Title: Serpentus Author: A.J. Calvin Release: February 27, 2024 Format: Audiobook Series: Relics of War I believe that Serpentus is a goddamn brilliant example of fantasy world-building. I genuinely love everything about this book. At first, my only real issue was how I thought it wouldn’t be that friendly for readers new to the series. I’ve read 3 books and a short story worth of this world’s lore, so I know how much is missing from the greater plot of the series. There were a handful of scenes and bits of dialogue, along with the writing style that stood out to me and made m ..read more

Title: The Shroud Key Author: Vincent Zandri Release: September 23, 2016 Format: Audiobook Narrator: Andrew B. Wehrlen Series: A Chase Baker Thriller Series, Book 1 I can’t get behind this book. The MC is your typical sexist, slightly racist, horny action-hero fantasy for men. The lone sex scene was disappointing at best, and the plot is slower as all hell. When it finally does go somewhere, it’s as brief as you’d expect a guy like this to be. It mixes the typical Jewish/Christian/Muslim fanfiction with a dash of Ancient Egyptian mythology and some ancient aliens to boot. T ..read more

Title: Chronicles of Maradoum Volume 6 Author: Ross Hughes Release: December 29, 2021 Format: Audiobook Narrator: Matt Weisgerber Series: Chronicles of Maradoum I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by this collection. The first few stories out of the gate were pretty interesting, unlike volumes 4 and 5. I went into this, dreading it, after my experience with the last 2. It does suffer from the same forgettability of the first 2, however. I was about to DNF it after listening to it over a couple of days and hardly remembering anything about it. I decided to finish it, when I ..read more

Title: The Curse of Cain Author: Theophilus Monroe Release: January 25, 2022 Format: Audiobook Narrator: Theophilus Monroe Series: The Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged 1 – 3 Hard pass…. I wish it was that simple, but that’s not a proper review. I like this literary universe, hell, I’d go as far as to say it’s one of my favorite literary universes. Behind the Bloodlines Reforged Saga, Aurora Wasteland Literary Universe, Relics of War series, and others I won’t name. I’ve been listening to the books from this series for several years now, almost as long a ..read more

Title: War of the Nameless Author: A.J. Calvin Release: November 29, 2022 Format: Paperback Series: Relics of War #3 So there’s this beautiful artwork of Ravin and the Dutchess, arm in am. The gorgeous Dutchess has a smirk on her face and Ravin is this handsome, dark-skinned guy. They look like they’re on their way to cause havoc in the queen’s court. Then there’s the cover art of book 2, where Ravin looks like this pale-skinned, haggard bum who’s about to plunder the queen’s treasure. What the hell’s up with that?! They did our boy dirty!! #JusticeForRavin! All seriousness as ..read more

Title: Children of the Night Author: Zan Safra Release: November 8, 2021 Format: Audiobook Narrator: Naomi Rose-Mock Series: Children of the Night #1 Children of the Night leaves me with incredibly mixed feelings. I found the first-person PoV to be obnoxious as hell. The characters narrate their every action and I can’t help but constantly wonder who the fuck they’re narrating these actions to. It’s not told as if they’re relaying past events, in a story format, in a journal, or some other medium. It’s just “And then I did this! And then I did that! And then I thought this ..read more

Title: Chronicles of Maradoum Volume 5 Author: Ross Hughes Release: December 3, 2021 Format: Audiobook Narrator: Greg D. Barnett Series: Chronicles of Maradoum #5 This is my second DNF from this series. I previously listened to and reviewed #4 and found it suffered from being predictable, boring, and forgettable. I thought maybe I was too hard on book 4 and put more effort into trying to suffer my way through book 5, but it wasn’t worth it. It suffers from the same issues as Book 4, it’s forgettable and boring. I’ve had this as my qued up book on Audible for months and ever ..read more

Title: Chronicles of Maradoum Volume 5 Author: Ross Hughes Release: December 3, 2021 Format: Audiobook Narrator: Greg D. Barnett Series: Chronicles of Maradoum #5 This is my second DNF from this series. I previously listened to and reviewed #4 and found it suffered from being predictable, boring, and forgettable. I thought maybe I was too hard on book 4 and put more effort into trying to suffer my way through book 5, but it wasn’t worth it. It suffers from the same issues as Book 4, it’s forgettable and boring. I’ve had this as my qued up book on Audible for months and ever ..read more

Title: Quest Author: A.J. Ponder Release: December 15, 2021 Format: Audiobook Narrator: Benjamin Fife Series: The Sylvalla Chronicles #1 While this book has some charm, I think the whole “rebellious princess” thing is insanely played out and unoriginal at this point. You’re only really told she dislikes her life because “reasons” and you don’t have enough time to experience it, so when she runs off, you hardly have a reason to care. The story is told in a narration format, which is interesting, to say the least. I like the character bios for the supporting cast as they’re i ..read more

Title: The Price of Power Author: Michael Michel Release: January 31, 2023 Format: Paperback Series: The Price of Power #1 To be entirely upfront, this is a review of a book I haven’t finished yet for 2 primary reasons. The first is my day job encroaching into my free time, leaving me overworked and tired, the second is from me re-reading nearly every page 2 – 3 times. (More on that later.) Regardless, I don’t think my opinion on this story will change when I finish it. I think it’s an incredibly solid book that deserves to be read. The Price of Power is akin to a painting of ..read more