en-US Mon, 05 May 2025 20:52:18 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9392519614 Mon, 05 May 2025 20:52:18 -0700 /review/show/7546737662 Cody is currently reading On Astral Tides - Book Four - Battle For The Spring: A Modern-day return of magic LitRPG by Ship Teaser
]]> Review7546734228 Mon, 05 May 2025 20:51:12 -0700 /review/show/7546734228 Cody gave 5 stars to On Astral Tides - Book Three - The Bonds Of Family: A Modern-day return of magic LitRPG (On Astral Tides - From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor 3) by Ship Teaser
]]> Review7538523720 Sun, 04 May 2025 18:38:51 -0700 /review/show/7538523720 Cody gave 5 stars to On Astral Tides - Book Two - Thirteen Days Of Trouble: A Modern-day return of magic LitRPG (On Astral Tides - From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor 2) by Ship Teaser
]]> Review7416243730 Sun, 04 May 2025 16:25:08 -0700 /review/show/7416243730 Cody gave 2 stars to Titan Mage Box Set: The Complete Crystal Moon Arc (Kindle Edition) by Edie Skye
I almost loved this series. I certainly wanted to.

Rather than write a review from scratch, let me just include the spoiler-filled rant I sent to a friend of mine about the series: [spoilers removed]

So yeah, the upshot is I like book 1, but the series is a bit of a dumpster fire from my point of view, and I just can't recommend it. ]]> Review7484704245 Sun, 04 May 2025 16:25:06 -0700 /review/show/7484704245 Cody gave 2 stars to Blood Knight: Academy of Silence (Kindle Edition) by Edie Skye
I want to love Edie Sky's stories, but somehow while they start really strong, they keep heading in a direction that doesn't work for me.

I love the premise and the setting; I just don't really enjoy the story the author is choosing to tell with the setting.

I feel like this is a great example of a book that is good, but just not for me. Read the cover blurb; read the other reviews. If something resonates with you, give it a shot. Just because I ended up abandoning it doesn't mean it's a bad story! ]]> Review7526671957 Sun, 04 May 2025 16:15:36 -0700 /review/show/7526671957 Cody gave 2 stars to Isekai Emperor: The Complete Omnibus (Books 1-3): A Light-Hearted LitRPG Base-Building Adventure by Michael Dalton
So I really love Michael Dalton's work, and seeing a fun sounding series co-authored by him I eagerly picked it up, expecting more of the same.

This...was a bit of a mistake. In my view what sets Dalton apart from other similar authors is his strong characters, dialogue, romance, and inter-character interactions. But this series is weakest at that, and instead dives deep into a LitRPG system, some humour that didn't hit very well for me, and world building. I don't know the division of labour here between Dalton and Adam Lance, but I suspect this book is mostly Lance with, at most, some advice from Dalton. Which would have been fine if I wasn't expecting (and looking for) something like Dalton would have written.

If you ignore Dalton's name on the cover, and come at this thinking of it as a goofy LitRPG series by a newcomer, it's okay. Book 1 is a bit rough, but the quality improves over time, and book 3 even rises to the level of decent, I think.

That being said even as a random LitRPG/harem book, it's not great. I don't particularly like the LitRPG system (the author seems very pleased with having come up with it, but I don't think it's anything special), the characters aren't very likeable, there's basically zero romance until maybe halfway through book 3, the plot doesn't really make a ton of sense...

I can't really recommend the series, but if you have read all the good LitRPG/harem books, then I guess you could start on the mediocre ones? ]]> Review7543190478 Sun, 04 May 2025 16:08:42 -0700 /review/show/7543190478 Cody gave 5 stars to Bikini Sunset: An Unconventional Romance (Bikini Days #4) by Michael Dalton
The series so far has been a pretty conventional mens romance, but the crossover with the author's other series is getting stronger as the series goes on, and it might well be worth reading Demon Hunter or Shifter Girls to get the most out of it.

At any rate, want to read a very, very competently executed story about a guy in a polycule with two much younger women? If so, then this is the book for you! If not, then there's not much else happening here, so you probably won't like it. ]]> Review7514401106 Sun, 04 May 2025 16:06:45 -0700 /review/show/7514401106 Cody gave 5 stars to Bikini Dawn: An Unconventional Romance (Bikini Days #3) by Michael Dalton
Pretty basic mens romance. Want to read a very, very competently executed story about a guy in a polycule with two much younger women? If so, then this is the book for you! If not, then there's not much else happening here, so you probably won't like it. ]]> Review7543190478 Sun, 04 May 2025 16:06:41 -0700 /review/show/7543190478 Cody gave 5 stars to Bikini Sunset: An Unconventional Romance (Bikini Days #4) by Michael Dalton
The series so far has been a pretty conventional mens romance, but the crossover with the author's other series is getting stronger as the series goes on, and it might well be worth reading Demon Hunter or Shifter Girls to get the most out of it.

At any rate, want to read a very, very competently executed story about a guy in a polycule with two much younger women? If so, then this is the book for you! If not, then there's not much else happening here, so you probably won't like it. ]]> Review7476073598 Sun, 04 May 2025 16:04:50 -0700 /review/show/7476073598 Cody gave 5 stars to Bikini Nights: An Unconventional Romance (Bikini Days #2) by Michael Dalton
Pretty basic mens romance. Want to read a very, very competently executed story about a guy in a polycule with two much younger women? If so, then this is the book for you! If not, then there's not much else happening here, so you probably won't like it. ]]>