Maxim Volt worked very hard NOT to become the local madman.
He didn’t plot doom upon his enemies (even when they deserved it).
He didn’t stitch together monsters with parts 'recycled' from the local graveyard.
Why, he barely allowed himself a maniacal laugh or two!
And yet, he still somehow ended up getting kicked out of university, banished from the family estate, and inheriting a decrepit castle high in the mountains of Eastern Europe, complete with a spooky but devoted maid. And on top of that, he finds himself caring for an injured werewolf girl, reuniting with his manic yandere lab assistant, and gathering allies to fight a mechanized industrialist looking to usurp him.
Because while he might not be mad, he is the master of Grimmwald Castle. And no one’s taking that or the women who love him without a fight.
Grimmwald is the latest haremlit book from Jay Aury! Featuring eldritch maids, busty werewolves, maniacal lab assistants with the hots for a good death ray, and plenty of mad science!
This is basically the answer to "what if someone wrote a sexy fanfic set in the Girl Genius universe". I love Girl Genius (and settings like it), and I have no problems with the concept of sexy fanfic. And indeed, ever detail of this story seems…fine.
The world is good (I mean, obviously; it's Girl Genius with the serial numbers filed off), the characters are fine, the villain is suitably evil, the cliches are many but appropriate, the scene midway through the book where …really, there's nothing not to love.
Except for some reason it all left me a bit cold. Not sure if there's something I'm missing, or if I was just not in the right mood to appreciate it at the time. I'll probably give it another try one day.
The book is exactly what it looks like; if it looks appealing to you, you'll probably like it. Even if, for whatever reason, I didn't.
This was definitely an interesting and fun book to read.
The MC is a mad scientist that has been thrown out of his magical college and family, but inherits a large, gothic style castle near the Carpathian mountains in some alternate Earth setting. From there, he encounters various difficulties from uninvited guests to the townspeople trying to throw daughters at him, and then there is the antagonist.
He has 3 different women as lovers by the end of the book, and two he put zero effort into. The second was his former lover at college, so she had some previous effort that we don't really see outside of a mini-backstory. The lack of relationship building was a shame, as was the accelerated rate he gained the women. Still, they were interesting, and the Yandere one wasn't annoying like the trope often can be.
I look forward to where the author takes this series in book 2.
Great intro to a series with a rather abrupt ending. 4/5
Ok, another haremlit,... The set setup is pretty nice, not as typical, and the male MC is written as a mad scientist. The story is really cohesive and flows rather well, the pacing is excellent, nothing feels like fluff, and the build-up and payoff are excellent. However that being said, the ending feels rather closed as far as a series goes...could be read as a standalone but as of now, it's difficult to see in what direction the series is going to go,...which could be intentional but a sneak peak into what is to come would have been nice.
At first, I thought the synopsis was just a facsimile from Villain for Hire (another series by this author) good guy wearing a villain's cloak. Even though the character traits resemble the other series, they are well-placed and not lazily pasted.
Good Start for the series and I hope to read more.
I really loved reading this book. It was funny and entertaining. The story and characters were incredibly interesting and engaging. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. This book is definitely worth checking out.
Jay manages to sum up the entire genre on Madlads and Madladies with this work. From the Aadams Family moto to the Girl Genius town of potential minions. Enjoy this romp down memory lane and watch out for flying cogs!
Very well written, good characters, MC is a reluctant mad scientist inherits an Evil Castle. Hey becomes the benevolent tyrant everyone has been waiting for. Lots of spicy scenes with 3 different female characters. Was done really well.
OMG, better than a sentient octopod with a monocle
I got this book on a whim from a recommendation and was simply amazed. It's the first haremlit, mad scientist, steampunk book I've encountered and I loved it.
It was good, some pacing issues particularly with chemistry and I wanted it to be longer. Overall, it was interesting enough to make me want to continue the series. Really wished the author spent more time on the world building, feel there was a lot of potential left to the wayside.
This is a fine steampunk fantasy harem adventure novel. It is well written and edited. I especially like the creepy maid Moira. I anxiously await the sequel.
It has been a while since I read this. I remember it being fine but never quite managing good. Nothing wrong with that, they can’t all be Roger Zelazny.