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Cerberus Cards #3
Demon Card Enforcer 3: A Deck-Building LitRPG
Damian Grimm is dead, Wolfe has his card, and the remnants of the family that once employed Wolfe are in the hands of an ally.
But Wolfe’s original charge from Cerberus was not to clean house in the Grimm family... it was to clean house on all the crime families. The Weeds, the Singh family, and the Renfeldt all still nest in the city like ticks, all of whom have grown fat and powerful picking up the pieces of the other families.
And a shadowy figure, a deckbearer so powerful he was born before the Civil War, seems to be coordinating their efforts. And he’s sent an ex-navy seal to deal with Wolfe.
With Shel, Miriam, Rhett, and a new ally, the hacker, Fern, Wolfe must make sure he is ready to fight this new threat. He must make his deck, and the decks of his allies, more powerful. He has to train himself. Get the remainder of the Gate to the Infernal set cards. Then he must kill the man some say is the most powerful in Noimore.
All the while avoiding getting on the police’s radar yet again.
The game isn’t over yet; round two is just starting.
But Wolfe’s original charge from Cerberus was not to clean house in the Grimm family... it was to clean house on all the crime families. The Weeds, the Singh family, and the Renfeldt all still nest in the city like ticks, all of whom have grown fat and powerful picking up the pieces of the other families.
And a shadowy figure, a deckbearer so powerful he was born before the Civil War, seems to be coordinating their efforts. And he’s sent an ex-navy seal to deal with Wolfe.
With Shel, Miriam, Rhett, and a new ally, the hacker, Fern, Wolfe must make sure he is ready to fight this new threat. He must make his deck, and the decks of his allies, more powerful. He has to train himself. Get the remainder of the Gate to the Infernal set cards. Then he must kill the man some say is the most powerful in Noimore.
All the while avoiding getting on the police’s radar yet again.
The game isn’t over yet; round two is just starting.
456 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 19, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 21, 2025
Ohhhh wow! Jackpot! Bonus short story... Yay!
The short is celebrating Malviere, the orphan pup's birthday of sorts. As she's a card in reality and 'cause she's been alive for 6 months it's time, she evolving, growing up!
So get the book and celebrate with the pack!
Ohhhh man, such an awesome book! I loved every minute! And hey I adore deck-building litRPG's! This is Wolfe's story as he and Shel fight for their lives and the quest to keep the city of Noimoir safe from the crime bosses and corruption currently plaguing the city. Wolfe wanted to do it the right way with the law by his side, but with the time limit, that's just not an option!
So grab the book to see if Wolfe, Shel and pack of corrupted beast canines can take on the thugs!
Here's a quote for yah:
"She happened to glance over at Brain Bot, who had a puke emoji in eight bit on his front screen."
The short is celebrating Malviere, the orphan pup's birthday of sorts. As she's a card in reality and 'cause she's been alive for 6 months it's time, she evolving, growing up!
So get the book and celebrate with the pack!
Ohhhh man, such an awesome book! I loved every minute! And hey I adore deck-building litRPG's! This is Wolfe's story as he and Shel fight for their lives and the quest to keep the city of Noimoir safe from the crime bosses and corruption currently plaguing the city. Wolfe wanted to do it the right way with the law by his side, but with the time limit, that's just not an option!
So grab the book to see if Wolfe, Shel and pack of corrupted beast canines can take on the thugs!
Here's a quote for yah:
"She happened to glance over at Brain Bot, who had a puke emoji in eight bit on his front screen."
March 26, 2025
I like the series and the characters, but my biggest complaint is that Wolfe generally makes terrible use of his resources and comes up with half-baked plans. It's hard to root for a protagonist who can't leverage multiple allies, an overpowered deck, the element of surprise, and a massive perk that lets you summon cards without notifying your opponents into a clean win. Instead, he manages to get himself shot multiple times and wins because none of the wounds he takes are immediately fatal; good thing he left his healer in the van.
I'm still interested in the next book; I just wish some of the ideas felt a little more fleshed out.
I'm still interested in the next book; I just wish some of the ideas felt a little more fleshed out.
June 23, 2026
I want to like this book more than I do. There's a fairly solid plot here, and the plot gets significant progression in this volume of the series. And this book is a bit better than the first two books in the series.
But the characters are deeply unconvincing in their dialog and their reactions to the events of the story. And related to that, the sentence/paragraph-level writing is (charitably) naive.
This isn't particularly good, but I don't regret reading it. That said, if another book in the series is published, I will not be hurrying to get it.
But the characters are deeply unconvincing in their dialog and their reactions to the events of the story. And related to that, the sentence/paragraph-level writing is (charitably) naive.
This isn't particularly good, but I don't regret reading it. That said, if another book in the series is published, I will not be hurrying to get it.
March 22, 2025
A Triumphant Three-Peat
Absolutely loved book 3. It was an amazing addition to the series that had me turning the pages filled with excitement and anticipation. Took everything I enjoyed from the first two and cranked it to eleven. I enjoyed every page and eagerly await the next book. That was quite a cliffhanger. Oh, I need more.
Absolutely loved book 3. It was an amazing addition to the series that had me turning the pages filled with excitement and anticipation. Took everything I enjoyed from the first two and cranked it to eleven. I enjoyed every page and eagerly await the next book. That was quite a cliffhanger. Oh, I need more.
December 3, 2025
such a poor ending
I gave a 3 star rating because the ending is bs. How are you going to end this book at the end of a fight? The fight wasn’t even over. If it wasn’t for the horrible ending - I would have given this book 4 stars.
I’m not a fan of the card summoning/info sound. Otherwise, this is a decent series.
I gave a 3 star rating because the ending is bs. How are you going to end this book at the end of a fight? The fight wasn’t even over. If it wasn’t for the horrible ending - I would have given this book 4 stars.
I’m not a fan of the card summoning/info sound. Otherwise, this is a decent series.
March 31, 2026
Edgy yugioh strikes again! Trouble with the gangs escalates to all time high as a mysterious deck bearer appears on wolf’s doorstep. She’s got a message for him: “the gangs are coming after him and he has a week to live before they attack.”
Another great installment and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Also the sound booth crew did an excellent job as always!
Another great installment and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Also the sound booth crew did an excellent job as always!
March 21, 2025
About time
From chapter one this was a good continuation of the story. The prologue or whatever was confusing and annoying, also this is not a stand alone book. You have to have read both books one and two to really understand what's going on.
From chapter one this was a good continuation of the story. The prologue or whatever was confusing and annoying, also this is not a stand alone book. You have to have read both books one and two to really understand what's going on.
March 21, 2025
Lost 2 stars for NOT writing a Recap.
I think every reader needs to start doing this to force authors to write a quick Recap chapter, which readers can skip if they remember, and those who don't won't stop reading the series.
I think every reader needs to start doing this to force authors to write a quick Recap chapter, which readers can skip if they remember, and those who don't won't stop reading the series.
May 13, 2025
great third book
This is great book in the series. I can’t wait to read the next one. I love the main characters and can’t wait to see how strong everyone is going to be next book.
This is great book in the series. I can’t wait to read the next one. I love the main characters and can’t wait to see how strong everyone is going to be next book.
November 19, 2025
I read this as it was getting written on Royalroad.
I really enjoy this series.
I'm actually a little worried because I haven't seen anything new posted by the author over on Royalroad for a while.
Hopefully everything is fine and book four will start soon.
I really enjoy this series.
I'm actually a little worried because I haven't seen anything new posted by the author over on Royalroad for a while.
Hopefully everything is fine and book four will start soon.
February 19, 2026
Not as good as the 2 previous
Not as good as the 2 previous
But then wolf is softer and has alot more internal monologue about his feelings some fights seem rushed still very much enjoyed it but big build up for the last fight and if left me wanting more
Not as good as the 2 previous
But then wolf is softer and has alot more internal monologue about his feelings some fights seem rushed still very much enjoyed it but big build up for the last fight and if left me wanting more
March 20, 2025
The world building and characters are great and I really enjoyed this but it ended in a weird place.
March 21, 2025
Great Action
I’ve been a fan since the first book and this hasn’t let me down at all I’m excited to see what’s next for our former enforcer and favorite 3 headed good boy
I’ve been a fan since the first book and this hasn’t let me down at all I’m excited to see what’s next for our former enforcer and favorite 3 headed good boy
June 19, 2025
Great series so far.. this series would be half as good as It is without Shel and their interactions.
November 21, 2025
4.5 wonderfull audiobook performance
January 28, 2026
A few slow moments, but pretty good overall. If you liked the first two, you'll like this too.
Excellent narration as always
Excellent narration as always
May 13, 2026
Biggest Blue Balls of any series. I expected the series to have a less than clean ending but the fact that book four doesn't exist yet annoys me to no end.
August 24, 2025
I read books 1-3 in six-hour binge session, so I decided to review them all at one time. I can only hope that John will find it in his heart to forgive me
Jeremiah may have been a bullfrog and a good friend of yours, but Ethan Wolfe is neither of those things. "Who is Ethan Wolfe?", you might ask, to which I might reply, "I always understood every word he said, and he never had any wine, mighty fine or otherwise, around for me to drink."
The only important thing you need to know about these books is that he kissed a girl and he liked it and not because of some dumb cherry chapstick. Seriously, why would that have any bearing on why someone would, or would not, like kissing a girl? It's almost like it's an irrelevant detail thrown in because the chorus needed some extra words to have a flow that was pleasing to the ear.
But I digress, now where was I? A well cooked frogs leg is quite delicious...oh right the books. Fine, I'll try to stay on topic and not mention that there are currently three goons standing around me threatening to crush my Pearson's Nut Roll if I don't write something relevant about this book. It's a real-life "Not the gumdrop buttons" moment. 😞
Boring Relevant Details:
Fast paced storiy, but not so fast paced that it feels rushed.
All the bad guys really have it coming!
Logical well-thought out structure for the card game. (I may be a big enough nerd that I started taking notes and maybe I threw together a quick database and a front end interface to track things during combat sequences. I also might not be that big of a nerd.*)
Great character depth and growth
Note: this same review will appear on all three books, because I read them all in one sitting.
*I am that big of a nerd.
Jeremiah may have been a bullfrog and a good friend of yours, but Ethan Wolfe is neither of those things. "Who is Ethan Wolfe?", you might ask, to which I might reply, "I always understood every word he said, and he never had any wine, mighty fine or otherwise, around for me to drink."
The only important thing you need to know about these books is that he kissed a girl and he liked it and not because of some dumb cherry chapstick. Seriously, why would that have any bearing on why someone would, or would not, like kissing a girl? It's almost like it's an irrelevant detail thrown in because the chorus needed some extra words to have a flow that was pleasing to the ear.
But I digress, now where was I? A well cooked frogs leg is quite delicious...oh right the books. Fine, I'll try to stay on topic and not mention that there are currently three goons standing around me threatening to crush my Pearson's Nut Roll if I don't write something relevant about this book. It's a real-life "Not the gumdrop buttons" moment. 😞
Boring Relevant Details:
Fast paced storiy, but not so fast paced that it feels rushed.
All the bad guys really have it coming!
Logical well-thought out structure for the card game. (I may be a big enough nerd that I started taking notes and maybe I threw together a quick database and a front end interface to track things during combat sequences. I also might not be that big of a nerd.*)
Great character depth and growth
Note: this same review will appear on all three books, because I read them all in one sitting.
*I am that big of a nerd.
February 16, 2026
As much as I love DCE & DCE 2, this DCE3 is my favorite. Wolfe and Shell start at such a good place, but of course, they get thrown into A Whole Thing.
There are some new aspects of the series introduced so well. I am a fan of what happens in the dungeon.
Of course, there are some next-level fights with Wolfe involved! Some really amazing cards were introduced, both new and those that synergize well with what already exists.
Also, I love Cereboo. John does a good job with Cereboo, but I also found myself cheering for Malviere IYKYK
Shout out to Soundbooth Theater who just killed it!!! The audiobook is my favorite way to consume this series.
Totally excited to re-listen again to see what else I pick up on. Thank you, John Stovall for this third part. I hope it's not too long for #4 and how ever many John gives us.
There are some new aspects of the series introduced so well. I am a fan of what happens in the dungeon.
Of course, there are some next-level fights with Wolfe involved! Some really amazing cards were introduced, both new and those that synergize well with what already exists.
Also, I love Cereboo. John does a good job with Cereboo, but I also found myself cheering for Malviere IYKYK
Shout out to Soundbooth Theater who just killed it!!! The audiobook is my favorite way to consume this series.
Totally excited to re-listen again to see what else I pick up on. Thank you, John Stovall for this third part. I hope it's not too long for #4 and how ever many John gives us.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews