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Jester
417 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 22, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 28, 2026
For an independent book, I give this 4/5 stars. For R.C Allan’s first book it’s very impressive and I’ll definitely read sequels. Some thoughts with no spoilers:
- the world building 4 ⭐️ - okay sometimes it felt like a firehouse of info but it was a breath of fresh air to see realistic fantasy empires where each civ is imperfect at best. I also liked that they spoke different languages.
- characters 4⭐️ - everyone was complex, it avoided tropes for the most part. Found conversations engaging and humorous.
- plot 4⭐️ - the plot would weave certain elements together then I’d get let down, either anticipating an escalation or an explanation for happenstance (trying to avoid spoilers here). I truly feel it was so close to a 5⭐️ plot had there been some patience for building things up
- prose 3⭐️ - the pages would boomerang between excellent, brilliant prose and then repeated word choice with winding sentences. (These aren’t exact quotes but pretty close: “the man looked to where Tazio stood. Tazio stood, ‘…’” and “the woman gripped Tazio harder. Gripped with fear, Tazio slowed his breath”) With a proper copy editor, the writing itself would be 5⭐️ and I hope this story gains enough traction for a second edition with these fixes.
- romance 2⭐️ - all the aspects of romance could have had better build up. But I felt this was a backseat in general and it’s really difficult to do romance well when that isn’t the focus
- the world building 4 ⭐️ - okay sometimes it felt like a firehouse of info but it was a breath of fresh air to see realistic fantasy empires where each civ is imperfect at best. I also liked that they spoke different languages.
- characters 4⭐️ - everyone was complex, it avoided tropes for the most part. Found conversations engaging and humorous.
- plot 4⭐️ - the plot would weave certain elements together then I’d get let down, either anticipating an escalation or an explanation for happenstance (trying to avoid spoilers here). I truly feel it was so close to a 5⭐️ plot had there been some patience for building things up
- prose 3⭐️ - the pages would boomerang between excellent, brilliant prose and then repeated word choice with winding sentences. (These aren’t exact quotes but pretty close: “the man looked to where Tazio stood. Tazio stood, ‘…’” and “the woman gripped Tazio harder. Gripped with fear, Tazio slowed his breath”) With a proper copy editor, the writing itself would be 5⭐️ and I hope this story gains enough traction for a second edition with these fixes.
- romance 2⭐️ - all the aspects of romance could have had better build up. But I felt this was a backseat in general and it’s really difficult to do romance well when that isn’t the focus
April 22, 2026
I am not a usual reader of this genre, and yet, found it had much of what I appreciate in any genre—an imaginative world; a plot that impels characters forward and keeps me wanting more; deep and complex emotional landscapes within each character; care with secondary characters; anticipation of the moral arc that the main characters will be forced to climb.
The author has created a metaphysical device that uses mental and emotional energy to communicate, which recalls "the force" in Star Wars, but has a more personal, indigenous feel. I imagine this tool, used with pure, good-driven intention, will be the ultimate savior for the lead character, Tazio.
Tazio, initially driven by visceral revenge, feels ready to learn more sophisticated, controlled emotions as he grows in love from and for the friends and characters around him. By the end of this book one, I am definitely primed and ready for the journey with him.
Lastly, I would like to speak to the clear delineation of the female characters: they feel strong, feminine, independent. intelligent, sensitive, and compassionate. Tazio appreciates the lessons learned from them, which encourages my support of him as a character in this type of world.
The author has created a metaphysical device that uses mental and emotional energy to communicate, which recalls "the force" in Star Wars, but has a more personal, indigenous feel. I imagine this tool, used with pure, good-driven intention, will be the ultimate savior for the lead character, Tazio.
Tazio, initially driven by visceral revenge, feels ready to learn more sophisticated, controlled emotions as he grows in love from and for the friends and characters around him. By the end of this book one, I am definitely primed and ready for the journey with him.
Lastly, I would like to speak to the clear delineation of the female characters: they feel strong, feminine, independent. intelligent, sensitive, and compassionate. Tazio appreciates the lessons learned from them, which encourages my support of him as a character in this type of world.
March 2, 2026
I rated this a 3.75/5 ⭐️
Overall, I did enjoy this book. I think the magic system was interesting, and I really liked our main crew of characters. I think the MC being a jester and the injection of the humor and acrobatics of someone in that profession genuinely added to my enjoyment of the story. The dialogue felt pretty normal for the most part, and I liked that. I think this story overall has good bones, but it was hard for me to be invested in the overall plot/story. It felt like we jumped around a lot from place to place without building the emotional depth and the why of the story. I think if we had more pages to develop the backstory, character motivations and getting more insight that would have significantly bumped this up for me. I still overall enjoyed this book though.
I will say the romance feels super jumbled in this for me, and it felt a lot like instalove for me where I really want true yearning for a romantic interest. It didn’t add a lot to the story for me, and it felt forced most of the time to try and move the story along.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. I think the magic system was interesting, and I really liked our main crew of characters. I think the MC being a jester and the injection of the humor and acrobatics of someone in that profession genuinely added to my enjoyment of the story. The dialogue felt pretty normal for the most part, and I liked that. I think this story overall has good bones, but it was hard for me to be invested in the overall plot/story. It felt like we jumped around a lot from place to place without building the emotional depth and the why of the story. I think if we had more pages to develop the backstory, character motivations and getting more insight that would have significantly bumped this up for me. I still overall enjoyed this book though.
I will say the romance feels super jumbled in this for me, and it felt a lot like instalove for me where I really want true yearning for a romantic interest. It didn’t add a lot to the story for me, and it felt forced most of the time to try and move the story along.
May 10, 2026
Wowzer
I ordered Jester for my kindle and then ordered paperback! I have only read beginning on Kindle and it drew me in…wondering what’s next and next and next. I hope u enjoy as much as me.
I ordered Jester for my kindle and then ordered paperback! I have only read beginning on Kindle and it drew me in…wondering what’s next and next and next. I hope u enjoy as much as me.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews