u/Certain_Wonder4487

(Book cover is directly from Amazon and the subsequent images are that of Molly from two different scenes in the book that I created.)

Hey everyone, Rune back again.

I have honestly been sitting on this with a "needing to finish" note for this review since I finished the first book almost a week and a half ago. My intention was to have it out before book 2 dropped, but life and my ever-present squirrel brain led to me prioritizing other projects. That said, Mirror Mage is just that much of a fun read that I felt a completed post was still deserved. It is shorter than some of my previous reviews, but no less enjoyable to write and talk about.

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PREMISE:

Mirror Mage is tale of Kyle Bradley, early twenties bookstore clerk and college dropout, who finds himself as one of the most potentially power Magi currently alive, but only if he can survive long enough to see that potential bloom while also defending and protecting his childhood best friend, Molly Brown.

Molly is a spitfire, no fucks given, Irish red head to her core. She is bubbly and funny, while being a charming flirt and downright dirty sometimes crush. And boy does she have a crush on Klye. Now only if he could get past the promise, he made to her brother to keep her safe and stop seeing her as his 'lil sister', she could potentially find some peace and happiness for once.

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REVIEW (Lite Spoilers):

Mirror Mage is an awesome change of pace for what I personally have been getting a lot in the Harem Lit universe. When was the last time you read a series where the idea of a harem or even the word harem didn't even show up till the back fifth of the book. Hell, even the two main characters don't fully have penetrative sexual intercourse by the end of the book. That is rare. While that may be seen as a spoiler by some, they still "get it on" just in other ways. This book feels like the epitome of a 'Slow Burn', and honestly, this is probably one of my favorite parts of the book. You know it will be a harem, but if there wasn't second book guaranteed, this could have been a very cute and intimate solo romance love story. Molly and Kyle have just such great chemistry on the page. Kyle does have some tropey moments where he tries to convince himself that "this isn't happening", but even those moments feel natural and earned due to the surrounding story and lore. They are just a cute couple by the end.

The magic also is unique and quirky and very different than genre standard that has been seen a lot, relying on characters who are not sorcerers (wizards-natural magic users) and instead they have to form pacts with idols to get access to words of power. It is a unique and honestly well thought out systems that sees deities from various mythos becoming ancient beings of immense power that grants a portion of that power to their worshipers to speak a word of power (assumed to be in the language of the deity). That causes an effect that is associated with the known powers and lore of that deity. So, a deity known for healing will give you words that heal someone, just as an example. You have deities from all era and cultures, from South America to ancient Greece, to many others. These deities grant ever more and more words and abilities based on the level of pure worship and adoration their followers give.

And while the setting in concept is nothing that we haven't seen before, magic academy with professors and a headmaster, the idea that it sits on the same land space with a town and fully functioning military base of the same name. So from dorms and classrooms to ten minutes by bus to a gated, walled, with machine gun towers military base really helps set itself apart from others in the genre that have run the academy route. While we don't get a ton of information on how that base will be used by the Magi and what it's purpose it, the fact that exists and will certainly come up in future books leaves a huge moment of anticipation for me. There is also an ironic twist of mundane to the academy in that it really isn't all that magical. No floating candles, no speaking hats, and that is something Kyle just has a hard time accepting.

So, after all that, there are secrets that abound on the surface of everything and seem to constantly run deeper. Kyle keeps taking blow after blow of life change and mind-altering amounts of information from everything he thought he knew. It will be up to keep people in his life to help guide him and keep him from putting both him and Molly in mortal danger.
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CLOSING:

The characters feel fun and deep with each having a purpose and goal beyond just getting with the main character. Even the two MC (Kyle and Molly) have goals and desires beyond hooking up that go in different directions for different reasons. From unique magic to fun twists on setting and well-built characters, Mirror Mage is a great place to start if you are looking to start a new academy series. If you want something slightly different, uniquely imagine, and with good slow burn romance, start here. No Notes.

Just some fun creations. Still only a few days back into regular creation.

For now I will still just be posting end results, but if you’re wanting to know the current process of creation, feel free to reach out in a DM and we can talk.

When I get closer to a final process, I’ll start sharing that.

So this “technically” is an illegal post, as this art isn’t about an existing H-Lit book or work in progress or even a concept, but I do think it’s an interesting discussion.

Do you want to see a book with this in it?

How do you think it should or could be adapted into the H-lit genre while not violating any copyright issues.

Edit: For context on multiple discords, the Gender bent Draco is extremely popular and spreading like wildfire.

Probably my last post for a day or two. Life has a way of saying I need to go live it 😅.

And by that I mean, kids, dishes, and laundry.

This is some more testing with different poses and textures while trying to maintain a consistent art style and color balance.

Title says it.

Still just getting used to this new image gen interface and software. Well new to me. It’s a bit different than how I had previously worked.

But anyway. Here is Faye and Vioke on the ranch and on the mountain side. Took some liberties with ‘the mountain side’ so that it’s a bit more visually appealing.

The last one is sort of a blooper. It’s not really in the context of the story well. But it looked cool.

GPT doing some heavy lifting for me that Gemini just could never do.

This is Marie-Rosalie Gagnon (or just Rosalie) from Breaking the Ice by Lacey Liu.

Based off a scene early on in the book.

So I will start by acknowledging that this series was recently announced as complete as if the release of book three. I have not read that book yet and am only half way through book two, so this review is solely on the merits of the first book.

Also, I will sooner or later land in a format for how I structure reviews. I like it that way, but for now, just going to shotgun a few templates and see what feels best.
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STORY

Starting off with the story, it’s really good. Focused around Ash and his start at a premier academy for Dragon Lancers, I does a good job at setting up the premise of what to expect while still foreshadowing just enough to keep it entertaining and engaging down the line. There’s intrigue and action, along with humor and tension. The story feels paced well too. The Love Interest show up out of order and each has a unique relationship to Ash that is conveyed not through exposition, but through dialogue and history and culture.

The academy itself is an interesting discussion, on one hand, we really don’t get to learn to much about its history, nor do we get to really experience its day to day life in a way that feels…. normal… mundane…? To its credit, every seen feels like it moves the story along at a nice pace while never feeling too rushed or drawn out, but it did seem to be missing (and your mileage may vary) the Slice of Life that has become a staple in this genre for academy books. Don’t mistake me, there are meals in the cafeteria and lectures in a class, but some of that coziness I had come to expect was missing.

On the positive, the action is awesome. From formations to tactics to fighting stances and forms that all feel relevant and unique. Various ways that different dragons or equipment can give hints about who a person is and what traits they may possess or embody. The fight sequences are fast paced too. Always feeling like I need just one more paragraph to see what happens next. I also always felt like I knew where characters were in relation to one another, which sometimes in other series had become annoying. So glad to see that was handled with care.

All that said, the story is well told and pushes along a fun and engaging narrative about staying true to one’s self, learning to view the world from another’s eyes, and the tried and true coming of age style narrative; learning about leadership, loyalty, and resilience against adversity.

WRITING

The writing in this novel is probably some of Shane’s best. The diction is fun and unique, the dialogue is snappy and entertaining, and the prose is brisk and light weight. It is easily a faster read, the pages just flow so well. Scene transitions rarely feel jarring or abrupt and the description of said scenes were always enough that when we returned, I knew just where we were, but never so weighted or lengthy that it felt flowery.

Dialogue between characters is where I think Shane really shines in this genre. All his characters always feel fleshed out and deep. He’s one of the authors I can say who breaks the “show don’t tell” rule so well, because a lot of the showing is mixed in with the reactions, inflections, and pure diction of the dialogue. This is my third series with him and continually it’s his characters and dialogue that keep me grounded in his worlds.

CHARACTERS

This will be an interesting discussion. One one hand, the characters feel really safe. You have your mentor figure, your nerdy book worm, your rebel, and a few others. Pretty standard affair, but it’s the ‘devil’ in the details that really makes them shine. The mentor with some PTSD from a recent war, the book worm with a thing for slutty books and firm purity desires, and the rebel who’s rebelling against the MC too. Also, Abigail may be one of the best written Brat type characters I have enjoyed reading in the 100 or so books I’ve consumed. She definitely ranks up there with Emma in terms of smiles per page from Shane’s Demon Lord Academy Series.

The supporting cast and sort of secret antagonist are all well done, none feel out of place or two strong or weak for the level we are at in the story. I will say on a personal note, I really appreciate the very Harry Potter vibes of got from the narrators voice choices (Evan and Alyssa).

THOUGHTS

So to close, Crimson & Ash is a fun academy series with dragons and tactics and very little magic for a change. There are tones of coming of age and born to rule vibes that are all very present and obvious from early on, but none take away from the stars of the show, the romance and adventure. Crimson & Ash have some of the coolest dragon fight sequences I’ve read in a while and the action always feels so grounded and accurate.

This was a seriously fun read, already working on book two, and have book three locked and loaded.

Review: Rise of the Class Smith

Quick sideword, thank you for reading this review. Doing these have always been a fun way for me to share experiences and conversations with others that share what I enjoy. An author I respect and converse with regularly here on the platform reminded too, that these reviews, are for other readers, and if a review keeps a reader from possibly buying a book they weren’t going to enjoy anyway, then that is a positive for the community as a whole. That hit differently for me and I appreciated it.
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SMALL RANT:

So I will start with the elephant in the room of my own creation — I thought the blurb of this book really undersold the premise, or at least more specifically some of the unique details that I feel really separate and probably resonate with the general audience. This series has become one of Leon’s more or even most popular series based on number of reviews logged in Amazon and Audible (1,002 reviews on Amazon and 140 on Audible at time of writing). So maybe this is technically spoilers or something from the author’s POV but I feel it’s worth it to mention for anyone still looking at this series. Also, everything mentioned below are in the first few chapters.

\- This takes play on a real version of earth and not some fantasy world. Mostly modern day.
\- The stakes the dungeons have on the world at large are quite more real than let on.
\- Death by dungeon is another real consequence that can and does happen to even those that may or may not deserve it.
\- Dungeon diving becomes just another hazardous job that for most pay little better than most other jobs. Still have to pay rent, pay bill, pay for groceries. This brings a real weight to an otherwise fantastical job as depicted in many other books.

Realistically, I don’t know how much of this could have been expressed in the short blurb, but it really helps flesh out context for the story at large.
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LITRPG Cool Stuff

This is also what I would call LitRPG lite. It carries every feature that I have come to expect from a LitRPG, but does it in a why that is probably my most favorite ways. It’s never number hungry. Stat sheets are not tossed at you constantly. Abilities are constantly ‘activated’ having a wall of ‘system text’ tossed at you to remind you what the ability does. You get the definition once, then every subsequent use is a reminder through action. Heals talk about healing, stealth talks about going stealth. It is one of the best LitRPG examples of “Show don’t Tell”.

The RPG ‘mechanics’ on show here are unique enough to me and well thought out. The class smithing ability it gets its namesake from is a core mechanic and it really feels good. It uses a combination mechanic that I won’t go into a lot of detail on that feels intuitive and yet extremely flexible. The rules governing the system are also believable and grounded in common understanding if you have played any amount of dungeon crawlers.

As for the use of ‘kin’ which is a mutation of the human genome to create essentially new species and races of humans and that they go through their own prejudices is a great unique touch. Those born from kin parents carry that trait allowing families of unique species to grow and gain fame or notoriety.

Dungeons themselves are a cool unique design. Once again, keeping a bit vague for spoilers, they act as a buffer for another faction that add some real tension and true weight to the story that I hadn’t expected to be so prevalent.

I think however the most fun mechanics of the dungeon was the creation and acquisition of mob, fodder, creatures, whatever you want to call it. It reminds me of one of my favorite games growing up, Age of Wonders. You take a basic unit and customize it in different ways to change what role it plays. Take the same frontline creature and give it a shield and it’s a tank, take the same mob and give it a staff and it’s a caster or healer. It allowed for some super creative creature design without having to make new units/mobs for each class helping keep immersion smooth and not jarring.
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Awesome Characters

The characters really stand out here. Levi, the main character is a standard trope of a harem MC, with stoic morality, warm tenderness, and protective nature, but there a few standout qualities that help make this character someone I have really enjoyed. For one, he’s smart. Not super calculating or over intelligent, but smart in that he has basic comprehension and competence with the real felt ability to learn from mistakes. He feels the mistakes he makes, feels the weight of his decisions, and makes less than optimal decisions sometimes which feels realistic. And he is humble and not blindly trusting of every nice pair of tits that walk in front of him, regardless of how nice they look.

Blair and Maddie are stand outs too, each for their own strengths. Blair is calm and confident with a sense of protectiveness for Levi that goes beyond battle. She makes sure he gets the rest he needs, doesn’t push himself, and eats when he forgets too. It loving and sweet. Maddie on the other-side is calm and sweet. She is more of a artsy thinker, with a unique outlook on a lot of things. When Levi can’t solve a problem, which the MC shouldn’t be able to solve everything, she steps in with a new look or way of thinking that is genuinely juxtaposed from how Levi approached a problem while still feeling natural to her character and grounded.

Both girls are well written and each have strengths and weaknesses that play off each other instead of feeling blurred or blended and getting lost in the mix.

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WRITING

The writing is pleasant. I will say it feels a bit long winded in places. Monologues feel a bit longer than they needed to be and repeatedly retrace thoughts. This is an odd criticism for me, because I don’t actually think I want it to change. I find in the moments, I am invested to these characters and want to know and hear how they feel, see their pain and strife. Their crushing desires.

The prose is also something that I find more and more important to me. How an author writes. The words they chooses and how they put them together.

Leon here is quickly become someone I really enjoy. He writes in a way that his diction changes to match the character speaking/thinking and even to match the tone. If a sex scene is more quick and dirty, the words and flow of it match in contrast to a scene that is more intense and intimate, this scene will be more drawn out and have words that I would associate with ‘romanticism’ or ‘flowery’. Some might say “well duh” but you would be surprised how much that makes a difference. As an example, I don’t think the word cunt is used a single time in the first book. At least not in a pointed way, until a character in the second book uses it in an internal monologue and it just hits different because of it. Makes that characters identity and language feel distinct from the rest. Even depending on the POV of the sex scene seems to change how it is written which for me is a super win. I love unique and distinct POV voices.

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CONCLUSION

Rise of the Class Smith is my first major journey into Leon’s bibliography, and I can say it doesn’t disappoint. The book is well written, has good length and depth. Characters feel real and decisions have weight and consequences that aren’t always visible then and there. If you like fantasy genre in general, then this will scratch a lot of itches. If you like classes and D&D or Diablo style mechanics and dungeons crawling, then this is a must buy.

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As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reply to the post. I enjoy making these reviews in part for the conversation and engagement I get in the comments.

Also thanks Shane for giving me the push in confidence to get back out here and write these. I had a lot of fun.

So… world of Feral Mage is just De’vas chronicles in the future? Has this been confirmed in a later book or am I just spouting conspiracy? The Ember Islands sure sounds like Japan and De’vas has a big bad Kitsune as a villain… oh the theories.

If an author knows ahead of time that they will have fewer books than the final number of harem members (within reason - looking at the pansters and obviously avoiding spoilers) than they should plan on book covers with more than one girl on them.

Just a quick shout out for a fun read that I have put off for much longer than I should have. The main thing that I found most appreciative was that (intentional or not) book 1 was solely focused on us learning about the MMC from his POV, but then after we met the LIs, book two we get introduced to POV chapters for them.

Just don’t see many authors wiling or able to shift from a single POV to multiple POV and it feel fun and seem less without it being jarring from all of a sudden getting new POV in book 2.

Been back into magic for about 6 months now after being out for over a decade. I think the last set I remember coming out was Journey into Nyx.

I’ve found that while I like attacking, I really like commanders that somehow modify that in various ways. So this is who I’ve been playing for about 2 months now.

Even working on doing a custom proxy deck (Naruto Universe) for Yuriko because I’ve enjoyed her so much.

So I thought I’d just post on here and roll the dice. See what feedback came 🤷🏼‍♂️. Don’t really have a pod just play with some people at my LGS on Fridays so reviews have been mixed.

(Image cropped from M. Tress’ first book cover of Monster Girls in Space)

So was browsing MTG EDH subreddit reddits and came across a post asking who everyone’s favorite commander was.

Got me thinking about my favorite commander, it’s Yuriko for those who are curious, but since I was listening to ME’s Renegade Ravager series, I went down a rabbit whole and got me wondering who my favorite HaremLit MC is….

This was an interesting thought as knee jerk reaction was Noah because I love Warlock so much, but that didn’t feel right, I love warlock because of the girls more so.

So… this thought exercise took up more of my time than I care to fully admit. My true answer came from a black listed series, so my runner up had to be Desmond from Monster Girls in Space.

He’s realistic, not arrogant or stupid, doesn’t dive into dumb ideas unless it’s protecting his girls and even then he acknowledges it and becomes better at it over time. He’s a powerful magic user but still doesn’t overshadow his girls and gives each of them the space to do thier jobs. He’s well spoken and diplomatic when it is required and hostile when someone goes too far.

So that’s mine, who’s yours?

Figured it might be fun to do post for readers to throw out questions for their favorite authors. Our great authors have been pretty active with community engagement lately.

To keep things simple, please reply to the post with the following format to help authors find questions that are directed at them:

(Author’s Name or Username) - (Your Question)

This is just a quick post that is intended to be cool and fun. There is obviously no obligation for an author to respond nor any guarantee that your question will be answered, but for the most part our community on both sides, readers and authors, is pretty awesome.

Artist: CuteSexyRobutts (Love his art. Always support when I can)

So just finished catching up on a few different series. Monster Girls in Space, Demon Lord Academy, De’vas Chronicles, Feral Mage. Been in a bit of a somewhat heavy plot/story bender. Wanting a pallet cleanser.

So starting off some notable titles I have already read that may get recommended, Coven King, Star Thrust, Demi Beast Husbandry, The First Quest, Bikini days.

I’m looking for something fun and light hearted but with a decent story, that’s also raunchy and racy. Meaning lewd and nearly nude characters. Doesn’t necessarily mean there has to be a lot of sex. Could be a single scene per book and I’d be ok if the rest of the book was just fun and sexy.

Hit me with your best ‘mind in the gutter’ picks.