from amazon on 18/02/2026.

Buy Link(s):

Glimmer Of Night

My Thoughts:

Again, another middle chunk of a bigger book. Not recommended to be read on it's own. As per usual, the ending is a cliffhanger, even as it ended the current journey in this installment. Yeah, Sen goes off on journeys. Fights evil and almost gets dead. That is the trend of this series. Our author also likes to bash him around.

In this book we meet Misty Peak. I'm still of two minds whether I like her or not.

And let's not forget Glimmer Of Night! Him, I definitely like!

I wonder if the demon would appear in future installment(s) of this series...

Another thing I like about this book/series is the art. I like the cover art, banners, and the associated art of this book!! Kudos to the cover artist!

Middle chunk or not, I still enjoyed this book immensely!

Kudos to the narrator for another job well done!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (14 hrs and 12 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Unintended Cultivator Series:

Meet The Author

About Eric Dontigney:

Raised in Western New York, Eric Dontigney has lived in New Mexico, Florida, Wisconsin, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. He currently resides near Dayton, OH. He is a fan of photo-realism and impressionist paintings, coffee, and well-made food.

Not wishing to tarnish the good names of writers who have come before him, he refuses to name influences. He will admit to reading Neil Gaiman, Harlan Ellison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ayn Rand, Stephen J. Cannell, Jim Butcher, Kate Chopin, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Camus, James Baldwin, Tim O'Brien, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Stephen King.

The Narrator

About Adam Verner:

Adam Verner is a full-time narrator and voice talent with over one hundred titles recorded. He is the recipient of AudioFile Earphones Awards for Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck and The Big It by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. Adam earned his MFA in acting from the Chicago College of the Fine Arts at Roosevelt University.

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

AJAX'S ASCENSION: THE DIVINE WITNESS

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 18:55:10 +0000

The Divine Witness by Keleros
Book 1 in the Ajax's Ascension series
Narrated by Boise Blue and Ally Frey
Genre: LitRPG portal progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Divine Witness:

Reborn on Gryndor with the mythical trait [Divine Witness], Ajax swears to live a life of no regrets. This time, he will seize every opportunity, fight every monster, and plunder every treasure as he enjoys life to the fullest.

If only it were that easy. Humans are considered one of the weakest sentient races, confined to their patch of land but that hasn't changed their nature as they fight amongst themselves forced to split their sources of power instead of unite for the greater whole. In order to see the entire vast richness of the world, Ajax must battle for his life and respect, gaining levels and forcing the other races to acknowledge his and humanities worth.

Ajax’s Ascension to the top won’t be quick or easy.

Source: Info in the "About The Divine Witness" was taken from amazon on 10/07/2026.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

I tend to stear clear of LitRPGs. I actually looked for LitRPG indications at amazon before I bought this one. Seeing none, this book got bought. Then just to realise that it IS LitRPG! **face palm** Complete with dungeons and personal stats. I am not a gamer, so there are nuances of the gamer culture that might have passed over my head.

First chunk of a bigger book.

I have resigned myself to this kind of serieses. Where it is actually just one big book. But you buy chunks of a bigger, sold as full books. Therefore, it can get pretty expensive. Buying the entire book in pieces.

There are two narrators. A male and a female. I don't know which is which though. The male narrator is the main one. Which is understandable since our protagonist is male. But the male narrator reads with a little singsong that I am not fond of. The female narrator reads the lines of female characters' POV and there aren't that many. Still it is nice to hear a female voice for female characters!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Ajax's Ascension Series:

Meet The Author

Keleros:

Author of the Ajax's Ascension series.

In the sprawling realm of LitRPG and GameLit fiction, where dungeon dives and stat sheets often overshadow soul, Keleros has carved out a space defined not by spectacle, but by substance. Known for the Ajax’s Ascension series, Keleros draws readers in with a story that unfolds less like a power fantasy and more like a reckoning — a gritty, immersive journey where growth is earned, pain has purpose, and the stakes feel startlingly human.

It all begins with The Divine Witness, a novel that throws its protagonist, Ajax, into the hostile world of Gryndor — not as a chosen one with infinite power, but as a human among stronger, faster races, armed with a rare trait and an unrelenting will to rise. Each step Ajax takes through dungeons, noble courts, and his own shifting morality is steeped in the kind of tension and introspection that fans of slower-burn progression crave. The sequel, The Capital, pushes the narrative deeper, intertwining political maneuvering with personal growth in a way that elevates the stakes without losing the soul of the story.

Keleros’s writing is meticulous without being mechanical. Readers have praised the author’s ability to blend complex system mechanics with emotionally resonant character arcs — a balance few in the genre manage to strike. It’s not just about XP and loot. It’s about consequences, identity, and resilience in a world that rarely offers second chances.

Despite their growing readership — 10,000+ followers and counting on Royal Road — Keleros remains something of an enigma. There’s little public backstory, no splashy origin story, just the consistent pulse of someone who writes because they have to, because this world and these characters demand it. That quiet dedication speaks volumes to fans who’ve followed the series chapter by chapter, watching Ajax claw his way upward, one hard-won level at a time.

Whether you're new to the genre or a veteran of virtual battlefields, Keleros’s work offers more than a power climb. It’s an invitation to question what strength really means — and what it costs to pursue it.
RisingShadow

patreon | amazon | goodreads

The Narrators

Boise Blue:

Boise Blue is a popular voice actor and audiobook narrator. Best known for narrating various fantasy, litRPG, and fiction titles, frequently collaborating with publishing groups like Royal Guard Publishing.

goodreads

Ally Frey:

Ally Frey is a professional audiobook narrator who frequently collaborates with co-narrator Boise Blue on LitRPG and fantasy series. She is well-known for voicing titles like Dead Freeze by Misty Vixen and the Ajax's Ascension series by Keleros.

goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

OWL ABOUT YULE

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Owl About Yule by Leanne Leeds
Book 5 in the Owl Star Witch Mysteries
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook

About Owl About Yule:

Do you remember the Christmas story about the chain-rattling ghosts who taught life lessons? Well, how about a Yule tale involving a beachfront mansion, multiple Greek gods, an Orphic priest, and a kidnapped divine panther?

It’s my first Yule at Mom’s in fifteen years, and she can’t stop complaining about that. (That I hadn’t shown up for fifteen years, not that I was there.) It doesn’t make much of an impact, though — I have a great job as a psychic consultant with the Forkbridge Police Department, the “goddess” has been leaving me alone with no sparkly star cards in sight, and my family — including the persnickety owl, Archie — and I are getting along.

For the most part.

It appears that my holiday vacation will be uneventful until a Dionysian priest arrives on the Arden doorstep to report that the Greek god's favorite panther has vanished. Worse, the god accuses his sister, Athena, of the prank — and blames the priest for assisting her. Their divine argument threatens to derail our holiday festivities — and even the Orphic's life.

The absolute worst?

I don’t believe in any of this “gods” bunk, but Detective Emma Sullivan never met a mystery she didn’t want to solve — unfortunately, this one may be far more than she bargained for.

Source: Info in the "About Owl About Yule" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60560223-owl-about-yule on 20/05/2022.

Buy Link(s):

Pantera

My Thoughts:

There are certain kinds of people who are just unable to sit still! Give them vacation time and they wouldn't know what to do with it. They'd be swinging from the rafters before long. And boredom breeds trouble... And then you get into all sorts of mischief!

The character development is wonderful as always! Even the panther! So we went from holloween to christmas. As always the story telling quality is fabulous! As one of the characters commented, this is a re-telling of the Scrooge story told in a different way. However the story is too philosophical and I am not totally convinced that it actually flowed... Not the best book in the series, but still an enjoyable read!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 5
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 3
Ending = 3
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = 3
Plot = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In Owl Star Witch Mysteries:

Meet The Author

About Leanne Leeds:

Leanne Leeds writes witty, funny, and exciting paranormal cozy mysteries that are light-hearted explorations of offbeat small-town America. With a cast of quirky characters inhabiting her fictional world, Leanne provides a unique blend of comedy, clues, and twisty action — all with a touch of magic that keeps readers turning pages.

You can also visit her at leanneleeds.com for free stories, to join her newsletter.

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE ORDER OF ARCHITECTS (Book 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Order Of The Architects (Book 1) by Oleg Sapphire and Yuri Vinokuroff
Book 1 in The Order Of The Architects series
Narrated by Kevin T. Collins
Genre: urban fantasy / portal progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Order Of The Architects (Book 1):

I used to be the greatest Earth Mage in my world. The head of the entire Order of Architects. But the older you get, the more you come to realize that at some point, you need to retire, so that you can have the chance to enjoy a peaceful life and to cede your place to the young, some of whom have already turned two thousand years old…

So that’s what I did. I had everything I could ever want, and even more besides. But I failed to account for one thing: during the course of my long life, I’d accumulated too many enemies, and they had decided to spoil my retirement. So they died along with me. And I hope their deaths were final. But mine was not!

I’ve been reborn in a strange new world, and I now need to start over. I still have all my experience and memories, but what about my power? I’ve managed to climb to the top once already; I can do it again! And it’s crucial that I do so before this world is consumed by the beasts from the Shadow Plane…

Source: Info in the "About Order Of The Architects (Book 1)" was taken from amazon on 25/04/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

First chunk of a bigger book.

In the first several chapters, we are introduced to Theodore who is an asshole! Because the main protagonist was not at first likeable, I lost interest in the book. It was not until later where I was reading a, more or less, the same book, Bastard by Alexey Osadchuk that I remembered this book because Max of the Bastard reminded me of Theodore. Having forgotten my ire of Theodore, I started reading this book again.

The book ended in a big whooping cliffhanger. I am so not fond of cliffhangers!

There isn't a plot. There is only the beginnings of one. Presumably, the plot continues in the next book.

The world building is beautiful, though.

I am not very fond of this narrator but after sometime as one gets pulled into the story, he reads ok.

If you are going to buy this book, keep in mind that this is only a chunk of a bigger book, thus you will need the entire series to appreciate the story.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 2
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 1
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (9 hrs and 54 mins listening time)
Plot = 2
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Order Of The Architects Series:

Meet The Authors

About Oleg Sapphire:

Oleg Sapphire was born in April 1993 in the city best known as “Little Paris”. He’s always been a good-natured banterer constantly in the thick of his fun-loving friends. This didn’t prevent him from getting two degrees though, in law as well as in IT. He used his expertise in both areas to pen his LitRPG series. His hobbies are archery and reading, but the one pastime that really moves his soul is coin collecting, hunting for rare specimens with quite a bit of history behind them. Ever since childhood, he’s been an artist at heart. His other passion is painting, and he’s made his way through an inordinate amount of books.

Oleg has been surrounded by pets from an early age, so animals take a large place in both his heart and in his books, much to his readers’ joy. Writing is his life and his livelihood; he relates to every moment of his characters’ journeys, sympathizing with them in both his heart and his mind.

facebook | amazon | goodreads

About Yuri Vinokuroff:

Yuri Vinokuroff was born in 1976 in Sevastopol. An avid reader from an early age, he was especially fond of fantasy and science fiction. Already back then, he knew he wanted to write books rather than just read them.

But as it often happens, all of his time and energy were consumed by his successful career, his family and his French Bulldog breeding kennel. His professional activities involved designing and constructing power plants and facilities, which couldn’t be further removed from his teenage dream of writing fiction.

Still, Yuri didn’t give up. Eventually, he began writing for Facebook and even created a small challenge for himself, completing 100 posts in 100 days. It was there that he gained his first fans. During the 2020 lockdown, he used the opportunity to enter a major LitRPG competition. Although his novel didn’t win, it still went viral, soon followed by the rest of the series.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Kevin T. Collins:

Kevin T. Collins is an actor, singer, and recording artist with a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has performed in numerous theater performances, including Angels, City of Angels, Paradise Lost, and on television in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, As the World Turns, and The Guiding Light.

www.kevintcollins.com | twitter | instagram | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The printed book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

DEATH LESSONS

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Death Lessons by James Maxstadt
Book 1 in the Lilly The Necromancer series
Narrated by Jane Alvey Harris
Genre: urban fantasy YA
Format: paperback & audiobook

About Death Lessons:

When the dead rise...

...don’t tell anyone it’s your fault.

Lilly is a young child when she helps her first ghost. Turns out, she’s a necromancer. And there’s only one place for a kid like her: The Academy.

From the first carriage ride, Lilly’s life changes. Now, she faces a whole new world of challenges and dangers. And far too often, her greatest enemy is herself.

But if she can stay out of her own way, she just might have a magical seven years.

Lilly’s got a lot of growing up to do...

...as long as she doesn’t end up one of the dead herself.

Source: Info in the "About Death Lessons" was taken from GoodReasds at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51735321-death-lessons on 07/11/2021.

My Thoughts:

I didn't realise at first that this was a YA because the first volley was a scene between a grandmother and her grandson.

In the middle of reading this book I was also listening to Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck. I realised that Lilly has the kind of mindset that allows for growth and healing. It's the way Lilly views Abigail's responses right at the start. Now, that is something I would like to emulate. Easier said than done. Having said that, it does not mean that it cannot be done! It just means that if one wants a happier life, then one have to work harder for it! Growth mindset...

This is my first James Maxstadt read and I'm glad that I came across this author. I like the way he tells the story! I like Lilly's positivity. And I wonder if we are going to see Kenneth again...

This is my first Jane Alvey Harris listen and I like the way she reads the book. Her voice is also not grating to the ears. Kudos for the narrator!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 3.5
World building = 4
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = (10 hrs and 32 mins)
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Lilly The Necromancer Series:

Amazon

Meet The Author

About James Maxstadt:

Author living in NC with his beautiful wife, writing away and trying to learn all this new-fangled social media stuff...

The Narrator

About Jane Alvey Harris:

Ms. Harris has a degree in Humanities from Brigham Young University with emphases in Art History, Italian Language, and Studio Art. She enjoys playing classical piano, painting & sketching, singing & acting, and especially writing poetry & prose.

But her real passion is people. Jane loves to watch and study what makes us tick as human beings. She's definitely a dreamer. Her favorite thing to do is weave together sublime settings and stories for characters to live and learn in...herself included.

Jane currently lives in an enchanted fairy-princess castle in Dallas, Texas, with her three often-adorable children and three seldom-adorable cats. Right now she's working on the last book in the award winning YA psychological fantasy thriller, the My Myth Trilogy.

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE LAST PALADIN (Book 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Cherry) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 16:23:45 +0000

The Last Paladin (Book 1) by Roman Savarovsky
Book 1 in The Last Paladin series
Narrated by Jonathan Sleep
Genre: portal progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Last Paladin (Book 1):

I was once a mighty Paladin of Darkness, mother of all the Elements. The one and only of my kind.

Some called me the chosen one, a savior destined to rescue the world; others insisted I would be its downfall.

I never got the chance to discover who was right. Society conspired with the traitors to trap me in the deadly Element of Time.

But a year later, I managed to break free... wait, how has it been 700 years?

Source: Info in the "About The Last Paladin (Book 1)" was taken from amazon on 02/07/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

The theme holds a lot of similarities to some books that I have been reading lately. Like, the enemy is from a foreign realm that comes through via portals. The same theme with This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews and The Dark Healer series by Alex Toxic and Nadya Lee. So the book is not exactly original.

First chunk of a bigger book with a cliffhanger ending.

This is my first Roman Savarovsky read and I like the way he tells a story. I just do not like the fact that the story is being sold in chunks. I am also not fond of the waiting for the next chunk.

But I love The Cat! Cute sidekick!

I like Jonathan Sleep's voice, it is not irritating to the ears. However, I do not like the fact that he does not pause or show any indication that the scene has changed. He just reads on and on and on. You just notice it when the lines do not make sense anymore. When I check the ebook, the text is separated by three asterisks showing that the scene has changed. So you can't just listen with half an ear because you'll get confused.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 3
Ending = 3.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (7 hours and 42 minutes listening time)
Plot = 2.5
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Last Paladin Series:

Meet The Author

About Roman Savarovsky:

Roman Savarovsky was born in 1992 in a small Siberian town. His childhood love for reading short detective stories eventually shifted to a fascination with fantasy, sci-fi, and adventure during his teenage years. While in university, reading took a backseat to other hobbies and studies, until the LitRPG genre captured his attention in 2014. Realizing, “I could write something like this,” he completed his first full draft and submitted it to a writing contest. Although the draft didn’t progress further, Roman turned his focus to a career in sales.

His search for purpose continued over six years, moving from one job to another, yet the desire to write never faded.

The turning point came in 2021 when Roman stumbled upon another major LitRPG contest. Revisiting and fully rewriting his draft, he transformed it into a successful trilogy, gathering his first fans and finding his true calling. Since then, Roman has never set down his “pen,” crafting and publishing new captivating stories.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Jonathan Sleep:

Voice-over artist.

Dynamic, authentic, professionally produced voiceover productions for thoughtful and intelligent voiceover that hits the mark.

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.