Engaging characters. Series has potential.
931092
Good story. Engaging characters. I enjoyed the read even though I was constantly challenged to suspend belief by the many, many technical intelligence issues seemingly due to a serious lack of knowledge of the field. Still, it would seem Ms. Cleveland could make a good show in this genre if she can make some contacts, keep researching, and develop a better grasp of the technical aspects.
910897
The main character is likable. The storyline is interesting and a bit unpredictable . Lots of humor is used. Some of the same characters fro Fractured Persona. This is suppose to be a series and I will probably read the next book in the series.
4799247
So I really wanted to give this book a 3.5, because it isn't quite good enough to rate a four, but it has potential.
The "four"  qualities include interesting main characters, an exciting plot with some substantial surprises, and some curious uses of magic. Azoth is a youngster from the Warren, the bad side of town; he is a member of a gang that both provides some protection and enforces harsh, evil practices. When he sees his best friend turned into a sexual slave, he decides to leave the guild and to find another life. He decides to become a "wetboy," an elite assassin and manages to become apprenticed to the best wetboy in the city. When the Rat, the evil enforcer for the guild, finds out that Azoth wants out, he take Azoth's only other friend, a young girl, and beats her so badly, that Azoth decides to kill the Rat. Eventually his master Blint assigns him the task of becoming a minor lord in the other section of the city.
The "three" qualities include a tendency for the secondary character to be sort of flat and of a type: the good ones are really good, and the bad ones are really bad. And then there are mysterious characters who drop into the city, play somewhat important roles, and then mysteriously disappear. You know that you are on shifting sands when the character with the most doubts about good and evil is simultaneously capable to cold-blooded murder. One reason, I suppose, that minor characters remain flat is that many of them die quickly. The plot also jumps around a bit; sometimes taking things a day at a time, but then jumping many years into the future.
Despite some weakness, however, I enjoyed the book: in fact, I just bought book 2 in the series, so I guess I'm voting with my money and time to see how the series develops.
1317383
The series is fun.  I look forward to the next book.  Like most digital books, it could use a little more editing, but way better editing has been done than most.  As new "Alien Races" imerge in the story line, I would like a little more development of their civilization character, before encountering the next civilization.
4504788
Not bad for a first book in a new series. I really didn't get into it until toward the end. I did like it enough to buy the next. I think the characters have lots of potential.
4795256
Looks like another strong addition to the list of worthwhile new litrpg series.  There aren't many proofreading errors, and the ones that made it through didn't disrupt the flow of the read.  It felt a little like the author is still getting into his groove, but that point doesn't seem far off if that impression isn't just in my head.  I found the characters to be likeable, the world believable, and nothing jumping out as too overdone.  In terms of content, there are relatively few traditional fantasy races, although so far the "monster" races are written so that they are more complex and have actual cultures, as opposed to just being a device to give the protagonists something to fight.  All in all, this should be an enjoyable series, and even if the author doesn't improve at all I'd still happily keep reading new releases.
762183
Author Anne R. Tan shows flashes of real potential in this, the first novel in a series featuring Raina Sun, an erstwhile Chinese-American graduate student who is trying to figure out her love life and her life in general.
Raina is an interesting character, complex in that she is sometimes confident but often not; conflicted about her family yet devoted to it despite some serious misgivings. She is a woman who wants to do the right thing but isn't always sure just what that right thing is. She is loyal to friends, though she can be both petty and snarky when it comes to dealing with them.
The plot is intricate and the secondary characters are nicely fleshed out - a huge plus in my opinion. There are a lot of twists and turns, a few red herrings, and some universal themes (betrayal, for example) woven into the storyline. I really liked that about this book.
There are some things about this novel that didn't thrill me, however.
For example, the author can turn a nice phrase but at some point she should remember the old axiom that, at least sometimes, "less is more." She spends a lot of time describing scenes but rather than giving readers (at least this one) a sense of place some of her descriptions slow down the narrative because they are too fulsome. One of the joys of reading is using your imagination to help paint the picture of a scene; authors that allow a reader to do that give them the opportunity to be fully engaged in the story. It's not exactly a partnership between reader and writer, but it's pretty close to that.
She also has a somewhat curious idea about journalism. In her novel, Tan prominently features a young reporter who, though pretty aggressive, allows one cop to take away her cellphone and another to rip pages from her notebook. That sort of thing can happen in a lot of Third World countries but in the United States a reporter that allowed something like that to happen would find herself unemployed. Cops, by virtue of the fact they have guns and badges, can sometimes try to do something like that (though it's very rare) but any reporter worth his or her salt would fight that attempt to the point of getting arrested.
(I can say this because I spent nearly 50 years as a reporter and did, in fact, get arrested once in the U.S. and twice overseas.)
One final point: Although she can be very descriptive when it comes to setting scenes, Tan kept me in the dark early in the book about the lead character's name and the name of her grandmother. She also left me hanging a little when it came to describing Raina's relationship to her former husband. There are references to them growing up together, their marriage, the divorce and annulment of their union but...
As I said at the beginning, there are some real strong points to this first novel in the series, which I enjoyed on the whole. I look forward to reading more of Raina's adventures.
3790780
likeable characters, engaging writing. This whole series is entertaining, with a little danger mixed in with the romance. Nothing earth shattering, but a pleasant read.
3232915
Nicely done. By the time I've reached Book 10 in the series, my interest has waned just a bit, but this is still nice writing, good character development. (10 books is a long series... but suddenly I'm excited that there's a whole second series utilizing the same characters!) The premise is pretty typical "super hero" type fare - sort of like X-Men in the powers - but a more global expanse to the story. Violence? Sex? Well, yeah, there's a bit of violence, sort of comes with the premise. Sex? No, nothing to speak of. Anything sexual happens "off stage" and is left to the reader's imagination.
1993884
It wasn't what I expected.  There are situations that will make you roll your eyes, but it's not terribly bad.  At least there are some hesitations or angsts about some of the decisions made by the heroine.  There were enough twist, and character/story development to keep me reading and desire to read the next books in this series.  It appears to be something that has the opportunity to grow into a really great series.  This read almost like a pilot episode of a good tv series.  A little weak, but interesting enough for you to tune in next week to see what else happens in the world these characters live in.  Watching as new characters are mixed in and problems begin to escalate.  It's sexually graphic in some areas, so be mindful of that.
2742517
A good storyline that has series potential. The characters are interesting although the boyfriend was the weakest.  Ill read more of the series.
150027
The first of a series, it has potential to be great.  Let's see what the next book carries, and determine how many in the series.
3216444
There were a few editing issues with this novel, but the characters are likable, and the situations are pretty funny. I think more could be done with the whole shape-shifter idea, but Grimes makes pretty effective use of the idea. It was a fun read, and I would probably read another story in the series, but I won't go hunting for the next book, either. Good enough to pass the time, but not compelling or moving enough to guarantee a return to the series.
4076517
The premise of this story is full of promise.  Characterization is good, the back story is intriguing. The book falls down a little in descriptive narration, to much time spent on trivial descriptions of meals, clothing etc..  A good rule, if the passage slows the book down, it goes.  It necessary to maintain the story's momentum thus descriptions of the relationships should be parred down.  There is promise, a little better job on editing would help move the story along.

I admire anyone the puts pen to paper to spin a tale, but most writing is evolutionary, and we should see steady improvement in this series as the story unfold in subsequent volumes.

Admiral effort.
1185846
I read the short-story prequel and really liked it; I couldn't wait to start this series.
I actually listened to the audio for this book (reviewed on Audible), rather than read it.
Overall, a fairly decent start. I am interested in what will happen and how the characters develop. However, I also hope that the writing style matures. I often feel the characters only converse in order for the author to have a way to explain concepts to the reader. I'm missing a good narrative that lets me draw my own conclusions. And, right now, I'm not attached to of the characters - they don't seem to have much emotional depth or seem to have very realistic motives or actions.
So, overall, not too bad, but I'm hesitant to recommend it yet. If the series improves (as I truly hope it does), then I'll revise this review to encourage reading it.
1211520
This story has believable characters and an interesting plot. The gutsy heroine would make a good lead character for a series. It does need some editing. Good job otherwise.
2033295
This book could have used a good editor for content.  A good editor would have establish the world building front of the novel in a more timely fashion.  That saying, this has the characters to be a good series and I will be buying the next novel to give it a chance.  Ash is in graduate school at Harvard majoring in Mythology when she is contacted to come and settle her grandmother's estate after a stroke puts her in a nursing home.  Ash's mom was murdered in front of her by someone her stepfather let in.  Her mother sends her to hide and she is picked up later by her grandmother and sent to the US for foster care.  She is haunted by nightmares and the last place she wants to go back to is Ireland.  Connal Savage works for her grandmother (who is not what she appeared to be) and is told to watch her, protect her and not to sleep with her.

Ash begins to change shortly after she lands when the full moon starts.  Ash is a Latent:  a human who may be capable of continuing the Fomorian line.  Fomorians are primordial creatures native to Ireland that were defeated in battle by the Tuatha De Danann (fairies) Pre-Christian gods who force them to live below ground.  The Tuatha De Danann were also set aside by Christianity and the gaps caused the Fomorians to be able to come above ground during the full moon.

Ash and Connal end up together and have to face the fact that her grandmother is not able to protect them and they do not have much confidence they will be able to get through this.  This is the first book of a series that promises to be unique and interesting.  The writers are a woman duo and show promise once you get through the first half.